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Who was CU's best NFL player? Bleacher Report says Kordell

Buffnik

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
Club Member
Junta Member
There were a few other choices, but nobody really stood out. Mitch Berger, the former punter, has been selected to a few All-Pro teams but he did not make quite the impact that "Slash" made in the NFL.
Kordell Stewart was one of the tougher guys to defend in the NFL as a quarterback, and had the best year of his career in 2001 where they lost in the AFC Championship to the New England Patriots. He was also named the AFC Offensive Player of the Year that season, where he led the Steelers to the best record in the conference (13-3).

2017943_display_image.jpg


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ayer-from-every-college-football-team/page/24
 
Wow, that's a stretch, throughout history there have been some exceptional Buffs in the NFL, just off the top:
Whizzer White
Cullen Bryant
Cliff Branch
Barry Helton
Tom Ashworth
 
Tom Ashworth? Really?

How many other BCS schools don't have a HOF alum?
 
sliderNcider said:
Tom Ashworth? Really?

How many other BCS schools don't have a HOF alum?
Click to expand...

Tom was a great guy, a quality lineman with a fist full of superbowl rings and some funny Mastercard commercials, but it would be unfortunate if he was CU's best player.
 
Cliff Branch, Dick Anderson, Andre Gurode.

Branch should probably be in the HOF, and would be if not for a seriously deep talent pool at WR already there. Anderson was part of the undefeated Dolphins team. Gurode is a multi time pro-bowler.
 
CU players not terribly successful at the NFL level iyam. I think Andre Gurode is our only pro bowler in the last 5 years, maybe more. Pitt for example, has 4 pro bowlers this year
 
Leon White. He's in the Hall of Fame, not the football hall of fame, but still...
 
Andre Gurode and Chad Brown in the last 20 years. I can't speak to anything prior to that.

Gurode had 5 Pro Bowls and 2 All Pro Selections. Brown had 3 Pro Bowls and 2 All Pro selections.
 
Donald Strickland is STILL pulling a paycheck in the NFL. I find that incredible. It seems like another lifetime that he drilled Darren Sproles.
 
Typical media QB fixation.

Cordell was never considered one of the best at his position in the NFL, wasn't even a solid starter very long.

Gurode was considered in contention for the best center in the game, 5x pro-bowls, 2x allpro
Chad Brown was a multi-year starter three time pro bowler, 2x all pro

You could even look at Al Williams who was an all-pro and pro bowler once and has two SB rings ahead of Kordell who only had one pro bowl and was a starter less time.

If you want to go back a little Cliff Branch had four consecutive pro bowl selections, three SB rings, and was a semi-finalist for the HOF.
 
Brundage, Steed, Cain, Ted Johnson, Branch, A Williams, Cullen Bryant, Bobby Anderson, Dick Anderson, Fauria ....... Some careers were cut short, but to list Cordell as the best is probably a reach. Don't get me wrong -- I like Stewart and think he had a part in the "Stealers" success, but .....
 
Tractor said:
Joel Steed FTMFW
Click to expand...

Cliff Branch and Chad Brown are probably better selections based on Pro Bowls, but screw it...+1 for me. Joel Steed was a great player for the Buffs and the Steelers. As the nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme, this is what Steed set up during his 8 year career with the Steelers:

League Rank Against The Run:
1992 = 17th
1993 = 3rd
1994 = 7th
1995 = 2nd
1996 = 3rd
1997 = 1st (Steed's 1st and only Pro Bowl year)
1998 = 13th
1999 = 26th (Steed's last year before hanging it up)

He was also a fun guy to be around, which I'm sure many of his teammates that post here occassionally would confirm.
 
I would say Clifford Branch. 3 Rings and he sniffed the HOF. Kordell was a very decent QB for a handful of seasons, and came very close to starting a few Super Bowls, but I'd put a few of his contemporaries ahead of him (Chad Brown, Ted Johnson).
 
Not even close, guys. Check this out:

Wooten was just the fifth player in Colorado history to earn All-America honors, the first lineman to do so when he was honored in 1958. A three-year letterman at guard (1956-57-58), the AFCA named him an All-American his senior year, after he had earned first-team all-Big Seven accolades as a junior the previous year. He was described as a quick, agile tackle that provided bone-crushing lead blocks in helping to make Colorado one of the top offensive teams of his day (and also played tackle on defense). One of the first two African-American varsity football players at CU (with Frank Clarke), in 1989, he was selected as a first-team member of CU’s All-Century Team. A fifth round draft pick by Cleveland in the 1959 NFL Draft, he had a stellar NFL career as he played nine seasons (136 games) with the Browns and one with Washington, attaining All-Pro status in his Cleveland days. He went on to have a long career in NFL administration with Dallas, Philadelphia and Baltimore; he was in player personnel from 1975 to 1989, and was named director of pro personnel in 1989, a position he held for three years. After one year in the NFL office, where he created player programs in continuing education and financial planning among several innovations, he returned to the front office with Philadelphia (1992-97) and the Baltimore (1998-2003) as a personnel executive; with the Eagles, he was one of the first to hold the title of Vice President of Player Personnel. He retired form the NFL in 2003, and is now president of Wooten Printing, Inc., as well as Chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which works with the NFL to increase job opportunities for minorities in the league. He currently resides in Arlington, Texas.
FGTIHXBSLUWQCMH.20040816233622.jpg
 
Wyo Buff said:
Not even close, guys. Check this out:

Wooten was just the fifth player in Colorado history to earn All-America honors, the first lineman to do so when he was honored in 1958.
Click to expand...
His post-NFL career was more impressive than his NFL career. Quite a guy!
 
Gurode just finished his 10th year in the NFL. He probably has at least 3-4 left in the tank, too. He's been to five straight pro-bowls. I'm sticking with him as my pick for the best Buff in the NFL, with Cliff Branch a close second. I think Gurode may be a legit HOF candidate if he's able to finish out his career.
 
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