The greatest of the great

There is a long six months ahead of us. Sure, I'll be keeping an eye on the baseball scores, and I'll try to catch all of the women's games in the NCAA tourney, but, like most Sun Devil fans, the vast majority of my attention is on the football program.

In order to help pass time, I'm please to announce a new project that will unfold over the coming months: the naming of an All-time ASU team. The Sun Devils have a rich heritage, yet many fans are not well-educated in the legendary players.

We'll be announcing the team position-by-position, and it will probably take a few months to get through the entire squad. I'd love to get your help in this process, so if you'd like to nominate some players, or if you'd like to write an article on one of the positions, please send me an e-mail.

A few guidelines: first, this will be a true team, with the right number of players at each position. That means one halfback and one fullback for example. The defense will be a 4-3. Players will be evaluated based on their college career, not their pro performance, and extended careers will carry more weight. So while Derrick Rodgers' performance in '96 was one of the great single seasons in Sun Devil history, it's not enough for him to make the team. Players will be judged at the position they played in college, not the pros, so Darren Woodson will have to make it as an OLB, not a SS. Football performance will also outweigh off-field contributions or all-around popularity, so while Pat Tillman was without doubt one of the greatest men ever to wear a Sun Devil uniform, he wasn't necessarily one of the two best OLBs in ASU history.

Realistically, only players from the WAC era and beyond will be considered (that's 1962 onwards). It is almost impossible to fairly evaluate players from the Border Conference days, although please let me know if you feel strongly about anyone excluded.

Some of the selections will be easy, others very difficult. Wish me luck!