Stanford's "Future Belitnikoff Award Winner"
Stanford's "Future Belitnikoff Award Winner"
Might not be the receiver you're thinking of...
(Amy) You don’t know my name do you?
Is it Stanford?
- Sean Parker, The Social Network (2010)
There’s a reason CFF diehards follow spring ball updates like truffle pigs in a wet slew of mud. Every year, like clockwork, there are hidden gems that are unearthed. This year was no exception. If you were following along my spring ball updates, you will recall this update from the Stanford spring game:
Freshman WR Emmett Mosley Has Star Potential
This is likely a very bullish take on a freshman wide receiver who has been on campus for all of a couple of months, but the former four-star receiver just stands out. Stanford's receivers weren't operating at full strength as both Elic Ayomanor and Tiger Bachmeier are out with undisclosed injuries at this time. So, the first unit was typically Mudia Reuben, Ismael Cisse, and Emmet Mosley. If it was my first time watching this team, I'd fully assume that Mosley was a veteran with the way he moves.
He was the only receiver that was consistently getting open, and the quarterbacks all were trying to find him. He and Elijah Brown connected on a would-be touchdown, but he was ruled out. It was on the opposite side of the field, so I personally couldn't see, but maybe could have gone the other way if there was replay. When Ayomanor and Bachmeier return, they may only open things up more for the freshman.
When I initially read that I marked him down as a name to follow, but didn’t think much of it. However, the CFF gods made sure I couldn’t forget the name as yet another noteworthy quote was provided this August, this time from QB Ashton Daniels:
Future Belitnikoff winner he says... That’s lofty praise. And sure, it’s standard practice for teammates to pump each other up in the offseason—I’m a veteran in this game and I understand that fully.
However, to go out of the way to mention something so specific as the actual award granted for being the best WR in CFB is unique. Maybe Daniels is just a dramatic, and oddly specific, fellow. I don’t know. What I do know is that it is time to officially take a deeper look at this Mosley character.
Emmett Mosley (6’2, 200)
Mosley was given a three star rating by both 247’s internal ranking and on the composite score. He is originally from Chicago, but played high school football in California. In fact, he was teammates with another former PAC12 WR standout, Tetairoa McMillan at Servite in Anaheim briefly before transferring to Santa Margarita.
As with most three star prospects, there wasn’t a formal qualitative evaluation submitted on his profile, but 247 did note that he also ran track, and clocked a 11.47 100 and a 23.46 200 as a freshman. In high school he caught 78 passes for 930 yards and 10 scores as a senior.
I wouldn’t let the three star ranking skew your vision though. This is a player who held offers from the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Texas and LSU. Even USC got in on the mix. The fact that Stanford pulled him in in the end may be nothing short of magnificent.
His head coach recently said this about him:
Taylor said on Tuesday, "I think he's got a chance to be one of the best guys in the country when it's all said and done. Just his toughness, speed, feel for the game, intelligence. He's just really special. He'll be a big part of this offense."
Coaching & System
WR1 PPG AVERAGE — HC: 11.871 (half ppr)
Since head coach Troy Taylor’s spent much of the past five years at the FCS level with Sacramento State, his play calling data in the sample is limited. He was the OC of Utah (2017-18) before returning to the P4 level in 2023 to be the head coach of Stanford. There is not an official OC listed on Stanford’s staff, so Taylor’s background is what we’ll focus on.
Those Utes teams were known (as they usually are) as running teams, led by NFLer Zack Moss who went over 1000 yards in back-to-back years. The lead receiver in 2018 produced a pretty solid stat line of 980 yards and six scores on 70 receptions. And of course, Travis Hunter’s father (aka Elic Ayomanor, shoutout @FranchiseKF) went over 1000 yards in Taylor’s sole season as head coach of the Cardinal.
Taylor’s time with Sacramento State did not yield any 1000-yard receivers, but Pierre Williams came close in 2020 with 930.
Taylor’s WR1 last year averaged over 26% target share on a team that split plays at an almost even 50/50 split. That share coincided with an average of about nine targets per game for Ayomanor. Very nice.
His 2018 Utah team was similar with a 20.8% target share for the WR1, though that team split plays in a much more ground-oriented fashion (58/42 in favour of the run).
Taylor’s Stanford team moved at an average pace last year, checking in at 63rd in the FBS with 25.8 seconds per play run.
Closing
We know Ayomanor is the main guy this year, and could be next year should he choose to return (an unlikely outcome). Mosley is a true freshman who has, at the very least, three seasons of eligibility remaining. From a CFF standpoint, this is not a name to draft in a re-draft format this year, but rather in a dynasty or C2C league.
The history of Taylor’s WR1 production was a pleasant surprise to me. As we all know, regardless of how talented a player like Mosley is, the system he places in is just as—if not more important—in determining what his production level will be. I doubt he’ll ever win the Belitnikoff award playing at Stanford, but then again, Jordan Addison won it at Pittsburgh. The QB play at Stanford last year needed to be better, but Ayomanor managed to make due, topping the 1000-yard mark.
Mosley currently has no ADP data across any format. He’s a no brainer in C2C, DEVY or CFF dynasty as a late round pick in my humble opinion. ◾
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