Howard Twilley hauled in 134 catches for 1,779 yards and 16 touchdowns at the University of Tulsa in 1965. That season, he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, which is wild for a receiver in any era. He was a two-time All-American, and his 1965 stats held up as some of the best ever for decades. Maybe because he played before the passing game took over college football, leaving his legacy stuck in a time fans don’t always revisit.
Playing for Rice University from 2005 to 2008, Jarrett Dillard set the NCAA record for career receiving touchdowns with an insane 60. He had two seasons with 20 or more touchdowns. By the time he was done, he’d racked up 4,138 receiving yards: Rice isn’t exactly a football powerhouse, and that kept Dillard out of the national spotlight.
He did something no one’s topped since. In 1999, Trevor Insley put up 2,060 receiving yards, the most ever in a single NCAA season. By the end of his career, he had 5,005 yards, which was the all-time mark at the time, but Nevada wasn’t a big-name program, and that meant he didn’t get the attention he deserved.
In 1998, while playing for Louisiana Tech, Troy Edwards had a year that was straight out of a video game: 140 catches, 1,996 yards, and 27 touchdowns, and he won awards. Edwards was unstoppable, but because he played for a smaller school and didn’t have that same level of dominance over multiple seasons.
Marcus Harris gave Wyoming fans something to cheer about in the mid-90s, and in 1996, he took home the Biletnikoff Award. That year, he led the nation with 1,650 receiving yards and added 13 touchdowns to his resume. Over his career from 1993 to 1996, Harris piled up 259 catches for 4,518 yards and 38 scores, but Wyoming isn’t Alabama or Ohio State, so his spotlight was dimmer than it should’ve been.
