(This is the sixth part in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Over the next couple of months, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor football's bold claim of being Wide Receiver U. gained some legitimacy in 2015 when fourth-year junior Corey Coleman became the program's first winner of the Biletnikoff Award that recognizes the nation's outstanding receiver.
            Terrance Williams was a finalist in 2012, with Kendall Wright and Antwan Goodley making the semifinalist list in 2011 and '13, respectively. But, Coleman became Baylor's first receiver and third in Big 12 history to win the award, following two-time winners Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech (2007-08) and Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State (2010-11).
            "I'm excited to represent this award," said Coleman, who caught 74 passes for 1,363 yards and a school-record and national-best 20 touchdowns during that 2015 season. "It goes for all the receivers that helped me accomplish this. It's just a blessing."
            Drawing on Baylor's rich tradition of receivers, Coleman said the award is for "TW (Williams), Kendall and all the guys with Wide Receiver U."
            Coleman overcame long odds to win the award, with Baylor losing its top three quarterbacks in the last six weeks of the season. Through the first seven games, before starter Seth Russell suffered a neck injury, Coleman caught 47 passes for 962 yards and 18 touchdowns and set a Big 12 record with multiple TD catches in seven-consecutive games.
            "I had to be a great leader . . . to keep the quarterbacks confident and just stick with them where they could lean on me," he said.
            In addition to winning the Biletnikoff Award, Coleman was a two-time All-Big 12 first-team pick and unanimous All-American in 2015. Part of Baylor's back-to-back Big 12 championships in 2013-14, he ranks seventh all-time in catches (173) and fifth in yards (3,009) and is one of just two receivers who have recorded two 1,000-yard seasons (KD Cannon).
            "We've got a big group of guys, a lot of guys that can play," he said of Baylor's deep receiving corps. "You've just got to stay patient and trust in the Lord, and he's going to do his job."
            The 15^th overall pick by the Cleveland Browns in the 2016 NFL Draft, Coleman played two years with the Browns and one season with the Giants before suffering a torn ACL in the first day of the 2019 training camp. He has 61 career catches for 789 yards and five touchdowns and averaged 25.7 yards returning kicks for the Giants during the 2018 season.
            Working as a draft analyst with the NFL Network, Stanford coach David Shaw compared Coleman to veteran receiver Steve Smith and described him as "an explosive, physical, angry young man when he catches the ball."
 
Previous:
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)