A look at Stanford's wide receiver recruiting pipeline

There are certain recruiting "truths" that Stanford fans have known for generations and one of them is that wide receiver is one of the most difficult positions for the Cardinal to recruit elite talent. It's one of the reasons it made sense to become Tight End U and recruit multiple big athletes who didn't need to run 4.4 40-yard dashes for Stanford to bludgeon a defense.

But the wide receiver position had been more productive the past 10 years than recruiting profiles would have led people to expect. Former walk-ons and "three-stars" have gone on to play for NFL teams during that time.

Stanford's recruiting of the position has reached a new level of excitement. Cardinal Sports Report takes a look at where Stanford stands in the present and near future at wide receiver.

There is zero doubt about who are Stanford's top two wide receivers: redshirt junior JJ Arcega-Whiteside is climbing up draft boards faster than he can leap over, or run through, defensive backs; and Trent Irwin is second on the team in receptions after three straight strong games.

Sophomore Connor Wedington was supposed to take on a greater role but was injured in the season opener and is only now nearing a return to the field.

Behind Wedington there is a youth movement that has coaches and fans optimistic about the future. Freshman Michael Wilson and redshirt freshman Osiris St. Brown have earned playing time this season and have the physical skill sets to cause problems for defenses.

Wilson has a touchdown catch that pulled Stanford within six of Utah during the Cardinal's third-quarter rally that ultimately came up short. St. Brown should have at least one touchdown if not for some misfires from quarterback KJ Costello, but his six catches for 144 yards gives him 24 YPC, which leads the team.

Redshirting freshman Simi Fehoko has traveled with the team on road games and wide receiver coach Bobby Kennedy hopes to get him some snaps in games: "Simi Fehoko has taken reps with the ones and twos," Kennedy said this week. "He's going to be a really good player. We have a lot of work to do with the young guys. To me we're headed in the right direction.”

It's not a certainty but for this discussion assume that Arcega-Whiteside will be playing football for a paycheck next year. In that case, Wilson, St. Brown and Fehoko are the foundation of a strong receiver corps. Wedington will either be the leader of this unit or be thrown into the running back competition.

There are a number of factors that will influence the decision of where Wedington plays: Who is part of the 2019 class at running back? Does redshirt junior Cameron Scarlett stay for a fifth year? And, if he does, will the staff decide he and Trevor Speights are the answer at that position?

Stanford didn't shy away from big dreams when the 2019 recruiting board was put together. The Cardinal wanted four receivers from the start of the class and the first commit was St. John Bosco's Colby Bowman.

He has 30 catches for 484 yards and four touchdowns playing on an offense that every starter is a future college player. Bowman camped at Stanford three times and would have run routes barefoot on broken glass to get the offer. He's an elite track athlete with personal records of 10.95 (100), 21.47 (200) and is a member of one the best 4x100 relay teams in the state.

Who might join Bowman?

Higgins and Johnson have visited Stanford several times and, according to several sources, the Cardinal are in strong positions with both. It's not a certainty that Stanford gets both because there's no shortage of competition.

Florida is considered the top challenger for Higgins and it's the state that he's originally from. Johnson may be tempted to stay closer to home at the likes of Penn State, Michigan or Notre Dame. It may be that both are ready to make a decision in November.

Higgins and Johnson are greats fits for Stanford's offense. They're big targets who have the athleticism to make difficult catches and also stretch the field.

Johnson camped at Stanford the June before his junior season and even then it was clear he could go up and make plays over defensive backs.

Higgins' physical presence at The Opening Finals made some onlookers suggest he could play tight end in college. Higgins has made it clear he wants to play receiver and that's fine with Stanford, where coaches can point to Arcega-Whiteside and former Cardinal Devon Cajuste as similar players.

The fourth most likely member of the group is a recruit committed to another school. Cardinal Sports Report does not share the names of recruits who have not publicly declared they're looking at other schools. But, according to two sources, there's a better chance now of four receivers in the class than a few weeks ago.

Stanford's 2020 receiver board is where a great pipeline can become elite.

Farrell has elite speed and agility. He caught 63 passes for 1,168 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore. This year Oaks Christian has a dominant run game and its quarterback is Josh Calvert, a great athlete but is a linebacker committed to Washington. His highlights for part of the season shows how dynamic he is as a receiver and returner.

Farrell dreamed of playing at Stanford since he was 11 and is locked in on making that happen.

The Cardinal also are in a strong position with legacy John Humphreys.

Humphreys is an overpowering player at the high school level and that may not change much in college. He camped at Stanford in July but that was more about helping the quarterbacks in attendance than anything else. What was immediately noticeable is that 6-5 athletes shouldn't move as well as he does. He's not playing receiver until he adds enough weight to be a tight end. This is an athlete who can excel on the outside.

It's not certain Stanford offers another wide receiver for the class. If they decide to one player to keep an eye on is Silas Starr. The Portland native has camped at Stanford each of the past two summers.