OT- Greatest CFB Player you ever watched?

Submitted by FatGuyTouchdown on

Just trying to lighten the mood after the recent recruiting decommits, so who is the best player you have ever seen play college football? It can be from any team, conference position.

Couple quick rules:

1. Must have watched them play at least once (Doesn't have to be in person). 

2. Must be centered around actual on field play. This is just to prevent people from saying "Kelly Baraka, but man he couldn't stop smoking weed"

My choice: Cam Newton. I wasn't old enough to watch Woodson (Who I think will garner a lot of votes here). Dude absolutely annhiliated everyone in his path during that season at Auburn. Just one of the most unstoppable players ever. Big moment for me is when he trucked Patrick Peterson and carried him 30 yards in to the endzone. Newton was also the only player on the offense of the 2011 Championship team to play in the NFL. Just an otherwordly player.

Eskimoan

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:41 PM ^

Vince Young, I've never seen a player take over a game and put his team on his back like Young. That dude almost single handedly won games for his team

Monocle Smile

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^

Denard. Of course, I've only been to one college game where Michigan wasn't playing. There might also be some additional bias because I was in the band for Denard's first two years, and I was on the sideline for at least one of his huge runs. He taught me just how fast human beings can run.

SAMgO

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:42 PM ^

Adrian Peterson.

Should have won the Heisman as a true freshman and today he would have. Easily the most dominant college player I've ever seen.

I dumped the Dope

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:45 PM ^

Denard Robinson.  Every time the guy touched the ball and took off running, strange and wonderful things were going to happen.  I admired his ability to shake off big hits and go right back at it.  I think he holds the career all-purpose yards record.

I'd have to rank Barry Sanders a very close second.  The guy could juke an entire Defense.

ish

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:48 PM ^

Woodson.  I've never seen someone impact a game as much as Woodson.  I've seen some amazing college quarterbacks, from Frazier to Manning, to Vick, to Young, to Newton, but quarterbacks naturally affect the game more than other positions.  Yet without playing quaterback, Woodson changed entire games.  Teams ignored large sections of the field.  I've never seen another player have that impact.

SLS

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:56 PM ^

Given the criterion that we must have seen them in person, I'm guessing most Michigan players will be represented well here. My (somewhat off the radar) suggestion is Kellen Moore.

I fully understand that he hasn't amounted to much in the pros like Cam Newton, but he was pretty incredible to see at Boise State. He finished with 50(!) wins as a starter, and it was amazing to watch him run an offense. I remember reading before the draft that bad teams should just draft him just to be an offensive coach, and I think they were only half-joking.

BLHoke

August 23rd, 2016 at 5:59 PM ^

This is a tough question... I don't think I could come up with just one, and I'm going to try and leave what they went on to do or not do in the NFL out of the equation...

In no particular order : Charles Woodson, Tim Tebow, Tommy Frazier, Ricky Williams, Cam Newton, Peter Warrick (his elusiveness was a sight to behold, closest thing I ever saw to compare with Barry.), N. Suh, Desmond Howard (there's a reason WRs rarely win The Heisman, it's hard!), Randy Moss, Reggie Bush, Larry Fitzgerald (I've never been so sure that a WR wouldn't bust.), Vince Young, Mike Vick, Charlie Ward, Peyton Manning (despite his struggles against UF).... I made this a lot longer than I intended, and probably left some great players off, especially on defense.



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SAM love SWORD

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:02 PM ^

Like most here, Woodson was the most unique and dominant defensive player I've seen and Vince Young played like a man possessed in that National Championship against a great USC team.

FrankMurphy

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:08 PM ^

Vince Young looked like a man among boys during those 200+ passing/rushing games he had (sadly, one of them was against Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl). 

stephenrjking

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:06 PM ^

Three categories: Michigan, non-Michigan seen in person, non-Michigan not seen in person.

Michigan: Charles Woodson

Seen in person: Reggie Bush (against Fresno State in 2005, an incredible game).

Not seen in person: Barry Sanders was the perfect storm in 1988. There've been a few truly defining players elsewhere, but I guess I have to give the edge to Vince Young, whose second Rose Bowl was the highest moment the sport has ever achieved.

That whole 2005 season, man. The Manningham TD happened at almost the same moment as the Bush Push, with two other all-time games on the same day. The Heisman's vacancy that year is a cruel joke, because the Bush-Young race may have been the best two-man contest in the history of the award. And the championship game... perfection.

superstringer

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:09 PM ^

Bush.  Dude was unreal... that game against Fresno State was insane.  Young would be a close second; that they played against each other for that championship is just one more reason that was the best college football game ever.

I really wanted to say DENARD, but... ok... DENARD.  Or Woodson.

preed1

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:14 PM ^

Went to Huntington WV for the MAC championship vs toledo. It snowed probably 6 inches during the game and it was like he was running on concrete.

BuckNekked

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:16 PM ^

Rob Lytle, Rick Leach, Anthony Carter and Charles Woodson. I couldnt possibly choose between those four.

 

My all time favorite name  though is Harlan Huckleby.

Hail Harbo

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:56 PM ^

My picks were to be Rob Lytle on offense and Charles Woddson on defense....although, Rick Leach is right up with Lytle. 

Not a player, not even a coach, but his twin attributes of being a poet and abilty to orally paint a picture of what was happening on the field means nobody else epitomized the color and grandeur of college football like Bob Ufer.

Edit to add.  I never saw him play in person, but Bo Jackson is right up there with the football greats.

Frostbite

August 23rd, 2016 at 6:20 PM ^

"Greatest" is such a tough label to define, but man, when Denard would take off with the ball I would get giddy with excitement.  The only other player that's gotten me worked up like that would be Barry Sanders.  You never knew when it was coming, but you knew you were going to see something special.  It was like watching history being written.