He's not there yet, of course.
Even after his PGA Championship on Sunday, which gave him four major titles in the last 2 1/2 years, the 29-year-old Brooks Koepka isn't the best pro athlete in Florida State history.
That spot, in my mind, is still reserved for the guy who is considered the best cornerback in football history and, oh yeah, had a nine-year Major League Baseball career that included leading the league in triples at age 24.
Koepka is great. But he's not Deion.
Still, right now, he's the best golfer on the planet. He's as good at what he does, right now, as Deion Sanders was when he was at the peak of his powers on the football field. Or when Dave Cowens was on the basketball court. Or when Derrick Brooks and Walter Jones were dominating in the NFL for a full decade. Or when Buster Posey was the best catcher in baseball.
That's the company that Koepka now keeps.
It's how he's put himself in this conversation.
I mean, seriously, read these next few paragraphs to get an idea of just what we're witnessing here. Because this isn't normal.
You know how many golfers in history have won four out of eight major championships?
The answer is four: Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus (hey, didn't he have a grandson who played football?), Tiger Woods and Koepka. That's it. In the history of the game.
He also became the fourth golfer … ever … to successfully defend a major title more than once. The others: Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Tiger Woods.
And he became the sixth golfer since 1962 to win a major championship in three consecutive years. The others: Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
This is outrageous stuff, people. And this is why he's now in the conversation.
As we saw on Warchant's Tribal Council message board this weekend, Florida State fans are well aware how special this Koepka run is. The great SamENole, who joined Warchant all the way back in May of 2002 (what a run it's been!) posed the question on the Tribal Council:
Is Brooks Koepka gonna go down as the greatest FSU athlete of all time?
As I'm writing this, there have been 154 replies.
And it's a fun conversation. Most of the board seems to agree that it's going to take a lot -- and I mean A LOT -- to knock Deion off the perch.
Like BigCleat42 (a member since 2015) wrote:
Deion is our GOAT. Brooks would have to win double-digit majors to even be in the conversation with Prime. My Top 5 'Noles from the Pros would be:
1. Deion Sanders
2. Walter Jones
3. Dave Cowens
4. Fred Biletnikoff
5. Derrick Brooks
I can't say I disagree much with BigCleat's assessment here. I would probably move Brooks up to No. 2 or No. 3 on that list, but otherwise, I think that's a very solid and well-reasoned Top 5.
But you could make arguments for a number of other athletes, which is what makes lists like these so fun to talk about.
As I read through the thread, though, I saw a number of posters mention Jessie Warren. And I think it's important to point out we're talking solely about what these FSU athletes did as professionals. Warren is one of the all-time great athletes in school history, but sadly her post-FSU softball career -- however long it lasts -- probably won't be enough to get her on this list because of the lack of funding and attention given to that sport on the professional level. It's a bummer, too, because she's as good at her sport, in my opinion, as just about anyone else on this list.
I guess she'll just have to settle for that national championship ring and making one of the all-time great catches in FSU history.
Turning back to Koepka, I'm not sure where he ranks at the moment. The thread, which played out over the course of a few days, did a good job of highlighting just how lucky FSU fans are to have this many people in the conversation.
Posters brought up Buster Posey, of course. Hubert Green, a Hall of Fame golfer who passed away last year, got some serious love in the thread as well. But as successful as Green was -- 19 overall PGA Tour wins and two majors -- this Koepka thing is something different.
He's the reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year. And in the first two majors this season, he has a second-place finish and a first-place finish.
This is Tiger-in-his-prime type stuff.
Koepka hasn't accomplished enough yet, hasn't had the longevity yet, to rank ahead of those all-time great football players -- or Cowens -- in my opinion. But I would also argue that no FSU athlete has ever displayed this type of incredible brilliance over such a short span. Again, remember those names: Tiger, Jack, Hogan. This is the company that Koepka is currently keeping.
And he's also 29. His career isn't even close to being over. In fact, for all we know, he hasn't hit his prime yet. What if the goes on to win six more majors? Or 10? Or 15? At this point, who's to say?
Five years ago, Koepka was a virtual unknown who had won some tournaments in Europe. Now he's the best golfer in the world, with 10 top-10 finishes in majors and four championships.
There is a chance we're watching one of the best golfers to ever live.
It took him a while to get his pro career on solid ground, but as soon as he did, it was like he took off in a Deion-like sprint. And we have no idea where the finish line is.
Either way, I think pcnole73 (a member since 2004!) put it best with a post on the Tribal Council: Having one of the best golfers in the world being an FSU alum is pretty awesome!
On that, we can all agree.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council
