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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)
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.
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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.
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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.
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Wallace was a Class of 2019 Cyclone Hall of Fame inductee.
1.Troy Davis (1994-1996)
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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. David Hoppmann
49. Jim Doran
48. Brent Curvey
47. Tim Dobbins
46. Jason Berryman
45. Mike Busch
44. Jack Trice
43. LaMarcus Hicks
42. JaQuan Bailey
41. Tom Randall
40. Stevie Hicks
39. Alvin “Ace” Bowen
38. Nik Moser
37. Alexander Robinson
36. Ray Lima
35. J.J. Moses
34. Tracey Henderson
33. David Archer
32. E.J. Bibbs
31. Cole Netten
30. Austen Arnaud
29. Brian Peavy
28. Leonard Johnson
27. Ben Bruns
26. Luther Blue
25. Blaise Bryant
24. Chris Washington
23. Ed Bock
22. Ennis Haywood
21. Darren Davis
20. Keith Sims
19. Dexter Green
18. Dwayne Crutchfield
17. Lane Danielson
16. Reggie Hayward
15. Jake Knott
14. Sage Rosenfels
13. Joel Lanning
12. A.J. Klein
11. Ellis Hobbs III
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.