Started By
Message
Top 50 College Football Players of the Past 50 Years (Athlon Era)
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:18 pm
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:18 pm
quote:
The inaugural edition of Athlon Sports was published in 1967, the same year that a running back named O.J. Simpson led the USC Trojans to the national championship. As we celebrate 50 years of covering the sport, we thought it would be fun to take a deep dive and compile a ranking of the top 50 players of the Athlon Sports era. This wasn’t easy. Our checklist contained more than 300 players, each of whom received either first-team All-America honors or won a major postseason award. To help us sort through the list of all-time greats, we assembled a panel of college football experts. Each member submitted a list of top 50 players, and we used a simple formula to tabulate the final rankings: A player received 50 points for a first-place vote down to one point for a 50th-place vote. To be eligible, a player had to have played at least one season of college football between 1967 and 2016.
quote:
The Panel
Tony Barnhart — former college football writer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; current columnist at GridIronNow
Michael Bradley — freelance college sports writer
Matt Brown — college football writer for Sports on Earth
Jimmy Burch — college sports writer at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bill Connelly — college football writer for SB Nation
Rob Doster — senior editor at Athlon Sports
Chris Dufresne — former college football writer for the Los Angeles Times; co-founder of TMGCollegeSports.com
Bruce Feldman — college football writer at FoxSports.com
Steven Godfrey — college football writer for SB Nation
Herb Gould — former college football writer for the Chicago Sun-Times; co-founder of TMGCollegeSports.com
Bill King — host of The Bill King Show on 560/95.9 in Nashville
Tom Luicci — former college football writer for The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J.
Ivan Maisel — college football writer for ESPN.com
Stewart Mandel — college football writer at FoxSports.com
Paul Myerberg — college football writer for USA Today
Bud Withers — former college football writer for the Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Eugene Register-Guard
quote:
Top 50 CFB Players of the Athlon Era (1967-2016)
50. Desmond Howard
49. Doug Flutie
quote:
48. Danny Wuerffel QB, Florida, 1993-96
Wuerffel and Florida coach Steve Spurrier were a match made in Fun ’n’ Gun heaven. Wuerffel ran Spurrier’s offense to perfection in leading the Gators to their first-ever national title and winning the school its first Heisman since Spurrier’s in 1967. Wuerffel finished his college career having completed 708 of 1,170 passes for 10,875 yards with 114 touchdown passes. His career pass efficiency rating of 163.56 was the best in major college history at the time, and his percentage of passes that went for TDs (9.74) also ranked first.
47. Marcus Mariota
46. Keith Jackson
quote:
45. Peyton Manning QB, Tennessee, 1994-97
Manning finished his career having rewritten the school passing record book and extensively edited the SEC record book. He left Knoxville in possession of conference marks for career wins as a starter, completions, completion percentage, passing yards and total offense, among others. He won the 1997 Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards, and was the SEC Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American.
44. Chris Spielman
quote:
43. Reggie White DT, Tennessee, 1980-83
The Minister of Defense is better known for his Hall of Fame pro career, but he also had a dominant college career spent terrorizing SEC quarterbacks and running backs. White holds the school record for sacks in a single season with 15 in 1983 and only recently saw his school career sack record broken by Derek Barnett. White was the SEC Player of the Year and an All-American in ’83.
42. Jonathan Ogden
41. Bruce Smith
40. Randy White
39. Mike Singletary
38. Matt Leinart
37. Ricky Williams
quote:
36. Archie Manning QB, Ole Miss, 1968-70
Before siring two great NFL quarterbacks, Archie was an Ole Miss legend who passed for 4,753 yards, rushed for 823 more and accounted for 56 touchdowns in an era when those numbers were extraordinary. He secured his legend in a 33–32 loss to Alabama in 1969, when he passed for 436 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 104 yards in a losing effort.
35. Jerry Rice
34. Ed Reed
33. John Elway
32. Brian Bosworth
31. Steve Emtman
quote:
30. Cam Newton QB, Auburn, 2010
Newton spent only one year on The Plains after an ill-fated stint at Florida and a year in junior college, but it was one of the greatest single seasons by a quarterback in college football history. In leading Auburn to the 2010 national title, Newton completed 185-of-280 passes (66.1 percent) for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushed for 1,473 yards and 20 touchdowns to earn the Heisman Trophy by a landslide margin.
8
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:18 pm to TideSaint
29. Jack Tatum
28. Lawrence Taylor
27. Marcus Allen
26. Anthony Munoz
25. Kenny Easley
24. Johnny Rodgers
23. Larry Fitzgerald
22. Randy Moss
20. OJ Simpson
19. Dave Rimington
18. Ronnie Lott
16. Orlando Pace
15. Ndamukong Suh
14. Reggie Bush
13. Lee Roy Selmon
12. Tommie Frazier
11. Charles Woodson
10. Tony Dorsett
9. Deion Sanders
8. Vince Young
7. Hugh Green
4. Earl Campbell
3. Archie Griffin
2. Barry Sanders
28. Lawrence Taylor
27. Marcus Allen
26. Anthony Munoz
25. Kenny Easley
24. Johnny Rodgers
23. Larry Fitzgerald
22. Randy Moss
quote:
21. Derrick Thomas LB, Alabama, 1985-88
In 1988, the unblockable Thomas compiled a staggering 27 sacks. His career total was an equally imposing 52. As a senior, Thomas became the first SEC player to win the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. Tragically, Thomas, one of the greatest linebackers in history, died in 2000 from complications brought on by an automobile accident.
20. OJ Simpson
19. Dave Rimington
18. Ronnie Lott
quote:
17. John Hannah OL, Alabama, 1970-72
One of the best offensive linemen in college football history, Hannah was a two-time All-American who served as a road grader in the early days of Alabama’s wishbone attack and earned a spot on Alabama’s All-Century Team. Bear Bryant once called Hannah the greatest player he ever coached.
16. Orlando Pace
15. Ndamukong Suh
14. Reggie Bush
13. Lee Roy Selmon
12. Tommie Frazier
11. Charles Woodson
10. Tony Dorsett
9. Deion Sanders
8. Vince Young
7. Hugh Green
quote:
6. Tim Tebow QB, Florida, 2006-09
The numbers are simply staggering: 9,285 passing yards and 88 touchdowns; 2,947 rushing yards and an SEC-record 57 scores on the ground; conference records for total touchdowns (145), passing yards per attempt (9.3) and passing efficiency rating (170.8). Oh, and there’s the small matter of two national championships in his four seasons in Gainesville.
quote:
5. Bo Jackson RB, Auburn, 1982-85
Jackson amassed quite a highlight reel in his first three seasons on The Plains, but his injury-free 1985 campaign was when it all came together: 1,786 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns and a Heisman Trophy. Jackson finished his career with 4,303 rushing yards and 45 total scores before becoming a folk hero and pop culture fixture with his multi-sport pro career.
4. Earl Campbell
3. Archie Griffin
2. Barry Sanders
quote:
1. Herschel Walker RB, Georgia, 1980-82
Walker stampeded onto the college football scene in his first game by barreling over Tennessee’s Bill Bates, and from there, his legend only grew. The 1982 Heisman winner led the Bulldogs to a 33–3 record and the 1980 national championship during his three seasons in Athens, rushing for 5,259 yards — still an SEC record — and 49 touchdowns.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:19 pm to TideSaint
looks legit
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:20 pm to TideSaint
I predict ruffled feathers everywhere. Yes, including from LSU fans.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:21 pm to TideSaint
No Johnny ?
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:21 pm to RB10
quote:
I predict ruffled feathers everywhere.
Of course.
quote:
Yes, including from LSU fans.
Well Billy Cannon was ineligible so I don't know who else being left off would upset your fan base.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:22 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Well Billy Cannon was ineligible so I don't know who else being left off would upset your fan base.
Irrelevant.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:22 pm to TideSaint
Hard to argue that list.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:24 pm to TideSaint
Looks good to me. I would have Barry as #1 but any of the top 6 have an arguement to me
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:24 pm to TideSaint
As a Cowboys fan, I love Deion, but he is WAYYYY too highly ranked.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:27 pm to TideSaint
No Dak Prescott = Fake lists
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:32 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Well Billy Cannon was ineligible so I don't know who else being left off would upset your fan base.
Kevin Faulk
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:34 pm to TideSaint
Archie Manning but not Manziel?
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:36 pm to TideSaint
6 Southern Cal players, not shabby
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:38 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Well Billy Cannon was ineligible so I don't know who else being left off would upset your fan base.
Honey Badger.
Better than any other SEC defender on there.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:40 pm to TideSaint
quote:
Well Billy Cannon was ineligible so I don't know who else being left off would upset your fan base.
i'm not going to bitch about this list but you could make a solid case for Dorsey, PP7, and of course Tommy Casanova
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:40 pm to magildachunks
Derrick Thomas was a better defensive player than Honeybadger. I would submit that Cornelius Bennett and Lee Roy Jordan were also.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:41 pm to magildachunks
quote:
Honey Badger.
Better than any other SEC defender on there.
if he had been back in 2012 and had another season like he had in 2011 then i think you'd be right, but as it stands just the 1 spectacular year knocks him down a bit on a list like this.
if it was 100 and not 50 then it might be a different story.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:41 pm to Swm323
quote:
Derrick Thomas was a better defensive player than Honeybadger. I would submit that Cornelius Bennett and Lee Roy Jordan were also.
Well, you're just wrong.
Posted on 6/19/17 at 2:42 pm to Swm323
Where is Mike Golic on this list
Page 1 of 4
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News