When a college football program becomes proficient at producing pass-catching talent and churning out NFL draft selections, they earn the vaunted “WRU” moniker. In recent years, many programs have laid claim to the accolade. The right to name yourself “WRU” is discussed, debated, and argued frequently and with ferocity. Who is WRU? It’s time to end the debate once and for all.
Top 5 college football WRU programs
There were seven programs that feature in the top five of at least one of: total picks, picks since 2000, and first-round picks. Those seven were also ranked by average college production (receiving yards, yards per catch, receiving touchdowns) and average NFL production. With points awarded across all categories, that gives us a definitive answer to who is WRU. There can be no argument. Except, perhaps, there will be some.
5) USC Trojans
Of their 51 total WR selections in the NFL draft, 18 have come since 2000. That sees the Trojans rank fourth amongst all college football programs for WRs selected since 2000. Additionally, they’ve had four first-round WRs in that time. In addition to London, Nelson Agholor, Mike Williams, and R. Jay Soward have all heard their names called on Day 1 of the NFL draft.
Since 2000, USC’s also been the most productive program in college football in terms of receiving yards. Their 18 drafted players have averaged 2,523 career receiving yards, led by Marqise Lee who tallied 3,655 yards between 2011 and 2013. Lee also finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2012. The Trojans also had the second-highest average career touchdown, with the 21.2 average TDs bolstered by Dwayne Jarrett’s 41 career scores.
Yet, the college production didn’t transition seamlessly to the NFL level. While Robert Woods has tallied 7,077 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns in the league, the average career receiving yards for a USC pass catcher in the NFL is just 1,541 yards and 8.41 touchdowns.
4) Miami Hurricanes
While Miami often gets tabbed as “TEU”, they have their own claim to being considered WRU. Although their 15 receivers selected since 2000 don’t rank in the top five, and they haven’t had a first-round receiver since Phillip Dorsett in 2015, the Hurricanes have the third-most wide receivers selected in the history of the NFL draft with 44.
They’ve also had some serious NFL production since the turn of the millennium. Andre Johnson (14,185), Santana Moss (10,283), and Reggie Wayne (14,345) all broke the 10,000-receiving-yard marker in the league. While players like Stacy Coley, Tommy Streeter, and Daryl Jones drag the average down, Miami receivers have produced an average of 3,490 yards in their NFL careers.
Former Hurricanes have also averaged 19.66 touchdowns in their NFL careers. However, even Johnson, Moss, and Wayne didn’t put up particularly gaudy college numbers in terms of receiving yards. That said, the Hurricanes’ career average of 15.91 yards per catch leads all CFB programs that have produced the greatest number of NFL draft picks at the position.
3) Ohio State Buckeyes
Okay, now we’re into the serious business. Considered by many to be the true WRU of college football, Ohio State has had the most WR picks of any program since 2000. The program’s 22 picks since then contributes to an overall total of 48 receivers selected in NFL draft history, the second-most of any program behind USC.
The Buckeyes have also had six first-round picks at the position, including Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson in the 2022 NFL Draft. With 2,702 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns, Olave has been one of the most productive Buckeyes receivers since 2000, and in program history. In that time span, Ohio State pass catchers have averaged 1,588 career receiving yards, 14.7 yards per catch, and 15 touchdowns. College production has lagged behind some of the other programs in consideration for WRU.
However, Ohio State WRs have fared much better in the NFL. Led by Santonio Holmes’ 6,030 career receiving yards and 36 touchdowns, Buckeyes have averaged 1,850 career receiving yards in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes’ career average of 11.95 yards per catch ranks second behind Alabama.
Can Olave and Wilson join Holmes, Ted Ginn Jr., and Michael Thomas as Buckeyes drafted since 2000 with over 5,000 career receiving yards?
2) LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers are just behind Ohio State with 21 picks since 2000. With 39 selections in NFL draft history and six first-round picks since the turn of the millennium, they have a legitimate claim to be WRU.
Three of those first-round picks are still piling up the yardage in the NFL, with Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson primed to be terrorizing NFL defenses for years to come. Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry have formed the program’s most productive duo in the NFL, with 14,965 receiving yards between them. Meanwhile, Brandon LaFell and Dwayne Bowe have also broken 5,000 receiving yards in their careers.
LSU receivers have averaged 2,482 career receiving yards in the NFL, second only to Miami. The Tigers are also second only to the Hurricanes in terms of average career touchdowns in the NFL (13.85).
While LSU also had the second most CFB average yards per reception since 2000, other production metrics stymied their bid to be named the true WRU. Alabama, USC, and Oklahoma all had more college career average receiving yards. Meanwhile, despite having a multitude of receivers with over 20 TDs in their college careers, LSU players have averaged 14 touchdowns since 2000, ranking fifth of the WRU-eligible teams.
1) Alabama Crimson Tide
Jameson Williams, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs III, Jerry Jeudy, Calvin Ridley, Amari Cooper, Julio Jones. That’s EIGHT first-round WRs that the Crimson Tide has washed up on the shores of the NFL. No other college football program has produced more than six first-round WRs since 2000. While Alabama has only had 27 receivers selected in NFL draft history — and 14 since 2000 — you can’t argue with the talent they’ve produced.
Okay, so you want to argue. I get it. While the sheer quantity of pass catchers produced at WRU might not match up to some of the other programs, the quality certainly does. With 13,330 NFL receiving yards, Jones sits behind Wayne and Johnson all-time. However, not only is he still going (technically), his 15.2 yards per catch surpasses the mark set by the two Miami WRs.
Meanwhile, there are few college receivers from the teams at the top of the list that can hold a candle to Smith’s college production. From 2017-2020, the Alabama receiver tallied 3,965 yards and 46 touchdowns. While some of the premier pass catchers — including LSU’s Chase — were limited by fewer seasons, only Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles (4,586 yards) has surpassed Smith’s college production at WRU-eligible teams since 2000.
Alabama receivers average the most yards per catch of any WRU-eligible program at the NFL level, with a career average of 12.37 yards per catch. Consistent producers across both CFB and NFL levels, they rank third in college football yards (2,155), yards per catch (15.2), and touchdowns (18.35). Meanwhile, they rank third in NFL average career yards (2,394) and touchdowns (12.83).
What makes a program WRU?
Ascertaining which program is Wide Receiver U should be a simple matter. Yet, sometimes, success can be a difficult thing to measure. Even in a world of in-depth statistical analysis, what defines success can vary so vastly that it feels almost impossible to confidently proclaim that someone is the best, or that one college produces the best athletes at a particular position.
What even is WRU? Is it the program that produces the most pass catchers to the professional ranks? If that’s the case, then it should be a simple matter to resolve. The USC Trojans have had 51 wide receivers drafted to the NFL, including the eighth overall selection of the 2022 NFL Draft, Drake London. Based on this, USC is the WRU, long-standing arguments resolved within 200 words.
If the matter was so simple to resolve, it wouldn’t be such a hotly debated topic. So, I ask again, what is WRU? If the goal from the moment you first receive a football in your hands is to make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, should that be considered in the makeup of WRU? Because if it should, then Ohio State is the front-runner. In Dante Lavelli, Cris Carter, and Paul Warfield, the Buckeyes are the only program with three WRs in the HOF.
Perhaps pure production is the key to unlocking Wide Receiver U? In tallying 5,728 yards between 2013 and 2016, Corey Davis has the most productive college career of any wide receiver. Is Western Michigan WRU? Despite the NFL becoming more of a passing league in recent years, Jerry Rice’s 22,895 receiving yards may never be caught. Rice honed his craft at Mississippi Valley State. Does his NFL success make the Delta Devils WRU?
Multiple factors make up WRU
Ultimately, there isn’t one single factor that makes a program WRU. There needs to be multiple data points and elements that contribute to deciding how successful a team is at producing wide receiver talent.
Of course, total picks are a key consideration. There is historical relevance there. However, in an ever-changing football landscape, how successful a team has been at sending players to the league in recent years since the passing game has been more prevalent, has to be weighed in the argument.
So, there is “all-time” and “picks since 2000” included in our assessment of which program is WRU. The number of first-round picks in that time frame has also been taken into consideration. When we think of draft success, that is the ultimate measure. There’s a reason why Round 1 of the NFL draft commands a whole day and hours of broadcast content to itself.
There’s also college football production to consider. Once again, that can be subjective, so we’ve broken it down to receiving yardage, yards per catch, and receiving touchdowns. Because some players can blossom in the NFL having seen little production at the college level, we’ve averaged out production across all players drafted from the program since 2000. We’ve done the same for their NFL production because high-flying college stars don’t always pan out at the NFL level.