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Nov 16, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver Chris Bell (0) is wrapped up against the Stanford Cardinal during the fourth quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

2025 Louisville Football Position Breakdown: Wide Receiver

Originally posted on Louisville Cardinals on SI
By Matthew McGavic | Last updated Jun 28, 2025 6:00 AM ET

As we inch closer to the start of the 2025 college football season, Louisville Cardinals On SI will break down each individual position on the Cardinals' roster. Next in our positional breakdown series, we take at look at the wide receivers.

Position Roster Movement:

Returning (5): Chris Bell, Shaun Boykins Jr., Kris Hughes, Caullin Lacy, Antonio Meeks
Departing (6): Ja'Corey Brooks (NFL), Jimmy Calloway (Transfer - Tulane), Cataurus Hicks (Transfer - Pitt), Jahlil McClain (Transfer - Fresno State), JoJo Stone (Transfer - FIU), Jadon Thompson (Transfer - Memphis)
Incoming (6): Brock Coffman (HS), Dacari Collins (Transfer - NC State), Bobby Golden (Transfer - Akron), TreyShun Hurry (Transfer - San Diego State), T.J. McWilliams (Transfer - Minnesota), Kamare Williams (HS)

Projected Depth Chart:

Wide Receiver (X)

Chris Bell (6-2, 220, Sr.)
Antonio Meeks (6-1, 195, Sr.)
Shaun Boykins Jr. (6-1, 195, R-Fr.)
Kamare Williams (6-1,175, Fr.)

Slot Receiver (Y)

Caullin Lacy (5-10, 190, R-Sr.)
Bobby Golden (5-9, 185, R-So.)
Kris Hughes (5-11, 195, R-So.)

Wide Receiver (Z)

Dacari Collins (6-4, 214, R-Sr.)
TreyShun Hurry (6-2, 195, R-Jr.)
T.J. McWilliams (6-0, 190, R-So.)
Brock Coffman (6-0, 170, Fr.)

Breakdown:

As many Louisville fans know by now, the Cardinals' passing attack during year one of the Jeff Brohm era in 2023 was a little bit underwhelming. Part of it was due to the play of then-starter Jack Plummer, but part of it was also due to the fact that their crop of wide receivers - outside of Jamari Thrash - was incredibly inconsistent. From a game-to-game basis, Louisville simply couldn't get reliable production from their wide receivers.

After that 2023 campaign, Brohm and his offensive staff shook the position up a bit, and it resulted in the wideouts collectively taking a massive step forward last year. Sure, it also helps that Tyler Shough put together a phenomenal 2024 season. But from top to bottom, the receiving corps was much better in terms of their consistency, resulting in the Cardinals putting up the No. 26 passing offense in the FBS at 264.1 yards per game.

Since the end of last season, the wide receiver position has seen a lot of moving parts. For starters, Ja'Corey Brooks, Louisville's leader in all three receiving categories with 61 catches for 1,013 yards and nine touchdowns, has moved on to the NFL and is now fighting for a roster spot with the Washington Commanders. Additionally, Jimmy Calloway (Tulane), Cataurus Hicks (Pitt), Jahlil McClain (Fresno State), JoJo Stone (FIU) and Jadon Thompson (Memphis) all decided to hit the transfer portal.

Considering Louisville is losing their top pass catcher and took a massive hit in terms of numbers at the position, one might initially think that wide receiver for the Cardinals could be in line to take a step back for the upcoming 2025 season. However, not only is this not the case, Louisville's crop of wideouts - barring an injury situation like they saw last year (more on that later) - have a chance to be just as good if not better than in 2024.

Sure, losing Brooks to the NFL certainly hurts. But someone who is coming back for one final season at Louisville is Chris Bell. He's coming off of a career year at the college level, logging 43 receptions for 737 yards and four touchdowns - all of which were second on the team only to Brooks.

Prior to the 2024 season, Bell showed flashes but struggled with consistency over his first two years in college. This was primarily due to the fact that his maturity and focus was always a question mark, but last year, he finally had a breakthrough in this department.

Bell has been the most physical receiver on the roster for the last two seasons, his route running and overall explosiveness continue to get better, and all of these traits were on full display back in spring ball. He has a very real chance to crack 1,000 receiving yards in 2025, which would put him close to the top-ten in all-time school history.

But not only does Louisville have a receiver who will likely get named to the Preseason All-ACC Team next month, they have another one on their roster who has already logged a 1,000-yard season in their collegiate career.

Originally joining the Cardinals last offseason as a transfer from South Alabama, Caullin Lacy was one of the most prolific and explosive wide receivers in all of college football during the 2023 season. He caught 91 passes for 1,316 yards and seven touchdowns, with the receptions mark good for fifth in the FBS and the yardage mark coming in at sixth.

However, on the final day of last year's fall camp, Lacy suffered a broken collarbone, which caused him to miss the Cardinals' first three games of the 2024 season. Over the next four games, while he caught 15 passes for 179 yards and had five kick returns for 191 yards plus a touchdown, it was clear that the injury was still bothering him.

Following the game against Miami on Oct. 19, Lacy decided that he was going to opt-out for the remainder of the regular season in order to preserve his redshirt. He later confirmed that he would be returning for the 2025 season, and because bowls are exempt from counting against redshirts, was able to suit up for the Sun Bowl vs. Washington. While he caught just three passes for 17 yards, one was good for an impressive touchdown.

During the spring, it was evident that Lacy was 100 percent back to form. His release off the line of scrimmage is the best on the team, he has underrated speed, and he remains an incredible route runner. With Bell on the outside and Lacy in the slot, you have one of the best one-two punches not only in the ACC, but in college football as a whole.

But of course, with losing as many wideouts as Louisville did to the portal, the Cardinals in turn had to bring in some transfers at the position. Two of these transfers - Dacari Collins and TreyShun Hurry - are expected to be significant contributors behind Bell and Lacy.

Between these two, Collins will likely get the nod as the third starting receiver for a couple of reasons. First of all, he already has plenty of ACC experience, playing his first two years in college at Clemson before spending the last two at NC State. Secondly, on a below-average Wolfpack offense where he caught passes from two different quarterbacks, he still managed to log 24 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns.

While Collins won't command nearly as many targets as Bell and Lacy will, he'll still have a role on this offense. He's the tallest receiver on the roster, and as such, is very good at high-pointing the ball. Not to mentions he's got good hands overall.

As for Hurry, expect him to be the go-to outside receiver off of the bench. Last season while at San Jose State, despite playing in an offense that featured unanimous All-American Nick Nash and Second-Team All-Mountain West selection Justin Lockhart, he still managed to catch 28 passes for 481 yards and two touchdowns.

One thing that Hurry does have over Collins is that he is a tick faster, although that's unsurprising considering he's two inches shorter. Adding to that, Hurry also has very good body control and a big catch radius overall, giving him the ability to make difficult catches or adjust to offline throws.

Between the returning duo of Bell and Lacy, and the incoming tandem of Collins and Hurry, Louisville has a very good crop of wide receivers at the top of the depth chart. Behind this group are some questions, but there are still some solid options.

Prior to Collins and Hurry joining the Cardinals in the spring portal window, my pick for the third starting wide receiver was going to be Antonio Meeks. A transfer from Tuskegee last offseason, he caught just three passes for 42 yards in 2024, although one was a 28-yard touchdown in the Sun Bowl.

However, Meeks has made some massive strides this offseason, and was arguably the top receiver in spring ball. His overall agility seems much improved, as has his feel for facing ACC-level defense. Of course, he'll have to show this progress on game day, but nonetheless it's great to see.

As far as Lacy's backup in the slot goes, that role will likely go to Akron transfer Bobby Golden. Last season with the Zips, he had a respectable season where he caught 31 receptions for 446 yards and a score. While he'll likely have a bigger role as a kick returner (17 for 316 yards last season), he did showcase some crisp route running and a few impressive catches in the spring.

Another slot option to potentially monitor is Kris Hughes. A former walk-on, he worked his way into the rotation on a handful of occasions last season, finishing with seven catches for 54 yards. While he didn't stand out as much as I expected him to in the open practices in spring ball, we'll see what he does in fall camp.

Behind Louisville's starters and their main group of reserves are four receivers on the younger side.

Terrence "T.J." McWilliams joins the Cardinals after spending a pair of seasons at Minnesota. He was formerly committed to Purdue while Jeff Brohm was there, and only backed off that commitment when Brohm left for Louisville.

That being said, McWilliams he played just nine offensive snaps during his time as a Golden Gopher. He demonstrated good route running and position versatility coming out of high school, but hasn't been able to earn meaningful playing time.

Shaun Boykins Jr. was one of two high school receivers to join the program last season, with the other being Stone. While he is a local product, he only saw five snaps vs. Austin Peay last season, and didn't make a ton of waves in spring ball. Time will tell what he can do in fall camp.

Then finally, Brock Coffman and Kamare Williams are Louisville's two true freshman wideouts. In part because of the production in front of them, on top of the fact that neither were early enrollees, don't expect either receiver to get much run this upcoming season. Though if either has a chance to carve out an early role, it's Williams, considering he was a top-800 prospect and previously committed to Arkansas.

Overall, the wide receiver room Louisville is not only among the best in the ACC, it's likely a top-10/15 receiving corps in all of college football. They sport not one, but two receivers who are capable of 1,000-yard seasons, and they have a good supporting cast in the two-deep. While the deep passing game might not be as prolific as it was last season as Louisville moves from Tyler Shough to Miller Moss at quarterback, but Moss still looked really good in the spring, as did his repertoire with the receivers.