2 Indianapolis Colts' ranked among best college football players of the 2000s
2 Indianapolis Colts' ranked among best college football players of the 2000s One current and one former member of the Indianapolis Colts were named among the top 25 college football players of the 2000s by The Athletic.
One current and one former member of the Indianapolis Colts were named among the top 25 college football players of the 2000s, a list that was put together by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman.
In order to construct this list, Feldman reached out to "three dozen" coaches, TV analysts, and NFL scouts, asking who was the best collegiate player over the last 25 years.
Coming in at No. 25 on that list for the Colts was current left guard Quenton Nelson, who played his college career at Notre Dame.
Nelson was named an All-American during his final season, and over his three years as a starter, he was consistently one of PFF's highest graded guards as both a run blocker and as a pass protector during that span.
In 2017, Notre Dame's 6.3 yards per rush average as a team was the third-highest mark in all of college football, and as Feldman noted, the Irish accomplished that without having a "star running back."
The Colts made Nelson the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and since then, he has provided stability to the Indianapolis offensive line unit, which includes making seven Pro Bowls, along with being a three-time All-Pro.
The second Colts player to make an appearance on Feldman's list was quarterback Andrew Luck, who played at Stanford and was No. 12 on the list. Over Luck's final two seasons, he completed an impressive 71% of his passes, throwing for 6,855 yards with 69 touchdowns to just 18 interceptions.
He was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy twice, a winner of the Maxwell Award, and a winner of the Walter Camp award as well.
'The only time I can remember during my scouting career where they told me, 'This guy teaches the install on the first day of camp.' They just let him get up there and teach it,' said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former NFL scout. 'They give him multiple huddle calls and let him run the game at the line of scrimmage. He just had more intellectual power than anybody I've ever scouted.'
The Colts took Luck with the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2018. Luck would also lead the Colts to the playoffs in four seasons, including an AFC Championship appearance in 2014.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Phoenix Suns aggressively trying to trade Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets
It's no secret that the Phoenix Suns are trying to trade Kevin Durant this offseason. One of the greatest scorers of all time, Durant has enjoyed a very accomplished career that includes an NBA championship, an MVP, 15 All-Star appearances, 11 All-NBA selections, and four scoring titles. Set to turn 37 in September, Durant should still have some strong value via trade. After all, he still averaged 26.6 points per game while shooting 43% from distance. That type of skillset fits any offense, yet the Suns are reportedly trying to negotiate with a specific team. Advertisement According to The Athletic's Kelly Iko, the Suns have been trying to trade Durant to the Houston Rockets in an effort to get their draft picks back. Remember, Houston is in possession of Phoenix's first-round picks in 2025, 2027, and 2029, stemming from the initial Durant trade to the Nets, who then traded those selections to the Rockets later on. 'Phoenix is aggressive in pursuit of a) trading Kevin Durant and b) regaining full control of their draft capital starting with the No. 10 pick in next month's draft, team sources said. Since the conclusion of the season, Houston has fielded several calls from Phoenix, who have since gradually lowered their asking price for Durant, those sources said. There is a price where the Rockets would be interested, but with a fear of breaking up their roster for a 36-year-old coming off injury, doubt remains over a deal materializing.' The Athletic's Kelly Iko on Rockets/Durant trade The fact that Phoenix continues to lower its asking price for Durant is a strong indication that they're desperate to move off from the final year of his contract, where he's set to earn $54.7 million. Durant landing in Houston would at least send him to another contender, but are the Rockets looking to break up their young core for an aging superstar? Yet, it's also possible the Suns are just trying to get the draft picks from Houston, but still send Durant to another city. Either way, it's clear the Suns are looking to deal. Related: Phoenix Suns narrow head coaching hire down to two finalists from the same team Related Headlines
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NBA execs believe Zion Williamson's trade value has tanked to a new low
Seemingly from the moment he was selected first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, there has been some semblance of trade rumors involving Zion Williamson. Yet, those rumors have never materialized into an actual deal. Is this the offseason where the Pelicans are finally willing to listen to offers for their face of the franchise? That remains to be seen, but some would suggest the Pelicans would be dealing the two-time All-Star at a bad time. Advertisement Not only was he limited to just 30 games this past season due to a back injury, now the soon-to-be 25-year-old has been accused of rape and domestic violence. In other words, teams may not want anything to do with the superstar talent. So it comes as no surprise to see Shamit Dua's report that Williamson's trade value is now at a new all-time low. 'There seems to be this general idea of like you kind of saw it with with like Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis that like there will be teams that do not necessarily care about the reputation provided they have enough general information to know that this is going to get settled out of court and the allegations won't stick. There will be teams who do not care and but those teams who do not care need to be sufficiently desperate one and two they're not going to give you anything of value. So you're going to get really bad contracts and likely no picks. But if you do get a pick, it's a late pick. So an example would be Andrew Wiggins and Duncan Robinson for Zion and some small salary just to kind of make it even.' Shamit Dua on Zion Williamson's trade value Are the Pelicans that eager to move away from the player with the most potential on the roster? Is the fanbase ready to move on from Williamson? After the latest allegations, anything is possible. Yet, other teams could view Williamson's situation as a golden opportunity, giving them a chance to add a potential top-tier talent at a fraction of the usual price. Advertisement Related: Phoenix Suns aggressively trying to trade Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets Related Headlines
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Aaron Donald On The Los Angeles Rams Entering 2025 Season: ‘The Sky's The Limit'
Aaron Donald says the "sky's the limit" for the Los Angeles Rams entering the 2025 season and that ... More they just need more "consistency" to be an elite team. (Photo by) Aaron Donald isn't far removed from his legendary NFL career, so he's very familiar with these Los Angeles Rams. The greatest defensive tackle of his generation retired after 10 years following the 2023 season, helping lead the Rams back into the postseason after a disappointing 5-12 season during the 2022 campaign. They narrowly lost to the Detroit Lions in the wild card round, 24-23, while playing on the road. Los Angeles followed up that strong showing with an even better result, advancing to the divisional round before narrowly losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-23, in Philadelphia. The showing was even more impressive considering the Rams were playing in snow-filled conditions and considering they were dealing with the unfortunate Los Angeles wildfires at the time. The Rams are looking to take that next step from being a playoff team into an elite one. Donald, who won a Super Bowl in 2021, says Los Angeles just needs more "consistency" in order to get to that next level. "Just leadership and consistency," says Donald in a one-on-one interview. "Trust in the process, lean on each other, as long as they do that, they'll be fine. Sports is an adversity sport, with a lot of ups and downs. You have to ride the roller coaster, but at the same time, all the guys in the building have to stick together." The Rams actually gave the eventual Super Bowl champions their stiffest test of the playoffs, with the Eagles winning their games by an average margin of over 20 points per game. Donald says the "sky's the limit" for this Los Angeles squad, which is completely revamped from the Super Bowl team. They only have eight players remaining from the 2021 roster. "They got pretty close last year with a team where nobody expected them to be," says Donald of last year's Rams. "It's not going to be a surprise this year with that young defense. They just have to come ready, the leadership role has got to be on point when it pertains to the defensive side of the ball and as long as they do that, the sky's the limit." Donald is high on the Rams' defensive unit, led by two Rookie of the Year candidates from last year in Jared Verse and Braden Fiske. Both finished in the top three in voting, with Verse walking away with the award after posting 36 tackles and 4.5 sacks. "They're a good team, they were fun to watch last year," says Donald. "Obviously, offense is loaded, young defense, but this is the second year that young defense gets to play with each other. I think they're going to continue to be better, looking for a better year this year than last year. Obviously, fun to watch from the stands and cheer these guys on and hopefully they can continue to have a lot of success." Aaron Donald Accepts $100K Donation From Raising Cane's For AD99 Foundation The 33-year-old is keeping busy in his post-playing career with his AD99 Foundation. The non-profit foundation was created to empower youth, with its roots being in Pittsburgh -- Donald's hometown area -- but now expanding to Los Angeles, where the future Hall of Fame defensive tackle spent his playing career. "Raising Cane's is donating $100,000 to my foundation AD99," says Donald of his involvement with Raising Cane's. "We've been established in Pittsburgh for the past few years, but we're expanding to the Los Angeles area now. We've been trying to pursue and talk about it for years now. Obviously the donation is going to do a lot for programming, things that we want to do in the Los Angeles area. We're ahead of the game right now, so we can seek to do some great things with the youth, from mentoring programs and different things like that, to keep these kids on track. It's a big day, a fun day, an exciting day for the foundation." Los Angeles Rams great Aaron Donald accepts $100K donation from Raising Cane's for his AD99 ... More Foundation. (Photo byfor Raising Cane's) The three-time Defensive Player of the Year explains why this foundation is so important to him, considering his upbringing and what he saw growing up in the inner city of Pittsburgh. "I grew up in the Pittsburgh area, in the inner city of Pittsburgh, where I had a lot of friends that had all the potential in the world to be in a position where I'm at today," says Donald. "A lot of my friends didn't have the support system behind them or didn't have somebody to keep them on the right track. They chose to do different things where a lot of my friends were murdered, and were in and out of jail." Donald says he wants to use his platform to get kids to college and pursuing a career. "The big picture is, I wanted to create something to kind of collapse that stigma of growing up with carrying guns, selling drugs, doing the things that you're not supposed to be doing," Donald says. "The positive that comes out of going to school, doing your work, going to practice, the disciplined structure from that can help you in life. I'm creating a lane for these kids that can create that and be that. "I just want to do everything I can, use my platform, use my resources, to help these kids to get to college," Donald continues to say. "Sports is cool, but sports isn't the end all, be all. That's just a stepping stool. It's about being the best they can in life and getting kids to college and following a career. That's what it's about."
