6′0″ · 185 lb · Jasper, TN · Marion County
His share of the team's total this season.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 4, middle 10, right 12.
Sam Pickett III
Sam Pickett III steps into Jaden Barnes's shoes — the gap is the story.
TEAM RECEIVING YARDS LEADER
474
Team leader in receiving yards (474).
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-10-24
Play style
Wins underneath on volume and route precision.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | App State | 32 | 474 | 14.8 | 4 |
| Career | 32 | 474 | 14.8 | 4 |
| Season | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | App State | 1 | 23 |
| Career | 1 | 23 |
Last game (Wk 8): 63 receiving yards, 6 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 7 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 55-3vs Maine | 5 | 76 | 15.2 | 2 | 23 | 2 TD catches |
| Wk 2 | W 27-24@ East Carolina | 4 | 86 | 21.5 | 0 | 34 | |
| Wk 3 | W 26-21vs Charlotte | 6 | 67 | 11.2 | 0 | 21 | |
| Wk 4 | L 31-41@ NC State | 5 | 97 | 19.4 | 1 | 54 | Season-high 97 yds |
| Wk 6 | L 3-10vs Old Dominion | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 7 | W 35-32@ Coastal Carolina | 5 | 78 | 15.6 | 1 | 31 | |
| Wk 8 | W 34-31vs James Madison | 6 | 63 | 10.5 | 0 | 20 | |
| Total | 32 | 474 | 14.8 | 4 | 54 |
Oct. 22 · W 34-31 vs James Madison
6 catches for 63 yards.
5 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. App State threw to him on 8 of its 26 passes.
Incomplete on 3rd and 14. Second quarter, up 14-7.
Incomplete on 3rd and 4. Second quarter, tied 14-14. Broken up by Coastal Carolina’s J. Powell II.
31-yard touchdown. Fourth quarter, made it 35-24.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
1 catch for 7 yards. App State threw to him on 9 of its 27 passes. He was 0 of 3 on third and fourth down.
Incomplete on 3rd and 11. Second quarter, tied 0-0.
Incomplete on 3rd and 10. Third quarter, up 3-2.
Incomplete on 3rd and 6. Fourth quarter, up 3-2. Broken up by Old Dominion’s B. Crutchfield.
7-yard catch. Fourth quarter, down 10-3.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown, his most this season. App State threw to him on 7 of its 39 passes. He was 2 of 3 on third and fourth down.
Incomplete on 3rd and 10. First quarter, down 7-0.
54-yard catch. Third quarter, down 28-10.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
6 catches for 67 yards. App State threw to him on 8 of its 43 passes.
21-yard catch. Second quarter, up 3-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
4 catches for 86 yards. App State threw to him on 5 of its 28 passes.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
34-yard catch on 3rd and 6. First quarter, down 7-0. Converted.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 catches for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns. App State threw to him on 7 of its 33 passes. 56 of the 76 came before halftime.
No game thread archived for this game yet.
23-yard catch. Second quarter, up 24-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 1 · 2026
W 55-3
vs Maine
5 rec · 76 yds · 2 TD
Dominant 52-point win at home against Maine.
With M. Singleton — 291 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · N. Branch — 5 rec · 55 yds · 44 rush yds (2 car) · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
45th in receiving yards, among all 1,995 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -25 to +12 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
5524% of team targetsCatch rate
58%32 of 55 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
58% catch rate on 55 targets · 24% of the team's targets · 33% catch rate on 9 deep targets (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 7 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.5 | 53.2 | 11.0 | 0.5 |
| Road3g | 4.7 | 87.0 | 18.8 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.3 | 68.5 | 15.0 | 0.7 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 6.0 | 63.0 | 10.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Dowell Loggains
Pass share
49.9%
251 pass / 252 run
Plays / game
71.9
7 games
Team sack rate
4.2%
263 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2026
About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Unranked recruit. Now #47 at the position.
2026 is in progress.
His career
