Start the video below at 1:11 for the amazing return. I sat in awe, refreshing ESPN.coms GameTracker last season after every carry from Melvin Gordon, waiting on Wisconsins star running back to surpass the 400-yard barrier and inch closer to Ladainian Tomlinsons all-time mark. Consider what we've seen from the most electrifying kick-returners to mark the college football landscape over the past quarter-century. Whether it be a kickoff return or a punt return, football players put their amazing athletic ability on display as they weave in and out of tacklers, rushing down the field after receiving a kick. Well, in this case, its probably a good idea that Jones didnt listen to that advice. 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. These opinions are mine and mine alone. Just look at Moore's freshman (36.2 receiving yards per game) and sophomore (70.8 yards per game) seasons to see that it took Moore time (and potentially a coaching change to offensive mind Lane Kiffin) for him to develop into a receiver who could average that many yards per game. 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. 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. An asterisk (*) after a player's name indicates bowl stats are included.Read more about our data coverage. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. That dipped last season with 13 returns for 270 yards and 20.8 yards. "Theyre like, 'Well, just throw him back there.' Gordons incredible 408-yard performance through three quarters, no less against Nebraska was short-lived. 'Be a gunner? There have been 43 kickoffs returned for a touchdown since Patterson was drafted in 2013. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Good luck figuring out exactly what happened in November 2001 and why. The touchdown also helped Hester set an NFL record for the most return touchdowns by a player in a single season. Brian Mitchell, the three-time All-Pro who, interestingly enough, never once returned a punt or kickoff in college. NFL Kick Returns for Touchdown Single-Season Leaders | Pro-Football-Reference.com 1. Join our linker program. 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. Statistics are current through the 2022 NFL season and include stats accrued in NFL, AFL and APFA games. Find out more. It takes speed to return kicks well, but it also takes field vision, anticipation, agility, and some video game-like juke moves. 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. 2022 The Game Before the Money All Rights Reserved. And I think the great players are like that, and they want to do all that stuff. Andy Wittry has written for Stadium, SI.com, Sporting News, the Indianapolis Star, Louisville Courier-Journal and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. For his career, he scored six times on kick returns. Not that the Red Raiders' notoriously potent offense needed help putting points on the board, but Welker was an extra threat to score any time he fielded a kick. The following is a list of the NFL career punt return leaders ranked by punt return touchdowns. 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. Hester blew through an open lane to go basically untouched into the endzonehigh-stepping his way in all the way from the 20-yard line. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Again, that's with Kmic playing in 3 more games. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Kickoff Return Touchdowns Career Leaders and Records | College Football at Sports-Reference.com Kickoff Return Touchdowns Career Leaders and Records An asterisk (*) after a player's name indicates bowl stats are included. Why its untouchable: The NCAA didnt start collecting sacks as an official FBS statistic until 2000, but were putting Thomas insane number of 27 quarterback faceplants with the Crimson Tide in 1988 inside the Top 10. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. I got kick return, too, I would have housed that one.' Missouri. Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. It was reported that Georgia Tech coach John Heisman didnt let up after Cumberland Gap had beaten the Yellow Jackets in baseball, 22-0, earlier that year. 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. Ismail dashed for 88 yards on that kickoff. NFL Career Leaders - Kickoff Return Touchdowns. Grant, who is six inches shorter than the 6-foot-1 Williams, has made his biggest impact in the NFL as a return man. 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. Career Leaders. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. But others, at least on the surface, appear untouchable. And his most memorable returna 91-yard dash with one minute left in the 1991 Orange Bowl that (would have) dashed Colorado's national championshipdidn't even count due to a clipping penalty. 1990. Like sports history? That season, he averaged 19.8 yards per kickoff return and scored three TDs on punt returns. In 2019, Wright finished with 10 returns for 380 yards, 38 yards per return and two touchdowns. Or write about sports? 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. Ismails first touchdown return against Michigan was the first kickoff returned for a touchdown against the Wolverines since 1957 over 30 years before Rockets epic launch. As a senior, he won the Mosi Tatupu Award as the nation's top special teams player. Both records have since been broken. A kickoff return for a touchdown is one of the most exciting plays in football. Hester set the NFL record for most return touchdowns (combining kickoffs and punts) with 20 over the course of his career, and one of his best came in Super Bowl XLIwhich was played in Miami, where Hester went to collegeagainst the Indianapolis Colts. 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. Who holds it: Houston offense led by QB Andre Ware in 1990 Travis Etienne. All rights reserved. 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. East Carolina's Bryson Worrell kicked off the first round of the DI baseball tournament with a bang, not once, but twice against Greenville Regional opponent Coppin State. The return marked the longest punt return touchdown in NFL history. Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. 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. Hester set the NFL record for most return touchdowns (combining kickoffs and punts) with 20 over the course of his career, and one of his best came in Super Bowl XLIwhich was played in. One college player tops everybody in this category because he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns twice! Ouch. Raymond Clayborn (3/1977), 3. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Welker scored eight touchdowns on punt returns in his career ('00-03), tying the FBS record. NASHVILLE - It's time to reveal our No.3 class in the top-ten draft classes of the Titans history countdown. We're going to double dip with Barry Sanders but this time it's a family affair. Why its untouchable: Youve got to feel for Reaves, the Gators errant passer who tossed nine completions to the opposing defense at Auburn in 1969. Or write about sports? 4-ranked Auburn Tigers (10-1, 6-1 in the SEC). Join our linker program. 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. 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. Except C.J. Twenty-five players in college football history have run two kickoffs back for touchdowns in the same game. Brandon Jones, who physically looked the part, and Damien Nash were the only two real misses in this class. Active players are listed in bold. On one September day in 2003, Perkins tortured the Bruins for 277 yards on seven punt returns, scoring touchdowns from65, 74 and 84 yards out. Active players are listed in bold. I watched him do things in a USC uniform that Marcus Allen, O.J. Talk about making an impact in your NFL debut. 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. 3 running back Justin Jackson as their top kick returner last season. 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. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0, 7-0 in the SEC) as a 10-point favorite over the No. Thomas is a member of both the College Football and NFL Hall of Fame. 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. But the NCAA told me none of it ever happened, so maybe I was just dreaming. 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.