Here at Atomic Teeth our top 100 favorite college football players are Mizzou Tigers.  No mystery there.  But, who do we secretly admire and look forward to seeing on the field?  Who are our favorite non-Tigers in the Big XII?  I posed the question to fellow ATers asking for everyone’s top five and received five completed ballots.  The results along with an amalgamation of unattributed comments are below.

1.  Robert Griffin III (five votes).  The only player to make all five lists.  The reasons are simple and were documented in this forum last fall. 

Brad Smith All Over Again?

Brad would probably make all our lists as top five Tigers of all time, so it’s no surprise we’d all tune in to watch RGIII ply his wares in the conference.  Also, I suspect some of the AT love comes from the fact that he plays for Baylor, a heretofore harmless school in the middle of nowhere.  There’s  some “isn’t that cute?” factor built in. 

2.  Sam Bradford (three votes).  AT is impressed with the QB who has dismantled the Tigers in the last two conference championships.  The comments fall in the “he’s the best,” “he’s Mr. Heisman,”he comes across as a good, humble kid” category  He also gained points for his Native Americanosity – an underrepresented trait in the Big 12.

3.  Colt McCoy (two votes).  Sam’s rival didn’t fare quite as well in the polling, but didn’t do too badly.  He’s got a well-rounded game, is accurate, and about as tough as they come.  As you can see, it appears he spent the offseason in a gym.

3.  Todd Reesing (two votes).  Whereas, it appears that Reesing spent the offseason in a Jim.

In spite of his epicene appearance, Reesing is also admired around here for his toughness and grit.  Lord knows the Tigers hit him and harrassed him many times the last two years and as often as not, the slippery bastard escaped and made a play.  He’s also admired for his quick wit and patriotic attire.  Lee Greenwood, an honorary AT member, loves Reesing.

3.  Dez Bryant (two votes).  Personally, I think this kid is a punk who will fit right in with NFL WRs like TO, Ochocinco, and Randy Moss.  See BC’s report of Bryant’s Myspace page for an example of punkness.  Still, his electrifying, dynamic, dazzling, and delightful play on the field makes him almost as exciting to watch as our own J-Mac. 

3.  Zac Robinson (two votes).   The two-star suburbanite chose between an assistant manager’s position at the Orange Julius or a scholarship to Okie State.  He chose well.  He went on to become a dynamic ringleader on an exciting offense by beating out the four-star mama’s boy.  Nobody predicted that.  Kudos.

3.  Jermaine Gresham (two votes).  AT loves a good tight end.  About that there can be no dispute.

8.  Brandon Banks (one vote).  How can you not love somebody so tiny?  He’s like a china doll.  Actually, word is he was up for the role of Orphan before coming to K-State because of his hypopituitarism.  Cute little fella.     

8.  Dez Briscoe (one vote).  Falls safely in the ”sure he’s crazy, he’s a thief, he’s of questionable skills in the classroom, but damn can he ball” category.  He joins the other Dez as prototypical NFL WRs.

8.  Sergio Kindle (one vote).  Aside from inventing a revolutionary software/hardware platform that has changed the literary world forever, Sergio is admired for his ability to back out of trouble. 

8.  Kerry Meier (one vote).  One ATer asks “how can you not like a guy who switched from QB to WR so successfully?”  I don’t seem to have any trouble, but whatever.  My fondest Kerry memory is the 2006 Toledo game where he threw a dozen INTs.  Those were good times. 

8.  Taylor Potts (one vote).  “This is actually a vote for Mike Leach since I have never seen Potts play, but I love every kid crazy ass Leach plugs into his system.”  I’ll buy that – the Mike Leach love runs deep at AT and across the Big 12 faithful.  Our conference is a better place because of his presence.

8.  Russell Simmons (one vote).  A Def Comedy Jam shoutout.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  You better recognize. 

8.  Ndamukong Suh (one vote).  “Just ’cause he’s crazy.”  By the way, why doesnt’ he go by Kong?

A pretty good cross-section of the league, I’d say.  Mizzou’s most hated rivals and the dominant South teams are all accounted for.   I must admit that this exercise – coming up with five non-Tigers that I like – was difficult. 

So, Tiger fans, who are your favorites?  For non-Tiger fans, who are your favorite Big 12 players not on your favorite team?