Eric the Red
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Historical Debate ... Tight End U
By Richard Cirminiello
The tight end. A hybrid, who can dole out pancakes like a pulling guard, yet make fingertip catches and motor past defenders that get in their path. He’s a muscle car—football’s answer to a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. And the best of the best—a Tony Gonzalez or Kellen Winslow—can create match up nightmares for defensive coordinators. String enough good ones together and your school might contend for that mythical moniker, Tight End U.
Tight End U. is not about brief spurts of excellence. It’s about sustained consistency to go along with those brief spurts of excellence. Earn the name and your school has participated in a marathon, not a sprint. Quality and quantity are prerequisites, and it can certainly help if your big men on campus went on to command big paychecks in the pros.
For this exercise, only college players over the last four decades have been considered. Keep that in mind while you’re feverishly searching for Mike Ditka or John Mackey. The timeframe could have easily been, oh, 30 or 50 years, but either way, the objective was to draw a distinct line of demarcation between the modern era of college football and a time when the game, the players and the schools were dramatically different than they are today. Something about apples and oranges comes to mind. Go deep enough into the annals and you might be compelled to champion schools that are no longer relevant to this conversation.
While the emphasis here is on collegiate results, pro performance has clearly been factored into the inexact equation. As it should be. Leaving it out would be to suggest players like Chad Lewis and Jay Riemersma have no relevance to the discussion because they didn’t find their groove until they reached the NFL. Nonsense.
Like most opinion-based responses, there is no right answer to the question of who truly deserves to be dubbed Tight End U. Just plenty of different answers, which give this discussion such far-reaching appeal.
Fiu's Tight End U.
Just college production
1. Miami
2. Notre Dame
3. USC
4. BYU
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. Nebraska
8. UCLA
9. Penn State
10. Washington
1. Notre Dame
The Flag-Bearer – Dave Casper
The Ensemble – Mark Bavaro, Ken McAfee, Tony Hunter, Irv Smith, Pete Holohan, Derek Brown, Jabari Holloway and Anthony Fasano
Eight times since 1973, a Notre Dame tight end has been named All-America, and four of those players went on to become first-round NFL draft choices. MacAfee set the standard for the Irish, receiving the honor an unprecedented three times and placing third in the 1977 Heisman vote, highest ever for a tight end. Bavaro and Casper, in particular, achieved excellence in both South Bend and the pros. A converted tackle, Casper quickly adapted to his new position, and crafted a career that eventually landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Holohan was not highly regarded coming out of college, but that couldn’t stop him from playing 12 years in the NFL or catching 363 passes. Hunter and Brown starred in college, but failed to produce after costing the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants a first round pick. Recent Mackey contender Fasano plays as if he’s channeling a young Bavaro.
2. Miami
The Flag-Bearer – Bubba Franks
The Ensemble – Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Greg Olsen, Willie Smith, Glen Dennison and Alfredo Roberts
While it’s so tempting to anoint the ‘Canes based on their freakish recent run of Franks, Shockey and Winslow, Miami’s body of work from 1967-1997 keeps them behind the deeper Irish. That takes nothing away from the aforementioned trio, each of whom can be aptly labeled the prototypical tight end for the 21st century. Franks and Shockey have already been to multiple Pro Bowls, and Winslow had similar potential before getting injured in a motorcycle accident. Pre-Franks, Miami can point to Smith, a 1985 All-American, who caught 114 passes in his two seasons in Coral Gables. Miami didn’t make it four tight ends in six years taken in the first round, but with the gifted Olsen still on the roster, the cupboard is far from bare.
3. Michigan
The Flag-Bearer – Jim Mandich
The Ensemble – Jay Riemersma, Doug Marsh, Tony McGee, Jerame Tuman, Bennie Joppru, Paul Seal, Paul Seymour and Derrick Walker
As far back as Mad Dog Mandich in the late 1960s, Michigan has had the kind of dual threats at tight end, which could create daylight for the running game or provide a clutch safety valve in the passing game. Mandich, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and three Super Bowl squads, still holds the school mark for career receptions and yards by a tight end. From 1994-2002, the Wolverines were blessed with Tuman and Joppru, a pair of All-Americans and two of the best pure pass-catching tight ends in program history. While Seal and Seymour were high NFL draft choices, who never quite panned out, Riemersma went from 10 picks shy of Mr. Irrelevant to a steady nine-year pro. Keep an eye on Tyler Ecker, who’s going to finish his career strong in 2006.
4. Brigham Young
The Flag-Bearer – Todd Christensen
The Ensemble – Gordon Hudson, Doug Jolley, Chris Smith, Itula Mili, Clay Brown, Chad Lewis, Trevor Molini and Jonny Harline
From Christensen to Jolley, the tight end has always had a huge role in the Cougar passing attack. Christensen bounced around the NFL for a couple of years before settling down with the Los Angeles Raiders and blossoming into a perennial All-Pro. However, the most decorated of BYU’s long line of All-American tight ends was Hudson, a sure-handed receiver and Steve Young’s preferred target. The only time he dropped the ball was when he eschewed the NFL for the USFL’s Los Angeles Express. In 1990, Smith caught 67 passes and set an NCAA record for tight ends with 1,154 yards receiving. Lewis emerged from Mili’s shadow when he left Provo, and has already played in two Pro Bowls.
5. Penn State
The Flag-Bearer – Ted Kwalick
The Ensemble – Kyle Brady, Troy Drayton, Mickey Shuler, Vyto Kab and Mike McCloskey
Led by two-time All-American, Kwalick, no school has had more tight ends taken in the NFL Draft since 1969 than Penn State. Kwalick, one of just seven at his position elected into the College Football Hall of Fame, also starred for the San Francisco 49ers in the early 1970s. Brady was also an All-American in Happy Valley, but, in nine NFL seasons, has never fulfilled the potential of being a high first-round pick. Drayton and Shuler both had productive professional careers, the latter making the Pro Bowl twice with the New York Jets and posting career numbers, which fell just a tick shy of Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow.
6. Washington
The Flag-Bearer – Mark Bruener
The Ensemble – Ernie Conwell, Jerramy Stevens, Cam Cleeland, Aaron Pierce, Rod Jones and Eric Bjornson
Carve out just the past ten years, and Washington is a clear-cut No. 2 behind Miami for producing quality tight ends. The Huskies have become a tight end factory for the NFL, sending six players to the pros since 1995, including first-rounders Stevens and Bruener and second-round picks Cleeland and Conwell; Bjornson didn’t switch to wide receiver until after he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys. Bruener, Conwell and Stevens each received All-American recognition at some point in their collegiate careers and, along with Cleeland, will be playing on Sundays again this fall. Stevens’ obscene potential is matched only by the number of times he’s frustrated fans in the Pacific Northwest.
7. USC
The Flag-Bearer – Charles Young
The Ensemble – Bob Klein, Hoby Brenner, Gerry Mullins, John Allred, Jim O’Bradovich, Fred Cornwell, Johnny McWilliams, Dominique Byrd and Scott Galbraith
Mike Ditka and Riley Odoms are the only tight ends in NFL history drafted higher than Young, who was taken No. 6 overall in 1973. The consensus All-American and recent inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame met lofty expectations during a 13-year career. Since Young, 10 Trojans have been drafted by the NFL, however, you’d have to go back almost two decades to find an all-conference tight end from Troy. The program’s put up a goose egg in that department since Galbraith received the honor in 1988 and 1989. Brenner logged 13 decent seasons with the New Orleans Saints, catching 267 passes and making the 1987 Pro Bowl. Mullins was a devastating blocking tight end at USC before switching to guard and becoming a fixture on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line in the 1970s.
[SIZE=14pt]8. Nebraska[/SIZE]
The Flag-Bearer – Junior Miller
The Ensemble – Johnny Mitchell, Tracey Wistrom, Jamie Williams, Jerry List and Matt Herian
Short on arm strength, Husker quarterbacks have long sought sanctuary in the reliable, if underutilized, hands of their tight ends. The plum of the group was Miller, a consensus All-American in 1979 and a standout his first two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Mitchell, too, had all the measurables to become an All-Pro, but wound up being a first-round bust and a headache for four NFL GMs. Wistrom is the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards by a tight end, and is just three catches behind List in career receptions. Herian is big and fluid, and once he gets healthy again, is poised for greater output now that Bill Callahan is calling the plays in Lincoln.
9. Oklahoma
The Flag-Bearer – Keith Jackson
The Ensemble – Stephen Alexander, Steve Zabel, Trent Smith, Albert Chandler and Adrian Cooper
You’d get justifiable support for Kellen Winslow, Ken MacAfee and Ted Kwalick, but Jackson is arguably the top tight end in college football history. He had the size to open holes in the Sooner option attack and the wheels to blow by most linebackers. Jackson’s a two-time All-American, five-time Pro Bowler and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Zabel was one of the last of a dying breed of two-way players and an All-American in 1969. He was taken in the first round by the Philadelphia Eagles and played ten years at linebacker. Alexander and Chandler were both second-round draft choices, while Smith flourished when Bob Stoops arrived in 1999, and opened up the offense. He was a Mackey Award finalist his junior year, and left Norman with most of OU’s receiving records.
10. Maryland
The Flag-Bearer – Frank Wycheck
The Ensemble - Vernon Davis, Ferrell Edmunds, Walter White, Eric Sievers, John Tice and d!(k Absher
Just a sixth-round draft choice and a Washington Redskin castoff, Wycheck blossomed into a two-time Pro-Bowler and one of the NFL’s most reliable tight ends the past decade. He left Maryland in 1992 as the Terps’ all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. Edmunds, one of the most complete tight ends to ever play at the school, made a pair of Pro Bowls with the Miami Dolphins. He, White and Tice were chosen in the third round of the draft. White was the best tight end in Kansas City Chiefs history before Tony Gonzalez arrived from Cal. Davis has the freakish tools to easily be the best of the bunch once he gets to the pros in a few months.
8. Ohio State
The Flag-Bearer – Cris Carter
The Ensemble – David Boston, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Jeff Graham, Michael Jenkins, Santonio Holmes, Chris Sanders, Ted Ginn, Doug Donley, Brian Bachnagel, Dee Miller and Morris Bradshaw
Carter got the ball rolling in 1986, when he became the first Buckeye 1,000-yard receiver, and OSU has flourished in this department ever since. While Carter was busy crafting a Hall of Fame career with the Minnesota Vikings, his alma mater was attracting big-play receivers like Boston, Galloway, Holmes and Glenn, all stark contrasts to the possession receivers of the Woody Hayes era. In 1998, Boston ran roughshod through Big Ten secondaries for a Buckeye-best 85 catches and 1,435 yards. Each member of the trio has already had at least two 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL. In 2004, Jenkins became the fourth Buckeye receiver since 1995 to be selected in the opening round, and Holmes and Ginn might be No’s 5 and 6 in the coming years.
9. Stanford
The Flag-Bearer – James Lofton
The Ensemble – Gene Washington, Ed McCaffrey, Troy Walters, Tony Hill, Ken Margerum, Justin Armour, Teyo Johnson, Emile Harry, DeRonnie Pitts and Chris Walsh
Lofton, whose career seemed boundless, played in eight Pro Bowls, and is currently No. 3 on the NFL’s all-time list for receiving yards. Forgotten in the haze of a very average professional career is the fact that Margerum was a two-time All-American and the weapon of choice for John Elway at Stanford. Washington, McCaffrey and Hill were all very productive at the NFL level. Each made at least one Pro Bowl and had at least one 1,000-yard season. Despite not having great size, Walters was one of the most electrifying Cardinal athletes in school history. He left The Farm owning most of Stanford’s career receiving records.
10. NC State
The Flag-Bearer - Torry Holt
The Ensemble – Mike Quick, Haywood Jeffires, Koren Robinson, Jerricho Cotchery, Charles Davenport, Danny Peebles, Eddie Goines, Naz Worthen and Bryan Peterson
Florida State aside, no ACC school has churned out better wideouts than the Pack. With eight Pro Bowls between them, Quick and Jeffires are the old school representatives, while Holt, Robinson and Cotchery are seamlessly carrying the torch into the 21st century. A former first-team All-American, Holt, in particular, is rapidly maturing into one of the premier receivers in the NFL. He left State as the school’s all-time leader in receptions, and the ACC’s all-time leader in receiving yards. Cotchery isn’t blessed with Holt’s raw physical talent, but he does have his receptions record, a mark he picked up in 2003 as Philip Rivers’ favorite target.
Honorable U.
San Diego State
The Flag-Bearer – Isaac Curtis
The Ensemble – Webster Slaughter, Darnay Scott, Az Hakim, J.R. Tolver, Will Blackwell, Ken Burrow, Alfred Jackson, Kassim Osgood, Patrick Rowe, Tom Reynolds, Ronnie Smith, Jeff Webb and Clint Sampson
It’s fitting that offensive mastermind Don Coryell is the winningest coach in school history. Since the 1960s, the Aztecs have been sneaky good at producing quality receivers. Tolver and Osgood teamed to catch an NCAA-record 236 balls for 3,337 yards in 2002.
Arizona State
The Flag-Bearer – John Jefferson
The Ensemble – Shaun McDonald, J.D. Hill, Keith Poole, Morris Owens, Derek Hagan, Aaron Cox, Steve Holden, Ron Brown, Eric Guliford, Fair Hooker and Ken Dyer
Jefferson was an All-American in 1977 and an NFL Pro-Bowler the next three years. Before orchestrating his way out of San Diego, he appeared to be headed for a Hall of Fame career.
Syracuse
The Flag-Bearer – Marvin Harrison
The Ensemble – Art Monk, Rob Moore, Kevin Johnson, Qadry Ismail, Scott Schwedes, Rob Carpenter, Shelby Hill and Tommy Kane
Like the Oklahoma State running backs, Syracuse has a couple of Hall of Fame-caliber standouts to get you excited, but not enough depth to muscle into the Top 10.
UCLA
The Flag-Bearer – J.J. Stokes
The Ensemble – Flipper Anderson, Freddie Mitchell, Mike Sherrard, Craig Bragg, Brian Poli-Dixon, Danny Farmer, George Farmer, Jo Jo Townsell and Sean LaChappelle
Bragg concluded his Bruin career as the owner of many of the school’s receiving records. A series of leg Injuries kept deep-threat Sherrard from reaching his full potential at the NFL level.
LSU
The Flag-Bearer – Eric Martin
The Ensemble – Josh Reed, Wendell Davis, Michael Clayton, Devery Henderson, Carlos Carson, Tony Moss, Todd Kinchen, Eddie Kennison and Dwayne Bowe
Martin starred with the Tigers before moving on to a very successful nine-year career with the hometown Saints. Reed won the 2001 Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s top receiver.
By Richard Cirminiello
The tight end. A hybrid, who can dole out pancakes like a pulling guard, yet make fingertip catches and motor past defenders that get in their path. He’s a muscle car—football’s answer to a 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda. And the best of the best—a Tony Gonzalez or Kellen Winslow—can create match up nightmares for defensive coordinators. String enough good ones together and your school might contend for that mythical moniker, Tight End U.
Tight End U. is not about brief spurts of excellence. It’s about sustained consistency to go along with those brief spurts of excellence. Earn the name and your school has participated in a marathon, not a sprint. Quality and quantity are prerequisites, and it can certainly help if your big men on campus went on to command big paychecks in the pros.
For this exercise, only college players over the last four decades have been considered. Keep that in mind while you’re feverishly searching for Mike Ditka or John Mackey. The timeframe could have easily been, oh, 30 or 50 years, but either way, the objective was to draw a distinct line of demarcation between the modern era of college football and a time when the game, the players and the schools were dramatically different than they are today. Something about apples and oranges comes to mind. Go deep enough into the annals and you might be compelled to champion schools that are no longer relevant to this conversation.
While the emphasis here is on collegiate results, pro performance has clearly been factored into the inexact equation. As it should be. Leaving it out would be to suggest players like Chad Lewis and Jay Riemersma have no relevance to the discussion because they didn’t find their groove until they reached the NFL. Nonsense.
Like most opinion-based responses, there is no right answer to the question of who truly deserves to be dubbed Tight End U. Just plenty of different answers, which give this discussion such far-reaching appeal.
Fiu's Tight End U.
Just college production
1. Miami
2. Notre Dame
3. USC
4. BYU
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. Nebraska
8. UCLA
9. Penn State
10. Washington
1. Notre Dame
The Flag-Bearer – Dave Casper
The Ensemble – Mark Bavaro, Ken McAfee, Tony Hunter, Irv Smith, Pete Holohan, Derek Brown, Jabari Holloway and Anthony Fasano
Eight times since 1973, a Notre Dame tight end has been named All-America, and four of those players went on to become first-round NFL draft choices. MacAfee set the standard for the Irish, receiving the honor an unprecedented three times and placing third in the 1977 Heisman vote, highest ever for a tight end. Bavaro and Casper, in particular, achieved excellence in both South Bend and the pros. A converted tackle, Casper quickly adapted to his new position, and crafted a career that eventually landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Holohan was not highly regarded coming out of college, but that couldn’t stop him from playing 12 years in the NFL or catching 363 passes. Hunter and Brown starred in college, but failed to produce after costing the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants a first round pick. Recent Mackey contender Fasano plays as if he’s channeling a young Bavaro.
2. Miami
The Flag-Bearer – Bubba Franks
The Ensemble – Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow, Greg Olsen, Willie Smith, Glen Dennison and Alfredo Roberts
While it’s so tempting to anoint the ‘Canes based on their freakish recent run of Franks, Shockey and Winslow, Miami’s body of work from 1967-1997 keeps them behind the deeper Irish. That takes nothing away from the aforementioned trio, each of whom can be aptly labeled the prototypical tight end for the 21st century. Franks and Shockey have already been to multiple Pro Bowls, and Winslow had similar potential before getting injured in a motorcycle accident. Pre-Franks, Miami can point to Smith, a 1985 All-American, who caught 114 passes in his two seasons in Coral Gables. Miami didn’t make it four tight ends in six years taken in the first round, but with the gifted Olsen still on the roster, the cupboard is far from bare.
3. Michigan
The Flag-Bearer – Jim Mandich
The Ensemble – Jay Riemersma, Doug Marsh, Tony McGee, Jerame Tuman, Bennie Joppru, Paul Seal, Paul Seymour and Derrick Walker
As far back as Mad Dog Mandich in the late 1960s, Michigan has had the kind of dual threats at tight end, which could create daylight for the running game or provide a clutch safety valve in the passing game. Mandich, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and three Super Bowl squads, still holds the school mark for career receptions and yards by a tight end. From 1994-2002, the Wolverines were blessed with Tuman and Joppru, a pair of All-Americans and two of the best pure pass-catching tight ends in program history. While Seal and Seymour were high NFL draft choices, who never quite panned out, Riemersma went from 10 picks shy of Mr. Irrelevant to a steady nine-year pro. Keep an eye on Tyler Ecker, who’s going to finish his career strong in 2006.
4. Brigham Young
The Flag-Bearer – Todd Christensen
The Ensemble – Gordon Hudson, Doug Jolley, Chris Smith, Itula Mili, Clay Brown, Chad Lewis, Trevor Molini and Jonny Harline
From Christensen to Jolley, the tight end has always had a huge role in the Cougar passing attack. Christensen bounced around the NFL for a couple of years before settling down with the Los Angeles Raiders and blossoming into a perennial All-Pro. However, the most decorated of BYU’s long line of All-American tight ends was Hudson, a sure-handed receiver and Steve Young’s preferred target. The only time he dropped the ball was when he eschewed the NFL for the USFL’s Los Angeles Express. In 1990, Smith caught 67 passes and set an NCAA record for tight ends with 1,154 yards receiving. Lewis emerged from Mili’s shadow when he left Provo, and has already played in two Pro Bowls.
5. Penn State
The Flag-Bearer – Ted Kwalick
The Ensemble – Kyle Brady, Troy Drayton, Mickey Shuler, Vyto Kab and Mike McCloskey
Led by two-time All-American, Kwalick, no school has had more tight ends taken in the NFL Draft since 1969 than Penn State. Kwalick, one of just seven at his position elected into the College Football Hall of Fame, also starred for the San Francisco 49ers in the early 1970s. Brady was also an All-American in Happy Valley, but, in nine NFL seasons, has never fulfilled the potential of being a high first-round pick. Drayton and Shuler both had productive professional careers, the latter making the Pro Bowl twice with the New York Jets and posting career numbers, which fell just a tick shy of Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow.
6. Washington
The Flag-Bearer – Mark Bruener
The Ensemble – Ernie Conwell, Jerramy Stevens, Cam Cleeland, Aaron Pierce, Rod Jones and Eric Bjornson
Carve out just the past ten years, and Washington is a clear-cut No. 2 behind Miami for producing quality tight ends. The Huskies have become a tight end factory for the NFL, sending six players to the pros since 1995, including first-rounders Stevens and Bruener and second-round picks Cleeland and Conwell; Bjornson didn’t switch to wide receiver until after he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys. Bruener, Conwell and Stevens each received All-American recognition at some point in their collegiate careers and, along with Cleeland, will be playing on Sundays again this fall. Stevens’ obscene potential is matched only by the number of times he’s frustrated fans in the Pacific Northwest.
7. USC
The Flag-Bearer – Charles Young
The Ensemble – Bob Klein, Hoby Brenner, Gerry Mullins, John Allred, Jim O’Bradovich, Fred Cornwell, Johnny McWilliams, Dominique Byrd and Scott Galbraith
Mike Ditka and Riley Odoms are the only tight ends in NFL history drafted higher than Young, who was taken No. 6 overall in 1973. The consensus All-American and recent inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame met lofty expectations during a 13-year career. Since Young, 10 Trojans have been drafted by the NFL, however, you’d have to go back almost two decades to find an all-conference tight end from Troy. The program’s put up a goose egg in that department since Galbraith received the honor in 1988 and 1989. Brenner logged 13 decent seasons with the New Orleans Saints, catching 267 passes and making the 1987 Pro Bowl. Mullins was a devastating blocking tight end at USC before switching to guard and becoming a fixture on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line in the 1970s.
[SIZE=14pt]8. Nebraska[/SIZE]
The Flag-Bearer – Junior Miller
The Ensemble – Johnny Mitchell, Tracey Wistrom, Jamie Williams, Jerry List and Matt Herian
Short on arm strength, Husker quarterbacks have long sought sanctuary in the reliable, if underutilized, hands of their tight ends. The plum of the group was Miller, a consensus All-American in 1979 and a standout his first two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Mitchell, too, had all the measurables to become an All-Pro, but wound up being a first-round bust and a headache for four NFL GMs. Wistrom is the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards by a tight end, and is just three catches behind List in career receptions. Herian is big and fluid, and once he gets healthy again, is poised for greater output now that Bill Callahan is calling the plays in Lincoln.
9. Oklahoma
The Flag-Bearer – Keith Jackson
The Ensemble – Stephen Alexander, Steve Zabel, Trent Smith, Albert Chandler and Adrian Cooper
You’d get justifiable support for Kellen Winslow, Ken MacAfee and Ted Kwalick, but Jackson is arguably the top tight end in college football history. He had the size to open holes in the Sooner option attack and the wheels to blow by most linebackers. Jackson’s a two-time All-American, five-time Pro Bowler and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Zabel was one of the last of a dying breed of two-way players and an All-American in 1969. He was taken in the first round by the Philadelphia Eagles and played ten years at linebacker. Alexander and Chandler were both second-round draft choices, while Smith flourished when Bob Stoops arrived in 1999, and opened up the offense. He was a Mackey Award finalist his junior year, and left Norman with most of OU’s receiving records.
10. Maryland
The Flag-Bearer – Frank Wycheck
The Ensemble - Vernon Davis, Ferrell Edmunds, Walter White, Eric Sievers, John Tice and d!(k Absher
Just a sixth-round draft choice and a Washington Redskin castoff, Wycheck blossomed into a two-time Pro-Bowler and one of the NFL’s most reliable tight ends the past decade. He left Maryland in 1992 as the Terps’ all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. Edmunds, one of the most complete tight ends to ever play at the school, made a pair of Pro Bowls with the Miami Dolphins. He, White and Tice were chosen in the third round of the draft. White was the best tight end in Kansas City Chiefs history before Tony Gonzalez arrived from Cal. Davis has the freakish tools to easily be the best of the bunch once he gets to the pros in a few months.
8. Ohio State
The Flag-Bearer – Cris Carter
The Ensemble – David Boston, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Jeff Graham, Michael Jenkins, Santonio Holmes, Chris Sanders, Ted Ginn, Doug Donley, Brian Bachnagel, Dee Miller and Morris Bradshaw
Carter got the ball rolling in 1986, when he became the first Buckeye 1,000-yard receiver, and OSU has flourished in this department ever since. While Carter was busy crafting a Hall of Fame career with the Minnesota Vikings, his alma mater was attracting big-play receivers like Boston, Galloway, Holmes and Glenn, all stark contrasts to the possession receivers of the Woody Hayes era. In 1998, Boston ran roughshod through Big Ten secondaries for a Buckeye-best 85 catches and 1,435 yards. Each member of the trio has already had at least two 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL. In 2004, Jenkins became the fourth Buckeye receiver since 1995 to be selected in the opening round, and Holmes and Ginn might be No’s 5 and 6 in the coming years.
9. Stanford
The Flag-Bearer – James Lofton
The Ensemble – Gene Washington, Ed McCaffrey, Troy Walters, Tony Hill, Ken Margerum, Justin Armour, Teyo Johnson, Emile Harry, DeRonnie Pitts and Chris Walsh
Lofton, whose career seemed boundless, played in eight Pro Bowls, and is currently No. 3 on the NFL’s all-time list for receiving yards. Forgotten in the haze of a very average professional career is the fact that Margerum was a two-time All-American and the weapon of choice for John Elway at Stanford. Washington, McCaffrey and Hill were all very productive at the NFL level. Each made at least one Pro Bowl and had at least one 1,000-yard season. Despite not having great size, Walters was one of the most electrifying Cardinal athletes in school history. He left The Farm owning most of Stanford’s career receiving records.
10. NC State
The Flag-Bearer - Torry Holt
The Ensemble – Mike Quick, Haywood Jeffires, Koren Robinson, Jerricho Cotchery, Charles Davenport, Danny Peebles, Eddie Goines, Naz Worthen and Bryan Peterson
Florida State aside, no ACC school has churned out better wideouts than the Pack. With eight Pro Bowls between them, Quick and Jeffires are the old school representatives, while Holt, Robinson and Cotchery are seamlessly carrying the torch into the 21st century. A former first-team All-American, Holt, in particular, is rapidly maturing into one of the premier receivers in the NFL. He left State as the school’s all-time leader in receptions, and the ACC’s all-time leader in receiving yards. Cotchery isn’t blessed with Holt’s raw physical talent, but he does have his receptions record, a mark he picked up in 2003 as Philip Rivers’ favorite target.
Honorable U.
San Diego State
The Flag-Bearer – Isaac Curtis
The Ensemble – Webster Slaughter, Darnay Scott, Az Hakim, J.R. Tolver, Will Blackwell, Ken Burrow, Alfred Jackson, Kassim Osgood, Patrick Rowe, Tom Reynolds, Ronnie Smith, Jeff Webb and Clint Sampson
It’s fitting that offensive mastermind Don Coryell is the winningest coach in school history. Since the 1960s, the Aztecs have been sneaky good at producing quality receivers. Tolver and Osgood teamed to catch an NCAA-record 236 balls for 3,337 yards in 2002.
Arizona State
The Flag-Bearer – John Jefferson
The Ensemble – Shaun McDonald, J.D. Hill, Keith Poole, Morris Owens, Derek Hagan, Aaron Cox, Steve Holden, Ron Brown, Eric Guliford, Fair Hooker and Ken Dyer
Jefferson was an All-American in 1977 and an NFL Pro-Bowler the next three years. Before orchestrating his way out of San Diego, he appeared to be headed for a Hall of Fame career.
Syracuse
The Flag-Bearer – Marvin Harrison
The Ensemble – Art Monk, Rob Moore, Kevin Johnson, Qadry Ismail, Scott Schwedes, Rob Carpenter, Shelby Hill and Tommy Kane
Like the Oklahoma State running backs, Syracuse has a couple of Hall of Fame-caliber standouts to get you excited, but not enough depth to muscle into the Top 10.
UCLA
The Flag-Bearer – J.J. Stokes
The Ensemble – Flipper Anderson, Freddie Mitchell, Mike Sherrard, Craig Bragg, Brian Poli-Dixon, Danny Farmer, George Farmer, Jo Jo Townsell and Sean LaChappelle
Bragg concluded his Bruin career as the owner of many of the school’s receiving records. A series of leg Injuries kept deep-threat Sherrard from reaching his full potential at the NFL level.
LSU
The Flag-Bearer – Eric Martin
The Ensemble – Josh Reed, Wendell Davis, Michael Clayton, Devery Henderson, Carlos Carson, Tony Moss, Todd Kinchen, Eddie Kennison and Dwayne Bowe
Martin starred with the Tigers before moving on to a very successful nine-year career with the hometown Saints. Reed won the 2001 Biletnikoff Award given to the nation’s top receiver.
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