Date: 8/25
Position: Wide receivers
Position Coach: Michael Smith

Returning Letterwinners (Key stats): Caullin Lacy (11 games played, 11 rec., 98 yds, 8.9 avg, 28 lg); Cade Sutherland (11 GP, 16 rec., 130 yds, 8.1 avg, 19 lg); Jamel Thomas (5 GP, no statistics recorded); Jalen Tolbert (11 GP, 64 rec., 1,085 yds, 17.0 avg, 8 TD, 73 lg); Devin Voisin (11 GP, no statistics recorded); Jalen Wayne (11 GP, 33 rec., 418 yds, 12.7 avg, 1 TD, 49 lg)

Letterwinners lost (Key stats): Kawaan Baker (11 GP, 51 rec., 659 yds, 12.9 avg, 8 TD, 80 lg); Mo Edwards Jr. (4 GP, no statistics recorded)

Returning Redshirts/Squad Members (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Victor McClinton (Jr., Eufaula, Ala., Tennessee-Martin); Parker Kahlert    (R-Fr., Atlanta [Ga.] Woodward Academy); Nae'Saan Dickerson (Fr., Ellenwood [Ga.] Hapeville Charter Career Academy); Keyshawn Woodyard (Fr., Mobile [Ala.] UMS-Wright Preparatory School); Christian Wortham (Fr., Grenada [Miss.] HS)

Newcomers (Yr., Hometown, Previous school): Allen Dailey Jr. (Jr., Pinson, Ala., Kentucky); Mikey McIntosh (Fr., Florence, Ala., Hutchinson [Kan.] CC); Jay'juan Townsend (Fr., Eufaula [Ala.] HS)

Miscellaneous Notes
-Baker — who was selected in the seventh round of the National Football League draft in April — was a second-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection as a senior and ended his career as the school's all-time leader with 1,829 receiving yards and 16 touchdown catches.
-A first-team all-league selection a year ago, Tolbert became the first 1,000-yard receiver in school history while also setting a season record with 64 receptions.
-After posting his first 100-yard game as a Jaguar in a season-opening victory at Southern Mississippi, Wayne would go on to finish third on the squad in both catches and receiving yards.
-Sutherland had at least one reception in each of South's final six contests, hauling in multiple passes on four occasions during that stretch to record a double-figure catch total for the second year in a row.
-In his first season as a Jag, Lacy ended up with over 300 all-purpose yards; in addition to his receiving totals, he also gained 100-plus yards rushing and returning kickoffs in 2020.
-Both Thomas and Voisin caught passes during the 2019 campaign — their first with the program — but did not record any receiving statistics a year ago.
-Dickerson, Woodyard and Wortham were all considered three-star recruits by 247Sports.com prior to coming to South last fall.
-In three years at Kentucky, Dailey Jr. totaled 23 catches for 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
-Townsend joined the program in the spring after posting 45 receptions for 645 yards and five scores as a high school senior.

Michael Smith
-On the talent level in the group: "They are very talented, they are comparable to some of the rooms that I've had at some of my prior institutions, especially with the top four or five guys.  I think the prior staff did a good job of recruiting these young men who are here now, hopefully I can come in and help them take their game to another level; so far, through the process of camp and now getting ready for games, I feel like we've done that."
-On what he has worked on with the unit since joining the coaching staff: "My biggest focus has been on their mentality.  I've come from a bunch of great programs and worked with some great wide receivers, and they had a certain mentality in playing the position.  And I want to help them become better students of the game, understanding the fundamentals that it takes to be successful and be the type of wide receivers that these young men are talking about being."
-On expectations for the position group in the fall: "The expectations are to go out and help our team win, and to be a vital contributor to our offense, this team and this program.  The ultimate goal is to help these young men chase their dreams, whether those are to play in the National Football League or to get a degree and be successful men in society."

Cade Sutherland
-On what he hopes to accomplish this season: "I really just want to go out there and compete on every down and play my best football.  Last year I hoped to play more, hopefully this year I'll get the playing time that I want and I go out there and compete day in and day out."
-On what he does well on the field: "I feel like I read coverages really well, that's helped me with my game a lot.  I just see what the defense is doing and know the holes that I have to fill and sit in."
-On what area he has worked to improve on the most in the offseason: "Learning coverages is a big one, coming out of high school I wasn't the biggest, smartest guy on the field so that has helped me a lot.  I go in to watch film and learn different coverages and schemes."

Jalen Wayne
-On what he has improved the most since joining the program: "I feel like I've gotten way faster, I went from running 4.4-4.5[-second 40-yard dash] to running sub 4.3.  I feel a lot more fluid and lighter — I came in as a heavy receiver — and think I move better on my feet.  My hands and my confidence are other things that I am proud of, I wasn't the best young guy and had a lot of things to work on; when I started to realize the stage I was on and the 'Wide Receiver U' thing we have going on here, my confidence grew watching the guys who were here before me."
-On his role for the team this season: "You can kind of say that I am the 'X' factor, if I don't show up there is a piece of the receiver room that is missing.  Jalen Tolbert needs another guy to help him on top of the things that he already is doing.  Cade, Allen, Caullin and I are the type of guys who can come in and do that."
-On what the position group needs to do for the offense to be successful this year: "If we show up every day and bring the intensity that we normally have had in the spring and when we worked out in the summer to the game, if we can be in the right spots and do what Coach [Major] Applewhite and Coach Smith tell us to do then we can go out there and dominate.  We need to show up and be in the right places at the right times."

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