1. James Rodgers Sr ...Oregon State

2. Jermaine Kearse Jr ...Washington

3. Devin Aguilar Jr ...Washington

4. Ryan Whalen ...Stanford

5. Chris Owusu Jr ...Stanford

James Rodgers broke an Oregon State record in 2009 with 59 receptions and is 60 receptions short of breaking Mike Hass's career reception record as a Beaver. Rodgers is one of the best multi-purpose threats in the country and can score from anywhere on the field.

He doesn’t have overwhelming size and he isn’t the fastest player in the Pac-10 but James Rodgers is probably the most dangerous receiver in the conference and he’s clearly one of the top players in the country at his position in addition to being one of Division I football’s top kickoff return men.

Oregon Live

Jermaine Kearse's 50 receptions, 866 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns led all Huskies and his 72.2 yards per game ranked fourth in the Pac-10. Kearse should be able to take it to another level this year while being on the receiving end of one of the country's best quarterbacks.

"He just believes when the ball goes up in the air that it is his," Dougherty said. "That goes a long way for a receiver. He's playing really, really confidently right now."

Seattle Times

Washington's Devin Aguilar more than doubled his reception total from his freshman season (20), collecting 42 catches while gaining 593 receiving yards. He ranked seventh in the Pac-10 with 59.3 yards per game and eighth with 4.20 receptions per game

Aguilar made seven catches for 154 yards, each career highs, Saturday at Arizona State. That was the most receiving yards for a UW receiver since Marcel Reece had 166 against Arizona in 2007. One catch came on a leaping, one-hander that showed that his passion hasn't waned on the football field.

Seattle Times

Ryan Whalen's career high 57 receptions in 2009 have many people considering him to be Stanford’s top option at the wide out position. Whalen actually walked on at the Farm and has become one of the best receivers and most reliable receivers in the Pac 10.

Senior wide receiver Ryan Whalen is expected to be a team leader this year for the Stanford Cardinal. The Cardinal receivers are breaking in a new position coach as Pep Hamilton was hired between the two Stanford football spring practice sessions. I am a bit late posting this, but I caught up with Whalen after the first day of practice to talk about the new coach and spring football.

Whalen Interview in the Examiner

Stanford's Chris Owuso started off the season running back a kickoff return for a touchdown in three of the first four games and teams quickly learned to kick the ball elsewhere. He finished the season ranked fourth in the Pac-10 in all purpose yards, averaging 147.3 per game.

The nation’s leading kickoff return man has tied a Pac-10 record with three returns for touchdowns in a season. His last two, opened up the last two games. It has been pretty easy for the speedster given the huge holes he has had to run through.

Owusu Interview in the Examiner

Maehl, the Ducks’ leading receiver in 2009 with 53 receptions, said he had developed "a really strong chemistry" with Masoli, Oregon’s starter for most of the past two seasons. But he’s looking forward to building a similar rapport with whoever wins the starting job between Nate Costa and Darron Thomas.

Oregon Live

Juron Criner’s 45 catches were a vast improvement from the seven he collected in his freshman year in Arizona and the expectations for him have skyrocketed.Arizona loses more starters on offense and defense than any other team in the Pac 1o but they have quality depth at WR.

"Juron's starting to emerge as the player we felt he could be. He's the No. 1 go-to guy," coach Mike Stoops said. "Before, he would disappear at times. Now, we have to make sure he's involved because he's a special type of player."

 

AZ Central

Nelson Rosario finished the season ninth in receiving yards per game amongst Pac-10 receivers, averaging 55.6 yards. Rosario is one of the taller receivers in the conference and he gives UCLA a great over the top option against smaller defensive backs.

"I told him long ago that I coached J.J. Stokes and that J.J. Stokes emerged during his sophomore season with a big game up at Oregon," Neuheisel said. "The next week, he had a huge game against USC. It was a springboard to an unbelievable junior year and he became a first-round NFL draft choice."

LA Times

Marvin Jones led California in catches (43), receiving yards (651), and touchdowns (6) in 2009, emerging as the go-to receiver for the often-inaccurate Kevin Riley. Jones should be able to improve on this mark this season as long as Riley keeps improving.

Started all 12 regular-season games, with his 38 catches, 607 receiving yards and six TD receptions all leading the team ... his first two-TD game at UCLA helped Cal get its first win in L.A. under Jeff Tedford

Marvin Jones Highlights from California Golden Blogs

Arizona's Delashaun Dean was the Wildcats fourth-leading receiver in 2009 with 42 receptions for 396 yards and two scores.

"I felt it graze my foot, but the way the ball bounced up, it would have hit my foot a lot harder," Dean said. "I figured it had to hit the ground, then after seeing the pictures you could actually see the black beads from the turf jump up when the ball hit the ground. It's pretty obvious when you look at it. I don't know how it got missed."

Ted Miller