West Spotlight: Superlatives for the region’s top WRs
The West Zone is brimming with a wide array of talent in the next few recruitment drives. Rivals.com National Recruiting Director adam gurney Provides superlatives for various status-related categories.
This series: Superlatives for top achievers in the Mid-South Southeast | middle West
More From the West: Mid-Summer Report Card: Grading Pac-12 Recruiting
Pac-12 Team Rankings: 2024 | 2025
,
Transfer Portal: latest news | Transfer Portal Player Rankings | Transfer Portal Team Ranking | Transfer Tracker | message board , Team Ranking FAQ
Class of 2023 Ranking: Rival250 | team | Status | State
Class of 2024 Ranking: Rival250 | team | Status | State
Class of 2025 Ranking: Rival250 | team | Status | State
,
Best Hand: Xavier Jordan
The new Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon receiver isn’t the fastest or the biggest but it grabs everything that comes its way. Everything. At OT7 Phoenix and other events this offseason, Jordan has been phenomenal, coming out consistently and No. Overall 101 at the national level which still may not be enough.
usc Commit has speed — he’s certainly not slow — but even in contested situations where the cornerback stays with him through his route, all the quarterback has to do is throw the ball into Jordan’s catch radius and the four-star is coming down with the ball.
There’s no doubt that Jordan is focused on being the best receiver in California by the time the 2024 season ends.
,
Best Shape: Kwazi Gilmour
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, on paper Gilmour doesn’t seem like the best-sized receiver in the West. But he’s big, he’s thick and he can dodge defensive backs trying to compete for him on balls down the field.
What makes Chatsworth Sierra Canyon most special is that he doesn’t sacrifice fluid movement or decent speed as an outside receiver because of his size and mass. Having transferred from Chaminade, West Hills (Calif.), Gilmour and Jordan should form a dynamic — and unstoppable — duo heading into their senior season.
UCLA here is the edge, with Stanford right there with oklahoma, Michigan StateWashington and Era Making it into my top six.
,
Best Speed: Gatlin Bear
Beyer beat 2023 five-star Nicholls Harbor in this offseason race, and Harbor received the five-star ranking partly because of his incredible track times. Barr, a high four-star from Burley, Idaho, beat California’s fastest man, Roderick Pleasant, also a 2023 four-star who signed with Oregon.
What’s most surprising about Bear is that, despite his stellar track performance, the four-star plans to stop participating in sports when he goes to college and focus entirely on becoming the best receiver he can be – which is already a pretty cool one.
Last season, Bear finished with 73 receptions for 1,073 yards and 18 touchdowns. Sure, it was against the Idaho contest, but everyone knew the ball was coming toward him and no one could stop it — or catch it.
nebraskamichigan, tcuBoise State and Oregon are in his top five, and despite more high-profile offers coming in recently, Baer is focusing on those five, potentially giving the Wolverines an edge.
,
Best Route Running: Jordan Anderson
It’s a cliché, but Anderson takes advantage of everything the defense has to offer at all times, maintains composure and consistently wins against almost any cornerback.
The Newport Harbor standout from Newport Beach (Calif.) loves to go deep and make really tough catches look easy because he has the speed, concentration and ability to spread down the field. If the cornerback is providing too much padding, Anderson is happy to take a short pass and shake the chain.
Whenever Anderson is on the field, the Oregon commit — who has shown no signs of seeing other programs — has the potential to grow into something big and at least become a productive and consistent getter.
