• Freshman WR quickly recognized among nation’s best

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    To say nobody saw KD Cannon coming wouldn’t be accurate. After all, the freshman receiver was one of the top 50 recruits in the country last year, when he chose Baylor over schools like Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

    But this — well, this is almost too good to be true.

    With Baylor’s non-conference schedule complete, the true freshman leads the entire country in receiving yards, averaging 157 yards a game. Of course it’s early, but to give you some context, the Bears’ all-time leading receiver, Kendall Wright, averaged 80 yards per game for his career. (Cannon also ranks second nationally in receiving touchdowns with five.)

    Thanks to such gaudy numbers, it only took three games into his career for Cannon to be officially recognized among the nation’s top wide receivers. The Mount Pleasant native was added earlier this week to the watch list for the 2014 Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s top receiver. No Baylor player has ever won the award; Terrance Williams (now of the Dallas Cowboys) was one of three finalists for the honor in 2012, and Wright (now a Tennessee Titan) was a semifinalist in 2011.

    With Cannon joining teammates Antwan Goodley and Levi Norwood on the Biletnikoff watch list, Baylor is the only school in the country with three players up for the award. Head coach Art Briles said this week that this is the best wide receiver group he’s had — which is saying something, considering the Bears’ 2010 team featured Wright, Williams, Josh Gordon (the NFL’s 2013 leader in receiving yards), Tevin Reese and Lanear Sampson.

    The No. 6-ranked Bears have gone through most of their non-conference schedule with four returning starters out with injuries: Goodley (a preseason All-American), Corey Coleman, Clay Fuller and Levi Norwood. At least three of the four could be back in time for Baylor’s next game, Sept. 27 at Iowa State (7:20 p.m., FOX). Throw in a healthy Bryce Petty, and the Cyclones’ defensive backs could be in for a long night.

    Sic ’em, Bears!