Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Ranking the 10 best wide receiver single seasons in college football history

By David Creekmur

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 12
Next
PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 11: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald #1 of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers catches a pass during pregame warm-up before a college football game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Heinz Field on October 11, 2003, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Notre Dame defeated the Pitt Panthers 20-14. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 11: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald #1 of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers catches a pass during pregame warm-up before a college football game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Heinz Field on October 11, 2003, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Notre Dame defeated the Pitt Panthers 20-14. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

2. Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh (2003)

Undoubtedly, Larry Fitzgerald is one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play in the NFL, but beforehand, he was an absolute star at the University of Pittsburgh.

The Minneapolis native played two seasons at Pitt, including a phenomenal campaign in 2003. Fitzgerald was a runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting, falling short to Jason White of Oklahoma. Certainly White had a great season, however, many argue that Fitzgerald should have taken home the trophy. He put up one of the best wide receiver single seasons in history, second best according to this list.

What makes Fitzgerald’s season even more impressive is that he did not play in a pass-happy offense nor with a great college quarterback. No, instead he played with a quarterback, Rod Rutherford, who completed less than 60 percent of his passes in 2003. Pitt went 8-5 on the season under head coach Walt Harris. In addition to that, Pittsburgh did not exactly have a stellar running game to help the offense out much. Despite that, Fitzgerald excelled.

For the season, Fitzgerald caught 92 passes for 1,672 yards, averaging 18.2 yards per catch. Additionally, he scored 22 receiving touchdowns, which is tied for the sixth-most in history. Fitzgerald’s 132 points scored led the NCAA as well. During his career, Fitzgerald grabbed 161 passes for 2,677 yards and 34 touchdowns, with much of that damage obviously coming in 2003.

Even though he did not win the Heisman, Fitzgerald still won a plethora of awards. He took home the Fred Biletnikoff Award along with the Walter Camp Award and Big East Offensive Player of the Year honors. Fitzgerald was also selected as a unanimous All-American for his efforts in 2003.

Home/College Football News