National Single-Season KO Return Leaders From West

National Single-Season KO Return Leaders From West

> Kickoff returns, kickoff return yards, yards per kickoff return, and kickoff return touchdowns

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  By SuperWest Sports Staff

   May 18, 2025

The West has produced a multitude of great college kickoff returners.

The all-time lists of the best single-season national return leaders include some of the country’s best.

The tables below rank the top KO returners in the past 65+ seasons in single-season kickoff returns, kickoff return yards, yards per kickoff return, and kickoff return touchdowns.

Let’s get to the lists.

Best in West Single-Season Kickoff Returns Leaders

Year	Player	School	Ret
2011	Isaiah Burse	Fresno State	75
2013	Victor Bolden	Oregon State	58
2010	Kerwynn Williams	Utah State	53
1998	Deonce Whitaker	San Jose State	51
2009	Deante Purvis	UNLV	50
2008	Josh Smith	Colorado	50
2007	Gerard Lawson	Oregon State	49
1990	Dwayne Owens	Oregon State	41
2012	Mike Edwards	Hawaii	40
1989	Sheldon Canley	San Jose State	40
1987	Monty Gilbreath	San Diego State	40

Best in West Single-Season Kickoff Return Yards Leaders

Year	Player	School	Ret
2011	Isaiah Burse	Fresno State	1606
2010	Kerwynn Williams	Utah State	1444
2013	Carlos Wiggins	New Mexico	1303
2008	Josh Smith	Colorado	1276
2007	Kevin Robinson	Utah State	1260
2012	Mike Edwards	Hawai'i	1215
1998	Deonce Whitaker	San Jose State	1214
2009	Chris Owusu	Stanford	1167
2015	Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	1070
1990	Dwayne Owens	Oregon State	1014
1994	David Dunn	Fresno State	1013
2017	Cameron Scarlett	Stanford	1008

Best in West Single-Season Yards per Kickoff Return Leaders

Year	Player	School	Avg
2007	A.J. Jefferson	Fresno State	35.8
2020	D.J. Taylor	Arizona State	34.9
2017	Tyler Hall	Wyoming	33.9
2018	Savon Scarver	Utah State	33.7
2005	Jonathan Stewart	Oregon	33.7
2001	Chad Owens	Hawaii	33.6
2015	Rashaad Penny	San Diego State	33.5
1998	Patrick Dyson	Utah	32.9
1985	Rick Calhoun	Cal State Fullerton	32.8
2014	Trevor Davis	California	32.6
1992	Fred Montgomery	New Mexico State	32.6
1982	Tim Kearse	San Jose State	32.6
2019	Brandon Aiyuk	Arizona State	31.9
2000	Dexter Wynn	Colorado State	31.8
1995	Winslow Oliver	New Mexico	31.7
2009	Chris Owusu	Stanford	31.5
2002	Charles Pauley	San Jose State	31.5

Best in West Single-Season Kickoff Return TDs Leaders

Year	Player	School	TD
2012	Reggie Dunn	Utah	4
2018	Jason Huntley	New Mexico State	3
2015	Rashaad Penny	San Diego State	3
2013	Carlos Wiggins	New Mexico	3
2011	Taveon Rogers	New Mexico State	3
2009	Chris Owusu	Stanford	3
2007	Kevin Robinson	Utah State	3
2007	Matt Slater	UCLA	3
1989	Terance Mathis	New Mexico	3
2024	Keelan Marion	Brigham Young	2
2020	Avery Williams	Boise State	2
2019	Savon Scarver	Utah State	2
2019	Mykael Wright	Oregon	2
2017	Tyler Hall	Wyoming	2
2017	Jason Huntley	New Mexico State	2
2017	Rashaad Penny	San Diego State	2
2017	Juwan Washington	San Diego State	2
2016	Adoree Jackson	USC	2
2016	Rashaad Penny	San Diego State	2
2014	Trevor Davis	California	2
2014	Adoree Jackson	USC	2
2014	John Ross	Washington	2
2005	Brandon Breazell	UCLA	2
2005	Tony Pennyman	Utah State	2
2005	T.J. Rushing	Stanford	2
2005	Jonathan Stewart	Oregon	2
2003	Maurice Drew	UCLA	2
2002	Charles Pauley	San Jose State	2
2001	Tony Lukins	New Mexico State	2
2001	Chad Owens	Hawaii	2
1999	Ben Kelly	Colorado	2
1998	Daniel Jones	Utah	2
1998	Dee Moronkola	Washington State	2
1996	Terry Battle	Arizona State	2
1996	R. Jay Soward	USC	2
1985	Rick Calhoun	Cal State Fullerton	2
1985	Erroll Tucker	Utah	2
1983	Fredd Young	New Mexico State	2