Senior Brian Jenkins, Jr. heard the whispers about the Prairie View receiving corp and the lack of a lethal passing attack well before he arrived on campus.
Sure, the Panthers could run the football with quarterback Trazon Connley often leading the way. But a threatening passing attack they lacked.
“We took that as disrespectful,” said Jenkins. “We’ve got playmakers in the receiving room. Our receivers are some of the best players on our team, but to everybody outside it’s, `Trazon can’t throw the ball because he doesn’t have any weapons.’ But that’s far from the truth.”
That certainly seems to be the case this season after second-year coach Bubba McDowell and his coaching staff made it a priority to improve the receiving talent during the offseason. They added players like junior college transfer Shemar Savage while jumping into the transfer portal and luring talents such as Jenkins from Alabama A&M, and Coby Cavil and Jahquan Bloomfield from Louisiana Monroe to upgrade the receiver talent.
As a result, the Panthers’ offense has become much more balanced with several receivers who are all capable of getting open and making big plays, which was not necessarily the case last season.
Junior Tre’jon Spiller, one of the holdovers from a season ago, has seen the difference in the receiving room this season.
“This year we really came closer to each other and actually bonded as a team,” Spiller said. “We decided to buckle down and hold up to our name, Top Flight. All of us being on board, all of us buying into the process, that just makes us take off from there.”
And take off, the receiving corp has.
The Panthers have one of the top receiving corps in the SWAC with Jenkins (8th), Spiller (14th) and Bloomfield (20th) all ranking in the top 20 in receiving in the conference. Jenkins, a speedy 5-foot-7 receiver, leads the unit with 11 catches for 244 yards, while Spiller is second on the team with 11 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns and Bloomfield has snagged seven catches for 134 yards and one touchdown in the Panthers’ first five games.
But it’s not just the top three receivers who are making the difference. Connley has several targets to work with that also include tight end Dylan Domel, along with Savage and Cavil. So far this season, the Panthers have nine players with at least five receptions on the season.
Cavil, who has been injured off and on since arriving in the offseason, came up with a couple of huge plays in the win over Alcorn two weeks ago.
“They definitely did improve,” said Connley, who has benefitted by not having to run as much. “It’s just a lot of speed and more athleticism. The most important part is understanding the game, understanding coverages, and understanding assignments. So that’s where we started coming together.”
McDowell has been pleased to see the talent in the receivers’ room elevated, but he still isn’t quite satisfied that they are making the most of their opportunities. There are dropped balls and missed opportunities that he wants to see cleaned up going forward.
“Trazon has been hitting them on the money for the most part, but now it’s about them coming up with the big plays. And we talk about it all the time, that somebody has to make a play,” McDowell said. “When they are in position to make a play, they have to be that guy and everybody knows who that guy is. If you are that guy you are going to make that play no matter what.”
Receivers coach and passing game coordinator Reggie Moore, who is back for his second stint on The Hill, is in charge of developing the receivers to be the type of players McDowell wants. Moore believes in the group he has and thinks the unit can reach the level of the players he considers to be the standard – his group of Panthers from the 2015-17 teams.
“Our numbers aren’t where they need to be, but I think we have the potential to do it. It’s getting there,” Moore said. “We are going to be alright toward the end if we stay healthy.”
Bloomfield, a product of Seven Lakes in Katy, says the motivation that is pushing the receiving corp is the low expectations coming from outside sources. It’s been the spark that has gotten them off to a strong start.
“As a group within ourselves, we know we were doubted and there are a lot of people who are hating on us. So, we just decided to take it personal and that’s the same thing we are going to do the rest of the season and pretty much make it about us,” Bloomfield said. “As long as we hold each other accountable and if we come hard with the same energy every day, nobody can stop us but us.”
