Ranking Top FSU Football Alumni in NFL History: No. 2

FSU football has sent hundreds of players to the NFL over the years – here’s another look at one of the ten best to play in the pro game.

This weekend, another class of talented former FSU Seminoles made their way to the National Football League when their respective teams drafted them. It was just another time when it was great to be associated with Florida State – a program that has sent hundreds of the best players to the next level since the first player was picked in 1951.

The list of former Noles who have excelled in the pro game is a who’s who of not just the best to come from FSU football, but some of the best to EVER play in the NFL. However, the question then becomes this: who were the best 10 players in NFL history who spent their college time in Tallahassee?

It may have been one of the hardest list we have ever had to come up with – dozens of former All-Pros, Pro Bowlers and even Super Bowl Champions didn’t make the cut. That’s how talented FSU’s crop of former players is. We also looked at the length of a career and what they did over that time – so while players like Jameis Winston, Devonta Freeman and Jalen Ramsey could make this list in another decade, they have to wait their turn.

Without further delay, here’s the latest installment of the top players in NFL history from Florida State.

Florida State Seminoles Football

No. 2 – Derrick Brooks, Linebacker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1995-2008)

If you look up the definition of what a linebacker is supposed to be, there is a decent chance that you will find a picture of Brooks right next to it. From his time at FSU, there was no doubt that this man was going to be a special player – and he exceeded all expectations in what turned out to be a Hall of Fame career.

Brooks was one of two first round picks for the Bucs in 1995 – the other being some jabroni from the University of Miami named Warren Sapp. When Tony Dungy took over as head coach the following season, he built a defense around those two stars and several others into one of the best units in NFL history. Brooks would finish his career with just over 1,700 tackles and had 25 interceptions – including five (with three being returned for touchdowns) during the team’s Super Bowl winning season of 2002.

When his 14 season career came to a close, Brooks had been named to the Pro Bowl 11 times, an All-Pro nine times, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 while being named the NFL’s Man of The Year and having his number retired by the Bucs along with being placed in the team’s Ring of Honor.

In 2014, he become the third former FSU star to be named to the Pro Football Hall of fame, joined by another former Nole in the same class in Walter Jones. He has spent his post football career giving back to the Tampa Bay community and Florida State, serving for a time on the school’s Board of Trustees.