Greatest college football player born in each state
Despite ranking just 31st in population, the state of Mississippi has produced several of the greatest football players ever to play the game – and arguably the greatest of all-time. Though he did it on a small level at Mississippi Valley State, Jerry Rice became one of the greatest receivers in college football history.
Rice recorded his first of three 1,000-yard seasons as a sophomore in 1982 with 66 receptions for 1,133 yards and nine touchdowns. The following season, Rice had 102 receptions – including an NCAA record 24 catches in a single game – for 1,450 receiving yards.
As a senior, Rice set records by catching 112 passes for 1,845 yards (which ranks No. 7 on the current Division I list) and 27 touchdowns (which is still the Division I record, having been tied by Troy Edwards in 1998) – including two games in which he caught five TD passes. He was named a consensus All-American and finished in the top ten of the Heisman Trophy voting. Rice caught 50 career TD passes, an NCAA record that stood until 2006.
After college, Rice was selected No. 16 overall in the 1985 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers and went on to break every major receiving record in NFL history. After a Hall of Fame career, Rice was selected as the No. 1 Greatest Player of All-Time by NFL Network in 2010.
Other Notable College Football Players Born in Mississippi:
- Terrell Buckley, DB, Florida State
- Billy Cannon, RB, LSU
- Brett Favre, QB, Southern Miss
- Hugh Green, DL, Pitt
- Archie Manning, QB, Ole Miss
- Steve McNair, QB, Alcorn State
- Walter Payton, RB, Jackson State
- Riley Smith, QB, Alabama
Next: Missouri