The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • F10

Filename: F10-XCFB-AJCD0826-4FOUR created: Aug 25 2007 Username: SPEED4 AJCD0826-4DOT Sunday, Aug 26, 2007 XCFB 1 0 4DOT 1 0 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black F1 0 Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007 4 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ajc.com 1 0 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black 4DOT File name: F10-XCFB-AJCD0826-4FOUR created: Aug 25 2007 Username: SPEED4 The top 25 all-time pro football players from the state of Georgia 1. Jim Parker OL, Ballard-Hudson (Macon), Colts (1957-67) One of four players on this list in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Finished high school at Toledo (Ohio) Scott before playing at Ohio State, where he won the Outland Trophy and eighth in Heisman voting. Many long-time NFL watchers consider Parker one of the two or three best guards ever.

2. Mel Blount DB, Lyons Industrial, Steelers (1970-83) Hall of Famer was a member of four Super Bowl championship teams, earned Pro- Bowl honors times, and was named to the All-Decade team for the 1970s. The Vidalia native was All-Pro four times and the defensive player of the year in 1975. Named to 75th Anniversary team. Played collegiately at Southern Uni verity in Baton Rouge, La.

3. Fran Tarkenton QB, Athens, Giants, Vikings (1961-78) Named to nine Pro Bowls, winning NFL MVP with the Vikings in 1975. Passed for 47,003 yards and 342 touchdowns and rushed for 3,674 yards and 32 touchdowns in Hall of Fame career. Traded from Vikings to Giants, and then back to Minnesota, where his teams lost three Super Bowls. 4.

Wright Fairmont Cowboys (1967-79) Multi-sport star at all-black high school, and then at Fort Valley State. Cowboys drafted him the seventh round and tried him at tight end and defensive line before offensive tackle. Entered Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 after earning six Pro Bowl berths and being named to All-Decade team in 1970s. Played in Super Bowls, winning two. 5.

Richard Dent DE, Murphy (Atlanta), Bears, 49ers, Colts, Eagles (1983-97) Former eighth-round pick from Atlanta who was Super Bowl MVP in 1985. Had 34.5 sacks in and career with 137.5 to rank third behind Reggie White and Bruce Smith at the time. Made it to four Pro Bowls, was or second-team all-Pro four times and is annually considered for enshrinement in Hall of Fame. 6. Champ Bailey CB, Charlton County, Redksins, Broncos (1999-) Widely considered the best cornerback in the NFL now and on track to be one of the best ever.

Former No. 7 pick of the draft has been to seven consecutive Pro Bowls, and was a unanimous pick in to the all-Pro team after tying for the league lead with 10 interceptions (while allowing no touchdowns). Former Georgia star has 18 interceptions in past two seasons. 7. Ray Guy Thomson, Raiders (1973-86) Considered a lock to be the punter or kicker in Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A athlete, who as a senior at Southern Mississippi was named an All-America defensive back after making eight interceptions. He also kicked a 61-yard goal in college. In the NFL, he averaged 42.4 yards per punt, made seven Pro Bowls, had punts of better than 60 yards in 1981 and played on three Super Bowl-winning teams. 8. Shannon Sharpe TE, Glennville, Broncos, Ravens (1993-03) Former seventh-round draft pick from Savannah State started as a wide receiver.

Then former Denver coach Dan Reeves switched him to tight end. He his career as the all-time leader for catches (815) and receiving yards (10,060) among tight ends. Was a Pro-Bowl player eight times, and named to All- Decade team for the 1990s. 9. Bill DE, Cairo, Dolphins (1969-76) Member of three Super Bowl teams for Miami, two that won titles.

Won the Outland Trophy at Georgia, was a draft choice in the NFL, where he was a four-time Pro-Bowl selection and twice earned team all-Pro honors. Had 67.5 sacks in a career affected in the two seasons by knee and neck injuries. Lives in Albany. 10. Larry Morris Decatur, L.A.

Rams, Bears, Falcons (1955-66) The Rams made him the No. 7 pick from Georgia Tech in 1955, and as a fullback the carried 40 times for 148 yards and a touchdown. He moved to center and linebacker for the rest of his career, although he kickoffs in the inaugural season of Named to the All-Decade team for the 11. Hines Ward WR, Forest Park, Steelers (1998-) MVP of Super Bowl XL, when Pittsburgh beat Seattle. Ward, a third-round pick from Georgia (when reports that he did not have an anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee may have hurt his status), has been to four Pro Bowls and holds franchise records for receptions in a career (648) and a season (112 in 12.

James Brooks RB, Warner Robins, Chargers, Bengals, Bucs, Browns (1981-92) After leading Warner Robins High to state and mythical national titles in he joined an all-future-NFL at Auburn with William Andrews and Joe Cribbs. Chargers made him a pick. Also a return specialist, the four-time Pro Bowl player still ranks among the top 25 in NFL history with 14,910 career total yards. 13. Greg Lloyd LB, Peach County, Steelers, Panthers (1988-98) Rarely friendly during his playing days, Lloyd was a Pro Bowl player and a three-time All-Pro.

The former Fort Valley State star was quite verbose on the where he was a very intimidating player, particularly for Pittsburgh. Has found legal trouble away from the game, including a couple of domestic violence charges. 14. Guy McIntyre Thomasville, 49ers, Packers, Eagles (1984-96) Still a member of the organization, where he is director of player development, McIntyre went to the Pro Bowl consecutive years, from and won three Super Bowl rings with San Francisco as a player. The former third-round pick from Georgia also has helped coach the offensive line at nearby Menlo College.

15. Nate Odomes CB, Carver-Columbus, Bills, Seahawks, Falcons (1987-96) Played in four consecutive Super Bowls with the Bills, who lost them all. Odomes made two Pro Bowls after Buffalo drafted him in the second round from Wisconsin, and he led the NFL with nine interceptions in 1993. 16. Herschel Walker RB, Johnson County, Cowboys, Vikings, Eagles, Giants (1986-97) He was a Pro Bowl player twice, but the former Heisman Trophy winner from Georgia had a career marked by a question: What if? He played in the USFL from rushing for a pro-record 2,411 yards in With the Cowboys, the back was crowded with fellow former Heisman winner Tony Dorsett.

His trade to Minnesota fetched Dallas players and six draft picks. He rushed for 8,225 NFL yards, scored 61 touchdowns and was a receiver and occasional return man. 17. Jessie Tuggle LB, Falcons (1987-00) Undersized former Valdosta State star joined the Falcons as an undrafted free agent and earned Pro Bowl berths. Called for the way he hit, Tuggle helped lead the Falcons to Super Bowl XXXIII.

He returned one interception for a touchdown and fumbles for touchdowns to set an NFL career record for defensive touchdowns. PROLIFIC GEORGIANS Georgia, a state where the degree of passion is matched by the depth of talent at every level, has sent more than 650 players to the biggest stage in the game, the NFL COLLEGE FOOTBALL By MATT WINKELJOHN HE NUMBERS LIE. Research conducted by USA Football, the national governing body, shows that Georgia has few peers in football fervor. Only Georgia registered a top-12 per-capita ratio in each of the following 2006 measurements: Division I college football recruits (No. 4), birth state of current NFL players (No.

5), percentage of college football fans (No. 10) and percentage of pro football fans (No. 12). Three Super Bowl MVPs the Richard Dent, the Deion Branch and the Steel Hines Ward played high school ball in the Peach State, and four Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Parker, Fran Tarkenton, Mel Blount and Wright played most (Parker) or all of their high school ball in Georgia. have been a lot of guys from Georgia who have entered the Wright said.

think been almost 20 just from my hometown of and that area. There have been a lot of great, great Very few Georgians showed up on lists of NFL greats in the half of the 20th century, because the pro game was played in the Midwest and then spread to the Northeast. But by the late 1950s and Georgia began streaming players to the NFL. More than 650 have played in the league. The late Parker, who played most of his high school football at all-black Ballard-Hudson in Macon, is considered one of the two best guards ever in the NFL.

telling you, Jim Parker was said Tarkenton, who played at old Athens High before going to the University of Georgia and then joining the Vikings and Giants from 1961-78. was so physical, way ahead of his time with his Former 49ers and Packers lineman Guy McIntyre, from Thomasville, said not surprised at the growing number of Georgia products heading to the NFL. thing is there were so many great athletes that make it, guys I knew he said. had a guy down in Thomasville, I remember his full name, but he was a beast, 6- foot-5, huge, an awesome defensive lineman. Cal and everybody recruited him, but he refused to go to college because he wanted to drive trucks.

So he drove trucks. I remember playing against and seeing so many talented 18. Drew Hill WR, Newnan, Rams, Oilers, Falcons (1973-93) Small (5-9, 170 pounds) receiver career with 634 receptions for 9,831 yards and 60 touchdowns. Was a two-time Pro Bowl player with career highs of 10 touchdowns in for Houston and 90 receptions in Hill was a 12th-round pick from Georgia Tech. 19.

John Kasay Clarke Central Seahawks, Panthers (1991-) A fourth-round pick of Seattle, the former Georgia kicker has made 310 of 387 career goals (80.1 percent) and is the only NFL kicker to ever make four goals of 40 or more yards in a game. third in goals made from more than 50 yards (29). He went to the Pro Bowl in after making a then-league record 37 goals. He hit a 50-yarder in Super Bowl XXXVIII. 20.

Ray Donaldson East Rome, Colts, Seahawks, Cowboys (1980-96) Considered tall for a center, the 6-foot-4 Donaldson was a second-round pick when Baltimore selected him in the second round from Georgia. Made it to four Pro Bowls with the Colts, and after his release in 1993 he earned Pro Bowl honors two more times. Was a member of the Super Bowl championship team in 21. Dale Carter CB, Appling County, Chiefs, Broncos, Vikings, Saints, Ravens Born in Covington, Carter went to Tennessee and became a draft choice of the Chiefs. He was the rookie of the year in a four-time Pro Bowl player, and he with 24 career interceptions.

22. Kent Hill OL, Americus, Rams, Oilers (1979-87) First-round pick of the Rams who went to Pro Bowls in nine seasons after playing at Georgia Tech. Born in Americus, same small hometown as NFL players Dan Reeves, Tommy Sims, Alonzo Jackson, Otis Leverette, Leonard Pope, Victor Green and former Cowboys coach and long-time NFL assistant Chan Gailey, now head coach at Georgia Tech. 23. Bobby Bryant CB, Willingham (Macon), Vikings (1968-81) Bryant, 6-2, 145 in high school, was part of 11 division championship teams and four NFC championship squads with Minnesota.

Missed two of four Super Bowls with injuries. Had 51 career interceptions, was a Pro Bowl player twice, and All-Pro in 24. Jim Sivell G-C-LB, Chipley (Pine Mountain), Brooklyn Dodgers and Tigers, Miami Seahawks, N.Y. Giants (1938-46) Sivell was a tad undersized when the Dodgers drafted him in the 10th round in 1938. But even at 5-8, 200 pounds, he had an unusually long career and was an all-league guard in Often overshadowed while with Brooklyn by bigger tackle Frank Kinard, a Mississippian who went to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

name still comes up in of his hometown. 25. Mo Lewis LB, Murphy, N.Y. Jets (1991-03) A three-time Pro Bowl player, and onetime All-Pro, the Atlanta native was a third-round pick from Georgia. Had 14 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries and is noted for his hit on former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

With Bledsoe injured, Tom Brady took over as quarterback and has led New England to three Super Bowl titles since. Lewis scored touchdowns in his career. Compiled by Matt Winkeljohn The Baltimore Jim Parker was All-Pro at both left guard and left tackle. File 1995 Jessie Tuggle The all-time leader in tackles with 2,065 over 14 seasons..