#7778 - The Most Talent Ever in a College Football Game

[BroncoBuff]

Post 7778 ... 77 hrs, 77 min after post 7777.

The Most Talent Ever in a College Game
1994 - COLORADO at MICHIGAN - Michigan Stadium
The largest football stadium in USA, this game hosted the 6th largest crowd ever to see a football game.

Best remembered for the Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook 'Hail Mary' winner caught over Ty Law (see Steve Sewell’s avatar), this thread submits the proposition that this game may have been the best collection of football talent ever in one single college game. Of course there’s a variety of ways to judge such a claim – and admittedly there were no sure-fire Hall-of-Famers on the field that day, but judged on the basis of total # of games those players were eventually on NFL rosters ... then we have a winner!

The number in Blue = round drafted into NFL.



Quarterbacks2 Kordell Stewart - “Slash” was Vick-pre-cursor, SB as rookie, led Steelers to '97 AFC Ch-Ship game (lost to Den).
7 Koy Detmer - Popular Eagles backup 9 years - finally cut last summer, but brought back for the playoffs as holder.
2 Todd Collins - Still enjoying productive career as NFL backup. Bills, Chiefs and now Redskins.
3 Brian Griese - SB Ring as rook, almost another this year. Not a well-liked player, he's been with 4 teams in 9 years.


Running Backs1 Rashaan Salaam - Won Heisman Trophy that season. 1,000 yards as a rookie, career went up in smoke after 3 years.
1 Tim Biakabutuka- Heisman Trophy Finalist in '95, “Tshimanaga” had 7 solid years w Jaguars.
1 Tyrone Wheatley - 10 years, 47 TDs with Giants, Raiders.
3 Jon Ritchie - Transferred to Stanford. 8 years with Eagles and Raiders, SB losses to Tampa, NE.


Wide Receivers1 Michael Westbrook - Promising career cut short by fistfights and a knee injury. 4300 yds, 26 TDs in six seasons.
1 Rae Carruth - The Infamous. After 3 years with Panthers, now serving life in prison for double-murder.
2 Amani Toomer - Still going strong with Giants. 8,000+ yds, 40 TDs, incl two that killed Denver.
5 Mercury Hayes - Played in Europe, but never in the NFL.


Tight Ends2Christian Fauria - Ten years with Seahawks, NE, now Redskins. Won two SB Rings w/ Patriots.
. Matt Lepsis - #1 Bronco-Buff. Despite the unappealing idea of a cadaver ligament, he's on track for 07.
5 Jay Riemersma- Solid 7 seasons with Bills, then Steelers. Retired one year too early.

Offensive Line1 Chris Naeole CU - Outland Trophy finalist, still w/ Jaguars, and has a 5+ year games started streak.
5 Bryan Stoltenberg CU - Five year career with Giants, Panthers.
6 Tony Berti CU - Four year career with Chargers, Seahawks.
4 Heath Irwin CU - Hale's nephew, played 7 seasons with Pats, Dolphins, Rams.
5 Derek West CU - Solid 7 seasons with
4 Jon Runyan MU - 11 solid years and still going strong with Eagles. Played in SB.
1 Trezelle Jenkins MU - Just 3 seasons with Chiefs, Saints, Vikings.
4 Damon Denson MU - 4 years with Patriots, Ravens.
3 Rod Payne MU - Managed just 2+ years with Bengals.

.

[BroncoBuff]

Defensive Line
6 Shannon Clavelle CU – Two years in Green Bay.
3 Darius Holland CU – Talented but lacking motivation, managed 10 seasons with 5 teams.
7 Kerry Hicks CU – One year with Chefs.
4 Daryl Price CU – Two-plus years with 49ers.
5 William Carr MU – Drafted by Bengals, stuck around 5 yeasr in Europe and on the fringe.

Linebackers
2 Ted Johnson CU – Butkus Award finalist and stone-cold warrior: 10 years, 3 SB Rings with Patriots.
2 Greg Jones CU – Six season with Redskins, Cardinals..
7 Matt Russell CU – Butkus Award Winner 1996. Injuries cut career short after 3 years with Lions.
.. Jarret Irons MU – Two-time All-America and team captain, but wasn’t drafted. Anybody? ???
1 Trevor Pryce MU – Yes, him. Tall and rail thin, he transferred to Clemson as a Sophomore.
5 Matt Dyson MU - Drafted by Raiders in 1995, no info after draft day.
Defensive Backs
1 Ty Law MU – Thorpe Award finalist. 12 years and 3 SB rings into possible HOF career.
3 Chris Hudson CU – Thorpe Award Winner. 7 years w Jags, Bears.
5 T.J. Cunningham CU – One season with Seahawks.
7 Steve Rosga CU – Often confused with Ryan Walters, this big-play All-American has no record of NFL service.


Notes...

There might be no way to check this actually, but I believe this game set one record that will ever be broken: FOUR Quarterbacks in the game remained active on NFL rosters more than ten years later! Admittedly Kordell just had a cup of coffee with the Ravens in ’05, but the other three were all on rosters as of the 2007 Super Bowl.
You might be wondering about another Heisman Trophy winner? Me too. I was sure Charles Woodson was a freshman on the sidelines - the numbers going 4 years back from his rookie seasons say so. But alas, he entered the draft after his junior year at MU. There was no Scout.com back in ’94, but it would be a major cherry on top if Woodson was by chance standing on the sidelines making his Ann Arbor official visit that day ??
Tom Brady was a Junior in High School.
In a curious side note: In 2005, Michael Westbrook fought an MME Death-Cage match against ex-Michigan RB Jarrod Bunch. Westbrook prevailed with something called a “Rear Naked Choke,” at 4:55 of the 1st round.
Nine 1st-rounders, and eleven 2nd/3rd rounders must be some record.
All but one Colorado offensive starter that day was drafted. The lone exception? Matt Lepsis.

.

[Killericon]

Wicked.

[SoCalBronco]

Jan 2001 Sugar Bowl. The two rosters had a ton of NFL talent.

For the Gators...
Lito Sheppard
Taylor Jacobs
Rex Grossman
Jabar Gaffney
Alex Brown
Reche Caldwell
Andra Davis
Bobby McCray
Gerard Warren
Mike Pearson
Ian Scott
Max Starks
Ben Troupe
Guss Scott

For the Hurricanes....

Willis McGahee
Najeh Davenport
Andre Johnson
Santana Moss
Mike Rumph
D.J. Williams
Ed Reed
Jeremy Shockey
Clinton Portis
Philip Buchanon
Dan Morgan
Jonathon Vilma
Vernon Carey
Joaquin Gonzalez
Vince Wilfork
Chris Myers
Bryant McKinnie
Reggie Wayne
Damione Lewis
Willliam Joseph

[epicSocialism4tw]

Jan 2001 Sugar Bowl. The two rosters had a ton of NFL talent.

For the Gators...
Lito Sheppard
Taylor Jacobs
Rex Grossman
Jabar Gaffney
Alex Brown
Reche Caldwell
Andra Davis
Bobby McCray
Gerard Warren
Mike Pearson
Ian Scott
Max Starks
Ben Troupe
Guss Scott

For the Hurricanes....

Willis McGahee
Najeh Davenport
Andre Johnson
Santana Moss
Mike Rumph
D.J. Williams
Ed Reed
Clinton Portis
Philip Buchanon
Dan Morgan
Jonathon Vilma
Vernon Carey
Joaquin Gonzalez
Vince Wilfork
Chris Myers
Bryant McKinnie
Reggie Wayne
Damione Lewis
Willliam Joseph


Wow, man. That's basically 2 NFL teams squaring off in their youth.

[spdirty]

I remember cussing Kordell out when he fumbled at the goalline. Then when Westbrook caught that pass, I just screamed OH MY GOD!!!!!! making sure the entire neighborhood heard me. That was just the most amazing finish ever. Especially for Buff fans.

[Popcorn Sutton]

Jan 2001 Sugar Bowl. The two rosters had a ton of NFL talent.

For the Gators...
Lito Sheppard
Taylor Jacobs
Rex Grossman
Jabar Gaffney
Alex Brown
Reche Caldwell
Andra Davis
Bobby McCray
Gerard Warren
Mike Pearson
Ian Scott
Max Starks
Ben Troupe
Guss Scott

For the Hurricanes....

Willis McGahee
Najeh Davenport
Andre Johnson
Santana Moss
Mike Rumph
D.J. Williams
Ed Reed
Jeremy Shockey
Clinton Portis
Philip Buchanon
Dan Morgan
Jonathon Vilma
Vernon Carey
Joaquin Gonzalez
Vince Wilfork
Chris Myers
Bryant McKinnie
Reggie Wayne
Damione Lewis
Willliam Joseph

:notworthy

[Killericon]

That Hurricane squad would be a favourite in the NFC to go to the Super Bowl.

[SoCalBronco]

Wow, man. That's basically 2 NFL teams squaring off in their youth.

Yeah and I did not even include some of the guys who stuck around in the league for just a couple years as backups either.

[TexanBob]

By the time the classes have fully graduated, watch the 2006 Texas-USC Rose Bowl blow them all out of the water.

[Billy Clyde Puckett]

Best top 10 draft choices in history - 1967

1 1 Charles (Bubba) Smith Colts DT Michigan State
2 2 Clint Jones Vikings RB Michigan State
3 3 Steve Spurrier 49ers QB Florida
4 4 Bob Griese Dolphins QB Purdue
5 5 George Webster Oilers LB Michigan State
6 6 Floyd Little Broncos RB Syracuse
7 7 Mel Farr Lions RB UCLA
8 8 Gene Washington Vikings WR Michigan State
9 9 Bob Hyland Packers G Boston College
10 10 Loyd Phillips Bears DE Arkansas

[epicSocialism4tw]

By the time the classes have fully graduated, watch the 2006 Texas-USC Rose Bowl blow them all out of the water.

That 2001 Miami team would be tough to outdo, but that Texas team is pretty stout.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

IIRC, Lepsis was the only starter on that offense not drafted

[Atlas]

Post 7778 ... 77 hrs, 77 min after post 7777.

The Most Talent Ever in a College Game
1994 - COLORADO at MICHIGAN - Michigan Stadium
The largest football stadium in USA, this game hosted the 6th largest crowd ever to see a football game.

Best remembered for the Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook 'Hail Mary' winner caught over Ty Law (see Steve Sewell’s avatar), this thread submits the proposition that this game may have been the best collection of football talent ever in one single college game. Of course there’s a variety of ways to judge such a claim – and admittedly there were no sure-fire Hall-of-Famers on the field that day, but judged on the basis of total # of games those players were eventually on NFL rosters ... then we have a winner! The number in Blue = round drafted into NFL.


Quarterbacks
2 Kordell Stewart - “Slash” was Vick-pre-cursor, SB as rookie, led Steelers to '97 AFC Ch-Ship game (lost to Den).
7 Koy Detmer - Popular Eagles backup 9 years - finally cut last summer, but brought back for the playoffs as holder.
2 Todd Collins - Still enjoying productive career as NFL backup. Bills, Chiefs and now Redskins.
3 Brian Griese - SB Ring as rook, almost another this year. Not a well-liked player, he's been with 4 teams in 9 years.

Running Backs
1 Rashaan Salaam - Won Heisman Trophy that season. 1,000 yards as a rookie, career went up in smoke after 3 years.
1 Tim Biakabutuka - Heisman Trophy Finalist in '95, “Tshimanaga” had 7 solid years w Jaguars.
1 Tyrone Wheatley - 10 years, 47 TDs with Giants, Raiders.
3 Jon Ritchie - Transferred to Stanford. 8 years with Eagles and Raiders, SB losses to Tampa, NE.

Wide Receivers
1 Michael Westbrook - Promising career cut short by fistfights and a knee injury. 4300 yds, 26 TDs in six seasons.
1 Rae Carruth - The Infamous. After 3 years with Panthers, now serving life in prison for double-murder.
2 Amani Toomer - Still going strong with Giants. 8,000+ yds, 40 TDs, incl two that killed Denver.
5 Mercury Hayes - Played in Europe, but never in the NFL.

Tight Ends
2 Christian Fauria - Ten years with Seahawks, NE, now Redskins. Won two SB Rings w/ Patriots.
.. Matt Lepsis - #1 Bronco-Buff. Despite the unappealing idea of a cadaver ligament, he's on track for '07.
5 Jay Riemersma - Solid 7 seasons with Bills, then Steelers. Retired one year too early.

Offensive Line
1 Chris Naeole CU - Outland Trophy finalist, still w/ Jaguars, and has a 5+ year games started streak.
5 Bryan Stoltenberg CU - Five year career with Giants, Panthers.
6 Tony Berti CU - Four year career with Chargers, Seahawks.
4 Heath Irwin CU - Hale's nephew, played 7 seasons with Pats, Dolphins, Rams.
5 Derek West CU - Solid 7 seasons with
4 Jon Runyan MU - 11 solid years and still going strong with Eagles. Played in SB.
1 Trezelle Jenkins MU - Just 3 seasons with Chiefs, Saints, Vikings.
4 Damon Denson MU - 4 yeasr with Patriots, Ravens.
3 Rod Payne MU - Managed just 2+ years with Bengals.


.

Damn good research. I'm at work and can't look it up but the 1973 Ohio State/ Michigan game was pretty stout.

The 1981 USC/Notre Dame game is up there too.

[bombay]

I wish I could find the rosters for the Colorado/Washington game I attended in Boulder in 1990. There were a jillion future pros on the field that day. Colorado won by 4 when Dion Figures broke up 4 consecutive Mark Brunell passes in the end zone in the final minute.

[Killericon]

Man, Buff sets up this amazing post and SoCal just annihilates him. Poor guy.

[SoCalBronco]

The Jan 2003 (2002 season) Fiesta Bowl also had a great deal of highly drafted talent.

The Buckeyes roster featured EIGHT future first round picks and two future second round picks.

The Hurricanes roster featured TWELVE future first round picks and one future second round pick.

This does not include players who were picked lower than the 2nd round who have made it in the league such as Ohio State's Shane Olivea, Matt Wilhelm, Drew Carter etc. and Miami's Frank Gore, Eric Winston etc.

[SureShot]

Stop it SoCal. Seriously. Let my man BroncoBuff go about his thread. (you are right though. 2001. Damn.)

[broncocalijohn]

I bet i can look at a SC Notre Dame game and find that type of collection. But that game and the one SoCal mentioned might be tough to beat.

[Rascal]

Jan 2001 Sugar Bowl. The two rosters had a ton of NFL talent.

For the Gators...
Lito Sheppard
Taylor Jacobs
Rex Grossman
Jabar Gaffney
Alex Brown
Reche Caldwell
Andra Davis
Bobby McCray
Gerard Warren
Mike Pearson
Ian Scott
Max Starks
Ben Troupe
Guss Scott

For the Hurricanes....

Willis McGahee
Najeh Davenport
Andre Johnson
Santana Moss
Mike Rumph
D.J. Williams
Ed Reed
Jeremy Shockey
Clinton Portis
Philip Buchanon
Dan Morgan
Jonathon Vilma
Vernon Carey
Joaquin Gonzalez
Vince Wilfork
Chris Myers
Bryant McKinnie
Reggie Wayne
Damione Lewis
Willliam Joseph


Geeshh....I'd take that Hurricane team over most NFL teams right now although it's a bit weak along the line.

[BroncoBuff]

I looked '83 Texas vs. Georgia, '89 and '90 Orange and '94 Fiesta - all Colorado vs. ND, at the Jan 2001 Rose Bowl, Miami vs. Nebraska, three different Oklahoma-Nebraska games, but they didn't measure up. I looked at the '95 Orange Bowl, Miami vs. Nebraska, but Lawrence Phillips was the best Husker, and even though Miami had Kenard Lang, Ray Lewis and Warren Sapp on D - their offense was Dino Costa and a bunch of non-names. As great as Nebraska is, their guys seem to struggle to adapt in the pros, and Miami, Okalhoma, and especially USC have had several years of lackluster future-NFL talent.

Actually, the USC games when Carson Palmer was a senior looked pretty good (3 Heismans on one team), as did the 2005 Texas-USC Ch-Ship game (VY vs. Leinart) ... but any game played since 2001 is too soon to tell, because my criteria is total games active on NFL rosters.


Gotta admit, SoCal's Sugar Bowl is close. I'll check the draft pages later today, he may well have passed it. But please note: It's been just 5 years since that game! If we judged my game in 1999, we'd have 3 dozen active players, and Kordell would seem like Vick. But careers fade fast, as do memories.

For example, Greg Jones was a pretty great NFL LB for a couple years there ... but does anybody remember him now?


I'll get back to you ... party-pooper SoCal.

[BMF Bronco]

Good list and I totally called that didn't I?!

[vancejohnson82]

October 23rd 2004

Akron vs. Ball State

Domenik Hixon

[BroncoBuff]

Yeah and I did not even include some of the guys who stuck around in the league for just a couple years as backups either.

Oh, yes you did. Chris Myers was late 6th round, and William Joseph was practically the last player drafted that year.


More to come .... you have 3 more 1st rounders than me, but your guys drop off fast after that. Remember, my game was 7 years earlier ... guys like Greg Jones, Tim Biakabatuka and Derek West are retired now and easily forgotten.


.

[BroncoBuff]

Yep - no doubt you have more 1st-rounders in that game, true. So far I've counted 12 in your game to 9 in my game. But - and this is not necessarily a hit - there are very few 2nd-3rd round types, many fewer than the Buffs-Wolverines game.

[BroncoBuff]

No ... the only QBs in that game were Rex Grossman, Jesse Palmer and Ken Dorsey. Grossman played in a Super Bowl, but if stubborn Lovie wouldda started my guy Brian Griese, the Bears might've won.

No, only one of those is left in the league now, a mere 6 years later (and Rex has his foot on a banana peel after one of the worst SB performances in memory.) On the other hand, THREE of my QBs are still active now - 13 years later .... and FOUR of my QBs were still in the NFL a full eleven years after the game was played.

And you say you're "not counting guys who stuck around a couple years as backups"? C'mon, what do you think Chris Myers is? Sure, WE all know him, fine. But despite his special teams play, Montrae Holland and/or Greg Eslinger and/or Ryan Harris will make Myers exactly that - two years and out. Book it.

[BroncoBuff]

My bad .... the Jan '01 Sugar Bowl had 23 first-rounders - I had ommitted the 2004 draft before (6 'Canes in the first round- astonishing). But my point is also shown there - after that 1st round, Miami had just a couple SEVENTH rounders in the rest of the entire draft.

http://img479.imageshack.us/img479/9559/98959234we5.jpg

[BroncoBuff]

Man, Buff sets up this amazing post and SoCal just annihilates him. Poor guy.

Well .... not exactly annihilate yet.

Total players drafted (in 4 yrs after games):

'94 COLO-MICH - 46
'01 MIA-FLA - 59

[Killericon]

Well .... not exactly annihilate yet.

Total players drafted (in 4 yrs after games):

'94 COLO-MICH - 46
'01 MIA-FLA - 59

I was more talking about the quality of the players drafted.