By: Daniel Gunn (@DanielGunn)
Who are the best players to wear each number? With 20 seasons under our belt, there have been some dominant players to hit the field and keep us entertained but there can only be one best player to wear each number.
This process took a long time but the results were well worth it. I sorted through 693 players that made it through the screening process to make the final product. This is where it all becomes subjective to my opinion (duke it out in league chat if you don’t like the list…because I won’t answer any DMs on this).
This series will start with the top-end numbers and work down toward 1. Without further ado, here are the best players to ever wear numbers in the 90s.
#99 – Jay Gates, DL
Gates spent his entire four-year career at the University of Miami and was an absolute force on the defensive line. Jay is #9 all-time in sacks, #5 in tackles for loss in the Steroid Era, #8 in sacks in the Steroid Era, and is all over the Miami career record book; #3 in tackles, #1 in TFL, #1 in Sacks, and #2 in FF. To go along with his top 10s in the career record books, Gates touts the seventh most TFLs in a season with 44. He also is a two-time All-American and two-time Player of the Week.
#98 – Les McAdoo, DE
Defensive End Les McAdoo had a fantastic career splitting his four-year career between Missouri and Oklahoma State, winning a National Championship at the latter. The Season 16 Most Outstanding Senior sits at #8 in career sacks. McAdoo is also #10 in TFLs and #7 in sacks in the Steroid Era. Les also has the 10th-best season with 40 TFLs, and the 7th-best season with 27 sacks in CFSL history. Both happening in Season 16. Despite only playing two seasons for each team, McAdoo is in the top 5 of both schools’ career record books for TFLs and sacks.
#97 – Wyatt King, MLB
Wyatt King won one All-American nod from his MLB position and was a two-time Player of the Week during his four-year career at the University of Florida. Running backs were terrified to meet King one-on-one and rightfully so. Wyatt is tied for the third most forced fumbles in the Early Era. King has the most tackles in Florida’s history and the third most forced fumbles.
#96 – Devin Rudisell, MLB
One-time National Champion, Devin Rudisell, spent the first two seasons of his career at the University of Pittsburgh and the final two seasons at Oklahoma State University. Rudisell sits in the #3 spots for tackles and TFLs and is tied for second for forced fumbles at Pittsburgh. He also has the fifth most FFs at Oklahoma State.
#95 – Rocky Conlan, DE
Rocky Conlan, defensive end, spent his first three seasons at Nebraska, then spent a year at Washington St, and finally finished his five-year career at Texas Tech. Rocky had an eye for finding a loose football. He is tied for second in fumble recoveries all-time and is tied for the most fumble recoveries in the Early Era. He earned those spots largely due to his Season 10 performance, where he recovered three fumbles. That is tied for the third-best single-season performance. Conland leads all Nebraska players in TFLs, Sacks, and FRs. He is also tied for third-most forced fumbles at Nebraska. At Washington State, Conlan sits tied for second in TFLs and tied for first in sacks. Finally at Texas Tech, he has the most TFLs and FRs, the second most sacks, and the third most tackles.
#94 – Mike Miller, DE
Defensive End Mike Miller is a two-time defensive line All-American, one-time Player of the Week, and one-time National Champion. He spent his entire four-year career at Clemson. Miller has the most sacks, is tied for fourth in TFLs, and has the tenth most FRs in the Early Era. Clemson has been around since Season 3 and has had a ton of great players come through the program, which makes Miller’s records even more impressive. Miller has the most TFLs and sacks in program history as well as being tied for second in FRs.
#93 – Enrico Pipino, DT
Texas defensive tackle, Enrico Pipino, decided to take his talents to the next level a year early only spending three seasons in the CFSL. Despite playing one less season than he was eligible for, he had a fantastic career. Pipino is fourth in Texas history in tackles for loss and sacks. He also has the third-best individual season with 27 TFLs in Season 15 at Texas.
#92 – Laci White, DL
Laci White is a legend in the CFSL on the D line. She was voted on to the Mt. Rushmore of defensive linemen by the content team, is a three-time defensive line All-American, and won Defensive Player of the Year in Season 15, doing this as a part of three different teams. Laci has the most sacks, second most TFLs, and is tied for fourth in forced fumbles. White sits at #1 in both sacks and TFLs in the Steroid Era and is tied for fourth in FFs all-time. In her first season at FSU, Laci still got the fourth most sacks in program history. Laci spent her next two seasons at Michigan where she leads the program in sacks and TFLs, as well as having the third most forced fumble. She finished off her illustrious career at Miami for one season where she has the fourth most sacks and fifth most tackles for loss.
#91 – Valentino Villarreal, DE
Villarreal is a one-time defensive line All-American who split his career playing two years at Ohio State and West Virginia. At OSU, Valentino is the program leader in sacks, has the fourth most tackles for loss, and is tied for third in forced fumbles. At WVU, he has the second most sacks, the second most fumble recoveries, and the fourth most TFLs.
#90 – Koda Black, DT
Koda played three seasons in the CFSL, starting at Ohio and finishing at USC in his last 2 seasons. He only played in 19 CFSL games, but he was a wrecking ball in his short career and his play earned him the spot on this list. In Black’s two seasons at USC, he earned the #2 spot in program history in TFLs and sacks. He also holds the second-best single season in program history with 18 TFLs in Season 10 and tied for the third-best single twice with eight sacks in Seasons 10 and 11.
