Best college football players of all time from every state

Mississippi – Jerry Rice

The best players from Mississippi didn’t play at the University of Mississippi or Mississippi State, but the smaller schools have produced some of the best football players of all time.

Jerry Rice gets the bid for the state that ranks just 31st in population. Rice made a name for himself at Mississippi Valley State and became one of the greatest receivers in college history.

Recording three 1,000-yard seasons from 1982-1985, Rice earned the nickname “World” for his ability to catch anything thrown near to him. Rice caught a total of 280 passes for 4,428 yards in his career as a Delta Devil, and he and his quarterback Willie Totten shattered numerous records in Archie Cooley’s offense, including two games where rice caught five touchdown passes.

Rice was a consensus All-American and finished in top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting as a senior and would go on to be drafted No. 16 overall and break nearly every major receiving record that existed in the NFL at the time.

Rice would later go on to be named the No. 1 Player of All-Time by the NFL Network, but his college numbers still land him as the best product out of Mississippi, a state where players like Brett Favre, Archie Manning and Walter Payton were born.