A little surprised with Tim ... but I'll take it. The whole list is just for fun anyway. Tebow, Deion among AP's all-time All-Americans
Tim may not be the greatest qb of all time, but he could be the greatest football player of all time.
Agree but as the guidelines the player had to be a 1st team all American in the position noted. Percy got it as an all purpose guy so there was only one slot they could have put him. He should have at least been “noted” in the article though
Basically they are saying Tebow is the greatest college QB of all time. That is pretty amazing. Crazy seeing Pitt with 3 players on the team.
Was Larry Fitzgerald really that good in college? I know he was a beast in the NFL but I don’t really remember his college time.
Yeah, not to overstate it, but he reminds me of Emmitt Smith in that people want to add up the parts and make a call. These players were WAY more than the sum of their parts.
Not so sure about Deion on the list, although I will let other "experts" convince me. To me, he was talented but his real shine was in the NFL. I thought that Champ Bailey was the best two-way player in our era. And yes, we are ignoring those players who played when that was the norm.
IIRC, he was the best definition of a once-in-a-decade player coming out of college, it was just that he wasn't a QB and so teams weren't trying to get the overall #1 pick to select him. I wanted Pitts to be the next incarnation of him (albeit with a different team and proclivities) and he may still do some things for the NFL to go "wow!" but it appears as if his star is not as bright as he appeared. There is a reason why the teams playing the Falcons are successful and Pitts' stats are middling. Maybe a running Penix will open things up some.
Excellent list overall, IMO. From all the greats who have been AP AA's at every position, I think they did a very good job of choosing the best of the best. As a freshman, Tebow supplemented Chris Leak extremely well in helping the team win a Natty. And he should have won the Heisman twice because his junior year we won the national title and his leadership and performance that year was off the charts. Actual stats weren't as glowing as in 2007, but still....For him to finish 3rd behind Sam Bradford & Colt McCoy was ridiculous. Tim actually got more 1st place votes than either of those guys.
First team offense QB - Tim Tebow, Florida, 2007 Wide receivers - Randy Moss, Marshall, 1997; Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh, 2003 Tackles - Orlando Pace, Ohio State, 1995-96; Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh, 1982-84 Guards - John Hannah, Alabama, 1972; Jim Parker, Ohio State, 1956 Center - Chuck Bednarik, Penn, 1947-48 Tight end - Brock Bowers, Georgia, 2023 Running backs - Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, 1988; Herschel Walker, Georgia, 1980-82 Kicker - Sebastian Janikowski, Florida State, 1998-99 All-purpose - Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, 1972
First team defense Ends - Hugh Green, Pittsburgh, 1978-80; Randy White, Maryland, 1974 Tackles - Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, 2009; Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota, 1929 Linebackers - Dick Butkus, Illinois, 1964; Derrick Thomas, Alabama, 1988; Chris Spielman, Ohio State, 1986-87 Cornerbacks - Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1996-97; Deion Sanders, Florida State, 1987-88 Safeties - Ronnie Lott, USC, 1980; Ed Reed, Miami, 2000-01 Punter - Tory Taylor, Iowa, 2023
Emmitt was elite in hs, college, and pros. Some say he had to goat offensive line and he sorta did but he ran like that behind every line he ever played behind and never led the league in negative yardage. Always made yardage and kept the offense ahead of the sticks.
And deceptively fast. His critics always pointed to a lack of speed (called him a “plodder”, I think). Sure didn’t hold him back at all.
