FootballScoop is proud to announce that Kasey Dunn is the 2017 FootballScoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
The Oklahoma State passing attack was one of the single best units in college football in 2017. So prolific were the Cowboys that their wide receiving corps boasted two 1,000-yard receivers, four 500-yard receivers and six pass catchers right around the 250-yard mark or above.
Leading the group was All-American James Washington. The winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wideout, Washington caught 69 balls for a national-best 1,423 yards with 12 touchdowns. Washington was the nation's best, most prolific big play threat; his 20.62 yards per reception average led the nation for all players with at least 40 receptions. In fact, of the 10 players to finish with a yards per catch average of greater than Washington's 20.62-yard average, none of them caught more than 35 passes.
Of Oklahoma State's 12 regular season games, Washington posted at least 100 yards with a touchdown in seven of them. He opened the year with 145 yards and two touchdowns in a 59-24 blowout of Tulsa, caught six balls for 235 yards and a touchdown in a 59-16 blitzing of Baylor, nabbed seven passes for 128 yards and a touchdown before leaving early in a 62-52 loss to Oklahoma, and snared eight passes for 159 yards and two scores against Kansas State.
Washington is one of just three players in Big 12 history to post three 1,000-yard seasons, joining fellow Cowboy Rashaun Woods and former Sooner Ryan Broyles. He needs 69 yards in Oklahoma State's Camping World Bowl appearance against Virginia Tech to break Woods's all-time school record, and 241 yards to break Broyles's Big 12 record.
But Oklahoma State's wide receiving group was far more than just Washington. Marcell Ateman caught 54 passes for 1,049 yards with eight touchdowns on the year, making Oklahoma State one of two teams nationally to boast two 1,000-yard wideouts. Ateman registered six 100-yard games and three multi-touchdown games. He hauled in six passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma, and then came up big in the Cowboys' biggest win of the season, a 4-catch, 97-yard, 2-touchdown effort in a 49-42 triumph at Iowa State.
In addition to Oklahoma State's one-two punch, the Cowboys also possessed depth matched by few in the sport. Jalen McCleskey caught 49 passes for 633 yards and five scores, Dillon Stoner hauled in 40 balls for 541 yards and five touchdowns, Tyron Johnson grabbed 16 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns, Chris Lacy snared 19 passes for 249 yards, Tylan Wallace caught seven passes for 118 yards and Tyrell Alexander added two grabs for 68 yards.
As a team, Oklahoma State led the nation with 392.3 passing yards per game and ranked third at 10.0 yards per attempt. The Cowboys led the nation with 178 completions of 10-plus yards, 42 completions of 30-plus yards and 10 completions of 60-plus yards. The Pokes finished second in FBS at 575.7 yards per game, ranked fifth with 7.32 yards per play and placed third with 46.3 points per game.
Dunn has been on Mike Gundy's staff since 2011 and has produced at least one 1,000-yard receiver in five of his seven seasons as a Cowboy. An Idaho graduate, Dunn played in the CFL and NFL before beginning his career as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater. His first full-time job came as wide receivers and tight ends coach at San Diego and has since made stops at Idaho, New Mexico, Washington State, TCU, Arizona, Baylor, the Seattle Seahawks and Southern Miss before his arrival in Stillwater.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Tyron Carrier [West Virginia], Cale Gundy and Dennis Simmons [Oklahoma], Kim McCloud [Syracuse], Justin Stepp [SMU] and Dunn) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Dunn will receive his award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.
Previous winners of the Wide Receivers Coach of the Year award are Bobby Kennedy (Texas, 2008), Zach Azzanni (Central Michigan, 2009), Brent Pease (Boise State, 2010), Ted Gilmore (USC, 2011), Matt Lubick (Duke, 2012), Lawrence Dawsey (Florida State, 2013), Rusty Burns/Doug Meacham (TCU, 2014), Tate Wallis (Baylor, 2015) and Todd Fitch/Joe Sloan (Louisiana Tech, 2016).
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