And unfortunately, its days may be numbered. 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. You can't knock Schiano for wanting to make the game safer. Adams slipped through a couple tackles and appeared to be at a dead end againbut with blazing speed he darted up the sideline and got a key block, sending him straight towards the end zone with nearly the entire Tennessee team chasing him, but all coming up short. Travis Etienne. NFL Career Leaders - Punt Return Touchdowns. In order for this record to be topped, it would take a pair of quarterbacks likely future NFL starters to average roughly 700 passing yards apiece. Join our linker program. Spiller racked up 2,052 yards and seven touchdowns (an FBS record) on kickoff returns and added 569 yards and a score on punt returns for good measure. Ten players have done that in NFL history. He still showed game-breaking ability at times last season but had two punt return touchdowns wiped out due to penalties while averaging 8.8 yards on 13 attempts with a long of 19. Schiano, like anybody who cares about football, cares about the welfare of the players. After the game, Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz told reporters he simply told Ismail to run to middle. Whether it's football, fashion or just breathing, it's tough to make any "Most Electrifying" list without including Deion. 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. Consider what we've seen from the most electrifying kick-returners to mark the college football landscape over the past quarter-century. Keenums NCAA record of 1,546 career completions also wont be touched. Greg Arias covers the Tennessee Titans for All Titans.com on Sports Illustrated/FanNation. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. 1 on that list? Read more about our data coverage. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. NFL Career Leaders - Punt Return Touchdowns - FootballDB.com Rushing for 1,500 yards in a season is a terrific accomplishment for a player one likely to earn the player all-conference, if not All-America, honors. NFL Kick Returns for Touchdown Single Game Leaders All-Time Kick Returns for Touchdown Leaders Build your own custom leaderboards with Stathead Football. Why its untouchable: College footballs Heisman winner in 1999, Dayne topped 2,000 yards for the second time in his Big Ten career to finish with an incredible NCAA-record 7,125 yards on the ground on a record-breaking 1,220 carries. 2,850 rushing yards is more than anyone's ever gained at any level of college or pro football. Williams returned two kicks for touchdowns in his one season at Alabama, when he averaged 35.2 yards on 10 kick returns. Check out The Game Before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built the NFL available at Amazon.comBarnes and NobleUniversity of Nebraska Press. Kick Six - Wikipedia And that wasn't even the most impressive part of the return. 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. We do not target any individuals under the age of 21. Keenum was granted a medical hardship in 2010 after tearing a knee ligament, but his five touchdowns over three games prior to injury count. Active players are listed in bold. Hester had himself quite the day against the St. Louis Rams back in 2006, returning two kicks for touchdowns in the game. In this post, we talk about kickoff returns for touchdowns. UTEP quarterback Brooks Dawson once threw a touchdown pass on six consecutive attempts against New Mexico and what makes it really unbreakable is that he started the game 6-for-6 with six touchdowns. 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. The best kick-returners have a knack for making big plays in big games. Im going to go track that thing down. Patterson somehow broke through the throng of tacklers and then it became a track meetand he won. NASHVILLE - It's time to reveal our No.3 class in the top-ten draft classes of the Titans history countdown. It'd be like turning a demolition crew on the Apollo Theater. Do you have a blog? Not only did Sanders win the Heisman in the 1988 season with his all-time great junior campaign 2,628 rushing yards, 7.6 yards per carry, 37 rushing touchdowns, one punt return touchdown and one kick return touchdown but his brother, Byron, also turned in a 1,000-yard season with Northwestern the fall of '88. For his career, he scored six times on kick returns. Hester may not be the fastest person to ever play football, but I don't think I've seen anybody run faster on a football field. The next year, his Heisman year, Sanders took the opening kickoff in the opening game back 100 yards for a score against Miami-Ohio. Whether it was a kickoff or punt return, these players knew how to electrify a stadiumand avoid tacklers at all costs. The Human Joystick made video-game like moves on the field and one of his most impressive returns came against the Denver Broncos in 2003the same season in which he set a record by returning a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown four games in a row. Statistics are current through the 2022 NFL season and include stats accrued in NFL, AFL and APFA games. And before Hester made his name in the biggest game by returning the opening kickoff for a TD in Super Bowl XLI, he showed similarly great timing in college. We support responsible gambling. With this play against Tennessee in 2011, the Arkansas wide receiver and return specialist made the argument that he pulled off the best punt return in football history. NFL Kick Returns for Touchdown Single Game Leaders Record: 36 attempts Record-holder: Dominique Davis, East Carolina Season: 2011 In the 2020 season, Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz completed his first 17 pass attempts in the Badgers'. 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. It's almost unfathomable to see a stat line of 12 receptions, 326 yards, 27.2 yards per reception andzero touchdowns. Mitchell was a full-time quarterback at Louisiana-Lafayette. College Football: The 15 Most Electrifying Kick Returners of the Last Watch Newton go 49 yards against the LSU defense. The Detroit Lions are reportedly considering using wide receiver Jameson Williams as a returner for the 2023 NFL season. The option to go for it would replace the onside kickoff. "I dont totally know the answer to it, only because he is just kind of coming back," Fipp said when asked if he's open to using Williams as a kick returner in 2023. This might be the most controversial of all our classes to be No.3, but this class had depth and a star on the field, and a headache off it all rolled into one class. NCAA Individual Records for Scoring | College Football at Sports Why its untouchable: Houston quarterback David Klinglers single-game FBS passing record of 716 yards stood for nearly 25 years before Halliday, a lesser-known quarterback and Air Raid product, eclipsed the mark last season. Contact Dave Birkett [email protected]. It is the most violent, video-friendly, terrifying, electrifying, dangerous and dramatic play in football. I expected him to score every time he touched the ball. He is a former college linebacker, a longtime coach and a parent. Hester danced his way around defenders like a true artistcutting side to side, running backwards, spinning out of tacklesbefore breaking free and taking the ball into the endzone. 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. If any quarterback is going to approach this record in the future, hell be another Mike Leach understudy. The team that would now be kicking off would have the option: They could punt the ball or they could go for it. Over the past eight months, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano has become the public face of a movement to eliminate the kickoff from college football. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 6:41AM. Recruited to play defensive back and run track, Ginn made an immediate impact with the ball, leading the nation in punt return average (25.6) as a freshman and scoring four touchdowns. Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn content even if head coach jobs never materialize, Brad Holmes: 'I don't think the cupboard's bare on defense'. Active players are listed in bold. Who holds it: Derrick Thomas, Alabama, 1988 In 2019, Wright finished with 10 returns for 380 yards, 38 yards per return and two touchdowns. Beforehis breakout Heisman season (1988), Barry played backup to Thurman Thomas and made his mark on special teams. Record: 140.9 yards per gameRecord-holder: Alex Van Dyke, NevadaSeasons: 1994-95. Do you have a sports website? Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. 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. And its like, 'Well, yeah, thats good, but what happens when the balls punted to that side of the field, we thought it was going to be over (on the other) side of the field and hes like, 'Oh, (expletive), I got to go over there.' All NFL TeamsNFL All NFL TeamsNFL We present them here for purely educational purposes. Al Diaz/Miami Herald/TNS. After a final lateralmaking for eight laterals in totalall the way across to the opposite side field, the Hurricanes took the ball up the sideline and found wide open space, scoring the game-winning touchdown. We present them here for purely educational purposes. SHAWN WINDSOR:Lions' brass has a plan. In 1988, "Prime Time" led the nation in punt-return average and left FSU as the school's all-time leader in punt return yards. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. Jameis Winston led Florida State to 29 consecutive victories during his tenure, an impressive streak snapped in violent fashion by Oregon in last years first College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl. Devin Hester (Miami) 11 of 15 Jamie. Who holds it: Houston offense led by QB Andre Ware in 1990 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. Or write about sports? Kickoff Return Touchdowns Single Season Leaders and Records | College After a punt from the New Orleans Saints landed into the endzone, it appeared that the ball was going to bounce out of bounds, causing a touchback to the 20-yard linebut it didnt. Jackson was one of the NFL's best return men early in his career, but less effective as a returner after taking on a bigger role at receiver. We present them here for purely educational purposes. It takes speed to return kicks well, but it also takes field vision, anticipation, agility, and some video game-like juke moves. Ginn visited the end zone four more times on kick returns over the next three seasonsincluding taking the opening kickoff back 92 yards in the 2007 BCS National Championship Gameand finished his career as the Big Ten's all-time leader in punt-return touchdowns. For those that don't know, a kick return touchdown is when the kickoff retu. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said Williams is on par with Cleveland Browns receiver Jakeem Grant as the fastest player he's ever coached. In fact, he only scored two touchdowns in 2001, despite finishing the season with 53 receptions and 737 receiving yards. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. 2023 NFL combine: Current drill record-holders and candidates to break Daynes record is safe. + Indicates Hall of Famer, season age in parentheses, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Friday, March 3, 2:32PM. Racked up 1,522 kickoff return yards, 559 punt return yards and four kick-return touchdowns in three seasons. "Obviously, it would be great to see him back there (as a returner) if thats what his role provides," Fipp said. Why its untouchable: The Cougars waxed SMU, 95-21, in a biblical beating that featured an all-out aerial assault from Ware, who threw for 517 yards and later won the Heisman. Fipp said it sometimes makes more sense to use a complmentary player in a return role so they can devote more energy to the craft, and he cited former NFL receiver DeSean Jackson, who he coached with the Philadelphia Eagles, as an example. This Big 12 shootout, which ended in a 66-59 win for Oklahoma, featured a future NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion(Mahomes) and a future Heisman Trophy winner and No. Javier owns the SEC career record with seven punt-return touchdowns, averaging 14.0 yards per punt return and 24.1 yards per kickoff return. One college player tops everybody in this category because he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns twice! As a senior, Keenum was spectacular, throwing 48. Before Hester was torching NFL special teams units in the pros, he was making complete fools of his fellow college players while playing at the University of Miami. Lions coach Dan Campbell said he planned to use Williams as a gunner on punt team in his first NFL game, but the Lions never got the opportunity as the Jacksonville Jaguars failed to force a punt. So well just see how it goes.". was better than Barry when it came to returning kicks. 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. Like sports history? 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.