Image Credits: Creator: John Russell Copyright: Vanderbilt University
The all-decade team will be released by position every other day.
Links to Articles for Previous Positions:
Here is the All-Decade Team so far
Offense
Wide Receivers
WR1 – Jordan Matthews (2010 – 2013)
Image Credits: (John Russell/Vanderbilt University)
Here is a trivia question to ask SEC football fans: What school has the two all time SEC receptions leaders?
Answer: The Vanderbilt Commodores
1. Jordan Matthews (262)
2. Earl Bennett (236)
Jordan Matthews arguably had the greatest overall career of any wide receiver in the history of the Southeastern Conference. This is where Matthews stacks up in the SEC (not Vanderbilt) record books:
Career Stats
262 career receptions – 1st
3,759 career receiving yards – 1st (2nd place is Amari Cooper, 296 yards behind J Matt)
24 career receiving touchdowns – Tied for 18th
Single-Season
Receptions – 2nd (112, 2013) and 5th (94, 2012)
Receiving Yards – 6th (1477, 2013) and 11th (1323, 2012)
Based on the records he holds in the SEC, it is unsurprising that Matthews holds nearly every receiving record in Vanderbilt history, including:
Career receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns
Single-Season receptions (1st and 3rd), receiving yards (1st and 2nd), and touchdowns (7th).
While Jordan Matthews will never be mentioned as amassing the greatest wide receiver career in SEC history, numbers don’t lie and his stats speak for themselves.
Now that I have run through Matthews statistical achievements, I want to remind you of the kind of player J Matt was. Let’s think back to 2013 vs. Ole Miss. Night kickoff, season opener, the atmosphere was electric as the Commodores were coming off of a 9-4 season ending in a Music City Bowl victory and rankings of 20 and 23 in the coaches poll and AP poll respectively.
The Dores are down 32-28 with 4 minutes remaining. Carta-Samuels throws to number 87 over the middle and Matthews reels in the catch while getting rocked in the body by an Ole Miss defender. He gets up and immediately points to the sideline signaling he needs to come out. Watch what happens below (ignore the stupid video title, Matthews clearly had been drinking a lot of water on the steamy Tennessee night and got hit in the stomach).
Matthews returned after just one play and did this on 4th and 18
Unfortunately Jeff Scott and poor tackling makes that memory less fond in the minds of Commodore faithful. I can still see Scott tight roping the sideline on the way to a 75-yard touchdown run to rip my heart out of my chest, but I don’t want to dwell on that. Instead watch the Jordan Matthews highlights below:
WR2 – Kalija Lipscomb (2016-2019)
Clearly the second best receiver of the last decade, Lipscomb didn’t produce the career stats that Matthews did, but a good portion of that can be attributed to the offensive system and the talent around him (especially his senior season which led to him SOMEHOW going undrafted).
Kalija not only etched himself into the Commodore record books, but the SEC as well. He finished 13th all-time in career receptions (198) and 34th all-time in career touchdowns (22).
He also accumulated the 5th most career receiving yards in school history (2,356), 2nd most career touchdowns (22). and 4th most career receptions (198). His 2018 season also ranks 4th in receptions (87), 10th in receiving yardage (916), and 3rd in receiving touchdowns (9).
How Kalija went undrafted is beyond me, but I know he is going to prove doubters wrong and become a reliable target for someone in the upcoming years.
Watch some highlights from the Louisiana native’s career below
WR3 – Trent Sherfield (2014-2017)
While Sherfield didn’t put up the eye popping numbers of the 2 receivers above, he carved out an extremely productive career as a Commodore and has continued his productivity in the NFL as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
The receiver hailing from Danville, Georgia accumulated 136 receptions (9th in school history), 1,869 receiving yards (9th in school history), and 9 touchdowns. He also holds the school records for receiving yards in a game (240) which he set in 2015 against Austin Peay.
Honorable Mentions
Chris Boyd (2011-2013)
Jonathan Krause (2010-2013)
The Dore Report 