CLICK ON BRACKET TO EXPAND.
Earlier this summer, we updated our NFL Triplets list, and everyone who read it agreed with the fact-based conclusions 100 percent.
As you might know, many colleges also field football teams -- the best players from which go on to the aforementioned NFL. So, with the season's kickoff drawing ever closer, it's high time we tackle the best trios of student-athletes, school by school, who are currently employed as pro football players.
Yes, like an expanded version of the CFB's fancy new bracket tournament, we've pooled all the NFL rosters to come up with the 32 best trios by university. The standards remain the same: One quarterback, one running back and one pass catcher, with more weight/credit placed on the QB than the other two spots. All players must be on active rosters -- and, for the sake of their destinies here, all are preferably good at football.
My esteemed NFL Media colleagues and I will be casting our votes to determine which teams advance. Have an opinion on who should go on and who should go home? Let us know.
-- Dave Dameshek
1) Cal: (Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson)
2) Stanford: (Andrew Luck, Toby Gerhart, Doug Baldwin)
3) Texas A&M: (Ryan Tannehill, Christine Michael, Mike Evans)
4) Utah: (Alex Smith, Matt Asiata, Steve Smith)
5) Clemson: (Charlie Whitehurst, C.J. Spiller, Sammy Watkins)
6) West Virginia: (Geno Smith, Charles Sims, Kevin White)
7) Oregon: (Marcus Mariota, Jonathan Stewart, Josh Huff)
8) Florida: (Tim Tebow, Matt Jones, Percy Harvin)
1) Tennessee: (Peyton Manning, Arian Foster, Jason Witten)
2) USC: (Carson Palmer, Reggie Bush, Nelson Agholor)
3) LSU: (Zach Mettenberger, Jeremy Hill, Odell Beckham)
4) Vanderbilt: (Jay Cutler, Zac Stacy, Jordan Matthews)
5) Florida State: (Jameis Winston, Devonta Freeman, Kelvin Benjamin)
6) Louisville: (Teddy Bridgewater, Bilal Powell, DeVante Parker)
7) Oklahoma State: (Brandon Weeden, Joseph Randle, Dez Bryant)
8) Arkansas: (Ryan Mallett, Darren McFadden, Jarius Wright)
1) Georgia: (Matthew Stafford, Todd Gurley, A.J. Green)
2) Oklahoma: (Sam Bradford, Adrian Peterson, Kenny Stills)
3) Auburn: (Cam Newton, Tre Mason, Sammie Coates)
4) Pittsburgh: (Tom Savage, LeSean McCoy, Larry Fitzgerald)
5) Ole Miss: (Eli Manning, Dexter McCluster, Mike Wallace)
6) Arizona: (Nick Foles, Ka'Deem Carey, Rob Gronkowski)
7) Texas: (Colt McCoy, Jamaal Charles, Marquise Goodwin)
8) South Carolina: (Connor Shaw, Mike Davis, Alshon Jeffery)
1) Wisconsin: (Russell Wilson, Melvin Gordon, J.J. Watt)
2) Alabama: (AJ McCarron, Eddie Lacy, Julio Jones)
3) Michigan: (Tom Brady, Denard Robinson, Devin Funchess)
4) Fresno State: (Derek Carr, Ryan Mathews, Davante Adams)
5) Central Florida: (Blake Bortles, Latavius Murray, Brandon Marshall)
6) Michigan State: (Brian Hoyer, Le'Veon Bell, Dion Sims)
7) North Carolina: (T.J. Yates, Giovani Bernard, Eric Ebron)
8) Notre Dame: (Jimmy Clausen, Theo Riddick, Golden Tate)
