Green Bay Packers wideout Randall Cobb was anxious to get his pro career startedso anxious that he brought out a kickoff after receiving it eight yards deep in the end zone. As a senior, Keenum was spectacular, throwing 48. Not only is it remarkable that Burleson didn't reach the end zone that day, but in his previous game, he didn't catch a single pass, and in the game after he set this record, he had a pedestrian four catches for 23 yards. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. The record? Whether it was a kickoff or punt return, these players knew how to electrify a stadiumand avoid tacklers at all costs. That's why Dominique Davis' record for consecutive completions in a season is unbreakable, even as passing efficiency in college football has improved over the course of the last decade. The next year, in 1989, he returned to kickoffs for touchdowns against Michigan at Michigan in the Big House. NFL Kick Returns for Touchdown Single Game Leaders All-Time Kick Returns for Touchdown Leaders Build your own custom leaderboards with Stathead Football. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. The return went for 109 yards, setting a record for the longest play in NFL history. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. That's roughly what Nevada's Alex Van Dyke averaged during his two-year career Nevada. But even if he'd been stopped for 10- and 12-yard gains every time, surely he'd find some way to remain memorable. Before Hester was torching NFL special teams units in the pros, he was making complete fools of his fellow college players while playing at the University of Miami. It takes speed to return kicks well, but it also takes field vision, anticipation, agility, and some video game-like juke moves. 12 overall pick in 2023. Both records have since been broken. (Looking at you, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder, and Ohio State wide receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.). The Minnesota Vikings receiver was literally as far back into the endzone as he could be on an NFL field when he received this kickoff against the Green Bay Packers. His 65-yard catch-and-run score against Kansas State, 82-yard punt return touchdown against Texas Tech, and 80-yard jet sweep touchdown in 2022 are plenty of evidence that he could rewrite the . Add Roydell Williams for the time he was here, Scaife, and the first two seasons, of Hill, and this draft provided five starters and two dependable backups in Fuller and Loper from its eleven members. Dwight's style wasn't gracefulhe was reminiscent of one of those old NFL Films segments starring Crazy Legs Hirschbut he got where he needed to go in a hurry. As a freshman in just his second game for the Hurricanes, against rival Florida, Hester took the opening kickoff 98 yards to the house. These opinions are mine and mine alone. 14. . Cordarrelle Patterson was tied for the most kick return touchdowns in NFL history entering Week 11 of the 2022 season. I mean, when you talk to him theres one thing I love about him. No. Active players are listed in bold. ', "There's just a difference in there, and that difference makes an exponential difference on the field of play with the whole group.". Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS. Rocket Ismails record of most games with two kickoff returns for touchdowns set in 1989 still stands today. For those that don't know, a kick return touchdown is when the kickoff retu. Build your own custom leaderboards with Stathead Football. Interpreted as: most kickoff return touchdowns by a playerin one regular-seasongame this season Record: Four gamesRecord-holder: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma StateSeason: 1988. NO REGRETS:Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn content even if head coach jobs never materialize. All NFL Teams. The guy loves playing. Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. Williams returned two kicks for touchdowns in his one season at Alabama, when he averaged 35.2 yards on 10 kick returns. It is the most violent, video-friendly, terrifying, electrifying, dangerous and dramatic play in football. Ten players have done that in NFL history. The following is a list of the NFL career kickoff return leaders ranked by kickoff return touchdowns. He finished his college career ('03-05)averaging 25.5 yards per kickoff return and 15.6 per punt return, with six return touchdowns. Notre Dame beat Michigan 24-19 on that day in a battle of the nations top two ranked teams. Who holds it: Derrick Thomas, Alabama, 1988 Spiller racked up 2,052 yards and seven touchdowns (an FBS record) on kickoff returns and added 569 yards and a score on punt returns for good measure. Why its untouchable: College footballs Heisman winner in 1999, Dayne topped 2,000 yards for the second time in his Big Ten career to finish with an incredible NCAA-record 7,125 yards on the ground on a record-breaking 1,220 carries. Twenty-six players have one, five players have two, and Patterson has seven, a total that accounts for. The Hurricanes star did some impressive work in the NFL, but his best return ever might be from his days at The U. Hesters return against Duke was like a work of artif there were a museum honoring returns in football, this one might be considered the Mona Lisa of punt returns. You should have watched the Ohio Stadium crowd any time Ted Ginn Jr. went back to field a kick. Devin Hester (Miami) 11 of 15 Jamie. Playing on Sunday Night Football in front of a national television audience, the ridiculously fast return manhe posted a 4.42-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combinetook the ball and ran straight up the middle of the field into what looked like a barrage of Packers players. The Game Before the Money Radio Showshared outstanding college football records. That's not happening. Some school's results have been altered by retroactive NCAA penalties. Weaving through traffic and toeing the sidelines in ways that would make Kyle Busch and Cris Carter smile, Javier showed anybody who watched him serve four years ('06-09) as Alabama's home run threat that he is more than just Gilbert Arenas' little cousin. But wiping out the kickoff? Hail Mary passes, knockout tackles, and deep throws down the sideline are all cool plays in football, but there's nothing quite as exciting as a kick return touchdown. Josh Cribbs (3/2009), Sports Reference Baseball Football(college) Basketball(college) Hockey Ftbol Blog Stathead Questions or Comments? Making the play even more amazing: The Saints basically had Cobb wrapped up, but he was able to spin out, flipping nearly upside downbreaking multiple tackles along the way to the Packers win in his first-ever NFL game. That same season, his best game came in week 15 against Jacksonville, where he had an 83-yard interception return for a score, a 70-yard kick return, and broke up a touchdown pass to save the game. KEY: Gms = Games Played, Num = Kickoff Returns, Yds = Kickoff Return Yards, Avg = Kickoff Return Average, Lg = Longest Kickoff Return, TD = Kickoff Return Touchdowns, Yds/G = Kickoff Return Yards Per Game. And that really wasn't even his best year as a kick-returner. In 1988, "Prime Time" led the nation in punt-return average and left FSU as the school's all-time leader in punt return yards. Cecil Turner (4/1970), 1. Perkins wasn't ridiculously fast, but he mastered the art of being elusive in tight spaces. 1 spot on this list? We present them here for purely educational purposes. Watch Newton go 49 yards against the LSU defense. The football gods skipped over this game pitting the nations best team against a small college from Tennessee at legendary Grant Field and let the bloodletting continue for four horrific quarters. Jameson also has to hold his part and make sure that hes doing everything that he needs to do. Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn content even if head coach jobs never materialize, Brad Holmes: 'I don't think the cupboard's bare on defense'. Ten players have done that in NFL history. Sanders, the 1988 Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, also holds the career record for most games with at least 300 rushing yards. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. One of the college football's best receivers in 2021, Williams tore his ACL in Alabama's national championship game loss to Georgia and played limited snaps in six games with the Lions last season. "I dont totally know the answer to it, only because he is just kind of coming back," Fipp said when asked if he's open to using Williams as a kick returner in 2023. Record: 140.9 yards per gameRecord-holder: Alex Van Dyke, NevadaSeasons: 1994-95. Though I understand the safety concerns, it would be a shame to tear down a stage on which some of college football's most talented players have put in work. Keenums NCAA record of 1,546 career completions also wont be touched. Welker scored eight touchdowns on punt returns in his career ('00-03), tying the FBS record. Daynes record is safe. This might be the most controversial of all our classes to be No.3, but this class had depth and a star on the field, and a headache off it all rolled into one class. Join our linker program. 20 college football teams we aren't sold on in 2023, SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Mizzou shocks Tennessee, Alabama downs Auburn and more, SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Alabama stays unbeaten in SEC play, Tennessee outlasts Auburn and more, SEC Basketball Power Rankings: A new top team emerges, Alabama loses in blowout fashion, Mizzou lights it up again. Duke fans and players were absolutely stunned, and while after the fact it was ruled that the play should have been blown dead about 12 timesthe result stood. Statistics are current through the 2022 NFL season and include stats accrued in NFL, AFL and APFA games. Im going to go track that thing down. He left Oklahoma as the school's career leader in punt return yards and tied Wes Welker and Ted Ginn Jr. for the FBS career record with eight total kick return touchdowns. + Indicates Hall of Famer, season age in parentheses, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Friday, March 3, 2:32PM. Who holds it: Ron Dayne, Wisconsin, 1996-99 Those gargantuan numbers would only be approached within a pass-happy offense with literally two or fewer reliable targets. Still, he has breakaway. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Bears game on Sunday. Career Leaders. A compilation of every kick return touchdown of the 2020 college football season. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Lions' brass has a plan. It shouldn't include Jalen Ramsey. Talk about making an impact in your NFL debut. The Irish victory at Michigan in front of over 105,000 fans made Norte Dame the first school to defeat Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler in three straight seasons. It was a challenging discussion, but in the end, the Titans 2005 class grabbed this position despite some of the antics of their first-round pick, Adam "Pacman" Jones. The Lane College alum ratcheted up his speed at the 15-yard line and bursted through a small seam in between the 49ers special teams front line. The Yellow Jackets posted two 63-point quarters in the first half during a beating that will never be forgotten. To start things off, Jones commited what many special teams coaches say is the biggest mistake for all return mendont take the ball out of the endzone if you catch it over five yards deep. In an interview with an Atlanta radio station. In todays game, for the most part, teams take their foot off the gas once they hit the 63-point plateau and play out the stretch. Who holds it: John Reaves, Florida, 1969 Find out more. Do you have a blog? Hester took the opening kickoff from his own 10-yard line and darted through the first wave of would-be tacklers with a fantastic juke step, and he was offHester made it 90 yards before anyone on the Colts touched him, but by then he was already in the endzone. Looking for a great NFL history book? Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Missouri. Punts are a much, much less physical play.". Why its untouchable: The Cougars waxed SMU, 95-21, in a biblical beating that featured an all-out aerial assault from Ware, who threw for 517 yards and later won the Heisman. It'd be like turning a demolition crew on the Apollo Theater. He ran for 92 yards on the second touchdown. NASHVILLE - It's time to reveal our No.3 class in the top-ten draft classes of the Titans history countdown. Find out more. You want to see over 100,000 people afraid to move? Single game leaders only reflect years for which we have complete boxscore data (1950 onward), all playoff games, and all 100 yard rushing/receiving or 300 yard passing games from 1940-1959. As a junior in 2005, Jones-Drew set the FBS single-season markby averaging 28.5 yards per punt return. With the game still tied between these two top-10 teams, Cam Newton did what he did best in 2010, take over a game with a game changing play. Imagine if the fantasy football owners who covet Jones-Drew so much now could have had him in college, where in addition to his rushing and receiving exploits,he was also a record-setting kick-returner. Follow him on Twitter@davebirkett. "It's hard to ask a guy to do all those things at a really high level, and people dont realize that," Fipp said. It's impossible for someone to break Nevada punter Pat Brady's 99-yard punt without having a touchback, and similarly, no player will ever top the record of a 100-yard return of an extra-point attempt, which is held by eight different players. Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners. . NFL Single Season Leaders - Kickoff Return Touchdowns The following is a list of the NFL single season kickoff returnleaders ranked by kickoff return touchdowns. That year, he took the opening kickoff of the opening game back for a TD against Tulsa. Most games scoring a touchdown, career. He made everybody miss twice against Michigan. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles; We're Social.for Statheads . Ismail dashed for 88 yards on that kickoff. Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, Doak Walker Award, AP and Sporting News Player of the Year. Most rushing touchdowns, game [ edit] FBS: 8 - Howard Griffith, Illinois, 1990; Kalen Ballage, Arizona State, 2016; Jaret Patterson, Buffalo, 2020 FCS: 7 - Archie Amerson, Northern Arizona, 1996 Div II: 8 - Junior Wolf, Oklahoma Panhandle State, 1958 Div III: 8 - Donavan Henderson, Manchester, 2019; Carey Bender, Coe, 1994 Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. In the 2020 season, Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz completed his first 17 pass attempts in the Badgers' season-opener against Illinois as he finished 20-for-21 passing for 248 yards and five touchdowns. The team that would now be kicking off would have the option: They could punt the ball or they could go for it. And unfortunately, its days may be numbered. Or write about sports? I think it would start the game in similar field position. With just the kicker to beat, Washington pulled a fantastic stutter step to put him to the ground and ran his way into the endzone. Simpson, Charles White and Anthony Davis wouldn't have imagined. As a receiver, Williams caught one pass for a 41-yard touchdown last season, had three drops on nine targets and had one carry for 40 yards. All rights reserved. Cooper wouldve had to post last seasons jaw-dropping numbers three consecutive seasons to pass Insley. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. And its like, 'Well, yeah, thats good, but what happens when the balls punted to that side of the field, we thought it was going to be over (on the other) side of the field and hes like, 'Oh, (expletive), I got to go over there.' Brian Mitchell, the three-time All-Pro who, interestingly enough, never once returned a punt or kickoff in college. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. I watched him do things in a USC uniform that Marcus Allen, O.J. He took a kickoff in his own end zone with 4:31 . With this play against Tennessee in 2011, the Arkansas wide receiver and return specialist made the argument that he pulled off the best punt return in football history. 5. As a junior in '86, Brown averaged 27.9 yards per kickoff return, including two touchdowns and 37.5 yards per punt return. Hall was fasthe once recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.29 secondsand his slender frame at 58, 187 pounds made it easy for him to slip around tacklers. The national leader in receiving yards per game during the 2020 season was Ole Miss' consensus All-American wide receiver Elijah Moore, who averaged 149.1 yards per game. Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. ), is safe in our opinion. When we went through and ranked these classes, there was a lot of debate as to who and which classes should be in what positions. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. Interview quotes are usually edited for length and clarity. Do you have a blog? In order for this record to fall and reminder, this is two brothers and even a family with three active FBS running backs would struggle to best the Sanders' combined total it would likely take a pair of brothers to each make a run at a 2,000-yard season in the same season. Could Top QB Fall To The Titans? Who holds it: No. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Both of Ismails kickoffs returned for touchdowns were in the second half, the first coming on the second-half kickoff. Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. Boasting the speed and fluidity you'd expect from an All-American sprinter, Rossum owns the FBS career record with nine total return touchdownsthree on punts, three on kickoffs, three on interceptionsand ranks second in Notre Dame history with a 22.9 punt-return average. Even as the length of the college football season has increased to 15 games for the teams that advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship, in order for Sanders' record to be broken, it would still require a player who plays for a national finalist to rush for at least 300 yards in one out of every three games in a single season. Recently, Oregon and Baylor have each topped the 700-yard mark with their no-huddle attacks, but hitting quadruple digits in a single game just seems unfathomable. Hall backpedaled as he caught a booming punt, and then proceeded to embarrass the entire special teams unitHall was nearly consumed by three Broncos players, but he juked in and out of the way to avoid them. An asterisk (*) after a player's name indicates bowl stats are included.Read more about our data coverage. Down three points with just six seconds left in this ACC matchup against Duke, the Miami Hurricanes were in a desperate positionthey needed to find a way to score a touchdown after a late score by the Blue Devils. Why its untouchable: Houston quarterback David Klinglers single-game FBS passing record of 716 yards stood for nearly 25 years before Halliday, a lesser-known quarterback and Air Raid product, eclipsed the mark last season. Start the video below at 1:11 for the amazing return. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Contact Dave Birkett atdbirkett@freepress.com. Thomas is a member of both the College Football and NFL Hall of Fame. We present them here for purely educational purposes. A kickoff return for a touchdown is one of the most exciting plays in football. Miami kick returner Jakeem Grant, in his fourth NFL season, had a 101-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in Week 11, his second career kick-return touchdown of at least . Roby was a miss for the Titans, but he was ultimately the only member of his class to play a prominent role on a team and win a Super Bowl. Raghib "Rocket" Ismail Holds Record for Most Games With Two Kickoff Returns for Touchdowns Adams took one step back after receiving the kick and seemingly had nowhere to go as he got close to the right sidelinethree Tennessee tacklers got right in his facebut instead of giving up, he changed direction and ran backwards (something coaches say never to do on punt returns). Beforehis breakout Heisman season (1988), Barry played backup to Thurman Thomas and made his mark on special teams. A kickoff return for a touchdown is one of the most exciting plays in football. If you don't, then you punt the ball. 4-ranked Auburn Tigers (10-1, 6-1 in the SEC). Michigan had narrowed Notre Dames lead to a single point right before halftime, but Rockets first touchdown returned stretched the Irishs lead to 14-6. Howard, the 1991 Heisman trophy winner, is the only return man to win the Super Bowl MVP. "Theyre like, 'Well, just throw him back there.' Statistics are current through the 2022 NFL season and include stats accrued in NFL, AFL and APFA games. Consider what we've seen from the most electrifying kick-returners to mark the college football landscape over the past quarter-century. For those that don't know, a kick return touchdown is when the kickoff retu. So well just see how it goes.". Keenum was granted a medical hardship in 2010 after tearing a knee ligament, but his five touchdowns over three games prior to injury count. Burleson's effort against San Jose State ranks tied for eighth all-time in single-game receiving yards and yet, he never made it to the end zone. 1 pick in the NFL draft (Mayfield), the former of whom is arguably a generational talent at the position and the latter of whom was named the best player in the country one year later. Only twice since the turn of the century has a team surpassed 30 or more straight wins USC and Miami. This Big 12 shootout, which ended in a 66-59 win for Oklahoma, featured a future NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion(Mahomes) and a future Heisman Trophy winner and No. It would take a dynamic talent like Randy Moss, who was interested in playing four seasons, to come close. Build your own custom leaderboards with Stathead Football. During his freshman and sophomore seasons, Jones-Drew averaged over 26 yards per kickoff return, and by the time he went pro, he had scored seven return touchdowns. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. But the NCAA told me none of it ever happened, so maybe I was just dreaming. It took about two years of post-Rocket recovery before I realized kick return TDs are actually a rare football gift. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? The best kick-returners have a knack for making big plays in big games. See our list of forfeits and vacated games for more details. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. One of his players, Eric LeGrand, remains paralyzed from the neck down today due to an injury suffered on a kickoff last October. Who holds it: Connor Halliday, Washington State, 2014 1 Georgia Tech trampled Cumberland Gap (Tenn.) 222-0 in 1916 2023 NCAA | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. College football bold predictions with B/R's Adam Kramer, FBS records and milestones that could be broken and reached this season, 5 predictions for the 2021 college football season, College football's longest active road winning streaks, Georgia wins the 2023 CFP National Championship, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Insane. College Football at Sports-Reference.com Blog and Articles. Roos and Stewart were bookend tackles throughout their career, and it's not often a team finds a pair of starting offensive tackles in the same draft. Or write about sports? Williams missed most of last season due to an ACL injury but is expected to be fully healthy by the start of the next season. Kickoff Return Touchdowns Single Season Leaders and Records An asterisk (*) after a player's name indicates bowl stats are included. Watch on. Greg Arias covers the Tennessee Titans for All Titans.com on Sports Illustrated/FanNation. (Jones-Drew's 91-yard kickoff return TD in that same game was understandably overshadowed.). INDIANAPOLIS The Detroit Lions are making big plans to get more out of explosive wide receiver Jameson Williams next season, and that could include using him on returns. Ouch. SEC Women's Basketball Tournament action suspended due to weather delay, Alabama basketball adds commitment from 4-star forward, 2 SEC players named to late-season watch list for Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy, Bruce Pearl tosses headset during radio interview after Auburn-Alabama game, Overrated? Williams returned two kicks for touchdowns in his one season at Alabama, when he averaged 35.2 yards on 10 kick returns.
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