This article underscores what I was saying to Terry in another post about UF's contributions to the NFL coming from players who made their mark in the NFL while not being all that well known. Florida comes in at #10 on this list and not just because of Emmitt Smith.....although his accomplishments in the NFL far outweigh any other Gator at any position and rival that of just about any running back: http://cfn.scout.com/2/861446.html ...and for good measure there is Quarterback U which clearly states that it is ranking players for their college performances only....not NFL contributions: http://cfn.scout.com/2/861179.html
I would expect Ohio State up there at RB and I am not surprised they don't make the Qb list. USC high on both lists is completely expected.
Nobody talks about all time great QBs based on their college careers alone. At least nobody I know. Its all about the pros. So based on my assumption, which school is better than BYU? Or Miami? Hell, Purdue is better than any of them. Some of those top fives never left any footprint in the pros. When you are sitting in the barbershop and the subject of great QBs comes up, how many times have you heard Jamelle Hollaway? Shane Matthews? Jerry Tagge? Never!
Wow: Joe Theisman, Joe Montana, Tom Clements all were great college QB's and Montana and Clements won National Championships. Theisman fell just short a couple of times. Then there was Tony Rice who won a NC was one of the top Triple Option QB's of all-time. Then toss in Brady Quinn who was a very high profile QB who had a great college career. I mean if that bunch is relegated to Honorable mention then that list is totally worthless.
AJ makes a good point....so does Terry. Did Montana and Theisman carve their niche out so deeply in the pros that they are not remembered well as college Qbs or were their stats fairly average in college? I agree more should be made of the college/pro combination as CFN did for the Rb list.
What about Daryl Lamonica, John Huarte, Paul Hornung, and Angelo Bertelli, three of whom were Heisman Trophy winners? I agree, Terry. The list is worthless.
I think some of this can be explained by the fact that the teams around some of these guys spoke loudly for how they came to be viewed as winning Qbs but for this list their college careers were not as impressive as others certainly from the standpoint of total career production: "Huarte played for the University of Notre Dame after graduating from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. During his sophomore and junior years at Notre Dame, he played for only a few minutes per game. As a senior, however, he became the starting quarterback as the Fighting Irish won all but one game during the 1964 season, in which he was selected as an All-American and won the Heisman Trophy. By the end of the season, Huarte threw for 2,062 yards with only 205 passes, an average of over ten yards per pass attempt.
The list is from 1970 forward so that eliminates guys like Hornung etc. Montana and Theisman both had great college careers and played in High Profile games. Theisman played in 2 Cotton Bowls and stopped the Texas 33 game winning streak in his Sr. Year. Montana of course took down Texas and Earl Campbell and ruined their unbeaten season and NC chance in the '77 Cotton Bowl. Back in those days before all the TV contracts ND always had their big games televised by ABC, and that would be the only game on that day Nationally. Tony Rice played in a number of extremely high profile games in 88/89 again it was before the TV contracts and his games with USC and Miami in those years were amongst the most highly viewed games of their time. Terry
Dave, you make a good point re: Huarte. I'm impressed by your research. Terry, I understand that the 1970 cutoff eliminates some great ND QBs. Nevertheless, because the list only has ND at honorable mention, I still think it's worthless. :lol:
Running Back U .......sounds pretty good. Let's see if the current crop has what it takes to continue the pedigree......we've got some good prospects, but nobody has jumped up and grabbed the bit to be the guy.
No mention of the greatest running back to ever touch a football, Jimmy Brown. No wonder they cut the date off.