DERRICK STRAIT

Derrick Strait excelled on the football field while attending Lanier High School in Austin, Texas. While in high school, Strait was selected to the Texas Top 100 by the Houston Chronicle and a Max Emfinger National Top 500 selection. During his senior season he rushed for 1,439 yards and 17 touchdowns, and also threw three touchdowns. He had 118 tackles, 52 solo, one sack, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, 11 pass deflections and two interceptions on defense. He was an All-District standout as well as being selected to the All-CenTex team.

Strait received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Oklahoma, where he was a four year starter at cornerback. Strait proved to be one of the best defenders in the nation winning the 2003 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award and the 2003 Bronko Nagurski Award for best defensive player in college football. He set school records at OU for consecutive starts (52), interception return yards (397) and pass breakups (52). In 2000, Strait was selected as the Big 12 Conference Defensive Newcomer of the Year by the Associated Press. 

In 2002, Strait was a Paycom Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, and consensus All-Big 12 first team. As a senior Derrick was an All-American, and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Terence Newman attended Salina High School Central in Salina, Kansas, where he excelled in football, basketball, track and baseball. He was an all-state Class 5A selection in football his senior year.

Newman attended Kansas State University, where he played football for the Kansas State Wildcats. As a senior in 2002, he was a consensus first-team All-American and the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He won the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back, and was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s best defensive player. He finished his senior season with 44 tackles, 34 solo, five interceptions and 14 pass breakups. 

Newman was also a star on special teams as a punt and kickoff returner. He scored 26 points and ranked third on the team with 754 all-purpose yards. In addition to football, Newman ran track for Kansas State. He won the Big 12 Conference 100 meter dash outdoor champion in 2001 and 2002, with times of 10.29 and 10.34. He also won the Big 12 Conference 60 meter dash in indoor competition with a time of 6.65. Newman also won the Big 12 Conference indoor co-performer of the year in 2002.

Roy Williams won the 2001 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as a junior at the University of Oklahoma (OU). Williams was a three –year starter for the Sooners, and played a key role for the 2000 National Championship team. 

In addition to the Thorpe Award, Roy won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the nation’s top defensive player. Williams was a unanimous selection to both the All-American and All-Big 12 teams, and earned the 2001 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award. 

Jamar Fletcher won the 2000 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as a consensus All-American cornerback for the University of Wisconsin. In 2000, Fletcher also was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. 

He set Big Ten records for career interception return yards (459) and interceptions returned for a touchdown (5). 

Tyrone Carter was an outstanding high school football player at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida. As a senior he was named the Miami Sun-Sentinel All-County defensive first-team and was a Miami Herald All-County offensive first-team selection as a running back, gaining 1,349 yards and scoring 23 touchdowns his senior year. Carter left Florida to attend the University of Minnesota after high school.

He was a first-team All-American in 1998 and a consensus first-team All-American in 1999. He also won the 1999 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award for best defensive back in college football, and was a finalist for the 1999 Bronko Nagurski Trophy which is given to the best defensive player in the country. Carter also earned the Carl Eller Award twice, given to the University of Minnesota defensive player of the year. 

In 1998, Carter was named first team All-Big Ten conference by both the coaches and the media. During his college football career at Minnesota, he recorded 584 tackles, 414 solo, which are both NCAA division 1-A records.

Antoine Winfield came out of Garfield High School in Akron, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University on an athletic scholarship. He became one of the nation’s top defensive backs while at Ohio State. 

Winfield was a statistical and motivational leader for the Ohio State defense during his senior season. He accounted for 75 tackles and 15 pass break-ups, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. He was also a two-time All-Big Ten selection, and finished his college career with 278 tackles, including 224 solo, 22 tackles for loss, 29 pass breakups and three interceptions. 

He won the 1998 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, and his coach, John Cooper, said he was one of the best defensive backs he has ever coached. 

Charles Woodson played cornerback, wide receiver and punt returner at the University of Michigan. He earned the Freshman of the Year Award in 1995, and first team All-American in 1996. Woodson became the third player from Michigan to win the Heisman Trophy in 1997. 

During his junior season, Woodson led Michigan to the 1997 National Championship. He earned first team All-Big Ten for a third consecutive year and first team All-American for the second time. Woodson won the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award to top off a great junior season. 

Lawrence Wright was born in Miami, Florida, and attended North Miami High School and Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Wright received an athletic scholarship from the University of Florida in 1993. He led the Gators with 109 tackles as a junior in 1995. 

During Wright's senior season in 1996, he served as a team captain and led the Gators to the 1996 Bowl Alliance national championship, by defeating the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles 52–20 in the 1997 Sugar Bowl. That same year, he also won the Jim Thorpe Award, recognizing the best defensive back in college football, and was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1995 and 1996. He finished his Gator career with 331 tackles, five interceptions, eight forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Lawrence Wright excelled in the classroom, as well as, earning SEC Academic Honor Roll for four consecutive years, and was a CFA Scholar-Athlete in 1996. He graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in building construction in 1997, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2007.

Greg Myers was a standout football player at Windsor High School in Windsor, Colorado. He attended Colorado State University, where he played for the Colorado State Rams football team. As a junior in 1994, Myers received first-team All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America, Scripps-Howard, and The Sporting News. 

As a senior in 1995, he won the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the nation, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American after receiving first-team selections from the Associated Press, United Press International, the Walter Camp Foundation, and The Sporting News. In addition to his athletic achievements, Myers won the Honda Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award, and was a consensus Academic All-American. He was inducted into the Colorado State University Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Chris Hudson was born in Houston, Texas, and attended Worthing High School, where he excelled on the football field. Following high school, Chris left Texas for the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was a versatile defensive back who could play any position in the backfield and play it well. 

Hudson was a consensus All-American safety at Colorado. He finished his college career second in interceptions and fifth in pass deflections on Colorado’s all-time charts. 

Antonio Langham came out of Hazelwood High School in Town Creek, Alabama, as one of the top football recruits in the nation. Langham went on to become one of the best defensive backs to play at the University of Alabama. He earned All-American honors as a junior in 1993, and set the school record for career interceptions with 19, and scored five defensive touchdowns over the span of 43 games. 

Langham would go on to finish his senior season as a consensus All-American. He won the 1993 Jim Thorpe Award, and was named one of the top 50 Greatest Players in Crimson Tide history in 2011. 

Deon Figures was an All-American cornerback for the University of Colorado. He captured the 1992 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, and was named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year. 

Also during the 1992 season, he set single game school records for punt returns (10), and punt return yards (167). Figures was a shutdown corner in college allowing only 12 passes caught against him in 1992. 

Terrell Buckley was a two-year starter and three-year letterman at Florida State University. He set a school record for interceptions (21) and tied school records for defensive touchdowns (4) and special team touchdowns (3). Buckley went on to set a NCAA record for interception return yards (501). He was named a first team All-American in 1991, and finished 7th in the Heisman voting in 1991. 

Buckley went on to win the 1991 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, the second Seminole to do so following Deion Sanders in 1988. 

In addition to football, Buckley played two years of varsity baseball and was a sprinter on the outdoor track team for one year. Buckley was inducted into the Florida State University Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. 

Darryll Lewis attended high school at Nogales High School in La Puente, California, and excelled on the football field. 

Following high school, Lewis attended the University of Arizona. As a senior, Lewis was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and consensus All-American. He had 49 tackles, broke up 11 passes, and intercepted seven passes for 192 return yards and two touchdowns. Lewis also excelled on special teams with 11 punt returns for 220 yards. He won the 1990 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award as a cornerback for the University of Arizona, the first of two Wildcats to take home the award.

Following his career at Arizona, Lewis was drafted in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He played 10 years in the NFL with the Oilers, Tennessee Titians, and San Diego Chargers. 

Mark Carrier was a three-year letterman for the University of Southern California. As a junior, Carrier was named to the Playboy All-American team and became the first Trojan to win the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. He was a two-time consensus All-American at USC and finished his collegiate career with 13 interceptions. 

Deion Sanders was a three sport standout at Florida State University. As a freshman he started as a defensive back for the football team, played outfield for the baseball team and helped the track and field team win a conference championship. 

Sanders was a consensus All-American in 1989 and 1987, and a third team All-American in 1988. He had 14 interceptions over his college career, three in bowl games. He won the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award in 1988, and was also one of the nation’s top punt returners, setting school records for career punt return yards. 

Bennie Blades came out of Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida, to attend the University of Miami. He went on to become a star safety for one of the nation’s top college football teams.

As a junior, Blades led the nation in interceptions (10), and was a consensus All-American as a senior. He led Miami to the 1987 national championship and was co-winner of the Jim Thorpe Award with Ricky Dixon from Oklahoma. 

Blades finished his college career with 19 interceptions for 305 yards along with 286 tackles, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Ricky Dixon came out of Dallas, Texas and became a standout defensive back at the University of Oklahoma (OU), playing both cornerback and safety. He won All-Conference honors in 1986 and 1987, and was a consensus All-American in 1987. He played in the 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 Orange Bowls, and was a key figure in OU’s 1985 National Championship. 

Dixon was co-winner of the 1987 Jim Thorpe Award with Miami’s Bennie Blades. He finished his college career with 170 tackles and 17 interceptions. During his senior season Dixon had nine interceptions for 232 yards, a school record. 

Thomas Everett was a standout athlete at Daingerfield High School in Daingerfield, Texas. He excelled on the gridiron playing seven positions including quarterback, over the course of his high school career. His football number hangs today in the school’s field house as a testament to his legacy on the football field. 

Following high school, Everett attended Baylor University to play under College Football Hall of Fame coach Grant Teaff. By the mid-way point of his freshman season, Everett was starting at cornerback. He opened his sophomore year at corner, but was moved to safety in the second game of the season. Everett became a dominate force at safety accounting for 99 tackles his sophomore year. During his junior season he became one of the best defensive backs in the nation earning All-American honors and first-team All-Conference honors. He was voted the conference’s Athlete of the Year, and ranks among Baylor’s top ten in career interceptions (12), tackles (325). In addition to being a fine defensive back, Everett was a major contributor on special teams, leading his team in punt return yards three times. He was a leader during one of the program's most successful eras, as Baylor won 30 games and appeared in three bowl games during his career. 

He was named to Baylor's All-Decade of the 1980s Team and to the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame. Thomas Everett finished his college career as the first-ever winner of the Jim Thorpe Award in 1986 as the nation’s top defensive back, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.