Tim Tebow, Deion Sanders headline AP's list of best All-Americans from the last 100 years

Yahoo

a day ago

In the last 100 years of college football, no quarterback has been more dominant than Tim Tebow. The Florida star broke the game for three seasons, passing with deadly efficiency and pounding in at least a dozen rushing touchdowns each year.
That dominance led to Tebow placing in the top-5 in Heisman voting in three straight seasons, including a first-place finish in 2007. It also resulted in Tebow winning the national championship twice during his college career.
Though his days at Florida are long gone, Tebow is still getting accolades for his performance there. The Associated Press on Thursday named Tebow as its first-team quarterback on its list of the best All-Americans from the past 100 years.
The AP tabbed 12 writers to vote on the best All-Americans over the last century. Voters had a few rules to consider before casting their votes. Players needed to be an AP first-team All-American at least once over their college careers. A player's professional career did not factor into the voting.
Quarterback was, as you might expect, going to be a crowded position. Tebow ultimately won out over Texas great Vince Young, who was named to the AP's second team on its all-century list.
Here's how the rest of the team came together:
AP All-America first-team offense
Quarterback: Tim Tebow, Florida
Running back: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State
Running back: Herschel Walker, Georgia
Wide receiver: Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh
Wide receiver: Randy Moss, Marshall
Tight end: Brock Bowers, Georgia
Tackle: Orlando Pace, Ohio State
Tackle: Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh
Guard: John Hannah, Alabama
Guard: Jim Parker, Ohio State
Center: Chuck Bednarik, Penn
All Purpose: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska
Kicker: Sebastian Janikowski, Florida State
AP All-America first-team defense
Defensive end: Hugh Green, Pittsburgh
Defensive end: Randy White, Maryland
Defensive tackle: Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
Defensive tackle: Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota
Linebacker: Dick Butkus, Illinois
Linebacker: Derrick Thomas, Alabama
Linebacker: Chris Spielman, Ohio State
Cornerback: Charles Woodson, Michigan
Cornerback: Deion Sanders, Florida State
Safety: Ronnie Lott, USC
Safety: Ed Reed, Miami
Punter: Tory Taylor, Iowa
On the defensive side, both Deion Sanders and Ed Reed headline a dominant secondary, which also features Charles Woodson. While the AP's list skewed more recent, Dick Butkus, Randy White and Bronko Nagurski represent some of the older players named to the team. Nagurski was an All-American back in 1929.
AP All-America second-team offense
Quarterback: Vince Young, Texas
Running back: Archie Griffin, Ohio State
Running back: Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh
Wide receiver: DeVonta Smith, Alabama
Wide receiver: Desmond Howard, Michigan
Tight end: Keith Jackson, Oklahoma
Tackle: Jonathan Ogden, UCLA
Tackle: Bryant McKinnie, Miami
Guard: Brad Budde, USC
Guard: John Smith, Notre Dame
Center: Dave Rimington, Nebraska
All Purpose: Tim Brown, Notre Dame
Kicker: Martin Gramatica, Kansas State
AP All-America second team defense
Defensive end: Bubba Smith, Michigan State
Defensive end: Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech
Defensive tackle: LeeRoy Selmon, Oklahoma
Defensive tackle: Warren Sapp, Miami
Linebacker: Jerry Robinson, UCLA
Linebacker: Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma
Linebacker: Lawrence Taylor, North Carolina
Cornerback: Champ Bailey, Georgia
Cornerback: Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
Safety: Bennie Blades, Miami
Safety: Al Brosky, Illinois
Punter: Reggie Roby, Iowa
Ohio State, Miami and Pittsburgh are among the most represented schools to be featured across both teams. All three schools have four players on the all-time All-American list.