Who’s the best safety in Maryland football history?

It’s Safeties Week here at Testudo Times. It’s time to dig into Maryland’s past, just like we’ve done with quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends, the offensive line, defensive line, linebackers , and cornerbacks this summer.

Here’s a look at the nominees:

Tom Brown

Brown sits atop Maryland’s interception leaderboard with 17 picks in his career. He played running back and safety for the Terps, and was actually a two-sport athlete at Maryland. Brown earned All-American and All-ACC selections for both baseball and football in 1962.

Brown was a second-round pick in the NFL and a third-round pick in the AFL in 1963, but spent his first season after college playing baseball for the hometown Washington Senators. He’d then spend five seasons in the NFL from 1964-69, winning three NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers. Brown then spent his final football season with Washington before retiring.

Bernie Faloney

Faloney is No. 4 on the Terps’ career interceptions list despite not playing a college snap since 1953. He was also a quarterback in his time at College Park, helping lead the Terps to their only national title his senior season.

Though Faloney was taken with the No. 11 overall pick in 1954 by the San Francisco 49ers, he’d take his talents north of the border. Faloney would make five all-star appearances and win three Grey Cups before eventually being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Dick Nolan

Nolan was another big part of that championship team in 1953. He earned honorable mention All-American selection for his contributions at safety his senior season. Nolan would go on to play nine seasons in NFL defensive secondaries, before transitioning to coaching. Nolan is one of just four former Maryland players to run a ship at the top level, having a 30-year coaching tenure 1962 to 1992.

Kenny Tate

Tate came to College Park as a highly touted receiver from DeMatha before moving to safety for playing time. His junior season saw him unleash his potential and earn a First Team All-ACC selection in 2010.

He was converted to linebacker when Randy Edsall and company came to town, but his 2010 season alone warrants placement on this list. He was the first Maryland defensive back to reach 100 tackles since Tony Jackson a decade earlier, when he finished with 101 and led the team in solo tackles with 58.

Madieu Williams

Williams actually started his college career at Towson before transferring to Maryland after his sophomore season. He then went on to rack up two Second Team All-ACC awards in his last two seasons of eligibility with the Terps. He also picked up third-team All-American recognition from Sporting News in 2001, his first with the team. He started all 26 games with Maryland from 2001-02.

Williams would go on to have an eight-year NFL career, after getting drafted in the second round by the Bengals in 2004. He would go on to include a Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2010, and his career included stints with Minnesota, San Francisco and Washington.

Honorable mentions: Ken Schroy, Lloyd Burruss, Tony Jackson.