Best football player in TN History?

[jimbo44]

There is no earthly way we could ever decide on this one is there? There are many guys that have achieved Legend Status in TN football history. I think it would be virtually impossible to name only the top 1. What if we made a top 20 list? That could be more practical.

 

 

More practical, would be to break it down in to decades. /flower.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":flower:" border="0" alt="flower.gif" />

[TigerBenchPress]

Dont forget about Patrick Willis

Bruceton Central

All - State

Class Mr. Football (Only player to be nominated as a back and a lineman (LB)

SEC Defensive Player of the Year

All - American

Butkis Award Winner

Rookie of the week (1st week in rookie season)

Playboy All - American

This list could keep growing...

 

And UT didnt think he could play???????

[lilpalmtree7]

Peyton Manning, Reggie White, and Jeff Hall

[REBELRON]

Here are the best players I have seen.

 

John Henderson. He is the best player bar none I ever seen.

 

Jason and Shaun Witten. They single handily almost beat a great Maryville team in 1998.

 

Travis Cozart. Biggest waste of talent I ever seen. Should have been an All American and NFL player.

 

Dante Hickey. Another waste of talent.

 

Leroy Thompson. A great running back.

 

Todd Collins. He was freaking awesome. By far the best linebacker I ever seen.

 

Randy Hall. If not for injuries he would have been a star at UT and played in the NFL.

 

Aaron Douglas. He will be a star in college. By far the best blocking tight end I ever seen.

 

Billy Williams. He was the reason Alcoa won state in 1989.

 

Tyler Maples. Besides Billy Williams he is the best high school receiver I ever seen.

 

Brandon Warren. A freakiish tight end.

[kenbuck]

I nominate Steve Spurrier. Won the Hiesman trophy at Florida. His coaching career is his later claim to fame, but he was a heck of a hs and college player.

 

I thought we had disowned spurrier

[Big Country]

THOSE THAT I HAVE ACTUALLY HAD A CHANCE TO SEE IN PERSON & HAVE STUCK OUT IN MY MIND THROUGH THE YEARS INCLUDE:

 

 

Backs

 

Troy Fleming (BGA)

Golden Tate (PJPII)

Ricky Ladd (White House)

Santonio Beard (Pearl Cohn)

Terrence Bell (Huntingdon)

Dennis Rogan (Fulton)

Ray Hightower (Marshall Co.)

Anthony Webster (Parsons Riverside)

Gerald Turner (Portland)

Roland Ogletree (Oakland)

Justin Wall (Hendersonville)

Dustin Lindsay (Alcoa)

Ralph King & Alvin Duke (Riverdale)

Matt Elrod (David Lipscomb)

Tremaine Turner (Springfield)

Earnest Williams (Crockett Co.)

Graig Cooper (Melrose)

 

Quarterbacks

 

Robert Matthews (Tullahoma)

Luke Powell, David Wolke, & Sonny Gray (Smyrna)

Bill Whittemore & Austin Everson (Brentwood)

Drew Hayes (McKenzie)

Josh Garza (Sycamore)

Kyle Levering (White House)

Joei Fiegler (Alcoa)

Ethan Flatt (David Lipscomb)

 

Receivers

 

Patrick Turner (Goodpasture)

Tyler Maples (Maryville)

Matt Davenport (Brentwood)

Rashad Mason (Pearl Cohn)

Taron Henry (Riverdale)

Kyrus Lanxter (Alcoa)

Antonio Carter (Stratford)

C.J. Johnson (Glencliff)

Cedric Wilson (Melrose)

 

Tight Ends

 

John Henderson (Pearl Cohn)

Aaron Douglas (Maryville)

Brandon Warren (Alcoa)

 

Linemen

 

Ahmad Childress & Frank Omiyale (Whites Creek)

Albert Washington & Ty Lawless (Pearl Cohn)

Cameron Hunt (David Lipscomb)

Antonio Hamilton (Fulton)

Brian Nellett (Huntingdon)

Jason Adams (Harpeth)

Wes Proctor (Sycamore)

Mark Fisher (Goodpasture)

Darren Fizer (Creek Wood)

 

Linebackers

 

Jonathan Leddy (Brentwood Academy)

Dustin West & Clint Casteel (Cheatham Co.)

Braden Binkley, Dale Binkley & Ben Lehning (David Lipscomb): THE BEST INDUVIDUAL GROUP I'VE SEEN!!!

Adam Huffines & Adam Conatser (Harpeth)

Chris Donald (Huntingdon)

Walter Fisher Jr. (Hillsboro)

Patrick Willis (Bruceton)

Wesley Holmes (Pearl Cohn)

 

Defensive Backs

 

Nick Bogle (Cheatham Co.)

Buck Fitzgerald (Pearl Cohn)

Austin & Zack Rogers (David Lipscomb)

Will Martin (Kenwood)

Roger Herndon (Greenbrier)

Wilson Cates (Livingston Academy)

Harrison Smith (Knoxville Catholic)

 

Kickers

 

John Vaughn (Brentwood)

James Wilhoit (Hendersonville)

Alberto Diaz (Crockett Co.)

Jason Hull (David Lipscomb)

Jordan Rion (Page)

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEST ALL-TIME HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS STATE WAS LINEBACKER TODD COLLINS FROM JEFF CO. He went on to star in the NFL for both the New England Patriots as well as the St. Louis Rams.

[cbg]

Quaterbacks

Steve Superior: Science Hill, Florida, San Francisco

Joe Gillam: Pearl, Tennessee State, Pittsburgh

Mike Wright: Father Ryan, Vanderbilt, Professional Baseball

Chad Pennington: Webb, Marshall, New York Jets

Ingle Martin: Montgomery Bell Academy, Florida/Furman, Green Bay Packers

Michael Fisher: Montgomery Bell Academy, Georgia Tech (college & professional baseball)

Bill Wade: Montgomery Bell Academy, Vanderbilt, Chicago Bears

 

 

Linebackers

E.J. Junior: Mapelwood, Alabama, St. Louis

Todd Collins: Jeff County

 

Backs

John Majors: Huntland, University of Tennessee

Leroy Thompson: Austin East, Penn State

Troy Fleming: Battle Ground Academy, University of Tennessee

Bobby Majors: Castle Heights, University of Tennessee

Eddie Brown: Jasperh, University of Tennessee

Greg Gaines: DuPont, University of Tennessee, Seahawks

Bill Bates: Faragut, University of Tennessee, Cowboys

Patrick Turner: Goodpasture, University of Souther California

Golden Tate: Pope John Paul II, Notre Dame

 

Lineman

Reggie White: Howard, University of Tennessee, Green Bay Packers

Doug Atkins: University of Tennessee, Chicago Bears

John Hannah: Baylor, Alabama, New England

Don Dembo: Battle Ground Academy, University of Tennessee

John Henderson: Pearl Cohn, University of Tennessee, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville

 

The best player ever from Tennessee would be Reggie White or John Hannah. Most people say that White was the best D lineman in the NFL and Hannah was the best O lineman in the NFL.

[JaxMan]

there have been so many and it is hard to compare them as competition is different, the game has changed and the team around them is different...but one name that is at the top of my list is Troy Fleming...still holds the TD record...hard to argue

[cbg]

there have been so many and it is hard to compare them as competition is different, the game has changed and the team around them is different...but one name that is at the top of my list is Troy Fleming...still holds the TD record...hard to argue

 

 

Troy Fleming was a very good high school football player but was Battle Ground Academy not playing in class A? There was a big difference in class A and AAA or AAAAA. That is like trying to compare most 4A programs to the Super 7 D2 programs.

[kgates56]

big country i can't believe you didnt show me any love man lol!

[JaxMan]

Troy Fleming was a very good high school football player but was Battle Ground Academy not playing in class A? There was a big difference in class A and AAA or AAAAA. That is like trying to compare most 4A programs to the Super 7 D2 programs.

 

 

as I said in my post it is very hard to be definative as the competiton is different...but in any case he was an awesome player

[ogor]

Keeping it simple. The best players that I had the opportunity to play against were: Andy Kelly - Rhea County, and Shazzon Bradley - McMinn County. These guys were impact players in their own way. Andy was one of the best passing QB's I had ever played against. Bradley was a "freak of nature". Imagine the biggest, strongest, meanest, and fastest person on the football field playing tailback, not to mention winning the state wrestiling championship in the heavywieght division multiple times.