UAB 2023 position preview: Wide receivers

Published Jul. 10, 2023, 7:30 a.m. By Evan Dudley Gone are the days of a boom or bust mentality in the passing game for the UAB football team and a new staff is heralding a new era for the offense. The Blazers return 10 total starters -- five on offense and four on defense -- and are expected to evolve their passing game into a new age with a think-tank of offensive minds on staff. Trea Shropshire, UAB’s leading receiver the last two seasons, Trea Shropshire, graduated and departed the program, along with UNA grad transfer Dexter Boykin and a group of walk-on entrants into the portal, and Ryan Davis chose to follow quarterback Dylan Hopkins and former UAB offensive coordinator and interim head coach Bryant Vincent to New Mexico. Departed: Trea Shropshire, Dexter Boykin, Ryan Davis (New Mexico) Returning starter(s): Tejhaun Palmer, Sr* -- Samario Rudolph, Sr* Other returning players: Iverson Hooks, Fr* -- Fred Farrier II, So* -- T.J Jones, Sr* -- Tyler Trawick, So* -- Jalen McCants, Fr* -- Aron Marsch, Fr* -- Teddy Davenport, So* -- Connor Harby, So* Spring/Summer arrivals: Dazalin Worsham, Jr -- Malachi Holt-Bennett, Jr -- BJ Hawkins, Jr -- Brandon Buckhaulter, So* -- Ryan Peppins, Fr* -- Amare Thomas, Fr -- Corri Milliner, Fr -- Kameran Shanks, Fr -- Calvin Parker, Fr -- Kolby Seymour, Fr -- Dylan Wroblewski, Fr 2023 position preview: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | OLB | LB | CB | S | ST Outlook: There is no shortage of playmakers for UAB with more than 42 percent of its receiving production returning and an infusion of talent on the outside. The Blazers have four receivers that amassed at least 100 yards last season and brought in a slew of prep signees and five transfers to build an immense amount of depth at the position. Tejhaun Palmer is the leading returning receiver for the Blazers, amassing 30 receptions for 479 yards and two scores, and is the top outside target entering the 2023 season. Opposite of Palmer, T.J. Jones returns after posting 231 yards and a score on 29 receptions and can stretch the field both vertically and horizontally. Meanwhile, Samario Rudolph has been a mainstay in the slot position since working his way into the rotation at the tail-end of the 2020 season and had 14 catches for 262 yards and two touchdowns last year. Fred Farrier II worked in the slot in 2022 and produced 11 receptions for 123 yards and a score. Iverson Hooks, who entered and removed his name from the transfer portal, appeared in one game and caught a pass for 13 yards. Redshirt sophomores Teddy Davenport, Connor Harby and Tyler Trawick, and redshirt freshmen Jalen McCants and Aron Marsch, have all been with the program for at least two years but have yet to see the field. UAB brought in four total players from the transfer portal and another from the JUCO ranks to create instant depth for a position that will see more attention in the offense. Former Birmingham area products Dazalin Worsham (Miami/Auburn) and Malachi Holt-Bennett (Indiana) are the obvious headliners, enrolling in the spring with Navarro Community College (Texas) transfer BJ Hawkins, and former Alabama Mr. Football Ryan Peppins (Utah/Grambling State) and Brandon Buckhaulter (Ole Miss) arrived this summer. Trent Dilfer and his staff signed a slew of receivers in the offseason and added a few more walk-ons this summer. Alabama products Amare Thomas (Pinson Valley), Corri Milliner (Benjamin Russell) and Kameran Shanks (Prattville) were official members of the 2023 class and Moody receiver Kolby Seymour and Prattville’s Calvin Parker joined the program as preferred walk-ons. Dylan Wroblewski, a member of Dilfer’s final Lipscomb Academy (Tenn.) team, was also added in the offseason. Battle to WATCH: Palmer and Rudolph, along with Farrier and Jones, are the most experienced receivers on the roster but portal transfers Dazalin Worsham, Malachi Holt-Bennett, BJ Hawkins and Brandon Buckhaulter will be vying for their fair share of targets in an offense expected to increase its passing acumen. Worsham and Holt-Bennett are Birmingham natives with FBS-level experience and should push the returning receivers for opportunities. Keep an Eye on: Thomas. The Pinson Valley product enrolled early and has a leg up on his fellow freshmen that arrived in the summer. Although only 5-foot-11, Thomas has room to grow into his already ample 200-pound frame and the tools to develop into a physical receiver. Projected depth chart: (X) Tejhaun Palmer, Sr* Malachi Holt-Bennett, Jr BJ Hawkins, Jr (A) Samario Rudolph, Sr* Fred Farrier II, So* Iverson Hooks, Fr* (Z) T.J. Jones, Sr* Dazalin Worsham, Jr Brandon Buckhaulter, So*