30 best college football wide receivers of the 21st century

6. Mike Williams – USC Trojans

Mike Williams’ career is best known for his attempt to change rules for college players and go to the NFL early. He joined Maurice Clarett in their lawsuit trying to change eligibility to allow younger college players to declare for the NFL Draft. If you don’t remember it, it was a fascinating timeline. Williams did just about everything in his first two seasons at USC and he was probably ready to go to the NFL.

It didn’t work out and the saga probably hurt his career as a whole. However, his dominance on a college stage cannot be denied.

His freshman season was one of the best for a wide receiver ever. He had 81 catches, for 1,265 yards and 14 touchdowns for a USC team that played nine ranked teams that season. Against 13th-ranked Oregon, Williams had 226 yards and two touchdowns. He had three touchdowns in a win against 22nd-ranked Washington. Against 7th-ranked Notre Dame, Williams put up 169 yards and two touchdowns. In the Orange Bowl against a 3rd-ranked Iowa team, he had 99 yards and a touchdown.

His sophomore year was somehow better. Williams was an All-American for the National Champion USC team. He finished eighth in Heisman voting and lost the Biletnikoff to someone who will come later on this list (and is somehow still playing football today). He had 95 catches for 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Only Dwayne Jarrett and Robert Woods have more career touchdowns and they both have an entire season on Williams. No player has more touchdowns in a season. Williams was unstoppable. It helped to play on a team with Reggie Bush and LenDale White in the backfield, but Williams was one of the best talents to grace college football. If he played his junior year, he might be number one on this list.