For most of college football’s first 100 years, the player that ruled the field on defense was the middle linebacker.
In the last 20 years, it’s edge rushers (who are kind of like linebackers?) and cornerbacks.
Along the way, the Big 12 Conference has seen its share of legends at linebacker — as have its eight new members that have come to the league over the last two years.
Here’s a look at the greatest linebacker of all time from all 16 teams in the Big 12:
Arizona, Tedy Bruschi (1991-1995): Football terminology has changed since Bruschi finished playing college football at Arizona. In any version of the modern game he is an outside linebacker, so that’s why we’re putting him on this list. Bruschi was a two-time All-American at Arizona and set the NCAA record with 52 career sacks.
Arizona State, Adam Archuleta (1997-2000): Archuleta came to Arizona State as a walk-on and became a two-time All-Pac-10 pick and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 2000. Archuleta was a first-round pick by the St. Louis Rams and played seven seasons in the NFL at safety.
Baylor, Mike Singletary (1977-1980): Singletary was a two-time All-American who averaged 15 tackles per game over his last two seasons and led Baylor to the first 10-win season in school history as a senior in 1980. Singletary went on to become a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl champion and is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
BYU, Kurt Gouveia (1983-1985): Gouveia was one of the great winners in football history — he won a state championship at Waianae (Hawaii) High School, a national championship at BYU and was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Washington Redskins.
Cincinnati, Ivan Pace Jr. (2022): Pace made the most of his one season at Cincinnati after transferring from Miami of Ohio, earning All-American honors and being named AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2022.
Colorado, Alfred Williams (1988-1990): Williams was one of the greatest college linebackers of all time. He was a three-time All-Big Eight selection, two-time Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year, two-time All-American, won the Butkus Award in 1990 and led Colorado to a national championship the same year. Williams was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
Houston, Lamar Lathon (1986-1989): Lathon was raised in poverty just 35 minutes from the Houston campus in Wharton, Texas, before going on to star for the Cougars. Lathon was drafted in the first round (No. 15 overall) by the Houston Oilers in 1990 and went on to become a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL All-Pro.
Iowa State, Matt Blair (1971-1973): Blair led Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to a junior college national championship in 1969 before becoming a two-time All-Big Eight pick and two-time All-American at Iowa State. Blair played 12 seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, where he was a six-time Pro Bowler.
Kansas, Willie Pless (1983-1985): The NCAA didn’t start officially recording tackles until 2000, so Pless’ staggering 633 tackles amassed over only three seasons isn’t the record. The three-time All-Big Eight pick went on to play 14 years in the CFL, where he won a Grey Cup in 1993 and was a five-time CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
Kansas State (tie), Mark Simoneau and Gary Spani: Apologies for this one. We pride ourselves on making the hard decisions … except for in this case. Two Kansas natives. Two College Football Hall of Famers. An impossible decision to pick between the two. So we didn’t.
Oklahoma State, John Corker (1976-1979): How good was Corker? He was named All-American and Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year in 1978 despite playing in just seven games.
TCU, Paul Dawson (2012-2014): Dawson was a two-time All-Big 12 pick and earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and All-American honors as a senior in 2014 with 140 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 4 interceptions and 5 sacks. That, my friends, is a season for the ages.
Texas Tech, Zach Thomas (1992-1995): Thomas was something to behold at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 1995. Thomas made one of the greatest plays in Texas Tech history when he returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown with just 34 seconds left in a 14-7 win over Texas A&M. Thomas is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame.
UCF, Shaquem Griffin (2013-2017): Griffin was one of the most dominant defensive players in college football during his time at UCF. And he did it with only one hand — his left hand was amputated when he was just four years old. Griffin was a two-time All-AAC pick, the AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2016 and an All-American in 2017. He capped his career by begin named Peach Bowl Defensive MVP in 2018 after leading UCF to an unbeaten season. Should wind up in the College Football Hall of Fame one day.
Utah, Devin Lloyd (2017-2021): Lloyd was a three-year starter and two-time All-Pac-12 pick who capped his career by being named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in 2021.
West Virginia, Darryl Talley (1979-1982): Talley left West Virginia with a school record of 474 career tackles and was a unanimous All-American in 1982. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
