From College Football Legends to NFL Busts
In case you haven't seen it, ESPN compiled a list of 50 guys who starred in college and either went to war, got injured, and were just busts in the NFL.
some highlights:
2 two buckeyes (Archie Griffin was #1. forgot the other guy)
1 wolverine (Tom Harmon #14)
Tony Mandarich #20
I think they left out some buckeyes and spartans (Charles Rogers and Troy Smith just to name a few)
here's the link:
http://espn.go.com/ncf/feature/video/_/id/6681950/num/42
Maurice Clarett could maybe qualify for this. He may not quite be a college football legend, but he was certainly an extremely promising player who turned into a massive bust.
I agree that Michigan's NFL-bound running backs have been less than stellar, but Wheatley scored 47 career touchdowns and had a 1,000 yard season. He's not a Hall of Famer, but it's not like he disappeared - he played for 10 seasons.
Made a pro bowl
Because he was drafted by a GM who didn't care that his coach didn't like him and didn't want to play him. So his Giants years were just one big limbo.
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<br>Justin Fargas had an ok NFL career too.
Exceptions: Braylon....and Amani Toomer and Derrick Alexander and Desmond Howard (maybe not as a WR, but definitely as a return man) and Steve Breaston and Jason Avant.
Perhaps you have a point on the halfbacks, but with the exception of David Terrell, there hasn't been a "bust" of a WR out of Michigan in the last 20 years that I can think of.
Dont forget Manningham. He's not doing anything in the NFL, right?
Yes indeed, not sure how I could have forgotten about Mr. Manningham.
9 TDs and nearly 1000 yards is pretty good and Manningham is only 25.
Walker was also a bust in the NFL. He was damn good in college though.
He was a 3rd round pick. It's hard to bust from the 3rd round.
I guess if someone asked me I would say that just about every UM player was a legend in college, that certainly fits the bill here. I loved Walker and remember some of his crazy catches his senior year. Probably in the grand scheme of things though, he is not quite on the same level as those players mentioned and therefore not really a good comparison.
I agree with your point on third rounder as well. There are probably more third rounders (and beyond) that don't make it than do, so you could never really argue that they were busts, regardless of the love you, as a fan, had for them in college.
You are the voice of reason Magnus.
my memory is a bit hazy on that, but I thought he did play a few downs his first year, but I could most definitely be wrong.
But he is the all time Giants statistical receiver. Not exactly sucking.
AC won a ring.
Playing for the Vikings and the Lions, he never made it to a Super Bowl.
There was a point he was in the argument for 2nd best receiver in the League after Rice.
I don't really see Troy Smith as a bust. He was a very good player on a very good team, but it's not like many people expected greatness out of him. He was short and the NFL drafted him in the 5th round. I think you ought to be drafted higher than the 5th round to be an "NFL bust."
List is not all busts. It's just generally guys you were big deals in college and mediocre at best at the next level. And in that regard, Troy Smith is like the J.J. Redick of football.
What does that make Mike Hart?
At least Mike Hart doesn't have an ex-Osu player as his head coach like Smith/Harbaugh.
Adam Morrison. Obviously.
Was Harmon really a bust? It's not like he just went pro and just sucked. There's a few guys on the list I thought shouldn't be there, especially the guys that went to war. That's way different than just not transitioning to the next level or getting hurt. If it is just a list of guys that were college football legends that never made it in the pro's I guess that's fine but some guys on that list were definitely not NFL busts.
EDIT: And I think that is the point of the list because it's called "Simply Saturday"
I agree. Ernie Davis shouldn't have been on the list either.
If Ernie Davis is on the list at all, he deserves to headline it. Getting leukemia is a bit different than not being able to tackle/break tackles in the NFL.
That he was an NFL talent. Sorry dying kept him from meeting this guy's expectations.
Also: Ryan Leaf?
How could Tommie Frazier and Charlie Ward be NFL be regarded as busts if neither of them played a down in the league?
I think the guy above you has the number 1. Ryan Leaf has to be the biggest bust across all sports in my time of following sports over the past 30 years. A player with that much hype who was considered an absolute sure thing to tank like he did was incredible.
Frazier was great in college and I didn't follow things like the draft back then, but did the NFL really think that his talents would translate? I mean he was more of a dual threat if I remember correctly and dual threats have never made a huge splash in the NFL as a rule (some exceptions obviously, but I am more think of guys like Frazier who was a superior athlete but not really a superior QB).
that ended his career. He even missed half the NC 94-95 season because if it.
Probably would have played another position in the pros. Greatest college football QB of modern times. The numbers dont lie.
its called simply saturdays. Players who exceled in college but didnt as pros for some reason or another. ex: going to war, injuries, never actually playing pro ball, or being a bust.
umm...terrelle pryor, anyone?
He has to make it into the nfl first before he can be a bust.
Mandarich was a steroid-bloated player in the right place at the right time with MSU, whose lack of talent and dependence upon "juice" to provide a competitive advantage in college exposed him for the meciocre player that he really was once he reached the NFL.
Even though he played a different position, he reminded me of Brian Bosworth as a player who had a big mouth in college, but could never back it up in the pros where everyone else was equally adept at chemical enhancement.
Andre Ware
Is there a list for Heisman busts. There are plenty of excellent college football players that don't succeed in the NFL. But if the Heisman is for the "best" college player of the year ... then those players should have an excellent chance to "make it" in the NFL. Just wondering ...
Go Blue
I always felt like guys like Desmond not finding a starring role in an offense was as much an NFL problem as it was the player's problem. The league just seems so robotic and rigid.
I would probably consider David Terrell and Jarod (spelling?) Bunch, first round pick from the Giants. These two never came close to their college careers.
I'm much more of a college football than NFL fan, so I have plenty of respect for a young man who is great in college. I don't think less of a guy who doesn't hit it in the NFL.
I don't think of them as "busts." The pro game is different, and therefore different skills/strengths are involved. Some guys have bad luck with injuries as well.
It's hard enough to be great in college. Let's give a player his due regardless of whether he goes on to a stellar, or not-so-stellar, NFL career.
the OP calls them college legends...I'd say that is giving them their due.
It's systemic. The idea that being a college legend somehow isn't good enough is pervasive and it's lame. I like the NFL about as much as college football and in my mind Joe Montana's accomplishments and Ron Dayne's accomplishments are on equal footing.
who is saying being a college legend isn't good enough? I mean, you are the one saying that not me or the list. The OP gives them credit by saying the were college legends. It doesn't say "Look at this list of nobodies who couldn't play football at the NFL level" or "NFL busts". It says they were legends in one respect but not another.
I , for example, am pretty legendary in Cardiology (in my opinion anyway) but simply mediocre at auto mechanics. It isn't a big deal, it's just reality. This list simply reflects reality and tries to sum up the greatest college players that didn't meet expectations as pros. No one says "we should ignore eveything they did in college because they couldn't make it in the NFL".
I love college footbal and couldn't care less about the NFL, but this list just reflects reality. Some guys were great in college and simply couldn't cut it in the NFL. No need to get defensive about it.
Nebraska and notre dame make up more than 20% of the 50 players. Just saying
Kinda harsh putting him on the list. Dude went off to war, was a decorated soldier, managed to survive a harrowing plane crash (by jumping out before it blew up), married a beautiful actress, made some pretty babies, and became a good broadcaster.
He didn't have an NFL career, but it wasn't like he got much of a fair shake. That South American jungle is a pretty bad proving ground for the NFL.
The NFL was not riches. He probably made more money in Hollywood than he would have as a player.
I hate these lists.
1.) College football isn't just some minor league version of the NFL. Who cares if Archie Griffin wasn't a 15 time All-Pro? His accomplishments shouldn't be diminished.
2.) Archie Griffin played 7 years in the NFL and helped his team make the Super Bowl. I tend to think of busts as failing spectacularly, not having solid careers that don't stack up relative to college stardom. This goes for many of those listed.