Opponents beware. Keylon Stokes is poised to become the next in a long line of standout receivers in Tulsa history.

Can Stokes, wearing the same number 2 as his older brother, become the next Keevan Lucas? Or can he approach being mentioned in the same breathe as Steve Largent, Drew Pearson, Dan Bitson or Chris Penn, to name a few?

Even if Stokes can come close to being in that revered category, he will become something special.

Stokes has that ability, and judging from the way he looked in spring, and from the ability he showed late last season, it is probably only a matter of time until he becomes the next standout Tulsa receiver.

One thing is for certain. For Tulsa’s passing game to be as successful as possible in 2019, Stokes has to come through. He is clearly the leader of an exciting group of young receivers that have been underutilized the last two seasons while the Golden Hurricane has struggled at quarterback.

With heralded Baylor transfer Zach Smith ready to play, the production of the receivers should definitely be elevated. Alternatively, if Seth Boomer is at the helm, the experience he gained last year will help lift the Golden Hurricane receivers to a higher level.

But the receivers all start with Stokes, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior from Manvel, Texas.

“Keylon has to have a great year for us. I feel as though he’s ready to have that type of year,” said TU coach Philip Montgomery. “He’s got to be the guy who can take the top right off it, that can go across the middle. He does all of those things really well. I think he’s really improved as a route runner, and I think we’ve got to continue to find ways to get the ball into his hands.”

Stokes really came on at the end of last year, leading all Tulsa receivers with 41 catches for 575 yards and two touchdowns, as well as rushing for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. He returned 13 kickoffs last year for a 23.2 yard average, and may return punts as well. As a true freshman in 2017, Stokes had six catches for 143 yards, a whopping 23.8 yard average.

“Keylon is a kid who we had to play as a freshman. Had a good year last year,” Montgomery said. “Found a lot of ways to try and get him the ball, especially late in the season.

“He plays the game you want it to be played. He plays right there on the edge with a lot of emotion, a lot of passion. Like every receiver, wants the ball at any time, but especially in those game-deciding times. He’s electric with the ball in his hands.”

Stokes will have to have help to be successful, not only from his quarterback, running backs and offensive line, but especially from other receivers. His brother, Keevan Lucas, had all of that, including a pro quarterback in Dane Evans (CFL), and 1,000-yard receivers in Keyarris Garrett (former Carolina Panther) and Josh Atkinson.

The most accomplished of the rest of the current group is 6-1, 200-pound Keenen Johnson, a former quarterback in high school. Like Stokes, he had a redshirt pulled in the middle of his freshman season due to need.

Johnson played well as a freshman, catching 30 passes for 305 yards, and finished with 44 catches for 539 yards as a sophomore. As a junior, Johnson caught 34 passes for 438 yards and four touchdowns. as well as completing both of his pass attempts for 31 yards.

“Keenen, for most of the year last year, was banged up,” Montgomery explained. “He really didn’t get healthy last year until late, and you saw his production start to move up later in the season because of that. We’ve got to keep him healthy. He had a really productive early spring, then was hampered with a little bit of a soft tissue injury, which was no big deal, but we’ve got to keep him healthy.

“Keenen was really coming on. His route running has gotten better. Understanding where to sit things down, how to work a DB, those are the things that make playing receiver such a special talent, and he’s continuing to develop that way.