The Alabama Crimson Tide have finished the 2020 College Football season on top. They also finished the 2021 National Signing Day with the best class in over 20 years. With so much success, there is also something that the team and players must be hungry for and remain humble. Alabama wide receiver John Metchie III had a stellar sophomore career. He caught 55 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns this season for the reigning National Champs. He was second on the team in all categories with all but one of the major receiving categories going to the Heisman Trophy-winning in DeVonta Smith.
Despite his tremendous input for Alabama’s offense on-and-off-the-field, Metchie is looking to bring some respect to his name. According to Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, Metchie was not among the top-10 returning wide receivers in the 2021 College Football season. This left Metchie with a sour response on Twitter as he is seemed to disapprove of the receiver rankings. Several receivers made a significant impact for their team this past season but Metchie might be the biggest exclusions on the list.
Alabama’s John Metchie Looking For More
Why John Metchie Was Left Out of Top Receivers for 2021
Among all of the receivers, nine of the receivers are from a power five school. The top two receivers on the list include Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, who were crucial players to the Ohio State Buckeyes’ 11th ranked scoring offense. The next receiver is an elite, explosive receiver for the Clemson Tigers in Justyn Ross. Before his spinal injury that forced him to miss all of the 2020 season, Ross accounted for 112 receptions for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns in his two seasons. Outside of those three receivers, Metchie could be anywhere in the top four.
Several reasons could be a reason why Metchie was among the top-10 receivers list. All, but two receivers that played last season, were the number one receiver on their team. He only had two games where he accounted for 100-yards and four games where he accounted for a touchdown. Finally, he only had three games where he led the Tide’s high-caliber offense this past season. While Metchie has been a highly consistent playmaker for the Tide, he hasn’t been the number one option. That role was given to Smith as he displayed his reliability and consistency to carry the offense. In the final three games for Alabama, Metchie accounted for 15 receptions for 196 yards.
Why He Deserves To Be Included in List of Top Receivers for 2021
Even though Metchie wasn’t an elite number one receiver for the Tide, his impact on the team was highly significant. Metchie was the second-best receiver for second-ranked scoring offense (48.5 points per game) and second-ranked passing offense (349.2 passing yards per game). In his second-ever start for Alabama, Metchie had an explosive performance against the #13 Texas A&M Aggies. Metchie caught five receptions for 181 yards (an average of 36.2 yards per reception) and two touchdowns. His next biggest performance came when Alabama needed him the most. When Alabama lost Jaylen Waddle to a broken foot injury in the first play against the Tennessee Volunteers, Metchie stepped up. He caught seven receptions for 151 yards against the Volunteers’ defense. Finally, against the #22 Auburn Tigers, Metchie had six receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.
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Of all the receivers in the rankings that played last season, only one of them accounted for more receiving yards than Metchie. That was Wake Forest’s Jaquarii Roberson with 926 yards. Now that Metchie is the top returning receiver without Smith and Waddle, his impact will only keep rising. Look for Metchie to easily continue the trend of elite high-caliber receivers contributing for Alabama. Metchie will be in line to be another potential first-round caliber receiver. With a new starting quarterback in Bryce Young taking over for Alabama, Metchie will help the young quarterback transition well in his first year as a starter. He may not start as a top-ten receiver but he will more-than-likely finish as a top-five receiver after the 2021 CFB season.
