Talented receiving corps only getting better for Monarchs

Part II of our offseason look at Old Dominion’s football team and where it is headed in 2012 finds us in the land of the fleet-footed and sure-handed: The Monarchs’ receivers.

First, a look at what was lost.

Prentice Gill came in as a piggy-back pick-up two winters ago, transferring from Harbor College in Los Angeles to join former Harbor College teammate and quarterback Dominique Blackman.

Who would have imagined two seasons later that it would be the loss of Gill – not Blackman – fans would lament.

After a slow start to this past season, Gill was money down the stretch and finished with 42 receptions for 591 yards and seven touchdowns.

And yet, that ranked him fourth on the squad in receptions.

Fourth.

ODU’s receiving corps essentially lost its fourth-best receiver, which means the top three are coming back.

Rising senior Nick Mayers (62 receptions, 698 yards, 7 TDs) earned first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors for his breakout year.

Rising senior Reid Evans (51 receptions, 593 yards, 4 TDs) continued to put his sure-handedness on display.

And rising sophomore Antonio Vaughan (47 receptions, 520 yards, 5 TDs) had a wow-factor freshman season. His running back option pass for a touchdown to Evans against William and Mary was a true highlight.

“And you have to remember, Vaughan started half the season” in place of Gill, Mayers said.

Still, all three could be pushed for playing time next season by five receivers – maybe six – who are good enough to start for any team in the CAA. They are so good as a unit that tight ends Kai Blanco, Mitch Castleberry and Daniel Wray will have to prove their mettle or expect coach Bobby Wilder to employ a four-receiver set almost exclusively.

And that’s not a knock on the tight ends.

While Vaughan was having a breakout freshman year, so was Pinkard (37 receptions, 488 yards, team-high 9 TDs).

“The first thing I think about our receivers is competition,” Wilder said. “They have learned to compete and if they want to play well next year, they’ve got to compete, both in the classroom and in workouts.

“Our biggest challenge is to improve the skill set at the positions. The philosophy is to get the best 11 on the field. At the end of the season, Pinkard was one of the best 11. He scored one touchdown for every four receptions he had. That’s pretty good. So we lined him up as an inside receiver, played him like a tight end, and he was a matchup problem for defenses.”

The receiving corps will be filled out by rising junior but injury-prone Marquel Thomas, rising sophomores Jakwail Bailey and Blair Roberts, rising senior Chris Lovitt, and rising red-shirt freshman Kirk Spellman from nearby Indian River.

Wilder said that fans did not see the best of Bailey and Roberts, pointing out that both played through injuries during the year.

In addition, incoming freshmen Rashawn Proctor (Bethel High, Hampton) and Zach Pascal (Wise High, Upper Marlboro, Md.) could impact the unit.

Mayers heaped praise on the young receiving corps, saying, “I feel like when I leave, they’ll be better than my group. They all have speed and strength and are crazy-athletic. They could be college basketball players if they wanted to be.

“Our biggest challenge as a unit will be not getting complacent. We need to all work to get better ... because we didn’t win it all this past season.”

The biggest change with the receivers could be the change in coaches. Where Keita Malloy whipped the group into a frenzy with his high-energy coaching style, he is now moving to the defensive side of the ball to work with the defensive backs.

In steps Zohn Burden, who was on ODU’s original staff but spent last season at the University of Richmond.

“Burden can be fiery too,” Mayers said. “When he met with us the other day, he said, ‘Ya’ll might remember me not saying much when I worked with the defensive backs. You can expect a different me this time around.’ And I believe him.

“He just spent a year working with (Richmond third-team All-American receiver) Tre Gray. Coach Burden knows what he’s doing.”

Burden is familiar enough to some of the Monarchs that he will not be a completely new face. “I know the veterans who know Zohn will help with the transition,” Wilder said. “It’s good to have him back on this staff.”