Assembling the best college football team ever made with a collection of players from different eras to form the complete college football team of all time.
College football has seen a number of legendary players throughout the years who will tell the history of the great sport, but we’ve never seen this many legendary players together before like we will on this list making the best college football team ever made.
Players selected for this team have combined to win four Heisman Trophy’s, six Lombardi Awards, seven Outland Trophy’s, two Biletnikoff Awards, three Butkus Award winners, two Bednarik Awards, two Thorpe Awards and six players who have awards named in their honor.
That’s the level of greatness this list features.
Further, all the players who are eligible are in the College Football Hall of Fame and those who aren’t yet eligible are mortal locks to be inducted. However, while the list mentions when the players were picked in the NFL Draft, the players were judged solely on their college football careers.
The offense consists of 12 players because I wanted to add a third receiver for three-wide sets when a tight end comes off the field. The defense is the standard 11 players and a kicker, punter and return specialist were added because special teams shouldn’t be overlooked.
Nebraska had the most selections with four players with Oklahoma getting three while Florida State, USC, Miami, Pittsburgh and Alabama each had two players.
Without further ado, here is the best college football team ever assembled.
*All stats courtesy of sports-reference.com.
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Tim Tebow is the quarterback for the best college football team ever assembled over Peyton Manning, Tommie Frazier, Roger Staubach and countless others who had stellar college careers under center.
Tebow won the Heisman in 2007 when he scored an SEC record 55 total touchdowns (32 passing, 23 rushing) for the Florida Gators. This came after he helped the Gators win the national title as a situational rusher as a freshman with Chris Leak starting. Tebow’s 2007 season didn’t result in a title but he was second in the nation in passer rating and led the nation in yards per attempt.
Florida returned to the BCS National Championship Game and he won his second national title during his junior year when he finished third in the Heisman vote. He returned for his senior season and finished fifth to join Herschel Walker as players who finished in the top five three times.
Tebow is the SEC’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns and is fourth with 88 passing touchdowns. He had all the individual stats but backed it up with the intangibles that make good players great and great players legends and has two national championships to make him this team’s signal caller and team captain.
Next: Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders won the Heisman in 1988 when he set the FBS record for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards from scrimmage and all-purpose yards in a single season. After playing a backup role to Thurman Thomas at Oklahoma State prior, Sanders broke out in a big way when he was the featured back.
Sanders had 2,628 rushing yards and 37 touchdowns in only 11 games. He also added 515 yards on returns, including one punt and one kick return for a touchdown. He topped it off with 19 receptions for 106 yards to give him 2,734 yards from scrimmage.
In addition to winning the Heisman in 1988, he also won the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award en route to being named a consensus All-American. He was the No. 3 pick in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and is in the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker is the best college football running back of all-time. Sanders had the best single-season, but no one had the career that Walker had in his three years with the Georgia Bulldogs. Walker led the SEC in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns in his three years in Athens and was a three-time consensus All-American.
Walker was denied the Heisman Trophy as a freshman despite 1,616 yards on a career-high 5.9 yards per carry and 15 touchdowns, but the voters weren’t ready to hand the Heisman over to a freshman, so South Carolina’s George Rogers won with similar numbers. Walker didn’t let his third-place finish deter him as he set an SEC record with 1,891 yards as a sophomore and 18 touchdowns but was the runner-up to USC’s Marcus Allen.
The Heisman that had eluded Walker his first two years was finally his as a junior after 1,752 yards and 16 touchdowns. He had the ideal blend of power, speed, patience, vision and agility that made him the best college back to ever play the game.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Next: Randy Moss
Randy Moss had a circuitous path to Marshall, but when he arrived he put up record-setting numbers and jaw-dropping performances. He originally planned to attend Notre Dame but a legal entanglement denied his admission so he enrolled at Florida State but never played a game for the Seminoles after more legal trouble.
He arrived at Marshall in 1996 and set the Division I-AA record with 14 games with a touchdown, including 13 consecutive games with a score. His 27 touchdowns on the year tied the record held by Jerry Rice and his 1,709 yards on 78 receptions still stands as the most by a freshman in a season. Marshall went undefeated and won the Division I-AA title.
Marshall moved up to Division I-A the next year and Moss continued his domination of opposing defenses with a second All-American campaign and 26 receiving touchdowns. His 96 receptions were third in the nation and his 1,820 yards were the most as he would finish fourth in the Heisman to Charles Woodson, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf.
His speed, leaping ability and length at 6-4 made him an impossible cover for defensive backs and that’s why Moss scored, at least, one touchdown in every college game he played for two years before he was the No. 21 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Next: Jerry Rice
Before he was arguably the best player in NFL history, Jerry Rice was dominating the Division I-AA level at Mississippi Valley State from 198-1984. Rice hauled in 66 passes for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore but those numbers would pale in comparison to what he and quarterback Willie Totten would combine to accomplish the next two years.
Rice set a record with his 102 catches and 1,450 yards, including a 24-catch, 279-yard game against Southern University to earn All-American honors. In 1984 as a senior, Rice broke his own records with 112 catches for 1,845 yards and an NCAA record 27 touchdowns. receptions (112) and receiving yards (1,845). His 27 touchdown receptions in that 1984 season set the NCAA mark for all levels and Rice finished ninth in the Heisman vote.
Rice finished his career with 301 catches for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns and is in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Larry Fitzgerald
I went with Larry Fitzgerald for the third wide receiver spot over players like Fred Biletnikoff whose name graces the trophy given annually to the nation’s top receiver, Michigan’s Anthony Carter and Michael Crabtree who is one of two players (Justin Blackmon) to be a two-time Biletnikoff Award winner.
Fitzgerald played for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 2002-2003 and was a the 2003 Biletnikoff Award winner when he was fifth in the nation with 92 catches and led the nation with 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns. Fitzgerald was a consensus All-American and the runner-up to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White for the Heisman.
Though he didn’t win the Heisman, Fitzgerald won the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. Fitzgerald left Pitt with 161 catches for 2,677 yards and a school record 34 receiving touchdowns, including an NCAA record with 18 straight games with a touchdown. He is the Big East’s all-time leader in touchdowns and is seventh with 2,677 yards.
Next: Keith Jackson
Keith Jackson was a big receiver masquerading as a tight end and helped revolutionize the position when he played for the Oklahoma Sooners from 1984-1987. Jackson was a two-time consensus All-American in 1986 and 1987 but his best season may have been in 1985 when he had career-highs with 22 catches and 566 yards.
Jackson came up huge in the 1986 Orange Bowl that served as the national championship that year when he hauled in a 71-yard touchdown pass from Jamelle Holieway that helped lead the way to a win over Penn State. Jackson was the No. 13 overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
For his career, Jackson had 65 catches for 1,561 yards and 15 touchdowns in Oklahoma’s wishbone offense.
Next: Orlando Pace
Orlando Pace made the pancake block a household term during his career with the Ohio State Buckeyes when the two-time All-American left tackle made a habit out of flattening the defender and putting him on his back. Pace started from Day 1 as a true freshman and won the Lombardi Award as a sophomore in 2005 after paving the way for Heisman winner Eddie George.
Pace repeated as a junior in 1996 to become the only two-time winner of the Lombardi, given to the nation’s best lineman or linebacker and added the Outland Trophy as a junior, joining Nebraska center Dave Rimington as the only player to win a combination of three from the Outland and Lombardi.
He didn’t give up a single sack his last two years at Ohio State and in the rarest feat possible for an offensive lineman, finished in fourth place for the Heisman. Pace was the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. Pace is in the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: John Hannah
Former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said John Hannah was the greatest offensive lineman he ever coached, which is high praise from arguably the greatest college football coach in the history of the sport. Hannah played guard and tackle with the Crimson Tide and was a two-time All-American and a consensus All-American in 1972.
He lacked the ideal size you would want from an offensive lineman, but what Hannah lacked in height, he made up for in speed, quickness and a powerful lower half that made him a bulldozer as a run blocker. He could get out of his stance and pull on sweeps and run like a fullback in the open field. Plus, Hannah had the competitiveness and fiery demeanor that endeared him to the Bear.
Hannah was the No. 4 pick in the 1973 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots and a member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Dave Rimington
Dave Rimington has a trophy named after him given annually to the most outstanding center in college football so this was the easiest selection of all to make the best college football team of all time. Rimington was a two-time consensus All-American in 1981 and 1982 while at Nebraska.
He was so dominant in the middle of the Cornhusker line that he was recognized as the Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year by the AP. That was just the start for Rimington’s trophy case as he won the Outland Trophy in 1981 and again in 1982 and remains the only two-time Outland winner. He also added the Lombardi Award in 1982.
Playing center for Nebraska’s option offense meant Rimington had to have the mental awareness and ability to read defenses and get the rest of the line in concert with what they had to do so it’s no surprise that he was an Academic All-American in 1981 and 1982. Rimington had the brains and the brawn and that’s why he is the best center in college football history.
He was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997 and was a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Next: Will Shields
Will Shields joins Rimington as former Nebraska offensive linemen to make this team. Shields played for the Cornhuskers from 1989-1992 and was a consensus All-American guard his senior year.
Shields also added to the program’s legacy by becoming the eighth player in Nebraska history to win the Outland Trophy. The 6-3, 315-pounder was equally dominant as a run blocker in Nebraska’s option attack and could pull, trap and move out defenders with relative ease.
His skills translated to the NFL where he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015 despite being overlooked in the draft process when he slide to the third round and pick No. 73, but the Kansas City Chiefs saw something special. He is also in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Ron Yary
Picking the last spot on the offensive line was tough with Jonathan Ogden, Bill Fralic, Willie Roaf and Barrett Jones, but I went with former USC Trojans tackle Ron Yary to claim the last spot. Yary was a two-time consensus All-American in 1966 and 1967 and won the Outland Trophy in 1967 when the Trojans won the national title.
Not too shabby considering Yary began his USC career as a defensive tackle and won the Pac-8 Defensive Lineman of the Year as a sophomore before converting to offensive tackle. I’d say the move worked out quite well since he’s in the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame. Yary was the No. 1 pick in the 1968 draft by the Minnesota Vikings.
Next: Hugh Green
Hugh Green came as close as any defensive player had ever come to winning the Heisman when the Pitt defensive end finished as the runner-up to South Carolina running back George Rogers in 1980 as a senior. Green had 123 tackles, 11 for loss, 17 sacks, seven forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and six passes defended.
While Green didn’t win the Heisman, he did win the Lombardi, Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and was a consensus All-American for the third time. He was a second-team All-American as a freshman after notching 12 sacks.
Green left Pitt with 460 tackles, 52 tackles for loss, 53 career sacks, 24 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries. Green was the No. 7 pick int he 1981 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Next: Lee Roy Selmon
Lee Roy Selmon followed older brothers Lucious and Dewey to Oklahoma and blossomed into arguably the best player in program history. Selmon helped lead the Sooners to a national championship as a junior and senior in 1974 and 1975. He started to come into his own as a sophomore with nine sacks but broke out in a big way with a career-high 18 sacks as a junior and made his first All-American team.
As a senior, Selmon recorded 10 sacks and a career-high 132 tackles to earn consensus All-American honors and win the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award. Selmon was the No. 1 pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their first-ever draft where he played defensive end and is in the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Ndamukong Suh
Ndamukong Suh took a couple of years to break out at Nebraska but by his junior year was dominating opposing offensive lines. Suh picked up 7.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss and returned two interceptions as a junior in 2008 and even led the Cornhuskers in tackles with 76. He was an honorable mention All-America pick that year but as a senior he became a legend.
Suh had 85 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 10 passes defended, three blocked kicks and an interception as the Huskers defense led the nation in scoring defense and was second with 44 sacks. His best game that year came against Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship Game when he had 12 tackles, seven for loss and set a Nebraska single-game record with 4.5 sacks. Nebraska came up one-point short in the 13–12 loss but was named the game’s MVP.
Suh won the Outland Trophy, Lombardi Award, Bednarik Award and the Nagurski Award as well as being named a consensus All-American and finished fourth in the Heisman vote, which is unheard of for a defensive tackle. He was the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions.
Next: Ted Hendricks
Ted Hendricks gets the final end spot over Leon Hart, Bruce Smith and Bubba Smith. The player nicknamed The Mad Stork due to his 6-7, 220-pound frame gets the nod after being named a two-time consensus All-American in 1967 and 1968. Hendricks was a second-team All-American as a sophomore.
Hendricks finished his Miami career with 327 total tackles, the most by a defensive lineman in program history and recovered 12 fumbles. He finished in fifth in the 1968 Heisman that saw USC running back O.J. Simpson take the honor.
The Ted Hendricks Award is awarded annually to the top defensive end in college football.
Hendricks was a second-round pick by the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 NFL Draft and won four Super Bowls. He is in the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Brian Bosworth
Brian Bosworth may be more famous for a haircut, B-movie acting career, outspoken personality that resulted with his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion, steroid use and for getting trucked by Bo Jackson in the NFL. However, when he was on the field for the Oklahoma Sooners, few linebackers were as dominant as The Boz.
Bosworth was a two-time consensus All-American as a sophomore and junior in 1985 and 1986 who raised his play in the big moments. He was the winner of the first two Butkus Awards as the nation’s top linebacker and remains the only player to win it more than once.
He was the first pick in the 1987 Supplemental Draft by the Seattle Seahawks but a shoulder injury ended his career after only two seasons.
Bosworth was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Next: Dick Butkus
Dick Butkus also played center during his career with the Illinois Fighting Illini from 1962-1964, but middle linebacker is where he was most dominant. Butkus was big, strong, mean, nasty and loved to inflict pain on the ball carrier and those attempting to block him.
Butkus was a two-time consensus All-American in 1963 and 1964 and finished sixth and third in the Heisman those years, a remarkable achievement for linemen and linebackers. Butkus finished his career with the Illini with 364 tackles, many of which left ball carries bloodied, bruised and battered and afraid to cross paths again with No. 50.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1978 and is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was the No. 3 pick in the 1965 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. In 1985, the Butkus Award was created to honor the nation’s best linebacker.
Next: Derrick Thomas
Derrick Thomas played for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 1986-1988 when he teamed with Cornelius Bennett and later Keith McCants to form one of the most unblockable units in college football. Thomas set the NCAA record with 27 sacks as a junior in 1988 to win the Butkus Award and consensus All-American honors.
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The 27 sacks Thomas had is an unthinkable number that is nearly impossible to get in video games but his lightning-quick first step and ability to bend the edge saw Thomas do the impossible. He finished his career with a then-NCAA record 52 sacks and earned him a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
Thomas was the No. 4 pick in the 1989 NFL Draft and is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Deion Sanders
Before he was Primetime, Deion Sanders was locking down wide receivers during his career with the Florida state Seminoles from 1985-1988. Sanders was a third-team All-American as a sophomore when he had four interceptions and was a consensus All-American in 1987 and 1988.
Sanders had four interceptions as a junior and a career-high five picks as a senior, including two returned for touchdowns which led the nation. Sanders won the Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back and finished eighth in the Heisman in 1988 and led the nation with 503 punt return yards and a 15.2 average.
For his career, Sanders had 14 interceptions, three punt returns for a touchdown and 1,429 yards (ninth all-time) on 126 returns.
College football has never seen an athlete like Sanders who also played for the school’s baseball team and competed in track and field. He was the No. 5 pick in the 1989 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and is in the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Next: Ed Reed
Ed Reed was the best player on one of the best college football teams ever when he helped lead the Miami Hurricanes to the national championship in 2001. Reed only had four interceptions his first two years but doubled that total with eight interceptions as a junior in 2000 to earn consensus All-American honors.
Reed led the nation in interceptions the next season with nine and set a program record with 206 return yards with three of his picks returned for a touchdown. Reed ended his career with a win in the national championship and is fourth all-time with 21 career interceptions.
He is the Miami record holder with the 21 interceptions and holds the record with 389 return yards and five touchdowns. Reed was also a secret weapon deployed on special teams with four blocked punts during his four years with the Canes.
Reed was the No. 24 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.
Next: Ronnie Lott
Ronnie Lott was one of the most versatile defensive backs during his career in the NFL but before he was a Pro Football Hall of Famer, Lott was dominating for the USC Trojans from 1977-1980. Lott was a cornerback for USC and at the onset of his NFL career before moving to safety, so in this format, he lines up at strong safety.
Lott had six interceptions in his first two years for the Trojans and helped USC to a share of the national title in 1978. He played int he Rose Bowl the next two years and was a consensus All-American in 1980 when he was also a team captain.
Not bad for a player who was in contention to win the running back job from future Heisman winner and fellow Hall of Famer, Marcus Allen.
Lott was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Next: Charles Woodson
Charles Woodson made waves right away with the Michigan Wolverines when he won the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1995 when he finished second in the Big Ten with five interceptions. As great as that debut season was, no one could imagine what would happen two years later when he beat Peyton Manning to be the first defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy.
Michigan won a share of national championship that year when Woodson made his second All-American team and first consensus pick in addition to the Bednarik Award, Thorpe Award, Nagurski Trophy, Jack Tatum Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award
Woodson closed his Michigan career with 16 interceptions and 30 passes defended and he added 30 touches for 537 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage. Woodson also had one punt return that helped him clinch the Heisman against rival Ohio State when he also had an interception in the end zone and a 37-yard catch to set up the Wolverines’ lone offensive score.
He was the No. 4 pick int he 1998 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
Next: Ray Guy
When you think of great punters you undoubtedly think of former Ray Guy who played for Southern Miss as a defensive back, place kicker and punter.
As a senior, he had eight interceptions as a safety to earn All-American honors. He once kicked a 61-yard field goal in a snowstorm against Utah and had a 93-yard punt against Ole Miss. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame and is honored by having the award given to the nation’s best college punter bear his name.
Guy is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and likely will go down in history as the only punter to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. He was the No. 23 pick in the 1973 Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
Next: Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Janikowski is a two-time consensus All-American in 1998 and 1999. His booming leg that often resulted in the ball sailing through the uprights on kickoffs resulted in Janikowski winning the Lou Groza Award given annually to the nation’s top kicker in 1998 and 1999. He remains the only two-time winner of Groza.
Janikowski finished his career with 126-129 on extra points and 66-83 (79.5 percent) on field goals for 324 points.
Janikowski, like Guy, likely will be the only kicker to be a first round pick after the Raiders spent the No. 17 pick int he 2000 NFL Draft on the Florida State kicker.
Next: Johnny Rodgers
Picking the returner for this team was one of the toughest calls for this all-time team. From guys like Notre Dame’s Raghib Ismail and Tim Brown to Miami’s Devin Hester to Kentucky’s Derek Abney to Michigan’s Desmond Howard, there isn’t a shortage of qualified candidates.
Ultimately, I went with two-time consensus All-American and 1972 Heisman winner from Nebraska, Johnny Rodgers who returned a then-record seven punts for touchdowns in his three years with the Huskers.
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One of his punt returns came in the Game of the Century against rival Oklahoma in 1971 when he had a 72-yard return to set up the game’s first score in Nebraska’s 35-31 win. Rodgers also had one kick return for a touchdown and set an NCAA career record for all-purpose yards with 5,586.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Next: Coaching Staff
With this collection of talent, the head coach needs to be a strict disciplinarian who can get the most out of this group of players. Picking the Paul “Bear” Bryant as the head coach for this all-time team was a no-brainer considering he’s the greatest college football coach with six national championships.
But we won’t just stop with the head coach.
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Nick Saban will be the defensive coordinator for this team and can run a base 4-3 defense on first and second down and run a hybrid defense with Thomas able to rush the passer on the edge from his outside linebacker position and Hendricks capable of playing as a stand-up rush end. When Saban’s career is over, he will either surpass Bryant as the best or be a close second. He already has five national championships.
Urban Meyer will be the offensive coordinator based on his success with Tim Tebow during their time together at Florida. there is no better coach to get the most out of his unique skill-set than Meyer who has three national championships.