College Football All-Decade Team: The 2000s

Oh, I can hear the Gator Nation howling already. Yes, I took Young over Tebow. And here’s why: The Rose Bowl. In both 2005 and 2006, Young made Pasadena his personal playground; he didn’t just turn in awesome performances, but historic performances. In the 2005 Rose Bowl against Michigan, the Texas sensation accounted for all five of Texas' touchdowns in a spectacular 38-37 win. In 2006, he was even better, shredding the vaunted USC defense for 267 passing yards, 200 rushing yards and scoring runs of 14, 17 and 8 yards. His last touchdown run the game-winner, as the Longhorns upset the so-called Greatest Team of All Time, 41-38, and won the national championship.

How good was McFadden? Well, when he was playing in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks were actually legit contenders in the SEC (they haven’t been in the same position since), and there wasn’t a defensive coordinator in the conference that wasn’t thrilled when he left. As for Bush? Well, his inclusion here is a no-brainer. He is one of the four most exciting players I’ve ever seen on a football field—right up there with Rocket Ismail, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson. Bush was the ultimate game-changer, and quite possibly the player of the decade in college football.

There wasn’t a whole lot to cheer about during the Walt Harris era at Pitt. But there was Larry Fitzgerald, the finest wideout of the decade and a guy who seemed capable of making any catch. He should have won the Heisman Trophy in 2003. Crabtree, meanwhile, was the symbol of Texas Tech’s late-2000s surge—a powerful, blazing-fast wideout who simply could not be covered. He also turned in the signature play in Texas Tech football history, stunning Texas with his last-second touchdown catch against the previously undefeated ‘Horns in 2008.

I gave Miller the edge over Miami’s Kellen Winslow Jr. because of Miller's consistency. Winslow could be dominant at times. But he could also be taken out of his game if a defense played physically enough. Miller, by contrast, was just really, really good, every single week, no matter what. He ended his career with 144 receptions and 20 touchdowns. And he did so at Virginia. Not exactly an offensive juggernaut. He won the John Mackey Award in 2004.

Yeah, I know I don’t have any guards listed here. But those four tackles were just too good to pass up. Bryant McKinnie of Miami was the rock of those dominant early-2000s Hurricane teams, Jake Long helped Chad Henne and Mike Hart rack up huge offensive numbers at Michigan, Joe Thomas became the ultimate symbol of the bruising offensive line tradition at Wisconsin, and D'Brickashaw Ferguson was nearly unbeatable off the edge at Virginia. As for Minnesota's Greg Eslinger? Well, he just might be the finest center we’ve seen in decades.

There were far too many defensive linemen to choose from. Among the guys left out? Try Arizona State’s Terrell Suggs, Penn State’s Tamba Hali, Oklahoma’a Tommie Harris and North Carolina State’s Mario Williams, among several others. You certainly can’t argue with my four selections, though. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh and LSU's Glenn Dorsey were game-changers from the defensive tackle position—and yes, that’s rare—while Lousiville's Elvis Dumervil exhibited uncanny pass-rushing skills. Georgia's David Polllack, meanwhile, could do it all. He might be the best SEC defender of the decade.

Hawk was faster than just about everyone on the field (yep, even some wideouts) and was the leader of an intimidating 2005 Buckeye linebacking corps that also included Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel. As one of Hawk's top rivals, Posluszny was the key player behind Penn State’s mid-2000s resurgence. A four-year starter who became the first Nittany Lion junior be named team captain in decades, he also won both the Butkus and Bednarik awards in 2005. Maualuga was the last defensive superstar of Pete Carroll’s now-ended Trojan dynasty—a nasty defender who played sideline to sideline as well as anyone in the game.

Not a great decade for corners, to be honest (no Deion Sanders-type talents to be found here, folks), but Newman and Gamble got the call over such standouts as Virginia Tech’s DeAngelo Hall and Florida State’s Antonio Cromartie. Newman was consistently dominant for the Wildcats and one of the best players in school history. Gamble became a surprise star for the Buckeyes—and a key member of the Bucks’ 2000 national title team—after being lightly recruited out of high school.

These guys were the bookend safety superstars of the decade. Reed was not only the best player on those great Miami teams early in the decade, but also the squad’s spiritual leader—a warrior who, as the cliché goes, left it all on the field. Berry, meanwhile, propped up a sagging UT program with his spectacular play at safety. His open-field collision with Florida’s Tim Tebow this season became an instant YouTube sensation.

Sepulveda is the only two-time winner of the Ray Guy award, given to the nation’s best punter. Nugent broke all sorts of records during his spectacular run in Columbus. He was the most clutch kicker of the decade.

Bush proved it time and again in college, and he’s still proving it in the pros: Once he makes the first guy miss, he’s as good as gone. He is the closest we’ve seen to Gayle Sayers since, well, Gayle Sayers. As for Ginn? Well, nobody was faster. Nobody. A long-strider with better moves than he gets credit for, Ginn was just too good for most opposing kick coverage teams.

Though his exit from Los Angeles was, well, messy (and bound to get messier if these probation-related rumors are true), there’s no denying that Carroll built the decade’s preeminent college football powerhouse. Two national titles. Three Heisman Trophy winners. Seven straight Pac-10 championships. He recruited better than anybody else, and coached better than anybody else, too. Maybe most impressively, be actually got those folks in Los Angeles interested in football—so interested that they actually filled the Coliseum.