Watson and receivers: A look at the Pitt OC's history

MORE HEADLINES - Can a linebacker lead Pitt in tackles for loss this season? | Mailbag: 8/19/2017 - Discussing Pitt football, recruiting and more | Slideshow: Photos from last week's practices | Camp Report: Leadership, learning and more as Pitt finishes Week Three | Free interview: Pitt OC Shawn Watson on the QBs, the TEs, the offense and more | PODCAST: Is there growing optimism about Pitt's offense?

Pitt’s top two receivers make for an interesting pair.

There’s Jester Weah, the 6’3” 210-pound former track star who had a breakout season last year when he used his size, speed and strength to lead the ACC in yards per catch while scoring 10 touchdowns.

And there’s Quadree Henderson, the 5’8” 190-pound all-purpose star who scored 10 total touchdowns in 2016, finding the end zone on returns, rushes and receptions.

Taken together, Weah and Henderson should give the Panthers a potent passing attack, and deploying them falls on new offensive coordinator Shawn Watson, who says he has some experience working with a similar mix of talent.

“In Colorado, I had DJ Hackett and I had a kid by the name of Derek McCoy - great players who were exactly like Jester,” Watson said last week. “And then we had Jeremy Bloom, who was like ‘Q.’ So yeah, I’ve been around it and it’s really cool having that skill set, because you can use those guys, use their skill set in what you do and how you get them open and where you put them and how you make matchups.”

McCoy and Hackett were both listed on Colorado’s roster at 6’3”, with McCoy checking in at 205 pounds and Hackett at 200. Bloom was listed at 5’9” and 175 pounds. McCoy was one of Colorado’s leading receivers for three years - 2001-03 - but 2003 was the year when he, Hackett and Bloom were tops for the Buffaloes.

That year, Hackett caught 78 passes for 1,013 yards and seven touchdowns and McCoy was second on the team with 883 yards and 11 touchdowns on 63 receptions. Bloom was No. 4 in receptions, catching 22 passes for 356 yards and one score.

Hackett’s performance that season still stands as the high-water mark among receivers in Watson’s 13 seasons as an offensive coordinator; no player has caught more passes in a Watson-run offense, and only one has put up more receiving yards - Texas’ John Harris had 1,051 in 2014.

Hackett and Harris are the only two receivers who have recorded 1,000+ receiving yards in a season under Watson; if Weah - the most likely candidate - reaches that level this year, it would be the 10th time a Pitt player has hit 1,000 receiving yards.

Last year, the Panthers’ passing attack was defined by its versatility, as five players caught at least 20 passes and seven caught at least 12 - with a tight end, a running back and a fullback in the 20-catch club. In Watson’s 13 seasons as offensive coordinator, he has had at least five players catch at least 20 passes seven times.

In each of those seven seasons, at least three of the players who reached 20+ receptions were receivers, but Watson has found ways to get the ball to players at other positions. Like Nebraska I-back Marlon Lucky, who led the Huskers with 75 receptions - a school record - for 705 yards in 2007, Watson’s first year on Bo Pellini’s staff in Lincoln). Or Colorado fullback Lawrence Vickers, who caught 52 passes over two seasons with Watson (27 in 2004 and 25 in 2005).

In Watson’s second year as an offensive coordinator, Colorado was led in receptions and receiving yards by tight end Daniel Graham, who caught 51 for 753 and scored six touchdowns. And Watson’s final two years at Nebraska, as Pellini’s conservative nature led to a run:pass ratio that was close to 2:1, tight ends were active in the pass game. In 2009, Mike McNeil was one of only two Huskers to catch 20+ passes; the next year, McNeil and fellow tight end Kyler Reed both topped 20 receptions, with Reed scoring a team-high eight receiving touchdowns.

And in Watson’s last season as an offensive coordinator - the seemingly miserable 2015 campaign at Texas - his leading receiver was Daje Johnson, a 5’10” 178-pounder who was listed on the Longhorns’ official website as a running back/receiver. Johnson caught 37 passes that year.

So there is variety among the receiving targets who have led the way in Watson’s offenses, and he sees a lot of options in his newest group as well.

“So we’ve got really - not just one, but we’ve got several guys like Jester and we’ve got several guys like Q, in terms of the skill set,” Watson said. “It differs: one is a little faster, a little of this, a little of that, but we’ve got guys that we can create matchups with and use.”