This is the third in a series of articles previewing the 2018 Missouri S&T football season.  The daily stories will feature one position, or a set of positions, each weekday through August 2.  The stories will be available on www.minerathletics.com at 11 a.m., each day, with the exception of July 27 when it will be available following the release of the GLVC pre-season poll.

Today's article features the Miner wide receivers and tight ends.

ROLLA, Mo. -- Arguably the most productive positions for the Miners during the 2017 campaign was at wide receiver, which was recognized by the other coaches in the Great Lakes Valley Conference when five of its members earned all-conference honors at the end of the season.

All five of those receivers are back this fall, giving reason to believe that the Miner offense has the potential to be at least as productive as it was last season when it set a school record for yardage and put 410 points on the scoreboard.

"This is probably the most talented of receivers that we've had since I've been here," said head coach Tyler Fenwick.  "We have a large number of guys who create big plays and score from anywhere on the field."

Justin Vaughn (Houston, TX/George Bush), a first-team All-GLVC selection, led a balanced attack with 40 catches for 806 yards and three touchdowns and really emerged after Braxton Graham (Seneca, MO/Seneca) suffered a mid-season injury that sidelined him for most of the second half of the year.

Graham had 36 receptions for 603 yards and five touchdowns in the first six games of the year before the injury, but in his absence, the receiving numbers became more balanced as four players finished the season with at least 33 catches.  Logan Armontrout (Centralia, MO/Centralia) gained a more prominent role in the passing game a year ago and ended up with 37 catches, six of which resulted in touchdowns.

 Another emergence was that of Josh Brown (Gainesville, FL/North Marion HS), who gained a spot in the lineup early in his freshman season and recorded 33 catches and three touchdowns to land honorable mention All-GLVC honors along with tight end Austin Griffin (West Palm Beach, FL/Oxbridge Academy), who had three touchdown receptions among his 10 catches.

The five returning all-conference receivers accounted for 71 percent of the Miner receptions and 20 of the team's 23 touchdown catches in 2017.

"Austin has improved his ability to block and we expect him to be a more complete tight end in our offense," Fenwick said.  "In addition, Michael Hutchcraft (Sullivan, IN/Sullivan) has embraced the tight end position after moving from wide receiver and Josh Lowden (Monrovia, CA/Monrovia) also has a year under his belt and has been a force on the line of scrimmage."

In addition to the returning veterans, redshirts Tate Nickleberry (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) and Aundray Henley (Pembroke Pines, FL/Flanagan) will also add talented depth at wide receiver.

2018 MISSOURI S&T FOOTBALL PREVIEW SERIES
July 23 – Quarterbacks
July 24 – Running Backs
July 25 – Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
July 26 – Offensive Line
July 27 – GLVC Football Kickoff/Pre-Season Poll
July 30 – Defensive Line
July 31 – Linebackers
August 1 – Defensive Backs
August 2 – Special Teams