The Top 10 HBCU & Wide Receivers Of All

By Mike Patton
NABJ Black News & Views

Posted September 14, 2021

By Mike Patton

NABJ Black News & Views

College football has seen its share of talented wide receivers. Some have gone on to success at the pro level while others can live in college football folklore forever. Definitely a hard list to bring down to only 10 players, but here are my top 10 Black college wide receivers.

1) Randy Moss (Marshall, 1996-1997)

After redshirting at Florida State and getting kicked off the team for getting into some trouble, Moss transferred to Marshall University, where he was eligible to play right away since they were in a lower division. And right away, his impact was felt. Moss caught 78 passes for 1,709 yards and 28 touchdown passes at the 1-AA (now FCS level) while helping lead Marshall to the 1-AA championship. The next season, Moss and The Thundering Herd moved up to the 1-A level (now the FBS level) and not only did he play better, he was a flat-out star on the college level, racking up 96 receptions for 1,820 yards and 26 touchdowns on his way to being named a Heisman Finalist, the Biletnikoff award winner for the best wide receiver in the country and an All-American.

2) Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State University, (1981-1984)

Whenever you earn the nickname “World” for not dropping any passes in your vicinity, you know you were a bad man. Before he became the Jerry Rice we all knew in the NFL, the origin of his story started at HBCU Mississippi Valley State University. Rice was a two-time 1-AA All-American (1983 and 1984) and he had two seasons of over 100-plus receptions. Couple this in with the fact that he had games with reception totals of 24, 17 (two times) and 15 along with a total of 301 receptions despite not playing his freshman season and it’s easy to see how great a receiver Rice was at the collegiate level. Oh and throw in that he had 4,693 receiving yards and scored 59 receiving touchdowns, a record that was not broken at the 1-AA level until 2006 by University of New Hampshire wide receiver David Ball.

3) Corey Davis (Western Michigan, 2013-2016)

Davis started out his freshman year and just seemed to get stronger and stronger over his time at Western Michigan, He fell 59 yards short of 1,000 yards receiving his freshman season but he was over 1,400 yards receiving his last three years in college. Overall, he totaled 5,285 yards receiving (which still stands as a record in collegiate football) to go along with 332 receptions and 52 career receiving touchdowns.

4) Ryan Broyles (Oklahoma, 2008-2011)

Broyles’ was a local talent who decided to attend the University of Oklahoma. That would end up being the best decision he could have made for his collegiate career. The talented wide receiver would only not have 1,000 yards once in his career and that was his freshman season where he had 687 yards receiving. From there, he was electric on the field. He had three seasons of over 80 receptions, including his junior year when he had 131 receptions for 1,622 yards and 14 touchdowns. He would have been on his way to another 100 reception season his senior year when he tore his ACL, ending his collegiate career. He set a career receptions record, albeit briefly, for career receptions with 349 receptions in his career. In addition to the receptions, Broyles had 4,586 yards receiving for his career along with 45 career touchdowns.

5) Troy Edwards (Louisiana Tech, 1995-1998)

Edwards was a special talent that grew up about an hour away from Louisiana Tech in Shreveport, Louisiana. Keeping him there in Louisiana proved to be a good thing for the Bulldogs, as he was electrifying for the Bulldogs. He had 38 receptions in his first year on the field and then after that, he exploded for 102 receptions for 1,707 yards and 13 touchdowns and 140 receptions for 1,996 yards and 27 touchdowns in his last two seasons, bringing him to a total of 50 career receiving touchdowns in his time at Louisiana Tech. His 27 receiving touchdowns in one season still stands today as a NCAA record and his 405 receiving yards in one game versus Nebraska in his senior season. That receiving total still stands today as well as the most receiving yards in one game in NCAA history.

6) Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech, 2004-2006)

Imagine a man as big as a tight end but running as fast as a wide receiver. That was Calvin Johnson each and every Saturday as he terrorized opposing defenses. Johnson had the ability to jump over defenders as well as outrun them to the endzone. In his three years at Georgia Tech, Johnson got better and better each season he was there, topping it off with 76 receptions for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns in his third and final season as a Yellow Jacket. He ended his career as a two-time All-American (2005 and 2006) as well as the Biletnikoff award winner for 2006.

7) Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State, 2008-2011)

Blackmon redshirted his first season at Oklahoma State and in his redshirt freshman season, he wasn’t that widely known. But in his redshirt sophomore season, people found out pretty quickly who he was. Blackmon would have 111 receptions for 1,782 yards and 20 touchdowns on is way to becoming one of the best wide receivers in all of college football at that time. He would follow up that season with 122 receptions for 1,522 yards and 18 touchdowns. Blackmon was also named an unanimous All-American in 2010 and 2011 along with wining the Biletnikoff award those same seasons. Blackmon was truly an incredible force on the field.

8) Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech, 2006-2008)

There are plenty that might not believe that Crabtree was not even a wide receiver when he was in high school. The former high school quarterback redshirted his first year in order to transition to the wide receiver position. But when he did, he sure entered the college football world with a bang. Crabtree caught 134 passes for 1,962 yards and 22 touchdowns in his redshirt freshman season, setting numerous freshman records and earning himself an All-American nod along with the Fred Biletnikoff award. He would follow that incredible season up with 97 receptions for 1,165 yards and 19 touchdowns on his way to winning another Biletnikoff award. In two seasons, Crabtree would total 231 receptions, 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns.

9) Braylon Edwards (University of Michigan, 2001-2004)

Edwards followed in his father’s footsteps in playing for Michigan, but he surely made his own legacy there. After having a quiet freshman season, Edwards would put together three straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons for the University of Michigan. He holds the sold distinction of being the only wide receiver in Big Ten history (he was the third NCAA wide receiver ) to have three straight 1,000 yard receiving seasons. Edwards was magical for Michigan with all the things he could do with the ball in his hands and in his senior year, he was rewarded for his outstanding performance to close out his career with the Fred Biletnikoff award. He would finish his career with 252 receptions, 3,541 yards and 39 touchdowns.

10) Peter Warrick (Florida State, 1995-1999)

If you looked up excitement in college football, Warrick’s picture would be right by it. Everytime he touched the football, both opponents and teammates would hold their breath, watching what he was going to do. He would make some dazzling plays with the ball in his hands over his career and that would lead him to be an incredibly talented receiver. He would help lead the Seminoles to back-to-back National title games (winning the second one) as he totaled 207 receptions for 3,517 yards and 32 receiving touchdowns over his career. Some still envision him up there on the list as one of the most elusive players in college football.

10) Peter Warrick (Florida State, 1995-1999)

Mike Patton is a freelance sports writer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has covered sports for 10 years for various organizations and publications. He also is the host/producer of the Touring The AFC South podcast.