Minnesota greats
36 players, ranked by what they did at Minnesota: the Heisman, the College Football Hall of Fame, national awards, consensus All-America teams, first-round picks and leading a national champion. Before 2004 our records hold the honors and the draft; from 2004 they add season stats for most players (not linemen, and not every name before 2010, when the source’s rosters fill in).
Bruce Smith1941 Heisman- Tom BrownHall of Fame, 2003
- Greg EslingerHall of Fame, 2025
Bobby BellHall of Fame, 1991
Dick WildungHall of Fame, 1957
Leo NomelliniHall of Fame, 1977- Ed WidsethHall of Fame, 1954
George FranckHall of Fame, 2002
Carl EllerHall of Fame, 2006- Clayton TonnemakerHall of Fame, 1980
Bert BastonHall of Fame, 1954
Herb JoestingHall of Fame, 1954- Sandy StephensHall of Fame, 2011
Paul GielHall of Fame, 1975
Bronko NagurskiHall of Fame, 1951
Pug LundHall of Fame, 1958
John McGovernHall of Fame, 1966
Bob SteinHall of Fame, 2020
Bobby MarshallHall of Fame, 1971- Eddie RogersHall of Fame, 1968
Tyrone Carter1999 Jim Thorpe
Ben HamiltonConsensus All-American, 1999–2000- Urban OdsonConsensus All-American, 1940
Matt Spaeth2006 John Mackey
Antoine Winfield Jr.Consensus All-American, 2019
Fred SchachtConsensus All-American, 1903
Aaron BrownConsensus All-American, 1965
Biggie MunnConsensus All-American, 1931
Rashod BatemanNo. 27 pick, 2021- Laurence MaroneyNo. 21 pick, 2006
- James WalkerConsensus All-American, 1910
- Frank LarsonConsensus All-American, 1934
- George HauserConsensus All-American, 1917
- Bill BevanConsensus All-American, 1934
- Ray EklundConsensus All-American, 1923
- Bob McNamara10th in the 1954 Heisman vote
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.