5 Best Georgia Southern Eagles Football Players, Ranked

The Georgia Southern Eagles played at the FCS level until 2013. Before moving to the FBS, Georgia Southern won six FCS national titles, with the most recent coming in 2000. 

Today, they’re part of the Sun Belt Conference. 

Now that they’ve been in the FBS for a bit of time, football betting on their college football odds is available at the BetMGM online sportsbook as they look to become one of the best teams in their conference. 

See the top five Eagles below. 

5 Best Georgia Southern Eagles Football Players, Ranked

Georgia Southern Eagles All-Time Greatest Football Players

1. Adrian Peterson

Peterson was sensational at Georgia Southern. 

He played running back from 1998 to 2001.

He won the Walter Payton Award (given to the most outstanding offensive player in Division I-AA), was a four-time first-team I-AA All-American, two-time SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, four-time first-team All-SoCon, and his No. 3 was retired by the school. 

He ran for 6,559 yards (most in program history), 84 touchdowns (first), and racked up 6,589 yards (fifth) and 85 total touchdowns (tied for first). 

He’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

2. Tracy Ham

Ham played quarterback for Georgia Southern from 1983 to 1986. 

He threw for 5,757 yards (first) and 34 touchdowns (tied for first). 

Ham also ran for 3,212 yards (10th) and 41 rushing touchdowns (eighth). 

He posted 8,969 yards (first) and 77 total touchdowns (second). 

The program retired his No. 8, and he’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

3. Jayson Foster

Foster played a bit of everything during his time at Georgia Southern from 2004 to 2007.

He ran for 3,835 yards (fifth) and 54 touchdowns (third). 

He had 5,934 total yards (seventh) and 70 total touchdowns (fifth). 

He’s also tied for the second-most passing touchdowns in a game with three in 2007 against Furman. 

In 2007, he ran for 1,844 yards, the second most in a single season in Eagles history. 

Foster was the SoCon Freshman of the Year, SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, and won the Walter Payton Award. 

4. Jermaine Austin

Austin was at Georgia Southern from 2002 to 2005. 

He ran for 5,411 yards (second) and was a first-team All-American (2005), second-team All-American (2003), and third-team All-American (2004). 

He was a four-time All-SoCon selection. 

Austin also had 33 100-yard rushing games, which was the second-most in program history at the time. 

5. Jerick McKinnon

An extremely versatile athlete for the Eagles, McKinnon was at Georgia Southern from 2010 to 2013. 

He ran for 3,899 yards (third) and 42 touchdowns (tied for sixth).

McKinnon racked up 4,728 total yards (10th) and 54 touchdowns (sixth). 

He was first-team All-SoCon and was enshrined in the Georgia Southern Athletics Hall of Fame. 

McKinnon was originally recruited as a quarterback. 

In the triple-option system, he completed 32 of 81 passes for 929 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He also caught 10 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. 

On special teams, he returned four kicks for 74 yards. Defensively, he added five tackles, two pass breakups, two interceptions, and two pressures.