In an earlier entry, we looked at the candidacy of William Heffelfinger, who predated the NFL by decades and was the first paid Pro Football player.  Charles Follis would make similar history as the first African-American Pro Football player.

This is very tricky, or maybe it isn’t.  It just depends on what type of football historian you are.

A three-time All-American at Yale (1889-91), William Heffelfinger’s college squad only ever lost two games.  Heffelfinger was considered the star of that team, but in the 1890s, and for many decades after that, you went on with your life and stopped playing football.  That was not the case for Heffelfinger.

Playing his entire career with the Washington Redskins, Jerry Smith was one of the new breed of Tight Ends who was redefining the position.  Smith was a more than adequate blocker, but he was catching passes at the same rate of Wide Receivers, a trait that was not common in the 1960s and 1970s.  Smith would help the Redskins reach their first Super Bowl and he finished in the top ten in Receptions four times, and Receiving Touchdowns five times.  He would be a Pro Bowl twice and in 1969, he was named a First Team All-Pro.

When you think of the state of Florida and the game of football, Fred Taylor is one of those named that should come up in the conversation.  He is from the state, he played his college ball at the University of Florida (where he helped them with the National Championship), and he would play professionally for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the first 11 years of his career.