Top ten Defensive players of all time according to CFN
http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2006 ... estion.htm
Peter Fiutak's list
10. Kenny Easley, S UCLA
Easley was the first player in Pac 10 history to be named first team All-Conference for four straight years. Considered one of the biggest hitting defensive backs of all-time, he finished his career with 374 tackles and picked off 19 passes.
9. George Webster, S Michigan State
He revolutionized the safety position. At roverback (the first ever to play the hybrid position), the 6-4, 220-pound Webster was a devastating hitter making 93 stops in 1966 to go along with ten tackles for loss. He was a menace in run support and still covered receivers as well as any corner. His speed was peerless for a player of his size.
8. Lee Roy Selmon, DT Oklahoma
Barry Switzer called him the greatest player he ever coached. Selmon made 324 tackles (amazing for a defensive lineman) with 40 for loss. In 1975, he made 88 unassisted stops.
7. Lawrence Taylor, LB/DE North Carolina
Taylor is generally considered the most fearsome pass rusher of all-time. As the ACC Player of the Year in 1980, he recorded 16 sacks while leading the team to an 11-1 record. He was directly responsible for beating Clemson and Texas Tech that year with his game-saving tackles..
6. Bubba Smith, DE Michigan State
Lost in all of post-collegiate accomplishments was his outstanding college career as one of the most unblockable defensive ends to ever play the game on one of the great defensive teams of all-time. Smith wasn't just a big player, he was really big for the mid-1960s (6-8, 280 pounds) and really fast requiring teams to use two, three and four players on him. In 1965 and 1966, MSU went 19-1-1 winning two Big Ten and two national titles.
5. Tommy Nobis, LB Texas
As the rock on the 1963 national championship team, Nobis was something special on both sides of the ball. He made dramatic game-saving and championship-winning plays as a blocker and a tackler finishing his career averaging 20 stops a game.
4. Deion Sanders, CB Florida State
Prime Time was the greatest corner to ever play college football. Florida State has enjoyed a who's who of sensational athletes over the years, but no one has been able to touch Deion's combination of speed, quickness and leaping ability. At just over 6-1 and 195 pounds, he ran a 4.3 40-yard-dash on a slow day and was the prototype corner and punt returner.
3. Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota
The 228-pound do-it-all star was bigger than life on and off the field. In the 1920s, he was larger than everyone else earning All-America honors at three different positions making his biggest impact on defense. How tough was he? Wearing a steel corset to protect two broken vertebrae, he beat Wisconsin by forcing a fumble which went for a score and a 6-0 win. The best defensive player in college football now wins the Bronko Nagurski Award.
2. Dick Butkus, LB Illinois
Linebacker is the glamour defensive position in college football, and Butkus is considered the best to ever play. It wasn't just the 373 tackles he made in his career, it was the way he made the stops as the most unblockable linebacker college football has ever seen. Setting the standard to which all other linebackers are measured, the Butkus Award now goes to the nation's best linebacker. He finished third in the Heisman voting in 1964.
1. Hugh Green, DE Pitt
Few linemen have ever possessed Green's mix of quickness, speed and athleticism. With long arms and superior strength, Green played bigger than his 222 pounds while his feet were so good that he could've been a decent cornerback. He finished his career with Green 441 tackles and 53 sacks
Richard Ciriminiello's list is essentially the same but with Nobis ranked higher and Ronnie Lott included instead of Nagurski.