Welcome to Sports Illustrated’s College Football Quarter-Century Week. We will look back at the past 25 seasons in college football, ranking the top 25 teams, quarterbacks, non-QB players, coaches, games and scandals. Up next: The best non-quarterback players from 2000 to present.
1. RB Reggie Bush, USC (2003–05)
Bush was special from the moment he stepped on campus. He helped lead USC to a pair of national titles, and he lost just two games over the course of his career (both in the final minute or overtime). He notched 2,000 all-purpose yards twice and averaged a ridiculous 7.3 yards per carry over three seasons. His ability to plant and cut at full speed was virtually unmatched. He posted jaw-dropping highlights as a runner, receiver and returner that became a part of college football lore.
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Jackson State (2022), Colorado (’23–24)
Hunter is a unicorn who broke the mold of what it means to be a college football player. The No. 1 overall recruit in ’22, he became the first five-star to sign with an HBCU and barely broke a sweat with the jump up to the FBS level with the Buffs. While injuries hampered his production some, he put together a season for the ages by basically never leaving the field in ’24 and regularly playing well over 100 snaps per game. He is the first player to win the Biletnikoff Award (best receiver) and Bednarik Award (best defensive player) in the same season—plus he added the Heisman Trophy for good measure.
3. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (2005–09)
Whenever a quarterback stepped to the line when facing Nebraska, they would go through their normal routine but would have to make it a point to check, recheck and then check again to see where Suh was lined up. Game wrecker barely scratches the surface at what he was from the interior position. It speaks to his all-around savvy that he recorded more interceptions as a defensive tackle than forced fumbles. He recorded 16-plus TFLs each of his final two years and 12 sacks as a senior, nearly carrying his team to a Big 12 title by himself. At the time, he was the first defender to win the AP Player of the Year award in 2009 and basically turned the middle of the field into a stone wall.
4. RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma (2004–06)
If any running back could have made the jump from high school directly to the pros, it might have been Peterson. His stopover in Norman, Okla., was still impressive. He was incredible between the tackles with his breakaway speed combined with the power of somebody who tended to need multiple defenders to bring him down. Despite playing just one full season due to injuries, he finished runner-up as a true freshman for the Heisman and recorded three straight seasons of 1,000-plus yards and at least a dozen touchdowns.
5. S Ed Reed, Miami (1997–2001)
Although only his final two seasons count at Miami for the purposes of being a part of this group, what a final two years those were for Reed, who you can point to as the defining safety of the modern age. His instincts were unmatched and he seemed to know where the ball was going even before the quarterback who threw it did. He pulled down 17 interceptions in 22 games as a junior and senior while leading the Canes to a 23–1 mark plus a national title.
6. WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama (2017–20)
Smith bookended his career with a pair of national titles, providing the famous overtime walk-off winner with his only catch in the ’18 game before shredding Ohio State in his final collegiate game. He became just the fourth wideout to capture the Heisman Trophy and the Slim Reaper led the country in yards, receptions and receiving touchdowns as a senior despite playing every game against a Power 4 opponent. Smith is top five in career receiving touchdowns and averaged 16.9 yards per catch with the Tide with his innate ability to get open.
7. TE Brock Bowers, Georgia (2021–23)
Georgia didn’t have an offense that aired it out to the point where Bowers put up some out-of-this-world numbers, but he has a case to be the greatest tight end college football has ever seen between pure talent and what he meant to some of the best teams of all time. He was an All-American all three seasons in Athens, Ga., won the Mackey Award in back-to-back years and played a pivotal role in winning two national titles as the top option in the passing game (to say nothing of how great he was as a blocker).
8. WR Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt (2002–03)
Fitzgerald played only two seasons with the Panthers, but he was utterly uncoverable. He caught a touchdown pass in 18 straight games, an FBS record (he played just 26 games total for perspective), and was the first Pitt player to record back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards. His 22 receiving touchdowns in ’03 was the sixth-best campaign in college football history as he won the Biletnikoff Award and was runner-up for the Heisman as a sophomore. Dominant.
9. RB Christian McCaffrey, Stanford (2014–16)
One of only seven players to rush for 200-plus yards and have 100-plus yards receiving in a game, McCaffrey could really do it all for the Cardinal. His 183.9 career yards per game is eighth best all-time and he broke Barry Sanders’s previously untouchable single-season record with 3,864 all-purpose yards in ’15 as a sophomore. McCaffrey was so shifty coming downhill and only needed a sliver of space to burst into the second level and rip off a long run.
10. RB Derrick Henry, Alabama (2013–15)
Despite rushing for more yards in high school than any other in recorded history, there was some skepticism that Henry’s size would translate to running the ball in college. Well, turns out it definitely did. He had to share carries with some fellow five-stars with the Crimson Tide but was incredible as a junior in winning the Heisman, scoring at least one touchdown in every game and posting the sixth-most rushing yards in a single season in FBS history. Henry also forced an unofficial record number of business decisions made by defenders when he was running the football between the tackles.
11. OT Joe Thomas, Wisconsin (2003–06)
The prototype left tackle and Thomas were one and the same. Able to stonewall pass rushers with his long arms and perfect frame, the Badgers star was a stalwart all alone on an island and also helped pave the way for two different 1,500-yard rushers. There’s been a terrific history of offensive linemen in Madison, Wis., over the decades but Thomas might be the best ever.
12. LB Terrell Suggs, Arizona State (2000–02)
Before the term edge rusher became popular, Suggs basically was the blueprint for letting a player get after the quarterback time and again (and again). His ’02 campaign still stands as the NCAA record for sacks in a season with a hard-to-fathom 24—including a total of 31.5 tackles for loss. His 44 career sacks are second in the FBS record book, despite playing just 36 college games. He won nearly every major defensive award.
13. S Troy Polamalu, USC (1999–2002)
Wherever you thought Polamalu couldn’t get to on the field, rest assured you were wrong because he was everywhere, all the time, all at once. The flowing locks out of the back of his helmet certainly gave him a unique look—one that came to be feared by every opposing offensive player. He snagged interceptions, found his way into the backfield and basically didn’t let anything past him on the way to becoming a back-to-back first-team All-American.
14. DT Aaron Donald, Pitt (2010–13)
Despite being doubted by some at nearly every level of football due to his stature, Donald let his play on the field do more than enough talking as one of the best defensive linemen of his generation. His final year with the Panthers remains one of the best ever despite facing a constant stream of double teams: 59 tackles, 28.5 TFL, 11 sacks and four forced fumbles. He won every award possible and is fifth in tackles for loss while being the only one in the top five to play inside on the line.
15. OG Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame (2014–17)
It’s not often that doing the dirty work along the interior of the offensive line can be considered must-see TV, but Nelson was simply that good for the Irish. A true technician who hardly ever made a mistake, he was a unanimous first-team All-American his final year in ’17 and was so good in college that the Indianapolis Colts made the rare move of selecting a guard with a top-six pick in the draft.
16. DE Chase Young, Ohio State (2017–19)
Blink after the snap and there’s a decent chance Young would have already blown past the tackle and begun his pursuit of the quarterback. He incredibly led the country in sacks (16.5) in ’19 despite missing two games and finished 13th in career sacks per game. Young was effortlessly smooth in turning the corner and was so polished with his hand usage when engaging with opposing tackles.
17. DL Jonathan Allen, Alabama (2013–16)
A key leader on some of the best defenses of the Nick Saban era, Allen was a disruptive chess piece on a national title team and collected the Bednarik and Nagurski Awards in ’16 with a dominant campaign (69 tackles, 10.5 sacks). A road block in the run game you needed to find a dozen ways around, he was the rare player who could also get upfield with regularity behind an impressive first step. There are few players you would trust more to blow up both the quarterback and tailback on any zone read quite like Allen.
18. DB Tyrann Mathieu, LSU (2010–11)
There have been a lot of great players over the years who called the secondary home, but there was only one Honey Badger. He was simply everywhere and had a physicality that was unmatched no matter if he was trying to pick off a pass, take down a running back or muscle his way into a turnover. Mathieu always looked a tad undersized but played like a giant who had a nose for the ball almost as much as he did the end zone.
19. DE Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina (2012–14)
If you asked coaches to draw up their perfect defensive end on a blank piece of paper, a player that looked like Clowney would be the end result. Size? He had it. Speed? Check. Burst off the line? Rare. Clowney would overpower opponents with regularity and impacted the game on nearly every snap well beyond whatever stats he could collect. His vicious tackle of Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl might be one of the best defensive highlights anybody can lay claim to in the last 25 years.
20. DE Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan (2018–21)
Relentless motor is what every coach wants in their defenders and Hutchinson never seemed to shut his off. He helped take the Wolverines to the next level of winning the Big Ten and making the playoff for his ability to chase down quarterbacks and a team leader. Hutchinson won the Lombardi, Hendricks and Lott trophies during his final season and set Michigan’s school record for sacks.
21. WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech (2006–08)
Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense ascended to a new plane when Crabtree burst onto the scene in Lubbock. Though he had only two seasons of production, he still managed to catch 231 passes—134 still stands as the record for a freshman. His 1,962 yards receiving that also came as a freshman was both a NCAA record and the most by any player since 2000 (third-best overall in FBS history, too). Crabtree nearly led the Red Raiders to the Big 12 title. He’s the only player to record 40-plus career touchdowns in just two seasons. Excellent tightrope walker near the end zone as well.
22. RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (2022–24)
Led the country in 70-plus-yard runs last season on his way to falling just short of Sanders’s NCAA single-season rushing record (2,601 yards was still pretty good). His 29 touchdowns on the ground was more than 105 other teams had in ’24. He did just about everything asked of him in leading the Broncos to the College Football Playoff. Jeanty will also be remembered as one of the rare Group of 5 players to remain at his school in an age of player movement and NIL money.
23. LB Manti Te’o, Notre Dame (2009–12)
Te’o earned some form of All-American honors every season he suited up in South Bend and notched more than 100 tackles in his final three years. He pulled down an impressive seven interceptions and recovered a pair of fumbles during the height of his powers in ’12, helping lead the Irish to the national championship game. Some folks picked Notre Dame to beat Alabama based just on Te’o’s ability to control the game and his leadership qualities.
24. RB Melvin Gordon III, Wisconsin (2011–14)
The Badgers had a conveyor line of productive tailbacks the past 25 years but few came close to matching Gordon for the numbers he put up as well as his ability to burst through the line for a long gain. He briefly held the FBS single-game rushing record with 408 yards against Nebraska, which he needed only 25 carries and three quarters to hit in a game where Wisconsin threw the ball just 11 times. His ’14 campaign was the third-best all time with 2,587 yards. Gordon’s one of just seven players to score more than 190 points in a year.
25. WR/CB/KR/PR Devin Hester, Miami (2003–05)
Before Hunter, there was Hester. While he made the Pro Football Hall of Fame almost exclusively as a return man, he was an excellent cornerback for the Canes in college and a dangerous receiver either exploding out of the slot or running a reverse. His sophomore year saw him earn the first of his All-American honors after scoring four return touchdowns, leading the team in sacks and interceptions plus finding the end zone on offense to help ease the Hurricanes’ transition into the ACC.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The 25 Best College Football Non-Quarterbacks of the Past 25 Years.