Fansided

Best college football players of all time from every state

By Nate Williamson

Longhorns QB Vince Young during Texas' 51-10 win over the Rice Rice Owls in NCAA College Football at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Karl Wright/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images)
Longhorns QB Vince Young during Texas' 51-10 win over the Rice Rice Owls in NCAA College Football at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Karl Wright/Icon SMI/Icon Sport Media via Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – CIRCA 1980: Ronnie Lott, #42 cornerback of the University of Southern California Trojans football team walks to line up for the snap against the Stanford University Cardinal at the Los Angeles California Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by University of Southern California/Collegiate Images/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – CIRCA 1980: Ronnie Lott, #42 cornerback of the University of Southern California Trojans football team walks to line up for the snap against the Stanford University Cardinal at the Los Angeles California Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by University of Southern California/Collegiate Images/Getty Images) /

New Mexico – Ronnie Lott

One of the least densely populated states in the U.S., New Mexico has still managed to put out an impressive amount of college football players in the history of the game, especially considering the state hailed as the “Land of Enrichment” produced one of the (undeniable) very best players in college football history.

Ronnie Lott was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, despite moving to California at a young age, before attending USC during his college years. Lott helped his Trojans to win a share of the national championship in 1978, while they posted an 11-0-1 record and secured the No. 2 final ranking in both 1978 and 1979. Lott recorded three interceptions in both seasons and was a force to be reckoned with for opposing offenses.

Lott recorded eight interceptions in 1980, his final year before heading to the NFL, returning one for a touchdown and doing enough to earn All-American honors to put a bow on his time with the Trojans.

Lott was later enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, after a college career that landed him as the No. 8 pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, before an incredible 15-year career, most of which was spent in San Francisco.

New Mexico’s production of college football greats can best be described as “quality over quantity” thanks to small population size, and anyone who watched Ronnie Lott at USC can see the result.

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