The top 100 FSU football players: No. 56— receiver Kez McCorvey

Florida State went into Mississippi to snag Kez McCorvey, and McCorvey promptly went into the FSU record books— where he remains, quite prominently.

A 6’1 receiver from Gautier, McCorvey made his way to Tallahassee in 1990, when he redshirted behind star wideout Lawrence Dawsey. He began contributing — and starting — in his redshirt-freshman season of 1991, averaging 14.4 yards per catch on 18 receptions. 1992 saw McCorvey break out with a three-TD performance in the opener against Duke. He and Tamarick Vanover formed a stellar threat out wide that year, as both eclipsed 500 receiving yards. McCorvey found the end zone six times that season, including on this fourth down at Georgia Tech, when his slick move created the game-winning score in crunch time:

But 1993 is when McCorvey really began etching his name into ’Nole history. He was an integral part of the Seminoles’ title run, emerging as Charlie Ward’s favorite WR. He caught 74 balls in ’93, the fourth highest single-season total in Florida State history. He turned those grabs into 966 receiving yards, the 16th most in a lone FSU campaign. McCorvey’s 6.17 catches per game in the Seminoles’ first national title season is still seventh all-time among ’Noles. He authored 100-yard receiving games against Kansas, Maryland, and most notably Notre Dame in what was dubbed the “Game of the Century.” Few fans will forget this fourth-down TD snag late in the fourth quarter:

McCorvey helped the Seminoles top UF in Gainesville to close out the regular-season with a pair of touchdown catches— here’s one of them:

Accordingly, McCorvey was a first-team All-ACC selection in 1993.

He repeated that all-conference achievement in 1994, when he returned to school for his redshirt-senior season and again led the Florida State WR corps, this time with 59 grabs (tied for the 18th most in an FSU season) for 870 yards. He posted another trio of 100 yard games, including his career high of 207 against Duke, still the 10th highest output for any ’Nole WR, ever. McCorvey’s six 100-yard games ties him for 14th most among Seminoles. His last such effort? 127 receiving yards against the Gators, a key part of FSU’s legendary fourth-quarter comeback from a 31-3 deficit in the “Choke at Doak.”

McCorvey finished his Seminole career by earning a first-team All-America nod from the UPI, and an honorable mention from Scripps Howard. He was also a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Trophy. His 189 grabs and 4.2 catches per game are each fourth in Florida State history, while his 2,660 receiving yards are fifth and his 16 TD receptions are tied for 19th.

The Detroit Lions chose McCorvey in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft. A decade later, he was inducted into the Florida State Hall of Fame.