McCoy was a wunderkind in college and left school with one year of eligibility remaining. By end of senior year was rated one of the best TBs in the nation after rushing for 1,700 yards and 22 touchdowns, including a 301-yard, 5-TD performance against Fort Pierce Central. Starred at FSU. Page 55. Renfro was a three-year starter at running back and defensive back, and a two-time football All-American. His college choice boiled down to one fact: He and his older brother were Michigan fans. And sometimes we get it really, really wrong. College: The 6-7 Newton was a solid starter at Oregon State, where he was a two-year starter and caught 105 passes for 1,308 yards and 15 touchdowns. Big Ten, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Conference USA. Odighizuwa was a two-time all-stater, including first team as a senior following a 10-sack season. Bob Gibbons jumped on board later. Scored TD and was offensive MVP for Florida team in all-star game against California his senior year. Born: May 22, 1964 (Philadelphia, Mississippi), High school: Philadelphia High School (Philadelphia, Mississippi), High school highlights: Parade All-American (1982), national high school career touchdown rushing record with 87 (since broken), rushed for 7,355 yards and scored 98 total touchdowns, College highlights: Big Eight Newcomer of the Year (1982), AP All-American (1982). Tyrone Moss RB Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach) 2002. Went on to be an All-American at University of Miami and an All-Pro with Philadelphia Eagles. Brock landed one Super Bowl appearance, in 1995 for the San Diego Chargers. Played 14 NFL seasons. Led Raines to undefeated season and state championship in1998. Butkus Award winner as the top college linebacker at Florida State in 1992. Smith won three Super Bowls and became the NFL's career leading rusher. Known for physical style of running, often dragging tacklers for extra yardage every time he ran the ball. Unanimous selections are followed by an asterisk (*). Started at guard for 3 years at University of Florida. All were accorded can't-miss accolades by college coaches, recruiting analysts and media observers. Completed collegiate career as UF's 5th all-time rusher with 3,065 yards. Charles Woodson was a legendary high school athlete in Ohio, and in addition to being all-state in football on offense, defense and special teams, he played point guard on the basketball team and ran track. Born: Feb. 17, 1936 (St. Simons, Georgia), High school: Manhasset Secondary School (Manhasset, New York), High school highlights: Nassau County Football Player of the Year (1952), College highlights: Two-time AP All-American (1955, 1956), Heisman Trophy finalist (1956), two-time NCAA lacrosse All-American (1955, 1956). Currently with the New York Giants. Marty Lyons DL St. Petersburg Catholic 1974. High School . A Pro Football Hall of Famer. Signed with Notre Dame. Was a TE from 1971-76 and an OL from 1977-84. They are:[1] (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) based on the input of more than 2,000 voting members;[2] (2) the Associated Press (AP) selected based on the votes of sports writers at AP newspapers;[3] (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) selected by the nation's football writers;[4] and (4) the United Press International (UPI) selected based on the votes of sports writers at UPI newspapers. Grant: Graduated in 2005. NFL: First pick of the 1955 draft. Averaged 45 yards per punt return and 26.8 per kickoff return, totaling a state record 1,531 return yards as a senior. Listed as 1 of top 3 HS offensive linemen nationally by SuperPrep. College: Brock earned numerous honors during his four-year run at Colorado, including berths on first-team All-America teams as a senior. Oregon, All-American in football and baseball. Was a 2-time pro bowler. Join our linker program. Page 76. Aloha, graduated 2013. Born: Feb. 27. Mountain View: Graduated in 2000. Jeff. Career totals were 6,733 yards and 88 TDs. Was an All-American for the Florida Gators and a first-round draft pick for the Los Angeles Rams in 1969. The son of San Jose State head coach Jack Elway, John decided to play baseball and football at Stanford. Set NCAA record for career TDs in final game. Has 36 career INTs and 4 Pro Bowl appearances as an NFL player. Although a big-time football recruit, Ainge ended up playing basketball at Brigham Young, and was a major league baseball and NBA draft pick. Sprague: Graduated in 2001. Finished college career at South Carolina State. Born: Jan. 21, 1984 (Inglewood, California), High school: Highland High School (Salt Lake City, Utah), High school highlights: USA Today All-American (2001), Utah Gatorade Player of the Year (2001), rugby national champion (2002). Odighizuwa played in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl. State all-time total offense king with 13,042 career yards (9922 pass/3120 rush) and 159 TDs responsible for (96 passing/63 rushing) in 3 years as QB at Nease. Jerome Brown DL Hernando (Brooksville) 1982. Played 18 years in NFL before retiring following 2002 season. Never drafted by NFL because of medical condition. Knee injuries limited Greens NFL career to three years. A do-it-all player who was an All-America selection in sophomore year at Miami where he played both ways. 1 in 1983. The National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1979 season. College: A terrific player at Arizona State, Green posted All-America seasons in 1972 and 1973, and ran for 4,188 yards and 43 touchdowns during his career. 1 overall recruit across the major recruiting services, and with good reason. Named USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year in 1993 for stellar play on Southridge's 15-0 state championship team. Totaled 5,710 rushing yards and 86 TDs in his career. Led NFL WRs in 1975 with 1,063 receiving yards. College: Enyart became one of Oregon States all-time greats. Nkemdiche's career since then, aside from one good season at Ole Miss, has been a study in coming up short of expectations. Played 9 years in the NFL. Everybody makes mistakes. Brock was a two-time all-stater and a Parade All-American. Manti Teo was the first five-star recruit out of Hawaii since 2002 and picked Notre Dame over BYU and USC. Jesuit: Graduated in 1976. 1 player in the nation as a senior. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Ngata, a five-time All-Pro, has $88.3 million in career earnings and retired in March 2019. Zandofsky was a key player on the Spartans 1983 state title team. USA Today National Defensive Player of the Year and everybody's All-American as a senior. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The original All-America team was the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Caspar Whitney and Walter Camp. Born: April 25, 1993 (St. Louis, Missouri), High school: Hillcrest High School (Springfield, Missouri), High school highlights: USA Today Offensive Player of the Year (2011), two-time USA Today All-American (2010, 2011), U.S. Army All-American (2012), College highlights: Sporting News Freshman All-American (2012), All-SEC (2013), NFL career: Tennessee Titans (2015), Philadelphia Eagles (2016). Poll: Who is Oregon's best-ever defensive back? Currently plays for Philadelphia Eagles. He played 14 seasons in the NFL, all for Tampa Bay, and was named to the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team. Parade All-American as a senior, was picked to all-time All-Broward County team by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He did not work hard and he didn't play hard.". Flanagan. St. Louis. All rights reserved (About Us). Success eluded him at Florida State, and he did not make it to the NFL. Had 139 tackles as LB and 388 rushing yards on 18 carries as WB in senior year at Lee, which he helped lead to 3 district titles. Top 50 PARADE All-America High School Football Players Parade May 14, 2009 51 Gallery 51 Images TV Meet Betty, the Real Star of 'Will Trent' Celebs Happy Presidents Day! Born: July 20, 1982 (Sacramento, California), High school: De La Salle High School (Concord, California), High school highlights: USA Today Defensive Player of the Year (1999), USA Today All-American (1999), College highlights: BCS national champion (2001), two-time All-Big East (2002, 2003), NFL career: Denver Broncos (2004-12), Chicago Bears (2013-14). Earnest Graham RB Mariner (Cape Coral) 1997. NFL, second round pick of the 2006 draft. Some, like McCoy, peaked in high school. He's now on his third NFL team with the Titans and is a three-time Pro Bowler. Spiller RB Union County (Lake Butler) 2005. A 3-sport star in football, track and basketball in the early 1960s. 19. These hometown heroes are in a special class of legends. Howingtons career was cut short by injuries, though he played three years and started eight times. Put Central Florida on college football map as star QB who completed 73.6 percent of his passes. City. For as long as high school football has been around, we've tried to sniff out the "next big thing" under those Friday Night Lights. 1 overall recruit in 2012. Drafted out of Penn State in the 4th round of the 1990 draft. The 1978 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1978. Also played for Indianapolis Colts. He announced a transfer to Miami in January 2019 after five-star recruit Justin Fields announced a transfer from Georgia to Ohio State and became eligible immediately. Ken Riley QB/DB Union Academy (Bartow) 1965. Smith dropped like a rock in the 1990 NFL draft because some teams thought the 5-foot-9, 216-pounder was too small and slow (even though he ran a 4.52 40) to play at the next level. Name recognition won the day for Port St. Lucie City Council candidates | Photos, Home where Tyler Hadley killed parents is being demolished, Melissa Stonesifer: Park Avenue BBQ offers friendly service, great comfort food, McDonald's offers 1-cent Big Macs, Quarter Pounders with purchase on Friday. Was 64th on The Sporting News' list of 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999. College: Swancutt stayed local and played four years at Oregon State, where he was the Pac-10 co-defensive player of the year as a senior defensive end. Credited with 36 career sacks. Scouting reports said not to run to Johnson's side, but teams quickly found out that running to Jackson's side was an unacceptable alternative. Was 3-year starter for Irish and collegiate All-American as a senior. Played from 1987-91, picking up 29.5 career sacks in 76 games during his 5-year NFL career. Set several school and Big Ten records at Michigan. A tackling machine for Wildcats' back-to-back state title teams in 1974-75. No. McCoy was a McDonald's All-American. Players are chosen against other players playing at their position only. Became an instant star in NFL after being drafted in 7th round by Cincinnati Bengals. Jadeveon Clowney was the first modern player to be a consensus No. Set numerous all-time marks in Broward history 2,011 yards in a season (2000), 7,105 career yards, 107 career TDs (tied state record), 484 points in 3 straight seasons. Clemens spent 11 years playing for three teams, the New York Jets, St. Louis and San Diego. In his final 2 years, Seabreeze went 19-2-1. Rushed for 2,409 yards and 31 TDs in senior season. Joe Mauer would be much higher on this list if not for the fact that his football recruitment came to a screeching halt when it became clear he would be the No. Played both OT and DT for Panthers. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Helped team to 8-1-1 record and first Big 9 North Conference title in 1965. Green holds ASUs single-season rushing yardage record at 1,565. Played all 11 years of pro career with Jets. All-state selection in football and basketball in the late 1940s. Parade All-American in 1979 on a team with Cris Collinsworth at QB. In football, the list includes Fenwick's Jim DiLullo, Maine South's Tom Spotts, Evanston's Carlos Matthews, Lane Tech's Ken Ferguson, Tilden's Dempsey Norman, St. Rita's John Foley, Lane Tech's Alex Rodriguez, Naperville Central's Tim Lavery, New Trier's Mark Floersch, Proviso East's Philip Macklin, Naperville Central's Ryan Clifford, Maine South's Sean Price and Charlie Goro. 13 overall, of the 1986 draft, FitzPatrick spent seven years in the NFL, playing for San Diego and the Los Angeles Raiders. Mauer, who was committed to play football and baseball at Florida State, was a six-time All-Star in the major leagues and played 14 seasons for the Twins. Set a Knights career rushing record, later broken. Arguably the most exciting and most athletic basketball player ever produced in Illinois, he was a teammate of Kevin Garnett in 1994-95 and Player of the Year in 1995-96. College: Zandofsky ended up at Washington, exclusively playing offensive line, earning multiple all-Pac 10 honors. Became a 6-time Pro Bowl selection at LB in the NFL, winning a Super Bowl ring in 1995 with the San Francisco 49ers. "Lemar put us on the map," Carter said of his childhood idol. Pro: The second pick of the 2010 draft, Suh currently plays for Miami. First round draft pick of the Boston Patriots in 1969. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Young's NFL career was not as notable, and he flamed out after six seasons. Named to Class 5A All-State team as a senior in 1994. First prep QB in US to pass for 4,000 yards in a season as a senior, was 263-of-471 for 4,098 yards and 40 TDs for 12-2 team that was large-class state runner-up to Hialeah Miami Lakes. Derrick Brooks was named one of the 33 greatest players in Florida high school football history in 2007 after a career at Booker T. Washington High where he led his school to the Class 6A semifinals.