Emmanuel Sanders has caught more NFL passes for more yards than any receiver in SMU history.
But his statistics aren’t good enough to land Sanders a spot on the all-time SMU NFL team. He’s one of six Pro Bowl wide receivers who failed to make the cut on this team. And then there’s Cole Beasley, who never went to a Pro Bowl despite catching 550 passes in his career. He’s not on the SMU NFL team either.
That’s because the two receiver spots go to Raymond Berry and Kyle Rote. Berry was the go-to guy for Johnny Unitas on the Baltimore Colts in the 1950s and 1960s. He went to six Pro Bowls, was named to the NFL’s 100th anniversary team and has a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rote went to four consecutive Pro Bowls in the 1950s for the New York Giants. Berry’s 68 touchdowns are tops among the SMU alums and Rote’s 48 rank third.
Sanders, who went to two Pro Bowls, caught 51 touchdown passes. Joe Carter (1930s), Billy Dewell (1940s), Willard Dewveall (160s), Jerry LeVias (1960s) and Courtland Sutton (current) all represented SMU at one Pro Bowl apiece. All told, those SMU receivers caught 3,017 NFL passes for 41,773 yards and 293 touchdowns.
Berry is one of four Pro Football Hall of Famers on the all-time SMU NFL team.
Here is that team:
QB—Don Meredith, 3 Pro Bowls, 47-32-4 record, 135 touchdown passes
RB—Eric Dickerson, Hall of Fame
RB—Doak Walker, Hall of Fame
WR—Raymond Berry, Hall of Fame
WR—Kyle Rote, 4 Pro Bowls, 11 seasons, 300 receptions, 40 touchdowns
TE—Oscar Roan, 4 seasons, 69 receptions, 4 touchdowns
T—Forrest Gregg, Hall of Fame
*-T—Kelvin Beacham, 10 seasons, 130 starts
G—David Richards, 9 seasons, 128 starts
G—Ray Schoenke, 12 seasons, 99 starts
C—Josh LeRibeus, 5 seasons, 15 starts
DE—Jerry Mays, 7 Pro Bowls, 10 seasons, 66 sacks
DE—Joe Phillips, 14 seasons, 24 ½ sacks
DT—Louie Kelcher, 3 Pro Bowls, 10 seasons, 40 sacks
NT—Jerry Ball, 3 Pro Bowls, 13 seasons, 33 sacks
OLB—Bill Forester, 4 Pro Bowls, 11 seasons, 21 interceptions
MLB—Hardy Brown, Pro Bowl, one of the “12 Mighty Orphans”
OLB—Byron Hunt, 8 seasons, 6 ½ sacks
CB—Rod Jones, 11 seasons, 06 starts, 10 interceptions
CB—Doyle Nix, 5 seasons, 16 interceptions
S—Jerry Norton, 5 Pro Bowls, led the NFL in both interceptions & punting in 1960
S—Wes Hopkins, Pro Bowl, 10 seasons, 30 interceptions
K—Dennis Partee, 8 seasons, 71 field goals, 380 points
*-P—Thomas Morstead, 13 seasons, 737 punts, 46.0-yard average
KR—Jerry LeVias, Led NFL with 35 punt returns in 1969
*-ST—Chris Banjo, 9 seasons, led Green Bay in ST tackles in 2015
LS–Dale Hellestrae, 15 seasons, 205 games, 3 Super Bowl rings
*-KB–Margus Hunt, 9 seasons, blocked 3 kicks in 2016
*-Still active
Craig James weeps