To make a college football program a force to reckon with, we have the coaches who recruit talents and manage the team resources and the ever-talented players. From the quarterbacks to the wide receiver who makes it their duty to run the length of the field looking for openings to make a shot.
Of course, when it comes to college football, every player has his role to play. This is especially the case with the wide receivers as they run around the field at the speed of light to catch passes from the quarterbacks, and place themselves in positions to deter the cornerbacks of the opposing team.
Seeing as the wide receiver’s position in college football remains an important one and offensive plays seem to be the given in every game, this begs the question, who are the best wide receivers of all time? I’ll show you in this article.
Ranking the best college football wide receivers of all time can be quite tough since each of them has their area of strength and strong points. Regardless, some are still better than others. While some were the best during their time in college, others are set to beat the oldies in our memory and raise the bar up higher.
Here in this article are the top 15 best college football wide receivers of all time according to our 2024 rankings.
Table of contents
- What Are The Positions In A College Football Team?
- What Are The Roles Of Wide Receivers On The College Football Team?
- What Skills Are Needed As A Wide Receiver?
- 15 Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
- How to Become One of the Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- References
- bleacherreport.com- The 50 Greatest Wide Receivers in College Football History
- Recommendations
What Are The Positions In A College Football Team?
College football involves the players taking up certain roles on the field. These are referred to as their positions. The position held by the players is determined by their skills and attributes.
Positions in college football include:
1. The Offense
Players playing in this position make the most decisions during games. They try to take the ball as far down the field as possible and score points for the team.
This is the position of the quarterback, running back, fullback, wide receiver, tight end, offensive tackle( both left and right), and center plays.
The quarterback: he holds possession of the ball, ad decides to advance it either by scrambling, or passing it to a running back.
The running back: line up behind the quarterbacks and run with the ball once it is passed from the quarterbacks.
The wide receivers: are mostly on the run during the game to catch the ball from the quarterbacks.
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2. The Defense
The players in the defense position in the college football team do not start with ball possession. Their main goal is to prevent the opposing team from scoring points and at the same time try to get the ball away from the offense.
Positions in the defense include:
The Nose tackle: he plays at the center of the defensive line and attacks the quarterback preventing them from making a run down the line.
The defensive tackle: stationed at the line of scrimmage, the defensive tackle is responsible for tackling any offensive player making his way to the line of scrimmage.
The linebackers: are the multitaskers. They prevent any player from getting past the defensive line and they also guard against passes made by the offense.
Other positions in the defense are free safety, cornerback, strong safety, and left and right outside linebackers.
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What Are The Roles Of Wide Receivers On The College Football Team?
The position of the wide receiver can be quite a demanding one. It requires coordination with the quarterback. Like your quarterback is the gun while the wide receiver is the bullet. At the same time, he is running at full speed, planning routes, and catching forward passes.
So, these players that often than not throw the fans into a state of frenzy with their touchdowns and catching skills, what are their roles on the team?
1. They are qualified receivers responsible for finding an opening after receiving a pass from the quarterback.
2. In the instance of an outside running play, the wide receiver will make sure to deter the cornerback. They withstand hits from both the cornerbacks and defense players just to hold on to the ball after a catch.
What Skills Are Needed As A Wide Receiver?
To be one of the best college football wide receivers, one of the basic skills to have is agility. This is very important as they are mostly running the length of the field to catch the ball. When recruiting, most coaches tend to look at the skill set to determine if a player is fit to play in this position.
Some of the skills needed as a wide receiver are listed below:
Body Control
As a wide receiver, having good body control is key to catching passes and making great receptions. The best college football wide receivers all have one thing in common and that is body control.
Agility
To play this position, the player must be agile, quick on his feet, and ever-ready to find openings in the defense of the opposing team. With the wide receiver running very fast to outrun the defensive opponents, it makes them some of the fastest runners on the field.
Coordination
College football wide receivers need to have good hand-eye coordination because they have to wisely prepare the route they will take on the field and then adapt last minute to make catches.
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15 Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
History has seen many players become wide receivers but some are simply the best of the best. While there are those like Randy Moss and Jerry Rice who are old legends we look up to as the best college football wide receivers of all time, there are the new buffs we look forward to seeing in subsequent seasons.
Dive deeper into our 2024 ranking of the top 15 best college football wide receivers of all time.
1. Randy Moss
In the history of college football, Randy Moss is never to be forgotten. From Marshall down to Huntington, he made his mark as one of the best college football wide receivers.
At Marshall, he spent the better part of two seasons catching passes and scoring touchdowns. The first season saw him scoring 19 touchdowns, while the next 25. He caught 90 passes, which was one of the best.
He has played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Minnesota Vikings, among other teams. He won awards as the best NFL Wide Receiver of the 2000s and the Fastest NFL player of all time.
2. Jerry Rice
When it comes to the best college football wide receivers of all time, these top two players are always competing neck to neck.
His short career of 4 years was nothing short of awesomeness as he delivered above 4000 yards while he still played and numerous touchdowns.
He defiled all odds when he attracted the NFL while at Division I-AA Mississippi Valley State. Making the NCAA record of 27 touchdowns, 112 catches, and 1845 yards, Jerry Rice is undoubtedly a player we would forever remember as one of the best college football wide receivers of all time.
3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Talk of fresh meat in the game of college football!
Jaxon Smith plays for the Ohio State Buckeyes and is a top talent many want on their team. In 2024, he had a cumulative stat of 95 catches, 1606 yards, and 16.9 yards per catch. This has made him arguably one of the best college football wide receivers of all time.
It will be an easy feat for him to lead the Ohio State offense all alone while looking to possible drafting by the NFL come 2024.
No doubt, Smith is an award winner as he got first place in the Power Five and second place in the FBS. He rounded off the season last year with AP All-America honors.
4. Jordan Addison
A native of Maryland, Jordan Addison went down to USC and clinched a lead position as a wide receiver with Caleb Williams as the quarterback.
With 100 rec, 1593 yards, and 17 touchdowns last season, Jason is one of the best college football wide receivers. He is a recipient of the Biletnikoff award but unlike Smith, he rounded off the previous season with a first team, AP All-America recognition.
His stats proved to be amazing as He had the second-most catches in the league. Winning over Virginia with 4 touchdowns and catching 14 passes, he went ahead to rank second in the ACC and first in the conference, making him a winner per excellence.
5. Kayshon Boutte
Fan’s favorite and a threat to many teams unlucky to be his opponent, Kayshon is one of the best college football wide receivers LSU has seen in recent years.
Though an injury made him play just six games last season, far below what he plays at his best still that is not denying his position as one of the best college football wide receivers of all time. Before the injury, he opened the UCLA game with 9 receptions, scored 2 touchdowns to win over McNeese State, and 6 impressive catches for 127 yards against Auburn.
The five-star prospect is one of the fastest players to play the offense position, a very necessary trait to have as a college football wide receiver. Hopefully, his injuries heal up and push LSU forwards in 2024.
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6. Mario Williams
A former Oklahoma player, Mario Williams now plays for USC and he’s improving by the season.
The last season saw Florida’s No 10 prospect scoring 4 touchdowns with 35 catches. He served as backup offense while at Oklahoma with a play of 5 catches against Texas Tech.
Now at USC with Caleb Williams serving him passes from his quarterback position and Jordan Addison with him on the line of scrimmage, Mario Williams will no doubt deliver as one of the best college football wide receivers.
7. Josh Downs
A classic player who plays for North Carolina. Best in his craft. With little to no issues running down the field with his height of 6 feet, a few inches less, Downs made our list of best college football wide receivers of all time.
Downs did not show much on our screens in 2020, but last year saw him emerging as a top college football wide receiver with 101 catches, 13.2 yards per catch, and 8 touchdowns.
He was once ranked as the nation’s 17th wide receiver and 28th best wide receiver. As a freshman, he appeared in 10 games and stole the hearts of fans with his two touchdowns against Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl.
Josh Down will continue in North Carolina this season and continue to be one of the best college football wide receivers of all time.
8. Xavier Worthy
There’s no stopping Xavier as he has proven he is worthy of being one of the best college football wide receivers of all time. He can only get better.
According to the 247 Sports Composite, Xavier was a four-star prospect with an overall prospect of No. 4 in the whole of California. As a freshman last season, he was the man of the match at Big 12. He did the same at the Longhorns games and got one touchdown to say the least in all of his games.
His performance at Kansas was the icing on the cake with him scoring three touchdowns and catching 14 passes beautifully.
9. Ryan Broyles
College football has still not seen a wide receiver like Ryan Broyles in its history. With a total of 439 receptions, 4586 yards, and 45 touchdowns, Broyles finished his career as one of the best college football wide receivers of all time.
He made his mark when as a junior he caught a whopping sum of 131 passes and made 14 touchdowns. He left a record in his last three years by having 10 touchdowns per season and going over 1100 yards.
10. Howard Twilley
An oldie in college football but remembered as one of the best college football wide receivers of all time.
If in present seasons getting 16 touchdowns is amazing, it was heaven-defying some 50 years back. He finished the 1965 season with 1179 receptions making him one very popular college football wide receiver.
He made extra points while serving as Tulsa’s kicker and got recognition as an All-American consensus.
All in all, we can conclude that Howard Twilley was an impressive wide receiver.
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11. Torry Holt
Anyone who watched Torry Holt play will agree that he is one of the best college football wide receivers of all time. He went on to have a successful career with the St Lois Rams. His 4-year career saw him with the Wolfpack recording 191 great catches at 3,379 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Torry set an ACC record of 88 receptions for 1,604 yards in 1998. With awards to his name as the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and an 8th ranking in the Heisman Trophy voting, Holt will not be easily forgotten in the history of college football.
12. Peter Warrick
Another college football wide receiver of all time whose achievements won’t be erased in the annals of college football.
This legend didn’t play the wide receiver position alone, he played varieties of other positions. At Florida State, Peter ran for 188 yards and caught 207 passes with 32 touchdowns.
In 1998, he performed brilliantly, catching 61 passes for 1,232 yards, and scoring 12 touchdowns. Though he didn’t meet up with his previous stats at the NFL, his achievements while at Florida State will forever be remembered by his fans.
13. Larry Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald left a legacy in college football as one of the best wide receivers to finish in the top three in Heishman voting.
Our award-winning wide receiver had a tremendous impact while at Pitt. During his sophomore year, he recorded 1000+ yards twice consecutively with 92 receptions for 1672 yards and 22 touchdowns.
With his skills, speed, and height, he easily became unstoppable and ranked one of the best college football wide receivers of all time.
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14. Calvin Johnson
Johnson recently finished a career with the Detroit Lions. Johnson mixes his outstanding build with extraordinary speed to make him the fan’s favorite.
He racked up 178 receptions for 2972 receiving yards and a total of 28 touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets. His numerous awards include; ACC Player of the Year (2006), Biletnikoff Award, and another one as the Best receiver.
15. Troy Edwards
Troy Edward performed extremely well as the wide receiver while at Louisiana Tech. He is remembered for his stunning performance at the 1998 games.
His awards include the 1998 Consensus All-American awards, Fred Biletnikoff Award, Paul Warfield Trophy, and the 1999 Joe Greene Award.
How to Become One of the Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
If you want to become one of the best college football wide receivers of all time, then you have got your work cut out for you.
Great speed and hands will set you on the track to becoming a wide receiver but this is just the beginning. You have to be willing to coordinate effectively with the quarterback, and scout for routes to pass on the field.
Lastly, you will work on your stamina. This doesn’t come easy as you have to train your muscles and develop your strength. This will help you run as fast as you can during the game, and not get called out before it is over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the best college football wide receiver in the history of college football?
This is hard to say as many wide receivers keep breaking records year in and year out. But in history, Randy Moss and Jerry Wise sit on top of the table as the best college football wide receivers of all time.
What skills do wide receivers need to have on the field?
They need strong hand-eye coordination to catch the ball and map out their route across the field. Good field awareness, as well as top speed, comes in handy for the wide receivers while on the field.
Types of wide receivers
There are two types of wide receivers namely the slot and outside receivers.
Which school produced the best college football wide receivers?
Alabama Crimson Tide has been producing talented wide receivers since the year 2000.
What teams have the best wide receivers?
These include the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, and Las Vegas Raiders to mention a few.
Conclusion
No matter how you look at it, the wide receiver position is very important in a college football team. They are the ones that assist the quarterbacks on the field. Oftentimes, they are seen running around the field catching passes, thereby making them great runners.
If your goal is to become better as a wide receiver or you just want to know more about these great players, then reading through this article is one big step you have taken in achieving your goal. You never know, you just might be ranked one of the best college football wide receivers of all time in future years.
References
bleacherreport.com– The 50 Greatest Wide Receivers in College Football History
stayaliveinpower5.com– College Football’s 20 best wide receivers of 2024
si.com– Ranking the best 10 wide receivers in college football
footballadvantage.com– Wide Receivers Guide for Serious Football Players
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