Oh, What Could Have Been If He Stayed Around …

LARAMIE -- What could have been.

No other wideout in TCU football history has more career (2,785) and single-season (1,327) receiving yards than Josh Doctson. He also hauled in 29 touchdowns during his three-year stint in Fort Worth.

Get our free mobile app

Those numbers alone are a major reason he is now one of the newest members of the school's Hall of Fame.

Doctson, a Mansfield, Texas, product, parlayed that production into becoming the 22nd overall selection by the then Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

That all started in Laramie.

As a freshman, Doctson became a go-to target for Brett Smith, reeling in 35 grabs for 393 yards and five scores. Two of those came in a 22-19 victory over Border War rival Colorado State in the regular-season finale.

Smith connected with Doctson early in the second quarter on an 80-yard touchdown strike, giving the visitors a 13-6 advantage. That duo would hook up once again mid-way through the fourth inside Hughes Stadium. This time from 35 yards out.

Wyoming would take the lead for good, claiming its eighth victory of the season and securing a berth in the New Mexico Bowl.

Doctson finished the afternoon with a team-high 129 yards on just three catches.

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Brooklyn Cheek Eyeing Starting Gig in UW Secondary

* Drake's Love Affair With Football Rekindled Through Adversity

* Richardson Has Coming-Out Party in Pokes' Spring Game

* Cowboy Offense Finds End Zone Five Times in Spring Game Victory

* Pokes' Latest Downfield Threat May Have Been on Roster All Along

* Wyoming Teammates on Johnathan Bush: 'He's Our Psycho'

* Josh Allen to Tyler Hughes: Wyoming Football 'One Step Away'

* New UW President on Athletics: 'We Will Compete'

* Landon Sims: 'You Can't Get Rid of Me That Easy'

* Sawvel Believes This Could Be His Best Defense at Wyoming

* Lofty Expectations Ahead for Desman Hearns

* Wyoming's Staff Expecting Inside Dominance From Jayden Williams

* PJ Jackson Looks an Awful Lot Like a Former UW Receiver

* Are the Cowboys Really Flirting With Adding an Option Attack?

He would find the end zone once again in a 37-15 setback against Temple in Albuquerque. That would also be Doctson's final game in a Cowboy uniform, leaving the program for TCU.

In those days, there was no transfer portal. Doctson was forced to the sideline for the entirety of the 2012 campaign.

It was worth the wait for him -- and Gary Patterson's Horned Frogs. In 2014, TCU would claim a share of its first Big XII title and roll Ole Miss 42-3 in the Peach Bowl. Doctson earned All-American status as a senior, capping the year with 79 catches and 14 touchdowns.

Without the service of Doctson, Smith threw for 2,832 yards and 27 touchdowns the following year. Chris McNeill, Robert Herron and Dominic Rufran combined for 1,908 of those yards and 18 scores. Tanner Gentry, who would become one of the best receivers in program history, joined the mix in 2013, Dave Christensen's final season on the sideline.

He was fired in the offseason. That high-powered spread attack went with him.

Doctson, who stood 6-foot-2 and weighed 205 pounds, spent five-plus years in the NFL. He snagged 81 balls for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in 34 career games.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players