Roy Exum
It is the greatest football argument that will never go away. “Who was better -- Georgia’s Herschel Walker or Auburn’s Bo Jackson?” Herschel just got a leg up on Bo when the Football Writers of America Association announced its 75th Anniversary All-American Team this week. Both running backs won the Heisman Trophy, but Herschel was named on the first team of the glitter squad while Bo was on the third team.
The Football Writers Association was founded in 1941 and, now that we are 10 days away from the start of the college season, football fans everywhere can argue each position because who really knows how Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson compare? They played on different teams at different times and I will say this after watching both careers – they are the best college athletes I have ever seen.
Herschel, who played for the Bulldogs for three years (1980-82), was an All-American every year and won the Heisman Award in 1982.
He rushed for a career 5,259 yards, averaging 5.3 yards a carry. Bo, who has been named by ESPN as “the greatest athlete of all-time” after being the only man to ever be named All-Pro in both the NFL and Major League Baseball, won the Heisman Award at Auburn in 1985.
Unlike Herschel, Bo played four years for the Tigers, ended up with 4,303 career yards and an average of 6.6 yards per carry. He had 43 touchdowns at Auburn while Herschel scored 49 TDs during his three-year stint. Walker did not play as a senior at Georgia because the now-defunct United States Football League accepted players after their junior year. He played for the New Jersey Generals and, after he signed, the team was immediately bought by Donald Trump, now of political fame.
Kirk Bohis, who writes for the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, headed the selection committee and later said, “This was one of the most fun, yet most difficult exercises I’ve had in life – next to parallel parking, that is!”
Among names you will immediately recognize are John Hannah, named to the first team on the offensive line after starring in high school at Baylor, and Reggie White, the Howard High product who is on the third team as a defensive end.
For old guys like me this stuff is fun and, while I believe I can argue any position with some degree of success, here is the Football Writers’ version of the best players in the last 75 years:
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75TH ALL-AMERICANS
THE OFFENSE
QUARTERBACK – First Team: Roger Staubach, Navy; Second Team: Tim Tebow, Florida; Third Team; Tommie Frazier, Nebraska.
RUNNING BACK -- First Team: Archie Griffin, Ohio State; Second Team: Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh; Third Team: Bo Jackson, Auburn.
RUNNING BACK -- First Team: Herschel Walker, Georgia; Second Team: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State; Third Team: Doak Walker, SMU.
WIDE RECEIVER -- First Team: Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh; Second Team: Fred Biletnikoff, Florida State; Third Team: Anthony Carter, Michigan.
WIDE RECEIVER – First Team: Jerry Rice, Miss. Valley State; Second Team: Randy Moss, Marshall; Third Team: Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech.
TIGHT END – Keith Jackson, Oklahoma; Second Team: Mike Ditka, Pittsburgh; Third Team: Gordon Hudson, Brigham Young.
OFFENSIVE LINE – First Team: John Hannah, Alabama; Second Team: Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh; Third Team: Barrett Jones, Alabama.
OFFENSIVE LINE – First Team: Orlando Pace, Ohio State; Second Team: John Hicks, Ohio State; Third Team: Willie Roaf, Louisiana Tech.
OFFENSIVE LINE – First Team: Will Shields, Nebraska; Second Team: Calvin Jones, Iowa; Third Team: Jerry Sizemore, Texas
OFFENSIVE LINE – First Team: Ron Yary, Southern Cal; Second Team: Jonathan Ogden, UCLA; Third Team: Dean Steinkuhler, Nebraska.
CENTER – First Team: Dave Rimington, Nebraska; Second Team: Chuck Bednarik, Penn; Third Team: Jim Ritcher, N.C. State
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE TACKLE –First Team: Lee Roy Selmon, Oklahoma; Second Team: Merlin Olsen, Utah State; Third Team: Steve Emtman, Washington.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE – First Team: Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska; Second Team: Randy White, Maryland; Third Team: Reggie White, Tennessee.
DEFENSIVE END – First Team: Leon Hart, Notre Dame; Second Team: Hugh Green, Pittsburgh; Third Team: Bubba Smith, Michigan State.
DEFENSIVE END – First Team: Ted Hendricks, Miami (Fla.); Second Team: Brian Smith, Va. Tech; Third Team: Jack Youngblood, Florida.
LINEBACKER – First Team: Tommy Nobis, Texas; Second Team: Brian Bosworth, Oklahoma; Third Team: Jack Ham, Penn State
LINEBACKER – First Team: Mike Singletary, Baylor; Second Team: Dick Butkus, Illinois; Third Team: Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama.
LINEBACKER – First Team: Derrick Thomas, Alabama; Second Team: Luke Kuechly, Boston College; Third Team: Chris Spielman, Ohio State.
DEFENSIVE BACK – Ronnie Lott, Southern Cal; Second Team: Champ Bailey, Georgia; Third Team: Dre’ Bly, North Carolina.
DEFENSIVE BACK -- First Team: Deon Sanders, Florida State; Second Team: Kenny Easley, UCLA; Third Team: Dave Brown, Michigan.
DEFENSIVE BACK – First Team: Jack Tatum, Ohio State; Second Team: Jerry Gray, Texas; Third Team: Troy Potamalu, Southern Cal.
DEFENSIVE BACK – First Team: Charles Woodson, Michigan; Second Team: Ed Reed, Miami (Fla.); Third Team: Roy Williams, Oklahoma
SPECIALISTS
PUNTER -- First Team: Ray Guy, Southern Miss; Second Team: Russell Erxleben, Texas; Third Team: Rohn Stark, Florida State.
PLACE KICKER – First Team: Kevin Butler, Georgia; Second Team: Mason Crosby, Colorado; Third Team: Tony Franklin, Texas &MM.
RETURN SPECIALIST -- First Team: Johnny Rogers, Nebraska; Second Team: Raghib Ismail, Notre Dame; Third Team: Derek Abney, Kentucky.
75th ANNIVERSARY ALL-AMERICANS BY SCHOOL --(75 players from 41 schools): Nebraska 6, Ohio State 5, Pittsburgh 5, Alabama 4, Oklahoma 4, Texas 4, Florida State 3, Georgia 3, Michigan 3, USC 3, Florida 2, Miami (Fla.) 2, Notre Dame 2, UCLA 2, Auburn 1, Baylor 1, Boston College 1, BYU 1, Colorado 1, Georgia Tech 1, Illinois 1, Iowa 1, Kentucky 1, Louisiana Tech 1, Marshall 1, Maryland 1, Michigan State 1, Mississippi Valley State 1, Navy 1, North Carolina 1, N.C. State 1, Oklahoma State 1, Penn 1, Penn State 1, SMU 1, Southern Miss 1, Tennessee 1, Texas A&M 1, Utah State 1, Virginia Tech 1, Washington 1.
75th ANNIVERSARY ALL-AMERICANS BY CURRENT CONFERENCE -- Big Ten Conference 19, Atlantic Coast Conference 15, Southeastern Conference 13, Big 12 Conference 10, Pac-12 Conference 7, Conference USA 3, Independents 3, American Athletic Conference 2, Ivy League 1, Mountain West Conference 1, Southwestern Athletic Conference 1.
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