Pac-12 media day: Oregon State’s Sean Mannion targets new receivers
Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion set a Pac-12 Conference record for total offense last season with the aid of star receiver Brandin Cooks.
Cooks, the 20th player chosen in the NFL draft, caught 128 passes, 16 for touchdowns.
“We’re probably not going to have one guy go out and catch 128 balls,” Oregon State Coach Mike Riley said Thursday during Pac-12 media day at Paramount Pictures studio. “So we’re going to be needing more from a lot of people.”
Victor Bolden, a sophomore who played at Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos High, is set to step into Cooks’ flanker spot. Bolden caught six passes last season.
Junior Richard Mullaney caught 52 passes, three for touchdowns.
They figure to be the main targets for Mannion, a 6-foot-5, 227-pound fifth-year senior, who passed for 37 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions, and accumulated 4,439 yards in total offense.
Mannion eclipsed 400 yards passing in five games. He passed for at least four touchdowns five times.
Mannion roomed with Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston during the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana earlier this month and said he was comfortable being considered among the top quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and nationally.
Mannion will miss Cooks but is looking forward to working with new targets.
“It will be different for us, that’s for sure,” he said. “It will be different in that we’ll have a much more balanced group.”
Twitter: @LATimesklein
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