CAREER: Colbert owns the USC career reception record with 207 career grabs (sixth on the all-time Pac-10 list). His 2,964 career receiving yards rank third on USC's career chart (eighth on the all-time Pac-10 list). He has 6 100-yard receiving games in his career. He caught a pass in the last 36 consecutive games. 2003: The experienced, sure-handed Colbert, underrated in the past, emerged as one of the country's top wide receivers while starting for his fourth season as a senior in 2003. Overall in 2003 while appearing in all 13 games (he started all but the California game, but he did play), he had 69 receptions for 1,013 yards (14.7 avg.) with 9 TDs, plus 29 yards on 3 rushes (9.7 avg.) and a tackle. He also missed on a pass attempt (at Notre Dame). His 69 catches in 2003 were sixth on the USC season list (28th on the Pac-10 season ladder). A hamstring strain sidelined him for some of 2003 spring drills. He was named to the 2003 All-Pac-10 second team. He was a 2003 USC team co-captain and won USC's Most Inspirational Player Award. He participated in the Senior Bowl. He had 2 receptions for 13 yards at Auburn, then 3 catches for 68 yards, including a nifty 48-yard catch-and-run for a TD against BYU. He made 5 catches for 86 yards (with a 32-yard TD) against Hawaii, then a game-best 8 catches for 81 yards (with a 10-yard TD) at California. At Arizona State, he had 100 yards on 5 grabs at Arizona State, with a 57-yard TD (he also ran 6 yards on a reverse). He added 6 catches for 90 yards against Stanford. At Notre Dame, he caught 8 aerials for 120 yards, with an 18-yard TD. He had 3 receptions for 91 yards at Washington, with a 20-yard TD, then had a team-high 9 catches for 80 yards (with a 13-yard TD) against Washington State. At Arizona, he added 7 grabs for 76 yards, then had 4 catches for 41 yards against UCLA. He added 3 grabs for 18 yards and ran 12 yards on a reverse against Oregon State. Against Michigan in the Rose Bowl, he became USC's career receptions leader as he had 6 catches for a career-high 149 yards, including a pair of touchdowns (an over-the-shoulder finger-tip 25 yarder to open the scoring and then an incredible one-handed 47-yarder while being interfered with). 2002: Colbert started for his third year at wide receiver as a junior in 2002 and came up big. Overall in 2002 while appearing in all 13 games, he had 71 catches (second on USC) for 1,029 yards (14.5 avg.) with 5 TDs. He also ran for 36 yards on 2 reverses (18.0 avg.) with a TD and posted 2 tackles. His 71 receptions in 2002 are fourth on the USC season list. He made the 2002 All-Pac-10 second team. He also won USC's Bob Chandler Award (top underclassman student/athlete/leader). He had 2 grabs for 23 yards against Auburn and 4 for 52 yards at Colorado. He caught 11 passes for 125 yards (both career highs and game bests) with a 5-yard TD at Kansas State, the had 6 catches for 67 yards (both game highs) versus Oregon State. He added 5 catches for 60 yards at Washington State and 6 for 75 yards against California. He had 7 receptions for a career-high 146 yards against Washington, his third 100-yard career outing. He had 4 catches for 77 yards at Oregon, 5 grabs for 66 yards (with a pair of scores, 17 and 13 yards) at Stanford and 7 catches for 98 yards (both game highs) versus Arizona State. At UCLA, he caught 4 passes for 84 yards (including a 51-yard TD) and took a reverse 34 yards for another score. He added 5 grabs for 75 yards and had a tackle versus Notre Dame. He had a game-best 6 catches for 81 yards against Iowa in the Orange Bowl. 2001: Colbert started 11 games (all but Utah) at wide receiver (flanker) as a sophomore in 2001 and came up with a number of big catches. Overall in 2001 while appearing in 12 games, he was second on USC with 34 receptions for 442 yards (13.0 avg.) with 2 TDs, plus he had 1 carry for 9 yards, 1 kickoff return for 22 yards and 2 tackles. He had a game-best 6 catches for 67 yards at Oregon, a game-high 5 catches for 85 yards against Arizona State, 5 catches for a game-high 88 yards (including a 20-yard TD) at Notre Dame, 4 receptions for 51 yards at Arizona, 4 catches for 48 yards versus Stanford and 3 catches for 26 yards against UCLA, including a 4-yard TD. Against Utah, he had 2 receptions for 38 yards, including a spectacular one-handed 31-yard pickup. 2000: As just a true freshman in 2000, Colbert started 5 games (Arizona, Oregon, Stanford, Washington State and UCLA) at wide receiver (flanker) and was impressive. He was an often-used backup to Marcell Allmond and Matt Nickels in the other contests. Overall in 2000 while appearing in all 12 games, he was second on USC in receptions with 33 for 480 yards (14.5 avg.) and 3 TDs. His 33 grabs were the second most ever by a Trojan true freshman. He broke a bone in his left wrist against UCLA, but he continued to play the rest of that game (and against Notre Dame in the season finale). He had 3 catches for 34 yards against Colorado, 2 grabs for 40 yards versus San Jose State (with a key 29-yarder in USC's game-winning scoring drive) and 2 more for 39 yards at Oregon State. He then had 6 receptions for a game-high 113 yards (both career bests) at Arizona while starting, joining Kareem Kelly and R. Jay Soward as the only Trojan true freshmen with 100-plus receiving yards. He added 4 catches for 46 yards against Oregon, then a 13-yarder at Stanford and an 8-yarder against California. He had 6 receptions for 75 yards at Arizona State, getting his first career TD (an 18-yarder) and making a key 19-yard catch to set up USC's winning TD in overtime. He then had 5 grabs for 85 yards (with a 21-yard TD) against Washington State, 2 catches for 19 yards (with a 12-yard TD) at UCLA and an 8-yarder against Notre Dame. HIGH SCHOOL: He earned 1999 Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, Super Prep All-Farwest, Tom Lemming All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Las Vegas Sun Super 11 second team, All-CIF Division IV first team and Los Angeles Times All-Valley second team honors as a senior at Hueneme High in Oxnard (Calif.). He caught 25 passes for 600 yards (24.0 avg) and 10 TDs as a wide receiver on offense, had 10 tackles for losses, 5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles as a safety on defense, and returned a punt 70 yards for a score. In one game, all 3 of his catches went for touchdowns averaging 62.0 yards. As a 1998 junior, he made All-CIF Division IV first team, Los Angeles Times All-Ventura County second team and All-League Offensive MVP. He caught 40 passes for 920 yards (23.0 avg) with 14 TDs as a junior and had 5 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 blocked punts. He also ran track at Hueneme, with bests of 10.8 in the 100 meters and 21.8 in the 200 meters. PERSONAL: He is a sociology major at USC. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to music, watching movies and going to church. His cousins are former Arizona State defensive lineman Tommie Townsend (1999-2001), who also attended USC, and ex-Hawaii wide receiver Justin Colbert (1999-2002). KEARY COLBERT ON: Choosing USC: "One of my reasons for coming here was watching (ex-Trojan and USC career reception leader) Kareem Kelly have so much success as a freshman. I figured that I could have the same success." His jersey number: "When I was in high school, I wore No. 3 because of (ex-Trojan All-American wide receiver) Keyshawn Johnson. I wanted to come here and wear it, but (2002 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback) Carson Palmer was wearing it. I think I'll stick with No. 83 now. I think I'm making it look pretty good." His high school being a running offense: "I had to sacrifice, not being able to catch a lot of footballs. I realized then that it was a team game. That's just the way I think football should be played…There were guys out there at other schools getting 60 and 70 cathces. I just worked hard. People still noticed me." WHAT OTHERS SAY: Former USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Carson Palmer: "He's the best receiver I've played with. He's worked for everything he's got. He's not the most physically talented, not the fastest, not the tallest or strongest. He's a product of his work and he sets his goals high."
USC quarterback Matt Cassel: "He doesn't show a lot of emotion. He lets his play do his talking and leads by the way he acts and goes about his business…He prepares to be the top guy. He doesn't take dropping balls or anything like that lightly." USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow: "He's our steady, reliable guy. Keary runs this, runs that, comes underneath; he does a good job with everything because he's smart."
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
