In the great national takedome, there's a perpetual drive to deliver the latest and greatest hot take. With the likes of Stephen A. Smith and plenty others on board, ESPN is full of contenders for Hot Take Artist of the year.
But did anyone predict ESPN writer Bill Connolly (!?!) to put forward the wildest, most outrageous take of the 2024 summer? Seriously, anyone? Raise your hand. Then shake your head because yes, Bill Connolly has just emerged as the front runner for craziest, wildest take of the year.
Behold: The man who argues that Baker Mayfield was a greater college football player than Vince Young. In fact, he said Mayfield was second-best player overall since the turn of the century, ranking Young fourth.
In all seriousness, we enjoy reading Connolly. He's delivered insightful work in the past, but everyone has a miss once in awhile. This list was full of them, starting with Mayfield over Young.
Yes, Mayfield played an additional season. He also won one fewer national title, was just 1-2 in bowl games and 2-2 against archrival Texas. He didn't exactly tear up trees in the biggest situations.
Heisman Trophy and signature victory over Ohio State not withstanding, Mayfield was a fun quarterback with a particularly compelling origin story and a chip on his shoulder that has propelled him to NFL success and riches. And some great stats, many of which were padded during an era of the Big XII in which defenses were particularly weak. Good for him.
He's no Vince Young.
Young won two different all-time great bowl games, one of which is arguably the best college football title game of all-time (if not best college football game, full stop). The other was a remarkable drive-for-drive battle against Michigan. Both were played in the Rose Bowl, which just adds to the prestige.
While Mayfield won the Heisman, Young should have won it as well, and yet gained even more respect by refusing to accept it when the Heisman Trust attempted to strip it from Reggie Bush and give it to Young years later.
Young was also a one-man wrecking crew, able to break down defenses with both his arm and legs and setting the stage for the rise of Tim Tebow, Marcus Mariota, Kyler Murray and the dual threat dynamos that were to come. Mayfield came after Young, yet was so much more one-dimensional. He could run, but he couldn't win a game by running. Young could do that whenever he wanted.
While taking Mayfield over Young may be the most outlandish decision in Connolly's controversial list, it's hardly the only one worthy of note. In fact, let's run through the list quickly to take stock of just how out there his picks were:
- Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska -- Fine. Bold pick not going with a QB, which should earn some bonus points
- Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma/Texas Tech -- As detailed above, this is a cry for help
- Cam Newton, Auburn/Florida -- Newton was undeniably great, but this feels a bit high. Possibly defensible, but a reach
- Vince Young, Texas -- Again, as detailed above, this is clearly too low (maybe by three slots? At least two)
- Ed Reed, Miami -- A great NFL player, but was he really even the best safety from Miami this century? Sean Taylor's estate would like a word
- Tim Tebow, Florida -- Like Young, this feels far too low. Tebow won multiple national titles, a Heisman and was arguably the greatest celebrity college football player ever. As my colleague Tyler Brooke laid out in far greater detail, he brought the goods, and could be the primary challenger to Young for the number 1 or 2 spot (depending on where you rank Suh)
- Reggie Bush, USC -- Just like Young and Tebow, we'd argue Bush belongs higher. Another multiple-time national champion and Heisman winner, Bush is one of the greatest and most versatile running backs to compete at the collegiate level. Should be a top-five player at the absolute least
- Bryant McKinnie, Miami -- OK, we get it. You have to fit in an offensive lineman somewhere. Was McKinnie really the best offensive lineman of the century? Was he even the best player on that early 2000's Miami team? Feels like another reach
- Joe Burrow, LSU/Ohio State -- Burrow's final season at LSU was absolutely transcendent. That said, he was basically a one-season player. If we were ranking players on sheer performance across a single season, Burrow might belong right at the top. As is, this is maybe right, or maybe a touch high.
- Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh -- Now we're talking. Fitzgerald was the GOAT playing for a middling Pittsburgh program, sometimes elevating it to prominence. He belongs in the top-10, and is the worthy top receiver on this list
We're not going to run through the entire list, because that's a cruel process. Still, it's clear that Connolly's list is an exercise in either beauty being the eye of the beholder or a man trying to get everyone debating and fired up for college football at the onset of training camps.
If it's the latter, congrats Mr. Connolly. Objective achieved.
