College basketball’s Final 4 will be set by the end of this weekend. With that in mind, I thought this was the perfect time to enamor you with a “Top 4” list. All the sports sites are doing it.
Today I present the top four offensive players in American Athletic Conference history. These guys are all-time greats. Okay, so the AAC has been around for just two seasons. So what? That shouldn’t diminish the top quality players who have already graced the league.
Next Saturday I’ll list my top four defensive players in AAC history. Have a top four list of your own? Tell us in the comments section.
1. Blake Bortles, QB, UCF
Blake Bortles had less passing yards (3,581) and less touchdown passes (25) in his only year in the AAC than the second QB on this list, but Bortles championship ring pushes him to No. 1. At the end of the day, it’s all about the titles. Bortles — with immense help from the third guy on this list — guided UCF to the first-ever AAC football championship in 2013, and the school’s first-ever major bowl win in the Fiesta Bowl against No. 5 Baylor. UCF finished 21-1, won the AAC championship, the Fiesta Bowl, and finished in the top 10, all in its inaugural season in the AAC. Bortles was the catalyst for the Knights surprising run, which, ultimately, contributed to him being picked in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. There will be other AAC championship quarterbacks, but Bortles will always be the first.
2. Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina
Shane Carden elevated himself to tier-1 status in his first and only year in the AAC. “Captain Carden” finished 2014 second nationally in passing yards (4, 736), 11th in touchdown passes (30), and third in yards per game (364.3). He holds the AAC single-season record for passing yards and yards per game. Carden, unfortunately, wasn’t able to lead ECU to an AAC championship before he graduated, but his ridiculous numbers make leaving him out of this list indefensible. At least in the short-term, Carden is one of the top four players to come out of the AAC.
3. Storm Johnson, RB, UCF
Running the ball hasn’t been a strong suit for the AAC in its two-year existence. Only three AAC running backs have finished a season with over 1,000 yards rushing. 2013 AAC champion Storm Johnson is one of them. Johnson’s 1,139 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns are the most by an AAC running back in a single season. Johnson never rushed for more than 127 yards in a game while in the AAC, but his 213 attempts in 2013 proved his utility and role as a crucial partner to Blake Bortles and the Knights offense during their championship run. USF’s Marlon Mack or Houston’s Kenneth Farrow — both 1,000 yard rushers in ’14 — may eventually supplant Johnson in the AAC hierarchy, but not until they earn championship rings.
4. Justin Hardy, WR, East Carolina
No way am I leaving Shane Carden’s right hand man off this list. Without Justin Hardy, there would be no “Captain Carden.” Hardy, a former walk-on, was the bullet to Carden’s loaded gun in ECU’s prolific passing attack in 2014. Hardy holds the single-season AAC receiving record with 1,494 yards receiving on 121 receptions (also a record). Even more glorifying is his NCAA record for career receptions. Outside of his receiving numbers and accolades, Hardy was seen as an excellent teammate and role model in the community. With the way most teams in the AAC like to air it out on Saturdays, Hardy’s numbers will soon get passed, but his impact on the infant AAC will forever stamp the conference’s history.
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