SEC Football history: 50 best players of all time
By Brad Weiss
817. . HB, DB, P. Tigers . Jerry Stovall. 48. player
48. Best SEC football players of all time: Jerry Stovall, LSU football
Few players have dominated both sides of the ball for the LSU Tigers quite like Jerry Stovall did back in the early 1960s. A do-everything player for the Tigers, Stovall played running back, in the defensive backfield, and served as the punter for LSU, all the while becoming one of the better players in the history of the conference.
The task was not easy for Stovall, as he had to take over for the legendary Billy Cannon at halfback, but he was certainly up for the challenge. A two-time All-SEC player, Stovall was a unanimous All-American selection during the 1962 season, a year that also saw him named the SEC’s Player of the Year.
Finishing as a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, Stovall helped lead the Tigers to an SEC title in 1961, as “Mr. Everything” won the Walter Camp Trophy. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, he would be selected in the top three picks by both the NFL and AFL, settling with the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that he made three Pro Bowls for.
Stovall’s No. 21 is retired by LSU, and he even came back to be the program’s head coach in the early 1980s. He is regarded as one of the better all-around players in SEC history.