ESPN Tabs Nebraska Legend As Best College Football Player Of 2000s

Quarterbacks and skill position players receive the majority of the praise, especially during awards season.

Former Michigan superstar Charles Woodson is the only defensive player to ever win the Heisman Trophy. Woodson edged out Tennessee quarterback Payton Manning for the 1997 Heisman Trophy.

Quarterbacks have dominated college football's most prestigious award, hoisting the trophy over the last 24 years. But this trend doesn't mean that a defensive player hasn't been the most dominant player in college football in any one season.

ESPN's Bill Connelly made a good case for why that was the case for Ndamukong Suh after ranking the former Nebraska star defensive lineman as the best college football player of the 2000s.

Suh finished fourth in the 2009 Heisman voting, with Alabama running back Mark Ingram taking home the trophy that year.

"I realize we don't give Heismans to defensive players, but it's still utterly inexcusable that he didn't win the Heisman that year. Best player of the 2000s and one of the best of all time," Connelly wrote.

Suh recorded 20.5 tackles for loss with 12 sacks as a senior, leading to an astonishing award haul at the end of his collegiate career, including the Lombardi Award, Outland Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and AP College Football Player of the Year honors.

He went on to become the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft behind Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford. In his NFL career, Suh recorded over 130 tackles for loss and 71.5 sacks.

Suh topped generational talents like Auburn's Cam Newton, Florida's Tim Tebow, and USC's Reggie Bush on Connelly's list of the top 25 players of the 21st century.

Related: ESPN Names SEC's Best College Football Game This Year