Position Coach: Chris Chestnut

Key Players lost from 2018: None

Key Players in 2019: Lucky Jackson, Quin Jernighan, Jahcour Pearson

Key Players losing in 2020: Lucky Jackson, Quin Jernighan

2019 EVALUATION:

Lucky Jackson, Lucky Jackson, and more of Lucky Jackson is the best way to briefly summarize the 2019 Hilltopper receiving core.

As is usually the case with inconsistent QB play, the 2018 Hilltopper receiving core had little to boast about after a 3-9 season. Lucky Jackson led all pass catchers with 50 receptions 552 yards and 4 touchdowns.

After regrouping and re-staffing going into 2019, a group of Hilltopper receivers that was young and inexperienced in 2018 brought plenty of veteran play-making ability to the table in 2019.

Jackson was named 2018 C-USA honorable mention, and clearly he was able to take his game to another level in 2019. After starting the 2019 season out slow with just 25 catches, 263 yards and no touchdown catches through six games. Jackson put together a second half of the season for the record books.

In his final seven games, Jackson tallied 69 catches for 870 yards and 4 touchdowns. In five of those seven games he racked up at least 110 yards receiving, including a then school record 16 catch performance at Marshall on October 26th.

The following week versus Florida Atlantic Jackson hauled in 9 catches for a career high 194 yards along with a touchdown catch. Jackson's 194 yards tied for fourth most all-time in WKU history.

To end his 2019 campaign with a bang, Jackson broke his own school record catching 17 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown against Western Michigan in the First Responder Bowl. His 17 grabs tied for fifth all-time in bowl game history earning him the First Responder Bowl MVP.

Elite after elite performance, Lucky Jackson finished his senior season with 94 catches, 1,133 yards and four scores.

Jackson finished the year in dominating fashion as he was named First Team All-Conference USA, 2019 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl MVP and ended on the Biletnikoff watchlist, an award given to the best wide receiver in college football.

And then there's Jahcour Pearson. The man who burst onto the scene for the Tops in 2019.

It seemed like whenever the Hilltoppers absolutely needed a big time play, Pearson stepped up and delivered.

The 5-foot-9, Fort Lauderdale native showed grit and toughness on every snap despite his size. Whether he was asked to run a shallow cross, a short in or a post route, Pearson always put his body on the line to be another primary chain mover for the Hilltoppers.

Pearson was the one guy the Hilltoppers could count on every week. In the 13 games Pearson played in, he recorded five receptions in all of them but two games (FIU and MTSU).

One could argue Pearson was Ty Storey and Steven Duncan's favorite red zone target: four of Pearson's seven touchdowns came inside the 20-yard line. The other three came from Pearson's ability to take the top off of a defense and split 2-high looks with a 30+ yard score and a pair of 60+ yard scores.

The stud slot receiver smashed his previous season totals of 13 catches for 132 yards with an appearance on Second Team All-Conference USA after tallying 76 receptions, 804 yards and a team-high seven touchdown receptions.

The other two contributors in 2019 for the WKU receiving core, Jacquez Sloan and Quin Jernighan, each played a specific role to Bryan Ellis's offense. Sloan, like Pearson, is a quick-twitch slot guy who the Tops used underneath and even found ways to get him involved in gadget run plays towards the end of the season. Jernighan on the opposite end of the spectrum had a quiet senior season (32 receptions, 341 yards and 2 TDs) as he played the role of the big body, long-armed receiver who created chunk plays for the Hilltopper offense when needed.

2020 PREVIEW:

With Jackson and Jernighan graduating, Jahcour Pearson becomes the next in-line to be a 1,000 yard receiver for the red and white. However, with Sloan and Pearson both being slot guys, Helton and company need someone else to step up and be the "X"/primary receiever on the outside.

All signs point to redshirt senior Xavier Lane to be that #1 guy.

At 6'4, 200 pounds, Lane has shown flashes in the past of his potential to be the guy that can carry the load at the receiver position. In 2018, Lane hauled in four targets for 41 yards against a stout Wisconsin Badger defense. In his 2017 year, Lane had 27 receptions for 336 yards as he flashed his potential once again. A year ago the coaching staff raved about Lane during Spring ball but he never found his footing in the regular season. As 2020 approaches, look for Xavier Lane to be the man who steps into the Lucky Jackson role.