It’s only Week 1 of the college football season, but we’re already seeing some remarkable highlights that could be in the conversation for the year’s best catches. One of those came Sunday in the first quarter of the Northwestern Wildcats’ road clash against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. There, Rutgers QB Gavin Wimsatt threw a pass right to the back left corner of the end zone, and wide receiver Ian Strong went up, got it, and somehow got a foot down. Even the officials were stunned at first, ruling it an incomplete pass initially, but replay overturned that and gave the Scarlet Knights a touchdown:
Rutgers' Ian Strong with a crazy catch for a TD vs Northwestern!
It was initially ruled incomplete, but replay showed he got a foot down in the end zone. 🏈 pic.twitter.com/2SbMaVFLgI
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 3, 2023
Strong is a freshman for the Scarlet Knights. In high school, he played both wide receiver and defensive back for St. Anthony’s on Long Island, helping the Friars to an 11-1 record and a New York CHSFL AAA championship last year. There, he finished with 30 catches for 797 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 80 tackles, three interceptions, three tackles-for-loss, a sack and a blocked kick on defense and earning the AAA defensive player of the year nod.
Strong is only playing offense so far for Rutgers, but he’s certainly making an impact there so far. And he produced one of this season’s most spectacular catches so far Sunday against the Wildcats.
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About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.