Who's the best college football player YOU have seen?

[DeToxRox]

I was watchin' SC and McShay said Tebow was the best ever that he had seen. Others say Vince Young.

For me this starts and ends with Charles Woodson.

No one was more dominate ever at his position. He made the entire UM secondary so much better then they were, and in college, he cut the field in half.

Plus, when you needed a big play, that was all #2.

So for my money, its CDub.

What about for you?

[DeToxRox]

[Balldog]

I hate to say it but I will agree on Woodson.

Tebow is pretty damn good though.

[sooner333]

In my college football fandom, I'd probably go with Roy Williams, Adrian Peterson, Vince Young. I'll wait and see on Bradford and Tebow.

[Vegas Vic]

Vince Young and Marcus Dupree.

A lot of you guys have probably never heard of Dupree, but he was a 233' guy who could run over you or run by you. He also returned punts. Watch the run at 1:50, it is just plain sick.

[DanGarion]

Reggie Bush. Bar none.

[Tigercat]

Cecil Collins. Even out of football on a regular basis, with hardly any college experience, and out of shape he made an NFL roster as a rookie and was on pace to start for them. (Granted for a NFL team with no RBs.) That is the kind of raw talent Cecil Collins had. Before he was injured for the season, Cecil as a true freshman for LSU was getting 200 yards a game in the SEC. If he was halfway normal he would have been unreal.

[EagleFan]

Barry Sanders.

[Dr. Sak]

I gotta agree with Reggie Bush.

If Lavar Arrington would have been more discipline he would have been one of the best linebackers ever.

[EagleFan]

Reggie Bush couldn't carry Barry Sanders' jock strap.

[Chief Rum]

Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas might have been two of the greatest college players ever, and they were teammates.

He doesn't belong on this list, because these guys are truly great. But as a UCLA fan, it's tough to beat Cade McNown as a JR and SR. He was just phenomenal.

Him totally taking a crapper in the pros was a huge disappointment for me.

[EagleFan]

ESPN.com - Page2 - Best individual college football seasons

That is the year that began it all. Purely legendary.

[st.cronin]

Bush was good but wouldn't make my top 10 list. I don't think he was even the best player on his team.

I think I would go with Tebow. He is unreal.

[Dr. Sak]

See I dont even think Woodson should've won the Heisman that year. The crop that year was weak.

[Grammaticus]

I guess I will go with Bo Jackson.

Honorable mention to Payton Manning.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

See I dont even think Woodson should've won the Heisman that year. The crop that year was weak.

No one threw Woodsons way and he still had 8 INT. He literally was never targeted. Teams gameplanned against him on offense too, and he was only out a handful of plays every week. If you didn't know where he was you were done

[Eaglesfan27]

I love Reggie Bush, but I wouldn't put him in my top 5. If you were asking who was the most explosive, then he would be in my top 3, but he wasn't consistent enough to be top 5 for best overall players. Not sure who I'd pick as the top, but I think Tebow is in the discussion and so is Barry Sanders.

[MizzouRah]

Tough... Bo Jackson came to mind first..

[cartman]

[Alan T]

Hmm.. I was going to say Bo Jackson.. but I think the best ever college football player I remember seeing in person was Herschel Walker... I won't ever admit having rooted for the Bulldogs ever in my life as that would be an unforgivable sin.... but watching Walker play was pretty special.

Granted I don't go to college football games in person as much these days however..

[Galaxy]

Define best.

[vex]

Adrian Peterson.

[Galaxy]

How would you rate Michael Vick and Randy Moss?

[JPhillips]

I saw an Ohio State game where Keith Byars ran for a couple of TDs, caught one and threw for one. Easily the most dominant performance I've seen live.

The Michael Vick championship game was the greatest performance I've seen on TV.

Overall it's tough not to go with Tebow right now. He won't make it in the pros, but he's unlike anything I've ever seen.

[EagleFan]

[Atocep]

Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk, Orlando Pace, and Dwight Freeney are the names that come to mind for me.

[Buccaneer]

OJ Simpson. He was the very first college star I saw and he had made such an impression as an 8 yr old that it had stayed with me all of these years (and one of the reasons I've been a Trojans fan for 40 years). Really.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

OJ Simpson. He was the very first college star I saw and he had made such an impression as an 8 yr old that it had stayed with me all of these years (and one of the reasons I've been a Trojans fan for 40 years). Really.

I thought for sure Bucc was going to go with Jim Thorpe....

[EagleFan]

Thank you for starting this thread DeTox. It got me looking up old Sanders highlights and remembering just how much I used to love watching him play. He did things that seem physically impossible, almost seeming to make a 90 degree cut without even slowing down. His feet were in constant motion and he seemed to see the entire field at all times. Where there was no hole he made it through, when it looked like the play was about to be over out of the pile he came and usually streaking into the end zone.

If I recall he never had great 40 times, not bad ones by no stretch of the imagination, but on the field he seemed to be moving twice as fast as everyone.

[Pumpy Tudors]

SAMMY TRANKS

[JeeberD]

I saw LaDanian Tomlinson run all over my Miners a couple of times. Definitely the best player I've ever seen in person...

[Young Drachma]

In person? Jovon Bouknight. Not a pro prospect by any means, but the kid did more with nothing at wideout (given the QB throwing to him) than any other young player I've seen at his level. Maybe someday he can be a coach. They brought him back as a GA, but who knows if he'll decide to go the coaching route for real. I'd love to see it, if he does.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The Michael Vick championship game was the greatest performance I've seen on TV.

I agree. I had not really seen much of Vick until that game and he was astoundingly good. Every play seemed like it was 1 vs 11. He single handedly kept Virginia Tech in the game until the middle of the 3rd quarter or so when he just ran out of gas.

[MrBug708]

Cade

[st.cronin]

Vick was certainly a spectacular athlete, but it seems to me his weaknesses as a player were evident even in college.

I don't remember seeing Barry Sanders in college, although that video clip is something.

Ricky Williams was probably the best college RB I ever saw, although maybe Ron Dayne.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Personally seen would be probably Woodson. Tough to go against that... he looked slow, but that's the same way that Vince Young looked slow:the game just changed around him.

All time it's tough to go against Barry, but Tom Harmon should get at least honorable mention.

[Galaril]

Earl "The Pearl" Campbell when I saw him play about 4 times when I was a kid back in the late 70s.
[IMG]http://[/IMG]

[TCY Junkie]

Since 1995 the only person that made me think "man I want to watch that game just to see him play" was Randy Moss.

[BishopMVP]

Woodson is a great nomination, and even though I think Jamar Fletcher might have been as good just on a slightly worse team, that INT vs. MSU is still probably the most amazing single play I've ever seen. I think me and my friends spent the next 3 hours trying to recreate it and still mention it to this day. The only other defensive players coming to mind were all U Miami weirdly - Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Sean Taylor.

Although statistically (and because his team was better) Vince Young's Rose Bowl puts it at #1 for single-game performance, I agree Vick vs. FSU was better, but that might just be fond memories. I wish I could find tape of that and not just highlights.

Some WR's have to be thrown in there - Moss first, Warrick, Fitzgerald and Charles Rogers, plus my unsung favorite Derrick Mayes of 1995-era ND. Michael Crabtree is approaching this level if he sticks around.

The two best I've seen in person at the 1-AA level are Armanti Edwards from App St and RJ Cobbs from UMass - he might have only bounced around practice squads, but he was A10 freshman of the year at RB, then started at CB, WR, PR and KR his JR/SR years.

If I was forced to pick one though, I'm going with Tommie Frazier. Him running the option was absolute perfection.

[BishopMVP]

Just kidding, the correct answer is Michael Bishop. Too bad he had the lowest wonderlic score of any QB ever.

[Neuqua]

In person? Garrett Wolfe. He ran for 200+ yards practically every game I went to.

[rowech]

This will sound insane to most...he had no supporting talent but if he played in Florida's system, people would question whether Tebow even measured up to him...

Antwan Randle El

[Butter]

Vince Young

[Dr. Sak]

I really cant say Barry Sanders is the best I have seen because I was around 7 or 8 when he played. I can barely remember what i ate for dinner last night, let alone compare someone who played when I was 8 to today.

[KWhit]

I was young, but it's gotta be Herschel.

[BYU 14]

In person - Jim McMahon

On TV Bo Jackson or Reggie Bush

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by rowech

This will sound insane to most...he had no supporting talent but if he played in Florida's system, people would question whether Tebow even measured up to him...

Antwan Randle El

Agreed. If he had had a talented team around him, the sky was the limit.

[QuikSand]

For me, Herschel Walker was the name that came to mind first. But several more mentions here that would be on my list -- Barry Sanders, Orlando Pace, Charles Woodson, Reggie Bush, and Marcus Dupree.

I also like the "honorable mention" list for this sort of thing... Cecil Collins? Awesome.

Anyone here remember Cornelius Bennett at Alabama? He was a monster college LB, not as flashy as Brian Bosworth (also a monster) but probably more sound at the position. It's tough to weight positions like that against guys who touch the ball 20+ times a game, but if you could do so, he might actually get my vote here, on further reflection... but would be a lock for my all-time team.

[ISiddiqui]

Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow, Vince Young

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Hmm.. I was going to say Bo Jackson.. but I think the best ever college football player I remember seeing in person was Herschel Walker... I won't ever admit having rooted for the Bulldogs ever in my life as that would be an unforgivable sin.... but watching Walker play was pretty special.

Granted I don't go to college football games in person as much these days however..

I was thinking about this more. Many people are listing fairly recent players, many of which were outstanding college players. Something about the game now, these players are great, but everyone seems faster/stronger and they just don't stand out in my mind as well.

Something about Herschel Walker or Bo Jackson when I watched them play.. they were so much better then anyone else on the field it was like a man playing with boys. Perhaps it is just a case of me remembering them better then they really were, but I do not get that same feeling watching any college players these days. The average player has not caught up to the college elite, but they definitely have closed the gap greatly in my mind.