RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesRadiance Technologies Independence Bowl officials are celebrating 50 years of competition this year and they’re doing it in a big way.
The organization is releasing the top 50 all-time players in I-Bowl history and they’ve been releasing them in five-player increments. This is the final group of five list with the Top 20 athletes being released individually. The list was voted on by a local panel of media members, including the Shreveport Times, and I-Bowl representatives.
According to the bowl, this final group of 21-25, includes two standout wide receivers from Nick Saban's 1995 Michigan State team, two College Football Hall of Famers and one of the most recent members of the All-Time Team.
No. 25 – Muhsin Muhammad (WR – Michigan State, 1995)
Muhammad was one of three great wideouts to play in the 1995 I-Bowl – alongside teammate Derrick Mason and LSU’s Eddie Kennison. Muhammad lit up LSU’s defense to the tune of nine catches for 171 yards and one touchdown. The 1995 season was the best of his career in East Lansing, as he hauled in 50 catches for 867 yards for the Nick Saban-led Spartans . Muhammad was selected in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft after that breakout season, and he established himself as a star for the Carolina Panthers. He was named to two Pro Bowls (1999 and 2004) and earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2004. He was the NFL’s receptions leader in 2000, grabbing 102 passes for 1,183 yards. The premier season of his career was 2004, when he led the NFL in receiving yards (1,405) and 16 receiving TDs (16). Muhammad was also a force in the Panthers’ run to the Super Bowl in 2003. He had 352 yards receiving in four playoff games, including the longest TD reception in Super Bowl history against the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots. Muhammad was inducted into the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor in 2003.
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No. 24 – Tim Krumrie (NG – Wisconsin, 1982)
Krumrie is one of the early members and one of the many College Football Hall of Famers to make this list. He played in the I-Bowl – before defensive statistics were recorded – and was named the 1982 Defensive Player of the Game, as he led a Wisconsin defense that held Kansas State to 192 total yards and just three points. From the day he stepped on campus in Madison, Krumrie was a star at nose tackle for the Badgers – leading Wisconsin in tackles all four seasons he played. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection, a 1981 consensus All-American and 1982 first-team All-American. Krumrie still holds the Wisconsin record for solo tackles in a career (276). A 10th-round selection in the 1983 NFL Draft, Krumrie’s success did not stop after college. Racking up over 1,000 tackles in 12 seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals, he made two Pro Bowl appearances in 1987 and 1988, and he was named first-team All-Pro in 1988 and second-team All-Pro in 1987. Krumrie is a member of the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor.
No. 23 – Jacob Rodriguez (LB – Texas Tech, 2023)
Rodriguez is one of the most decorated linebackers to play in the I-Bowl, despite being one of the youngest players on the All-Time Team. After beginning his college career at Virginia in 2021 as a quarterback, Rodriguez transferred to Texas Tech in 2022 and switched to linebacker. The 2023 I-Bowl was one of the launching points of his career. Against future Heisman Trophy-winner Fernando Mendoza and California, Rodriguez stuffed the stat sheet – recording eight total tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and one pass breakup on his way to being named 2023 Defensive Player of the Game. The next season, 2024, he continued his ascension to greatness, as he was named first-team All-Big 12, and it all came together in 2025 with one of the best seasons by a college linebacker in recent memory. Leading one of the best defenses in college football, Rodriguez compiled 63 solo tackles (leading the Big 12), 128 combined tackles, four interceptions, 11 tackles-for-loss, six PBU, two fumble recoveries and seven FF – leading the FBS in FF. He subsequently won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, and he was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, a unanimous All-American and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Rodriguez was drafted in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
No. 22 – Garrison Hearst (RB – Georgia, 1991)
Hearst, the I-Bowl’s newest member of the College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2026, carried the ball nine times for 21 yards in the 1991 I-Bowl against Arkansas. He also added two catches for 24 yards in the Bulldogs’ 24-15 victory over the Razorbacks. He rushed for 968 yards that 1991 season, earning second-team All-SEC honors, before becoming the best running back in college football the following season. Racking up an SEC-leading 1,547 rushing yards and an FBS-leading 19 TDs, Hearst won the Doak Walker Award as the best running back in the nation, and he was also named a unanimous All-American, first-team All-SEC and SEC Player of the Year. He also finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season. Drafted with the third-overall pick in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft, Hearst topped 1,000 yards rushing four times throughout his pro football career. His best season was in 1998 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, when he compiled 1,570 rushing yards and 535 receiving yards – earning his first Pro Bowl nod and first-team All-Pro. After missing two full seasons in 1999 and 2000, Hearst returned in 2001 and had the second-best season of his career. On his way to being named to his second Pro Bowl team and earning the 2001 Comeback Player of the Year Award, Hearst rushed for 1,206 yards and collected 41 passes for 347 yards receiving.
No. 21 – Derrick Mason (WR – Michig...
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