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Who are the greatest all-time athletes to play college sports in the state of Alabama, and how many are former Crimson Tide stars?
That's a debate USA TODAY Sports decided to wade into on Tuesday as part of its "USA250" series, and the number of former Alabama football players on the list is no small thing.
All told, five Crimson Tide gridiron legends made up a list of 10 players either directly from the state or who played college sports at one of its member institutions. Of those 10, five played at the University of Alabama.
The Crimson Tide had the most athletes on the list, including two current Pro Football Hall of Fame players and two more that could easily have a bust in Canton by the time their NFL playing careers are over.
Across the state, Auburn followed with four athletes, including two college football legends, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame player and icon, and a Baseball Hall of Famer.
DeVonta Smith leads list of best Alabama Crimson Tide athletes of all time
Zac Al-Khateeb of USA TODAY Sports named a fairly obvious choice as the greatest athlete in the history of the state of Alabama: Auburn running back Bo Jackson. Following Jackson is a fellow member of the Heisman Trophy club, Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith.
Al-Khateeb said of Smith:
"Even with his slight frame, Smith stands out among Alabama's circle of elite receivers. Smith capped his freshman season with a walk-off, 41-yard touchdown reception vs. Georgia in the 2018 College Football Playoff championship game, a moment forever known in college football as '2nd-and-26.' He only got better from there, culminating with a senior season in which he was the best player on the best offense in the country (one that produced three of the top five players in Heisman voting)."
Derrick Thomas is Alabama's greatest defensive football player of all-time
Linebacker Derrick Thomas, the Crimson Tide's all-time leader in sacks and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1988, ranked fourth on the list behind Auburn's Cam Newton.
Al-Khateeb called Thomas a player ahead of his time.
Derrick Thomas was a defender ahead of his time at Alabama: a speedy pass-rushing specialist whose most dominant statistical achievement wasn't an officially logged NCAA stat until 12 years after his collegiate career ended.
He finished his career with 52 sacks and 68 tackles for loss from 1985-88, the vast majority of which came in the 1988 season: That year, he registered 27 sacks and 39 tackles for loss, earning unanimous All-America honors, the Butkus Award and a 10th-place finish in the 1988 Heisman Trophy voting.
Derrick Henry is greatest all-time Crimson Tide running back
Henry, Alabama's second Heisman Trophy winner in school history after Mark Ingram in 2009, ranked sixth on the list behind Tuskegee's Ben Stevenson.
Al-Khateeb said of Henry:
Henry's 6-foot-3, 242-pound frame and surprising speed forced fans and opponents alike to ask the same question for three years: "How can someone so big move so fast?"
Henry hit his stride in 2015 after flashes of greatness in 2013-14, becoming Alabama's second Heisman winner as he led the Crimson Tide to its first College Football Playoff championship. That year, he broke Herschel Walker's SEC regular-season rushing record with 1,986 yards and tied the conference mark with 23 rushing touchdowns. He became just the third running back in SEC history, after Walker and Jackson, with four games of 200 rushing yards.
He finished the season with a three-touchdown, 158-yard performance to lift the Crimson Tide past Clemson in the CFP championship game, capping his career with an unforgettable 2,219-yard, 28-touchdown season.
Lee Roy Jordan, John Hannah round out list of Alabama football's best athletes
Al-Khateeb said of Jordan:
Linebacker Lee Roy Jordan holds a special place in Alabama football lore not only for his outstanding play, but also for helping raise a Crimson Tide program mired in mediocrity back to the pinnacle of college football.
He arrived at Alabama in 1959, one year after famed coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. He helped Alabama to an 8-2-1 season as a sophomore in 1960, 11-0 championship season in 1961 and 10-1 mark in 1962, a season in which he capped a unanimous All-American season with a 31-tackle performance vs. Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
No one described Jordan better than the Bear himself: "He was one of the finest football players the world has ever seen. If runners stayed between the sidelines, he tackled them."
Jordan was inducted into the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor in 1989 after a 14-year NFL playing career that included five Pro Bowl selections.
Rounding out the list was offensive tackle John Hannah, who went on to a 13-year NFL playing career with the New England Patriots from 1973-85 and garnered nine Pro Bowl selections.
Considered by many to be among college football's greatest offensive linemen, John Hannah was a two-time unanimous All-America selection in 1971-72 and won the Jacobs Award as the nation's best blocker while helping Alabama to a 27-8-1 record from 1970-72. He's part of Alabama's all-century team and the SEC's all-50-year team (1933-82).
Said Bryant of Hannah: "In over 30 years with the game, he's the finest offensive lineman I've ever been around."
USA TODAY Sports' list of top 10 all-time greatest athletes in Alabama history
- 1. Bo Jackson, Auburn
- 2. DeVonta Smith, Alabama
- 3. Cam Newton, Auburn
- 4. Derrick Thomas, Alabama
- 5. Ben Stevenson, Tuskegee
- 6. Derrick Henry, Alabama
- 7. Charles Barkley, Auburn
- 8. Frank Thomas, Auburn
- 9. Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama
- 10. John Hannah, Alabama
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Who is the all-time greatest athlete from the state of Alabama?
