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Pair of Cowboys Named in Top 25 College Players

#Rudolph2Washington continues to get national recognition.

NCAA Football: Oklahoma State at Texas Christian Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Every year, ESPN writers, reporters, analysts and Insiders go through all of college football to determine who they think will be the best 50 players in college football.

Mason Rudolph and James Washington both made the Top 25 of the list.

James Washington

The fearsome wideout came in at No. 20 in the nation. Here’s what the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” had to say about arguably the best receiver in the nation.

Washington, who is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons, has already produced a dozen 100-yard receiving outings in his career.

Washington is one of only three WRs to make the Top 50 on the list. Texas A&M wideout claimed the No. 32 spot, while Calvin Ridley of Alabama is the highest WR on the list, coming in at No. 18.

I said this about Ridley a while ago in my Biletnikoff preview, but I still think it is true.

Calvin Ridley is considered to be one of the best slot receivers in the country, but one has to wonder if they say that because he wears the crimson red with the big white scripted A on his helmet.

Mason Rudolph

QB1 is the other Cowboy in the Top 25, earning the No. 12 spot.

Rudolph was one of just eight 4,000-yard passers last season, and of the eight, he threw the fewest interceptions with only four.

(ESPN must have to pay by the word, because they surely aren’t wasting any.)

The 2018 NFL Draft Class for QBs is absolutely LOADED, so seeing Rudolph at 12 isn’t surprising to me, considering the national perception of the Big 12 for teams that don’t have a goofy-looking horse for a mascot.

Make no mistake, Rudolph is one of the best QBs in the nation and will make his statement this season.

There are five QBs ahead of Rudolph on the countdown.

  • Deondre Francois (Florida State) - No. 11
  • Trace McSorley (Penn State) - No. 10
  • Lamar Jackson (Louisville) - No. 6
  • Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) - No. 3
  • Sam Darnold (USC) - No. 2

The only other Big 12 representative in the Top 50 is Orlando Brown, the junior offensive tackle from OU.

Oklahoma State is one of six teams to have more than one player named in the Top 25, as well as being the lone Big 12 representative. Florida State leads all teams with four players named to the Top 25.


Is it August 31 yet?