It is an impossible task to have everyone agree on a list of 10 greatest players at any school. The list of legends to play at Ole Miss makes the task even greater.

Included in this attempt are Rebel namesakes, All-Americans (one at two schools), NFL Hall of Famers and two-sport stars.

10. Gene Hickerson, Guard

Hickerson joins Bruiser Kinard as the only two Rebels in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a member of the 2007 class. Hickerson was a key cog in three varsity seasons that saw the Rebels go a combined 26-5-1, including a 1955 SEC title, 1956 Cotton Bowl win and 1958 Sugar Bowl win. He is a member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. He verified his lead-blocking ability in 15 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, leading the way in front of three Hall of Famers – Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell.

9. Jake Gibbs, Quarterback

Gibbs led the SEC in passing and total offense in 1959 and was named All-SEC and All-America in 1960, the year he finished third in Heisman voting. He led the Rebels to a share of the 1959 and 1960 national championship. He was voted Most Outstanding Player in the 1961 Sugar Bowl after scoring the only two touchdowns in a 14-6 win over Rice. Despite being drafted by the Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns, Gibbs decided to play professional baseball, hit 25 homers in 10 seasons with the Yankees. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

8. Kayo Dottley, Running Back

Kayo Dottley still holds Ole Miss’s single-season rushing record with 1,312 yards in 1949. He was the NCAA rushing champ that season with 208 carries and 14 touchdowns. He was the first Rebel to run for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons, is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Ole Miss Hall of Fame and a member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century. Dottley held SEC records for 1,312 net yards and 131.2 yards per game average until 1971.

7. Barney Poole, End

Poole was an All-American at two universities, Army and Ole Miss. He first played at Ole Miss as a sophomore in 1942, before wartime sent him to Army from 1944-46, then back to Ole Miss from 1947-48. He is a member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century. His 52 catches for 511 yards and eight touchdowns led the nation in 1947. It was also a school record at the time. He was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1974, the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame in 1966, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1965 and the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.

6. Bruiser Kinard, Tackle

Ole Miss’s first All-American tackle played 708 of 720 possible minutes for the Rebels in 1936. Kinard was named first-team All-SEC and first-team All-American in 1936 and 1937. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1971 and is a charter member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (1961).  Kinard helped Ole Miss to a 9-3 record in 1935, ending with the Rebels’ first bowl appearance, a loss to Catholic University in the Orange Bowl. Kinard was voted to Southern Living South’s Greatest Players team and entered the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986.

5. Deuce McAllister, Running Back

McAllister ran for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore in 1998. In 1999, he finished with 930 yards and 13 touchdowns on 44 fewer carries than his previous season, as well as 715 kick return yards and a touchdown. As a senior, McAllister rushed for 767 yards and 18 touchdowns, capping three consecutive seasons with 1,000 all-purpose yards for the Rebels. By the time he was finished in Oxford, Deuce owned Ole Miss records for carries, yards, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns, points and 100-yards games.

4. Charlie Conerly, Quarterback

Conerly led the Rebels to their first SEC championship in 1947. That season, Conerly led the nation in pass completions with 133, was a consensus All-American and was named Player of the Year by the Helms Athletic Foundation. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Conerly was fourth in the 1947 Heisman vote. He is the namesake of the Conerly Trophy, given annually to the best college football player in Mississippi.

3. Eli Manning, Quarterback

Eli set or tied 47 single-game, season and career records, including school records 10,119 passing yards and 81 touchdowns. He also set school marks for completions (829) and attempts (1,363). Manning won the Maxwell Award in 2003, the same year he finished third in Heisman voting and won the Johnny Unitas Award for the nation’s top quarterback. He was also the Associated Press’s SEC Offensive Player of the Year and MVP of Ole Miss’s January 2004 Cotton Bowl win over Oklahoma State.

2. Patrick Willis, Linebacker

Willis, pictured up top, became the most decorated defensive player in Ole Miss history, a 2006 All-American who won the Butkus Award and Lambert Trophy as the nation’s top linebacker.

The two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year (by various outlets) led the conference in tackles his final two seasons and led NCAA DI players with nine solo tackles per game in 2005. His Ole Miss career included 355 tackles, 247 of them solo, 33 hits behind the line of scrimmage for minus-154 yards, including 11 sacks.

Willis is on the ballot for the 2018 College Football Hall of Fame.

1. Archie Manning, Quarterback

Archie Manning is synonymous with Ole Miss. Manning completed 58.1 percent of his 265 passes in 1969 and finished fourth in Heisman voting. He finished third in 1970 after throwing for 1,481 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Rebels.

Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

His best passing season was in 1969 when he threw for 1,762 yards and nine touchdowns and had a QBR of 118.4. That season, he also rushed for 502 yards and 14 touchdowns and won the Walter Camp Trophy. Manning, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

Patrick Willis cover photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics.