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Top 10 Fathers and Sons in College Football History

Some gene pools are more talented than others, as is evidenced by the numerous cases of gifted father and sons who took over college football news and led their teams to success, with some eventually taking that next step to the NFL.

With plenty of former NFL and college stars’ sons now leading the next generation of football stars, that begs the question of who are some of the best father and son duos in college football.

Top 10 Fathers and Sons in College Football History
(L-R) Former Football Quarterbacks Eli Manning (L), Archie Manning (2R) and Peyton Manning (R)pose with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey (2L) | Todd kirkland/getty images/afp

Ahead, in no particular order, are 10 of the best father and son pairs in college football history.

Archie, Eli and Peyton Manning

Starting off with some of the most famous father and son trios in football, Archie Manning played for the Ole Miss Rebels from 1968-70, throwing for 4,753 yards and 31 touchdowns. Manning’s jersey was retired by Ole Miss and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.

Peyton Manning took his talents to Tennessee, where he won the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Award his senior year after leading the Volunteers to an SEC Championship. He became Tennessee’s all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns in his four seasons and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Eli Manning chose to follow in his father’s footsteps by going to Ole Miss, where he won the Maxwell Award his senior year. He set or tied many records there and finished with 10,119 yards and 81 touchdowns in his four seasons.

Clay Sr., Clay Jr., and Bruce Matthews

Clay Matthews Sr. was a lineman at Georgia Tech in the 1940s and set the stage for many Matthews to come. Matthews was a three-year starter for Tech, getting selected to the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame in 1972.

Matthews Jr. attended USC as a linebacker, along with his brother Bruce a few years later as lineman. Junior. was named an All-American in 1977 as well as All-Conference twice, helping lead the Trojans to the national championship in 1974. Bruce, meanwhile, was an All-American 1982 and won the Morris Trophy that same year for the best lineman in the conference.

Howie and Chris Long


Howie Long was a defensive end for Villanova, playing all four years there. He led the Wildcats in sacks in both his sophomore and senior seasons with five and four respectively, also earning All-East honors his senior year.

Chris Long was a defensive end at Virginia, where he was a unanimous First-Team All-American his senior season while also winning the Hendricks Trophy for the nation’s top defensive end after finishing the season with 69 combined tackles and 14 sacks. Long’s jersey was retired at Virginia in 2007.

Bob and Brian Griese

Bob Griese played quarterback, kicker and punter for Purdue from 1963-1966, though he is most known for his quarterback play. Griese led the Boilermakers to their first Rose Bowl appearance in ‘66, finishing as a two-time All-American. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992 and College Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

Brian Griese turned down a scholarship from Purdue to walk on at Michigan, where he helped lead the Wolverines to an undefeated season and a national championship in his final season. Griese was named the MVP of the Rose Bowl in 1998 after passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns, getting inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2012.

Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders

Deion Sanders was a cornerback for Florida State, becoming a two-time consensus All-American and finishing his four years with 14 interceptions. Sanders won the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s best defensive back his senior season and his jersey was retired in 1995.

Shedeur Sanders is heading into his third season of play, his first at Colorado under his father Deion. He was previously quarterback for Jackson State, where he passed for 3,231 yards and 30 touchdowns his freshman year to earn the SWAC Freshman of the Year and Jerry Rice Awards while he followed that up by winning the Deacon Jones Trophy for the nation’s top HBCU player his sophomore season.

Phil and Chris Simms

Phil Simms was a quarterback for Morehead State from 1974-78, where his 5,545 career passing yards set a school record. He also had 32 touchdowns passes … and 45 interceptions.

Chris Simms had a more successful college career than his father as quarterback for Texas from 1999 to 2002. Simms served primarily as a backup in his first two seasons, however he got the start in his junior season, helping lead the Longhorns to the Big 12 Championship Game. He was the starter his senior season as well, throwing for 3,207 yards, leading Texas to the Cotton Bowl and capping his season being named the team’s MVP.

Ed and Christian McCaffrey


Ed McCaffrey was a wide receiver for Stanford University, where he earned First-Team All American honors in 1990 and finished his career as the fifth all-time leader in receptions with 146 and third all-time leader in receiving yards with 2,333.

Christian McCaffrey followed in his father’s footsteps, playing for Stanford as a running back. McCaffrey was named the AP College Football Player of the Year his sophomore season after rushing for 2,019 yards and eight touchdowns, also setting the record for all-purpose yards that year with 3,864.

Marvin Harrison and Marvin Harrison Jr.

Marvin Harrison played wide receiver for Syracuse from 1992-9. He set a school record with 2,718 career receiving yards that wasn’t broken until 2017. He also finished second in school history with 20 receiving touchdowns.

Marvin Harrison Jr. has spent two seasons as a wide receiver for Ohio State, where he was named a unanimous All-American and the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year in 2022 after finishing the season with 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Patrick and Patrick Surtain II

Patrick Surtain was a cornerback for the University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a two-year starter. In his junior year, Surtain finished with 84 tackles, six interceptions and eight passes defended.

Patrick Surtain II is also a cornerback, though he played for Alabama, where he started as both a true freshman and sophomore. In his sophomore year, Surtain recorded 42 tackles, three forced fumbles, eight pass breakups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and he was named as the defensive MVP of the 2021 Rose Bowl in his junior year.

Randy and Thaddeus Moss

Randy Moss was a talented wide receiver for Marshall University, earning All-American honors there in 1997. Moss finished the 1997 season with 1,820 receiving yards and 26 touchdowns, helping him to earn the Fred Biletnikoff Award as well as MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Though not quite as big as his father, Thaddeus Moss was a talented tight end in college. After spending a season at NC State, Moss transferred to LSU, where he finished with 47 receptions for 570 receiving yards, setting school records for tight ends, as well as four touchdowns.

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