The Missouri Valley Football Conference has consistently been at the top of the FCS in the 2010s. While a lot of key players from last year have moved on to the pros, there’s still a ton of talent in the Valley.
As the season nears, we’ll rank the top five returners at each position group. Today, we give you the wide receivers.
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MORE TOP 5: QB | WR | TE | RB | OL | LB | DB | DL
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5. Darrius Shepherd, North Dakota State
Shepherd may have only found the end zone once last season, but he led the Bison in receptions for the second year in a row after kick-starting his career being named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2015. But if you are going to score just one touchdown, he picked it at the right time on a 50-yard bomb in the national title game to put the Bison up 14-3.
Shepherd finished the season with 559 receiving yards off of 41 catches. With the next three top pass catchers graduated, the senior is going to be the go-to guy for the Bison.
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4. Raphael Leonard, Southern Illinois
After playing at East Mississippi Community College, known as “Last Chance U” on Netflix, Leonard transferred to SIU in 2017. He had an immediate impact and played in all 11 games with seven starts. The junior was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team after finishing sixth in the conference with five touchdown receptions.
He scored in his first two games with the Salukis and totaled 34 catches for 530 yards on the season. Leonard really sparked the offense in late October, combining for 15 catches and 181 yards against Indiana State and South Dakota State.
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3. Spencer Schnell, Illinois State
The Redbirds found themselves a playmaker in Schnell, who started his career at Ohio in 2014. In his first year of action at ISU in 2016, he earned conference All-Newcomer honors. Then last year as a junior, Schnell stepped up even more and was named to the All-MVFC Second Team with 51 catches for 679 yards and four scores.
His 4.6 catches per game is the most returning to the Valley this year. Schnell was at his best in October versus South Dakota, where he had career highs of 191 yards receiving and two touchdowns. In a year where the Redbirds expect to return to the playoffs but have a quarterback battle, Schnell’s play is going to be crucial.
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2. Shamar Jackson, South Dakota
A lot of folks like to point out quarterback and Walter Payton Award runner-up Chris Streveler is gone at quarterback. But a lot of the weapons around him return for the Coyotes. Jackson, now a senior, is going to need to continue his play as the team’s top receiver. Last year he hauled in 53 catches, two away from the program record, for 766 yards and four touchdowns.
USD, who made its first FCS playoffs, arrived on the national scene with a win against No. 3 Youngstown State in October. Jackson set school records that game with 11 catches for 229 yards. His play earned him All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.
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1. Darrell James, Southern Illinois
As shown on this list, SIU's passing attack was filthy last year and will be again. Quarterback Sam Straub can be found on the list of top returning quarterbacks. James, a senior, is the top returner in the Valley in receiving yards per game at 70.3.
He led the Salukis with 773 yards on 47 catches and eight touchdowns. His explosiveness showed with 16.4 yards per reception as he was named All-Conference Honorable Mention. SIU had the fourth best passing offense in the MVFC last year with 236 yards per game. There’s a decent chance that number goes up in 2018.
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NEXT: The Best Traditions in the FCS
