Speaking of Nebraska football wide receivers that have largely been overlooked … Maurice Purify was one of the best receivers to come through Lincoln.
He had the benefit of being in one of the better offenses the Huskers have put on the field in the last few decades. Purify was a junior college transfer brought in by Bill Callahan and staff.
While the team, in general, had some up and down experiences, the offense was pretty damn good under Callahan. This was witnessed in 2007 when Purify brought down 57 passes for 814 yards.
Purify also scored nine touchdowns that season. Perhaps the most impressive part of those numbers is that Purify missed one game due to injury.
Considering that the Huskers receiver got better as the season came to a close, it would have been interesting to see what he could have done with an extra game under his belt.
In the last three games of the season, Purify had seven catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns, six catches for 108 yards and 11 catches for 136 yards and three touchdowns.
One of the reasons his 2007 season is overlooked is the fact that he toiled in a losing season. That was the last year that Callahan coached the Nebraska football team. It wasn’t his offense that chased him out, but the total lack of a defense.
In that 11 catch game, Purify and the rest of the Huskers lost to Colorado 65-50. There were far too many games like that in the 2007 season.