30 best college football wide receivers of the 21st century

27. Tavon Austin – West Virginia Mountaineers

Tavon Austin’s highlight reel might be one of the best of all time. Massive play after massive play for the high-powered West Virginia offense made him the must-watch player in college football in 2011 and 2012. His 114 receptions in 2012 is a WVU record. There’s a reason NFL teams keep giving Austin a chance (the Packers signed him midseason this year). It’s because he is one of the most talented players to put his cleats on the gridiron.

Just a quick rundown of the awards Austin won in West Virginia: first-team All-American twice, first-team All-Big East twice, 2012 All-Purpose Performer of the Year, Big East Special Teams Player of the Year, a Paul Hornung Award and a Jet Award. Somehow, he wasn’t a finalist for the Biletnikoff in 2012 despite being the engine to that offense. His teammate Stedman Bailey was a finalist (he did score 25 touchdowns that season), but everyone knew Austin was the star there.

The best game of his career came against Oklahoma. His receiving line was four catches for 82 yards. That’s mediocre but look at his rushing stats. He carried the ball 21 times for 344 yards and two touchdowns. That’s 16 yards per carry from a wide receiver. Add in 146 kick return yards and it is one of the greatest performances against the Sooners in history.

The Mountaineers were in the midst of a terrible losing streak after they had actual National Championship aspirations and it was the first time they were playing Oklahoma in Big 12 play. The Sooners came out with the 50-49 victory, but Austin left a mark again the Sooners. His 572 all-purpose yards were less than 10 away from breaking the NCAA record. It was one of the greatest performances from a wide receiver in history.