The Best AU Football Players of the Last 50 Years

OutPhillip's blog: Best of the best
Phillip Marshall
Who is the best football player in Auburn history? Is it Cam Newton? Bo Jackson? Pat Sullivan? Tucker Frederickson? Could it be Tracy Rocker? Nick Fairley?


Senior Editor Phillip MarshallOr could it be Travis Tidwell? Or Jimmy “Red” Phillips? Or Jackie Burkett? Or Zeke Smith? Or Monk Gafford? Or Jimmy Hitchcock? Or Walter Gilbert?

So many great players have worn Auburn colors. How do you decide who was the greatest ever? It’s a very subjective exercise. I really can’t offer an informed opinion on the ones who played before my time.

But here is my very subjective top 10 from the last 50 seasons (1961-2010):

RB Bo Jackson. He was so fast and so big and so talented that he dominated any field on which he played. He could do things a mortal man shouldn’t be able to do.

QB Cam Newton. If Newton had done for multiple years what he did for one, he’d be at the top. Like a shooting star, he was here and gone. But he had the single greatest season of any football player I’ve ever seen at any level.

RB/DB Tucker Frederickson. The Bo Jackson of his day, on both sides of the football.

DT Tracy Rocker. The most decorated defensive lineman in SEC history, Rocker could take over a game in ways defensive linemen aren’t supposed to be able to do. Nick Fairley came close for one season, but Rocker did it for four seasons.

QB Pat Sullivan. The strongest leader I’ve ever been around. A great athlete in his own right. He could have played professional baseball.

WR Terry Beasley. An incredible talent who would be as great today as he was 40 years ago.

RB Carnell Williams. Had he not missed parts of two seasons with fluke injuries, he would have challenged Jackson’s career rushing record.

[RB James Brooks. A threat to go the distance every time he touched it. At 180 pounds, looked up defenders to run over.

DT Nick Fairley. As dominant for one season as any defensive lineman in Auburn history.

CB Carlos Rogers. The epitome of a shutdown corner. Also terrific against the running game.