College Football: Power Ranking the Top 25 WRs in Pac-10 History
The Pac-10 is no stranger to top-flight talent at the wide receiver position.
Some of the best players in the history of college football were a part of the Pac-10 conference.
Quite a few of those players were wide receivers.
The Pac-10 has three wide receivers who are in the College Football Hall of Fame and many more who could be inducted in upcoming years.
Here are 25 of the most dominant wide receivers in Pac-10 history.
25. Devard Darling (Washington State)
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Devard Darling began his collegiate career at Florida State.
While with the Seminoles, Darling's identical twin brother died during a practice. It was believed that this was due to a sickle cell trait, so after the incident Florida State doctor's would not clear Darling to play.
Darling responded by transferring to Washington State, where he became one of the better wide receivers in school history. He finished his career with 105 receptions for 1,630 yards.
The most impressive part of Darling's game was his ability to score touchdowns. Of Darling's 105 receptions, 30 of them resulted in touchdowns. That means 28.6 percent of the time he caught a pass, it was for points.
Darling now plays in the United Football League for the Omaha Nighthawks.
24. Steve Smith (USC)
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Steve Smith likely benefited greatly from the enormous amount of talent around him at USC, but that doesn't change the fact that he is one of the best receivers in the history of the program.
In the Trojans' 2005 victory in the Orange Bowl, Smith caught three touchdown passes to help USC win the national championship.
Many point to Matt Leinart for Smith's success, but it often goes unnoticed that Smith's best season with USC was in 2006 with John David Booty at quarterback.
Smith finished his career with 2,700 receiving yards.
His career was often overshadowed by two other USC stars who appear later on this list.
23. Danny Farmer (UCLA)
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UCLA has had a variety of good wide receivers over the years. Only two have ever stood out enough to be considered great.
Danny Farmer is one of those guys.
Farmer utilized his 6'3", 215-pound frame to out-size and out-power his opponents.
Farmer holds the all-time receiving yards record at UCLA with 3,020 yards.
22. Samie Parker (Oregon)
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Samie Parker was one of the best big-play threats in Pac-10 history.
He made his living on the big play, accompanied by his talent as a return specialist.
Parker utilized his speed to become a big deep threat at Oregon. He ran a 40-yard dash time in the mid 4.30s. Parker also had the unique ability to make great adjustments in mid air.
These abilities led to a career receiving total of 2,599 yards and 18 touchdowns.
21. J.J. Stokes (UCLA)
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J.J. Stokes is considered by many to be the most dominant receiver in UCLA history.
Heading into his senior season, Stokes was considered the top candidate for the Heisman Trophy. However, he never achieved this award due to nagging injuries.
Stokes holds multiple UCLA school records
He holds the record for most receiving touchdowns in a season, most receiving touchdowns in a career, most receiving yards in a game and most receptions in a game.
In 2009, Stokes was elected into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame.
20. Jason Hill (Washington State)
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Jason Hill was a physical specimen that caused many defenses problems at the college level.
At 6'1" and 200 pounds, he had the size of a possession receiver.
However, Hill also had blazing speed that was the key to his success.
Hill averaged 18.3 yards per catch during his three-year career at Washington State.
His 2,704 yards and 32 touchdowns are both Washington State records.
19. Shaun McDonald (Arizona State)
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Shaun McDonald was another player who was small in stature but produced very big plays.
In 2001 and 2002, McDonald became the first player in Arizona State history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.
Making it more impressive was the fact that McDonald accomplished this feat with two different starting quarterbacks.
His 1,405 receiving yards in a single season is the Arizona State record.
18. Bobby Wade (Arizona)
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There were no particular attributes that stood out with Bobby Wade that describe why he was such a successful receiver at Arizona.
He wasn't the biggest, strongest or fastest player. His route running was clean, but nothing spectacular. He was known to shy away from contact. He would also occasionally drop passes.
Despite this, he was still one of the most successful receivers the Wildcats ever had.
In three seasons, Wade caught 200 passes for 2897 yards and 19 touchdowns.
17. Brandon Gibson (Washington State)
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Brandon Gibson was a talented athlete on both the football field and basketball court. At Washington State, he decided to focus his main attention on football.
The decision ended up being a great one, leaving Gibson as the all-time receiving leader in the history of the program.
Gibson had 2,756 yards during his four-year tenure as a Cougar.
The primary threat Gibson provided was after he had the ball in his hands. He ran much like Terrell Owens, with a lot of power and quickness, which accounted for high totals in yards after the catch.
16. DeSean Jackson (Cal)
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Before DeSean Jackson was making big plays in the NFL, he was doing it in the NCAA.
He had 2,423 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns during his time at Cal. Both stats rank third all-time at the university.
Like he is currently showing in the NFL, Jackson made his living on big plays.
He finished his college career with 52 plays of 20 yards or more. This means 23 percent of his touches were plays of 20 or more yards.
As an added bonus, Jackson also holds the Pac-10 punt return records for touchdowns in a single season and over an entire career.
15. Sammie Stroughter (Oregon State)
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In 2007, Sammie Stroughter missed the majority of his junior season suffering from depression and a kidney injury.
If it wasn't for this, he may have gone down as the greatest receiver in Oregon State history.
In 2006, Stroughter broke onto the scene with a 1,293-yard season. He was unstoppable on the field, expressing great ball skills and the explosiveness to break away from cornerbacks.
He finished his career with 2,653 yards and 164 receptions. Both numbers rank third on the all-time record list at Oregon State.
If Stroughter hadn't faced adversity in his junior season, it's very possible those ranks would have been at the top of the board.
14. Kareem Kelly (USC)
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Kareem Kelly was known for his raw talent as a receiver at USC. Kelly was really fast, and he could catch.
Other than that, he didn't possess many of the qualities that lead to great production for receivers.
It was because of this that he never panned out in the NFL.
That didn't stop him from being a fantastic player in college, where individuals can often get by on raw talent alone.
Kelly is third on the all-time receiving list for USC with 204 catches. He is second in receiving yards with 3,104.
He also achieved a school-record 48 consecutive games with catches. This has since been broken.
13. Geoff McArthur (Cal)
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Geoff McArthur is widely considered the greatest wide receiver in Cal history. Having Aaron Rodgers at quarterback obviously helped, but McArthur was still a phenomenal talent nonetheless.
Unfortunately, he never had the opportunity to finish his career with the team.
During the 2003 season, in the fourth quarter of the Golden Bears game against Southern Mississippi, McArthur broke his leg. The injury ended his career.
Despite this, he is still the all-time receiving leader in the school's history with 3,188 yards.
McArthur was the type of player a team would dream of having. He played hard on every down, whether the team was running or passing. It was this attitude that made him a great player and led to a shortened career.
12. Mario Bailey (Washington)
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The Washington Huskies won national championships in 1990 and 1991.
The Huskies' leading receiver both years was Mario Bailey.
The year that is more often recognized is the 1991 season. In the 1991 season, Bailey had 68 receptions for 1,163 yards.
He also had 18 touchdowns that season. The number still stands as the Pac-10 record for most touchdowns in a season.
Bailey also holds Washington's record for most touchdowns in a career at 30.
11. Dwayne Jarrett (USC)
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Remember when I mentioned that there were two players at wide receiver for USC that overshadowed Steve Smith throughout his career?
Dwayne Jarrett is one of those guys.
Jarrett holds the Pac-10 record for most receiving touchdowns in a career at 41. What's more impressive is that he did it in only three years.
The USC team that he was a part of was undoubtedly stacked with talent. However, something as dominant as 41 career touchdowns can't be overlooked.
Jarrett also had 216 receptions and 3,138 yards during his time with the Trojans.
10. Mike Thomas (Arizona)
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Most players that come in at 5'8" are not going to be guys that will handle the ball many times per game. Usually, these players have their durability and toughness questions.
Mike Thomas did not fit the stereotype.
Despite his small frame, Thomas holds the Pac-10 record for receptions in a career at 260.
Most of these catches resulted in big plays, placing Thomas at 3,240 yards and 23 touchdowns to go along with his massive amount of catches.
He didn't just play wide receiver. Thomas also was a weapon returning kicks and running the ball.
He is one of 12 players in league history to earn first-team honors on the Pac-10 All-Conference team at multiple positions in the same year.
9. Derek Hagan (Arizona State)
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Derek Hagan was an absolute force during his time at Arizona State.
He is listed second all-time in the Pac-10 for career receptions at 258 and yards at 3,939.
He is Arizona State's all-time leader in yards, touchdowns, receptions, 100-yard games and yards per game.
He had 41 consecutive games with receptions and had at least one catch in 48 of his 50 career games.
Many people often attribute Hagan's success to quarterback Andrew Walter, who set multiple records as a quarterback during his time at Arizona State.
I tend to look at it the opposite way. Walter was the one benefiting from Hagan.
8. Mike Hass (Oregon State)
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There have only been 10 players in NCAA history with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
Mike Hass is one of those 10 players.
Hass ranks third in Pac-10 history with 3,924 career receiving yards and holds the record for receiving yards in a season with 1,532.
Hass was a walk-on at Oregon State. He received no college scholarships because scouts thought he lacked the size and speed to excel at the college level.
They were wrong.
7. Lynn Swann (USC)
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Statistically, Lynn Swann is probably the worst player on this list.
In his three-year college career he had 1,562 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Swann has never had a season with over 1,000 receiving yards—not in college or in the NFL.
Despite this, he is still in the College Football Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame.
That's because he is one of the most athletic players in the history of football.
If you haven't seen the clips of Swann leaping over defenders and making catches no normal person could make, then you are living under a rock.
Swann was a key part of two Rose Bowl teams with the Trojans, including the 1972 national championship team.
6. Ken Margerum (Stanford)
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Ken Margerum had a slight advantage over everybody else on this list: He was the favorite target of quarterback John Elway.
During his time, Margerum broke nearly every receiving record at Stanford. He also held the Pac-10 record with 30 career touchdowns until it was broken by Dwayne Jarrett.
Margerum was a three-time First Team All-Pac-10 member and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
He finished his career with 141 receptions for 2,430 yards.
5. John Jefferson (Arizona State)
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John Jefferson may have been the best wide receiver in college football in the mid 1970s.
In 1975 he led Arizona State to a 12-0 record and a ranking of second in the nation. The ranking is the highest the Sun Devils have ever had.
During his four years at Arizona State, he led the team in receiving yards every year.
When he finished his career, he held every Arizona State receiving record with 188 career receptions and 2,993 yards.
He also held the current NCAA record with 42 consecutive games with a catch.
Jefferson's dominating performance led to his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
(Jefferson played at Arizona State before they joined the Pac-10 in 1978)
4. Troy Walters (Stanford)
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The little guy had big accomplishments while at Stanford. Troy Walters was never given a fair opportunity in the NFL.
Scouts doubted him due to his 5'6" and 170-pound frame.
What Walters lacked in size, he made up for in production.
During his time at Stanford, Walters had 248 receptions and 4,047 total receiving yards. That's the current Pac-10 record.
He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as a senior as college football's best wide receiver.
3. Reggie Williams (Washington)
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Reggie Williams had the complete package.
He was 6'4" and 225 pounds, fast, strong and had no trouble manhandling the opponents that lined up across from him.
Williams was another version of USC receiver Mike Williams. The only difference was that this Williams played for three years at the collegiate level.
In those three years Williams moved into second on the all-time Pac-10 receiving list with 243 receptions and 3,598 yards. He also had 16 career 100-yard games.
If Williams had played a fourth year, he likely would have crushed the records set by Troy Walters.
2. Keyshawn Johnson (USC)
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You may not like his personality, but Keyshawn Johnson was one of the best wide receivers that the Pac-10 has ever seen.
Johnson played only two years of college football, but in that time he obtained 168 receptions for 1,796 yards and 16 touchdowns.
He also holds the Pac-10 record for most consecutive games with 100 or more yards at 12.
However, Johnson's greatest achievement came in the 1996 Rose Bowl game.
During the game he totaled 12 receptions for a record 216 yards and one touchdown. The performance landed him in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.
What makes Johnson stand out apart from the rest is his continued success. While others on this list fizzled out, Johnson remained strong for his entire career.
There is a good chance that some day Johnson will add the College Hall of Fame and the NFL Hall of Fame to his résumé.
1. Mike Williams (USC)
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If Mike Williams had stayed in college four years, he may have ended his career as the greatest college receiver of all time.
That's a strong statement, but I don't hesitate to say it.
Williams absolutely dominated the competition his freshman and sophomore years before his early entry into the NFL.
Williams holds the Pac-10 freshman record with 81 catches, 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He followed that performance with a sophomore season that consisted of 95 receptions for 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns.
In two years, Williams totaled 176 catches for 2,579 yards and 30 touchdowns. He started only 15 games during that time.
Williams was untouchable. Although his career went in a downward spiral shortly after these two seasons, they still stand as two of the most impressive seasons in the history of college football.
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