All season long, David Reed has been the go-to receiver for the Utah football team. But with Jordan Wynn taking over as quarterback, another receiver is emerging to join Reed as a go-to guy.
Jereme Brooks, the diminutive 5-foot-7 junior from Texas, had perhaps his best game as a Ute in Saturday's victory over New Mexico, catching six passes for a career-high 135 yards and a touchdown along with a 29-yard run on a reverse for another touchdown.
"Jereme Brooks had a big game for us tonight with over 100 yards receiving and running the reverse in," said coach Kyle Whittingham. "It's no secret David Reed is our go-to guy, but Jereme is the next guy up. He's having a nice year for us."
Wynn says he isn't looking for any particular receiver, but he seems to be finding Brooks better than Terrance Cain did as the starting quarterback.
A week ago, Wynn found Brooks behind the Wyoming defense for what turned out to be the winning touchdown. Then in Saturday's game, Wynn hooked up with Brooks for a 69-yard scoring strike that got the Ute offense going after a sluggish start.
"It was a double-run route, and Jordan threw a perfect pass, and I went and got it," Brooks said. "Jordan and I got in synch pretty early."
That put the Utes up 7-0 and Brooks came up with three more catches, a couple on crossing routes from Wynn, and by halftime he already had a career-high with 114 receiving yards.
Then in the third quarter, with the Utes leading 24-7, Brooks came from the right side and took a pitch from DeVonte Christopher and, after avoiding a couple of defenders near the line of scrimmage, went untouched down the left sideline for a 29-yard TD.
"That was just the perfect time for a perfect call," Brooks said.
As a freshman, Brooks caught 15 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Last year, he doubled his total with 30 catches for 331 yards. This year, Brooks has already caught 36 passes for 488 yards and already has six touchdowns this season.
One of the knocks on Terrance Cain, who started the first seven games for Utah, was his inability to throw downfield. However, twice in two games, Brooks has been the recipient of long balls thrown by Wynn behind the enemy defense.
"He stretches the defense; he has no hesitation to throw the ball downfield," Whittingham said of Wynn. "He stretches the defense, and that opens up the running game and the rest of the offense."
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