Hall of Fame
Position: Wide Receiver
Years: 1996-97
Place of Birth: Rand, WV
Date of Birth: February 13, 1977
Jersey Number: 88
Height: 6-4
Weight: 210
High School: DuPont (Dupont City, WV)
A fierce competitor with superior athletic ability, Randy Moss rewrote the record books in only two seasons at Marshall. The Rand, West Virginia, native now becomes the fifth Marshall player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.
A two-time First Team All-American (consensus in 1996 and unanimous in 1997) as a wide receiver, Moss also earned First Team All-America honors as a kicker returner in 1996. He claimed the Biletnikoff Award in 1997, honoring the best wide receiver in the nation while finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in 1996, and he was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the Vern Smith Award recipient as the conference's MVP in 1997. He was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection (Southern Conference in 1996 and Mid-American Conference in 1997).
In two seasons, Moss caught 174 passes for 3,529 yards and 54 touchdowns while setting national, conference and school records. On special teams, he returned 32 kickoffs for 875 yards, averaging 27.3 yards, and 25 punts for 271 yards, averaging 10.8 yards, during his career. Moss's 26 touchdown receptions in 1997 set an FBS (formerly Division I-A) record, and he caught a touchdown pass in all 13 games that season while amassing 96 receptions for 1,820 yards.
In Moss's two seasons with the team (quarterbacked by 1999 NFF Campbell Trophy® winner Chad Pennington in 1997), Marshall went 28-3 overall. His first season, the Thundering Herd went 15-0 and won the Division I-AA (now FCS) National Championship. Moss caught 78 passes for 1,709 yards and 28 touchdowns that season, leading the nation. His second season, Marshall won the Mid-American Conference Championship in the school's first year at the FBS level with a 10-3 record. Moss claimed MVP honors in the Mid-American Championship game in 1997, and the team went on to play Ole Miss in the Motor City Bowl.
He still holds Marshall records for receiving yards in a game (288), most touchdowns receptions in a game (5), most receiving yards in a season (1,820), most touchdowns receptions in a season (28), and most touchdown receptions in a career (54). He also still holds the Mid-American Conference records for most touchdown receptions in a game (5) and most touchdown receptions in a season (26).
A first round selection (21st overall) in the 1998 NFL Draft by Minnesota, Moss played 14 seasons with the Vikings, Raiders, Patriots, Titans and 49ers. He was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1998, and he was a four-time All-Pro selection and six-time Pro Bowl pick. He was the NFL receiving leader five times, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Moss currently works as a football analyst for ESPN. His many charitable activities have included the Smile Network, which treats children with cleft palates, Links for Learning, which helps needy children in his home state of West Virginia, and the Women and Children's Hospital of Charleston, West Virginia. He was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 and the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
