FootballScoop is proud to announce that Cortez Hankton (LSU) is the 2023 FootballScoop Wide Receivers Coach of the Year, presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
LSU's passing attack was, bar none, the best in college football this fall. The Tigers finished fourth in the nation in yards but 82nd in attempts, setting a new standard at 11.0 yards per attempt and a 196.51 efficiency rating. It started with Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, but it didn't end there.
Malik Nabers led the nation at 128.8 yards per game -- the most by an FBS player over the past two seasons. In total, he hauled in 86 receptions for 1,546 yards and 14 touchdowns, placing him 12th in the nation in catches, first in yards, and tied for third in touchdown catches.
The volume of numbers Nabers put up was impressive on its own right, but the most eye-popping aspect of his game was the damage he inflicted with each opportunity. Nabers averaged 17.98 yards per reception. Twelve other players caught at least 85 passes; none averaged more than 17 per catch.
In fact, the next-closest player in terms of total receptions to match Nabers's 17.98 average was his teammate, Brian Thomas, Jr., who totaled 1,079 yards on just 60 catches. Thomas surpassed Nabers's touchdown output, tying for the national lead at 15 scoring grabs.
LSU was one of three teams nationally to boast two 1,000-yard receivers, but the only team to have two players hit the 1,000-yard mark and the 14-touchdown milestone.
And while Nabers and Thomas were undoubtedly college football's biggest high-target, high-damage pass-catchers, they did not even lead LSU's receiving corps in yards per catch. Kyren Lacy led LSU in yards per catch, turning 24 grabs into 463 yards and seven touchdowns -- good for 19.29 yards per catch.
Needless to say, LSU was the only team in the nation to boast three receivers averaging at least 17.98 yards per catch.
A Biletnikoff Award finalist and one of 14 players nationally to earn Unanimous All-American status, Nabers topped the 100-yard mark in nine of his final 10 games. The lone "down" performance still saw him catch six balls for 89 yards and a touchdown in a 48-18 win over Auburn. He snared 13 passes for 239 yards and two scores in a blowout of Mississippi State; hauled in eight passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in a defeat of Arkansas; caught 10 balls for 171 yards and a score against Alabama; and collected six passes for 122 yards and a pair of scores in the regular season finale victory over Texas A&M.
For his part, Thomas led the way against one of the best secondaries in the nation, catching seven passes for 142 yards and a touchdown against Florida State. The Second Team All-SEC honoree posted eight grabs for 133 yards and three touchdowns in a shootout loss to Ole Miss; turned three receptions into 122 yards and two touchdowns in a walk over Army; and registered six grabs for 150 yards and two scores in a win over Florida.
Lacy led LSU's receiving efforts against Auburn, catching four passes for 111 yards and a score, and grabbed five passes for 101 yards and two scores against Georgia State.
A Texas Southern graduate, Hankton played six seasons in the NFL and nine seasons of professional football overall. He entered coaching at Dartmouth in 2012 and coached wideouts at Vanderbilt and Georgia before returning to his native Louisiana as an original member of Brian Kelly's staff in 2022.
Hankton is also LSU's passing game coordinator.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by AstroTurf are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Junior Adams [Oregon], Mike Shanahan [James Madison], JaMarcus Shephard [Washington], Craig Stutzmann [Texas State] and Hankton) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
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), Todd Fitch/Joe Sloan (Louisiana Tech, 2016), Kasey Dunn (Oklahoma State, 2017), Tyron Carrier (West Virginia, 2018), Jeff Scott (Clemson, 2019), Holmon Wiggins (Alabama, 2020), Brian Hartline (Ohio State, 2021), and JaMarcus Shephard (Washington, 2022).
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