SN 140: Sporting News College Football 2000s All-America team led by Tim Tebow, Ndamukong Suh
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SN 140: Sporting News College Football 2000s All-America team led by Tim Tebow, Ndamukong Suh originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2000s featured some of the greatest college football games and players of all time.
The 2003 Fiesta Bowl between No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Ohio State. The 2006 Rose Bowl between No. 1 USC and No. 2 Texas. Florida and Alabama played in back-to-back SEC championship games as No. 1 and No. 2 in 2008-09.
Those teams featured amazing players – many of which are on our first team All-America selections for the decade from 2000-09. The offense includes two players each from Florida and Miami – a decade when the Hurricanes and Gators combined for three national titles. Tebow – who won the 2007 Heisman Trophy – is the quarterback. The defense features Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh – one of the most-intimidating players of the era. Two more Hurricanes made our defense, including safety Ed Reed.
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SN 140 2000s All-America Team (2000-09)
Offense
QB: Tim Tebow, Florida
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson, TCU
RB: Darren McFadden, Arkansas
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt
WR: Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
TE: Kellen Winslow II, Miami
T: Bryant McKinnie, Miami
G: Dan Mozes, West Virginia
C: Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
G: Steve Hutchinson, Michigan
T: Joe Thomas, Wisconsin
AP: Reggie Bush, USC
K: Mike Nugent, Ohio State
Star power
Tebow was voted No. 2 on our CFB 150 all-time greatest players list by a panel of 53 voters in 2019. Tomlinson rushed for 4,008 yards and 40 yards in a brilliant two-year stretch from 1999-2000. Bush had 2,890 all-purpose yards in the ultimate highlight-reel season for USC in 2004. Fitzgerald had 92 catches for 1,672 yards and 22 TDs in 2003. Crabtree had 134 catches for 1,962 yards and 22 TDs in 2007.
Best position group
Quarterbacks. This was a golden age of quarterbacks who were multi-year starters on national championship-caliber teams. Tebow was a part of two national championship teams at Florida and had a 26-4 record as a starter. USC's Matt Leinart (37-2) and Texas' Vince Young (30-2) also were considered, and neither quarterback was a Unanimous All-American. Ohio State's Troy Smith (25-3) won the Heisman Trophy in 2006. Texas' Colt McCoy (45-8) and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford (21-5) were in the discussion, and Boise State's Kellen Moore compiled a 50-3 record from 2008-11.
Toughest debate
Adrian Peterson vs. Darren McFadden. Both running backs had 41 rushing TDs – and there is no question Peterson made an impact with the Sooners. Yet McFadden – who finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in consecutive seasons from 2006-07 – averaged more yards per carry and had more all-purpose yards as a do-it-all back for the Razorbacks. He also had the better signature game – with 206 rushing yards and three TDs and a 34-yard TD pass in a 50-48 triple-overtime thriller against No. 1 LSU on Nov. 23, 2007.
Defense
DL: Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
DL: Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
DL: Julius Peppers, North Carolina
DL: Glenn Dorsey, LSU
LB: Dan Morgan, Miami
LB: Derrick Johnson, Texas
LB: A.J. Hawk, Ohio State
CB: Derrick Strait, Oklahoma
CB: Terence Newman, Kansas State
S: Ed Reed, Miami
S: Eric Berry, Tennessee
P: Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor
Star power
Suh finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2007 – a season in which he swept the Outland Trophy, Nagurski Trophy and Bednarik Award. Tebow won the Sporting News Player of the Year award that season. Peppers had 15 sacks in 2000, and Suggs topped that with 24 sacks in 2002. Reed was the heart of Miami's national championship team in 2000, and Berry is the only two-time Unanimous All-America selection on the defense.
Best position group
Linebacker. There were some tough decisions here. Morgan and Hawk were anchors on national championship defenses, and Johnson helped set the Longhorns up one year before their national title run. He had 458 tackles for the Longhorns from 2001-04. That meant for some tough omissions, including Oklahoma's Teddy Lehman, Penn State's Paul Posluszny, Ohio State's James Laurinaitis and USC's Rey Maualuga. Florida's Brandon Spikes and Alabama linebackers DeMeco Ryans and Rolando McClain also were considered.
Toughest debate
Safety. Reed and Berry might seem like slam-dunk safeties, but there were some worthy candidates behind them, including Oklahoma's Roy Williams, Miami's Sean Taylor and Texas' Michael Huff. Williams swept the Nagurski Trophy and Thorpe Award in 2001 – and also had one of the most-memorable individual efforts in the Red River Rivalry. Was that better than the time Reed took a ball from his own player for a defensive touchdown against Boston College?
Fun fact
Tomlinson became the first running back to rush for more than 400 yards in a single game against UTEP on Nov. 20, 1999. He had a then-record 406 yards with six TDs. Tomlinson had 287 rushing yards in the second half. That performance ranks fourth all time behind Oklahoma's Samaje Perine (427), Buffalo's Jarret Patterson (409) and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (408).
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