Former Arizona State star makes list of greatest college football players of 21st century

The new-look Big 12 Conference would have been almost completely shut out of ESPN’s list of the 25 greatest college football players of the 21st century if it weren’t for one of the league’s newest additions from the Pac-12 Conference.

Former Arizona State defensive end Terrell Suggs made the list at No. 11 — one of just two players from the Big 12 to make the list alongside Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon, who came in at No. 21.

From ESPN: “After an outstanding pair of seasons in 2000 and 2001, the 6-3, 265-pound Suggs put together maybe the best defensive season ever by a guy not named Suh. In 2002, one guy recorded 24 sacks and 31 total TFLs. He finished his career with 46 total sacks, most of anyone in the 2000s, and he went on to record 139 sacks (he hit double digits seven times) in a 17-year NFL career.”

Suggs was named a unanimous All-American in 2002, when he won the Lombardi Award and was also named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. The Baltimore Ravens drafted him No. 10 overall in the 2003 NFL Draft and he played 17 seasons, winning two Super Bowls and being named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.