How five-star receivers at Bama, Ohio State and Texas were ready to be freshman stars
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Eli Lederman, ESPN Staff Writer
JAMARCUS SHEPHARD COULDN’T be sure until he watched Ryan Williams burn past the Western Kentucky secondary in Week 1. But for Alabama‘s first-year wide receivers coach, there were signs in the summer of just how good the Crimson Tide’s 17-year-old, pass-catching wunderkind could be.
Days after arriving at Alabama, Williams told trainers that he wanted to be put on the same training plan as former Crimson Tide wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Soon, the five-star freshman was performing the flexibility and mobility regimen that powered Alabama’s 2020 Heisman Trophy winner.
And when Williams joined Alabama’s players-only training sessions weeks later, the reports of Williams’ playmaking that trickled back to Shephard were difficult to ignore.
“His teammates came off the field and they said, ‘Coach Shep, you should have seen that boy out there,'” Shephard told ESPN this week. “That was the veterans stamping him. That’s when you really started to think that he might have that magic.”
Like Williams, Ohio State freshman Jeremiah Smith‘s promise was clear upon his arrival in Columbus. Same for five-star Cam Coleman at Auburn. Breakout spring camp performances from Texas‘ Ryan Wingo, Clemson‘s Bryant Wesco Jr. and Michigan State‘s Nick Marsh proved early markers for what they would go on to contribute this fall.
Three weeks into the season, Williams and Smith lead their programs in catches, yards and touchdown receptions. At Texas, the top-ranked Longhorns are using Wingo early and often. Coleman and Wesco — leaders of respective youth movements within their programs — have each found the end zone in the early weeks. And Marsh, with 11 catches for 234 yards, has authored a more productive start to 2024 than all but four Big Ten pass catchers this season.
Together, they comprise a select group of first-year wide receivers making an immediate impact on college football in 2024. Among ESPN’s top-100 wide receivers in the 2024 class, just nine completed more than 10 routes across the first three weeks of the season. Within that same group, only 12 first-year pass catchers were targeted at least five times with just three eclipsing 10 total targets.
As first-year wide receivers at large are seeing limited opportunity, the elite of the elite are still breaking through at the highest level of the sport. In Williams, Smith, Coleman, Wingo, Wesco and Marsh, there are six of college football’s great outliers in 2024, standing within an exclusive group of talented freshmen pass catchers carving significant roles this fall.
“Wide receivers take time to develop, but you knew those guys would make an impact,” said one SEC general manager. “They were different at the high school level. Not just from an ability standpoint, but their bodies, too. They were all college-ready. We’re seeing that now.”
IDENTIFYING PRODUCTIVE FRESHMAN wide receivers is a multifaceted challenge for college programs.
A prospect has to meet the physical demands to compete against high-level defenses. But modern offenses also require crisp technique, sharp route running and a firm grasp of the playbook. Not many freshman wide receivers check all three boxes.
However, there was little question about Smith, the Buckeyes’ 6-foot-3, 200-pound phenom.
ESPN’s fourth-ranked prospect in 2024, Smith already possessed college-ready speed and measurables when he logged 88 catches for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns in his senior season at Florida’s Chaminade-Madonna Prep. One Power 4 talent evaluator who recruited Smith called him a “physical freak”.
During his early months at Ohio State, Smith showed the Buckeyes staff all the intangible elements they needed to see, too. In Week 1, he was one of only four freshman wide receiver starters across the country, and Smith hauled in six passes for 92 yards with two touchdowns in Ohio State’s Aug. 31 opener against Akron.
Smith has completed 45 routes, more than any other freshman pass catcher. Through two games, he leads Buckeyes receivers with 11 catches for 211 yards and three scores as the latest branch in Ohio State’s vast wide receiver tree.
“He’s built different,” Ryan Day said last month. “Just the way his approach is. You can see his size and speed and all that. But typically somebody with that type of talent doesn’t have the discipline, the focus that he does.”
With top-end physical talent and maturity beyond his years, Smith isn’t a typical freshman wide receiver. His fellow first-year pass-catching contemporaries are outliers, too.
Last fall, ESPN’s top-100 first-year wide receivers from the 2023 class averaged 13.1 total targets, 7.9 catches, 110.3 yards and 0.7 touchdowns in their debut seasons. A quarter of the way into 2024, Williams, Smith and Marsh have already reached 13-plus targets, and Coleman and Wingo — eight targets each — are more than 50% of the way there. Four members of the group have at least seven receptions through Week 3. All six newcomers have already eclipsed 110 yards.
Among the common advantages for these five freshmen: nearly all of them enrolled early.
“I think being able to come in in the spring gives them a leg up,” Auburn’s Hugh Freeze said during a recent SEC coaches teleconference.
OF THE NATION’S six breakout freshmen pass catchers, all but one was a midyear enrollee in January. Williams, who reclassified from 2025 into the 2024 class to land in college a year early, is the only one who waited until June to join his program.
Early enrollment is standard practice in 2024. But the spring semester is when Smith, Coleman, Wingo, Wesco and Marsh set themselves apart, laying the seeds for the respective fall breakouts.
When Coleman began spring practice, Auburn receivers coach Marcus Davis quickly noticed Coleman’s obsession with technique and his commitment to the small details.
Alabama WR Ryan Williams is 17 years old and the youngest player in the FBS and already has 4 touchdowns in 8+ quarters of play 😱 pic.twitter.com/4QMaAd4sbg
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 14, 2024
“From the first to second practice, I saw how he picked up on stuff,” Davis told ESPN. “You tell him something in the meeting room and then he’s going to apply it. I don’t even have dang TikTok, but he’s sending me clips of guys in the NFL playing with certain route techniques at 11 o’clock at night. Once you get a guy like that all you’re doing is sharpening that toolbox up.”
At Clemson, Wesco established himself as a slippery playmaker who surprised the Tigers’ staff with his refined route running. Marsh, who Michigan State wide receivers coach Courtney Hawkins recently described as “program-changer,” settled in fast in East Lansing and had three catches, including a 75-yard score, during the Spartans’ spring scrimmage.
For Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, Wingo’s involvement in the Longhorns’ offense in the early weeks of the season — seven catches for 197 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown connection with Arch Manning in Week 3 — is rooted in what Wingo proved in February, March and April, then reinforced in fall camp.
“How you know a guy can play early is, does he make plays when opportunities come his way?” Sarkisian said before Texas’ Week 3 meeting with UTSA. “That showed up in the spring game. That showed up in our scrimmages and fall camp. And he [hasn’t] disappointed.”
With each of the early enrollees, the spring offered signs of Year 1 promise. From there, the next step on each campus was how to prepare the first-year pass catchers for the fall.
At Auburn, Davis pulled Coleman in for extra time in the film, reinforcing the fundamentals they’d honed together in spring camp. In Columbus, the Buckeyes’ staff challenged Smith to compete with the veterans in an elite wide receivers room, elevating himself through the daily battles.
But perhaps the most instructive immersion came with the wide receiver who got to campus last. It took only a handful of big plays and a few fall practices for DeBoer to see what Williams could do for the Crimson Tide. When planning began for Alabama’s Week 1 visit from Western Kentucky, DeBoer and his staff sought to strike a balance for Williams.
“You’re trying to not put too much on his plate but also make sure we give him opportunities to make plays” DeBoer said on the SEC coaches teleconference.
“It wasn’t like holding anything back for the most part when he was out there in Week 1. He’s comfortable pretty much in any spot. There’s packages to get him in certain positions, but really we’re just moving forward like he’s a second, third, fourth-year guy.”
Williams caught two passes against Western Kentucky in Week 1. The first: an 84-yard touchdown before halftime. The second: a 55-yard score after splitting a pair of Hilltoppers defenders.
“The more and more that he made plays, even within the first game, you just had him out there more and more comfortable,” DeBoer said.
THE FIRST SNAP of Wesco’s college career didn’t go well. Jammed straight into the turf at Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium by a Georgia defender, the moment was reflective of everything about the 34-3 beatdown.
“His first college play was not good,” Dabo Swinney said. “They let him know this was big-boy football. But then he settled down.”
Wesco played another 11 snaps against Georgia. A week later against App State, Wesco made his first career reception on the Tigers’ third play and housed it for a 76-yard touchdown.
“He’s special,” Swinney said.
Resilience is part of what comes next for this class of ultra-talented freshman pass catchers. Each has now navigated an early, nonconference slate with much more difficult conference games ahead. Hence why durability is another point that comes up in projecting what’s next for this group.
Coleman missed Auburn’s Week 3 game with a shoulder injury and is questionable headed into this weekend’s visit from Arkansas. Shephard harps on the importance of rest and nutrition, a balance each freshman wide receiver needs to find as they prepare for first runs through a slate of SEC, Big Ten and ACC defenses.
“You’re going to see faster, stronger, more physical people,” Shephard said. “You’re going to take some extra hits. That’s where sleep and recovery and nutrition week-to-week is so important.”
Right on the 💰🤘@ArchManning @_Ryanwingo1 pic.twitter.com/RJYX9ku3At
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) September 15, 2024
At No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25, Alabama could be staring down another College Football Playoff run, potentially deep into December and January. Williams, who is up to 10 catches for 285 yards and four touchdowns through three games, will be an important part of that success.
No different from their early-season gameplanning, the Crimson Tide aren’t shielding Williams from much of anything. Prior to Alabama’s Week 3 trip to Wisconsin, the Crimson Tide made sure Williams understood the sort of physicality he’d encounter in Madison.
“Our scout defenders got more handsy,” Shephard said. “They yanked Ryan to the ground at one point and Ryan still made the catch. Those are the things that give you the confidence that he’s going to be able to do it in the games.”
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Buster Olney
Gerrit Cole‘s season is over, now that he is headed for Tommy John surgery, and the New York Yankees will have to find a way to replicate the production of a Cy Young Award-winning pitcher, someone who is likely to one day make a speech on induction day in Cooperstown.
But this is not a case of a team being blindsided by an injury. Past injuries are the most predictive indicators for future injuries, and after Cole missed nearly the first three months of last season with nerve inflammation in his right elbow, the Yankees knew the chances of losing him were heightened. Their handling of his contract situation last fall was a strong indicator of the uncertainty around Cole.
The pitcher and his agent, Scott Boras, opted out of the last four years of his contract, while asking that the Yankees exercise a $36 million option for the 2029 season, effectively adding a fifth year to his four-year, $144 million deal. Owner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman declined to do so, firmly holding the line, and days later, Cole returned to the Yankees without any augmentation of his contract. While the Yankees hoped Cole’s elbow would remain functional, as Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow did following a diagnosis of a partially torn ligament in 2014, they weren’t willing to bet another $36 million on it.
But that doesn’t help them very much right now, when they have lost two starting pitchers to significant arm injuries: Before Cole went down, Luis Gil — the American League Rookie of the Year last season — suffered a lat strain this spring that will keep him sidelined for much of the 2025 season. Max Fried, signed to a $218 million contract over the winter to improve a good rotation, will now be the de facto ace, in front of right-handers Clarke Schmidt and left-hander Carlos Rodon. A month ago, there was a lot of speculation about whether Marcus Stroman would be traded, given his standing as the sixth starter behind a five-man rotation, and now Stroman is needed as the No. 4 starter.
Cashman’s habit is to be patient — to weigh internal solutions before diving into another free agent signing or trade. When Cole was sidelined last spring, the Yankees thought Will Warren might step into his spot in the rotation, and instead, Gil surprisingly emerged to fill in for Cole and was one of the league’s best starting pitchers in the first half.
This year, Warren is having a very good spring, having allowed just two hits and a run in eight innings of work, with two walks and 11 strikeouts. Warren, an eighth-round pick out of Southeast Louisiana in 2021, is the front-runner to move into the Yankees’ rotation.
Just as the Yankees continue to weigh market options for hitting help while Giancarlo Stanton is attempting to work his way back from elbow trouble, they will consider free agent possibilities such as veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson. The Yankees paid for insurance on Cole’s contract, and so they will recoup some portion of the salary they owe him; typically, that rate is about 75%. His contract still counts against their competitive balance tax total, but the insurance money will significantly offset the luxury tax they will have to pay for the addition of any replacement: The Yankees are taxed dollar for dollar, 100%, for any additional player salaries they take on. A new $5 million player costs the Yankees $10 million.
Eventually, their best alternatives, if needed, could be through the trade market, and maybe that turns out to be the Miami Marlins‘ Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner who is back after an elbow reconstruction. Under the terms of a deal he signed with the Marlins early in his career, Alcantara is making $17.3 million this year and $17.3 million next season, and there is a $21 million option in his deal for 2027.
The Marlins are not expected to contend this year and have been in a cost-cutting mode since Peter Bendix took over the team’s baseball operations after the 2023 season. Last year, the Marlins demonstrated a willingness to deal very early in the season, when they swapped batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres in the first week of May.
But the price of a trade in April or May is usually set by the team dealing away a star, and the Yankees would have to pay a big price in prospects in the spring after a rough year for their farm system, which is generally regarded as thin by other teams and ranked No. 21 in Kiley McDaniel’s preseason system rankings. Additionally, the Yankees would presumably compete against other teams if and when the Marlins look to trade Alcantara, leaving them at the same disadvantage they faced when trying to pry Garrett Crochet away from the Chicago White Sox — before Chicago dealt him to the Boston Red Sox.
Over the course of the summer, Gil could return from the injured list, and other pitchers could emerge on the trade market as some teams drift out of contention. If the Toronto Blue Jays struggle in the first half, they could be a key source for all kinds of needs, including starting pitchers. Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer might all draw interest if Toronto ever looks to rebuild and, in the Yankees’ case, is willing to deal within the division.
One or more National League West teams could end up feeding the trade market. The Padres enter this season with high expectations after nearly knocking out the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer, but if San Diego drifts behind in the playoff race, it holds two of the best impending free agents, Dylan Cease and former Yankee Michael King. Similarly, the San Francisco Giants have veteran Robbie Ray, who is under contract for $25 million this year and next, and the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ Zac Gallen will become eligible for free agency in the fall.
Likewise, in the AL West, the Mariners have so far clung to their starting pitchers, like Luis Castillo, but that could change if Seattle sinks in the standings. The Astros demonstrated their willingness to be aggressive with players nearing free agency with their trade of outfielder Kyle Tucker, and if Houston hovers around .500, it could flip Framber Valdez into the market — with his years of postseason experience attractive to contenders.
The pitching market could be flush with options in a few months. And the Yankees might wait until then to make a move to cover for Cole’s absence.
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Jorge Castillo
New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole will undergo Tommy John surgery, the team announced Monday, ending his 2025 season before it began and leaving the club staggering from another blow as it prepares to defend its American League pennant.
The decision to have the surgery, which will sideline Cole for the 2025 season and at least part of the 2026 season, was made after seeking a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday. Cole will undergo the procedure Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles. In a statement, the club said that “further updates will occur post surgery.”
Cole started two games this spring, giving up seven runs across six innings. On Thursday, he gave up six runs on five hits, including two home runs, over 2⅔ innings to the Minnesota Twins. He said he felt an “alarming” amount of pain that night into Friday morning, prompting him to notify the team and undergo imaging tests, which revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
Cole, 34, went through the same series of stressful events a year ago: Elbow pain in mid-March, tests and opinions from doctors. But the result was different. Cole was diagnosed with nerve irritation and edema and, instead of surgery, he rested and rehabbed. He made his season debut on June 19 and pitched through the World Series without a setback.
In a statement he posted on Instagram later Monday, Cole said the surgery was a “necessary next step for my career,” adding that he has “a lot left to give, and I’m fully committed to the work ahead. I’ll attack my rehab every day and support the 2025 Yankees each step of the way. I love this game, I love competing, and I can’t wait to be back on the mound — stronger than ever.”
The ace logged 124 innings over 22 starts between the regular season and playoffs, tossing at least six innings in three of his five postseason outings. He then opted to alter his offseason throwing program by starting it earlier to continue his positive momentum. He said he was “in a really good spot” compared to other years at the start of camp.
But less than a month later, his season has been declared over.
Cole’s injury is the second major blow to the Yankees’ starting rotation this spring after Luis Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, sustained a lat strain that was expected to sideline him for at least three months.
Without the two right-handers, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt will top the Yankees’ starting rotation. Marcus Stroman, who was notably not expected to make the Opening Day rotation, is projected to slide into the No. 4 spot with Will Warren, a rookie who made his debut last season, and Carlos Carrasco, a soon-to-be-38-year-old veteran in camp as a non-roster invite, as the leading internal candidates to round out the quintet.
Other options in camp include right-hander Allan Winans, who has eight career starts on his résumé, and left-hander Brent Headrick, a starter in the minors who has never started a game in the majors.
The Yankees could also opt to sign a free agent — veterans Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn are among those available — or swing a trade for an established starter.
Cole, a six-time All-Star, won the 2023 AL Cy Young Award and was the runner-up two other seasons. He has tallied at least 200 innings in six of his 10 full seasons (not including last year and the COVID-shortened 2020 season). He is as close to an old-school frontline workhorse in his prime that exists in baseball. It’s why the Yankees chose to sign Cole, a lifelong Yankees fan, to a nine-year, $324 million deal with a no-trade clause in December 2019 — the largest contract given to a pitcher at the time.
The agreement included a player opt-out after last season that the Yankees could’ve voided by attaching another year and $36 million to the four years and $144 million remaining on his contract. Cole exercised the opt out, but he never became a free agent and didn’t receive the extra year. Instead, the two sides agreed to continue as if Cole didn’t opt out two days later, keeping him under contract through the 2028 season at $36 million per year.
The Yankees have insurance on Cole’s contract, which will allow them to recoup some money for the time he’s out.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out seven over five impressive innings and Shohei Ohtani ripped a 118.5 mph double during the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ penultimate game of the spring schedule on Monday.
Yamamoto threw 75 pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camelback Ranch. His fastball touched 97 mph and four of the seven strikeouts came on his splitter. The Japanese right-hander gave up one run on four hits in his final spring training start, walking one as the Dodgers went on to win 6-2.
Yamamoto is scheduled to start the Dodgers’ regular-season opener against the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo on March 18. Ohtani is expected to be the designated hitter.
Ohtani’s third extra-base hit of the spring came in the first inning and the reigning National League MVP jogged into second base for the easy double. He grounded out in the second and struck out in the fourth.
Ohtani is 6 of 17 this spring (.353) with two doubles and a homer. The 30-year-old is trying to bounce back from offseason shoulder surgery.
Rookie right-hander Roki Sasaki is scheduled to start the final spring training game for the Dodgers on Tuesday. He’s expected to start the second Dodgers-Cubs game in Japan on March 19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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