Best college football players of all time ranked by jersey number
By John Buhler
Lee Roy Selmon
Defensive Tackle, Oklahoma Sooners
Here is that other Selmon guy I was telling you about! This one was really, really good and his name was Lee Roy Selmon. Selmon was an All-American in 1975 and was a two-time National Champion with the Oklahoma Sooners playing alongside his brothers Dewey and Lucious.
Selmon would win the Outland Trophy, the Lombardi Award, and the UPI Lineman of the Year award in 1975. He would be the first ever player selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Selmon would spend nine Hall of Fame seasons in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers’ first star player.
Randy White
Defensive Tackle, Maryland Terrapins
Defensive lineman Randy White is the best football player to have played for the Maryland Terrapins. Initially recruited out of high school to be a running back, he underwent position switch to the defensive line as a sophomore and the rest is history.
“Manster” would be a two-time All-American in 1973 and 1974 for Maryland. He would win the Lombardi Award, the Outland Trophy and the UPI Lineman of the Year award in 1974. White would be the No. 2 overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1975 NFL Draft. He has been enshrined in the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Bubba Smith
Defensive End, Michigan State Spartans
Bubba Smith was a pass rushing force to be reckoned with for the Michigan State Spartans in the late 1960s. Because of segregation in his native Texas, Smith had to play his college ball in the Big Ten for the Spartans. He would be a two-time All-American for Michigan State and had his No. 95 jersey retired by the university.
Smith would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 1967 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. He would make two All-Pro teams with the Colts in the early 1970s, winning Super Bowl V in 1971. Smith would be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
Danny Stubbs
Defensive Tackle, Miami Hurricanes
You see a trend here? If you played along the defensive line for either the Miami Hurricanes or the Oklahoma Sooners, you had to be tremendous. As a collegiate, Hurricanes defensive tackle Danny Stubbs was certainly tremendous, earning All-American honors as part of the 2987 national title team under Jimmy Johnson.
When Stubbs left Coral Gables to join the 1988 San Francisco 49ers, he was the all-time sacks leader at The U with 39.5 and the most in a single season with 17. Stubbs would spend 11 years in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl with the 49ers in his first two years in the league. He would reunited with Johnson in Dallas for a two-year stint beginning in 1990.