Cincinnati native Dan Stricker was one of the most consistently good offensive players ever at Vandy. Stricker earned Second-Team All-SEC honors during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons at Vandy. His 21 touchdown catches were more than any Commodore receiver for a career, as are his eleven 100-yard games. He ranks second on the team's all-time receiving yardage list and third in receptions. Stricker also served as one of the team's three captains his junior and senior years.

Stricker played sparingly as a freshman (twelve receptions, 182 yards, two scores) but made his mark during his sophomore year. With just six more yards that season, Stricker would have become the only receiver in school history to top the 1,000 receiving yard mark twice. He topped the 100-yard mark five times that season, highlighted by his 147 yards in the win over Duke His 61 catches that season are a Vandy sophomore record.

Stricker's junior year was even better. His 1,079 yards were the third-best in school history and he caught a career-high eight scores. He topped the 100-yard mark four times, highlighted by a 202-yard performance against Kentucky which ranks as the third-best single-game effort in Vandy history.

Statistically, Stricker's senior year was a disappointment, but it was more due to the team's change to a run-oriented offense than his performance. His 620 yards and six scores led the team, were highlighted by 100-yard games against Furman and Georgia.

Stricker was not selected in the 2002 NFL draft; however, the New England Patriots signed him as a free agent. Stricker is currently in camp with the Patriots but is on the team's injured reserve list.

My thoughts on Dan Stricker Stricker was an outstanding route runner with great hands. He didn't have outstanding stopwatch speed but was such a polished player that he caught a large number of long touchdown passes anyway. If the team had not switched offenses, he would have certainly have ended up as the team's all-time leading receiver, and probably would have broken the league yardage record as well.

Stricker and Boo Mitchell rank first and second on the team's all-time yardage list. Mitchell has more yards but only one really great season to Stricker's two, although Mitchell's one great season was statistically better than any of Stricker's. Stricker had far more touchdown catches (21 to nine), but Mitchell was probably a better blocker. In the end, it's a very tough choice and I changed my mind a couple of times, but I think Stricker gets a very slight edge based on having one more great year as well as the touchdown advantage.

Year Receptions Yards TD

1999 12 187 2

2000 61 994 5

2001 65 1,079 8

2002 44 620 6