College football's top characters

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On Tuesday night at 9 ET, ESPN Films premieres the latest in its acclaimed 30 For 30 series, "Brian and The Boz," a look at NCAA-defying, QB-sacking, horsecollar-tackling Oklahoma Sooners legend Brian Bosworth.

Here in the ESPN.com College Football HQ we were popping popcorn and moussing up our flattops to watch the film and started to wonder aloud ... where does The Boz rank among college football's most colorful characters? And who else would be on the list?

So, grab a handful of gold chains, slather on some eye black, and read ahead, as we present the top 10 most colorful characters in college football history.

10. Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds, Tennessee

Reynolds was an All-SEC and All-American linebacker who went on to become a decade-and-a-half NFL vet with two Super Bowl rings. But what's the deal with his nickname? After the undefeated Vols suffered a crushing loss to Ole Miss, a brokenhearted Reynolds commenced to sawing his Chevy truck (some say it was a Porsche) in half with, yes, a hacksaw. It took two days. "I cut it clean through the driveshaft," he still says, proudly. After sleeping on it, Reynolds grabbed some teammates and took them to see his handiwork, only to find that the vehicle's remains had been hauled away, leaving only the worn-out saw and the 13 broken blades it took to complete the task. Looking back, that was actually fortuitous, because Jack "Half a Pickup" Reynolds doesn't sound nearly as cool as Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds.

9. Jim McMahon, BYU

The least BYU guy ever is best known for his antics with the '85 Bears, perpetually adorned in Wayfarers and message-inscribed headbands. But he got an early start on his flamboyance while in Provo, during which he also set or tied 56 NCAA passing records. During a rout of archrival Utah in 1980, he responded to taunting from Utes fans by pointing at the scoreboard. Many believe that was the first-ever demonstration of the now-standard "scoreboard" trash-talk defense. After finishing third in the Heisman balloting, he sneered "BYU never bothered to push me for the Heisman." When he left school for the NFL without graduating a university official expressed relief that he'd never gotten into real trouble, to which McMahon quipped that they'd been spying on his apartment so much they should have known he was OK. Earlier this month the school finally retired his No.9 jersey. What took so long? Jimmy Mac finally finished up that degree.

8. Jared Lorenzen, Kentucky

At 6-4, 270 pounds, Lorenzen looked like an offensive lineman, but was lined behind them ... as a quarterback. In 2000, as a redshirt freshman, he blew away then-head coach Hal Mumme when he showed up at practice running 4.8 40-yard dashes and slinging 80-yard passes. As UK shuffled through head coaches, Lorenzen shuffled through positions, tucking and running for a dozen TDs on the ground and hauling two more at ... wide receiver? Now over 300 pounds, he's still slinging it, earning a Super Bowl XLII ring as Eli Manning's backup in New York and doing indoor football time with Kentucky Horsemen, Owensboro Rage, and currently with the Northern Kentucky River Monsters. Just last weekend he tweeted congrats to 6-5, 350-pound Arkansas offensive lineman Sebastian Tretola after his TD pass vs. UAB: "Congrats to the Arkansas OL that threw the TD. That's one record I'm happy to give up. #fatmanthrowingtd #BBN"

7. Michael "Playmaker" Irvin, Miami

His former coach, Jimmy Johnson, readily admits that Irvin was the biggest talker and biggest ego to ever matriculate in Coral Gables, no small accomplishment in the glory days of The U. Being blinged out was so important to the hometown kid from St. Thomas Aquinas that he spent his college days draped in costume jewelry. "I knew that was just the dress rehearsal," he says now. "I knew I'd have the money to buy the real stuff soon enough."

6. Steve Taneyhill, South Carolina

During the long, dark time that is Gamecocks football between the departure of George Rogers and the arrival of Steve Spurrier, Tanneyhill and his mullet stand out as a beacon floating in an ocean of meh. His cascading waterfall of blonde locks covered the name on the back of jersey and had South Carolinians from Travelers Rest to Moncks Corner buying black ballcaps with hair extensions stapled into the inseam. He took imaginary home run swings when he threw TD passes, sang "Rocky Top" on the field as he upset Tennessee and 20 years later the now-high school coach still gets screamed at by Clemson fans for standings on Death Valley's big orange midfield paw and acting like he was autographing it. To this day, if you look hard enough, you can still see clip-on rattails roaming the grandstands of Williams-Brice.

5. William "Refrigerator" Perry, Clemson

No, he didn't earn his nickname with the '85 Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears, he earned it with the '81 national championship-winning Clemson Tigers. The freshman attempted to cram himself and his bag of dirty laundry into a dormitory elevator alongside fellow D-lineman Ray Davis, who declared, "Man, you're as big a refrigerator." He of the gap-toothed smile wowed teammates with his ability to chase quarterbacks and wowed his classmates with his 360-degree dunks in intramural games. When paired with little brother Michael Dean, the Brothers Perry sacked and smiled their way into Clemson legend. Once in the pros, he fought in WrestleMania, did a guest spot on "The A-Team," had his own GI Joe action figure, and cut a record with the Fat Boys. As The Fridge himself once put it, "Even when I was little I was big."

4. John "Johnny Football" Manziel, Texas A&M

Love him or hate him, and there seem to be plenty of folks on both sides of that barbed wire cattle fence, Johnny Football was never boring, from cash money finger rubbing to blowing sparks out of his mouth like Popeye. As with each of the three gentlemen remaining on our countdown, he received long, hard looks from the NCAA, he backed his smack with performance, and has seen those performances evolve into Paul Bunyan-esque lore. So, what did he have that none of those guys had? Uncle Nate!

3. Brian "The Boz" Bosworth, Oklahoma

We could write a few thousand words here. Or you could just watch the film. Or better yet, you could rent a copy of "Stone Cold. "

2. "Neon" Deion "Prime Time" Sanders, Florida State

First, the guy has two nicknames. Second, he arrived for duty in a Florida-Florida State game via limo, from which he emerged wearing a tuxedo. Third, he once stood at the bottom of The Hill at Clemson, daring the Tigers to come for him as they made their hallowed entrance into Death Valley ... and then smoked them on a 78-yard punt return, just prior to which he'd taken the time to talk smack to Clemson head coach Danny Ford. Fourth, the outfielder once spent his time in between games of a Seminoles doubleheader by running over to the track and competing in the 4X100 relay. Fifth, he once said, "How do you think defensive backs get attention? They don't pay nobody to be humble." Thusly, Sanders was well paid.

1. Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota

In 1927, Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Clarence Spears drove up to International Falls to scout for football talent. He saw a 6-foot kid out plowing a field, asked the kid for directions, and forever claimed that the kid picked up the plow and held it up into the air to point him the right direction. Nagurski's first day of practice he completely embarrassed a group of upperclassman in something called a "Nutcracker Drill." His played both ways, at fullback and defensive tackle, and his best collegiate game came against Wisconsin in '28 ... when he was wearing a woman's corset to protect his broken back. He played nine years in the NFL, scored 25 touchdowns and was named to the league's 75th anniversary all-time team. He also won nine professional wrestling titles and was elected into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011. Grantland Rice once wrote, "Who would you pick to win a football game -- eleven Jim Thorpes -- eleven Glenn Davises -- eleven Ernie Nevers-- eleven Red Granges -- or eleven Bronko Nagurskis? The eleven Nagurskis would be a mop-up." We could say the same about the other nine characters on this list.

Also receiving votes: Randy Moss, Paul Hornung, Fred Smoot, Jerome Brown, Jim Bob Cooter, Hingle McCringleberry