10 best college football cornerbacks of all time Ft. Deion Sanders, Charles Woodson & more
The debate about the best college football cornerbacks of all time is a rather short one with the list a fairly exclusive one.
Cornerbacks set the pace for a team's defensive strategy, and the greatest of them lead their teams to trophies.
What defines the best cornerbacks of all time? Winning legacies, trophies or later longevity in the NFL? We attempt to consider all of these factors as we rank the top 10.
#10, Aqib Talib
Opening up this list of best college football cornerbacks of all time is former Kansas Jayhawks star, Aqib Talib. A consensus first-team All-American in his junior season, he was added to the Kansas Ring of Honor in 2017.
Talib led the Jayhawks to a 12-1 record in 2007, an Orange Bowl win and was the country's best defensive back, winning the Jack Tatum Trophy.
#9, Todd Lyght
Lyght was a two-time consensus All-American in 1989 and 1990 with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He led them to a Fiesta Bowl win over West Virginia to finish off the perfect unbeaten season for Notre Dame.
Todd Lyght was the top defensive pick in the 1991 draft and was picked No. 5 by the Los Angeles Rams.
#8, Tyrann Mathieu
He was at LSU just for two seasons accounting for his ranking on this list of best college football cornerbacks. Mathieu was a consensus All-American and won the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive college player.
Aptly named the "Honey Badger', Mathieu was intense and aggressive and a monster on the defensive end. He had a record 11 forced fumbles during his short college career.
#7, Rod Woodson
Although he was primarily a cornerback, Rod Woodson played wide receiver and running back during his time at Purdue University. He was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten pick.
Woodson even had time to qualify for the 1984 Summer Olympics in the 100-meter hurdles alongside being the top college football cornerback of his time.
He was inducted into both the pro and college football halls of fame.
#6, Jalen Ramsey
Ramsey was an immediate starter as a freshman for Florida State and was continuously compared to Deion Sanders who also played for the Seminoles.
He won the national championship against Auburn in his first year and was considered the best college football cornerback of his class.
He was named a consensus All-American in his junior year and was one of the best prospects overall during the 2016 draft. Ramsey was picked No. 5 by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
#5, Patrick Peterson
Peterson is an LSU legend and one of the best college football cornerbacks in recent memory. From his junior season, he was a consensus first-team All-American.
Peterson won the Chuck Bednarik Award for best defensive player in the country. He also won the Jim Thorpe Award for best defensive back in the nation.
#4, Dre Bly
During his time with the North Carolina Tar Heels, Bly earned All-American honors twice and topped the charts for most interceptions (11) in his freshman year.
He still remains the only Atlantic Coast Conference player to earn consensus first-team All-American honors in his first three seasons. Bly was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
#3, Champ Bailey
Champ Bailey played both as a cornerback and as a wide receiver for the Georgia Bulldogs and was one of the best triple-threats in college football during his 1996-1998 tenure.
Bailey finished No. 8 in the 1998 Heisman Trophy rankings and won the Bronko Narguski trophy for best defensive player. He has been inducted into both the college football and pro football halls of fame.
#2, Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders played for Florida State and was so good that he started as a freshman. He won the Thorpe Award in 1988, recognizing the best defensive back in the nation.
In addition, he was a two-time consensus All-American selection. It was a close call, and Sanders could have topped the list of best college football cornerbacks.
He balanced his Seminoles football career with a baseball career, helping the team finish No. 5 in the country. Sanders was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL and the New York Yankees of the MLB when he left FSU.
#1, Charles Woodson tops the list of best college football cornerbacks of all time
Charles Woodson holds the distinction of being the only purely defensive player to have won the prestigious Heisman trophy when he led Michigan to the national championship in 1997.
Woodson was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2022 for his legendary career with the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers.
There goes one of the most exclusive lists in college football. Ranking the top 10 of the best college football cornerbacks of all time was an accumulation of factors, including sheer talent and a winning legacy.