The Most Iconic College Football Players of the 2010’s

Anybody like a bit of nostalgia? As college football hurls into a terrifying new era of conference realignment, playoff expansion, NIL, and transfer madness, I thought it fitting to look back on simpler times. I invite you to reflect with me on college football’s biggest stars of the 2010’s: a decade defined by dynasties, high-flying offenses, and real life superheroes wearing shoulder pads. Sure, I’m romanticizing a bit, but the 2010’s produced some massive names in college football. Some of the names on my list are still elite players today, and some just didn’t pan out at the next level. But each player gifted us with collegiate careers that deserve to be remembered. Now, let me clarify before you get mad and start throwing out stats: these are not the best players of the 2010’s, they are the players that I believe to be the most iconic. I decided to exclude players that played in college beyond 2019 to keep the list 2010’s-focused. As with any list, some great players will be left out. With this group especially, I could include about twenty honorable mentions. I’ll save us all the time and get straight to my top fifteen most iconic college football players of the 2010’s.

15. Tyrann Mathieu

I’ll be honest. Tyrann Mathieu makes this list in part because “The Honey Badger” is one of the most iconic nicknames of the decade. I remember seeing commercials for LSU games including real clips of honey badgers. Matthieu backed up the hype with his performance on the field in 2011, scoring six touchdowns on the season through interceptions, fumble returns, and punt returns. “The Honey Badger” was an all-round football weapon in his days with the Tigers, and remains one of the most memorable defensive players in recent history.

14. Amari Cooper

It’s tough to have a better freshman season than Amari Cooper had. Cooper amassed 59 catches, 1,000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns as he helped Alabama win the national championship. His pristine route running abilities made A.J. McCarron look like one of the best quarterbacks in the sport. Oh, and Cooper topped all of those numbers in his junior year on the way to winning the Biletnikoff award. Cooper is still one of the more technically sound elite receivers college football has ever seen.

13. Andrew Luck

Andrew Luck won 30 games during his three seasons with the Cardinal, including a 2011 Orange Bowl victory in Jim Harbaugh’s last game at Stanford. In 2011, he scored 39 total touchdowns and just barely missed out on the Heisman trophy. His on-field excellence and magnetic leadership made him the top draft pick in a loaded quarterback class in 2012. If his time at Stanford had overlapped with Christian McCaffrey’s, that truly would have been something special.

12. Robert Griffin III

Here’s the player that Luck lost the Heisman trophy to. RG3 highlighted an era of Baylor football when the Bears were expected to score at least 50 points in any game they played. In 2011, he put up nearly 5,000 total yards and 47 total touchdowns, ultimately winning the Heisman and leading Baylor to their first top 25 finish in 25 years. Though injuries stole away his pro career, Griffin gave college football fans plenty of highlights to look back on.

11. Baker Mayfield

The first of a few polarizing QB’s on my list, Baker Mayfield’s was a classic college football story. After walking on at Texas Tech, Baker transferred to Oklahoma and lit the college football world on fire. In three seasons with the Sooners, Mayfield totaled 138 touchdowns, three conference championships, two playoff appearances, and one Heisman trophy. Fans loved him for his supreme confidence and explosive play style, and rivals hated him for, well, his supreme confidence and explosive play style.

10. Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow started his collegiate career at Ohio State. He never got the opportunity to be the starter for the Buckeyes, and transferred to LSU after his sophomore season. The rest, as they say, is history. Burrow exploded onto the scene in 2019, leading one of the best college football teams of all time to an undefeated national championship season. That year, he threw for 5,671 yards, which would be a record in the NFL despite Burrow playing only 15 games compared to 17 in the league. Oh yeah, and he won the Heisman with the highest ever percentage of votes.

9. Manti Te’o

Manti Te’o was included in plenty of headlines off the field, but let’s focus on the football side of things. Te’o was one of the best players of the 2010’s, and the only defensive player of the decade to be a Heisman finalist. Throughout his time at Notre Dame, he was everywhere on the field, making over 100 tackles in three consecutive seasons for the Fighting Irish. He capped off his iconic collegiate career by leading his team to a national championship appearance in 2012.

8. Jameis Winston

Another player who made headlines off the field, Jameis Winston was the center of attention in college football during his time at Florida State. In 2013, he threw for over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, winning the Heisman and leading his team to an undefeated national championship season. Despite the following season being much less impressive, Jameis showed enough to become the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft.

7. Christian McCaffrey

That’s right, a Stanford program that hasn’t produced a winning season since 2018 has two players on my list. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. CMC is still one of the best players in the world today. As a result, many people don’t immediately associate him with collegiate stardom. McCaffrey’s career at Stanford was electric. In 2015, he rushed for over 2,000 yards and added 645 receiving yards with 17 total touchdowns. Somehow all of that wasn’t enough to win him the Heisman trophy over Derrick Henry (more on him later). He did, however, earn AP Player of the Year honors that year. If you’re a Stanford fan, I wouldn’t blame you for turning on Run CMC highlights instead of watching Cardinal games this season.

6. Derrick Henry

It would be hard not to include at least a couple of former Alabama players on this list. The Crimson Tide dominated the 2010’s, and in 2014 and 2015, Derrick Henry was at the center of it. King Henry ran like a grown man among boys, proving himself to be the best running back in the country. In 2015, Henry rushed for over 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns and won the Heisman trophy over the aforementioned McCaffrey. Alabama football at the time was defined by physical dominance, and Henry embodied that perhaps better than anyone else.

5. Jadeveon Clowney

To this day, if you mention “the Jadeveon Clowney hit” to a college football fan, they know the play you’re talking about. If that’s not a sign of an iconic player, I don’t know what is. Clowney was one of the most dominant defensive players in the country in 2012 and commanded attention from every offense he faced during his time at South Carolina. Though his fame at times was more hype than substance, he drew incredible amounts of attention.

4. Lamar Jackson

Lamar Jackson was box office gold during his time at Louisville. Every play could become a highlight, and many did. In 2016, his Heisman season, Jackson passed for over 3,500 yards and ran for over 1,500. Then, in 2017, he posted almost the exact same stat line. The incredible rushing ability and elite athleticism led many to believe that Jackson couldn’t hold up as a quarterback at the next level, but he’s done plenty to prove his doubters wrong once again.

3. Cam Newton

While most of Cam Newton’s collegiate career wasn’t played in the 2010’s, the one year that counts was. After two years of riding the bench at Florida, Cam transferred to Auburn, where he would take the college football world by storm. In 2010, Newton gained over 4,000 yards and scored 50 touchdowns, including 20 on the ground. He led Auburn to a perfect 14-0 season and capped it off with the Tigers’ first and only national championship win in the BCS era.

2. Deshaun Watson

You could make an argument that Deshaun Watson had the most successful collegiate career of any player on this list. In three seasons, Watson led Clemson to a 38-5 combined record, including two national championship appearances and one win. He was the face of the Clemson-Alabama rivalry that defined the decade in many ways. For those of us that viewed the Tigers as the likable underdog during the Tide’s merciless reign, Watson was the hero of the sport.

1. Johnny Manziel

Johnny Football was more than iconic during his run with the Aggies in 2012 and 2013. He absolutely took over the world of college football. Manziel was incredibly polarizing off the field, and incredibly captivating on it. The stats were impressive, but the spectacle was unlike any other. It felt like every week we were treated with a new unbelievable highlight. Manziel’s dynamism and a signature win over Alabama earned him the Heisman in 2012. While Johnny hasn’t found the same level of success in his professional career, he will go down as one of the most exciting college players of all time.