Tiny Oregon State WR Champ Flemings Impresses NFL Hall of Famer

The Oregon State Beavers have not been necessarily known for winning big games in recent years, but they have turned heads with talented wide receivers. Brandin Cooks, Markus Wheaton, and Isaiah Hodgins have all been impressive while donning the black and orange, and now they have been joined by a figure that previously drew little attention.

Saturday afternoon, the Beavers faced off with an FCS opponent in Cal Poly. The Mustangs weren’t expected to put up a big fight, which was exactly what happened. That being said, there was one player that forced college football viewers to change the channel to tune in. Champ Flemings, a 5-foot-5-inch wide receiver for the Beavers, caused an uproar on Twitter when he jumped over a much bigger defensive back and took the football away for a long touchdown.

As it turns out, there were many figures focused on that impressive catch by Flemings. Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss, who was known for his contested catches, was fired up by this play. He wondered why no one tagged him on the play considering that it was possibly the catch of the week.

However, the Hall of Famer was far from the only receiver posting about Flemings’ play on Twitter. Super Bowl winner Torrey Smith said that this play should be shown to anyone who thinks they might be too small to achieve their goals while former Browns and Bengals standout Andrew Hawkins just wanted Flemings to know that he saw him making an impact.

Flemings has always been known as a smaller receiver that has big-play potential, provided he could hold up to the hits of defensive backs and linebackers. Well, he finished the day with five receptions for 142 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career. He led the Beavers in receiving yards and tied with Hodgins with the two scores.

As Flemings explained to a PAC-12 reporter after the game, the highlight-reel catch where he “Moss’d” the defensive back drew plenty of attention, but it was a very natural play. The receivers practice this drill during every practice in case a situation arises. These reps certainly paid off for Flemings as he generated a massive amount of attention on Saturday evening.

If Flemings can continue to produce in such a way while jumping over bigger players to make receptions, he will continue to generate attention from Hall of Fame receivers. Oregon State needed another option to shine in this passing attack, and the 5-foot-5-inch Flemings may just fill that role.