Receiving TD Leaders

Penn State’s All-time Receiving TD Leaders—

The Career Receiving TD List—All Receivers

All of the Receiving Touchdown totals are “Modified/Complete” stats which means that they are updated to include all Bowl game stats considered “unofficial” by NCAA prior to 2002 season—

Now outdated “official” TD numbers are in parentheses where necessary—

  • Bobby Engram—34 TDs(31)—Best single season: 14 TDs in 1993 (including 1 bowl TD reception)—Total Career TDs: 35 (including 1 rushing TD in 1995)

  • Kenny Jackson—25 TDs (25)—Best single season: 7 TDs in both 1982 & 1983 (no bowl TDs in career)—broke career record of 12 TDs (11) held by Scott Fitzkee (1975-78)—Jackson was only 5th PSU player to have 10+ career receiving TDs—Total Career TDs: 27 (including 2 rushing TDs)

  • Jahan Dotson—25 TDs—Best single season: 12 TDs in 2021 (opted out of bowl)—Total Career TDs: 27 (including 1 rushing TD & 1 punt return TD/also scored 2 Two-point conversions)

  • Deon Butler—22 TDs—Best single season: Freshman (R-Fr.) record 9 TDs in 2005 (no TDs in 2006 Orange Bowl)—Total Career TDs: 22 (no non-receiving TDs in career)

  • Tyler Warren TE—19 TDs—Tops among TEs—Best single season: 8 TDs in 2024—Total Career TDs: 25 (including 6 rushing TDs)

  • Derek Moye—18 TDs—Best single season: 8 TDs in 2010

  • Chris Godwin—18 TDs—Best single season: 11 TDs in 2016

  • DaeSean Hamilton—18 TDs—Best single season: 9 TDs in 2017 (1 Two-point conversion scored)

  • Allen Robinson—17 TDs—Best single season: 11 TDs in 2012

  • OJ McDuffie—17 TDs (16)—Best single season:9 TDs in 1992—Total Career TDs: 21 (including 1 rushing TD & 3 punt return TDs)

  • Terry Smith—17 TDs (15)—Best single season:8 TDs in 1991

  • Pat Freiermuth TE—16 TDs—Best single season: 8 TDs in 2018

  • Joe Jurevicius—15 TDs (15)—Best single season: 10 TDs in 1997 (ineligible for bowl)

  • Mike Gesicki TE—15 TDs—Best single season: 9 TDs in 2017

    No others at 15 career receiving TDs

The Career Receiving TD List—Tight Ends only (since 1965)

  • Tyler Warren—19 TDs—Best single season: 8 TDs in 2024 (2 TDs in 2024 CFP)

  • Pat Freiermuth—16 TDs—Best single season: 8 TDs in 2018 (set PS True Freshman TE record)

  • Mike Gesicki—15 TDs—Best single season: 9 TDs in 2017 (TE single season record)—also had 5 TDs in 2016

  • Theo Johnson—12 TDs—Best single season: 7 TDs in 2023

  • Jesse James—11 TDs—Best single season: 5 TDs in 2012 (True Freshman)—tied then “official” & “unofficial” PSU TE record

  • Brenton Strange—11 TDs—Best single season: 5 TDs in 2022

  • Ted Kwalick—11 TDs (10)—Best single season: 5 TDs (4) in 1967 (5 TDs technically set PSU TE record & matched then-official PSU receiver record of 5 set by Les Walters LE in 1957)—Ted also had 4 receiving TDs in 1966 & 2 receiving TDs with 1 rushing TD in 1968—Kwalick was first PSU receiver (TE/SE/WR/FL/End) to officially reach 10 TD receptions in a career in the 1968 season (later matched by Chuck Herd FL 11 TDs (10) in 1973)—Junior Powell (PSU RHB 1961-63) was technically first to reach 10 TDs (9 officially) in a career when counting a TD catch in the 1961 Gator Bowl that gave him a single season high 4 TD receptions in the ‘61 season—Others to hold PSU career receiving record ahead of Powell: Len Krouse RHB 9 TDs (not listed in Media Guide/Game Programs but accounted for in published game stories), Les Walters 9 TDs (official) & Roger Kochman HB 9 TDs (7) including 2 bowl TD receptions in 1959 & 1961 (Kochman single season highs were 4 in both 1961 & 1962)

  • Kyle Brady—11 TDs (9)—Best single season: 5 TDs (4) in 1991 (Redshirt Freshman)

Most Total TDs by a TE: Tyler Warren—25 TDs (19 Receiving & 6 Rushing)—also passed for 1 TD

LINK HERE TO RECEIVING YARDS LEADERS

The Single Season Receiving TD Leaders—All Receivers

All stats are “Modified/Complete” including all Bowls/Post-Season games—

  • Bobby Engram—14 TDs(13) in 1993—Best single game: 4 TDs vs. Minnesota (PSU record)

  • Bobby Engram—13 TDs (11) in 1995—Best single game: 3 TDs at Rutgers—Also had 7 TDs in 1994

  • Jahan Dotson—12 TDs in 2021—opted out of bowl—Best single game: 3 TDs at Maryland (also set PSU single game receiving yards mark with 242 yards in this game)—Also had 8 TDs in 2020

  • Allen Robinson—11 TDs in 2012—No Bowl—Best single game: 3 TDs vs. both Navy & Indiana

  • Chris Godwin—11 TDs in 2016—Best single game: 2 TDs (4-times) atPurdue, at Indiana, vs. Michigan State, & vs. USC (Rose Bowl)

  • Joe Jurevicius—10 TDs (10) in 1997—No Bowl (ineligible)—Best single game: 3 TDs at Louisville

  • OJ McDuffie—9 TDs(9) in 1992—Also had 7 TDs (6) in 1991

  • Freddie Scott—9 TDs (9) in 1994

  • Deon Butler—9 TDs in 2005—Also had 7 TDs in 2008

  • Mike Gesicki TE—9 TDs in 2017

  • DaeSean Hamilton—9 TDs in 2017

    The Single Season Receiving TD Leaders—Tight Ends only (since 1965)

  • Mike Gesicki—9 TDs in 2017 (Senior/all in regular season)—broke long-time PSU TE record of 5 TDs which he had shared

  • Pat Freiermuth—8 TDs in 2018—True Freshman PSU TE record—1 TD in bowl

  • Tyler Warren—8 TDs in 2024—2 TDs in 2024 CFP

  • Pat Freiermuth—7 TDs in 2019—all in regular season—Best single game: 3 TDs at Michigan State

  • Tyler Warren—7 TDs in 2023—all in regular season

  • Theo Johnson—7 TDs in 2023—1 TD in bowl

  • Ted Kwalick—5 TDs (4) in 1967 (Junior)—Also had 4 TDs in 1966—Technically, Kwalick set PSU TE single season record of 5 TDs & tied PSU official single season receiving TD record of 5 set by Les Walters LE in 1957 (Officially, Walters receiving record was broken by Greg Edmonds SE with 6 TDs in 1970 but, in fact, Edmonds merely tied Len Krouse’s unrecognized 6 TDs in 1940)

  • Bob Parsons—5 TDs (5) in 1971 (Senior)—Officially established PSU TE single season record that stood until 2017—Parsons played only 1 season at TE—He was a converted QB & also punted—Career record: 5 TD receptions, 1 rushing TD (1970), 1 fumble recovery for a TD (1971), 3 TD passes (1970), 6 career INTs (5 in 1970)

  • Dan Natale—5 TDs (5) in 1972 (Sophomore)

  • Kyle Brady—5 TDs (4) in 1991 (Redshirt Freshman)

  • Jesse James—5 TDs in 2012 (True Freshman)

  • Mike Gesicki—5 TDs in 2016—2 TDs in post-season

  • Brenton Strange—5 TDs in 2022

    NOTE: Les Walters LE was first PSU player officially recognized to have made 5 receiving TDs in a single season in 1957 (although Len Krouse RHB actually had 6 TD catches in 1940)—First officially to reach 6 receiving TDs was Greg Edmonds SE in 1970—First to 7 receiving TDs was Scott Fitzkee SE 7 (6) in 1978—First to 8 receiving TDs was Terry Smith FL in 1991—First to 9 receiving TDs was OJ McDuffie FL in 1992—First to double-digits was Bobby Engram SE 14 (13) in 1993

    Most Receiving TDs in Career by an RB/HB/FB—

  • Junior Powell—10 TDs (9)—Best single season: 4 TDs in 1961 (including 1 bowl TD)—First all-time at PSU to reach 10 receiving TDs in a career (1963) passing Len Krouse RHB 9 TDs, Les Walters LE 9 TDs, & Roger Kochman HB 9 TDs (7)

  • Len Krouse*—9 TDs (9)—Best single season: 6 TDs in 1940(not recognized in Media Guide but is, in fact, PSU single season RB/HB receiving TD record, and originally the PSU overall single season TD mark that was matched by Greg Edmonds SE in 1970 and technically broken by Scott Fitzkee SE in 1978/also Krouse actually set career record at 9 receiving TDs in 1941 which Les Walters LE matched in 1957 and Junior Powell HB broke in 1963)

  • Nick Singleton—9 TDs—Best single season: 5 TDs in 2024 (including 1 TD in Big Ten Championship & 1 from non-QB)

  • Eric McCoo—9 TDs (9)—Best single season: 4 TDs in 2000

  • Roger Kochman—9 TDs (7)—Best single season: 4 TDs in both 1961 & 1962 (bowl TDs in 1959 & 1961)

  • Saquon Barkley—8 TDs—Best single season: 4 TDs in 2016 (including 2 TDs in post-season games)

  • Mike Archie—8 TDs (7)—Best single season: 3 TDs in 1995 (including 1 bowl TD)

  • Larry Johnson—7 TDs (7)—Best single season: 3 TDs in 2002

  • Al Gursky—7 TDs (6)—Best single season: 3 TDs in both 1961 & 1962 (including 1 bowl TD in 1961)

  • Curt Warner—6 TDs (6)—Best single season: 5 TDs in 1982

  • Mike Guman—5 TDs (5)—Best single season: 2 TDs in both 1976 & 1977

  • Jon Williams—5 TDs (5)—Best single season: 2 TDs in both 1982 & 1983 (also passed for TD to FB Mike Meade in 1980)

    *NOTE: Contemporary newspaper accounts and LaVie indicate that Len Krouse RHB made 9 TD receptions (on passes from Bill Smaltz & Earl Brown) in the following games: 1940 Bucknell, Lehigh, Syracuse (2), NYU, & Pitt along with 1941 NYU, Syracuse, & West Virginia

    Most Receiving TDs in Overtime in Career (OT began in 1996)—

  • Kyle Carter TE—2 TDs (2013 win vs. Illinois from Christian Hackenberg & 2014 Pinstripe Bowl win vs. Boston College from Hackenberg)

  • Parker Washington WR—1 TD (2020 loss at Indiana from Sean Clifford)

    No PSU receivers have caught a 2-point conversion pass in OT

Nittany Notes:

Arguably, the greatest TD catch of all-time at Penn State was not made by one of the statistical greats listed above… Gregg Garrity SE (1979-82) caught only 6 (4) touchdown passes in his career, 4 of the 6 in the 1982 National Championship season, and 1 of them became the most iconic in Nittany Lions history…

It’s the 1983 Sugar Bowl at the Superdome in New Orleans… The #2 Nittany Lions are battling #1 Georgia featuring Heisman Trophy-winning running back Herschel Walker… Penn State leads 20-17 with 13:16 to go in the 4th quarter… It’s 1st and 10 at the Georgia 47… The play call is “6-43” which is a simple play-action fake to the tailback designed to freeze the high safety and allow all four receivers to get open… Curt Warner is the tailback and he’s a bona fide threat having already rushed for over 100-yards in the game… Warner will finish with 117 yards on 18 carries with 2 TDs… Gregg Garrity is split out to the left… Todd Blackledge QB takes the snap from center, drops and fakes to Warner… Garrity has already gotten behind Tony Flack the Georgia Freshman cornerback as Blackledge unloads the bomb deep down the left sideline… Bulldogs safety Terry Hoage bites on the fake, as planned, and he is late to cover Garrity as he enters the endzone… The Blackledge pass is on the money dropping into the hands of the diving Garrity for the touchdown with the helpless Flack right on his heels… The catch by Garrity is etched into the minds of everyone who saw it happen and preserved on film for those who didn’t… Penn State takes a 10-point lead and holds on for the 27-23 victory and the first consensus national title under Joe Paterno… Garrity finishes the night with 4 catches for 116 yards and THE GREATEST TD IN NITTANY LIONS HISTORY…

Was the iconic Sugar Bowl TD catch foreshadowed a year earlier in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl win over USC?

Penn State and the Trojans are tied at 7 in the 2nd quarter of their New Year’s Day duel in the Arizona desert after a Curt Warner TD run and a Chip Banks pick-6… It’s the Nittany Lions ball just shy of midfield… This is a pass play all the way, as Todd Blackledge drops quickly and unloads deep down the left sideline…It becomes one of those “just throw it long and I’ll be there” plays… USC’s defensive back decides he’s going to reverse roles and become the receiver, and he turns his back to Gregg Garrity along the sideline… This is about to become a serious problem for USC… As the ball drops from the sky, Garrity cuts in front of the DB inside the 10, makes the grab and walks into the endzone for the 52-yard score… Penn State goes on top by 7 and never trails again in the 26-10 victory… And as PSU fans watched Mike Meade FB lift Garrity with a bear hug in the endzone, they don’t realize that they just got a sneak peak of what is to come in New Orleans in exactly 365 days…

Family Ties—Gregg Garrity is the middle of 3 generations of Penn State football players… His father Jim Garrity was the Right End & Kicker for the Lions from 1952 through ‘54… And his son Gregg was a Wide Receiver and Punt Return Specialist from 2013 to 2016…

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