Greatest college football player born in each state
If not for injuries that held him to just 552 yards in his first three years at Oklahoma, St. Louis native Billy Sims may have gone down as one of the very best running backs in college football history. As it stands, thanks to two incredible season, including a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 1978, Sims is still the best player ever born in the state of Missouri (though he did go to high school in Texas).
Sims led the nation with 20 touchdowns in 1978 and racked up 1,762 rushing yards for the Sooners during his junior season, in which Oklahoma finished 11-1 and ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll, and became the sixth player in college football history to win the Heisman as a junior. His 1,896 total yards was an Oklahoma single-season record until Adrian Peterson broke it in 2004.
The following year, Sims again paced the nation with 22 touchdown runs, and gained 1,506 yards on the ground, but fell short of a second Heisman, and finished as the runner-up to USC’s Charles White and was a consensus All-American for the second time. With 4,023 career rushing yards, Sims left Norman as the school’s all-time leader. He also scored 51 career touchdowns, was the first overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Other Notable College Football Players Born in Missouri:
- Bryan Cox, DL, Western Illinois
- Jamar Fletcher, DB, Wisconsin
- Clint Frank, HB, Yale
- Lawyer Milloy, DB, Washington
- Justin Smith, DE, Missouri
- Kellen Winslow, TE, Missouri
- Grant Wistrom, DL, Nebraska
Next: Montana