Michigan State Football: Top 50 players of all time
18. Plaxico Burress
People love to talk about the negative side of Plaxico Burress whether it’s his intense social media personality — especially following MSU’s controversial loss to Nebraska — or his gun gaffe in which he accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York night club years back, but he should be known for being one of the greatest wide outs to ever don a Michigan State jersey.
Burress was so aggressive for a receiver that his most famous video from his time at Michigan State might not be a single catch in particular, rather a block against Michigan in which he bullied the defender to the ground and jumped on top of him.
Although he, just like a few other on this list, played just two seasons in East Lansing, he made his mark at the university and will forever be remembered as a legend.
During his first season with MSU, Burress caught 65 passes for 1,013 yards and eight touchdowns from Bill Burke — who narrowly missed this list. In his second year, he broke all of his previous marks with 66 receptions for 1,142 yards and 12 scores, leading the Spartans to a Citrus Bowl win over Florida despite losing head coach Nick Saban to LSU.
Plaxico is 11th all-time in receptions, seventh in receiving yards and fourth in touchdowns. Many guys on this list, like Burress, would have dominated the record books had it not been for early exits from MSU to go on to the NFL — or transfers to MSU midway through their careers.
Burress was selected eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Next: 17. TJ Duckett