What does it take to be labeled a “dynamic” player in college football?
Dual-threat quarterbacks mix the pro-style pocket passing NFL scout love and the running ability that seems to be taking over the position at large, a chunk of skill position players are recruited as “athletes” while playing multiple positions and then there’s Travis Hunter who played at an All-American level on both sides of the ball while at Colorado.
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All of these archetypes fit the Merriam-Webster definition of the word dynamic — “marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change” — but in sports, dynamism has a certain je ne sais quoi to it. As CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford puts it, “the players I most remembered jumped off of the screen in the biggest moments of the biggest games.”
Crawford put together a list of college football’s 25 most dynamic players of the past 25 years, and there’s surprisingly just one Florida Gator on there. While Gators fans may be quick to jump to the most sacred name in all of Gainesville — Tim Tebow — it’s not the golden boy who made the cut.
Tebow helped popularize the running quarterback, and he did it in a bruising way that hasn’t quite been replicated. But his passing lacked at times, and there’s a better all-around choice for this list.
Percy Harvin. Athlete.
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“The Gators did an expert job picking and choosing when to incorporate Harvin offensively,” wrote Crawford, “whether that meant lining him up next to Tim Tebow in the backfield or breaking him out at receiver. Over this three-year stint in Gainesville, Harvin was instrumental in leading one of the nation’s most explosive offenses, averaging 11.6 yards per touch with 32 touchdowns. His 9.2 yards per rushing attempt led the country in 2007, which ironically, was Tebow’s Heisman year.”
Harvin was a video game character in real life. An offensive weapon that demanded the focus of multiple defenders, Florida and Tebow likely wouldn’t have the same success without him on the field. His success carried over into the NFL, and he’s the kind of name that comes up in water cooler talk, which is the kind of topic Crawford is looking to explore deeper.
Did he miss the mark by leaving Tebow out, though?
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators Percy Harvin CBS Sports top 25 most dynamic players
