College football power rankings: Top 15 wide receivers for the 2022 season

Jermaine Burton turned heel on his quest to win back-to-back national titles

After helping the Georgia Bulldogs win their first national championship since 1980 last season, wide receiver Jermaine Burton decided to join up with the team the Dawgs beat in the Alabama Crimson Tide. He would have been the No. 1 receiver in Athens but opted to catch passes from reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young over the living legend that is Stetson Bennet IV.

Burton joins a receiving corps in dire need of a playmaker with Jameson Williams, John Metchie III and Slide Bolden all gone. He will play in a pro-style offense with Bill O’Brien back in his second year in Tuscaloosa. Although he is a dark horse to win the Biletnikoff, anything short of being First-Team All-SEC on a national championship-winning Alabama team will be viewed as disappointing.

Burton made a bold decision to turn heel, but he could be a top-10 pick if he played his cards right.

Not bad for a former Mississippi State quarterback to appear on this list, right?

It wasn’t all that long ago that Keytaon Thompson was throwing passes for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Not only did he leave Starkville for Charlottesville, but he switched positions in the process. The crazy part in all this is he went from a good quarterback prospect to one of the best wide receivers in college football today. Virginia is going to be such a fun watch this season, guys!

Not only does Thompson have one of the best quarterbacks in Brennan Armstrong throwing him the football again, but he also gets to be a part of the same receiving corps that features Dontayvion Wicks. Who knows how the Hoos will fare in Tony Elliott’s first year in Hooville? All that matters is Virginia is going to move the sticks better than most teams across the Power Five.

With a physical presence and the mind of a former quarterback, Thompson is a special playmaker.