BEST WR COMBOS
July 03, 2011 09:05 PM | General
Last month I came up with 10 outstanding running back combos. This month, how about 10 West Virginia University wide receiver tandems who doubled your pleasure? As we get ready for Independence Day, here are 10 pairings who could also provide plenty of fireworks on the football field:
10. Alric Arnett and Jock Sanders (2008)
This pair may have done a lot of their damage at the line of scrimmage (a combined average of just 10.5 yards per catch), but they also did a good job of getting into the end zone with a combined 13 TD catches in 2008. Arnett was particularly effective in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl against North Carolina, hauling in seven passes for 93 yards and two scores in a 31-30 win over the Tar Heels. Sanders, meanwhile, led the team with 53 receptions, including seven for scores.
Stats: 88 rec., 928 yards, 13 TDs, 10.5 ave.
9. Brandon Myles and Darius Reynaud (2006)
This duo combined to catch 75 passes for 1,042 yards and 10 touchdowns in Rich Rodriguez’s run-centric offense that ranked No. 2 in the country on the ground averaging 303 yards per game. Reynaud led the team with 39 receptions while Myles had a team-best 522 receiving yards and eight TD receptions. Reynaud was the only Mountaineer receiver to top 100 yards in a game that season with 110 at East Carolina; he is currently a member of the New York Giants.
Stats: 75 rec., 1,042 yards, 10 TDs, 13.8 ave.
8. David Saunders and Rahsaan Vanterpool (1996)
Saunders, a sophomore in 1996, became the first receiver in school history to catch 70 passes in a season (76) to make up for Rahsaan Vanterpool’s injury-plagued senior campaign. Still, Vanterpool caught 31 passes for 421 yards and three TDs, including a pair of 100-yard receiving games against Boston College and Purdue. Sanders had huge games against Boston College (eight catches for 191 yards) and Rutgers (11 catches for 178 yards) and the pair combed for 17 catches for 343 yards against BC and posted a combined 15 career 100-yard receiving games.
Stats: 107 rec., 1,464 yards, 8 TDs, 13.7 ave.
7. Calvin Phillips and Reggie Rembert (1988)
The pair only caught 47 passes in 1988, but they made the most of it by averaging a combined 24 yards per reception and scoring nine touchdowns. Phillips had great games against Fullerton (five catches for 190 yards) and Penn State (four catches for 114 yards), while Rembert led the team with seven touchdown catches. The threat of play action passes down the field to Phillips, Rembert and Grantis Bell helped the Mountaineers rank No. 2 in the country in scoring with an average of 42.9 points per game. Rembert was a second round pick of the New York Jets but managed to spend just three years in the league with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stats: 47 rec., 1,127 yards, 9 TDs, 24.0 ave.
6. Mike Baker and Jay Kearney (1993)
Baker and Kearney seemed to have their big games together in 1993, the duo producing dual-100-yard performances against Maryland and Rutgers that season; Kearney also passed the century mark in receiving yards against Missouri and Boston College that year. Baker led the team with 42 grabs, while Kearney was the team’s home run threat with 750 yards and an average of 25.9 yards per catch. The Mountaineers in ’93 finished the season ranked 10th in scoring offense (36.5 ppg.) and 13th in total offense (482.7 ypg.)
Stats: 71 rec., 1,464 yards, 10 TDs, 20.6 ave.
5. Danny Buggs and Marshall Mills (1972)
Buggs and Mills were West Virginia’s first outstanding wide receiver tandem, the two helping coach Bobby Bowden’s explosive ’72 offense rank sixth in the country in passing with an average of 227.8 yards per game. Buggs and Mills became the first duo to record 100-yard receiving performances in the same game against Virginia, and Buggs also became the first pass catcher in school history to produce back-to-back 100 yard receiving efforts against Penn State and Pitt that same season. The late Mills finished his WVU career in 1974 by becoming the first receiver in school history with more than 100 career catches while Buggs spent time in the NFL with the New York Giants and Washington Redskins.
Stats: 74 rec., 1,450 yards, 11 TDs, 19.6 ave.
4. Tavon Austin and Jock Sanders (2010)
Sanders is the first repeat performer on this list, teaming with Austin in 2010 to give the Mountaineers a combined 1,515 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air. Austin was West Virginia’s big-play weapon, catching 58 passes for a team-best 787 yards and eight touchdowns, while Sanders, the school career receiving leader with 206 grabs, contributed 69 receptions for 728 yards and four scores. Austin had a pair of 100-yard receiving games against Rutgers (121) and Maryland (110).
Stats: 127 rec., 1,515 yards, 12 TDs, 11.9 ave.
3. Antonio Brown and Khori Ivy (2000)
Brown had back-to-back monster games to end the season against East Carolina and Mississippi, nabbing 12 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns in big Mountaineer victories over the Pirates and Rebels, while Ivy finished the year with 47 catches for 806 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns, including a seven-catch, 155-yard performance against Temple. The pair produced seven combined 100-yard receiving games during their WVU careers and Brown later spent time in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins.
Stats: 98 rec., 1,683 yards, 10 TDs, 17.1 ave.
2. Rahsaan Vanterpool and Zach Abraham (1994)
Vanterpool and Abraham combined to catch 91 passes for 1,601 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1994, including the best joint performance in school history during West Virginia’s 47-41 come-from-behind victory over Pitt in Pittsburgh. Vanterpool established a school record with 205 yards receiving (since broken by Chris Henry) while Abraham contributed six catches for 180 yards, including the game-winning TD catch late in the fourth quarter. Vanterpool and Abraham each had three 100-yard receiving games that season while averaging a combined 17.6 yards per reception.
Stats: 91 rec., 1,601 yards, 11 TDs, 17.6 ave.
1. Shawn Foreman and David Saunders (1998)
Neither were burners, but Foreman and Saunders had big bodies and provided nice pass-catching targets for record-setting quarterback Marc Bulger in 1998. Saunders, coming off a serious knee injury that forced him to miss the entire ’97 campaign, came back to lead the Mountaineers with a school-record 77 receptions, while Foreman had huge games that year against Missouri (11 catches for 189 yards), Miami (nine catches for 158 yards) and Pitt (five catches for 115 yards) to finish the season with a team-leading 948 receiving yards. Saunders also had big games against Syracuse (six catches for 110 yards) and Temple (five catches for 101 yards), while the two combined for 16 100-yard receiving games during their outstanding Mountaineers careers.
Stats: 140 rec., 1,971 yards, 16 TDs, 14.1 ave.
How did I do? Am I missing any? Did I rate some too high or too low? Send me your thoughts on Twitter and I will retweet the best responses.
10. Alric Arnett and Jock Sanders (2008)
This pair may have done a lot of their damage at the line of scrimmage (a combined average of just 10.5 yards per catch), but they also did a good job of getting into the end zone with a combined 13 TD catches in 2008. Arnett was particularly effective in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl against North Carolina, hauling in seven passes for 93 yards and two scores in a 31-30 win over the Tar Heels. Sanders, meanwhile, led the team with 53 receptions, including seven for scores.
Stats: 88 rec., 928 yards, 13 TDs, 10.5 ave.
9. Brandon Myles and Darius Reynaud (2006)
This duo combined to catch 75 passes for 1,042 yards and 10 touchdowns in Rich Rodriguez’s run-centric offense that ranked No. 2 in the country on the ground averaging 303 yards per game. Reynaud led the team with 39 receptions while Myles had a team-best 522 receiving yards and eight TD receptions. Reynaud was the only Mountaineer receiver to top 100 yards in a game that season with 110 at East Carolina; he is currently a member of the New York Giants.
Stats: 75 rec., 1,042 yards, 10 TDs, 13.8 ave.
8. David Saunders and Rahsaan Vanterpool (1996)
Saunders, a sophomore in 1996, became the first receiver in school history to catch 70 passes in a season (76) to make up for Rahsaan Vanterpool’s injury-plagued senior campaign. Still, Vanterpool caught 31 passes for 421 yards and three TDs, including a pair of 100-yard receiving games against Boston College and Purdue. Sanders had huge games against Boston College (eight catches for 191 yards) and Rutgers (11 catches for 178 yards) and the pair combed for 17 catches for 343 yards against BC and posted a combined 15 career 100-yard receiving games.
Stats: 107 rec., 1,464 yards, 8 TDs, 13.7 ave.
7. Calvin Phillips and Reggie Rembert (1988)
The pair only caught 47 passes in 1988, but they made the most of it by averaging a combined 24 yards per reception and scoring nine touchdowns. Phillips had great games against Fullerton (five catches for 190 yards) and Penn State (four catches for 114 yards), while Rembert led the team with seven touchdown catches. The threat of play action passes down the field to Phillips, Rembert and Grantis Bell helped the Mountaineers rank No. 2 in the country in scoring with an average of 42.9 points per game. Rembert was a second round pick of the New York Jets but managed to spend just three years in the league with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Stats: 47 rec., 1,127 yards, 9 TDs, 24.0 ave.
6. Mike Baker and Jay Kearney (1993)
Baker and Kearney seemed to have their big games together in 1993, the duo producing dual-100-yard performances against Maryland and Rutgers that season; Kearney also passed the century mark in receiving yards against Missouri and Boston College that year. Baker led the team with 42 grabs, while Kearney was the team’s home run threat with 750 yards and an average of 25.9 yards per catch. The Mountaineers in ’93 finished the season ranked 10th in scoring offense (36.5 ppg.) and 13th in total offense (482.7 ypg.)
Stats: 71 rec., 1,464 yards, 10 TDs, 20.6 ave.
5. Danny Buggs and Marshall Mills (1972)
Buggs and Mills were West Virginia’s first outstanding wide receiver tandem, the two helping coach Bobby Bowden’s explosive ’72 offense rank sixth in the country in passing with an average of 227.8 yards per game. Buggs and Mills became the first duo to record 100-yard receiving performances in the same game against Virginia, and Buggs also became the first pass catcher in school history to produce back-to-back 100 yard receiving efforts against Penn State and Pitt that same season. The late Mills finished his WVU career in 1974 by becoming the first receiver in school history with more than 100 career catches while Buggs spent time in the NFL with the New York Giants and Washington Redskins.
Stats: 74 rec., 1,450 yards, 11 TDs, 19.6 ave.
4. Tavon Austin and Jock Sanders (2010)
Sanders is the first repeat performer on this list, teaming with Austin in 2010 to give the Mountaineers a combined 1,515 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air. Austin was West Virginia’s big-play weapon, catching 58 passes for a team-best 787 yards and eight touchdowns, while Sanders, the school career receiving leader with 206 grabs, contributed 69 receptions for 728 yards and four scores. Austin had a pair of 100-yard receiving games against Rutgers (121) and Maryland (110).
Stats: 127 rec., 1,515 yards, 12 TDs, 11.9 ave.
3. Antonio Brown and Khori Ivy (2000)
Brown had back-to-back monster games to end the season against East Carolina and Mississippi, nabbing 12 passes for 335 yards and three touchdowns in big Mountaineer victories over the Pirates and Rebels, while Ivy finished the year with 47 catches for 806 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns, including a seven-catch, 155-yard performance against Temple. The pair produced seven combined 100-yard receiving games during their WVU careers and Brown later spent time in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins.
Stats: 98 rec., 1,683 yards, 10 TDs, 17.1 ave.
2. Rahsaan Vanterpool and Zach Abraham (1994)
Vanterpool and Abraham combined to catch 91 passes for 1,601 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1994, including the best joint performance in school history during West Virginia’s 47-41 come-from-behind victory over Pitt in Pittsburgh. Vanterpool established a school record with 205 yards receiving (since broken by Chris Henry) while Abraham contributed six catches for 180 yards, including the game-winning TD catch late in the fourth quarter. Vanterpool and Abraham each had three 100-yard receiving games that season while averaging a combined 17.6 yards per reception.
Stats: 91 rec., 1,601 yards, 11 TDs, 17.6 ave.
1. Shawn Foreman and David Saunders (1998)
Neither were burners, but Foreman and Saunders had big bodies and provided nice pass-catching targets for record-setting quarterback Marc Bulger in 1998. Saunders, coming off a serious knee injury that forced him to miss the entire ’97 campaign, came back to lead the Mountaineers with a school-record 77 receptions, while Foreman had huge games that year against Missouri (11 catches for 189 yards), Miami (nine catches for 158 yards) and Pitt (five catches for 115 yards) to finish the season with a team-leading 948 receiving yards. Saunders also had big games against Syracuse (six catches for 110 yards) and Temple (five catches for 101 yards), while the two combined for 16 100-yard receiving games during their outstanding Mountaineers careers.
Stats: 140 rec., 1,971 yards, 16 TDs, 14.1 ave.
How did I do? Am I missing any? Did I rate some too high or too low? Send me your thoughts on Twitter and I will retweet the best responses.
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