Elite Eight: Best Florida State football player in history

And suddenly, we’re down to just eight.

Some great names have dipped out gracefully as we’ve gotten to this point, and now, we’ve got some sincerely difficult matchups to pick through.

Cast your votes below, and we’ll see you all next week for the Final Four:

Bobby Bowden Regional

No. 1 Deion Sanders vs. No. 2 Derrick Brooks

Sanders, our take: Sanders earned his Prime Time nickname by performing on the biggest stages: he intercepted a pass in all four of the bowl games he played— and Florida State won them all.

Brooks, our take: At Florida State he was a three-time first team All-ACC player from 1992-1994. He was a first team sophomore All-American in 1992, and an Unanimous All-American in 1993, with nine publications all naming him to the first team. He finished his collegiate career with 274 tackles, 8.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, five interceptions, 13 pass breakups, two blocked kicks, and three touchdowns.

Mike Martin Sr. Regional

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

No. 1 Jameis Winston vs. No. 3 Warrick Dunn

Winston, our take: Despite playing in just 27 games and in an offense arguably more complex than some NFL teams, Winston passed for 65 touchdowns and nearly 8,000 yards, and rushed for another 284 yards and seven touchdowns. His 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2013 set ACC and NCAA FBS freshman records and earned him a consensus All-American nod.

Dunn, our take: His final year in the garnet and gold, Dunn would again surpass 1,000 yards rushing, also adding 355 receiving yards and 14 total touchdowns, including a strike against Southern Miss that inscribed Dunn’s name into the record books as FSU’s touchdown leader. Dunn’s senior year would finally see him named a first team All-American.

Jimbo Fisher Regional

No. 1 Peter Warrick vs. No. 2 Dalvin Cook

Warrick, our take: As good as he was with the ball in his hands; he was equally as good without it. An excellent route runner, Warrick was almost always open by a good one to two yards and if he happened to be covered he had no issues leaping over the top of you to make a catch; landing like a cat and waltzing into the endzone for a TD while you fell down in a feeble attempt to keep him from scoring.

Cook, our take: In three seasons, Cook became the Florida State record holder of every single running back statistic except for single-season rushing touchdowns. His 4,464 career rushing yards, 1,765 single-season (his 1,691 in 2015 is second), 46 career rushing touchdowns and two four single-game touchdown performances all sit in first in FSU’s record books.

Leonard Hamilton Regional

No. 1 Charlie Ward vs. No. 3 Chris Weinke

Ward, our take: A second-team All-American in 1992, the senior signal caller used his devastating dual-threat ability (rare in those days) to become one of the most decorated football players of all time in 1993. In fact, Ward won every single athletic award he was eligible for, including the Heisman, Maxwell, Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas, and Walter Camp awards.

Weinke, our take: Weinke’s 2000 season culminated in 4,167 passing yards, the most in program history and tops nationally that year, his 266 completions are third, and his 33 TD connections are second. Translation: Florida State’s second Heisman Trophy.