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FOX: Ranking top college football player from every state

Nikki Chavanelleby:Nikki Chavanelle•10/14/21•

NikkiChavanelle

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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

FOX football writers RJ Young and Sean Merriman have compiled a master list of the top college football players from each of the 50 states.

Using players’ place of birth and college resumes, the writers included 50 players on the list with the likes of legends like Reggie Bush and Deion Sanders, to young stars like Christian McCaffrey. Some were no-brainers, though other picks required intense debate.

Check out FOX’s full list of the top college football players from all 50 states:

Top college football player from every state

  • Alabama – Bo Jackson (Auburn)
    • With 4,303 career rushing yards and 43 rushing touchdowns at Auburn, running back Bo Jackson is arguably one of the best college football players of all time, let alone the best from the Yellowhammer State. Jackson was a three-sport athlete at McAdory High School in McCalla, Alabama, before enrolling at Auburn.
  • Alaska – Steve Smith (USC)
  • Arizona – Rodney Pete (USC)
  • Arkansas – Darren McFadden (Arkansas)
  • California – Reggie Bush (USC)
    • There are so many legends from the state of California to choose from, however, Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush set the standard at USC. Behind 6,541 all-purpose yards from Bush, the Trojans won two national titles in his three years on campus in SoCal.
  • Colorado – Christian McCaffrey (Stanford)
  • Connecticut – Floyd Little (Syracuse)
  • Delaware – Jamie Duncan (Vanderbilt)
  • Florida – Deion Sanders (Florida State)
  • Georgia – Cam Newton (Auburn)
    • The greatest player to come out of Georgia did not attend Georgia. Heisman winner Cam Newton instead took the long path to Auburn, through Gainesville, then Blinn C.C. in Texas, to become the second-greatest Tiger of all time. In one season, Newton had 2,856 yards and 30 touchdowns.
  • Hawaii – Marcus Mariota (Oregon)
  • Idaho – Jake Plummer (Arizona State)
  • Illinois – Dick Butkus (Illinois)
  • Indiana – Rod Woodson (Purdue)
  • Iowa – Nile Kinnick (Iowa)
  • Kansas – Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State)
  • Kentucky – Shaun Alexander (Alabama)
    • Shaun Alexander left Tuscaloosa after shattering 15 different Alabama program records. He posted 3,443 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns. The Florence, Kentucky, native was a first-round draft pick for the Seattle Seahawks.
  • Louisiana – Peyton Manning (Tennessee)
  • Maine – Al Harris (Arizona State)
  • Maryland – Doug Floutie (Boston College)
  • Massachusetts – Angelo Bertelli (Notre Dame)
  • Michigan – Jake Long (Michigan)
  • Minnesota – Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh)
  • Mississippi – Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State)
    • Before he was the best wide receiver in NFL history, Jerry Rice was one of the most effective receivers in all of college football. Rice is the only player on the top 50 list to make his name at an HBCU. At Mississippi Valley State, Rice had 301 catches for 4,693 yards and 50 touchdowns.
  • Missouri – Billy Simms (Oklahoma)
  • Montana – Ryan Leaf (Washington State)
  • Nebraska – Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska)
  • Nevada – Steven Jackson (Oregon State)
  • New Hampshire – Greg Landry (Massachusetts)
  • New Jersey – Mike Rozier (Nebraska)
    • Two-time All-American and Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier played his high school ball at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, New Jersey. After choosing the Huskers, Rozier rushed for 5,120 yards and 49 touchdowns in three seasons.
  • New Mexico – Ronnie Lott (USC)
  • New York – Vinny Testaverde (Miami)
  • North Carolina – Julius Peppers (North Carolina)
  • North Dakota – Derek Abney (Kentucky)
  • Ohio – Archie Griffin (Ohio State)
    • Archie Griffin, a star for the Ohio State Buckeyes in the early 1970s, won the Heisman Trophy two times while totaling 5,589 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns. He had 34 100-yard rushing games while playing for Ohio State.
  • Oklahoma – Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)
  • Oregon – Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska)
    • Portland native Ndamukong Suh struck fear in the hearts of all his opponents while at Nebraska in the late 2000s. In his four-year, All-American career he racked up 215 tackles, 49.5 tackles for loss and 24 sacks.
  • Pennsylvania – Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh)
  • Rhode Island – Will Blackmon (Boston College)
  • South Carolina – Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina)
  • South Dakota – Jay Novachek (Wyoming)
  • Tennessee – Reggie White (Tennessee)
  • Texas – Vince Young (Texas)
    • Houston native Vince Young is the quintessential example of Texas greatness on the gridiron. Young finished his Longhorns career with a national title, 6,040 passing yards, 44 passing touchdowns, 3,127 rushing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns.
  • Utah – Steve Young (BYU)
  • Vermont – Steve Wisniewski (Penn State)
  • Virginia – Ron Dayne (Wisconsin)
  • Washington – John Elway (Stanford)
  • West Virginia – Randy Moss (Marshall)
  • Wisconsin – Joe Thomas (Wisconsin)
  • Wyoming – Chris Cooley (Utah State)