The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2011 — WESTERN MICHIGAN Jordan White — 140 catches for 1,911 yards and 17 touchdowns He earned consensus All-America honors and was named a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist in Gattis' lone year at the school. He set a single-season MAC re- cord for yards and led the nation in receptions and receiving yards. Went on to be selected in the sev- enth round of the NFL Draft. Chleb Ravenell — 67 catches for 839 yards and nine touchdowns The former junior college transfer caught 19 more passes and had 326 more receiving yards than he had in 2009 and was named third-team All-MAC after missing the 2010 season due to injury. Top three wide receivers — 269 catches for 3,452 yards and 30 touchdowns Western Michigan's aerial attack exploded with Gattis as its wide receivers coach, ranking eighth nationally in passing yards per game (337.3). 2012 — VANDERBILT Jordan Matthews — 94 catches for 1,323 yards and eight touchdowns In Gattis' first season with Matthews, the wideout more than doubled his reception total and nearly doubled his yardage from the previous sea- son. His 1,323 receiving yards set a single-season Vanderbilt record and ranked eighth nationally, while he earned first-team All-SEC honors. Chris Boyd — 50 catches for 774 yards and five touchdowns Boyd had 29 more catches and 300 more receiving yards than he had in 2011. Top three wide receivers — 153 catches for 2,166 yards and 13 touch- downs With Gattis, Vanderbilt's passing offense improved across the board, jumping from No. 60 in passing S&P+ to 51. This rating system is adjusted for opponents and based on efficiency, explosiveness and other factors related to field position and finishing drives. Meanwhile, the Commodores posted their first nine-win season since 1915. 2013 — VANDERBILT Jordan Matthews — 112 catches for 1,477 yards and 11 touch- downs Matthews improved his numbers and was named a first-team All-American by USA Today and Athlon. He ended his career as the SEC's all-time leader in both receptions and receiving yards, and was a semifinal- ist for the Biletnikoff Award before being selected in the second round of the NFL Draft. Johnathan Krause — 42 catches for 714 yards and three touchdowns Krause saw a big jump in production from 2012, catching 33 more passes and totaling 645 more receiving yards. Top three wide receivers — 169 catches for 2,314 yards and 14 touchdowns Vanderbilt's passing offense continued to improve in Gattis' second season despite losing their starting quarterback. The Commodores passed for 14.1 more yards per game than the previous year, going from 81st nationally to 69th, and finished in the top 25 of the AP and coaches' polls for the first time ever. 2014 — PENN STATE DaeSean Hamilton — 82 catches for 899 yards and two touchdowns The redshirt freshman led the Big Ten in receptions after missing 2013 due to a wrist injury and was named second-team All-Big Ten. He was the only rookie nationally to average more than 5.8 catches per game (6.3). Geno Lewis — 55 catches for 751 yards and two touchdowns Lewis accumulated 37 more receptions in 2014 than he did prior to Gattis' arrival and also had 517 more receiving yards. The redshirt sophomore tied for eighth in the Big Ten with 4.2 receptions per game. Top three wide receivers — 163 receptions for 1,988 yards and six touchdowns While Penn State's offense took a step back after Allen Robinson, who had posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, left for the NFL, the top three wideouts were more productive in 2014 than in 2013 (143 catches and 1,978 yards receiving). 2015 — PENN STATE Chris Godwin — 69 catches for 1,101 yards and five touchdowns The second-team All-Big Ten pick improved drasti- cally from his rookie season, when he caught 26 passes for 338 yards and two scores. The sophomore finished No. 2 in the Big Ten and No. 24 in the FBS for receiving yards, and became just the third 1,000-yard receiver in program annals. DaeSean Hamilton — 45 catches for 580 yards and six touchdowns Hamilton's numbers dipped in 2015, but he still was named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the media. Top three wide receivers — 131 receptions for 1,877 yards and 14 touchdowns While Penn State's wide receivers weren't as produc- tive as the previous season, a lot of that was due to the A Proven Track Record As Wide Receivers Coach BY ANDREW HUSSEY Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has not been in coaching long, but since becoming a graduate assistant at North Carolina in 2010, he has had success wherever he has gone. Former North Carolina offensive coordinator John Shoop explained in a story on TheAthletic.com earlier this summer that Gattis made an immediate impact on former five-star wideout Dwight Jones. In his first two seasons, Jones made a total of five catches for 21 yards. In Gattis' lone year on staff, he led the team with 62 receptions for 946 yards and four touchdowns, before becoming a second- team All-ACC pick after leading the conference with 12 receiving touchdowns and 85 receptions in 2011. "He was a highly recruited player and had underachieved till we got Josh," Shoop said. "Then he set school receiving records. A lot of it had to do with Josh, not just in terms of technique but being a man. If you're a player going to play for Josh, you're not going to underachieve." Here's a closer look at the impact Gattis has made at his full-time coaching stops since then and the production of his top wideouts: 40 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Jordan White PHOTO COURTESY WMU ATHLETICS Jordan Matthews PHOTO COURTESY VANDERBILT ATHLETICS