Best College Football Player at Each Position from Last Decade
College football fans have been able to enjoy some of the greatest players of all time just in this last decade.
From 2005 to 2014, plenty of stars rewrote record books and piled up individual and team awards. An SEC quarterback won almost every trophy imaginable. A Big 12 defensive tackle became a household name and earned honors that only offensive stars were supposed to get. A Big Ten linebacker channeled the energy of his famous father and was a mainstay for several title-winning teams.
Condensing a decade of excellent football into just 10 noteworthy players means plenty of Heisman winners, All-Americans and record-breakers are going to miss the cut.
There are a number of ways in which one could determine the "best" of the last decade. The players on this list—the best at each positional unit in the last 10 years—were chosen because of their individual awards, All-American team appearances and number of times they were near the top of the national stat sheets. (To narrow the pool, players who saw the field prior to the 2005 season were not eligible for this list.)
Of course, there is plenty of room for debate on this list, even among the honorable mentions. Each college football fan could come up with his or her own unique picks, so share your own selections for the best players of the last decade in the comments below.
Quarterback: Tim Tebow (Florida)
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Ignore his pro career and all the drama that has surrounded it—Tim Tebow is possibly the most decorated college football player of all time.
The bruising dual-threat quarterback backed up Chris Leak as a freshman in 2006 and scored a pair of touchdowns in Florida's national championship romp over Ohio State. In 2007, Florida lost four games, but Tebow still won the Heisman Trophy by becoming the first player to have at least 20 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season.
The 2008 season featured another national championship for Tebow's Gators and a third-place finish in Heisman voting, even though he had the most first-place votes. By the end of the 2009 season, Tebow was breaking school and conference records and was once again a Heisman contender and BCS bowl winner, even after Florida fell short of repeating as SEC champion.
Tebow finished his amazing collegiate career with 9,285 passing yards, 2,947 rushing yards, 88 passing touchdowns, 57 rushing touchdowns, a pass efficiency rating of 170.8—the second-best mark in FBS history—and a trophy case full of team and individual awards.
Honorable Mention: Andrew Luck (Stanford), Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), Jameis Winston (Florida State)
Running Back: Darren McFadden (Arkansas)
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Only two players have ever won the Doak Walker Award twice in their career. One of them is Texas' Ricky Williams, and the other is Arkansas' Darren McFadden, who was a do-it-all player for the Razorbacks from 2005 to 2007.
In three seasons at Arkansas, McFadden ran for more than 4,500 yards, putting him behind only the legendary Herschel Walker for most in SEC history. Add in his work in receiving and passing—he played quarterback at times during the height of the Wildcat's popularity—and he has the fifth-most all-purpose yards in the conference record books.
After a breakout 2005 freshman season, McFadden grabbed the honor as the nation's top running back with 1,647 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He was a consensus All-American and finished second in Heisman voting, losing to Ohio State's Troy Smith.
In 2007, McFadden's numbers improved across the board as he took home the Doak Walker Award and consensus All-American honors once again. He finished second in Heisman voting once again—this time losing out to Tebow—and then became the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, an incredibly high selection for a modern running back.
Honorable Mention: Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin), Mark Ingram (Alabama), LaMichael James (Oregon)
Wide Receiver: Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech)
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Michael Crabtree only played two seasons at Texas Tech, but those two years were the best a college wide receiver could have.
After redshirting in 2006, partly due to paperwork issues with his old high school, Crabtree broke most of the all-time FBS receiving records for freshmen and became the first freshman to win the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's best wideout. His 22 receiving touchdowns that season broke the Big 12 record.
In 2008, Crabtree did it all again—he was a unanimous All-American for the second straight season and was the first player to ever win the Biletnikoff Award in back-to-back years. He had one of the most famous touchdown receptions of the last decade in a last-second win over No. 1 Texas, and the Red Raiders were national title contenders heading into the final few weeks of the regular season.
Crabtree won every individual honor short of the Heisman Trophy in back-to-back years. His 41 career touchdowns rank 10th-most all-time, which is remarkable considering the rest of the names in the top 10 played at least three seasons of college ball.
Honorable Mention: Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State), Amari Cooper (Alabama), Percy Harvin (Florida)
Tight End: Jermaine Gresham (Oklahoma)
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Several tight ends have recorded standout seasons in the last decade. But none of them quite had the pair of years Jermaine Gresham had at Oklahoma.
After scoring just one touchdown in 2006, Gresham had a monster 2007 season with the Sooners, who won the Big 12 title that year. Gresham's 11 receiving touchdowns that year ranked second in the conference among any player—including wide receivers.
Gresham's stats improved in 2008, when Oklahoma repeated as the Big 12 champion and made it to the BCS National Championship Game. He fell just shy of 1,000 receiving yards on the season and found the end zone 14 times to bring his career total to 26 touchdowns, a fantastic amount for a tight end.
He was a first-team All-American in 2008 but lost the Mackey Award to Missouri's Chase Coffman, who had slightly more yards than him that season but fewer touchdowns. The 6'5" Gresham was a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL draft and has made the Pro Bowl twice in his career.
Honorable Mention: Tyler Eifert (Notre Dame), Nick O'Leary (Florida State), Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Washington)
Offensive Lineman: Barrett Jones (Alabama)
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Barrett Jones didn't just win multiple national championships and individual awards during his career at Alabama—he did it while playing three different positions.
After redshirting in 2008, Jones started for Alabama's 2009 title team at right guard and was an easy pick for several All-Freshman teams. He locked down the position again in 2010, the only season in which he didn't win a national title as a starter.
In 2011, the Crimson Tide needed some help at right tackle, so Jones moved to the outside, became a consensus All-American and won the Outland Trophy in addition to a national championship ring.
As a senior, he showcased his versatility once more by moving to a new position again. In his one and only year as a starting center, Jones won the Rimington Award as the nation's best player at the position and became an All-American once again on a national title squad. Wherever this Tide lineman went, success followed him.
Honorable Mention: Reese Dismukes (Auburn), Jake Matthews (Texas A&M), Russell Okung (Oklahoma State)
Defensive Lineman: Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska)
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Ndamukong Suh is one of the most dominant defensive tackles the game has ever seen, and his senior season garnered some recognition that is normally reserved for offensive stars.
Suh was a reliable rotation option as a freshman at Nebraska and then turned into a consistent starter his sophomore season. In his junior season with the Huskers, Suh led the team in tackles and received some votes as an All-American at his position.
The rest of the country found out about how great he was in 2009. His senior season featured 85 tackles (20.5 for loss), 19 quarterback hurries, 12 sacks, 10 pass breakups, three blocked kicks and an interception. The intense defensive tackle saved his best performance for the biggest stage, when he had an amazing 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in a controversial Big 12 Championship Game loss to Texas.
Suh won the Nagurski, Lombardi, Bednarik and Outland and became the first defensive player to win the Associated Press' National Player of the Year Award. The Heisman finalist—a rare honor for a defensive lineman—was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft and has made four Pro Bowl teams in the NFL.
Honorable Mention: Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina), Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh), Brian Orakpo (Texas)
Linebacker: James Laurinaitis (Ohio State)
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James Laurinaitis was an animal for Ohio State during one of its most successful runs as a program—four seasons with at least 10 wins, three straight outright Big Ten titles and back-to-back appearances in the BCS National Championship Game.
In his true freshman season of 2005, Laurinaitis worked his way into the linebacker rotation for the Buckeyes and made his first career start in a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.
As a sophomore, he had his best season with 115 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, four sacks and three forced fumbles. That phenomenal output landed him the Nagurski Trophy, which is awarded to the best defensive player in the country.
During his final two years at Ohio State, Laurinaitis' tackle numbers improved as he continued to rack up consensus All-American and All-Big Ten honors. With three straight All-American nods and three different awards as college football's best linebacker, it's hard to find a more successful and consistent defensive star than Laurinaitis.
Honorable Mention: Luke Kuechly (Boston College), Rey Maualuga (USC), Manti Te'o (Notre Dame)
Defensive Back: Eric Berry (Tennessee)
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Eric Berry's career at Tennessee might have coincided with the program's slide down the SEC food chain, but it wasn't because he wasn't producing at safety.
Berry started from day one at Tennessee and immediately became a star, breaking a Tennessee record for interception return yardage and leading SEC freshmen in tackles for the 2007 season. One of his most memorable plays of that year came against Florida in the Swamp, when he jumped a route for an interception and juked Tim Tebow on his way to a 96-yard touchdown.
Everyone knew about Berry by his sophomore season, and he earned unanimous All-American honors along with being named the SEC's Defensive Player of the Year. He had seven interceptions that season—tied for the most in the country—and he returned two of them for touchdowns. According to his bio on Tennessee's website, he was the only player in the country to have a pick in seven different games in 2008.
Berry ended his collegiate career with a bang by winning the Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back and another unanimous selection to the All-American team. His 494 yards on interception returns rank second-most all-time among FBS players. For three straight seasons, Berry was a superstar, providing big hits and big turnovers for the Tennessee defense.
Honorable Mention: Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio State), Tyrann Mathieu (LSU), Patrick Peterson (LSU)
Specialist: Roberto Aguayo (Florida State)
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Roberto Aguayo's spectacular collegiate career has at least one more year left in it, and he's already on pace to become one of the best kickers of all time.
As a redshirt freshman in 2013, Aguayo took home the Groza Award as the nation's best kicker during an extremely efficient season. Aguayo went 21-for-22 on field goals—his only miss came in a blowout win against Wake Forest—and hit all 94 of his PAT tries on Florida State's national-championship-winning team.
Aguayo's deadly accuracy slipped in 2014, but it was still one of the best in the entire country. Aguayo hit 27 of his 30 field goal tries, which put him fifth nationally in percentage. He hit a crucial 53-yard field goal, which tied his career long, in the fourth quarter of a comeback win against Miami.
Heading into his junior season, Aguayo has hit 92.3 percent of his field goals and still hasn't missed an extra point. If he has another excellent season for the Seminoles in 2015, he will break the all-time record for career field-goal percentage set by Nebraska's Alex Henery, who hit 89.5 percent of his career attempts.
Honorable Mention: Ryan Allen (Louisiana Tech), Drew Butler (Georgia), Alex Henery (Nebraska)
Returner: Tyler Lockett (Kansas State)
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From 2011 to 2014, Tyler Lockett was a constant special teams menace at Kansas State. After cementing himself as one of the best on kickoffs in college football, Lockett then added punt returning and excelled in that category, too.
As a freshman, Lockett averaged a stunning 35.2 yards on 16 kick returns—the nation's best average. The All-American return man took two back for touchdowns, including a 96-yarder in the annual rivalry game against Kansas.
In 2012, Lockett led the Big 12 once again with 32.8 yards per kick return and finished fourth on the national charts. He recorded a pair of touchdowns again that year, placing him in the top 10 all-time in career scores on kickoffs.
Following a quiet 2013 season, Lockett became the Wildcats' punt returner as a senior in 2014 and led the nation with an average of 19.14 yards. He was a consensus All-American at return specialist and also found the end zone two more times to cap an amazing career of special teams excellence.
Honorable Mention: Javier Arenas (Alabama), DeSean Jackson (Cal), C.J. Spiller (Clemson)
All stats from 2008-2014 courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Justin Ferguson is an on-call college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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