Who are the top wide receivers in SEC history?

We’ve spent the last several weeks flipping through team-specific media guides, glancing over highlight film and nearly coming to blows at our home office determining this 25-member comprehensive list of the league’s best pass-catchers.

Editor’s note: The SDS staff weighed multiple factors during our SEC’s all-time wide receivers rankings process including career statistics, individual awards, importance to their respective team and the era in which they played.

20.) IKE HILLIARD, FLORIDA (1994-96)

One of several weapons on the outside for Danny Wuerffel and the Florida Gators during Steve Spurrier’s Fun-N-Gun era, Hilliard simply caught touchdown passes, finishing tied for third all-time in the SEC with 29 trips to the end zone over 33 career games.

In 1995, Hilliard was one of college football’s top statistical leaders with 57 catches for 1,008 yards and 15 scores. Ironically, his All-American honor didn’t come until his junior campaign when the Gators won the national championship after their third straight SEC title. Hilliard averaged 19.1 yards per reception during that season and scored 10 touchdowns as one of Heisman winner Wuerrfel’s go-to targets.

In the following draft, Hilliard and wide receiver teammate Reidel Anthony, were each selected in the first round. Hilliard went on to win a Super Bowl with the New York Giants and played 12 NFL seasons.

Career numbers:

126 catches, 2,214 yards, 29 TD

Individual superlatives:

Consensus All-American (1996); All-SEC (1995-96)

NFL Draft:

No. 7 overall in 1997

Defining moments:

In the 1996 national championship game against Florida State, Hilliard set Sugar Bowl records with 150 yards receiving and three touchdowns during a 52-20 shellacking of the Gators’ rival.

19.) D.J. HALL, ALABAMA (2004-07)

Lost in the shuffle among great Alabama wideouts thanks to the program falling flat under Mike Shula, Hall was the previous record-holder for several individual receiving records before Julio Jones and Amari Cooper arrived in Tuscaloosa.

Hall is one of only four players in SEC history to record at least 190 catches and accumulate 2,900 career yards at the position, joining Cooper, Vanderbilt’s Jordan Matthews and Terrence Edwards from Georgia. One of the SEC’s most consistent players over his final three seasons, Hall registered back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns as a junior and senior, but didn’t have the sizable touchdown numbers due to Alabama’s — at times — inconsistent play from the quarterback spot.

As a junior in 2006, Hall posted what was then a school-record five straight games of at least 100 yards receiving.

Career numbers:

194 catches, 2,923 yards, 17 TD

Individual superlatives:

All-SEC (2006-07)

NFL Draft:

Undrafted in 2008

Defining moments:

After starting 10 games as a true freshman in 2004, the Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. native turned in an impressive sophomore campaign including a 10-catch, 139-yard performance against Tennessee.

18.) EARL BENNETT, VANDERBILT (2005-07)

This receptions machine set several program and SEC records in Nashville before all were shattered by another Vanderbilt wideout, Jordan Matthews, a few years later. Bennett was a model for consistency over three all-league seasons before turning pro, catching at least 75 passes for 830 yards each campaign.

He caught 10 or more passes in nine different games as the only feared playmaker on a pass-happy Commodores offense orchestrated by former quarterback Jay Cutler. Bennett played without a weakness, never missed a game and ranks second all-time on the SEC receptions list with 236.

Career numbers:

236 catches, 2,852 yards, 20 TD

Individual superlatives:

All-SEC (2005-07)

NFL Draft:

No. 70 overall (third round) in 2008

Defining moments:

Of Bennett’s three career 200-yard games, the most memorable came in the 2007 season opener when he recorded 13 receptions for 223 yards and three touchdowns during a blowout win over Richmond.

17.) JARIUS WRIGHT, ARKANSAS (2008-11)

One of the SEC’s fastest players during his tenure and the first of two Razorbacks in our Top 25, Wright starred in Bobby Petrino’s aerial assault as a sure-handed multi-level threat, starring in the short passing game, across the middle and down the sideline.

As a senior in 2011, Wright set the single-season school record for receptions (66), receiving yards (1,117) and receiving yards in a game (281). Each of those marks along with career receptions were broken by former teammate Cobi Hamilton the following season, but Wright managed to maintain his receiving touchdowns (24) and career yardage (2,934) edge.

Arkansas won 34 games during Wright’s tenure and led the SEC in points per game during the 2009 and 2011 seasons.

Career numbers:

168 catches, 2,934 yards, 24 TD

Individual superlatives:

All-SEC (2011)

NFL Draft:

No. 118 overall (fourth round) in 2012

Defining moments:

Four of Wright’s nine career 100-yard receiving games came during his senior season, including a 13-catch, 281-yard explosion during a win over Texas A&M.

16.) CHRIS DOERING, FLORIDA (1992-95)

Likely considered a wild-card pick inside the Top 16 for some, this former walk-on is more than deserving thanks to the sheer number of touchdowns he scored over his final three seasons in Gainesville — 31 to be exact, tied for the SEC’s all-time best mark with Alabama’s Amari Cooper.

Doering was so prolific in Steve Spurrier’s offense that nearly a fifth of his career receptions went for scores after earning a starting job he would never relinquish in 1993. Doering led college football with 17 touchdown receptions two years, doubling his previous career-best totals set as a junior the previous fall.

One of several Florida wide receiver greats to win three consecutive SEC Championships during his tenure, Doering made his NFL debut in 1996 and lasted the next 11 years as a journeyman before retiring from football in 2006.

Career numbers:

149 catches, 2,107 yards, 31 TD

Individual superlatives:

Second Team All-American (1995); All-SEC (1995); Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame

NFL Draft:

No. 185 overall (sixth round) in 1996

Defining moments:

Doering has several multi-touchdown games for the Gators as a fifth-year senior in 1995, but perhaps his most memorable game was against Kentucky as a first-year starter two years prior. His game-winning reception from Danny Wuerffel is referred to as ‘The Catch’ amongst Gator Nation during Florida’s 24-20 victory. Wuerffel won the Heisman a few years later as a Florida legend.