Top 50 Greatest Cyclone Football Players: 5-1

It is finally game week and that means we are down to our final five of the Top 50 Greatest Cyclone Football Players list. There have been a lot of great players to make this list and there are plenty more that could have made it. These top 5 players were some of the best at their position, some changed a program forever and one’s accomplishments may never be redone again. So we present you the remaining five on our list.

5. George Amundson (1970-1972)

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George Amundson, to some our only First Round NFL Draft pick, but to others perhaps one of the best athletes to ever play at Iowa State.

Not only was Amundson a very gifted discus thrower, the 1972 Big Eight Conference Offensive Player of the Year (over Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers) led Iowa State to back to back bowl games in both the Sun and Liberty.

Speaking of the Sun Bowl season, he rushed for a then-school record 1,260 yards and 15 touchdowns that year.

Amundson went to the Oilers where he stayed from 1973-1974, before going to the Eagles in 1975. He also spent some time with the St. Louis Cardinals as a tight end. In his NFL career, he rushed 74 times for 194 yards and four touchdowns and caught 25 passes for 212 yards and a TD.

George Amundson was Class of 1998 Cyclone Hall of Fame inductee, and remains Iowa State’s most recent first round NFL draft pick.

4. Allen Lazard (2014-2017)

Landing Allen Lazard was Paul Rhoads’ single greatest accomplishment, as the 6’5” behemoth turned out to be one of Matt Campbell’s best players, and an all-time great for Iowa State. Lazard had his pick of the litter for college offers, including Notre Dame and Stanford, but chose to stay home and pick the Cyclones as a legacy recruit. Lazard’s father was a former captain and player for Iowa State and his brother also played for Iowa State. Lazard started all four seasons in Ames but he really started to come out of a shell during Matt Campbell’s first season in Ames in 2016.

During the 2016 season, Lazard eclipsed the 1,000 yard receiving mark and hauled in seven touchdown passes. During his senior season, Lazard caught 10 touchdowns and had 971 yards receiving while helping propel Iowa State to a Liberty Bowl win. Lazard would finish his Iowa State career first in all-time receptions with 241, first in receiving yards with 3,360 yards and second all-time in touchdown receptions with 26. Lazard is currently playing for the Green Bay Packers.

3. David Montgomery (2016-2018)

Of all the players to have a significant affect on the program’s new culture and winning ways, none have had a greater impact than David Montgomery. The work ethic and pure dedication to the game of football was unparalleled in the program (and maybe the country), and it spread to his teammates during his time in the cardinal and gold. All Montgomery did during his time in Ames is run over would be tacklers and make big time plays for Matt Campbell and his staff.

Montgomery finished his Cyclone career ranked 6th all-time in career rushing yards with 2,925 yards and 9th all-time with 26 rushing touchdowns. While his all-time statistics may not be in the top 5 all time at his position the skill set and way he impacted a program is enough alone to place him on his list. While the Cyclones may miss David Montgomery on the field, the last impact and legacy left behind will be one felt forever by the all the players and fans.

2. Seneca Wallace (2001-2002)

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Seneca Wallace. The Man. The Myth. The Run. The Legend.

The first Cyclone that made me love Iowa State Athletics because I was five. Oh, and because of the above shadow numbers, but, this is about Seneca.

Wallace almost played cornerback for Oregon State in 1998, but ended up going to Sacramento City College to be closer to his mother. While at SCC, he threw for 513 yards in one game. At Iowa State, he was a true dual threat, beating people on the ground or in the air, like when he rightfully torched Baylor on 22/24 passing in 2001.

Seneca played and stayed in the NFL until 2013 when he finished up with the Packers.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Wallace was a Class of 2019 Cyclone Hall of Fame inductee.

1.Troy Davis (1994-1996)

This was never a doubt, folks. Troy Davis is the greatest Iowa State Football player of all time! Davis was the first person to ever rush for 2,000 yards in consecutive seasons, and was a Heisman finalist in each of those seasons despite playing on a team that had virtually zero success outside of Davis. Had he played on a better team or at a school with a national brand, it’s almost a certainty that he would have won at least one, if not both, of those Heisman Trophies.

Davis pretty much set any Iowa State record at the time, including most career rushing yards with 4,382, total rushing yards in a single season with 2,185, and rushing yards in a game with 378 yards against Missouri. The week before, he set the record for most carries in a game with 53. Davis also holds the Iowa State record for most career rushing touchdowns with 36, and is tied for first for most career total touchdowns with 38. He became the first running back in NCAA history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in two different seasons. Davis was elected into the Iowa State Hall of Fame in 2007 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Top 50 Greatest Cyclone Football Players of All Time recap:

50-46

50. David Hoppmann

49. Jim Doran

48. Brent Curvey

47. Tim Dobbins

46. Jason Berryman

45-41

45. Mike Busch

44. Jack Trice

43. LaMarcus Hicks

42. JaQuan Bailey

41. Tom Randall

40-36

40. Stevie Hicks

39. Alvin “Ace” Bowen

38. Nik Moser

37. Alexander Robinson

36. Ray Lima

35-31

35. J.J. Moses

34. Tracey Henderson

33. David Archer

32. E.J. Bibbs

31. Cole Netten

30-26

30. Austen Arnaud

29. Brian Peavy

28. Leonard Johnson

27. Ben Bruns

26. Luther Blue

25-21

25. Blaise Bryant

24. Chris Washington

23. Ed Bock

22. Ennis Haywood

21. Darren Davis

20-16

20. Keith Sims

19. Dexter Green

18. Dwayne Crutchfield

17. Lane Danielson

16. Reggie Hayward

15-11

15. Jake Knott

14. Sage Rosenfels

13. Joel Lanning

12. A.J. Klein

11. Ellis Hobbs III

10-6

10. Kelechi Osemele

9. Matt Blair

8. Todd Blythe

7. Hakeem Butler

6. Bret Meyer

Keep an eye out, as next week we’ll be releasing all of our individual ballots so you can all yell at us for being young and stupid or something.