How Good is USC Receiver Robert Woods?

Written by Shotgun Spratling | 03 October 2011

(Photos by Shotgun Spratling)

Robert Woods has been phenomenal this season. But just how good has USC's super sophomore been?

Besides leading the nation in receiving by 79 yards more than Western Michigan's Jordan White, Woods' 55 receptions is tied with White for the most in the nation. Woods is averaging 11 catches and 149.4 yards receiving per game while hauling in six touchdowns -- one behind the nation leaders.

Woods is averaging 203 total yards per game and has been targeted 73 times (almost 15 times per game). He is currently on pace to break the NCAA record for yards by a sophomore set by Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon last season, even without the possibility of a 13th (conference championship) or 14th game (bowl game).

Teams have started to shift coverages toward Woods, opening things up for freshmen Marquis Lee, on the opposite side, and Xavier Grimble, in the middle. However, Lane Kiffin continues to move Woods around and find creative ways to get him the ball in space, as was evidenced in Saturday's 14-catch, 255-yard performance against Arizona.

The synergy that Woods and quarterback Matt Barkley have is apparent on the field and in the numbers as well.

After Neon Tommy's USC football beat writer Scott Enyeart asked me to tally up how many times both Robert Woods and Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles have been targeted this season, I decided to look at Woods in comparison to Broyles, White, Blackmon and Notre Dame's Michael Floyd. 

In my opinion, Woods, Broyles, Blackmon and Floyd are currently four of the top five receivers in college football. The fifth in that group would be South Carolina's Alshon Jeffrey, but he hasn't put up big numbers this season, in part due to Stephen Garcia's terrible inconsistency.

Here's the data:

Robert Woods (USC)

Reception % - 75.34
Yards per Target - 10.23

Woods was only five yards shy of breaking USC's single game receiving record Saturday. He has proven he can do it all. He has blown by defenders on the outside, caught balls in traffic over the middle and showed his moves in space on quick passes into the flats (including a 82-yard touchdown against Arizona on a quick flick to a motioning Woods).

Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma)

Reception % - 82.61
Yards per Target - 10.35

After leading the nation in receptions last season, Broyles could have left early for the NFL Draft. Instead, he decided to come back and has received plenty of attention early this season. He had a down game against a solid Florida State secondary, but he bounced back the next week against Missouri. Broyles is currently 13 catches shy of Taylor Stubblefield's (Purdue) NCAA record for career receptions. 

Michael Floyd (Notre Dame)

Reception % - 77.05
Yards per Target - 9.20

Floyd didn't know if he was going to get to play this season after his third alcohol-related offense while at Notre Dame. But after being cleared to play, he came out of the gates with a renewed vigor, leading the nation in receptions after the second week of the season. However, he had an average game (for this group) against Michigan State and was shut down by Pittsburgh, catching three passes on Notre Dame's first four plays and then making only one catch the rest of the game. He had a solid game against a bad Purdue team last week. It will be interesting to see how he plays against Air Force.

Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)

Reception % - 79.17
Yards per Target - 9.38

From coach Mike Gundy: "Blackmon is smart. He's got savvy. He's got great hands. He's got great body control. He has deceptive speed. He's improving his route-running abilities. He can finish -- in my opinion, and I've seen 'em all -- the best ever that's come through here." (And that includes budding NFL star Dez Bryant.)

Blackmon hasn't had a great start to the season, by his normal standards. Tulsa held him below 100 yards receiving, ending his NCAA record 14-game, 100+ yard streak. Blackmon shouldalso have had another touchdown against Texas A&M, but he inexplicably fumbled the ball out of the end zone with no one around him.

Jordan White (Western Michigan)

Reception % - 73.33
Yards per Target - 8.91

The NCAA doesn't officially count White's 12 catches and 119 yards against Michigan since the game was called, due to inclement weather, before the end of the third quarter. Nevertheless, the sixth-year senior has played his best against the stiffest competion, including his 13 catches, 177 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout of rival Central Michigan, who Western Michigan hadn't beaten in White's first five years. White is the best receiver in the Mid-American Conference since Freddie Barnes set the NCAA record with 155 catches in 2009.

Speaking of Barnes, I decided to take a look at what he did at Bowling Green in 2009 and what Broyles did last season for Oklahoma when both led the nation in receptions. Woods, in contrast, is on pace to finish with one more reception than Broyles 131 last season.

Freddie Barnes (2009) - 231 targets, 155 receptions, 1770 yards, 19 touchdowns
Reception % - 67.10
Yards per Target - 7.66

Ryan Broyles (2010) - 183 targets, 131 receptions, 1622 yards, 14 touchdowns
Reception % - 71.58
Yards per Target - 8.86 

Robert Woods (projected 2011) - 175.2 targets, 132 receptions, 1792.8 yards, 14.4 touchdowns
Reception % - 75.34
Yards per Target - 10.23 

It should be noted that Barnes' reception percentage and yards per target increased during conference play while Broyles' numbers declined in each category. That could potentially be looked at as the Sooners playing tougher competition in the Big XII rather than their non-conference games while the MAC competition Bowling Green faced being easier than its non-conference schedule of Troy, Missouri, Marshall, Boise State and playing Idaho in a bowl game.

If we take that to be the case, it could be expected that Woods' numbers should decline in conference play. However, with three of USC's games thus far having been Pac-12 games, we can see that he has actually performed better against conference foes:

Woods' Non-Conf - 35 targets, 25 receptions, 259 yards, 4 touchdowns
Reception % - 71.43
Yards per Target - 7.4

Woods' Pac-12 - 38 targets, 30 receptions, 488 yards, 2 touchdowns
Reception % - 78.95
Yards per Target - 12.84

Shotgun Spratling