Larry Fitzgerald's Pitt Years Nearly Won a Heisman
SkimNews Take
Fitzgerald's leap from raw Minnesota recruit to near-Heisman contender in just two Pitt seasons hints that elite receiver potential is largely innate, with college serving as a brief accelerant rather than a developmental forge.
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- Larry Fitzgerald is set to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (noon ET on ESPN), and ESPN interviewed more than 20 teammates, coaches and opponents to reconstruct the college years that preceded his 17-year NFL career.
- Fitzgerald landed at Pitt almost by accident — a rainstorm closed the Pennsylvania Turnpike during his visit to Penn State and Joe Paterno, trapping his family in Pittsburgh long enough to tour the Panthers' 7 a.m. receiver practice.
- Before his Pitt career, Fitzgerald spent a year at Valley Forge Military Academy because of academic issues; several top programs backed off, but Pitt stuck with him, and head coach Walt Harris's bet paid off the moment he enrolled in summer 2002.
- In just his second career game — a 14-12 loss at Texas A&M — Fitzgerald posted 10 catches for 103 yards, and Aggies head coach R.C. Slocum compared him to Peter Warrick and Tim Brown, saying covering him 'was just a chore.'
- Fitzgerald torched No. 3 Virginia Tech for three touchdowns as a freshman in Blacksburg, then beat the Hokies again the following year when they were ranked No. 5; Virginia Tech DC Bud Foster called him 'a nemesis' who 'haunts me a little bit.'
- Former teammates said Fitzgerald arrived raw — not a polished route runner, still growing into his body — but QB Rod Rutherford noted his uncanny ability to track balls over his outside shoulder, a skill 'you thought, OK, that's different.'
- Fitzgerald brought a professional mindset from day one: as a freshman he suited up for road games and told teammates, 'If I wear the suit, they're going to know what I'm about from the jump.'
Why it matters: Fitzgerald enters the Hall of Fame on Saturday as one of the greatest receivers in NFL history, yet his college story reframes the Heisman as a position-bias artifact — a wide receiver who dominated for only two seasons still nearly claimed college football's top individual award, a feat multiple opposing coaches called generational.
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