The college football landscape has changed drastically over the last few seasons. From conference realignments to the era of NIL deals and the transfer portal, college football looks a lot different than it did not long ago. Now, NCAA fans will get to witness the 12-team format for the College Football Playoff for the first time ever. All of this change makes this the perfect time to go back and update our list of the greatest college football players ever from 30 athletes to 50.
College football has been played since 1869 — through wars and pandemics alike — and hundreds of thousands of players have attempted to be granted the honor of being placed on this list. While it was nearly impossible to come to a conclusion, here are the top 50 greatest college football players of all time.
As a quick disclaimer, there will be no accounting for differences in era. For instance, Glenn Davis dominated the college football world during World War II with Army, and he has made the list. This list is more a function of who dominated their respective competition the most. This also means that a couple of players who played in what today would be considered FCS are included. One player on this list even went to a college that no longer exists. With all that out of the way, here is the updated ClutchPoints top 50 college football players of all time list.
1. Herschel Walker, Georgia
Before he was included in the largest and most influential trade in NFL history, and even before he was one of the premier players in the original USFL, Herschel Walker lit up defenses behind the hedges in Athens, Georgia, for three illustrious seasons with the Bulldogs.
Walker had such an insane career he tallied at least 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns in each of his three seasons at Georgia, with his Heisman-winning 1982 campaign being the most recognized. However, despite putting up 1,841 all-purpose yards and scoring 17 times, his sophomore year of 1981 was actually the better statistical campaign, and it looks like this: 385 carries, 1,891 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, 84 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns.
Imagine putting up those kinds of numbers and not winning a Heisman. Sure, he got it the next year, and perhaps there was some trepidation in the voting process about giving the trophy to a sophomore, something that wouldn’t happen until Tim Tebow did it in 2007, but it’s hard to deny that Walker was a contender, finishing second to Marcus Allen.
2. Archie Griffin, Ohio State
How could the only player to ever win multiple Heisman trophies not make this list? Barring his freshman season, Griffin rushed for at least 1,400 yards in all three of his years as feature back in Columbus. His two Heisman campaigns were legendary.
1974: 256 carries, 1,695 yards, 12 touchdowns
1975: 262 carries, 1,450 yards, 4 touchdowns
Maybe not enough to win you a Heisman today, but Archie Griffin was, without a doubt, the best player in the country in both of those seasons, which is all you can really ask of a Heisman winner.
3. Tim Tebow, Florida
Regarded by some as the greatest college quarterback of all time, Tim Tebow, 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, certainly has the accolades to put himself in the conversation. Two national championships, the already mentioned Heisman; what more can I say?
Here’s his 2007 stat line if you’ve never seen it: 66.9% completion percentage, 3,286 pass yards, 32 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 210 carries, 895 rushing yards, 23 touchdowns.
Truly the first great season from a quarterback with today’s “modern” style of play, Tebow lit the world on fire in that sophomore season, his first as full-time starter after the departure of Chris Leak.
This stat line carried Tebow to a Heisman trophy and into the minds of the American public forever. Tebow would go on to finish his career at Florida as an absolute legend, and not many quarterbacks before or since can match his accolades.
4. Marcus Allen, USC
The man who would later go on to become one of the best running backs of his generation had a bit of a slow start to high-level football at USC.
Marcus Allen took a couple of years to burst onto the scene, but when he did, boy did he ever break out. His junior season at USC looks great, with 1,794 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns, but that’s completely overshadowed by his Heisman-winning 1981. There’s not really much I can say in words to describe how jaw-dropping Allen’s stats are for that year, so just take a look: 433(!!!) carries, 2,427 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns, 256 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown.
Don’t rub your eyes. Marcus Allen really kept up 5.6 yards per carry across 433 carries. Read it as many times as you need.
5. Bo Jackson, Auburn
Readers of a certain age will tell you Bo Jackson was the greatest athlete of all time before his hip injury. They may have a case given Jackson’s incredible talent in football and baseball, and he first started getting national recognition for it at Auburn.
For our purposes, we’re going to stick to football. But if you’d like, feel free to imagine putting up these stats en route to a Heisman, and then going and being able to not only play with but match Frank Thomas in baseball. That was Bo Jackson.
Bo Jackson was the kind of player who still casts a shadow on Toomer’s Corner, and to this day, occupies a completely different pantheon from even other football greats such as Pat Sullivan and Cam Newton. Bo knew a lot of things during his career, and now Bo knows this list too.
The 1985 Heisman winner rushed for 4,303 yards and 43 touchdowns in his career.
6. Earl Campbell, Texas
Earl Campbell, like many players on this list, had an incredible college career overshadowed by an even better pro career. It feels a bit hard to say that about a bunch of Heisman winners, Campbell included, but that’s simply due to how incredible these players were. Earl Campbell, before he was a Houston Oiler, led the backfield in Austin at the University of Texas. Gathering 928 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman, followed by a sophomore campaign with 1,118 yards and 13 touchdowns, Campbell looked like a favorite for the 1976 Heisman, but injuries limited him to just seven games.
However, in 1977, Campbell came back for his senior season with a vengeance. Just take a look at what he did, and remember this is over a season that lasted just 11 games: 267 carries, 1,744 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, 111 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown.
7. Tony Dorsett, Pitt
Tony Dorsett is a player who kept up his incredible form over the course of his entire career. Tallying at least 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in every season he played at Pitt, Dorsett capped off his college career with a Heisman in 1976, with jaw-dropping stats to boot. To put his career in perspective, Dorsett was good enough to be considered by most as ahead of Dan Marino for the title of best Pitt player of all time.
That 1976 season I mentioned? You can see why people think this: 370 carries, 2,150 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns, 67 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown.
Owner of perhaps the single greatest season any player has ever put together on a college football field, Barry Sanders’ career actually began fairly pedestrian. Perhaps victim of his time — and the fact his team also had Thurman Thomas on the depth chart — Sanders had almost double the carries in his Heisman-winning 1988 campaign as he had in both of his first two years in Stillwater combined.
Speaking of that 1988 season, feel free to sit down if you’re not already, this stat line is going to shock you, and I promise this isn’t from NCAA 14: 344 carries, 2,628 yards, 7.6 YPC, 37 touchdowns.
Alright, I’ll pause for a second; feel free to read over that as many times as necessary. Scratch your eyes, pinch yourself, whatever you need to do. Now that we’re back and settled for a bit, let’s try and come to terms with what we just read. 344 carries is actually not atypical for heavy-usage backs, even in the modern era, as even Jonathan Taylor was getting over 300 a season at Wisconsin.
What’s staggering is the fact that he averaged 7.6 yards every time he did get a carry. It’s the most yards any running back has ever put up in a single season in college football history. With the advent of spread offenses and only a very select few backs even hitting 2,000 yards since 2000, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely anyone ever touches that single-season mark. Only Melvin Gordon in 2014 has come particularly close.
9. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
Tommie Frazier enjoyed success at the back end of Nebraska’s decades-long dominance at the pinnacle of college football and is probably the greatest quarterback of the 1990s. Frazier operated in a triple option, perhaps harming his stats, and thus his chances of a Heisman, but he did finish second in the voting in 1995 off the back of a national championship run.
His 1995 season looks like this: 1,362 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 604 rushing yards, 14 rushing touchdowns.
Readers of a certain generation will remember Frazier’s time in Lincoln at the end of Tom Osborne’s career with great fondness, as he truly was a joy to watch week in and week out. Much like his fellow Cornhusker, Suh, it’s really a shame his performance wasn’t met with a Heisman to honor it.
10. Ernie Davis, Syracuse
Imagine for a moment being asked to follow in the footsteps of potentially the greatest football player of all time, regardless of position, at a school that at the time was competing for (and winning!) national championships.
Now imagine doing it so well at Syracuse you get asked to do it all over again with the Browns in the NFL. And succeeding at it there too. That was Ernie Davis. His career culminated in a Heisman in 1961, along with, according to some pollsters, a national championship, though remember the era and remember this is only over the course of a 10-game season.
1961: 150 carries, 823 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 157 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns.
It undoubtedly took a lot to come after Jim Brown, but Ernie Davis never skipped a beat.
11. Eric Dickerson, SMU
Fire up your gold Trans-Am, we’re heading down to college football’s Wild West, also known as the Southwest Conference in the 1970s and ’80s. Many of you may have seen the ESPN 30 for 30 “Pony Express,” which talks about SMU’s shady recruiting tactics and resulting death penalty from that era. But the documentary, while it does do a solid job, could have done a better job illustrating just how dominant Eric Dickerson was. Dickerson really broke out his junior year, but he lit the world on fire his senior campaign.
1982: 232 carries, 1,617 rushing yards, 17 touchdowns
Dickerson had a rare mix of size and speed that allowed him to either power through defenses or simply glide past them as if they weren’t there. If you ever get a chance, have a look at his college highlights; they’re quite the sight to behold. He was simply unstoppable at SMU, and that might be a bit of an understatement.
12. Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State
Another player considered by many to be the greatest football player of all time, Jerry Rice came from much more humble beginnings. Mississippi Valley State is hardly a school that registers on the radar, but if anyone has ever put the HBCU on the map, it was Rice. Despite playing FCS ball at an HBCU in an era where HBCUs were looked down upon by the rest of the college football world, Rice still managed to finish ninth in Heisman voting his senior year in 1984. That 1984 season set records that still rank very highly in their respective categories, even almost 40 years later.
Here’s what they looked like: 103 catches, 1,682 receiving yards, 27 touchdowns.
That touchdown mark, by the way, is still the FCS record for single-season touchdowns. His unbelievable numbers of catches in a game (24) and yards per game in a season (168.2) are also FCS standing records. For any stat line to stand the test of time like Rice’s those years is incredible, even more so because it set off a chain reaction kickstarting one of the greatest football careers anyone has ever or will ever have.
13. Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
Many consider Ndamukong Suh’s 2009 campaign to be the most dominant a defensive lineman has had in recent memory. There were times that Suh would be triple-teamed and find his way to the quarterback, and it’s a shame he lost out on the Heisman that year. What’s lost in that is that Suh had a very good 2008 as well, even scoring twice that year, though it’s undoubted that his senior year was his best.
His 2009 season included 85 total tackles, 20.5 of them coming behind the line of scrimmage, with 12 sacks to boot. However, the stats don’t tell the story of that season for Suh. You really just have to have seen it to know how dominant he was that year. Truly, not many defensive linemen have ever had an impact quite like Suh in 2009.
14. Jim Brown, Syracuse
Jim Brown is considered by many to be the greatest player to ever pick up a football, and while his college career doesn’t jump off the page at you like his pro career does, he’s still easily one of the greatest college players of all time.
Picking up a Consensus All-American pick in 1956 on a national championship-winning Syracuse team, Brown notched 1,042 scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns. His successor, which we’ll get to in a bit, outdid him, though, which is why he ranks lower on this list.
Brown’s 10 varsity letters in four sports at Syracuse illustrated his incredible athletic abilities. On the football field, he led the nation in kickoff return average in 1955, and then in rushing touchdowns in 1956. Brown once scored 43 points in a game between touchdowns and field-goal kicking.
15. Roger Staubach, Navy
Everyone knows of Roger Staubach’s heroics as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys when they became America’s Team. But lost in his incredible NFL legacy was a college career that convinced the Cowboys to wait out his mandatory four-year military service to have him lead them. His 1962 was fine by the standards of the time, with Staubach’s numbers again being victim to his day, and by this point, his program’s offense, which was slowly becoming obsolete compared to the rest of the country.
However, that didn’t stop Staubach from breaking out in 1963 en route to a Heisman. Again, remember these stats came in 1963, where points and chunk yardage were harder to come by, especially in a triple option.
1963: 1,702 passing yards, 7 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 168 carries, 371 yards, 9 rushing touchdowns
These stats left Staubach in the top five in yards, completions, completion percentage (he was No. 1), and top 10 in every other passing category. He followed it up with a 1964 season — which was less productive in volume — but still kept him in the top 10 in every passing category.
What Staubach lacked in gaudy numbers, he made up for in his natural abilities as a leader and winner. Staubach always had the “It” factor to him, and he was awarded the Maxwell Trophy and the Walter Camp Memorial Award.
16. Ricky Williams, Texas
Ricky Williams left Texas as the all-time NCAA leading rusher (only to be surpassed by Ron Dayne a year later). During his playing days, he set 21 NCAA records, including 72 rushing touchdowns.
Williams once ran for over 300 yards in back-to-back games. His Heisman season stats are as follows: 2,386 scrimmage yards, 28 touchdowns, 5.9 rushing yards per attempt.
In addition to his NCAA records, Williams broke or tied 46 Texas records and 24 Big-12 records.
17. Doak Walker, SMU
Another player who regrettably didn’t have his stats kept very well due to his era, Doak Walker did pick up back-to-back-to-back Consensus All-American selections between 1947-1949, with a Heisman trophy to boot in 1948. Walker was a do-it-all player for the Mustangs, even as the award named after him currently signifies the best running back in the country. Walker played at halfback, on defense, as kicker, and punter, and even returned both kicks and punts. His 1948 season, while none of the stats individually jump out, must be taken as a whole, and viewed through the lens of Walker being an iron man.
1948: 122 carries, 598 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns, 284 receiving yards, 3 receiving touchdowns, 383 passing yards, 5 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions (playing defense), 42.1 yard punting average, 22 points as kicker, 88 total points.
18. Charles Woodson, Michigan
Woodson is the only primary defensive player to win the Heisman, and equally as impressive, he won it over Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf in 1997. However, Woodson was much more than just a lockdown cornerback. While he did have 18 career interceptions, Woodson was also one of the best return men in football. The Michigan player was even utilized as a weapon on offense. Woodson’s big play ability afforded him 246 scrimmage yards and three offensive touchdowns in 1997, a time when nobody was playing both sides of the ball.
Woodson’s career is flooded with accolades, as he was a two-time All-American, Walter Camp Award winner, Chuck Bednarik Award winner, Jim Thorpe Award winner, and winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He led the Wolverines to their first national title since 1948.
19. Ron Dayne, Wisconsin
Including his bowl game stats, The Great Dayne is the all-time leading NCAA rusher. With 7,125 rushing yards, Dayne twice cleared 2,000 yards in a season. Dayne was an unstoppable force, and his great career culminated with a Heisman Trophy.
Dayne had 11 career games with greater than 200 rushing yards, and he is the only Big Ten player with consecutive Rose Bowl MVPs, as he led the Badgers to victories in the game over UCLA and Stanford.
20. Red Grange, Illinois
Red Grange would become the first player to really put the NFL on the map when he turned pro, but he only did that because of the fame he garnered at Illinois. The Galloping Ghost (please bring back wild nicknames like this) lit up defenses across a blistering 20-game career that would set up his time with the Chicago Bears.
In his 20 games, Grange notched 3,362 rushing yards, 253 receiving yards, 575 passing yards and 31 all-purpose touchdowns. If we average Grange’s rushing total out to a modern day 13-game season (12 regular season + bowl game), he would’ve had 2,185 yards, which would leave him tied for eighth all-time in single-season rushing.
21. Glenn Davis, Army
World War II was, to say the absolute least, a huge advantage for the service academies. In fact, really from the end of World War II to the end of the Vietnam War, service academies had a bit of a leg up on the rest of the country, due to the fact that attending them was a gateway to putting off your draft mandatory service by four years.
Davis used his time to finish in the top two in Heisman voting in three consecutive seasons, finally winning it his senior year in 1946. His stats that year, while not super impressive by today’s standards, need to be judged with the knowledge that he and Doc Blanchard — the duo that formed Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside — operated as a two-headed monster of a backfield. They also played in an era where points were very hard to come by and should be treated as such.
Davis’ Heisman year totaled 1,068 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns, along with 396 passing yards and four more scores. Between rushing, receiving, and passing, Davis had 3,945 total yards and 53 total touchdowns during his career.
22. Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota
To this day, the Nagurski Award is given to the best defensive player in the country, but the man himself actually excelled on both sides of the ball while at Minnesota. Unfortunately, stats are really poorly kept from the pre-Depression era of college football, but we can tell you that Nagurski was selected as an All-American at both defensive tackle and fullback, the only player ever to be named All-American at two different positions. When the go-to sports writer of the day, Grantland Rice, spoke of him, he said he’d take 11 Bronko Nagurskis over 11 of Jim Thorpe, Glenn Davis, or Red Grange.
There is, of course, legitimate legend surrounding Nagurski, but you can hop over to his Wikipedia for that. We’re only here for Nagurski the football player, not Nagurski the myth. Nagurski the player was well-loved enough to garner a spot on this list.
23. Dick Butkus, Illinois
Dick Butkus was such an incredible player at every level that the national award given to the top linebacker in the country at the high school, college, and pro levels are all called the Butkus Award. His time at Illinois was no different. The two-time All-American finished third in Heisman voting in 1964 after capping off a college career with 374 tackles while guiding his Fighting Illini to a Rose Bowl win in 1963. He’s victim to a time before the sack was a statistical category, and thus his stats feel incomplete. But knowing the pro career he would later have, it’s not hard to see why he ended up on this list.
24. Jim Thorpe, Carlisle
For a lot of his life, Jim Thorpe encapsulated what the pinnacle of being an American athlete was like in just about every sport, winning Olympic gold in track and field while also later playing professional football, baseball, basketball, ballroom dancing (he won a national championship in this!) and almost hockey as well.
Playing under the tutelage of Pop Warner while in college, Thorpe would put up legendary displays in the late 1900s and early 1910s, but records and statistics aren’t fully available. Still, his career was that of legend, and as a multi-positional, multi-sport athlete, Thorpe paved the way for both multi-sport athletes and for players to play both sides of the ball (and special teams).
25. O.J. Simpson, USC
Simpson only played two seasons at USC, but he was arguably the best player in the nation both years. While Simpson’s legacy has been tainted because of his off-the-field issues in his post-playing career, you can’t take away from his dominance in college.
In 1968, The Juice ran for 1,880 yards and 23 touchdowns. His speed/size combination was special, and in only two seasons, he was able to win the Maxwell Award once and the Walter Camp Award twice.
Deion Sanders is nicknamed “Prime Time,” and rightfully so, as the Seminole was an absolute playmaker. Sanders is both one of the best defensive backs in college football history, as well as one of the best punt returners in college football history. The ball-hawking cornerback had 14 career interceptions, four of which he returned to the end zone.
Sanders also set Florida State records with 1,429 punt return yards and three scores. In 1988, Sanders led college football with a 15.2-yard return average. Sanders was and remains a flashy man who talks a big game and looks the part. But his on-field play has always been equally as flashy. Sanders would dominate a game and let you know he was doing so.
27. Peyton Manning, Tennessee
While Peyton Manning came up short of winning a Heisman or a national championship, what the quarterback did as a thrower was historic. Like he did in the pros, Manning won with a superior cerebral game and great understanding of the X’s and O’s.
Manning threw for 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns in his Tennessee career. Manning rarely threw interceptions, and he was one of the best SEC football throwers ever. His 39 wins as a starter were an SEC record.
28. Randy Moss, Marshall
Randy Moss’ collegiate career got off to a rocky start, but not because of anything on the field. Moss was supposed to attend Notre Dame and then Florida State, but a misdemeanor assault conviction and then a positive marijuana test prevented Moss from playing for those FBS schools. Eventually, Moss suited up for FCS school Marshall, and when Moss put on the pads, he was unstoppable. He was the best player on a 15-0 Marshall team.
Marshall then made the jump to FBS play, and Moss proved he was unstoppable at that level as well, winning the Biletnikoff Award in 1997.
In just 28 career games, Moss put up 4,706 all-purpose yards and 55 touchdowns.
29. Vince Young, Texas
Vince Young was one of the biggest stars in an era with perhaps more stars than any other era in college football. The ultimate duel-threat quarterback, Young was the first ever quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for another 1,000 yards in a season.
Young won his final 20 games at Texas, but the game he is most known for was the legendary Rose Bowl victory over USC, in which Young had a game-winning touchdown run on fourth down. USC had won 34 games in a row, but it was Texas who became national champions.
Christian McCaffrey was one of the most explosive players in college football history. As only a sophomore, the Stanford product set the single-season all-purpose yards record (3,864).
McCaffrey was an all-purpose machine and did everything for Stanford. He set a Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards and led the nation in all-purpose yards in both 2015 and 2016. McCaffrey had eight-straight games with over 200 total yards.
In his second-place finishing Heisman 2015 season, McCaffrey put up stats of 2,664 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns.
31. Doc Blanchard, Army
The other half of Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, Doc Blanchard provided the power to compliment Glenn Davis’ speed in the Army offense. The backfield tandem won the Heisman Trophy in consecutive years, with Blanchard taking home the award first.
Army never lost a game with Blanchard on the team, and the three-time All American finished top-five in Heisman voting three times. The thunder and lightning combination that Blanchard and Davis had will likely never be replicated again, as both players had a case as the best player in college football at the same time despite playing on the same team and both being ball carriers.
32. Reggie Bush, USC
Reggie Bush had one of the best Heisman Trophy-winning seasons of the 21st century, but he was eventually forced (voluntarily) into vacating his award because of a scandal that he received improper benefits while in college. Luckily, Bush was recently given his Heisman back, and that is a really good thing considering he was one of the best college football players ever.
USC has had a lot of great running backs throughout their years, but the Trojans were at the height of their powers with Bush running the ball. They won 34 straight games and two national titles during his career, largely because Bush could do it all. He thrived on the ground (3,169 career rushing yards), but he was one of the first elite pass-catching back, too (1,301 passing yards).
33. Hugh Green, Pitt
While defensive players such as Charles Woodson and Travis Hunter have won the Heisman as defensive players, they also needed to get offensive touches to be named the best player in the nation. Hugh Green never won the Heisman, but he came damn close. Of exclusively defensive players, Green’s second-place Heisman finish in 1980 stands as the highest finish ever.
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Green combined speed and power, making him unblockable. Sacks weren’t official when he played, but he reportedly was a double-digit sacker in all four of his seasons en route to bringing the quarterback down 53 times in total.
34. Dave Rimington, Nebraska
Dave Rimington is arguably the best offensive linemen in college football history. He is the standout of a number of elite blockers who have suited up for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Rimington played the center position in the late ’70s-early ’80s, a time where Nebraska was dominant on the offensive end. Rimington is the only two-time Outland Award winner, which signifies the best interior offensive linemen in the nation. Despite not playing a skill position, Rimington even won the Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year award.
35. Mike Rozier, Nebraska
One of the Nebraska stars who benefitted from Dave Rimington’s blocking prowess was Mike Rozier, but the running back likely would have thrived no matter who was lined up in front of him. Rozier’s 2,148 yards and 29 touchdowns in 1983 led him to winning the Heisman Trophy in the Golden era of running back play, and it was one of the best Heisman-winning seasons ever, too.
That Heisman season was only part of the story. Rozier ran for 4,780 yards and 49 touchdowns in total throughout his career. An ankle sprain forced Rozier out of the 1984 Orange Bowl. Had he not been hurt, Nebraska would have likely converted on a two-point conversion that would have made them National Champions.
36. Davey O’Brien, TCU
You have to be a pretty good quarterback for the award that goes to the nation’s top signal-caller to be named after you. Davey O’Brien thrived against all odds. He was only 5-foot-7, 150 pounds, and he played in an era where the passing game wasn’t a huge part of most teams offenses, but O’Brien found a way to show off his arm regardless.
O’Brien, who was the first Heisman-winning quarterback, had 2,628 career passing yards, which were jaw-dropping numbers for the ’30s. Had O’Brien not started his career behind another legend – Sammy Baugh – on the depth chart, these numbers would have been even more impressive.
37. Gale Sayers, Kansas
Gale Sayers was nicknamed the Kansas Comet because of his incredible speed and athletic abilities. Sayers was always a threat to break out a long run and take it the distance. His 283-yard game against Oklahoma State is one example of this, as was his 99-yard run. Sayers was the first FBS player to ever do that. Overall, Sayers had 2,675 yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground.
38. Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Darren McFadden was the runner up in Heisman voting twice. He led the nation in rushing both seasons, and was in the running to be named the best player in the nation twice because of it. Even without the hardware that is the Heisman Trophy, everyone knows how great McFadden was, especially considering he is one of only three two-time Doak Walker Award winners.
39. Steve McNair, Alcorn State
Steve McNair was a dual-threat quarterback before it was cool. McNair’s name stands above the rest in most statistics at the FCS level, and he was in the Heisman running despite the level that he played at. McNair threw for 5,799 in 1994, which was a record at the time.
40. Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma
The trash-talking, mulet-rocking, huge shoulder pad-wearing Brian Bosworth was one of the most famous collegiate players ever, especially on the defensive end. The Oklahoma linebacker was worth the hype, though. Bosworth led the Sooners in tackles three times, and he was named the Butkus Award winner twice. He even led Oklahoma to a National Championship.
41. Doug Flutie, Boston College
Doug Flutie was small in stature, but he had the biggest heart out there. Flutie played the game of football with passion, and he led Boston College to heights they’d never been at before. Flutie’s Hail Mary against Miami is one of the most memorable plays in college football history, but he put up big numbers throughout his career, too. Flutie had 10,579 yards and 67 touchdowns through the air in total.
42. LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU
At the time that LaDainian Tomlinson left TCU, he ranked sixth in NCAA career rushing yards (5,263). Tomlinson was so good for the San Diego Chargers, that is NFL career has managed to outshine his college career and made fans forget how good he was at TCU.
43. Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt
Larry Fitzgerald has the surest of hands, and during his days at Pitt, he was a pretty good deep threat, too. Fitzgerald averaged 16.6 yards per reception, and he even scored a touchdown in a record 18 straight games. Those 18 touchdowns led to 34 total touchdowns in only two years of college play. If Fitzgerald played longer, he likely would have ranked much higher on this list.
44. Orlando Pace, Ohio State
Our second offensive linemen on this list of the greatest college football players ever is Orlando Pace. Dave Rimington was recognized for his interior offensive line work, but the tackle positions are often considered the most important in the trenches. A mountain of a man, Pace was known for pancaking defenders with ease and frequency. Not only was Pace physically dominant, but he was technically sounds, as he didn’t allow a sack in either of his final two seasons.
45. Joe Burrow, LSU
Joe Burrow started his career at Ohio State, but he became a legend at LSU. Burrow is responsible for the best college football season ever at the quarterback position. He threw 60 touchdown passes (most for a Heisman ever) en route to the LSU Tigers scoring 726 total points, which is a NCAA record. It culminated with a National Championship.
46. Derrick Thomas, Alabama
Derrick Thomas is arguably the most dominant pass rusher in college football history. He had 44 quarterback hurries, 39 tackles for a loss, and 27 sacks in his senior season at Alabama. Despite all of the elite defensive players that have gone through Tuscaloosa, Thomas stands above them all.
The newest member of this list is Dillon Gabriel, and considering that Gabriel will lead the undefeated number one seed in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff, Gabriel has a chance to prove he deserves to be here. Gabriel was never the clear-cut best player in football (he did finish third in Heisman voting in 2024, though), but he stuck around for long enough to rack up a lot of numbers.
In the era of NIL and the transfer portal, Gabriel has now played in six college football seasons. He helped put UCF on the map back in 2019, and he thrived in that system for three years. Then, Gabriel proved he could thrive in a Power Five conference, as he had two good years at Oklahoma. Now, for Oregon, Gabriel has led the way for the only undefeated team in the nation.
48. John Elway, Stanford
John Elway is perhaps best known as one of the best NFL players ever, but he was pretty darn good at Stanford, too. Had it not been for Elway, “The Play,” would have never happened. After Elway led Stanford to a game-leading drive, the Cardinals kicked off to a California team that was able to score with only four seconds left, and the play went down as the most memorable in college football history. The game prevented Elway from ever reaching a Bowl game.
Unfortunately, that game was a good representations of Elway’s college career. He put up huge numbers (9,349 yards/77 touchdowns) and did everything that he could to win, but he couldn’t find the team success to rank higher on this list. Still, his pure talent prevents us from kicking him off.
49. Cam Newton, Auburn
Cam Newton started his career off at Florida as a backup to someone much higher on this list of the greatest college football players ever (Tim Tebow). He won a National Championship there, but not as a contributor. Newton then transferred to Blinn College, where he won the NCJAA National Championship.
Newton concluded his career at Auburn. He again won the championship, meaning he won a title at three different schools. Newton’s lone season at Auburn was one of the best seasons ever. He became the second member of the 30-20 club (30 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns), and the “Camback” that Newon led is one of the most legendary Iron Bowl performances ever.
50. Montee Ball, Wisconsin
It was tough to decide on the final spot on our list of the best college football players ever, but two of the players heavily considered were Wisconsin running backs. We gave Montee Ball the edge over Jonathan Taylor, despite Taylor winning the Doak Walker Award twice. Ball gets the edge because his 33 rushing touchdowns in 2011 are the second most in a single season ever.
Bailey Bassett contributed to this piece.
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