Ranking the 25 Greatest Players in Auburn Football History

There is pigskin tradition at Auburn, and it is rich, plentiful and passionate. Sure, they love hating rival Alabama at Auburn, but they also love winning, and they cherish their gridiron heroes who’ve made Toomer’s Corner one of the coolest corners of the college football world for decades.

Auburn has captured 2 national championships and boasts 8 SEC titles. Shortly after it began playing football in 1892, Auburn got right to the business of winning conference crowns in those pre-SEC days, capturing 7 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) titles between 1900 and 1919, then adding a Southern Conference championship in 1932 in the final season before the SEC was launched.

John Heisman, for whom the prestigious Heisman Trophy is named, coached at Auburn from 1895 to 1899 and 3 times a Tigers player brought the Heisman back to The Plains. Those 3 Heisman winners comprise Auburn’s all-time football elite, but there are a lot more layers of talent underneath. Eight former Tigers players are in the College Football Hall of Fame and that number is sure to grow. Auburn is a football factory, and ranking, say, the top 25 players in Tigers history isn’t an easy chore. But we’ll try to do just that, so here’s our best 25 players who’ve ever put on the burnt orange and navy blue.

We’ll go in reverse order and let the arguments begin:

25. Brent Fullwood, RB (1983-86)

There are so many Auburn football legends who could’ve squeezed their way onto this list, including two-way dynamo Tucker Frederickson, a consensus All-American and the SEC Player of the Year in 1964 who legendary coach Shug Jordan once called “the most complete football player I’ve ever seen.” But there are only 25 spots available, and we just couldn’t ignore the tailback who shared the backfield with Bo Jackson and terrorized defenses with almost the same relentlessness. Fullwood was that good in the mid-1980s, and what guarantees his spot on this list is imagining what his stats would’ve looked like had he not come along at the same time as Bo.

Fullwood is 9th on the Tigers’ all-time rushing list with 2,789 yards, he’s tied for 9th in rushing touchdowns with 24, and he was the perfect stand-in when Jackson wasn’t there to do the punishing — Fullwood rumbled for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns against East Carolina when Bo was hampered by a thigh injury during his legendary 1985 Heisman Trophy season. When Fullwood finally had the stage to himself in 1986, he went ballistic. Fullwood was a first-team All-SEC pick and a unanimous All-American, rushing for 1,391 yards and finishing 6th in the Heisman voting. He belongs on this list.

Fullwood is 1 of 46 Auburn players who qualified to appear on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

24. Ronnie Brown, RB (2000-04)

Once again, there really could’ve been a different name in this spot — we’re talking to you, Stephen Davis, who was Auburn’s 4th all-time leading rusher when he left in 1995 — but we’re sticking with a similar premise as Fullwood by going with Brown. Just like Fullwood’s still-glossy stats were tempered because he shared a backfield with Bo, Brown’s numbers were great but could’ve been all-time great had he not been part of a legendary backfield with Cadillac Williams. They formed the greatest running back duo in SEC history. Amazingly, Brown is still 10th on Auburn’s all-time rushing list with 2,707 yards and he’s 7th in rushing touchdowns with 29.

When Williams was injured in 2002, Brown rushed for 1,008 yards, averaged almost 6 yards per carry and scored 13 TDs. In 2004, Brown helped Auburn go undefeated, piling up 913 yards rushing with 8 touchdowns while also catching 34 passes for 313 yards. He was powerful, he was versatile and, obviously, he was unselfish. Brown managed to be one of Auburn’s all-time greats despite starting only 21 of his 47 career games.

Brown isn’t eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame because he was never named a first-team All-American. But his talent suggests he should have been in the running.

23. Zeke Smith, OG/LB (1957-59)

Smith is a sentimental link to the Tigers’ glorious past. He was part of Auburn’s 1957 national championship team, and Smith took it to another level the following two falls, winning the Outland Trophy in 1958 and being named an All-American in ’58 and ’59. Smith passed away in 2016 at age 79, but Auburn has kept his memory alive for everyone to experience. Smith’s banner hangs at Jordan-Hare Stadium beside Tigers legends like Bo Jackson, Cam Newton and Pat Sullivan, and each season Auburn’s top defensive player is given the Zeke Smith Award.

Smith was Alabama through and through. He was born in Walker Springs and went to high school in Uniontown before starring at Auburn.

22. Bo Nix, QB (2019-21)

This one is complicated — and probably a little sad. By numbers alone, Nix belongs on this list and maybe higher up than this. He is 3rd on Auburn’s all-time passing yards list with a whopping 7,251 in just 3 seasons. He is tied for 5th all-time with 39 touchdown passes. He is the Tigers’ all-time leader in total offense with 8,120 yards, and that’s a whole lot of mileage going against SEC defenses. Nix’s numbers were glossy beyond belief. He even beat Alabama as a freshman. But his brilliance didn’t translate into winning enough games, and then things got really messy.

He was inconsistent during the 2021 season, getting benched during a game against Georgia State for heaven’s sake before an injury ended his year and his up-and-down career at Auburn. Nix said he was “miserable” playing for Bryan Harsin and transferred to Oregon, where he threw for over 8,000 yards in 2 seasons.

He finished his 5-year college career with 15,351 passing yards and 113 TD passes.

He was an immense talent but also an enigma and, well, you could easily make the argument for his father, Patrick Nix, or someone like Brandon Cox to be in this spot instead.

21. Buddy McClinton, S (1967-69)

Even after all these decades, McClinton still holds the Auburn record for career interceptions with 18. He still holds the single-season interceptions record, too, picking off 9 passes in 1969 to cap his 3-year ball-hawking assault on quarterbacks. The Montgomery native became an Auburn legend in the late 1960s, earning 2nd-team All-SEC status in ’67 and first-team All-SEC distinction in ’68 and ’69, when he was also named a consensus All-American. Despite being a defensive player, McClinton was named MVP of the 1968 Sun Bowl.

It took many years, but he was finally rewarded. McClinton was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and was named to the SEC Football Legends in 2011.

20. Dameyune Craig, QB (1994-97)

Craig was Auburn football in the mid-1990s. He did it all. Craig is 6th on the Tigers’ all-time passing yards list with 6,026, and he capped his tour de force with an epic season in ’97, breaking Auburn’s single-season passing record with 3,277 yards. That mark still stands almost 3 decades later despite college football being more offensive minded in the past decade, and his 39 career passing touchdowns are still tied for 5th in Tigers history. Craig’s wizardry and excellence has endured.

The Mobile native was a 2nd-team All-SEC selection in that special ’97 season and probably would’ve been first team if not for a guy named Peyton Manning. Craig also almost willed Auburn to an SEC title that year, as the Tigers lost a one-point thriller to Manning and heavily favored Tennessee. Craig showed up when the stage was big, including that SEC Championship Game, being named MVP of Auburn’s bowl wins in ’96 and ’97. And he was named MVP of the Senior Bowl in ’98 in his collegiate curtain call.

19. Gerald Robinson, DE (1982-85)

During the very same years Bo Jackson was terrorizing defenses, Robinson was wreaking havoc on offenses and particularly quarterbacks. The Notasulga, Alabama, product racked up 26 sacks at Auburn, which is still tied for the most all-time with Quentin Groves. Robinson had 10 of those sacks in ’85 before the Minnesota Vikings took him with the 14th overall pick of the ’86 draft. Robinson established himself quickly at Auburn, being named 2nd-team All-SEC in ’83 and first-team All-SEC in ’84. Considering the glossy names below him on Auburn’s all-time sacks list, Robinson’s place atop that list speaks volumes about the force he was.

18. Aundray Bruce, LB (1984-87)

Yes, Bruce was a bit of a bust in the NFL after being taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons in 1988. But he was the top pick in the draft because of what he did at Auburn and boy did he do a lot. Bruce played all over the field at Carver High School in Montgomery, even returning kicks, and he was a basketball star. But much to SEC quarterbacks’ dismay, Bruce settled on football and he settled on playing linebacker. While Derrick Thomas was terrorizing QBs across the state in Tuscaloosa, Bruce was similarly carving up opposing backfields on The Plains.

He was a first-team All-SEC pick in ’86 and ’87, and a consensus All-American in ’87. That season against Georgia Tech, Bruce intercepted 3 passes, returning one for a touchdown, and made 10 unassisted tackles. Yeah, all in one game. And, yeah, a name like Karlos Dansby could’ve easily been plugged into this spot, as in the early 2000s the linebacker kind of did what Bruce did. But we’re giving the slight nod to Bruce.

17. Takeo Spikes, LB (1995-97)

About a decade after Bruce, there was Spikes. He was simply a tackle machine. Spikes is 10th on Auburn’s all-time tackles list with 331, rolling up 136 of them in ’97. Spikes nearly brought an SEC title back to The Plains during that special season, being named MVP of the SEC Championship Game despite the Tigers falling by one point to Peyton Manning’s high-flying Tennessee team. Spikes was a first-team All-SEC selection in ’96 and ’97, a 2nd-team All-American pick in ’96 and a first-team All-American in ’97. Spikes’ level of play was incredibly consistent during his 3-year run at Auburn, and man was he menacing.

Spikes is on the 2025 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.

16. Daniel Carlson, K (2014-17)

A kicker? On this prestigious list? You better believe it. Auburn actually has a proud history of kicking excellence, led by the likes of Al Del Greco, Damon Duval, Win Lyle, John Vaughn, Wes Byrum and Anders Carlson. But it’s Anders’ older brother, Daniel, whom he succeeded in 2018, who is the clear choice to represent the Tigers’ kicking lineage on this list. Daniel Carlson made an astounding 92 field goals during his legendary run at Auburn, which is 13 more than anyone else. Carlson converted slightly over 80 percent of those field-goal attempts, too, and he made all 198 of his extra-point tries.

Simply put, Carlson was one of the best kickers in SEC history and probably college football history. He was the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2016 and ’17, a 3-time first-team All-SEC pick and a 3-time 2nd-team All-American. And Carlson was the leading scorer in SEC football history until Alabama’s Will Reichard passed him in 2023.

15. Joe Cribbs, RB (1976-79)

Cribbs once ran for a cool 250 yards against Georgia in 1978, right in the heart of his late ’70s dominance. The virtuoso performance only ranks 5th on the Tigers’ all-time single-game rushing list because, well, Auburn football is so darn rich at running back. Cribbs’ 3,368 career rushing yards rank 4th on the Tigers’ all-time list, and his 34 rushing touchdowns put him 3rd. He came from Sulligent, Alabama, and he was part of yet another legendary Auburn backfield with James Brooks.

But Cribbs always got his despite Brooks’ presence. He got rolling in ’77 with 872 yards rushing, then exploded in ’78 with 1,205 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, which got him on the All-SEC first team. Cribbs was a threat out of the backfield, too, and he was used on trick plays, completing 3 of his 4 passing attempts for 74 yards. And he finished with a flourish in ’79, piling up 1,120 yards and 14 TDs to earn SEC Player of the Year honors while being named a 3rd-team All-American.

14. Gregg Carr, LB (1981-84)

Carr was so consistent during his tackling tour de force at Auburn that he nearly had the same exact number of tackles in different seasons. In 1983, the Birmingham native rolled up 136 tackles, and a year later he landed on 139 to cap a dominating career. Carr’s whopping 453 career tackles — 289 solo — put him 2nd on Auburn’s all-time list behind only the great Freddie Smith (528). The accolades were plentiful, of course — Carr was a consensus All-American in ’84, a 2nd-team All-American in ’83, a 3-time All-SEC selection (’82-’84) and the SEC Most Valuable Defensive Player in ’84.

He was named to Auburn’s 1980s All-Decade Team and also to the Tigers’ Team of the Century. In 2008, Carr’s legendary Auburn journey was crystalized when he was named to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Carr also is on the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

13. Tre Mason, RB (2011-13)

Mason’s 2,979 career yards rushing puts him 6th on Auburn’s all-time list, and that’s well and good. But the real reason Mason belongs on this list is because in 2013 he went absolutely nuclear, rushing for 1,816 yards — more than Bo Jackson or any other Auburn running back ever did in a season. That breathtaking fall included a 304-yard stampede of a performance against Missouri in the SEC Championship Game, which ranks 2nd on the Tigers’ all-time single-game list. A guy like Mason could get lost at a program with a sea of running back greats — we’re talking to you, Ben Tate, who is 5th on Auburn’s all-time rushing list with 3,321 yards — but we’re not going to let that happen.

The Tigers won that SEC title thanks in large part to Mason, and they almost won the national championship, too. Mason knew how to carve out yards and he knew how to score. Mason’s 23 rushing touchdowns in 2013 are still the most in a season in program history, and his 32 career rushing TDs are tied for 4th all-time. Mason was rewarded for his 2013 masterpiece, being named a first-team All-American.

12. Jason Campbell, QB (2001-04)

Yes, he had Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown to hand the ball off to in the early 2000s, and that certainly helped Campbell’s cause a lot. But when Auburn didn’t run the ball back then, it also had one of the best quarterbacks in Tigers history to lean on. All Campbell did was throw for 7,299 yards, the 2nd-most in school history, while amassing 7,606 yards of total offense, which ranks 3rd all-time at Auburn. His 54 total touchdowns scored rank 5th, and Campbell fired 45 TD passes during his legendary run, which is 2nd all-time only behind the great Pat Sullivan.

Campbell was a first-team All-SEC selection and the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in ’04, and he didn’t mind the big stage either, being named MVP in Auburn’s Music City Bowl and Sugar Bowl victories in his final 2 seasons, respectively. The Sugar Bowl win capped off a perfect 13-0 season, so Campbell went out a winner, and he might’ve won a national championship had that Tigers team not been snubbed from the BCS title game.

11. James Brooks, RB (1977-80)

Among a sea of backfield legends at Tailback U, Brooks was one of the best. And he ruled The Plains with Joe Cribbs in the late ’70s. Fittingly, Brooks is 3rd on Auburn’s all-time rushing list with 3,523 yards, one spot ahead of Cribbs. Brooks is tied for 9th all-time with 24 rushing touchdowns. When Cribbs left after the ’79 season, Brooks had a field day in ’80, rushing for 1,314 yards. But what set Brooks apart was that he was a multi-threat force, setting Auburn records for kickoff return yards (1,726) and all-purpose yards (5,596).

Brooks was a first-team All-SEC pick and a 2nd-team All-American selection in ’79 and ’80.

10. Stan White, QB (1990-93)

White sits atop Auburn’s all-time passing yards list with his eye-popping 8,016 yards and is 4th all-time with 40 touchdown passes. He was born in Birmingham, went to high school in Hoover and sealed his place as a state of Alabama sports legend by carving up defenses at Auburn. White was the model of consistency and dependability, starting every game for the Tigers from his freshman season right through his senior year, a streak that lasted 45 games.

White was also the quintessential leader, being named team captain of the undefeated ’93 team, and he was named to Auburn’s Team of the Decade for the 1990s. White didn’t make an All-American or even an All-SEC team, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t an all-time Tigers legend worthy of this list.

9. Quentin Groves, DE (2004-07)

The menacing Groves stands atop Auburn’s all-time sacks list at 26, along with Gerald Robinson. If not for a freak injury in 2007 against Florida when he suffered 3 severely dislocated toes after his foot was stepped on, Groves very likely would’ve zoomed past Robinson on that sacks list. The injury helped limit Groves to 3 sacks during that final season and probably prevented him from such honors as the Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award, for which Groves was named to the watchlists. Despite it all, Groves was named to the All-SEC first team for the 2nd straight season.

Groves was a winner, too, finishing his legendary career as a member of the winningest senior class in Auburn history with 50 victories.

8. Carlos Rogers, CB (2001-04)

Rogers was a rock for Auburn’s defense in the early 2000s. He holds the Auburn career record with 40 pass deflections, which still ranks 2nd in SEC history. Rogers started 44 games over 4 seasons, and he was instrumental in the Tigers’ undefeated season in 2004, being named a consensus All-American while earning the Jim Thorpe Award. Rogers piled up 182 career tackles — 134 of them solo — to go with 7 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries.

He was a shoo-in selection to Auburn’s All-Decade Team for the 2000s, and Rogers’ banner hangs outside Jordan-Hare Stadium alongside Tigers icons Bo Jackson, Cam Newton, Pat Sullivan, Tracy Rocker and Zeke Smith.

Rogers is eligible to appear on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot, and many believe he should be inducted.

7. Terry Beasley, WR (1969-71)

Someone was catching all those passes from Pat Sullivan back in the day, and mostly it was Beasley. He was born in Montgomery, starred in high school in Montgomery and then teamed with Sullivan to make magic at Auburn. All these decades later, despite how offensive numbers have skyrocketed in recent years, Beasley’s 2,507 yards receiving still stands atop Auburn’s all-time list. So do his 29 career touchdown catches, which is still 11 more than the No. 2 guy on the list. Beasley also stands 4th on the Tigers’ career receptions list with 141.

Beasley was a 2nd-team All-SEC pick in ’69, a 2nd-team All-American in ’70 and a unanimous All-American in ’71. His No. 88 was retired by Auburn, along with Sullivan’s and Bo Jackson’s, and Beasley was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

6. Cadillac Williams, RB (2001-04)

Officially, his first name is Carnell, but everyone knows him as Cadillac. Williams got the nickname from a TV sportscaster in Alabama for the stylish way he ran the football, and he honored that nickname by running right into Auburn history. Williams was a first-team All-SEC selection in ’03 and ’04, and he was a first-team All-American in ’04. Williams is 2nd on Auburn’s all-time rushing list with 3,831 yards, behind only Bo Jackson. Williams sits atop the Tigers’ rushing TDs list with 45, 2 more than Jackson, and he holds Auburn’s single-game touchdowns record with 6 against Mississippi State in 2003. Just imagine what Williams’ stats could’ve looked like had he not had to share a backfield with Ronnie Brown.

On top of all that, Williams was a return specialist dynamo, winning SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2004.

Like dozens of other Auburn stars, Williams qualified to appear on the ballot to make the College Football Hall of Fame.

He’ll always be an Auburn legend, a legacy he cemented with an inspirational stint as interim head coach after Bryan Harsin was fired in 2022.

5. Nick Fairley, DT (2009-10)

Fairley was a monster from Mobile, and although his time at Auburn was brief after transferring from Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi, he left an imprint that was as big as his 6-foot-4, 300-pound frame. Fairley only started 2 games in 2009, finishing with 28 tackles. Then he exploded in 2010 with a historic season, teaming with quarterback Cam Newton to lead Auburn to its 2nd national championship. Fairley became the 2nd Auburn player to win the Lombardi Award and, in an ironic and iconic twist, was coached that season by Tracy Rocker, the other Tigers play to win the Lombardi who was Auburn’s defensive line coach at the time.

Fairley was first-team All-SEC, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American selection in 2010, breaking Auburn’s single-season sack record with 12. In the national title game victory over Oregon, Fairley had 5 tackles, including 3 for loss, a sack and a forced fumble to earn defensive player of the game honors.

4. Tracy Rocker, DT (1985-88)

Long before Rocker was Coach Rocker for the likes of Nick Fairley, he was busy becoming an Auburn interior line legend. Rocker might be tied for 4th on the Tigers’ all-time sack list with 21, but he is arguably the best pure defensive player in Auburn football history. We’ll say he absolutely is. Rocker also ranks 7th on the Tigers’ all-time tackles list with 354 and had 48 tackles for loss.

His accolades form a long, glorious roll call of sorts — he was a first-team All-SEC selection 3 times, a consensus All-American in ’87 and a unanimous All-American in ’88, when Rocker was the SEC Player of the Year and the first player in SEC history to win the Lombardi Award and the Outland Trophy. Rocker helped win games and titles, too, leading Auburn to SEC crowns in ’87 and ’88 during the glorious Pat Dye Era. Rocker was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

3. Pat Sullivan, QB (1969-71)

Sullivan isn’t No. 1 on this list, but he’s the favorite son of Auburn football. When fathers pass on their Auburn football fandom to their children, they no doubt start by telling them all about Patrick Joseph Sullivan. He rocketed into The Plains from Birmingham and went straight into their hearts of all Tigers fans. Sullivan was Auburn’s first Heisman Trophy winner, capturing the award in ’71, his No. 7 is 1 of 3 that’ve been retired by the school, and he’s 1 of 3 players who’ve been immortalized by Auburn with statues.

Sullivan won a slew of other awards along with the Heisman in ’71, he was the SEC Player of the Year in ’70 and 2nd-team All-SEC in his first season in ’69. Sullivan is 5th on Auburn’s all-time passing yards list with 6,284 yards, his 53 touchdown passes are the most in Tigers history and he added 18 TDs on the ground. Sullivan eventually took his rightful place in the College Football Hall of Fame, being inducted in 1991.

2. Cam Newton, QB (2010)

He only spent one season on The Plains, after stops at Florida and Blinn Junior College (Texas), but that one season was beyond legendary — and beyond comprehension. The electrifying Newton became an Auburn hero because he delivered jaw-dropping plays and because he delivered the program’s 2nd national championship to temporarily slow down Nick Saban’s machine over in Tuscaloosa. A statue of Newton was built at Auburn for that one special season — that’s how iconic it was.

He threw for 2,854 yards, which is 3rd on Auburn’s all-time single-season list, and his 30 touchdown passes are not only the most in a season in school history (by far), they’re enough to put Newton 10th on the career TD passes list. Newton added a cool 1,473 yards rushing, good for 5th on Auburn’s single-season list, and his 20 rushing touchdowns put him 2nd on the single-season list. Yes, Newton was responsible for an even 50 TDs in 2010. He took home the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award and most every other award on the planet there was to win.

Newton should be a lock to make the College Football Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.

1. Bo Jackson, RB (1982-85)

There really was only one person in the annals of Auburn football who belonged at the top of this list. Yes, it had to be Bo.

Vincent Edward Jackson was born in Bessemer, Alabama, went to high school in McCalla, Alabama, and became the forever lifeblood of a program. When Bama fans boast of their own legends (and titles), Auburn fans can always counter with Bo. He didn’t bring a national championship to The Plains, but he brought everything else there was possible to bring. Jackson ran for 4,303 yards at Auburn, he had a ridiculous 4 games of at least 240 yards rushing and he had 43 rushing touchdowns, including the iconic “Bo Over the Top” TD that took down Alabama in ’82.

Jackson finished his 4-year onslaught in style by winning the Heisman Trophy in ’85 (along with most every other honor), and he was a unanimous All-American that season. But Jackson was also a consensus All-American in ’83 and a 3-time first-team All-SEC selection in ’82, ’83 and ’85. His No. 34 was retired by Auburn, a statue of Jackson was built by Auburn and Jackson bulldozed his way into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998.