College Football Weekly ranked Jamar Flethcer
as the 94th best college football player ever. Here is the recap on Jamar:
Jamar Fletcher, Cornerback
Wisconsin, 1998-2000
He wasn't awe inspiring with his athleticism like Deion Sanders or Charles Woodson, and he didn't gain notoriety by returning punts and play a few snaps on offense like those two did. All Jamar Fletcher did was spend three years as the best big-play, big-game cornerback in college football. The combination of clutch interceptions in big games along with his great open field tackling abilities made him one of the great players of our time. Disagree? Ask Drew Brees or Cade McNown. While the Badgers were carried by the legs of Ron Dayne, Wisconsin wouldn't have gone to, or won, two straight Rose Bowls without him.
Yeah, he never mastered the art of self-promotion like Sanders or Woodson did making the ridiculous claim before the 2000 Sun Bowl that he had never been beaten for a touchdown in man-to-man coverage (which didn't count the times he was beaten by David Terrell and Danny Farmer when he was covering them in zone coverages), but he could woof and talk smack with the best of them and he could certainly back it up. While most tend to focus on his interception and touchdown records, we think he was amazing for his tackling. Against big-time passing teams, Wisconsin played zone coverage bending for a ton of yards, but not breaking. This meant their corners had to make tackles and no one used a 174 pound frame like Fletcher did.
The ultimate offensive defensemen: When QBs chose to throw in Fletcher's direction, they often paid dearly. Fletcher returned five interceptions for touchdowns, a Big Ten record, including game sealing picks in tight games against Purdue (twice) and UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Against Northwestern in 1999, the Badgers jumped out to a big lead but the Wildcats were getting back into the game making things interesting. A Fletcher 93-yard pick for a touchdown later ... game over.
The QBs wised up: By Fletcher's junior year, teams just refused to throw his way. All except Oregon. Duck QB Joey Harrington had said before the game that he wasn't afraid to throw the ball anywhere. Three Fletcher interceptions and five pass breakups later, the Badgers pulled out the win. After getting burned two straight years by interception returns for touchdowns, Purdue's Drew Brees only threw three of his 43 passes Fletcher's way. In man-to-man coverage, David Terrell only caught one pass in their sensational matchup in 2000.
Signature performance: With Wisconsin holding a slim three point lead in the 4th quarter following a TD run by UCLA's Jermaine Lewis in the 2000 Rose Bowl, UCLA was on the march again looking to tie up the game or even take the lead. The Fletcher made the play of the game picking off a Cade McNown pass and taking it for a touchdown to give the Badgers the winning score. Wisconsin won 38-31. Also notable was Fletcher's game-saving interception return for a touchdown that year against Purdue and Drew Brees. Brees threw a record 83 passes that day, but Fletcher sealed the win with his 52-yard TD. In 2000 against Purdue, Fletcher picked off two passes returning one 34 yards for a TD with just 4:43 to play.
Honors:
Jim Thorpe Award Winner - 2000
First Team All-American - 1999, 2000
Collegefootballnews.com All-American - 1999, 2000
First Team All-Big Ten - 1998, 1999, 2000
Led the Big Ten in interceptions for three straight years
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year - 2000
as the 94th best college football player ever. Here is the recap on Jamar:
Jamar Fletcher, Cornerback
Wisconsin, 1998-2000
He wasn't awe inspiring with his athleticism like Deion Sanders or Charles Woodson, and he didn't gain notoriety by returning punts and play a few snaps on offense like those two did. All Jamar Fletcher did was spend three years as the best big-play, big-game cornerback in college football. The combination of clutch interceptions in big games along with his great open field tackling abilities made him one of the great players of our time. Disagree? Ask Drew Brees or Cade McNown. While the Badgers were carried by the legs of Ron Dayne, Wisconsin wouldn't have gone to, or won, two straight Rose Bowls without him.
Yeah, he never mastered the art of self-promotion like Sanders or Woodson did making the ridiculous claim before the 2000 Sun Bowl that he had never been beaten for a touchdown in man-to-man coverage (which didn't count the times he was beaten by David Terrell and Danny Farmer when he was covering them in zone coverages), but he could woof and talk smack with the best of them and he could certainly back it up. While most tend to focus on his interception and touchdown records, we think he was amazing for his tackling. Against big-time passing teams, Wisconsin played zone coverage bending for a ton of yards, but not breaking. This meant their corners had to make tackles and no one used a 174 pound frame like Fletcher did.
The ultimate offensive defensemen: When QBs chose to throw in Fletcher's direction, they often paid dearly. Fletcher returned five interceptions for touchdowns, a Big Ten record, including game sealing picks in tight games against Purdue (twice) and UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Against Northwestern in 1999, the Badgers jumped out to a big lead but the Wildcats were getting back into the game making things interesting. A Fletcher 93-yard pick for a touchdown later ... game over.
The QBs wised up: By Fletcher's junior year, teams just refused to throw his way. All except Oregon. Duck QB Joey Harrington had said before the game that he wasn't afraid to throw the ball anywhere. Three Fletcher interceptions and five pass breakups later, the Badgers pulled out the win. After getting burned two straight years by interception returns for touchdowns, Purdue's Drew Brees only threw three of his 43 passes Fletcher's way. In man-to-man coverage, David Terrell only caught one pass in their sensational matchup in 2000.
Signature performance: With Wisconsin holding a slim three point lead in the 4th quarter following a TD run by UCLA's Jermaine Lewis in the 2000 Rose Bowl, UCLA was on the march again looking to tie up the game or even take the lead. The Fletcher made the play of the game picking off a Cade McNown pass and taking it for a touchdown to give the Badgers the winning score. Wisconsin won 38-31. Also notable was Fletcher's game-saving interception return for a touchdown that year against Purdue and Drew Brees. Brees threw a record 83 passes that day, but Fletcher sealed the win with his 52-yard TD. In 2000 against Purdue, Fletcher picked off two passes returning one 34 yards for a TD with just 4:43 to play.
Honors:
Jim Thorpe Award Winner - 2000
First Team All-American - 1999, 2000
Collegefootballnews.com All-American - 1999, 2000
First Team All-Big Ten - 1998, 1999, 2000
Led the Big Ten in interceptions for three straight years
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year - 2000