Top 50 Greatest Cyclone Football Players: 20-16

We have finally made it to the top 20 of our Top 50 Greatest Cyclone Football Players list. That means we are officially four weeks away from the first game of the 2019 season. This is where things are going to start getting fun. Let’s start taking a look at the top 20!

20. Keith Sims (1986-1989)

Much like previously-mentioned-on-the-list Ben Bruns, Keith Sims started all four years on the offensive line at Iowa State, totaling 44 total starts. During his four seasons, Sims blocked for two 1,000 yard rushers, including one from our Top 50 list, Blaise Bryant. One of the bigger highlights for Sims’ career was helping the 1989 Iowa State offense average more than 427 yards of offense per game. Sims was drafted by the Miami Dolphins following Iowa State, and would go on to make the Pro Bowl three times during his NFL career.

19. Dexter Green (1975-1978)

Dexter “Money” Green, a 5’9” tailback from Virginia (who rushed for 209 yards on nine carries in high school), was a beast in the Big Eight rushing for 1000+ yards on the should-have-been bowl bound 1976 team.

Money led the rushing attack for the Peach and Hall of Fame Classic teams, rushing for a school record 174 yards in the 1977 Peach.

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The 1978 All-American finished with 3,437 career yards and 228 points.

18. Dwayne Crutchfield (1980-1981)

As a two-time First-Team Big Eight pick, Dwayne Crutchfield led the conference in rushing in both of his seasons as a Cyclone. Crutchfield rushed for a total of 2,501 yards and 28 touchdowns during his Iowa State career. His 28 touchdown runs still ranks 5th on the Iowa State career record boards. He was named as a United Press All-American after the 1980 season, in which he helped Iowa State to a top-20 national ranking for a short time.

17. Lane Danielsen (2000-2003)

Danielsen, a real speedster for his day, could be best compared to Trever Ryen, as seen on this reverse below.

He only appeared in seven games in 2000, but his game winning touchdown reception against Oklahoma State started his rise to Cyclone success.

2002 found Danielsen 1,073 receiving yards on one of the best offenses to blaze the Kentucky bluegrass in Ames and the actually-blue grass of Boise. He was the leading ISU receiver in the bowl game with 47 receiving yards on four catches and a rushing touchdown.

He finished with 2,900 career yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns.

16. Reggie Hayward (1998-2001)

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As one of the most disruptive defensive players in Iowa State history, Reggie Hayward was a three-year full time starter for Iowa State, but found playing time in all four seasons in Ames. During his career, Hayward totaled 229 tackles and 16.5 sacks. Hayward sits fourth all-time on the Iowa State sack list after the emergence of JaQuan Bailey the last three seasons.

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