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Second Year Profiles: Andre Levrone

A year ago, Andre Levrone sat on the bench as a redshirt while a couple of other young WRs excelled on the field. Levrone was still recovering from an injury suffered during his senior year of high school. Levrone looked very good in spring practice and enters the 2014 season as potentially a big part of the passing game.

By Paul Guttman
With Tim Smith gone, it is up to the underclassmen at WR to step up.
With Tim Smith gone, it is up to the underclassmen at WR to step up.
Geoff Burke

Entering last year, the Hoos had one 4th year WR and a trio of 3rd year WRs, all of whom were expected to lead the passing game (along with TE Jake McGee). Two of the 3 WRs return (and McGee doesn't), but they aren't expected to lead anything. The overall disappointment of Dominique Terrell and Darius Jennings is a big part of change. But the emergence of a couple of underclassmen WRs is the main reason.

True freshman Keeon Johnson started 7 games last year and redshirt freshman Kyle Dockins started 4. The duo combined for 28 receptions and nearly 400 yards in just 19 total games, nearly matching the combined performance of Terrell and Jennings (52 receptions, 447 yards in 24 games with 5 starts).

Levrone wasn't part of the offense last year, partially because he was still recovering from a "lower extremity" injury suffered during his senior year of high school. He'd played both WR and S at Good Council High School and was rated a consensus 3-star WR. He was rated as a top 2 WR in the state of Maryland and #42 in the country. He redshirted last year, and will perform this year as a freshman.

At 6'2" and 210 pounds, Levrone has a similar body to both Dockins and Johnson. During spring practice, the trio of WRs were all over the field, making plays and exciting fans. It has been some time since the Hoos had these big, strong WRs on the perimeter. That type of player can make it much easier on a QB. They can go up and get an overthrown ball. They can be used on jump ball plays when matched up against smaller CBs. And since all three of these players have been playing WRs for a while, they don't need to learn the position, which was a big problem for both Jennings and Terrell.

Levrone will start the season behind Johnson at the X position. Dockins is slated to start at the Y, with Jennings and Terrell listed as backup slot receivers. Considering how much rotation the Hoo have used at WR over the past few years (including last year under Fairchild), there is reason to believe that Levrone will be a big part of the offense this year.

When you add in a talent like newcomer Jamil Kamara, the future could be very bright at WR for the Hoos.

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