Aggie Football Top 100: Nos. 80-71

There was the Haskell Hurricane. There were the Blitz Brothers. There was Tank. Actually, there were two tanks.

There was DaMonster, Stonewall, Johnny Football and an array of Junction Boys.

In more than a century of college football, Texas A&M has produced hundreds of great — sometimes legendary — football players.

But who are the 100 best?

A TexAgs panel that includes coaches, former players, A&M football historians and media members were tasked with compiling the list of A&M’s 100 greatest players and ranking them in order. The Top 100 will be revealed in groups of 10 over the next two weeks.

Today we reveal Nos. 80-71.

 
80. Mark Dennard, 1975-77, C (229): A key fixture in the offensive line when A&M posted 28 victories in a three-season span, Dennard was named All-Southwest Conference in ’77. He was a 10th-round selection of the Miami Dolphins in the 1978 NFL Draft and played nine professional seasons. He is a member of A&M’s athletic Hall of Fame.

79. Mike DeNiro, 1968-69, DE (236): Coach Gene Stallings once said DeNiro was one of the best players he ever coached. To underscore that, consider DeNiro was named All-Southwest Conference as a sophomore and a junior at a time when postseason honors typically went to seniors and freshmen did not play. A powerful pass-rusher, DeNiro likely would have had a strong senior year, too, but he passed away in a tragic car accident during the offseason.

78. Tank Marshall, 1973-76, DE (242): An All-Southwest Conference selection in 1975 and ’76, Marshall played a major role on the ’75 defensive unit that was ranked No. 1 in the nation. He helped the Aggies post 28 victories in three seasons. The 1976 Aggie Heart Award winner, Marshall was a third-round draft choice of the New York Jets in 1977, but injuries brought his pro career to a premature end.

77. Bobby Joe Conrad, 1955-57, WR (243): Although he never made an all-conference team, old-timers will testify about Conrad's unique talent. He didn’t produce eye-popping stats, but he was a key member of Bear Bryant’s teams that posted 24 victories from ’55 to ’57. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1958 NFL Draft by the Chicago Cardinals. Conrad played 12 seasons in the NFL and appeared in one Pro Bowl. He is a member of A&M’s athletic Hall of Fame.

76. William Thomas, 1988-90, LB (245): A quarterback at Amarillo’s Palo Duro High School, Thomas was transformed into one of coach R.C. Slocum’s most productive linebackers. Twice he was named All-Southwest Conference. Thomas is still ranked 10th on A&M’s all-time sack list. He posted 21.5 sacks in his career and had 13 in 1990. He was a fourth-round selection of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1991 NFL Draft. He played 12 professional seasons with the Eagles and Oakland Raiders and appeared in two Pro Bowls.

75. John Tracey, 1956-58, TE (256): Big for his day and with exceptional quickness, Tracey was named All-Southwest Conference in 1956 and in ’58. He led the SWC and was fourth in the nation with 37 catches for 466 yards in ’58. Tracey was a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1959 NFL Draft, but flourished in the American Football League with the Buffalo Bills for which he played linebacker. He was an AFL All-Star in 1965 and ’66. Tracey died of lung cancer in 1978 at the age of 45.

74. Cap Murrah, 1918-21, C (271): William Ervin “Cap” Murrah was a dominant lineman of his era. He was named All-Southwest Conference three times. Murrah played a key role in A&M’s Dixie Classic victory over Centre College in 1922 when he recovered a fumble to set up a touchdown. He played two seasons in the NFL with the Canton Bulldogs and the St. Louis All-Stars.

T-72. Ryan Tannehill, 2008-11, QB (272): A receiver for the first two seasons at A&M, he moved to quarterback four games into his junior year and passed for 1,638 yards. He passed for 3,744 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior and became the first A&M quarterback to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft when he was taken by Miami in 2012. He’s seventh on A&M’s all-time career passing yardage list with 5,450 yards. He’s also ninth on the all-time list of receiving yardage with 1,596 yards.

T-72. Lee Roy Caffey, 1959-62, LB/FB (272): A product of the tiny town of Thorndale, Caffey was a two-way player who rushed for 371 yards as a fullback in 1961. A member of A&M’s athletic Hall of Fame, he was named to the school’s all-decade team of the ‘60s. Caffey was a seventh-round selection of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1963 draft, but flourished as a member of the Green Bay Packers. He played 10 seasons in the NFL, made All-Pro once, was on three Super Bowl championship teams and is in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. He passed away from cancer in 1994 at the age of 52.

71. Ty Warren, 1999-2002, DE (287): Although slowed by injuries throughout his A&M career, the Bryan native posted 144 career tackles, 13.5 sacks and blocked two field goals. He was named All-Big 12 in 2002. He was a first-round selection of the New England Patriots in the 2003 NFL Draft. Warren played 10 NFL seasons, was named All-Pro and was on two Super Bowl championship teams.

The Aggie Football Top 100

• Nos. 90-81
• Nos. 91-100

About the rankings

Panelists include: Jackie Sherrill, Jimmy Wright, Dave Elmendorf, Dennis Goehring, Hugh McElroy, Rusty Burson, Mike Henderson, Tom Turbiville, Brad Marquardt, Bob Spoede, Chip Howard, David Sandhop, Gabe Bock and Olin Buchanan.

Rankings were compiled by a points list in which 100 points were awarded first place, 99 for second place, etc. After a 13-vote total was accumulated, the point values of the highest and lowest votes were eliminated to determine a final point score. Each individual’s final point score is in parentheses.