In 2019, Northwestern’s receiving corps had exactly one player total more than 200 receiving yards. That player, Riley Lees, was the only receiver to average even two receptions per game, and had his best performance, catching 7 balls for 76 yards against arguably the worst team in the country in UMass, during a contest in which none of his teammates managed a reception.
Somehow, that wasn’t even the worst season by the numbers for a group of receivers in the Mick McCall era. In 2015, Clayton Thorson’s first year as the starting quarterback, the wideouts, minus superback Dan Vitale, caught four touchdowns — two fewer than they managed last year.