Best collegian ever? Tebow No. 2, Herschel still No. 1
Tim Tebow is the greatest collegian of the 21st Century. But the greatest collegiate player ever? Not quite. That distinction falls to a man who played for the other side in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, and I speak of …
Zippy Morocco.
OK, I’m kidding. You know who I mean. As majestic as he was against everybody, Herschel Walker was never so splendid as those three afternoons in Jacksonville. He rushed for 649 yards and scored eight touchdowns against the Gators, who were really good each year but lost three times simply because they didn’t have Herschel. (Granted, Lindsay Scott had a bit to do with the 1980 outcome.)
Not since Herschel has the college game seen a force so irresistible as Tebow. He figures to win a second Heisman Trophy on merit. But Herschel played only three seasons before leaving for the USFL, and he won one Heisman and should have had two (he was clearly superior to George Rogers in 1980) and would have had another had he completed his eligibility.
Grand as he is, Tebow hasn’t been the Florida focal point all four seasons. He was the backup/changeup to Chris Leak when the Gators took the 2006 national championship, and in his first season as a starter he won the Heisman but didn’t lift his team to higher heights. The 2007 Gators finished 9-4. The Georgia Bulldogs with Herschel Walker lost three games in three seasons: Two to teams (Clemson and Penn State) that would themselves take national titles, the third to a team (Pittsburgh) that finished No. 2 in the land.
Georgia with Herschel won the 1980 national title, played for the 1982 championship and was still in the hunt until Clemson beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1, 1982. Those Bulldogs won three SEC titles at a time when Paul W. Bryant was still coaching Alabama and Patrick F. Dye was getting going at Auburn and Mike Shanahan was coordinating the Florida run-and-shoot.
It would be wrong to suggest Herschel had no help. He didn’t play defense. (He did, however, return kickoffs.) But it’s instructive that Georgia produced only one first-round NFL draftee those three seasons, that being the aforementioned Scott. It finished undefeated in 1980 despite not leading the SEC in any major offensive or defensive category. It won because of No. 34.
From the moment he stepped onto Shields-Watkins Field the night of Sept. 6, 1980, Herschel was the only Dog who mattered. Remember Clemson biting on the handoff to the broken-thumbed Herschel on Labor Day night 1982 and being laid bare on a reverse to Tron Jackson? (No matter that the play was nullified by penalty.) Every defense was set to stop one man, and in 36 games that man rushed for more than 100 yards 31 times.
He willed Georgia to the Sugar Bowl victory over Notre Dame on Jan. 1, 1981, by gaining 150 yards with a separated shoulder on a day when the Bulldogs managed 127 total yards. The Georgia quarterback, name of Benjamin Franklin Belue, completed one pass (in 13 attempts) for seven yards.
Loading ...In 33 regular-season games Georgia managed 13,012 yards from scrimmage. Herschel gained 5,502 of those. He was 42 percent of Georgia’s offense without completing a pass. (Though he did once throw the ball. Against Kentucky in 1981. Intercepted.)
You can argue that because Tebow runs and passes he means more to Florida than Herschel meant to Georgia, but you’d be wrong. Tebow has demonstrably more talent around him. He has worked alongside three first-round Gators, with Brandon Spikes and Carlos Dunlap sure to come.
I have no problem calling Tebow the second-best college player ever. But no player lifted a program higher faster than Herschel Walker, the Goal Line Stalker. Georgia was 20-13-1 the three years before he arrived. It was 33-3 the three years he dotted the “I.” Cause and effect. Case closed.
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455 comments Add your comment
HBTD
October 26th, 2009
3:07 pm
Darius. You’re obviously very young. Too bad you miss it.
GatorLand
October 26th, 2009
3:07 pm
All these georgia homer writers proclaiming the local player the best player in college history? What a joke! At least show some professionalism and not pick the local player because he played at the beloved local university. The AJC has really gone down hill with these homers writing columns like they are journalists. No wonder the circulation is way down. Bring in some pros to write real columns.
TIRED OF THE HATERS
October 26th, 2009
3:07 pm
MIKE VICK #7 WAS THE GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER OF ALL THE TIME! NOT EITHER OF THESE 2 WIMPY POZERS! THAT IS WHY HE DRAFTED #1 IN THE NFL! AND IT ONLY TOOK VICK 2 YEARS NOT 4 LIKE THESE OTHERS! SEC BIAS AT IT WORST!
Amos Alonzo Stagg
October 26th, 2009
3:08 pm
forget about stats; Tebow has the benefit of massive media exposure (BCS, ESPN, the internet, etc.). Tebow is a great player, but Walker was a once in a lifetime. He was a man amongst boys. I think he was so-so when it was men against men (NFL), but he was unstopable at UGA. Ask Billy Bates.
Buckhead Bulldog
October 26th, 2009
3:08 pm
the real Old Gold: I’ll give you Eddie Lee Ivery for sure. I remember watching him at Grant Field when I was a kid with my Dad and I thought he was the greatest, BUT then came Mr. Walker and he closed the deal for me. Lavette was a stud too. However, he did not get the due respect of the national media when he was at Tech because of the guy 60 miles to the NE.
Reality Check
October 26th, 2009
3:09 pm
Hey, Erin 02- here’s one for you! Who’s a better coach- Meyer or Bowden?
thomas
October 26th, 2009
3:10 pm
mighty quick to forget TONY DORSETT that Herschel backed up in dallas
A&B backs
October 26th, 2009
3:10 pm
Eric Dickerson from SMU not to mention John Elway From Stanford had Herschel beat his sophomore and junior years. Herschel should have won Heisman when he was a freshman. Having said that, he is not the best I have seen. The combo of Anthony Allen and Johnathon Dwyer are the best I have seen. They run over people with or without the ball blocking for the other way. Even better than Herschel.
Gator Gum
October 26th, 2009
3:11 pm
Suck it Nerd, is the word “Blasphemy” really a word you need to spell check? That is a 2nd grade spelling word. By your title “Suck it Nerd” I can tell your vocabulary is vast. By the way, vast means: large in size, unlike your brain!
Trace Adkins
October 26th, 2009
3:11 pm
Herschel was a special athlete….as in “special ed”.
Fix my email account, ya $40k/year geek!
October 26th, 2009
3:12 pm
Hey Darius…why don’t you move back to the s…hole you came from then? This blog IS on an Atlanta paper website, idiot!
Darius
October 26th, 2009
3:12 pm
I am more than old enough to have watched Walker and old enough to know what Walker did in college football. And, I am smart enough to know that Hershel’s name comes up in a discussion of “Greatest Collegian Ever” only in Georgia.
Reality Check
October 26th, 2009
3:12 pm
If Tebow was a Bulldog, Bradley would be waiting for him every morning wearing kneepads and a bib to catch the drippings.
Homer Bradley
October 26th, 2009
3:13 pm
Walker left college a year early and helped start a trend that has diminished college football. Tebow defied the trend and played college football as long as he was eligible.
A&B backs
October 26th, 2009
3:13 pm
I also feel UGA’s biggest problem is that they keep holding on to 1980 even in their broadcast. Get over it and move on. No one cares or hardly remembers anymore.
Even ESPN...
October 26th, 2009
3:13 pm
…in their analysis last year of the “geatest college players ever” listed Herschel as #1, above all the other guys from the other regions and era (Barry Sanders, OJ, Staubach, Grange, etc). It will be interesting to see, in about 5 years, if they rate Tebow above Herschel I do not think that because Tebow was still active he was not a consideration at for that listing!
chin music
October 26th, 2009
3:13 pm
to me this blog seems like a mere sop to uga fans in an otherwise forgettable season. sure, your team’s going to get killed this week and *might* end up with a winning record this year, but dang!, wasn’t herschel great three decades ago!
if tebow leads the gators to an undefeated season and a national championship, it will be to argue that he isn’t the greatest ever. stats are stats and awards are awards, but having led a team to a national title is the best testament, and i’ve never seen a better on-field leader than tebow.
Egger
October 26th, 2009
3:15 pm
J, it’s hard to even take your opinion seriously when you say “tebow is garbage”. It’s fine that you don’t agree he’s the best in college football history but to be that dimissive of everything he’s accomplished is just petty.
kat
October 26th, 2009
3:16 pm
Tebow is obviously the most collegiate!!Herschel himself admitted he wasn’t very bright. I mean did you ever hear the guy speak? Come on man!!!! Let’s see if Tebow ever took basket weaving at UF.
Go DOGS
October 26th, 2009
3:16 pm
Yeah Darius…I guess ESPN is ONLY in Georgia?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyKLeXP2XOU
Ed
October 26th, 2009
3:16 pm
It’s very difficult to compare players from different eras, teams, style of offense, etc.
If I had to run a modern spread offense that mixed the run and pass (as opposed to what they run at Texas Tech), I’d go with Tebow over any player I’ve ever seen. If I had to run an I-formation, I’d go with Herschel. Pro-style offense, probably Barry Sanders. Wishbone or triple option, probably J.C. Watts.
Herschel and Tebow are definitely two of the greatest FOOTBALL players, period. I think either one could play any one of 4-5 positions and still be the best player on the field. I’ll concede that Herschel probably couldn’t play quarterback, but unlike Tebow he was so fast he could be a corner, safety, or wideout (which he sometimes played in Dallas). One thing often overlooked about Herschel is that he had great hands and was great catching the ball out of the backfield. Either probably could play tight end, linebacker, or defensive end at a high level.
I’ll always be a Herschel fan. I liked the no-nonsense, calm way he went about things. Tebow seems like a great kid off the field, but his histrionics on the field and in the press room get a little old. A little too much attention-seeking and over-the-top emotion to suit my tastes.
BAMA STAN
October 26th, 2009
3:18 pm
12 NATIONAL TITLES – 21 SEC TITLES!!!
Great article – got to agree.
I think TEBOW fits into the arguement as one of the best.
Other incredible skill position players – Dorsett, Staubach, Bo Jackson, Jim Brown, Archie Griffin, Marcus Allen – and there are many more
Herschel, in my eyes, was the best that ever played.
As for the GATORS – good luck this weekend – but if GEORGIA scores 10 points on that incredible DEFENSE – it will only keep the score 10 points closer to the 40 plus that will be hung on your defense.
With the lack of a GEORGIA running game – FLORIDA is going to TEE – OFF on the passing game and bring incredible pressure.
And the GEORGIA DEFENSE – Hate to say it – but the stats don’t lie – this is a horrible – horriible defense. Even when GEORGIA will focus to stop the run – FLORIDA will gain 3 – 4 yards and just wear you down – which will open the pass. This will be a VERY FRUSTRATING game for UGA fans to watch – as this team will be totally outclassed, outcoached, outplayed, outhussled – in what is a very emotional rival.
My thoughts – the GEORGIA stands will be emptied by mid 4th quarter.
Burdell
October 26th, 2009
3:18 pm
Herschel was the best Celebrity Apprentice….hands down.
Reality Check
October 26th, 2009
3:18 pm
“Chin Music” speaks the truth!
Fix my email account, ya $40k/year geek!
October 26th, 2009
3:19 pm
A&B backs….obviously you care? Why do you give two cents what UGA fans like to listen to or watch? If you don’t like what UGA fans do then please don’t go to Athens. Uh Duh!!
bvillebaron
October 26th, 2009
3:19 pm
Your article about Walker brings back a lot of fond memories for this 31 year PSU season ticketholder who attended the 1982 National Championship game. My wife and I spent a wonderful week in New Orleans which of course was capped off with PSU winning its first National Championship.
Georgia fans outnumbered Lion fans by a factor of about 3 to 1 and spent the days leading up to the game either singing Heschel Herschel Walker to glory glory hallelujah or asking every PSU fan in sight “How ’bout them dogs”. After listening to this stuff for several hours on New Years Eve, I finally told my new Bulldog “friends” that they were going to see a great RUNNING back the next day which, of course, they assumed was Herschel Walker. They laughed in derision when I told them that no I was talking about the Lions star tailback, Curt Warner. I also told them that Walker was then (and was throughout his pro career) only capable of two things: running past everyone with his speed or trying to run over a tackler and that the next football MOVE Walker made would be his first.
I can still see Warner running up the middle from about 8 yards out and doing a spin move to leave two Bulldogs grabbing for air and then almost walking into the end zone early in the game. I also absolutely enjoined walking down Bourbon Street after the game and chanting with my fellow Lion fans “What do Lions eat? Dog meat!”
Walker was a great college football player, but for the reasons mentioned above, I give my vote to Tim Tebow.
RHR
October 26th, 2009
3:20 pm
LOL @ Bradley and the UGA fans … outside of state of Georgia, Hershel is not even in the discussion of best player ever.
Really?
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3086827
Your Gainesville education is showing.
THE CATHOLIC HAMMER
October 26th, 2009
3:21 pm
To claim that Herschel Walker was “the best college football player ever”, after this not-so-in-depth analysis, is laughable.
The AJC tells their writers to produce junk like this in order to keep whatever is left of the circulation. They sell newspapers in the South, particularly Georgia, not Florida (that much), and definitely not, say, California or Ohio. This is why Herschel Walker is #1 in the AJC, and not Tim Tebow, or Archie Griffin or OJ Simpson.
Gator Bob
October 26th, 2009
3:22 pm
As much as I hate to do this – but I must Agree – HERSCHEL was and is the best college football player …. ever.
TEBOW will be in the conversation as one of the best ever.
In the SEC – Walker, Tebow, Jackson – in that order.
GO GATORS!!!!
Ed
October 26th, 2009
3:22 pm
“The combo of Anthony Allen and Johnathon Dwyer are the best I have seen”
I’m speechless…
Reality Check
October 26th, 2009
3:23 pm
RHR-
You may want to check the academic standards for UF vs UGA before you make statements about a “Gainesville education”.
Rez
October 26th, 2009
3:23 pm
I think i could run it in from the 1 yard line. I agree with the earlier poster, let’s see how many of Tebow’s rushing TD’s came from outside the 5-10 yard line.
Vassar493
October 26th, 2009
3:25 pm
Mark,
You might want to review the fourth quarter of the “Penn State Game” you mentioned, could give one cause to cast a different vote. I just don’t remember seeing a “Greatest of All Time” effort from Hershel.
gdawginkalamazoo
October 26th, 2009
3:25 pm
Hell after this weekend all us dawg fans may be voting for Tebow. But let’s play the game, let him finish his career then decide.
GTjohn, you mentioned Bob Griese. He is probably out having tacos with Juan Pablo Montoya today. And Griese is buying.
One thing Tebow is missing this year is Percy. Watching him play for Minnesota I do have a new found respect the guy. He bulked up and is taking the hits in the NFL pretty well. He seemed to play hurt a lot in college but what a difference a year has made. UF would probably cruise if he had stayed.
Grandad
October 26th, 2009
3:26 pm
I don’t even think Tebow is in the conversation on playing abilty. He would not even be in the top 10, 20, 25, QB’s of all time. What sets him apart is his “Leadership”.
Sonny Clusters
October 26th, 2009
3:27 pm
Welcome back from vacation, Mark. Did you get a deer? How much does Chipper charge to take a deer off the Double Dime? Did he autograph your deer? How much did that cost? Anyway, welcome back. Your pal, Sonny Clusters
Shane
October 26th, 2009
3:27 pm
No comparison! If Herb Skeet had been ESPN analysist in Hershels days, he would have 4 Heisman Trophies! ESPN will go off the air if Florida looses Saturday! The 3rd ring for Tebow will be the ring left by his jersey when the Dawgs are pulling on it for the SACK!
Dooley's Cardiologist
October 26th, 2009
3:27 pm
Bo Jackson!!! Then Hethal Waka (that’s how he procounces it), and Tebow in a VERY distant 3rd.
Darius
October 26th, 2009
3:29 pm
ESPN had Hershel at #3, that means he is the greatest ever and everyone else is vying for #2![/logic of UGA fans]
RHR
October 26th, 2009
3:29 pm
The AJC tells their writers to produce junk like this in order to keep whatever is left of the circulation.
You are aware of the differences between a “blog” and a “newspaper”, right?
In the SEC – Walker, Tebow, Jackson – in that order.
LOL only a gator fan would rank Timmy about bo jackson. step away from the crack pipe, son.
DawgDayz
October 26th, 2009
3:30 pm
Herschel needz some money baby…doing those Zaxby’s commercials are going to make him fat.
Grandad
October 26th, 2009
3:30 pm
I left out one comment “Tim Tebow is a Great football player.”
Suck it Nerd
October 26th, 2009
3:31 pm
Gator Gum -
Work on your grammar as well. That colon in your last sentence is not needed.
Mark Twain
October 26th, 2009
3:33 pm
Tebow, no doubt about it….. BTW, have you heard ? Tennessee just scored again. LOL……
Vince
October 26th, 2009
3:34 pm
Herschel left his very best between the hedges. He was a great college player. Unfortunately, he really just never could meet expectations as a professional player. The competition was too tough at that level. Didn’t you guys print up some bumper stickers which read “Herschel the worst general since Sherman”?
Grant & Rodgers
October 26th, 2009
3:34 pm
Enter your comments here
Grant & Rodgers
October 26th, 2009
3:34 pm
Enter your comments here
Darius
October 26th, 2009
3:35 pm
While there is no denying Bo Jackson’s talent level, he had a reputation for developing phantom injuries in big games when he was not having any success gaining yards. Unlike Herschel, Bo had a habit of disappearing in big games.
GIVE ME A BREAK
October 26th, 2009
3:37 pm
How did they know which Herschel to give the ball to?
Homer Take
October 26th, 2009
3:38 pm
Nice homer take. . . .
I would love to see “The Redneck Army” converge like Yul Brynner and company in the 10 Commandments if you went the other way.
I am neither a UGA or Florida grad, however, Tebow because he plays QB ranks #1 ( I also believe Mr. Richt will meet a Donnan like fate).