We did a top-25 Pac-12 players list, and then asked you to provide your own.
The response was strong. Both in numbers of entries and the overall quality. A few of you listed mostly guys from your favorite team. One guy took the time to type out Matt Barkley 25 times.
I couldn't publish them all, of course. Further, I didn't consider ones that listed 25 guys with no explanation -- YOU DIDN'T FOLLOW DIRECTIONS! -- and I didn't include ones that just said "switch these two players, drop Reggie Dunn and your list would be perfect."
I also have a celebrity contribution, the last one, that I found pretty interesting.
Couple of general thoughts:
Many of you thought Marqise Lee should be No. 1.
The top players you added most were Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant, Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington running back Bishop Sankey, Oregon running back/wide receiver De'Anthony Thomas, Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan and USC defensive end Morgan Breslin.
The most popular player to dump from our list was Utah kick returner Reggie Dunn.
Once again, here's our list.
No. 1: Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
No. 2: Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State
No. 3: Marqise Lee, WR, USC
No. 4: Matt Scott, QB, Arizona
No. 5: Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona
No. 6: Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
No. 7: Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA
No. 8: Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford
No. 9: Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
No. 10: Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State
No. 11: Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
No. 12: Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State
No. 13: Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
No. 14: Matt Barkley, QB, USC
No. 15: Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
No. 16: Trent Murphy, OLB, Stanford
No. 17: Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford
No. 18: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
No. 19: David Yankey, OL, Stanford
No. 20: Dion Jordan, DE/OLB, Oregon
No. 21: Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State
No. 22: Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
No. 23: Michael Clay, LB, Oregon
No. 24: Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State
No. 25: Reggie Dunn, KR, Utah
Here are some of your thoughts.
Braxton from Fargo, N.D.:
1. Marqise Lee, WR, USC
2. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
3. Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona
4. Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State
5. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
6. Jonathan Franklin, RB, UCLA
7. Matt Scott, QB, Arizona
8. Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
9. Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
10. Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford
11. Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State
12. Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
13. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
14. David Yankey, OL, Stanford
15. Trent Murphy, LB, Stanford
16. Matt Barkley, QB, USC
17. Dion Jordan, DE, Oregon
18. Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
19. Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State
20. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
21. Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
22. Chase Thomas, LB, Stanford
23. Michael Clay, LB, Oregon
24. Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
25. Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington
First off I do not think a sole kick returner (Reggie Dunn) belongs in a top 25 player list. I would make an exception with De'Anthony Thomas, though he plays a much more vital role in Oregon's offense, than Dunn in Utah's offense. Leaving off Austin Seferian-Jenkins is absurd. If you would take off Seferian-Jenkins off Washington's offense, they would be incredibly one-demensional. Taylor Kelly almost made my list, but I just didn't see enough fire-power in him through the season.
My take: Reasonable list. Added Seferian-Jenkins, Sankey and Trufant -- three Huskies -- and dropped Dunn, Kelly and Crichton. Could be argued.
Pete from Denver:
1. Marqise Lee
2. Will Sutton
3. Marcus Mariota
4. Ka'Deem Carey
5. Kenjon Barner
7. Anthony Barr
8. Jordan Poyer
9. Matt Scott
10. Marcus Wheaton
11. Star Lotuelei
12. Zach Ertz
13. Stepfan Taylor
14. Brett Hundley
15. Chase Thomas
16. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
17. Trent Murphy
18. David Yankey
19. Scott Crichton
20. Austin Sefaran Jenkins
21. Taylor Kelly
22. Dion Jordan
23. Austin Hill
24. Ed Reynolds
25. Matt Barkley
I added Austin Hill 6th is receiving yards to the list and Austin Sefaran Jenkins who is one of the top 3 TEs in the nation. I took off Micheal Clay since he was inconsistent and injured throughout the year. I also removed Reggie Dunn since he only impacts a couple plays a game and his best games were against weak competition. I move Scott and Barkley down because both were QBs of average teams and it is not fair to give all the credit for wins, but not take the heat for losses.
My take: Pete explains himself well. Clay was a guy who got the nod on our list because of "intangibles." I felt like he was the clear leader of a very good Oregon defense, which is why we tapped him over Kiko Alonso, who is a more physically-talented player. Hill was one of our late cuts, just like Seferian-Jenkins.
Loren from Marina, Calif.:
1.Marquise Lee
2.Will Sutton
3.Marcus Mariota
4.Star Lotulelei
5.Ka'Deem Carey
6.Jonathan Franklin
7.Taylor Kelly
8.Matt Scott
9.Markus Wheaton
10.Kenjon Barner
11. Brett Hundley
12. Ed Reynolds
13. Jordan Poyer
14. Anthony Barr
15. Zach Ertz
16. Stepfan Taylor
17. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
18. David Yankey
19. Trent Murphy
20. Dion Jordan
21. Kevin Hogan
22. DAT
23. ASJ
24. Austin Hill
25. Scott Crichton
Taylor Kelly beat Matt Scott in every significant category other than yards and won in Tucson. Both were studs. Barner is a (very good) system back but Carey and Franklin had better seasons given their personnel. Ed Reynolds essentially returned five of his six picks for TDs, one of which was the pivotal play in the Pac 12 title game. Pedestrian numbers aside, Kevin Hogan was the most important player of the 2nd half of the season and deserves a spot.ASJ and DAT: IN! The most disappointing player in the country ? Barkley - OUT!
My take: No Chase Thomas? As for Kelly versus Scott: When you say "other than yards," you leave out that it was 70 yards a game. Kelly did have the head-to-head win, but Scott put up big numbers against a tougher schedule, beating Oklahoma State, USC and Washington, while falling just short versus Stanford. Kelly's, and Arizona State's, only victory over a winning team was against the Wildcats. A great win that resonates in-state, sure, but for the totality of the season, I give Scott a clear edge. Of course, he was a senior and Kelly was a sophomore.
Brandtfred from Seattle:
No. 1: Marqise Lee, WR, USC
No. 2: Will Sutton, DT, Arizona State
No. 3: Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona
No. 4: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington
No. 5: Johnathan Franklin, RB, UCLA
No. 6: Matt Scott, QB, ArizonaNo.
No. 7: Star Lotulelei, DT, Utah
No. 8: Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford
No. 9: Stepfan Taylor, RB, StanfordNo.
No. 10: Bishop Sankey, RB, WashingtonNo.
No. 11: Markus Wheaton, WR, Oregon State
No. 12: Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
No. 13: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington
No. 14: Jordan Poyer, CB, Oregon State
No. 15: Matt Barkley, QB, USC
No. 16: Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
No. 17: Trent Murphy, OLB, Stanford
No. 18: Chase Thomas, OLB, Stanford
No. 19: David Yankey, OL, Stanford
No. 20: Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State
No. 21: Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
No. 22: Shaq Thompson, S, Washington
No. 23: Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State
No. 24: Reggie Dunn, KR, Utah
No. 25: Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
Top 25 Entry: I feel that the majority of your list was spot on. I only made a few minor changes and in my humblest opinion, I'm pretty sure I didn't leave off any player of worth. I merely added a 1st round draft pick, a future Mackey Award winner, a phenomenal TRUE freshman defensive player, and a workhorse who's team relied on him more than is fair. As you'll be able to see, every player I took off the list is overrated (their stats will probably be relegated in the near future anyway)
My take: A very Husky-ish list. Not only are their four of them, note which team gets shut out. Forget the names or teams: I don't see a tight end ever being top-five.
Andrew from Thousand Oaks, Calif.:
1)Marqise Lee
2)Will Sutton
3)Marcus Mariota
4)Ka'Deem Carey
5)Kenjon Barner
6)Matt Scott
7)Jordan Poyer
8)Star Lotulelei
9)Stepfan Taylor
10)Jonathan Franklin
11)Anthony Barr
12)Marcus Wheaton
13)David Yankey
14)Trent Murphy
15)Zach Ertz
16)Matt Barkley
17)Brett Hundley
18)Scott Crichton
19)Taylor Kelly
20)Michael Clay
21)Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
22)Morgan Breslin
23)Ed Reynolds
24)Ben Gardner
Obviously these are pretty minor changes. Marqise Lee deserves the top spot after being a unanimous All-American and setting several conference records in the process. I bumped Yankey way up because the Stanford O-line was dominant with him at the helm. I don't buy into the coaches always choosing the best first team performers, so I got rid of Dion Jordan and moved Morgan Breslin in, because you can't ignore the production (13 sacks, 7 more than Jordan). [Editor's note: Breslin had eight more sacks than Jordan.] And while Reggie Dunn's kick returning was valuable, it was not as valuable as Hroniss Grasu's leadership on Oregon's O-line, which paved the way for one of the country's best offenses.
My take: Added Grasu, Gardner, Breslin and dropped Chase Thomas, Reggie Dunn and Dion Jordan. All three you added, Kevin and I talked about. I don't think Breslin is a complete player, at least not yet. Thomas and Jordan played for much better defenses, too. And Jordan is going to be a first-round draft pick. Grasu is a strong candidate for the preseason list.
Orefornian from Tustin, Calif.:
1. Marcus Mariota
2. Will Sutton
3. Ka'Deem Carey
4. Kenjon Baner
5. Star Lotulelei
6. Markus Wheaton
7. Marqise Lee
8. Jonathan Franklin
9. Stepfan Taylor
10. Matt Scott
11. Austin Hill
12. Jordan Poyer
13. Brett Hundley
14. Desmond Trufant
15. Zach Ertz
16. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu
17. Chase Thomas
18. Anthony Barr
19. Dion Jordan
20. Scott Crichton
21. Taylor Kelly
22. Austin Seferian-Jenkins
23. Michael Clay
24. Trent Murphy
25. Brandin Cooks
I humbly submit my top 25 to the Pac 12 Blog. I believe the power in this conference is in the North Division, and I ranked the players accordingly. A 3rd place North Team is even with the South Division winner (See Oregon State winning in the Rose Bowl). I left Barkley off, because he was the leader of the fall of the Trojan Empire. I agree with Hogan being left off because he did not play enough games. It isn't fair to the players who played through all the games, playing through injuries and whatever other maladies they had. I humbly await your criticism and disdain for my list-it is now in your hands, Pac 12 Blog.
My take: A Lee skeptic! Added Hill, Trufant, Seferian-Jenkins and Cooks, dropped Barkley, Dunn, Ed Reynolds and David Yankey. No offensive linemen, not even the Morris Trophy winner? And you do know what Reynolds did when he intercepted the ball -- six times -- right? Cooks had a nice season, though only five touchdowns, but not sure if he's worthy of top-25. He will get considered strongly for preseason list, though.
Rick Neuheisel from Manhattan Beach, Calif.:
1 Marcus Mariota
2 Ka'Deem Carey
3 Marqise Lee
4 Brett Hundley
5 Zach Ertz
6 Kenjon Barner
7 Matt Scott
9 Jordan Poyer
10 Will Sutton
11 Chase Thomas
12 Johnthan Franklin
13 Stepfan Taylor
14 Marcus Wheaton
15 Anthony Barr
16 Bishop Sankey
17 Taylor Kelly
18 De'Anthony Thomas
19 Seferian-Jenkins
20 Robert Woods
21 Matt Barkley
22 Star Lotulelei
23 Desmond Trufant
24 Scott Crichton
25 Joe Fauria
Top five players clearly MVP'S for respective teams. All will be highly sought after at next level. Barner proved durability,Scott flourished in system (look for him to be next Kaepernick), and Allen has tremendous physical talent. Poyer, Sutton, and Thomas all emotional, physical players. Disrupters! Franklin, Taylor and Wheaton all great leaders who took teams past expectations. Barr is a freak athlete! Easily could have put Dion Jordan here for same reason. Sankey and Kelly came out of nowhere to be respective teams MVP's. Thomas, Sefairin-Jenkins, Woods, Barkley, Lotulelei, and Trufant all would be first round draft choices if opposing coaches were allowed to draft off of other Pac-12 teams. Crichton a relentless pass rusher. Could have named Datone Jones or Morgan Breslin here. Fauria is unusual match up problem. He is open even when covered. Apologies to Ed Reynolds, Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Austin Hill and Nickel Robey.
My take: Yes, this is the man himself, confirmed via text message. And it's a really interesting list because it's coming from a guy who coached in the conference in 2011.