With the world's best athletes set to compete in the Summer Games in Rio, we thought we'd get in on the fun by holding a medal competition at each major position group. College Football 24/7 analysts ranked the top three players at each position, with points assigned to each player accordingly -- three points for each first-place ranking, two for each second-place ranking and one for each third-place ranking. The points were totaled, resulting in final gold-, silver- and bronze-medal finishers. See below for the final medal count by team.
Final medal count
Gold medal: 3 points
Silver medal: 2 points
Bronze medal: 1 point
15 total points
» Alabama: O.J. Howard (GOLD, tight end), Cam Robinson (GOLD, offensive line), Jonathan Allen (GOLD, interior D-line), Calvin Ridley (SILVER, wide receiver), Tim Williams (SILVER, edge), Reuben Foster (SILVER, linebacker).
6 total points
» LSU: Leonard Fournette (GOLD, running back), Jamal Adams (GOLD, safety).
5 total points
» Florida State: Roderick Johnson (SILVER, offensive line), Derwin James (SILVER, safety), Dalvin Cook (BRONZE, running back).
4 total points
» Clemson: Deshaun Watson (GOLD, quarterback), Mike Williams (BRONZE, wide receiver).
» Florida: Jalen Tabor (GOLD, cornerback), Jarrad Davis (BRONZE, linebacker).
» USC: JuJu Smith-Schuster (GOLD, wide receiver), Adoree' Jackson (BRONZE, cornerback).
3 total points
» Michigan: Jake Butt (SILVER, tight end), Jabrill Peppers (BRONZE, safety).
» Ohio State: Raekwon McMillan (GOLD, linebacker).
» Texas A&M: Myles Garrett (GOLD, edge).
2 total points
» Iowa: Desmond King (SILVER, cornerback).
» Michigan State: Malik McDowell, (SILVER, interior D-line).
» Stanford: Christian McCaffrey (SILVER, running back).
» UCLA: Josh Rosen (SILVER, quarterback).
1 total point
» Indiana: Dan Feeney (BRONZE, offensive line).
» Oklahoma: Baker Mayfield (BRONZE, quarterback).
» Ole Miss: Evan Engram (BRONZE, tight end).
» Tennessee: Derek Barnett (BRONZE, edge).
» Utah: Lowell Lotulelei (BRONZE, interior D-line).
Medal-count takeaways
1. Tide rolls. Alabama -- surprise! -- led the medal count by a longshot. The Crimson Tide's six medals doubled the next-highest total (Florida State), and three of the six were gold. Surprisingly, it's not the underclassmen carrying the day. Four of UA's medal winners -- Jonathan Allen, O.J. Howard, Tim Williams and Reuben Foster -- are seniors. For a program that's generated 18 first-round draft picks since 2009, Alabama is showing no sign of slowing down in the talent department.
2. Top-heavy. The ACC produced just five medal winners, and Florida State had three of them: DB Derwin James, OT Roderick Johnson and RB Dalvin Cook. Clemson had the other two. It's little wonder that either the Seminoles or Tigers have won seven consecutive ACC Atlantic Division titles. A heavy dose of the league's elite talent is landing at one of the two schools.
3. Comeback trail. Speaking of Clemson, Tigers WR Mike Williams has the unique distinction of being the only medal winner to miss the 2015 season. He actually played a bit in the season opener before a neck injury, but his medal comes on the strength of a spectacular sophomore season in 2014 (57 catches, 1,030 yards).
4. Multi-medals. After Alabama, FSU and Clemson, four other schools placed two players in the medal count: Michigan, LSU, USC and Florida. Both of LSU's medals were of the gold variety (RB Leonard Fournette, DB Jamal Adams).
5. Sole gold. Only one medal for Ohio State? Given the huge contingent of Buckeyes to enter the NFL draft last year, that's not altogether surprising. But it's also not surprising that LB Raekwon McMillan took the gold at the linebacker position. The junior was ranked No. 1 on three ballots, including that of NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who likes what he sees from OSU's top returning defender.
6. SEC runs away. Among conferences, the SEC led all with 13 medal winners from six schools. The others: Big Ten (6), Pac-12 (5), ACC (5), Big 12 (1). Were it not for Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield, the Big 12 would have been shut out.
7. Unanimously best. Two players swept the gold on all six ballots at his position: LSU RB Leonard Fournette and Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett.
8. Freshman finishers. Three medal winners were first-year college players last year: UCLA QB Josh Rosen, Alabama WR Calvin Ridley and FSU DB Derwin James.
9. Conspicuously absent. Three top programs that didn't place a medal winner: Georgia, Oregon and Notre Dame.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
