Each college football campaign, we are blessed to witness the gravity-defying catch-point feats and after-the-catch conjuration of the nation’s top young pass catchers. Who are the top impact true freshmen wide receivers to watch out for in the 2023 college football season?
College Football Top Impact True Freshmen Wide Receivers for 2023
Zachariah Branch, USC
Landing with the USC Trojans has to be a first-year wide receiver’s dream. Although there are several talented pass catchers on the roster, targets are well distributed in Lincoln Riley’s offense, giving ample opportunity to see the field. Furthermore, who doesn’t want to catch passes from reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams?
Not only is Zachariah Branch the top-ranked WR and a top-10 overall prospect, but he’s also in a great place to be one of the immediate impact true freshmen wide receivers. Branch’s ability to use his elite speed, elusiveness, and rock-solid ball skills to make yardage for fun should make him productive early on. Branch also adds experience and excellence on special teams.
Jaden Greathouse, Notre Dame
Notre Dame might not seem like the optimal landing spot for the top impact true freshmen wide receivers in the 2023 recruiting cycle, but this isn’t the ground-reliant Fighting Irish that we’ve seen in recent seasons. While offensive coordinator comings and goings have made the offseason tumultuous, landing Sam Hartman from the portal gives Notre Dame a true passing QB.
MORE: College Football Impact True Freshmen Quarterbacks
Jaden Greathouse isn’t the top-rated WR recruit in this class. With a 94.139 CFN Fusion grade, he isn’t even the highest-ranked Notre Dame WR signee. Nevertheless, Greathouse’s combination of size, quickness, route-running prowess, and production at the highest level of Texas state high school football makes him a college-ready pass catcher who can be a go-to guy for Hartman.
Brandon Inniss, Ohio State
The Brian Hartline WR factory in Columbus, Ohio, continues to churn out elite college football wide receivers that become top-tier NFL draft talent. Therefore, it’s no surprise that Ohio State snagged three of the top 10 wide receivers in the 2023 recruiting class. They all have the potential to be impact true freshmen WRs, but Brandon Inniss stands out from the rest.
The presence of Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Julian Fleming makes breaking the starting lineup difficult. However, Inniss’ well-developed route-running savvy, explosive releases, solid hands, and overall physicality for a young pass catcher could see him force his way into early playing time at the slot position for the Buckeyes.
Chris Culliver, North Carolina
Drake Maye is one of the early frontrunners for the 2023 Heisman Trophy, making North Carolina an alluring spot for any young receiver coming out of high school. Chris Culliver isn’t just any old WR recruit, either. Hot off a season of 1,809 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns, the Maiden, North Carolina native is one of the top impact true freshmen wide receivers for 2023.
Culliver can line up anywhere across the formation, a major plus for a WR room that is lacking depth right now. Meanwhile, he’s an explosive and elusive pass catcher in the same mold as outgoing Josh Downs but in a much bigger body. At 6’3″ and 174 pounds, he has excellent size combined with good ball tracking and awareness to be a go-to deep threat.
Jaquaize Pettaway, Oklahoma
Oklahoma added Andrel Anthony from the transfer portal, and despite losing leading wide receiver Marvin Mims to the NFL draft, the Sooners have a solid pool of pass-catching talent on their roster. Despite this, it would be foolish to rule out Jaquaize Pettaway from being one of the most impactful true freshmen WRs in the nation this coming season.
While not the most physically imposing pass catcher at 5’11” and 170 pounds, Pettaway won’t get into too many catch-point tussles with his game-breaking speed and separation creation capacity. The Houston native can take the top off a defense with ease, making him a deep-third weapon for Dillon Gabriel (or Jackson Arnold). Pettaway also adds value as a returner.
Ayden Williams, Ole Miss
Although he didn’t figure in the top 100 for three of the four major recruiting sites, Ayden Williams finished the 2023 recruiting cycle as the 80th overall player, according to the CFN Fusion recruiting rankings. The Ole Miss commit has a landing spot and talent combination that should ensure that he outplays his recruiting perception as one of the top impact true freshmen wide receivers.
A multi-sport star who ran track and played basketball, Williams’ hooping experience shows in his ability to box out defenders and use his natural size advantage in jump-ball situations. The 6’3″, 195-pound WR is physical after the catch, too, while boasting deceptive speed for his size. He could be Jaxson Dart’s best friend as a legitimate Jonathan Mingo replacement.
Nate Branch, East Carolina
Just five of the top 100 wide receivers in the 2023 recruiting class landed at programs not competing at the Power Five level. Of those five, two of them are headed to East Carolina to play for the Pirates.
With both C.J. Johnson and Isaiah Winstead leaving the program, ECU has to replace over 2,000 yards of production in their offense, giving a great opportunity for any incoming pass catcher.
While Malik Leverett is the higher-ranked of the two, my money is on Nate Branch to emerge as one of college football’s most impactful true freshmen wide receivers this fall. The 5’10”, 172-pound WR possesses surprising catch-point prowess for his size, with the awareness and body control to be a threat anywhere on the field. He’s also an elite returner, adding to his impact potential in Year 1.
Jonah Wilson, Houston
Jonah Wilson literally flipped schools in order to make this list. Ok, this list probably wasn’t at the forefront of his decision-making process. Nevertheless, the heavily recruited Houston native has stated that his decision to sign with the Cougars instead of Texas was motivated by an early opportunity for playing time.
While Joseph Manjack IV and Matthew Golden have shown pass-catching promise, Houston will need to find their “Tank” Dell replacement — in terms of leading the team in production — and Wilson has the potential to be that guy. He’s less twitchy and elusive than Dell, but at 6’2″ and 200 pounds, with excellent straight-line speed, he can bully at the catch point while adding returner value.
Jurrion Dickey, Oregon
Oregon turned to the transfer portal to surround the returning Bo Nix with talented pass catchers, but the playmaker with genuine immediate impact potential might come in the form of Jurrion Dickey — one of the jewels in the crown of an impressive recruiting class. With a CFN Fusion grade of 99.024, the Californian is the 23rd overall prospect in the 2023 CFN recruiting rankings.
MORE: Rodrick Pleasant Commits to Oregon Ducks on National Signing Day
At 6’2″, 206 pounds, and boasting 33-inch arms, Dickey is a built-in-a-lab pass-catching prospect who looked like a college player while playing at the high school level. The new Oregon receiver can beat a defense in a number of ways — using speed and explosiveness to separate and stretch the field or simply out-muscling and out-maneuvering at the catch point.
Jahlil McClain, Louisville
With record-setting QB Malik Cunningham turning pro, there’s a lot of uncertainty at the quarterback position for a Louisville program that starts a new era under former Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm. While Jack Plummer arrives via the transfer portal, there’s a good chance that well-regarded 2023 QB recruit Pierce Clarkson could force himself into a starting role.
If he does, expect his former high school teammate Jahlil McClain to establish himself as an impact true freshman wide receiver for 2023. Brohm has already raved about McClain’s ability to play from the slot, praising his route-running prowess and understanding of the game. A two-way player for St. John Bosco, McClain is also an explosive athlete.
Who Is the Top Impact Freshman WR in 2023?
USC signee Branch is the top-rated wide receiver in the 2023 recruiting class. We’ve seen with previous classes that it isn’t always the highest-ranked players who turn into the top impact true freshman wide receivers in the nation during their debut season.
However, Branch’s landing spot and skill set gives him an incredible opportunity to set the CFB world alight in the 2023 campaign. USC should once again have a free-scoring offense that allows QB Williams to pick and choose from multiple targets — including Branch.
