We've reached the Sweet 16 of the Warchant Bracket Challenge, where we're asking fans to pick the best player in Florida State football history.
And just in case you weren't aware of how much talent this school has produced: Peter Warrick, Corey Simon, Roberto Aguayo and Chris Weinke were all bounced in the second round.
Peter Warrick is the best receiver in school history, maybe the best in ACC history. Simon was a two-time All-American and the No. 6 pick in the NFL Draft. Aguayo was arguably the best kicker in college football history. And Weinke, you know, won a Heisman Trophy.
And none of them even reached the third round. Tough crowd.
But here's who did reach the third round, along with my summation of each of the eight matchups left.
Offensive Playmakers
1. Charlie Ward vs. 5. Warrick Dunn
Two former roommates going up against each other. Dunn already knocked off the other Warrick, but I don't see him being able to pull off this upset. Ironically, the play that made Ward a Florida State (and college football) legend is the same one that made Dunn one, too.
Enjoy.
Then we have another battle of former teammates.
2. Jameis Winston vs. 3. Dalvin Cook
Cook already dispatched of one Heisman Trophy winner, but this is going to be a whole lot more difficult. For one, Winston played at FSU six years ago, not 20. So his greatness is fresher in our minds than Weinke, who was only a No. 6 seed in this bracket despite winning a Heisman and helping lead FSU to three national championship games.
I also think Winston was better. And so do the vast majority of you. But was he so good that Cook has no chance in this matchup? We'll see! Probably, but you never know.
Cook was fantastic. It would have been cool to see him matched up with Dunn for an all-time battle of running backs. But I have a feeling we're going to get an all-time battle of quarterbacks in the Elite Eight. At any rate. Here's a highlight of Dalvin Cook and Jameis Winston playing together.
Legends/Special teams
1. Ron Simmons vs. 2. Fred Biletnikoff
This one is a doozy. Unlike the other matchups we've had so far, this is such a tough comparison because they don't play the same position. Simmons was the first great player for Bobby Bowden at Florida State, was an anchor on the two best teams he had (1979, 1980) before the dynasty run. And he became a world famous pro wrestler, which isn't nothing!
Meanwhile, Biletnikoff is a Pro Football Hall of Famer who has a major award named after him. He also had a great mustache. So, this one is going to be tough!
1. Sebastian Janikowski vs. 1. Greg Reid
After the highway robbery he pulled in the last round vs. Aguayo, Janikowski now takes on one of the best punt returners in college football over the last two decades.
(OK, I'll give you voters the benefit of the doubt in taking Janikowski over Aguayo, as long as you were using his pro football career as a type of tiebreaker. Obviously, Jano was 10 times the pro kicker that Aguayo was. Maybe 20 times. But in college, Aguayo was just better. By any measure. But what are you gonna do?)
Now it's Greg Reid vs. Janikowski. Another fun matchup. I think Reid might be the best return man in FSU history because he would actually race up and catch every punt, and he was also a demon on kick returns (Deion, T-Buck and Peter Warrick, never returned kicks). And Janikowski, even more than two decades later, is a bigger-than-life legend at Florida State.
I feel like Sea-bass is going to win this one, which I completely understand. But here's a video of Greg Reid highlights from his freshman year ... go to the end to see that all-time return against Maryland to keep the bowl streak alive.
Offensive/Defensive linemen
1. Walter Jones vs. No. 3 Rodney Hudson
I'm interested to see what you guys will do this one. There's no argument that Jones was the more talented lineman -- seeing as, you know, he might the best offensive tackle to ever play the sport.
But Jones also played just one year at Florida State.
Hudson, who has had a very good NFL career in his own right, started for the Seminoles for four seasons. He was also an All-American, and maybe most memorably: He made offensive line coach Rick Trickett cry when he talked about him heading into the Chick fil-A Bowl in 2010. (Think about how good you must be to make Trickett cry when he's reflecting on your career.)
Whatever happens, it's cool to see Hudson getting this much love. He was a great, great, great college football player.
1. Peter Boulware vs. No. 2 Andre Wadsworth
I was surprised how easily Boulware dispatched of fellow defensive end Reinard Wilson in the second round. I don't know if that had something to do with their NFL careers or not, but Wilson was a beast in college. He had over 100 tackles as a defensive end in 1996, and he was pretty darn close to Boulware in sacks, too.
But alas, he wasn't Peter Boulware. No shame in that! So Boulware moves on to play against another one of his teammates from those incredible mid-'90s defenses.
The cool thing about Andre Wadsworth isn't just that he went from a role player to a superstar, but that he did it as a former walk-on with literally no scholarship offers from major schools. He believed in himself so much that he walked on to the best football program in the country. He forced his way into the rotation, then became a starter at defensive tackle, then became a star at defensive end.
Would love to have seen what kind of NFL career he would've had without the injuries.
Defensive Playmakers
No. 1 Deion Sanders vs. No. 4 Terrell Buckley
Imagine being Terrell Buckley. You were a Thorpe Award winner. You were a consensus All-American. You hold your school's all-time record for interceptions in a career and in a season. You had 12 picks in 1991! Twelve! That's a Cy Young-like record that will never be topped.
You also still hold the NCAA record for most interception return yards in a career. And you played just three seasons before heading off to the NFL, where you were drafted with the No. 5 overall pick and spent more than a decade in the league.
And yet you'll never be considered the best cornerback in your school's history.
Because your school produced Deion.
Anyway, it's an honor just to make it this far, Terrell. Seriously. You were a great player. A joy to watch. One of the best defensive backs to ever play college football. You just weren't Deion.
At any rate, here's a highlight clip of ol' T-Buck saying, "How do you do?" to 100,000 Michigan fans.
No. 2 Marvin Jones vs. No. 3 Derrick Brooks
This might be the matchup that intrigues me the most.
For my money, Marvin Jones is the best linebacker I ever saw play college football. He might have been the best player, period, to wear garnet and gold. He was so good that he finished fourth in the 1992 Heisman Trophy voting. Fourth!
And yet ... Derrick Brooks is maybe the best NFL linebacker of all time. And he wasn't too shabby in college either! So, you know, good luck with this one, voters!
Look at these last two matchups by the way. You have two NFL Hall of Famers and two College Football Hall of Famers.
When it's all said and done, just in the offensive and defensive playmaker categories in this round, you've got eight players who will wind up in the College Football Hall of Fame.
If you got to watch them all play in person, in their primes, consider yourself lucky.
I know I do.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @corey_clark on twitter.
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NOTE: The voting for the Sweet 16 of the Bracket Challenge will begin later today. Check back for the links to vote on the Tribal Council.
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