To celebrate the 150th anniversary in 2019, ESPN.com selected the first and second greatest teams of all time. With the last 40 years under our belts having attended 610 games thus far, we at collegefootballfan.com got to see our fair share of some of the greatest players in all of college football history play during those years. Below, we remember what we can about those we saw over these many years and some stuff we had to look up, too.

First team, all-time defensive players

DL Reggie White, Tennessee, 1980-1983

In the fourth and final edition of The Garden State Bowl in the Meadowlands in 1981, the most vivid memory of that game until this day was Tennessee’s Olympian WR Willie Gault streaking down the right sideline for an 87-yard kickoff return to give his Vols a 10-7 lead over Wisconsin. The Vols and Badgers drew to a 21-point tie going into the final period, and the Vols scored with 8:43 to take the lead to win the game. On the defensive side of the ball for Tennessee, soph DL Reggie White ended his stalwart season with eight tackle to earn the award as Defensive Player of the game.

About this time, White studied theology and became a Baptist Minister while at UT earning him the name “Minister of Defense” before going on his professional career. His 293 stops over four years in Knoxville including 32 sacks propelled him into the USFL where he played for the Memphis Showboats. He payed there for two season before the league shutdown. He moved on to the Philadelphia Eagles who had drafted him at of Tennessee as the fourth pick of the 1984 draft. White played 15 years in the NFL with the Eagles, Packers and Panthers. The totaled 221.5 sacks in both leagues making him the all-time pro sack leader. In 2005, he passed away too early from cardiac arrhythmia, and in 2006 the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined him on his first ballot. The University of Tennessee, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers all retired his “92” jersey in his memory.

DB Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1995-97

In his junior season, we saw Woodson and his fellow Wolverines bring their 8-0 record to Happy Valley in State College, PA to face 7-0 Penn State in 1997. Working on his second straight season earning first-team All-American honors, the full-time DB and part-time offensive weapon and punt returner left the denizens of the Valley very unhappy decimating the Nittany Lions, 38-3. The dominating Michigan defense held all their opponents that season to a 9.75 ppg average heading to a 12-0 record and the National Championship following their Rose Bowl victory. In 1996 and 1997, Woodson earned Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year Award. In 1997, he garnered the Heisman Trophy award outpacing QB Peyton Manning of Tennessee by 282 votes. He left the college ranks with 18 INTs over three seasons to be taken fourth in the 1998 draft by the Oakland Raiders. Over 15 years with the Raiders and Packers, he picked off 65 passes and scored 11 TDs on returns. His 13 career defensive touchdowns leave him tied with two other players for most ever.

First team, all-time offensive players

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Pitt, 2002-2003

In 2003, I grabbed a few tickets to take my eight year-old son Eric for two late season night games to see the Pitt Panthers play key opponents in the final season of Big East football. Fitzgerald was only a sophomore, but it was one of only two seasons he performed for the Panthers (8-5,5-2). For Pitt fans, his time forged tremendous memories before heading to the NFL.

We got to see an exciting 31-28 win over Virginia Tech with him hauling in a five-yard TD pass early in the game. In their last regular season game, the Panthers fell to eventual No. 2 Miami, 28-14, when he caught an 18-yarder in the third period to finalize the score. He completed his soph season with 92 catches for 1,672 yards, and 22 TDs. Putting a stamp on his very short collegiate career, he finished No. 2 in the Heisman balloting before being drafted No. 3 overall by the Arizona Cardinals.

OT Orlando Pace, Ohio State, 1994-1996

Pace became a leader in the term “pancakes” during his career as a Buckeye. We got to see him play in a key game in 1995. The memory goes back to expecting to see a good game and to see this junior throw his weight around against the Nittany Lions at Penn State. However, the game turned out to be a one-sided affair as the Lions stormed past the Buckeyes , 63-14, on their way to the Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl win over Oregon to finish undefeated, but only No. 2 in the country.

As for Pace and Ohio State, they finished 11-2 that season. In 1996, his senior season, Orlando received Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Outland Trophy winner among other awards. In 1997, the St. Louis Rams drafted him as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He finished fourth in the Heisman balloting his senior season, quite indicative of how dominant a lineman he reigned as during his collegiate career.

OT Bill Fralic, Pitt, 1981-1984

A starter at Pitt coming out of Penn Hills High School, we got to see Fralic compete for the Panthers during six games in three of his seasons at Pitt. His team finished No. 4 at 11-1 his first season as we saw the Panthers led by QB Dan Marino defeat Syracuse at home and Rutgers and Temple on the road. During Fralic’s Soph season, we attended the big Pitt-Penn State game which the Lions won 19-10 before going on to defeat Georgia for the National Championship in the Sugar Bowl. Pitt finished 9-3 ranked No. 10.

We didn’t see the Panthers his junior season when they finished 8-4-1. Surprisingly, we watched the Panthers fall to Temple at the Vet his senior season, but they defeated the Nittany Lions in State College. Though they fell on hard times his senior season, Fralic garnered Consensus All-American accolades in both of those season. He also got Heisman consideration finishing eighth and sixth respectively in ’83 and ’84. The Atlanta Falcons selected him at No. 2 overall in the 1985 draft.

Come back to see our 2019 Collegefootballfan.com season in review!