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This year marks the 50th Anniversary for O'Brien Field as the Panthers began competition at the renovated complex for the 1970 season.

With no football on the docket for the fall of 2020, every Wednesday this fall we bring you some memorable moments, players and teams to cap the Golden Anniversary. 

The location for the current football and track field was in place prior to the 1970 season and referenced as Lincoln Field.  The current grandstand and press box were constructed for that year replacing smaller sideline bleachers converting the space into a true college football and track facility.

The first football game played at the newly dubbed location was on Sept. 12, 1970 with a 28-18 loss to regional rival Indiana State.  The Panthers would get their first win the following week with a 19-14 win over Milwaukee on Sept. 19.
 
This week we take a look at some of the record setting wide receivers that played for the Panthers at O'Brien Field.  The Panthers have had four first team All-Americans and a couple of NFL players.
 
EIU has had four players earn first team All-America honors at wide receiver during the Panthers time at O'Brien Field. 
 
James Warring… Warring earned first team All-American honors in 1978 helping the Panthers win the NCAA Division II National Championship.  Warring had 980 yards receiving and 14 touchdowns during the regular season.  He would sign a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders but did not appear in any NFL games.   
 
Jerry Wright… Wright was part of an explosive group of wide receivers in the early 1980's earning first team All-American honors in 1984.  He hauled in 76 passes for 1,029 yards during the season.  Wright added honorable mention All-American honors in 1983.  At graduation he held the school record in both receiving yards and receptions (both since broken).
 
Roy Banks… Banks was considered the most sure-handed receiver in EIU football history.  He earned first team All-American honors in 1986 after collecting honorable mention honors in 1984 and 1985.  During the 1986 season he finished with 1,024 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.  Banks graduated with the school record for career receptions, career receiving yards and career touchdown receptions.  He still holds the career touchdown receptions record with 38.

Erik Lora... Lora became a dynamic receiving weapon for the Panthers in the early 2010's.  He led the team in receiving three seasons earning first team All-American honors in 2012 and 2013.  During the 2012 season he set the NCAA FCS record for receptions in a season with 136 for 1,664 yards as he finished fourth in voting for the Walter Payton Award.  He added 123 receptions for 1,544 yards in 2013 being named the FCSADA Wide Receiver of the Year.  Lora ended his career as the EIU and Ohio Valley Conference career leader in receptions and yards.  Lora signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings.
   
EIU has had eight other wide receivers earned an All-American honor and/or signed free agent contracts with NFL teams.

Scott McGhee… McGhee earned third team All-American honors in 1980.  During that season he caught 44 passes for 763 yards and 16 touchdowns as EIU was the NCAA Division II National Runner-Up.  McGhee would sign to play in the Canadian Football League and later played in the USFL.
 
Roger Holoman… Holoman earned honorable mention All-American honors in 1981.  He caught 40 passes for 621 yards during the season.
 
Calvin Pierce… Pierce was part of the Panthers dynamic receiving corps playing with Jerry Wright and Roy Banks.  Pierce earned honorable mention All-American honors in 1985 and second team honors in 1986.  Pierce had 1,200 yards receiving in 1986 and finished his EIU career second in both career receiving yards and receptions.
 
Ralph Stewart… Stewart earned honorable mention All-American honors in 1987. He caught 38 passes for 634 yards during the season.
 
Frank Cutolo… A top target for quarterback Tony Romo and a dynamic punt returner Cutolo signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints in 2002.  He did not appear in any NFL games but would transition and play professionally in the Canadian Football League.

Micah Rucker… Rucker was a transfer wide receiver and became a big play receiver for the Panthers earning third team All-American honors in 2006 and honorable mention accolades in 2007.  He would sign a free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers but did not appear in any NFL games.  In two seasons Rucker had 22 touchdowns and just over 1,700 receiving yards.
 
 
Adam Drake… Drake was part of another explosive group of EIU wide receivers in the 2010's before becoming a primary target as a senior.  He earned third team All-American honors in 2013 followed by second team All-American honors in 2014.  Drake finished his EIU career second in career receptions and third in career receiving yards. He signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs but did not appear in any NFL games.
 
Alexander Hollins… Hollins is the most recent EIU All-American earning second team honors in 2018.  He finished that season with 80 receptions for 1,102 yards and 16 touchdowns ranking as one of just three players to rank in the Top 15 in the nation in all three categories that season.  Hollins signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings in 2019 and was on the Vikings active roster late in the season including the 2019 NFL playoffs.   He opened this season on the Vikings practice squad. 
 

One additional Panthers wide receiver as among the nation's elite during part of his career.

Willie White… White played for the Panthers from 1970-73 but during the 1971 season he was second in the NCAA College Division ranks in receiving yards finishing the season with 915 yards in ten games.