Plano East wide receiver Rushil Patel had a record-setting season for the Panthers offense.

The Sam Houston football signee finished his senior season with a school record 1,148 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022. Unfortunately for Plano East, he graduates and leaves a big hole to fill in the depth chart.

While Patel put up big numbers and was a terrific player throughout his career for Plano East, head coach Tony Benedetto believes that the offensive scheme can offer more diversity than they showed last year.

“I think we got to a point last year where we probably didn’t run the offense from a scheme perspective and just wanted to get Rushil the ball,” Benedetto said. “In turn, that didn’t allow [quarterback] Drew [Devillier] to make the reads we needed, and he was mainly focused on getting him the ball. It’s great when you have a great quarterback and great receiver, but now we can take advantage of what the defense gives us.”

The Panther’s top returning receiver had just 200 receiving yards last season, but coach Benedetto is still optimistic about the group’s abilities and veteran leadership with several returning options.

“We have a lot of options at receiver and we have smart kids in the group,” Benedetto said. “We feel like they’re going to be where they’re supposed to be and find open spaces in zone defenses. It’ll be tough to cover us in the passing game if we can get the best out of those kids.”

Leading the pack of receivers into the new year are Caden Warner, Joshua Palma, Ezra O’Neal III and Jaylon Hatcher, all of which had an impact on the offense in 2022.

Warner is the leading returning receiver from last season, finishing the year with 22 receptions. He can play on the outside and in the slot, giving the Panthers the level of versatility that they need in their passing game.

“We call him Mr. Reliable as a three-year starter for us,” Benedetto said. “He’s experienced and he’s just a rock-steady target for us. He’s going to be Drew’s favorite target because we can trust he’s going to be where he’s supposed to be.”

With Warner moving around the field, it opens up space for Palma, who had 17 receptions last season and has impressed early on in the summer during 7-on-7 scrimmages with several big plays. With that senior tandem, Plano East hopes they can have a consistent approach to their offense.

“When you lose a guy like Rushil, the first instinct is ‘what are we going to do next,’” Benedetto said. “Well we may not end up with a 1,200-yard receiver, but we could have a few different guys with 200-300 yards and still be really good. It might end up better in the long run as we can keep defenses guessing.”

Along with the two experienced players, Hatcher and O’Neal III are battling for reps on the outside, as the team is hopeful the two track and field standouts can provide explosiveness to the Plano East passing game. Hatcher and O’Neal III competed at the state championship for the Panthers relay team, and have shown flashes of their abilities on the football field.

Hatcher also rushed for 453 yards and three touchdowns last season but will get chances at both running back and receiver in 2023.

O’Neal played well on the junior varsity team in 2022 and also hopes to get a fair share of reps on the varsity team this year.

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