Tulsa Receivers Update

A LOOK AT THE RECEIVERS …

TULSA, Okla. –– Tulsa's receiving corps is a youthful group with six lettermen returning, and among those only one senior, and that one senior – Keenen Johnson – is just a four-year player.

From there, Tulsa has two scholarship juniors – Keylon Stokes and Josh Stewart.

Johnson and Stokes, both of whom were recently named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list for the best offensive player with Texas ties, combined for 1,013 yards and 6 touchdowns last year.

Stokes led the Hurricane in receiving with 575 yards and was second for all-purpose yardage with 984 yards. Johnson had 438 yards and a team-leading 4 TD catches in 2018, while totaling 1,283 yards and 6 touchdowns in his three seasons.

"Keylon and Keenen are pushing themselves and each other, as well as leading our young group of receivers and helping those guys continue to grow. They have to be great examples for our younger guys in how to prepare yourself," said Montgomery. "Every play is important and you have to do a great job of being detail-oriented within your route and how you run it."

"Our guys have worked extremely hard going back to January. They have really honed-in on the fundamentals of playing the position, You can really see the difference that guys are starting excel at the position," said receiver coach Calvin Lowry.

"Keylon has that alpha dog mentality to him. He's kind of taken the room by the reins. Keene has really progressed and his leadership skills have also developed," said Lowry. "With those two guys, being 1A and 1B, that should give us a fighting chance to have success."

Stewart caught only 2 passes in 9 games last year and had 13 receptions for 162 yards in his red-shirt freshman season. Tulsa could get a boost from another senior, Jarion Anderson, who is awaiting clearance after sitting out last semester. He had 28 catches for 288 yards and one TD a year ago.

From there, it's a bunch of young and inexperienced players bidding for playing time at the position. Two juniors, six sophomores and four freshmen, including one red-shirt and three high school freshmen.

Among those young guys are the three remaining lettermen – Sam Crawford, Jr., Cannon Montgomery and Andrew McKinnis – but none of the three caught a pass last year. Crawford and Montgomery have worked themselves into the rotation this season.

Sophomore JuanCarlos Santana, who did not see game time at receiver last year, has impressed coaches this fall camp and with Crawford and Montgomery, will be in the rotation with the veterans Stokes and Johnson.

"We moved JC from inside to outside half-way through spring ball, and he has really found a home there. Sam is steady-Eddy. He's taking steps and he's moving in the right direction to be successful," said Lowry.

"We've really had an extra week of fall camp without being in school, unlike the past. So, guys have received a ton more reps and gotten more comfortable at playing the position," Lowry added.

Tulsa Receivers Update

Players Mentioned

Jarion Anderson

Keenen Johnson

Andrew McKinnis

Cannon Montgomery

JuanCarlos Santana

Josh Stewart

Keylon Stokes

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