Freshman Phenoms Julio Jones, A.J. Green, and Michael Floyd boast the best freshman receiver class since 2002

Freshman Phenoms Julio Jones, A.J. Green, and Michael Floyd boast the best freshman receiver class since 2002

By John Kelly for Football Reporters Online

It has been six years since we truly saw freshman receivers steal the scene in
College Football. Pittsburgh Freshman Larry Fitzgerald, an unknown player from Minnesota, dazzled us with a spectacular diving catches including one in the Insight bowl versus Oregon State. Reggie Williams hauled catches in double coverage while, taking several short slants to the house versus Oregon. USC’s Mike Williams made an effortless one-handed catch that was on numerous College Gameday highlight reels. In 2004 Deshawn Jackson breathed life into Berkley for the first time since the SDS was doing sit ins in the 60’s. He became an instant weapon for the Golden Bears as a punt return specialist and a consistent home run threat. Last year Michael Crabtree reeled in over one hundred catches and the Blinkoff Award to boot.

Some freshmen receivers seem to make impacts before others and while others gain national attention. The last six years has only seen one really steal the show and the others make an important impact. Freshman receiving studs tend to crash the college football party every year now, none compare to the class of 2008. This class is set to make an instant offensive impact quicker than any other freshman receiving class.

We look at the 5 star rival’s receivers and hope to see them make an immediate impact every college football season. Since 2003 most top Rivals receivers have been busts, kicked off teams, or just disappeared. For every playmaker like a Deshawn Jackson there is a Patrick Turner who is a bust in my estimation after being ranked the #1 receiver by rivals in 2004. Fred Rouse was the #2 rated receiver in 2004 according to rivals and was thought to carry a game emulating Randy Moss. He ended up being kicked off Florida State’s football team and transferred to UTEP.

So why are the three top wideouts from the 2008 recruiting class so special
opposed to the other past successful and disappointing blue chip receivers?
Well 5 weeks into the season all three have scored a touchdown and they all
look like the future go-to playmakers in their respective offenses.

While Julio Jones and Michael Floyd scored during the first week of the season , A.J. Green finally put himself on the map in Tempe versus Arizona State catching 8 balls for 157 yards and a touchdown. His impact is huge for Matthew Stafford and Knowshawn Moreno and the Bulldog offense.

Michael Floyd had 7 catches for 87 yards and a TD versus Michigan State in the loss and his impact along with Golden Tate makes Jimmy Clausen’s job a lot easier in South Bend. Floyd is only a freshman and I knew after
watching him in the high school All-America game he would be turning heads already. He is shaping up to be the next great Notre Dame receiver since the days of Derek Mayes. He will only get better which is an issue for opposing secondaries who already are being smoked by him thus far. Plus this week versus Stanford he had another 100 yard game compounded by burning a Pac-10 track star champion for a 48-yard touchdown bomb.

Julio Jones clips in Alabama’s fall practices had multiple you tube hits and he finally got into the end zone in his first game against Clemson. He is definitely the real deal in Tuscaloosa. He also was big in their upset win over Georgia a week ago as he hauled in two touchdown catches. Alabama’s strong ground attack will lead to more one on one opportunities for him. His combined size and speed are the best out of the three and do not be surprised if he is a Blinkoff Award nominee this year.

All three players are first round draft picks to me in the 2012 draft and can aid certain NFL teams with an impact receiver (Are you listening New York Jets or Baltimore Ravens). All three have the ability to take a short pass the distance, catch the fade route, and burn you deep on a fly pattern.

Floyd reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald and it is not because he hails from
Minnesota. If you watched the Michigan State game he can go up and get the ball from anywhere. He has the speed to burn you deep but his ball skills and receiving instincts are what separate him from Green and Jones.

Outside of AJ Green’s circus catch last week I have yet to see Julio Jones make a catch like that but I am confident he can. Speaking of A.J. Green he is mix between Randy Moss and a Chad Johnson with the speed to burn you deep, the ability to make a catch from anywhere on the field, and the athleticism to make major mismatches with even the best corners in the league.

Floyd is getting comparisons in the South Bend Tribute to Terrell Owens but it is Julio Jones to me that best mirrors the mold of a T.O. At 19 he has enormous strength and speed to be a mismatch against any corner in the land. Like Floyd he also likes to go out and rip the ball down from opposing corners. By playing in the SEC he will face top defensive competition like A.J. Green week in and week out which will help him develop a lot more. He is the biggest physically of the three and his strength now and in the future will allow him to muscle smaller and athletic cornerbacks that cover him. By the end of his Crimson Tide career he will be the next freak of on the outside.

The next three seasons are only going to get better if you’re a Bulldog, Irish, or Tide fan and these three look to provide many memorable moments.