Herschel Walker in 1989.
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— Rated second in the nation behind Elway in 1979, Marino won Parade
All-American honors at Central Catholic and became a starter at the
University of Pittsburgh as a freshman. Eventually he went on to set
numerous all-time passing marks in the NFL during a Hall of Fame career.
Herschel Walker, Johnson County (Wrightsville, Ga.) — Walker
burst onto the college scene at Georgia and was an immediate Heisman
Trophy candidate as a freshman, an award he would later win as a junior.
As a senior in 1979 he won the first Dial Award for the national high
school scholar-athlete of the year and he led Johnson County to its
second state championship with 3,167 yards rushing. Walker played 12 NFL
seasons and had 13,787 rushing yards as a professional in the USFL and
NFL combined.
Ron Powlus, Berwick (Pa.)
— Highly regarded coming out of Berwick, Powlus was earmarked as a
possible multiple Heisman Trophy winner by college pundit Beano Cook
after beating out the likes of Peyton Manning for All-American honors in
1992. Powlus never quite lived up to the hype, but he did set a number
of passing records for the Fighting Irish.
Kevin Willhite, Cordova (Rancho Cordova, Calif.) —
One of the fastest runners in the country, Willhite won nearly every
national award presented in 1981. Every major college in the country
wanted the speedster from Sacramento, but he ultimately chose the
University of Oregon. Injuries in college robbed him of his speed,
however he did play several games in the NFL as a fullback.
Players 8 through 10 (Continue reading)
