SEC Top Football Players per School Spanning the Arkansas Era

[jbcarol]

 AL.com sports‏Verified account @aldotcomSports

How did Joe Namath end up at Alabama?

Listen to him tell the story: https://trib.al/L216bjt

Namath related how he went from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to Tuscaloosa after Alabama assistant coach Howard Schnellenberger arrived at his home "unannounced."

"There was a knock on the door one day," Namath said. "I happened to be home, my mother and I, just the two of us in the house. Knock on the door. I went to the door unsuspecting. I opened it, and there was this big man there with a very deep voice, nearly as deep as coach Bryant's -- he favored coach Bryant in that category, too, and coaching as well. But he introduced himself. My mother came up behind me, and he introduced himself to my mother as being from the University of Alabama.

"What had happened was I didn't pass my college boards at the University of Maryland, and the coach there, Tom Nugent, knew coach Bryant. So he called coach Bryant, and coach Bryant immediately sent Howard north. Alabama had come to recruit me during the basketball season that year, and I wasn't even thinking about where I was going to go to school at that time.

"But my mother liked the way that Howard Schnellenberger presented himself and she wanted me to go to college. And by gosh, she went upstairs, packed a bag that you could put under the seat in front of you on an airplane and said, 'Here you are, coach. Go ahead and take him.' Gave me a five-dollar bill and said, 'Take him.'"

Namath said he wasn't taken with Bryant at first, but grew to appreciate the coach.   

[jbcarol]

Dallas Cowboys‏Verified account @dallascowboys

Dak Prescott reached 3,000 passing yards on the season to become the first quarterback in franchise history to pass for at least 3,000 yards in each of his first two pro seasons, and the 11th signal caller in NFL history to do so.

[jbcarol]

Ross Dellenger
‏Verified account @RossDellenger

Derrius Guice in #LSU record books.

(h/t @MicklesAdvocate)


Guice had 21 carries for 98 yards. He misses breaking Bo Jackson's SEC record of career yards-per-carry, per @tpolitz's chart. I believe he breaks #LSU's school record, set by Fournette.

6.62 ypc

[jbcarol]

Bo knows:


AL.com sports
‏Verified account @aldotcomSports

Bo Jackson says legendary NFL Combine 40 never happened

On Saturday and Monday annually at the NFL Scouting Combine, the 40-yard dash takes center stage for football fans. With the wide receivers running on Saturday and the defensive backs running on Monday, the fastest times of the NFL's gathering of the top draft prospects blaze down the white strip at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on those days.

The fastest 40 time in the "modern" history of the combine is the 4.22-second showing of Washington wide receiver John Ross last year.

The combine concept started in 1982 and became a league-wide event in 1985. Almost half of the annual gatherings could be classified as prehistoric because of the lack of information compared to today's categorized and accessible statistics that come out of Indianapolis.

Throughout the years, stories have been produced with the intent of finding the "true" fastest 40 run at the combine, with Bo Jackson's 40 at the 1986 event, reported at 4.12 seconds, emerging from the mist.

But the man who is supposed to have run that 40 said it never happened.

Jerry Knaak, the team historian of the Oakland Raiders, reported on Friday that Auburn's 1985 Heisman Trophy told him that he didn't attend the workout in New Orleans. Jackson said he couldn't have run the legendary 40 because he wasn't there after declining the NFL's invitation.

"I did not go because I was already picked to be the first person to go in the draft," Jackson told Knaak. "If you're going to be the first person to go in the draft, why should you go to a combine and do all of that? It wasn't built up like it is now. Now it's a TV production; it's a whole show."

But hold on: When Ross ran his 4.22 last year, Jackson sent out a congratulatory tweet welcoming him to the sub-4.22 club.

Jackson told Knaak a story that he previously related to ESPN in 2016: He did run an eye-popping 40, but it was a 4.13-second time and it took place at Auburn before a gathering of NFL personnel while he was on his way to track practice.

[jbcarol]

https://www.seccountry.com/tennessee/tony-romo-pens-heartfelt-letter-to-jason-witten-following-retirement

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports
‏Verified account @aldotcomSports

How many Alabama alumni are on NFL rosters?


58, but no place kicker


AL.com sports
‏Verified account @aldotcomSports

How many Auburn alumni are on NFL rosters?


42, but no punter

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports
‏Verified account @aldotcomSports

Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback @realJoeNamath turns 75 years old... He figures he's entering the fourth quarter. https://trib.al/oA7kzlq

"I made a plan," Namath told the New York Post. "Being a quarterback, we're dealing with sports, we hear about making a plan and trying to move on with the plan.

"My plan was simple. I plan to live to be a hundred and, hopefully, further. When this dude said I'm getting old at 50, I said, 'No, no, no. This is halftime at 50. I'm planning on living to be 100.'

"You mention 75 -- that's the third quarter ending and the fourth quarter starting."

Before Namath became "Broadway Joe," the face of the American Football League and the issuer of the Super Bowl III guarantee, he played football for coach Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama.

Here's a look at Joe Namath from Alabama to today:

Joe Namath was supposed to play football at Maryland. Or he might have signed with the Chicago Cubs organization. Instead he ended up at Alabama. Last year, he explained to Mike Francesa on WFAN in New York how that happened.

"There was a knock on the door one day," Namath said. "I happened to be home, my mother and I, just the two of us in the house. Knock on the door. I went to the door unsuspecting. I opened it, and there was this big man there with a very deep voice, nearly as deep as coach Bryant's -- he favored coach Bryant in that category, too, and coaching as well. But he introduced himself. My mother came up behind me, and he introduced himself to my mother as being from the University of Alabama.

"What had happened was I didn't pass my college boards at the University of Maryland, and the coach there, Tom Nugent, knew coach Bryant. So he called coach Bryant, and coach Bryant immediately sent Howard north. Alabama had come to recruit me during the basketball season that year, and I wasn't even thinking about where I was going to go to school at that time.

"But my mother liked the way that Howard Schnellenberger presented himself and she wanted me to go to college. And by gosh, she went upstairs, packed a bag that you could put under the seat in front of you on an airplane and said, 'Here you are, coach. Go ahead and take him.' Gave me a five-dollar bill and said, 'Take him.'"

[jbcarol]

Eleven former SEC players are on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2019

The nominees from the SEC include EJ Junior, Alabama, Florida offensive tackle Lomas Brown, Arkansas guard Brandon Burlsworth, Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch, LSU running back Kevin Faulk, Tennessee safety Bobby Majors, wide receiver Larry Seivers and linebacker Al Wilson, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Georgia defensive end David Pollack and Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis.

Lomas Brown, Florida, offensive tackle, 1981-84: Brown won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC's best blocker and was a consensus All-American in 1984, when Florida finished first in the conference for the first time (although that title was later vacated). Brown played 18 NFL seasons, including seven as a Pro Bowl selection.

Brandon Burlsworth, Arkansas, guard, 1995-98: Burlsworth was a walk-on who was known more for his thick, black glasses and resemblance to Drew Carey, but he ended up starting 34 consecutive games for the Razorbacks and playing a key role for their 1998 Western Division title team. If elected, he'd become the first Arkansas player from the Razorbacks' SEC era to earn enshrinement. Burlsworth died in a traffic accident 11 days after being picked in the third round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. The Burlsworth Trophy has been given annually since 2010 to the outstanding NCAA FBS player who began his career as a walk-on.

Tim Couch, Kentucky, quarterback, 1996-98: As a senior, Couch set SEC records for pass completions with 400, passing yards with 4,275, completion percentage at .723 and yards of total offense at 4,151. He became the first SEC player with more than 4,000 yards of total offense in a season. Couch finished fourth in the 1998 Heisman Trophy balloting and was the first player selected in the 1999 NFL Draft.

Kevin Faulk, LSU, running back, 1995-98: Faulk is the SEC's leader in career all-purpose yards with 6,833 - 4,557 rushing, 600 receiving, 832 punt-return and 844 kickoff-return yards. That's 952 more all-purpose yards than any other player in SEC history. He's No. 2 on the SEC's all-time touchdown list with 53.

Darren McFadden, running back, Arkansas, 2005-2007: McFadden was the second player to finish second twice in the Heisman Trophy voting -- in 2006 and 2007, when he was the SEC Offensive Player of the Year both years. McFadden also won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back in both those seasons and received the Walter Camp Award as the national player of the year in 2007. When McFadden left Arkansas, he ranked second in SEC history in career rushing yards, and he's still second in the league record book for career all-purpose yards.

David Pollack, Georgia, defensive end, 2001-2004: Pollack is the only two-time winner of the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award. He was also a two-time consensus All-American, and he was a first-team All-American for at least one major selector in three seasons. As a senior, he received the Bednarik Award as the nation's best defensive player, Lombardi Award as the nation's best lineman or linebacker, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which considers personal character and athletic excellence to determine the nation's top defensive player. He also won the Hendricks Award as the nation's best defensive end twice.

Patrick Willis, Ole Miss, linebacker, 2003-2006: Willis was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year for the 2006 season. He also won the Butkus Award as the nation's best linebacker and was a consensus All-American that season. Willis led the SEC in tackles as a junior and as a senior.

Al Wilson, Tennessee, linebacker, 1995-1998: Wilson was a consensus All-American and team captain for the Tennessee squad that won the first BCS national-championship in 1998. The Volunteers won their second straight SEC crown that season, and they haven't won it since. During Wilson's four seasons on Rocky Top, Tennessee compiled a 29-3 SEC record and a 45-5 overall mark.

Last year, eight former SEC players were on the ballot for the Class of 2018, including Brown, Couch, Faulk, Junior and Willis. The three players on last year's ballot who are not on this year's ballot are Auburn linebacker Gregg Carr and defensive back Buddy McClinton and Georgia offensive tackle Matt Stinchcomb. Stinchcomb was chosen for enshrinement in the Class of 2018.

SEC members Arkansas and Texas A&M also have players on the 2019 ballot, but the players -- defensive tackle Dan Hampton of the Razorbacks and defensive lineman Jacob Green of the Aggies -- pre-date those schools' membership in the SEC.

The Class of 2019 will be announced on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, California. The new members will be inducted on Dec. 10, 2019.

[jbcarol]

Adam Schefter
‏Verified account@AdamSchefter

Derrius Guice tore his ACL, per source. Player recently informed.

11:38 AM - 10 Aug 2018

[jbcarol]

Corey Price@coreyp08

There are four players in SEC history to have at least 2,400 career rushing yards and at least 30 career rushing touchdowns prior to their junior season: Herschel Walker, Knowshon Moreno, Leonard Fournette, Benny Snell

[jbcarol]

https://mobile.twitter.com/nickfitz07/status/1038521606883160065

Nick Fitzgerald has most rushing yards by a QB in State history.

[jbcarol]

https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/09/daniel_carlson_loses_nfl_job_a.html

Auburn's all-time place kicker lost NFL job after missing 3 FGs.

[jbcarol]

https://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2018/10/sec_football_legends_2018_clas.html

McFadden leads 2018 SEC Legends Class

[jbcarol]

Gatorsports.com
‏@Gator_sports

Welcome to the ring of honor @TimTebow

[jbcarol]

SEC Network
‏Verified account@SECNetwork

Nick Fitzgerald has done it!

The top rushing QB in SEC history: @HailStateFB's @nickfitz07


1) Nick Fitzgerald - 2,999 Yds
2) Tim Tebow - 2,947 Yds

[jbcarol]

SEC Network
‏Verified account@SECNetwork

Nick Fitzgerald has done it!

The top rushing QB in SEC history: @HailStateFB's @nickfitz07


1) Nick Fitzgerald - 2,999 Yds
2) Tim Tebow - 2,947 Yds

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/mississippi-state-football/former-mississippi-state-qb-nick-fitzgerald-signs-free-agent-contract-with-tampa-bay

[jbcarol]

ESPN officially announces Monday Night Football commentator team following departure of Jason Witten



Booger was an All-American at LSU and an analyst on the SEC Network.  Tessitore did some SEC games in year's past. 

I think Lisa Salters was Penn State.