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Best college football players of all time ranked by jersey number

By John Buhler

Clemson Tigers. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Clemson Tigers. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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WACO, TX – 1978: Mike Singletary #63 of the Baylor University Bears tries to tackle a player from the Houston Cougars circa 1978 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Baylor University/Collegiate Images/Getty Images)
WACO, TX – 1978: Mike Singletary #63 of the Baylor University Bears tries to tackle a player from the Houston Cougars circa 1978 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Baylor University/Collegiate Images/Getty Images) /
61

Jim Lynch

Linebacker, Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Yes, we finally get a golden domer to make this best college football jersey wearers of all time list. When head coach Ara Parseghian considers you to be the best player he ever coached at Notre Dame, it should come as no surprise that linebacker Jim Lynch is the best to wear No. 61.

Lynch was a unanimous All-American in 1966, helping the Fighting Irish win the national title. He would win the Maxwell Award his senior season in South Bend. Lynch would go on to have a successful 10-year AFL/NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, helping them win Super Bowl IV over the Minnesota Vikings.

62

Jim Parker

Guard, Ohio State Buckeyes

Guard Jim Parker is probably the best interior offensive lineman to have ever played for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was a unanimous All-American in 1956 and an Outland Trophy winner that same year.

Parker was part of Woody Hayes’ first national championship team in 1954. He was a big reason that tailback Howard Cassady would win his Heisman Trophy. Parker is not only a College Football Hall of Famer but a Pro Football Hall of Famer after 11 outstanding seasons with the Baltimore Colts.

63

Mike Singletary

Linebacker, Baylor Bears

Quarterback Robert Griffin III may have won a Heisman Trophy in 2011, but you’d be kidding yourself if you didn’t’ still think that linebacker Mike Singletary is the best player to have ever put on a uniform for the Baylor Bears. He was unbelievable in the late 1970s in the old Southwest Conference.

In 1979 and 1980, Singletary was the Southwest Conference Player of the Year and a first-team All-American as the best player to have been coached by the legendary Grant Teaff. Singletary would go on to be the best player in the best defense in NFL history for the 1985 Chicago Bears. He has been enshrined in both the College Football and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

64

Bob Brown

Guard, Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are a college football blue-blood largely because of the program’s ability to win in the trenches on offense. One of the best offensive linemen in Cornhuskers history is Bob Brown.

Brown was a unanimous All-American and a first-team All-Big Eight selection in 1963. His No. 64 jersey is retired in Lincoln. He would build on his College Football Hall of Fame career by putting together a Pro Football Hall of Fame career mostly with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960s.

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