Randy Moss Ranks Highly on List of Best College Football Players of 1990s

A West Virginia athlete ranked very highly in a recent list of the top 25 college football players of the 1990s, and it’s not a former Mountaineer.

None other than Randy Moss clocked in at No. 5 in a recent ranking, detailing Moss’ journey and dominance while at Marshall.

Below is by The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman:

5. Randy Moss, Marshall, WR

Career: 174 catches, 3,529 yards, 54 TDs

Best season: 1997; 90 catches, 1,647 yards, 25 TDs

“Moss began his college career at Florida State due to off-field issues, as the Noles took him under the condition that the gifted wideout would redshirt the 1995 season. While sitting out that season, the 6-4, 200-pound freak athlete blew the minds of coaches and teammates during FSU practices. Moss ended up having to leave FSU, and the West Virginia native transferred home to Marshall, a Division I-AA program at the time. He was unstoppable, leading the Thundering Herd to a 15-0 record and the national title, making 78 catches for 1,709 yards and 28 touchdowns.

The next season, Marshall moved up to I-A (now FBS) and Moss kept dominating for a 10-3 team. He finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Charles Woodson, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. The Thundering Herd faced Ole Miss in the Motor City Bowl, and Moss torched the Rebels’ fastest corner on the first offensive play for an 80-yard touchdown. He finished with six catches for 173 yards in a 34-31 loss.

Neither college football nor the NFL had ever seen anyone quite like Moss.

“You watched his tape and he’s playing these MAC schools and they’re doubling him,” former NFL assistant John Garrett said. “There’s a corner right in his face trying to jam the heck out of him, and there’s a safety over the top. There’re a lot of plays where he leaps over the guy and makes these Herculean catches.

“The other thing Randy could really do, he could take his eyes off the ball, like Willie Mays, where he would see the ball, turn and run to the spot. Randy could run a go route and put his head down, take off and really book and knew exactly where it was gonna be to go get it. It’s remarkable if you really study it. Generational talent.”

If there was any skepticism due to the level of competition Moss faced in college, don’t kid yourself. He toyed with NFL defenses with the Vikings. He would’ve done that in any college football conference he played in.”

And for more of a brief summary of Moss’s college career before catching the NFL by storm in 1998, the Rand, W.Va. native caught 174 passes for 3,529 yards and scored 54 touchdowns in two seasons at Marshall. He set several national and school records during his time in college football.

Most notably, Moss won the 1997 Biletnikoff Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s best wide receiver. His 26 touchdowns set an FBS (Division-I) record. Overall, Moss recorded 96 receptions for 1,820 yards that season.

Moss was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

Find more coverage of Randy Moss at WV Sports Now.