Average Size of College Football Wide Receivers (Height & Weight)
I’ve been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always loved doing was going through and checking out the sizes of the other teams in our conference.
It helped give me (and our staff) an idea of how we stacked up against our competition. It also could be used as motivation with our team both during the season and, often, during the following off-season.
So, this is essentially the same research I’ve always done, but now I’m sharing it with you. I took starting depth charts for each team in the FBS (over 3000 players) going into the 2023 season and broke them down by position.
For this guide, I took an average of the heights and weights of the almost 400 starting Wide Receivers* across college football. In addition, I broke down the sizes of wide receivers by conference, teams and individual players.
Go ahead and impress someone today with your newfound random football knowledge.
Average Height of a College Football WR
The average height of a College Football Wide Receiver is 72.76 inches (6’0 3/4″).
Average Weight of a College Football WR
The average weight of a College Football Wide Receiver is 193.26 pounds.
Want to see how college football wide receivers compare with the size of NFL Wide Receivers? Good news, I’ve also run the numbers on the guys at the next level.
Which Conference Has the Tallest Wide Receivers?
| Conference | Avg Height (Inches) |
|---|---|
| MAC | 73.18 |
| Big 12 | 73.11 |
| Big 10 | 73.10 |
| SEC | 73.00 |
| ACC | 72.93 |
| AAC | 72.90 |
| Pac 12 | 72.67 |
| Mountain West | 72.56 |
| Independents | 72.50 |
| Sun Belt | 72.16 |
| Conference USA | 72.04 |
Which Conference Has the Heaviest Wide Receivers?
| Conference | Avg Weight |
|---|---|
| MAC | 198.24 |
| ACC | 197.29 |
| Big 12 | 197.23 |
| Big 10 | 196.61 |
| Independents | 196.10 |
| SEC | 194.79 |
| Conference USA | 191.79 |
| Mountain West | 191.11 |
| Sun Belt | 189.63 |
| AAC | 189.27 |
| Pac 12 | 187.28 |
Which Teams Have the Tallest Wide Receivers in College Football?
| Team | Avg Height (Inches) | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Syracuse | 77 | ACC |
| Army | 76 | Ind |
| Stanford | 75.5 | Pac 12 |
| Cincinnati | 75 | Big 12 |
| Florida State | 75 | ACC |
| Kansas | 74.67 | Big 12 |
| Charlotte | 74.67 | AAC |
| Temple | 74.67 | AAC |
| 7 Teams Tied | 74.33 |
I feel the need to add a little context to this table. Most teams (probably over 90%) list 3 “starting” wide receivers in their depth charts. However, the 3 tallest wide receiver units above list either two (Syracuse, Stanford) or one (Army) starting receiver.
Which Teams Have the Heaviest Wide Receivers in College Football?
| Team | Avg Weight | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 210.67 | MAC |
| Clemson | 210 | ACC |
| Ohio | 208 | MAC |
| South Carolina | 207.67 | SEC |
| Air Force | 207.5 | Mountain West |
| LSU | 206.67 | SEC |
| TCU | 206.67 | Big 12 |
| Texas Tech | 206.25 | Big 12 |
| Notre Dame | 205.67 | Ind |
| Ohio State | 205 | Big 10 |
| Syracuse | 205 | ACC |
Who Are the Tallest Wide Receivers in College Football?
There are 13 FBS Wide Receivers listed at 6’5″, but only 4 are listed at taller than 6’5″. Here are the 4:
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Wilson | 6’7″ | 237 | Florida State |
| Damien Alford | 6’6″ | 210 | Syracuse |
| D’Wan Mathis | 6’6″ | 210 | Temple |
| Noah Thomas | 6’6″ | 200 | Texas A&M |
Who Are the Shortest?
On the opposite end of the height scale, there are 9 guys listed at 5’8″, but only 4 listed at 5’7″. Don’t let height fool you though, 3 of these guys have had seasons of 600+ yards receiving
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erik Brooks | 5’7″ | 171 | Fresno State |
| Terrell Vaughn | 5’7″ | 175 | Utah State |
| Smoke Harris | 5’7″ | 183 | Louisiana Tech |
| Tyrin Smith | 5’7″ | 170 | UTEP |
Who are the Heaviest Wide Receivers in College Football?
I go over a lot of the flaws in the data/numbers contained within this article. Another ‘flaw’ that I want to mention here is that in modern college football, positions can be blurred.
There are quite a few hybrid Wide Receiver/Tight Ends in both College Football and the NFL nowadays – and you may notice one or two here. I simply tried to use how they were listed on the official rosters.
With all that being said, here are the 6 wideouts listed at 225 or more:
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Tate Jr | 6’5″ | 249 | Middle Tennessee |
| Johnny Wilson | 6’7″ | 237 | Florida State |
| Adam Randall | 6’2″ | 230 | Clemson |
| Jacoby Jones | 6’3″ | 228 | Ohio |
| Xavier Legette | 6’3″ | 227 | South Carolina |
| Savion Williams | 6’5″ | 225 | TCU |
Who are the Lightest?
There are 5 receivers listed at under 165 pounds.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tez Johnson | 5’10” | 150 | Oregon |
| Silas Bolden | 5’8″ | 153 | Oregon State |
| DJ England-Chisolm | 5’8″ | 155 | Middle Tennessee |
| Malik Rutherford | 5’9″ | 155 | Georgia Tech |
| Anthony Gould | 5’8″ | 160 | Oregon State |
Important Notes
As a former sports scientist, I tend to take data pretty seriously so I must stress that these ‘averages’ should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Why do I say that?
There are multiple issues that can make all the data in this article flawed.
First and foremost, it’s pretty commonplace in athletics to lie about heights and weights. I once worked at a school where it was standard procedure to add an inch and 5 to 10 pounds to almost every player on the roster.
Why?
The best answer that I was ever given is that it could potentially help with NFL scouting. However, I can’t imagine in 2023 that anyone is fooling an NFL scout with the size listed in a program. I think the real answer is it’s just part of the culture in sports.
*I used the heights and weights of all the projected starters leading into Week 0. Whether it’s through injury or performance, starters can and will change throughout the season.
In fact, it took me a week to gather all these numbers and by the time I was done I would bet that there were dozens of starting positions that had already changed hands.
And, if a couple of 6’5″ 220-pound players are swapped out with a couple of 5’9″ 170-pound players, the sample size is small enough that this could drastically affect the overall averages.
Finally, I can tell you for a fact that players’ weights can fluctuate pretty wildly from week to week and sometimes even day to day and, especially, over the course of a season.
Just because a guy weighed 205 on the first day of camp when weights were put in the program, does not mean that’s what he weighs Week 8.
So, have fun with the data above, but this is just a reminder to not take the numbers too seriously.
More Info
Want to see how these numbers compare to the average Heights and Weights of SEC Offensive Linemen?
Or, if you really want to have your mind blown, check out the best 40 times that receivers have put up at the NFL Combine over the years.
