The Group of Five conferences featured some of the most productive passing offenses in the country last season. This gives plenty of wide receivers in those leagues opportunities to shine.
Here’s a look at the best wideouts in the G5 conferences.
Best G5 Wide Receivers, Ranked
| Ranking | Name | Team |
| 1 | Tory Horton | Colorado State |
| 2 | Malachi Corley | Western Kentucky |
| 3 | Joshua Cephus | UTSA |
| 4 | Sam Pinckney | Coastal Carolina |
| 5 | Khaleb Hood | Georgia Southern |
| 6 | Sam Wiglusz | Ohio |
| 7 | Alex Adams | Akron |
| 8 | Bradley Rozner | Rice |
| 9 | Jerjuan Newton | Toledo |
| 10 | Smoke Harris | Louisiana Tech |
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1. Tory Horton, Colorado State
Horton was 10th in the country last season with 94.2 receiving yards per game.
The 6-2, 180-pound senior caught 71 passes for 1,131 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022 en route to first-team All-Mountain West honors. He was also an all-conference honorable mention punt returner as he returned 11 punts for 171 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown.
Horton transferred to Colorado State, but he isn’t new to the Mountain West. He played in 21 games in two seasons at Nevada, catching 72 passes for 995 yards and 10 touchdowns during that time.
2. Malachi Corley, Western Kentucky
Corley steadily worked his way up to where he is now. In 2020, his true freshman season, he caught six passes for 65 yards. The following year, he hauled in 73 passes for 691 yards and seven touchdowns.
Then the 5-foot-11, 210-pound upcoming junior enjoyed a career year, earning first-team All-Conference USA accolades. He was first in the league and fourth in the country with 1,293 yards as well as 101 receptions to go with 11 touchdowns, which was also top 10 in the nation.
Corley should only continue to be a go-to receiver in Western Kentucky’s offense.
3. Joshua Cephus, UTSA
Cephus has been among the best wideouts in Conference USA for multiple years. He’s now the best receiver in the American Athletic Conference.
Cephus was on the All-Conference USA honorable mention list in 2020 and in 2021. Then he made the second team last season.
The 6-3, 185-pound senior was fourth in the league with 985 yards to go with six touchdowns on 87 receptions, which was third in the conference. In the past four years combined, he’s caught 224 passes for 2,504 yards and 18 touchdowns.
4. Sam Pinckney, Coastal Carolina
In 2022, Pinckney led wide receivers in the Sun Belt in receiving yards who are returning in 2023.
The 6-4, 215-pound senior tallied 996 yards, which was third in the conference, to go with 71 receptions, which was second, and three touchdowns. That helped him earn All-Sun Belt third-team honors.
Before going to Coastal Carolina, Pinckney played at Georgia State. While he was limited by injury in 2021, he was on the All-Sun Belt second team in 2020 after ranking in the top five in the league in receiving yards per game (81.5) and catches per game (4.7) to go with seven touchdowns, which was one away from the school record.
5. Khaleb Hood, Georgia Southern
Hood was the only receiver in the Sun Belt to record more catches than Pinckney.
Hood, a 5-10, 180-pound fifth-year player, tallied 87 receptions for 925 yards and three touchdowns a year ago. This helped him earn second-team all-conference accolades.
Hood was also on the all-conference honorable mention list a season prior. For his career at Georgia Southern, he has totaled 1,744 yards and five touchdowns on 151 catches.
6. Sam Wiglusz, Ohio
Wiglusz previously played at Ohio State. But after he decided to transfer to Ohio, he became a key contributor quickly.
Wiglusz tied for first in the MAC with 11 touchdown receptions. The 5-11, 185-pound graduate student was also second in the league with 73 receptions and third with 877 yards.
This helped him earn first-team all-conference honors. Now both Wiglusz and Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Year, are back. Those two should make for a great combo once again this season.
7. Alex Adams, Akron
Adams was also new to the MAC after transferring from LSU last season. And he also didn’t need much time to acclimate to his new team.
Adams, a 6-1, 190-pound junior, played in 10 games in two years at LSU and caught two passes for 11 yards. Then he had a career year in 2022.
Adams was tied for third in the MAC with nine touchdown catches. He was also fourth with 850 receiving yards and sixth with 63 catches en route to first-team all-conference honors.
8. Bradley Rozner, Rice
Rozner was an All-Conference USA honorable mention all the way back in 2019. After injuries limited him the following two years, he finally showed again how exceptional he can be on the field.
Rozner was in the top 10 in the conference with 876 yards and top five with 10 touchdowns on 44 catches in 2022. That led to him returning to the all-conference honorable mention list.
In 2019, the 6-5, 204-pound graduate student tallied 770 yards and five touchdowns on 55 receptions. He’s recorded 101 catches, 1,676 yards, and 15 touchdowns in the past four years at Rice, so if he stays healthy, Rozner should excel in the AAC.
9. Jerjuan Newton, Toledo
Newton has been playing in the MAC since 2019. But he finally shined as a focal point of Toledo’s offense in 2022.
Newton caught one pass for 21 yards at Ball State in 2019. Then he tallied 347 yards and three touchdowns on 28 catches the following two years combined at Toledo.
Then the 5-11, 190-pound junior made the all-conference second team in 2022. He was tied for second in the league with nine touchdown receptions, sixth with 830 yards, and 12th with 53 receptions.
10. Smoke Harris, Louisiana Tech
Harris is a versatile player who will help Louisiana Tech in myriad ways.
Harris has totaled 2,112 receiving yards, 225 receptions, and 19 touchdowns through the air as well as 94 yards and two touchdowns on 26 rushing attempts over the past five seasons. Last year, he caught 66 passes for 640 yards and five touchdowns.
The 5-7, 188-pound senior also stands out on special teams. He was a first-team All-Conference USA punt returner in 2022 as he paced the league and was seventh in the country with 12.4 yards per punt return. He also was first in the conference and seventh in the nation with a kick return average of 27.2 yards.
