The theme of my blog has always been college football past and present, but my past only goes back to 1967.
From that time period to present time you may be wondering who has had the best Offensive Linemen in the history of college football. Nah, you probably weren’t, but that’s the kind of thing my mind thinks about.
Naturally, one would think that USC has had the best Offensive Linemen in that time period, but is that really true.
Looking at the Consensus All American lists since 1967, USC is actually really number 1 during that time frame in producing All American Offensive Linemen. But, they are not alone.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers tied the USC Trojans with 15 All Americans each.
But, which school really had the best Offensive Linemen?
Consider this. In the 1980 Rose Bowl when USC played against Ohio State, the starting Offensive Line for USC was unbelievable in talent. At Left Tackle, or Weak Tackle in the USC scheme, the Trojans had maybe the best Offensive Lineman to ever play the game in Anthony Munoz. He did not make All American, but he is in the NFL Hall of Fame after an incredible career for the Cincinnati Bengals.
At Weak Guard, the Trojans started Roy Foster. He was drafted in the 1st round by the Miami Dolphins and played 12 seasons in the NFL.
At Center, Chris Foote was the starter. He was the weak link of the bunch only being a 6th round Draft Pick and bouncing around the league for a while.
The starting Strong Guard was Brad Budde and he was a 1st round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs were he had a nice career.
Their other starting Tackle, on the Strong Side, was Keith Van Horne. He was picked in the Chicago Bears in the 1st round and started there for 12 seasons.
Could this have been the best Offensive Line in the history of college football? Four first round draft picks and one of them already in the NFL Hall of Fame. The other starter also was picked making it five out of five moving on to the NFL.
Somebody please let me know if they remember a better Offensive Line than this.
This is a list of their Consensus All American Offensive Linemen starting in 1967.
1. Ron Yary: Yary started at Offensive Tackle for the Trojans in the first USC game I ever saw in
1967. He was a Consensus All American and the very first player picked in the 1968 NFL Draft. Yary was a 7 time Pro Bowler and is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Considered one of the greatest Offensive Tackles ever to play the gamee.
2. Booker Brown: 1973 Consensus All American, he first played at Santa Barbara City College before transferring to USC. He wasn’t quite the success of Yary on the next level, but then very few are.
3. Pat Howell: 1978 was Howell’s turn to be an All American at USC. He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Houston Oilers and played in the NFL for 7 seasons.
4. Brad Budde: The following season, in 1979, the USC Trojans produced All American Brad Budde at Offensive Guard. Budde won the Lombardi Award in 1979 as the nation’s best Lineman. He was picked in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs where he spent his entire career. His father, Ed, was also a first round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs and played with the Chiefs his entire career.
5. Keith Van Horne: Van Horne played right next to Budde and was an All American in 1980. First round pick of the Chicago Bears and a staple in their Offensive Line in their glory years.
6. Roy Foster: Foster played on the same team as Budde, Van Horne and Munoz and was an All American in 1981. He was a first round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins and was an anchor in the Offensive Line for the Dolphins and later the San Francisco 49ers.
7. Bruce Matthews: Right behind the group featuring Munoz and Van Horne was Bruce Matthews and Don Mosebar in 1982. Matthews was a first round pick by the Houston Oilers and you want to talk about success talk Matthews and 14 years in the Pro Bowl. He is another member of the USC Offensive Line that is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
8. Don Mosebar: Mosebar was a great Offensive Tackle obviously with his All American status in 1982. He was picked in the first round also and by the Raiders of Los Angeles or Oakland. He played in three Pro Bowls and played in the league for twelve seasons.
9. Tony Slaton: The following season, 1983, Slaton was a Consensus All American. He was a sixth round NFL pick by the Raiders and played there and briefly with the Cowboys.
10. Jeff Bregel: Bregel was a two time Consensus All American in 1985 and 1986. He was picked by San Francisco in 1987, but had a disappointing NFL career.
11. Dave Cadigan: Cadigan was a Consensus All American in 1987and then taken with the 8th pick of the first round by the New York Jets. He was moderately successful in the NFL playing and starting for much of seven seasons.
12. Tony Boselli: In my book, Boselli was as good of an Offensive Lineman that ever lived. If not for injury which cut his career a little short, he would no doubt be in the Hall of Fame some day. In 1994, he was a Consensus All American and then was a first round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the second pick of the first round. Boselli gave up one sack in his entire career. I ran into the guy, literally, once and he is every bit of 6-7, 325. I am 6-5, 265 and I felt dwarfed. He was a brilliant Left Tackle and a quality guy.
13. Jacob Rogers: The Trojans took off a few years with their Offensive Linemen and did not produce many quality ones until Pete Carroll came along. In 2003, Rogers was their first since Boselli. Rogers was a second round pick by the Dallas Cowboys, but didn’t make an impact in the NFL.
14. Taitusi Lutui: This road grading Tongan was a Consensus All American in 2005 on one of the greatest teams in college football history. He was a second round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals and he was a quality Offensive Linemen at that level as well.
15. Sam Baker: In 2006, Sam Baker was the latest Trojan Offensive Lineman to make Consensus All American. He was a first round pick by the Atlanta Falcons and still plays there.
AAA. Anthony Munoz: Anthony Munoz never made Consensus All American but was possibly the best Offensive Lineman to ever play the game. In the NFL Hall of Fame. The standard when comparing Offensive Linemen is Anthony Munoz.
The next best school for producing All Americans, they are actually tied, is Nebraska. Here is a list of their All Americans.
Nebraska:
1. Bob Newton: Made Consensus All American in 1970. Newton was later a 3rd round and played 11 seasons in the NFL.
2. Marvin Crenshaw: Tom Osborne years produced many All American Offensive Linemen and Crenshaw made it in 1974. He had no success in the NFL.
3. Rick Bonness: He was an All American in 1975, but only started only 2 games in the NFL.
4. Kelvin Clark: Clark was an All American in 1978 and he was later a 1st round pick and started 25 games in the NFL.
5. Randy Schleusener: He was a top player and an All American in 1980. Unfortunately for him, he was a 9th round pick and played only 1 season in the NFL.
6. Dave Rimington: The standard for college football Centers and the Rimington Award is named after him. He was a Consensus All American in 1981. He was a 1st round pick by the Cincinnati Bengals and played in the NFL for 7 seasons.
7. Dean Steinkuhler: He was one of the more impressive physical specimens in college football history and was a Consensus All American in 1983. He was a 1st round NFL pick at #2 by the Houston Oilers. As great of a college player as he was, he never quite lived up to the hype in the NFL. He was a great college Offensive Lineman and one of the best I have ever seen.
8. Mark Traynowicz: He made Consensus All American in 1984 and he was a 2nd round pick but a marginal NFL player and failed to make an impact.
9. Jake Young: The All American from Midland, Texas was an All American in 1988. He was not drafted and later he was killed in the Bali Bombings senselessly at the age of 34.
10. Will Shields: Shields was an All American in 1992 and he played 14 seasons in Kansas City and had the best NFL career of any Cornhusker Offensive Linemen.
11. Brendan Stai: Stai was a 1994 All American and a 3rd round pick and started 96 games in the NFL.
12. Zach Wiegert: Teammates with Stai in 1994 on one of the greatest teams in college football history. He was a 2nd round pick and started 137 games in the NFL and he is right there with Will Shields as one of the Cornhuskers best in the NFL.
13. Aaron Taylor: Taylor was a Consensus All American in 1996 and later a 7th round pick and played only 1 season in the NFL somewhat surprisingly.
14. Dominic Raiola: One of the more controversial characters at Nebraska, he was an All American in the 2000 season. He was a 2nd round pick and started 203 NFL games and is another very successful NFL players.
15. Toniu Fonori: He was the Huskers last All American in the Offensive Line as Osborne retired and Frank Solich was fired and lessor coaches replaced them. He was an All American in 2001. He was a 2nd round pick by the NFL and he started 33 games in the NFL.
Some other schools with numerous Consensus All Americans in the Offensive Line:
Surprisingly, Texas and Michigan are right behind USC and Nebraska with 13 Consensus All American Offensive Linemen each.
Ohio State:
Dave Foley 1968
John Hicks 1973
Steve Myers 1974
Kurt Schumacher 1974
Ted Smith 1975
Chris Ward 1976 and 1977.
Ken Fritz 1979
Jim Lachey 1984
Orlando Pace 1995
Colorado:
Mike Montler 1968
Don Popplewell 1970
Joe Garten 1989
Jay Leeuwenburg 1991
Bryan Stoltenberg 1995
Chris Naeole 1996
Andre Gurode 2001
Nate Solder 2010
Notre Dame:
George Kunz 1968
Larry DiNardo 1970
Gerry DiNardo 1974
Dave Huffman 1978
John Scully 1980
Mirko Jurkovic 1991
Aaron Taylor 1992
Arkansas:
Jim Barnes 1967
Rodney Brand 1968
Leotis Harris 1976
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Greg Kolenda 1979
Steve Korte 1982
Jim Mabry 1989
Shawn Andrews 2002
Jonathan Luigs 2007
Texas:
Bob McKay 1969
Jerry Sizemore 1971
Bill Wyman 1973
Bob Simmons 1975
Terry Tausch 1981
Doug Dawson 1983
Dan Neil 1996
Leonard Davis 2000
Mike Williams 2001
Derrick Dockery 2002
Jonathon Scott 2005
Justin Blalock 2006
Michigan:
Dan Dierdorf 1970
Reggie McKenzie 1971
Paul Seymour 1972
Mark Donahue 1976
Kurt Becker 1981
Ed Muransky 1981
John Vitale 1988
Greg Skrepenak 1991
Steve Hutchinson 2000
Dave Baas 2004
Justin Long 2006 07
David Molk 2011
Oklahoma:
Tom Brahany 1971
John Roush 1974
Mike Vaughan 1976
Greg Roberts 1978
Louis Oubre 1980
Terry Crouch 1981
Mark Hutson 1987
Anthony Phillips 1988
Jammal Brown 2004
Duke Robinson 2007
Trent Williams 2009
Tennessee:
Bob Johnson 1967
Charles Rosenfelder 1968
Chip Kell 1969
Bill Mayo 1984
Eric Still 1989
Antone Davis 1990
Cosey Coleman 1999
Michael Munoz 2004
Georgia:
Ed Chandler 1967
Royce Smith 1971
Randy Johnson 1975
Pete Anderson 1985
Matt Stinchcomb 1998
Max Jean-Gilles 2005
Penn State:
Dave Joyner 1971
Keith Dorney 1978
Sean Farrell 1981
Jeff Hartings 1995
Alabama:
John Hannah 1972
Buddy Brown 1973
Jim Bunch 1979
Chris Samuels 1999
Antoine Caldwell 2008
Andre Smith 2008
Mike Johnson 2009
Barrett Jones 2010′
Chance Warmack 2012
Cyrus Kouandjio 2013
Florida State:
Jamie Dukes 1985
Clay Shiver 1995
Jason Whitaker 1999
Alex Barron 2003
Rodney Hudson 2010
Bryan Stork 2013