CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Four => Big Ten => Topic started by: OrangeAfroMan on March 12, 2026, 10:19:07 PM
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Who are your 4 best pass-rushing edge guys in college football history?
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Reggie White
Lawrence Taylor
Dwight Freeney
Myles Garrett
JJ Watt
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Terrell Suggs has to be in the conversation.
So does Tom Burke.
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Edge rusher is almost a seperate catagory from DE.
Had to look up Von Miller remembering him more with Denver - Ya he was a terror at aTm. - he's in. So continuing on with a search engine
Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue A 2010 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year who recorded 34 career sacks and tied an FBS record with 14 forced fumbles.
Vic Beasley Broke Clemson’s career sack record with 33 sacks in his final three seasons.
Well,Mike Vrabel wasn't too shabby either - he is the all-time leading sack artist among defensive linemen in Ohio State football history, recording 36 career sacks from 1993 to 1996. Vrabel also holds the school records for career tackles for loss (66) and single-season sacks (13 in 1996).
Those would be my FOUR I'm not sure if todays stats would factor in extended season and post season results
Honorable mention might go to Jarvis Jones from Georgia he had 28 sacks in just two seasons. But he left for a payday and won't miss my vote one bit
Edit if you are including LBs then I'd move out Beasely and include Terrell Suggs in the final 4
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Dawg fans usually put Pollack ahead of Jarvis Jones. I don't know if he's in the top four overall, but he might make that HM spot.
Pollack’s 36 career sacks are seven more than anyone else on Georgia’s all-time list, and he is one of only two Georgia players in history to be a three-time All-American— the other being Herschel Walker. He won the Ted Hendricks Trophy twice as the nation’s best defensive end, the Lombardi Award in 2004 and the Bednarik Award in 2004 as the best defensive player in college football. Pollack was also a three-time First-Team All-SEC selection, and won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year twice.
Of course, his NFL career was ... interrupted, and we should consider that of course ...
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Of course, his NFL career was ... interrupted, and we should consider that of course ...
:57:
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Trev Alberts was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa
While attending the University of Nebraska, he played for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team from 1990 to 1993. Following his senior season in 1993, he was awarded the Dick Butkus Award and Jack Lambert Trophy as the top college linebacker; Alberts was also recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, after recording 15 quarterback sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 38 quarterback hurries. Despite an injury early in the eleventh game of the season against the Oklahoma Sooners, Alberts returned with a cast on his arm for the national championship game against Florida State in the Orange Bowl. Although the Seminoles won 18–16, Alberts had a dominant performance with three sacks of Heisman Trophy-winner Charlie Ward (FSU quarterbacks were sacked only five times during the 1993 regular season).
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I was in attendance at that game
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Why might one consider the NFL careers in judging COLLEGE athletes?
Well, one obvious reason is the college playing field is not level, or at least, a lot less level than the NFL. A QB might put up ridiculous stats at say Hawaii because of "System" and then do zip in the League. Others might have played in a run oriented offense in college and then later shined.
Is that fair? Who cares? When the criteria are laid out to list one's OPINIONS about whatever, one is thus free to use whatever metrics one wishes. Otherwise, one can just list quantifiables, the QBs with the most passing yards career and be done with it.
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Tom Burke still holds the record for most sacks in a season (22, 1998, 11 games) plus two more in the Rose Bowl (which the NCAA doesn't count like the dumbasses they are).
24 sacks, 12 games.
Terrell Suggs had 24 in 13 games.
Derrick Thomas had 27 in 12 games.
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JJ Watt was a beast in college, and I would put him on the Wisconsin Mt. Rushmore, but not the college one. If he had stuck around for his senior year and led the Badgers to a national title, rather than merely the Rose Bowl, I would feel differently.
David Pollack
Terrell Suggs
Julius Peppers
Dwight Freeney
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JJ Watt was a beast in college, and I would put him on the Wisconsin Mt. Rushmore, but not the college one. If he had stuck around for his senior year and led the Badgers to a national title, rather than merely the Rose Bowl, I would feel differently.
Agree completely, and yes, I do believe the Badgers were one JJ Watt away from winning it that season.
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I ain't out here whistling dixie.
;)
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Derrick Thomas had 27 in 12 games.
That's who I was trying to remember(w/o AI or google) was that in the NFL?
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This guy is going on my Rushmore.
Elvis Dumervil was a dominant defensive end for the University of Louisville (2002–2005), highlighted by a stellar 2005 senior season where he led the nation with a school-record 20 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. He earned consensus All-American honors, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Ted Hendricks Award, finishing his career with 32 sacks and 42.5 tackles for loss
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Good call, I never heard of him.
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This guy is going on my Rushmore.
Elvis Dumervil was a dominant defensive end for the University of Louisville (2002–2005), highlighted by a stellar 2005 senior season where he led the nation with a school-record 20 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. He earned consensus All-American honors, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Ted Hendricks Award, finishing his career with 32 sacks and 42.5 tackles for loss
He's worthy for sure. Didn't really play the greatest competition but he did enough IMO.
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That's who I was trying to remember(w/o AI or google) was that in the NFL?
No, he did that at Bama.
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Good call, I never heard of him.
Pretty nice NFL career as well.
(https://i.imgur.com/pqifg8x.png)
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That's important too ...
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One interesting related list is simple the top overlooked great players in CFB, guys you never heard of but who were great (by whatever metric). This would need to have recency bias I think.
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well, if you didn't play for a blueblood or on a winning team
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Tom Burke still holds the record for most sacks in a season (22, 1998, 11 games) plus two more in the Rose Bowl (which the NCAA doesn't count like the dumbasses they are).
24 sacks, 12 games.
Terrell Suggs had 24 in 13 games.
Derrick Thomas had 27 in 12 games.
I was going to mention Thomas. He feels like one that was almost mythological.
Too bad Burke had that incident a few years back.
Also too bad Watt's UW time was so short and not completely fleshed out. Like he was awesome, but a lot of it was effecting the game in more subtle ways as much as posting good, not crazy stats.
When I was in school, I stood next to Watt at one point early on. I thought "I don't know if this guy is an NFL defensive end, but I'm pretty sure this this is what an NFL defensive end should look like." I'd stood next to Joe Thomas at one point, and Watt seemed notably more imposing.
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Why might one consider the NFL careers in judging COLLEGE athletes?
Well, one obvious reason is the college playing field is not level, or at least, a lot less level than the NFL. A QB might put up ridiculous stats at say Hawaii because of "System" and then do zip in the League. Others might have played in a run oriented offense in college and then later shined.
Is that fair? Who cares? When the criteria are laid out to list one's OPINIONS about whatever, one is thus free to use whatever metrics one wishes. Otherwise, one can just list quantifiables, the QBs with the most passing yards career and be done with it.
IMHO you shouldn't bump up a middling college career based on a stellar NFL career. But a stellar NFL career can be used as validation that a player was truly that good when you have a player that all the stats and eye test say "yes" but perhaps they played against weaker competition or on a poor team.
For QB, look at guys like Drew Brees or Patrick Mahomes. These were guys that played in pass-happy offenses and could rack up tons of stats. But sometimes you don't know whether they were successful because they were a "system QB" like say Colt Brennan under June Jones, or whether they were the real deal. Knowing that they could produce at the next level validates that what you saw at the college level was true.
On the opposite end, Tom Brady wasn't exactly a Michigan great. I mean, he was probably "great", but not Mt Rushmore inclusion great. He didn't consistently even own the starting role, splitting some with Drew Henson. He had a strong team around him that didn't require him to be the hero. His college career was good, but it wasn't good enough to get him drafted anywhere better than the 6th round. You can't put him on a college football Mt Rushmore just because he did great in the NFL.
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I was going to mention Thomas. He feels like one that was almost mythological.
Too bad Burke had that incident a few years back.
Also too bad Watt's UW time was so short and not completely fleshed out. Like he was awesome, but a lot of it was effecting the game in more subtle ways as much as posting good, not crazy stats.
When I was in school, I stood next to Watt at one point early on. I thought "I don't know if this guy is an NFL defensive end, but I'm pretty sure this this is what an NFL defensive end should look like." I'd stood next to Joe Thomas at one point, and Watt seemed notably more imposing.
He was found not guilty.
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He was found not guilty.
I’m aware, but still unfortunate. And from what I remember reading, When the news came out a few people who interacted with him were basically like “yeah that guy was a little off.“
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I think he's getting himself to a better spot.
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Why might one consider the NFL careers in judging COLLEGE athletes?
Well, one obvious reason is the college playing field is not level, or at least, a lot less level than the NFL. A QB might put up ridiculous stats at say Hawaii because of "System" and then do zip in the League. Others might have played in a run oriented offense in college and then later shined.
Is that fair? Who cares? When the criteria are laid out to list one's OPINIONS about whatever, one is thus free to use whatever metrics one wishes. Otherwise, one can just list quantifiables, the QBs with the most passing yards career and be done with it.
FFS
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Bubba Smith, Michigan State
Derrick Thomas, Alabama
Hugh Green, Pitt
Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
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Why might one consider the NFL careers in judging COLLEGE athletes?
Well, one obvious reason is the college playing field is not level, or at least, a lot less level than the NFL. A QB might put up ridiculous stats at say Hawaii because of "System" and then do zip in the League. Others might have played in a run oriented offense in college and then later shined.
Is that fair? Who cares? When the criteria are laid out to list one's OPINIONS about whatever, one is thus free to use whatever metrics one wishes. Otherwise, one can just list quantifiables, the QBs with the most passing yards career and be done with it.
Okay, I guess since I've continued my education and teach reading, I can retroactively win my 3rd-grade spelling bee, because if we did it now, I'd kick everyone else's ass.
You're a clown. And sometimes, it's not even on purpose.
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Edge rusher is almost a seperate catagory from DE.
Edit if you are including LBs then I'd move out Beasely and include Terrell Suggs in the final 4
The term EDGE is a recent one that includes both rush ends and outside LBs who tend to rush the QB. Sure, a strong-side DE is going to be tasked with holding up strong against the run, dealing with a tackle and often a TE to hold the edge. But the backside DE is usually an ears-pinned-back rusher getting around the tackle, most often on the QB's blind side.
Here, let me make a visual really quickly:
(https://i.imgur.com/HVMrHJV.jpeg)
Edges are the guys tasked with pressuring the QB (in red).
Your strong-side end in the 4-3 is your 270 lb guy who can man up against that run blocking. Your back-side end is your 245 lb guy coming like a bat out of hell, chasing down the QB.
In the 3-4, your ends are 280 lb and more like a 4-3 DT, all 3 linemen holding up against the run, since there's only 3 of them. They're freeing up the LBs to either make tackles or, like the outside LBs, get to the QB.
I made the Will (weakside LB) in the 4-3 purple, because unless they're getting a slot WR to cover inside the hashmarks, they're often freed up to rush the passer and tend to get a lot of sacks, almost by chance. If that DT in front of him is good, there's just a red carpet rolled out there, splitting the G and T for him to get up through there.
And I could have made the strong-side DE purple in the 4-3, if the offense isn't using a TE much or the TE is a real pass-catching threat and not much of a blocker.
In football video games, they'll label a recruit or draftee either balanced, run-stuffer, or pass-rusher, based on his size and skill set. EDGE is the pass-rusher.
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Okay, I guess since I've continued my education and teach reading, I can retroactively win my 3rd-grade spelling bee, because if we did it now, I'd kick everyone else's ass.
You're a clown. And sometimes, it's not even on purpose.
Name calling here should be avoided.
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Name calling here should be avoided.
Being a clown should be avoided as well.
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Okay, I guess since I've continued my education and teach reading, I can retroactively win my 3rd-grade spelling bee, because if we did it now, I'd kick everyone else's ass.
You're a clown. And sometimes, it's not even on purpose.
Lord, you can be pointlessly unpleasant.
I’m another note, I didn’t watch Javon Kearse as a college player, but remember him popping in the NFL and being game changing. And when I looked back, it seemed like people had a similar vibe in college, but you probably watched him more closely than I did. Was that the case?
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He can’t argue a point so he resorts to childish name calling. It’s predictable.