BYU has offered these 10 transfer portal wide receivers. How many can the team land?
One of BYU’s biggest needs to address through the NCAA transfer portal this offseason was adding depth and experience at the wide receiver position.
That need became even more pronounced Sunday, with the unexpected news that one of the Cougars’ top returners at the position, Kody Epps, entered the transfer portal right before the latest transfer window closed.
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The Cougars got some much-needed help on Tuesday, when Eastern Michigan’s Darius Lassiter committed to the program.
This time if I do it right, I’m lit for life!!! #gocougs🤙🏾 pic.twitter.com/nptCzTnIr2
— DL (@darius_lassiter) May 2, 2023
Even with Lassiter headed to Provo, though, BYU’s coaching staff has been busily working on finding more receivers to fill out the depth at the position, as evidenced by a slew of transfer receivers announcing that BYU has offered them scholarships. That includes six since Monday.
Here’s a look at the transfer wide receivers who have reported in the past two weeks they hold a scholarship offer from BYU and what their options are.
Darius Lassiter, Eastern Michigan (Committed to BYU)
Height: 6-foot-3.
Weight: 200 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years.
Other teams who offered Lassiter: Colorado, Washington State, Pittsburgh, Boston College, UNLV, UConn, Tulsa, Middle Tennessee, East Carolina, James Madison, Texas State, Toledo — per his Twitter profile.
Where he played in college prior to BYU: Played three seasons at Butler Community College prior to one season at Eastern Michigan.
Of note:
On Monday morning, Lassiter shared that he visited BYU over the weekend. Just over 24 hours later, he announced his commitment.
BYU visit this past weekend !! #GoCougs🤙🏾 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/v88kwzmOHF
— DL (@darius_lassiter) May 1, 2023
In his lone season with Eastern Michigan, Lassiter had 40 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns. In the Eagles’ bowl win over San Jose State, he had a season-high six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
On3 rates Lassiter as the No. 11 best available wide receiver in the transfer portal, as of May 2.
Prior to his one season at Eastern Michigan, Lassiter was a junior college teammate with offensive tackle Caleb Etienne at Butler Community College. Etienne signed with BYU as a transfer from Oklahoma State last month.
His late father, Kwamie Lassiter, played 10 seasons at safety in the NFL. His brother, Kwamie Lassiter II, is currently a second-year wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals after going undrafted in 2022 out of Kansas.
Chase Sowell, Colorado
Height: 6-foot-3.
Weight: 185 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 4 years.
His offers: BYU, UConn, North Texas, Charlotte, East Carolina, Kent State, Texas State, Incarnate Word, Northwestern State, Prairie View A&M, Delaware — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played one season at Colorado.
Of note:
Sowell had two receptions for 23 yards in Colorado’s season opener last year vs. TCU, his only catches of the year as a true freshman.
He was a part of the mass exodus of players transferring out of Colorado and is one of six Buffaloes wide receivers in the transfer portal.
Sowell was rated a three-star prospect out of Texas in the 2022 class, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings.
Montana Lemonious-Craig, Colorado
Height: 6-foot-2.
Weight: 185 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years.
His offers: BYU, Auburn, Arkansas, Penn State, Oregon State, West Virginia, California, Mississippi State, UCF, Cincinnati, Arizona, Washington State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Tulane, Liberty, South Florida, UConn, Southern Utah, Prairie View A&M, Tennessee State — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played three seasons at Colorado.
Of note:
Lemonious-Craig, who was rated a three-star prospect coming out of high school in California, already made a visit to Auburn last weekend, according to Rivals’ Caleb Jones.
He is one of the most highly sought-after recruits currently in the transfer portal — Lemonious-Craig has a dozen offers from Power Five programs and is rated the No. 4 best available wide receiver in the transfer portal by 247 Sports and No. 14 by On3, as of May 2.
Lemonious-Craig is coming off his best season in college, catching a team-high 23 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns in 2022, including the game-winning TD in Colorado’s lone win over California. He finished his time in Colorado with 34 receptions for 497 yards and five touchdowns over three seasons.
He entered the transfer portal — he’s one of six Colorado receivers who entered the portal — after starring in the Buffaloes’ spring game. Lemonious-Craig had 154 receiving yards in the game, including a 98-yard touchdown.
Jyaire Shorter, North Texas
Height: 6-foot-2.
Weight: 218 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 1 year (graduate transfer).
His offers: BYU, UCF, Purdue — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played five seasons at North Texas.
Of note:
Shorter is coming off his best season in college, catching 23 passes for 628 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He averaged 27.3 yards per reception, which would have led the nation if he qualified — he fell short of the requirement of averaging 2.0 receptions per game (1.91).
Shorter was one of just 18 players nationally with double-digit touchdown receptions in 2022, and tied for No. 7 in the country.
Over his five seasons at North Texas, Shorter finished with 58 receptions for 1,320 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Jahdae Walker, Grand Valley State
Height: 6-foot-4.
Weight: 185 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years.
His offers: BYU, Michigan State, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh, Colorado, Texas A&M, UConn, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo, Ball State, Miami (Ohio), Kent State, Western Kentucky, McNeese State — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played two seasons at Grand Valley State.
Of note:
Walker’s recruiting has heated up in recent days, with eight offers from Power Five programs, including BYU, since April 29.
He caught 30 passes for a team-high 623 yards and team-high tying four touchdowns during the 2022 season, averaging 56.6 receiving yards per game.
Walker helped Grand Valley State, which competes at the Division II level, go undefeated during the regular season and reach No. 1 in the D-II polls before losing in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Walker was named to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, or GLIAC, all-conference first team.
Javon Antonio, Northwestern State
Height: 6-foot-4.
Weight: 220 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 1 year (graduate transfer).
His offers: BYU, Colorado, Boston College, Washington State, Georgia Tech, UConn, Ball State, Louisiana Tech, Grambling State — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played three seasons at Northwestern State after two years at Hinds Community College.
Of note:
Since announcing he was entering the transfer portal on April 10, Antonio has received offers from five Power Five schools, including BYU.
He made the second-team All-Southland Conference team last season, a year when he caught 64 passes for 684 yards and a team-high six touchdowns.
During his three seasons at Northwestern State, which included a redshirt season in 2021, Antonio caught 95 passes for 1,205 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Chance Morrow, Louisville
Height: 6-foot-6.
Weight: 200 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 4 years.
His offers: BYU, Charlotte, Buffalo, East Tennessee State, Texas A&M Commerce, Alabama A&M, North Carolina A&T, Rhode Island — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: One season at Louisville.
Of note:
Morrow did not play in his true freshman season at Louisville after signing as a part of the ACC program’s 2022 recruiting class.
He was a three-star prospect last year, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings, and held offers from Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech and Old Dominion coming out of high school.
Morrow hails from Charlotte, North Carolina, and was a dual-sport athlete in high school, where he also played basketball.
EJ Horton, Marshall
Height: 6-foot.
Weight: 180 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 2 years.
His offers: BYU, Mississippi State, Colorado, California, Liberty, Texas State, Ball State, Bowling Green, Jacksonville State, Rhode Island, Robert Morris, Hampton, Texas A&M Commerce — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played three seasons at Marshall.
Of note:
Horton played in 19 games over the past three years, and during that time, he caught 16 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
His best season at Marshall was last year, when the two-star prospect had 12 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown, with two carries for 15 yards.
Horton also competed in track and field at Marshall in the sprints.
Keelan Marion, UConn
Height: 6-foot.
Weight: 200 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 3 years.
His offers: BYU, UNLV, Liberty, UAB, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Western Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, James Madison, Samford, Arkansas-Pine Bluff — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played two seasons at UConn.
Of note:
Marion started all 12 games for the Huskies in 2021 and led the team with 474 receiving yards on 28 catches, while adding five touchdown receptions.
He broke his collarbone on a touchdown catch in the 2022 season opener against Utah State. Marion ended up returning and playing in five games last year, recording four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
He was also a part of the return game as a freshman, returning 10 punts for an average of 12.4 yards while also returning a kickoff 16 yards during the 2021 season.
Elijah Smoot, UT Martin
Height: 6-foot-1.
Weight: 180 pounds.
Eligibility remaining: 1 year.
His offers: BYU, Liberty, Toledo, UConn, East Carolina, Texas State, Western Kentucky — per his Twitter profile.
Where he has played in college: Played two seasons at UT Martin after two years at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
Of note:
After playing primarily on special teams during his first season at UT Martin, Smoot started in all 11 games for the Skyhawks last year and caught 32 passes for 508 yards and three touchdowns.
He averaged 46.2 yards per game and 15.9 per catch during the 2022 season.
Smoot told Cougar Sports Insider that he’s also heard from Cal, Colorado State and Mississippi State.
Other wide receivers who recently entered the portal
A bevy of players entered the transfer portal before the transfer window closed Sunday night, and that included a share of wide receivers, perhaps ones that could end up on BYU’s radar.
247 Sports’ Brad Crawford highlighted several notable names that hit the transfer portal over the weekend, a list that included Epps.
Other wide receivers included:
Michigan State’s Keon Coleman.
Ohio State’s Kaleb Brown.
Purdue’s Milton Wright.
Washington State’s Tre Horner.
