Football Positional Preview: Wide Receivers

8/17/2024 10:51:00 AM | Football

NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware football team is well into training camp as the Blue Hens prepare for the upcoming 2024 campaign. With the August 29 season opener less than two weeks away, BlueHens.com will continue taking an in-depth look at each of the team's position groups, with this edition featuring the wide receivers.

Delaware brings back a pair of key pieces from last year's receiving corps in JoJo Bermudez and Phil Lutz. In 10 games, Bermudez caught 25 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown. He was also an explosive kick returner on special teams, averaging 27.7 yards on 14 returns which ranks third in program history for a single season. Lutz had 14 receptions for 208 yards and a touchdown in his first season with the Blue & Gold, leading the team with 14.9 yards per catch.

The Blue Hens have brought in a trio of transfers that will look to make an immediate impact on the offense. Nicholas Laboy joins the program after leading Cornell with 58 catches for 705 yards in 2023, earning All-Ivy Second Team honors. He started all 20 games for the Big Red over the last two seasons as he totaled 83 catches for 1,074 yards and four touchdowns. Max Patterson will begin his UD career after appearing in 25 games at Rutgers over the past three seasons where he had three receptions while playing mostly on special teams. Jake Thaw joins the Blue Hens after winning a national championship with Michigan in 2023. He appeared in all 15 games for the Wolverines during their championship run, returning 17 total kicks for 117 yards.

"All three of them are doing a really nice job," said wide receivers coach Terence Archer. "They all have different levels of experience coming in, but we've been happy with all three. All three will be on the field for us against Bryant and I'm looking forward to seeing how they fit into the offense once we start playing games."

The Blue Hens have several receivers who are returning and looking to expand their role in the offense. Jalyn Witcher, an All-American as a freshman in 2021 at Presbyterian, has appeared in 11 games over the past two seasons at UD with five catches. Ja'Carree Kelly has had an impressive camp after getting into four games in his first season. Daniel Parisi, Donovan Lewis and Isaiah Cherry will all seek to see their first game action for the Blue & Gold. Additionally, Declan O'Brien enters his first year in the program after catching 182 passes for 2,539 yards in 30 games at Division III Allegheny College.

"It's the deepest room that we've had since I've been here," Archer said. "We are going to have seven, eight guys that can play a lot for us so there will probably be a decent amount of rotating, especially early in the season so we can see what some of these guys can do in game situations. I am excited about the depth, we've got guys that can play in the slot, play outside."

Freshmen Luke Brown, Matt McKinley, Nick Tyree and Sean Wilson have had impressive camps and are battling for playing time in their first seasons of collegiate football.

"They have all done a really good job, I've been impressed with all of them," said Archer. "Athletically, maturity-wise and learning the offense, they've really done a good job. I'm excited about all of them, I think they will have a great career here and can be on the field sooner rather than later."

The Blue Hens will open the 2024 season on Thursday, August 29 against Bryant at Delaware Stadium. Tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now with fans able to purchase season tickets, partial plan packages and single game tickets for all seven of Delaware's home games.

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