Randy Moss

A Timeline of Randy Moss Accomplishments

Randy Moss
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Randy Gene Moss was born on February 13, 1977, in Charleston, West Virginia. He grew up in the nearby town of Rand and attended DuPont High School, where he was a star athlete. Moss excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track while in high school. He was twice named West Virginia’s Player of the Year in basketball and on the football field,

Moss led the DuPont Panthers to back-to-back state championships in 1992 and 1993. While his premier position was wide receiver, he also played cornerback and special teams.

In 1994, he was honored with the Kennedy Award as the West Virginia Football Player of the Year.

College Career

After an illustrious high school career, Moss was widely recruited. He wanted to play for the Fighting Irish in Indiana, and also considered playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where his older brother, Eric, had played tackle. Moss signed a letter of intent to play for Notre Dame in 1995, but his enrollment to the university was denied following his participation in a fight at his high school.

Moss instead signed to play at Florida State but was dismissed from the program before ever playing a game. He eventually landed at Marshall University, where he found extreme success. While Moss’ antics have received some negative attention, his list of accomplishments is impressively long. 

Marshall University

1996 - Moss set the NCAA Division I-AA records for most games with a touchdown catch in a season (14), most consecutive games with a touchdown catch (13), most touchdown passes caught by a freshman in a season (28), and most receiving yards gained by a freshman in a season (1,709).

Moss also helped lead Marshall to an undefeated season and the Division I-AA title in the school's last season Division I-AA.

1997 - In Marshall's first season in Division I-A, Moss helped lead the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference title by recording a record 26 touchdown receptions.

Moss was also named a first-team All-American, won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation's leading wide receiver, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race.

Professional Career

The Minnesota Vikings made Randy Moss their first-round pick (21st overall) in the 1998 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he was named a Pro Bowl starter and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He put together a rookie record 17 touchdown receptions and recorded the third highest receiving yard total (1,313) in the league.

Moss’ success with the Viking continued throughout the early 2000s. He led the league in touchdowns in ​2000, and in 2003 Moss became the first wide receiver in history to average over 100 yards and one touchdown per contest over the course of a season spanning more than 12 games. Moss played in 16 games, setting career highs in receiving yards (1,632) and receptions (111), and matched his rookie mark of 17 TD catches.

In 2007 after a couple down seasons with the Oakland Raiders, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots, where he exploded for 98 catches for 1,493 yards and a career-high 23 touchdowns -- also an NFL record -- as Tom Brady's top target. The Patriots enjoyed a record-setting offense that season, although they eventually fell to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. For his efforts in the 2007 season, Moss was named the PFWA Comeback Player of the Year. He left New England in ​2010, and officially retired from the NFL in 2012 after short stints in Tennessee and San Francisco.

NFL Career Highlights

Randy Moss made the Pro Bowl 7 times in his 13 years in the league (1998-2000, 2002-03, 2007, 2009), and was named Pro Bowl MVP in 2000.

Moss was also an All-Pro selection five times. (1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007), and he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns five separate times.

Records

Moss broke and holds a number of NFL receiving records.

  • Most touchdown receptions in a season – 23 (2007)
  • Most touchdown receptions by a rookie in a season – 17 (1998)
  • Most seasons with 17 or more touchdown receptions – 3 (1998, 2003, 2007)
  • Most games in a season with at least 2 touchdown receptions – 8 (2007)
  • Most yards receiving in a Pro Bowl game – 212 (2000)
  • Most 1,200+ yard receiving seasons to start a career – 6 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
  • Fastest player to reach 5,000 career receiving yards – 59 games
  • Youngest player in NFL history to record 100 receiving touchdowns – (29 years and 235 days)
  • Youngest player in NFL history to record 120 receiving touchdowns – (30 years, 313 days)