Wisconsin football 2020 returnee profile: Kendric Pryor

During the summer doldrums of sports news, many college football fans are starved for news and information regarding their favorite teams.

With that in mind, we at B5Q have decided to take a more detailed look at each walk-on contributor and scholarship player on the Wisconsin Badgers football roster for 2020 in a running feature, our 2020 returnee profiles.

Each weekday we will breakdown one player on the football roster to look back at their recruiting process, their career as a Badger to this juncture and lastly preview their potential contribution to the team in 2020 and beyond.

Today we take a look at Kendric Pryor.

Name: Kendric Pryor

Position: wide receiver

2020 eligibility: redshirt senior

Recruiting info out of HS: 247 Composite 3-star, No. 161 wide receiver, Flossmoor, Ill.

2018 recruitment: Pryor was an under the radar prospect out of Illinois who had offers from only two other Power Five schools, Iowa and Iowa State. The Badgers offered Pryor in May of his junior year and he visited Madison in June. He would go on to verbally commit in September of his senior season, becoming the 18th commitment of the class of 2016. Through four years at Wisconsin, Pryor has proven to be a reliable third receiver and a great find on the recruiting trail for Paul Chryst and his staff.

Career statistics: 59 receptions, 730 receiving yards, 12.4 yards per catch, 359 rushing yards, four receiving touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns

2019 statistics: 23 receptions, 278 receiving yards, 12.1 yards per catch, 180 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns

Player overview: Pryor has been a useful and versatile wide receiver over his first four years at Wisconsin. After redshirting in 2016, he has primarily been a secondary receiving option for most of his career with the Badgers but is due for an increased role heading into his senior season. Pryor has shown a knack for breaking off chunk plays, especially in the run game, and he has been extremely effective when utilized on Chryst’s patented jet sweeps.

In three seasons, Pryor has played in 36 games and averaged an impressive 12.4 yards per catch to go along with 12 yards per carry on 30 career rushes. Thus far, Pryor has had a successful career at Wisconsin, developing from an unheralded 3-star recruit into the number two wide receiver on the depth chart heading into the 2020 season.

Best case scenario for 2020: In his final season as a Badger, Pryor takes a big leap in production after the departure of Quintez Cephus. The redshirt senior emerges as quarterback Jack Coan’s go-to possession receiver and improves on both his receptions and receiving yards from a season ago. Pryor finishes the season with a team-high 66 receptions, over 700 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns.

Likely role on team in 2020: Pryor is due for a natural increase in targets after the departures of fellow receivers Cephus and A.J. Taylor and will be a reliable number two receiver for the Badgers. Danny Davis will likely be the main deep threat and red zone target for Coan, but I’d expect Pryor to have an important role on underneath throws and continue to be used as a weapon in the run game. Pryor’s greatest strength is his versatility and I expect we’ll see that on full display with increased playing time in 2020.