I'm going to get this out of the way real quick: I might be the world's biggest Terrell Buckley fan.
At least I was when I was a teenager in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
He might just be my all-time favorite Florida State football player. It's probably him or Deion. And while I'm not going to sit here and try to make an argument that Buckley was better than "Prime Time," because I don't think anybody has ever played the position better than Deion did, I will argue that there's never been a more exciting cornerback in college football history than Terrell Buckley.
The dude was lightning. He was electricity in a No. 27 uniform.
He had 12 interceptions. In ONE season. He had 21 for his career. He still holds the NCAA record for most interception return yards. And on top of all that, I think he might be the best punt returner I've ever seen.
For all of his accomplishments, Buckley was named to the College Football Hall of Fame earlier this week. It was an honor long overdue, in my opinion. Then again, I'm the guy who had Buckley pictures and posters on the wall of my bedroom as a high school freshman.
There are many of you reading this who didn't have the pleasure of watching him play.
It's hard to describe. But it was incredible to watch.
He was undersized. About 5-foot-10. And while he was fast, obviously, he didn't have other-wordly speed like Deion. But the guy just attacked the football. If it was in the air, it was his. That was his philosophy.
And if you were dumb enough to punt to him, he was going to make you pay for it.
That was his philosophy, too.
The guy averaged 12.2 yards per punt return in his career. And he averaged almost 24 yards per interception return.
To get an idea of just how special he was, he totaled over 1,500 yards in his three-year Florida State career. And he never played a single down on offense or returned a kickoff.
Just an astonishing player.
Anyway, as you can tell from the previous paragraphs, ol' Corey Clark is a big fan of Terrell Buckley. So it was a really neat moment this week when I got to interview him, along with the esteemed Aslan Hajivandi, on our popular "Wake up Warchant" podcast.
It was about 30 minutes. We talked about his career, how he found out he had been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, Mickey Andrews, his coaching career, some of his all-time favorite plays at FSU and whether he would be open to returning to his alma mater one day.
He also quizzes the two hosts on football strategy. Not surprisingly, we fail.
It's a fun interview. If you're too young to really understand Buckley's career, as he says in the interview, go ahead and "Google" him. Then listen. It's really interesting stuff. And if you were one of the lucky ones who did get to watch him play, I think you'll really enjoy hearing him talk about those glory days.
Listen to the full Terrell Buckley interview here:
