Notre Dame Football: Is Michael Floyd the Greatest Receiver in ND History?

Without question Notre Dame has produced some of the best talent in college football. You don’t win that many national championships without having great players.

Wide receiver Michael Floyd has really asserted himself as one of the best players in recent years, due to a string of mediocre teams. During his time in South Bend he has accumulated over 3,400 yards through the air with 35 touchdowns. He had over 1,000 yards last year and should break that mark rather easily again this year.

But in terms of Notre Dame’s illustrious history, he is certainly not at the top.

One thing the Irish pride themselves on is the character of their players and for Floyd’s trouble with alcohol alone, most people would write him off as one of the greats to play for the school.

But there are multiple players who not only exemplified the school’s spirit, but had better statistics.

One of the most dynamic players in school history played at wide receiver and his name is Raghib “Rocket” Ismail. He is the only player in Notre Dame’s history to accumulate more than 1,000 yards rushing, receiving and in kickoff returns where he returned a school record five kicks back for touchdowns. He was voted second in the Heisman in 1990.

He may not have had the most illustrious professional career, but he did have a pair of 1,000 yard receiving years in the NFL. Still, his play at Notre Dame led the team to more fantastic years and he will always be remembered for it.

But arguably the best receiver to play in South Bend was Tim Brown, aka Touchdown Timmy. Not only did he become the first wide receiver to win the illustrious Heisman Trophy, but he also set the record for most total yards with over 5,000.

He continued to have monstrous success in the NFL being selected to the Pro Bowl a whopping nine times during his career, using his excellent return skills to lead the league in kickoff returns as a rookie with the Raiders.

Comparing either of these players to Michael Floyd is almost pointless. They both were fantastic return men and were far more talented. No one in the country really came close to matching their production during their time at Notre Dame.

Floyd is not even close to being the best receiver this year with Justin Blackmon, Ryan Broyles, Robert Woods and 18 others who have more receiving yards just this year.

He’s a great player, but he is not among the all-time greats.