Trevor Insley (born December 25, 1977) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver. He played in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

for the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

from 1996 to 1999. Insley is the only player in NCAA

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

history to gain 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. He is one of two players in all division NCAA history to hold this distinction. Insley holds the current records for receiving yards (2,060 as a senior) and receiving yards per game (187.3 as a senior) at the Division I-A level. Insley possesses the second most career receiving yards in Division I-A history with 5,005 yards. His other records include most 200 yard receiving games (6), second most 100 yard receiving games (26), and third most career receptions (298). Insley was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

. His three-year NFL career with the Colts and the Houston Texans ended in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

. He was allocated by the Colts to

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

where he starred for the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) The Barcelona Dragons was an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the resu ...

in 2001. From November 6, 1999, until November 25, 2016, Insley held the record for most all-time career receiving yards in Division I-A competition (now

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peni ...

wide receiver Corey Davis broke his record in a game against Toledo.

Collegiate career

1996

Making his college football debut as a true freshman, Insley logged 6 receptions for over 100 yards against the Oregon Ducks. At the conclusion of the 1996 season, Insley finished his freshman year with 574 yards and 5 touchdowns on 36 receptions, numbers which earned him freshman All-American honors from The Sporting News.

1997

Insley totaled 1,151 yards receiving and 6 touchdowns with 59 receptions. His most productive game of the year against Boise State saw him put up a 6 catch, 217 yard performance. At the season's end, Insley was chosen for second team all Big West honors.

1998

Insley's junior year performance earned him a first team spot on the all-Big West conference team. He concluded the 1998 season with 69 receptions, 1,220 yards and 11 touchdowns

1999

The 1999 season saw Insley rewrite several school and national records. On November 6, 1999, in a loss against Idaho, Insley broke the all-time receiving yards record with a 254-yard game. Insley accomplished this despite sustaining a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentratio ...

during a punt return which took place during the first quarter. Ultimately, the senior Insley totaled 2,060 yards receiving, a single season Division I-A record that has yet to be surpassed. Insley is the only player in NCAA Division I football history to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. He was the second individual in all NCAA divisions to reach this threshold;

Scott Pingel Scott Pingel is an American bassist who is the principal bassist in the San Francisco Symphony. He had been the principal bassist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 Pingel had the privilege of performing on the acclaimed Karr-Koussev ...

posted over 2,100 single season receiving yards at the Division III level of competition in 1998. This earned him All-American honors from the Associated Press and Sporting News. At the conclusion of his collegiate career, Insley held the all time Division I-A records for total yards receiving and total receptions. His 298 catches were only three short of

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...

's NCAA Division I record for most career receptions.

Professional career

Insley received free agent offers from the Indianapolis Colts,

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

after not being selected in the 2000 NFL Draft. Insley ultimately signed with the Colts. On January 26, 2001, Insley was selected by the Colts as one of six players for allocation to NFL Europe. There, Insley joined the Barcelona Dragons. Insley's 654 yards led the Dragons in receiving for the 2001 season. Back in NFL proper after his time in NFL Europe, Insley earned a spot on the Colts regular season roster. Insley spent much of his second season on the injury report, suffering from knee and head injuries. Insley caught his first and only touchdown from

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Col ...

in a game against the Atlanta Falcons. The Colts terminated Insley's contract on February 27, 2002. On March 1, 2002, Insley was claimed by the Houston Texans. Insley suffered a broken ankle during Houston's first ever preseason game on August 6, 2002, and underwent surgery the following day. He spent the entire 2002 season on injured reserve and was not given a tender offer at season's end. In 2003, Insley signed a one-year contract with the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

Motorcycle racing

At the

Baja 1000 The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pear ...

in 2011, Insley was a member of the victorious Class 21 team.

Personal life

Insley studied physical education at the University of Nevada. Insley was inducted into the Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. Along with former pro basketball player

Dean Garrett Dean Heath Garrett (born November 27, 1966) is a former American professional basketball player. At a height of tall, he played at the center position. College career Garrett attended San Clemente High School, in San Clemente, California, w ...

, Insley was inducted into the San Clemente Sports Hall of Fame in May 2014. As of October 2014, Insley works as a firefighter in Los Angeles.

References

External links

Insley's bio at NFL Europe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Insley, Trevor 1977 births Living people People from San Clemente, California American football wide receivers Nevada Wolf Pack football players Indianapolis Colts players Houston Texans players Barcelona Dragons players Players of American football from California Sportspeople from Orange County, California American motorcycle racers Ottawa Renegades players American expatriate sportspeople in Spain American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American firefighters