There are players who shone brightly on the NCAA circuit, but when it came to making the transition to the NFL they completely faded. Success as a college football player doesn’t always translate to stardom at the highest professional level. Over the years, we’ve seen many top prospects fade away as soon as they step onto the NFL field.
Shocking numbers, titles and individual achievements and even Heisman Trophy winners. There are many cases of players who did not become what was intended of them. In this list, we are going to review the college football stars who failed to be successful at the next level: The college football figures who failed in the NFL.
Peter Warrick
(Getty Images)
Warrick could do it all at Florida State. It was a touchdown waiting to happen, whether it was passing a defensive back with a deep pass, making someone miss after a shorter pass or returning a kick. A two-time first-team All-American, he never found the same success in the pros after being selected at No. 4 by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2000 NFL Draft.
It’s unfair to call Warrick a complete failure because he had a couple of productive seasons, but he never blossomed into the electric player he was at FSU. He played on some bad teams in Cincinnati and was out of the NFL after just six seasons. An injury to his right knee in 2003 was the final blow for a guy who gave opposing defensive coordinators nightmares every time he touched the ball in college.
Ryan Leaf
(Getty Images)
The quarterback was chosen by the San Diego Chargers in the second position in the 1998 Draft. But three years later they cut him due to his repeated problems with indiscipline. The Dallas Cowboys brought him in to replace the injured Quincy Carter, but four games later they decided to call it quits. His career lasted three seasons and today he is considered the biggest bust in the history of the Draft, when his university forecast was completely the opposite.
Leaf played with the Washington State Cougars and finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist after his junior year. He played in 32 games. In that famous junior year, he averaged 330.6 passing yards per game and threw for a Pac-10 record 33 touchdowns. On the other hand, his career in the NFL is 25 games, with 14 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. Years later he became addicted to drugs, began to commit crimes and was arrested several times until in 2012 he was sentenced to seven years in prison. Two years later he regained his freedom and today works as a media analyst.
JaMarcus Russell
(Getty Images)
JaMarcus Russell’s college football career was with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers. In his junior year he won the Manning Award and became the most valuable player of the 2007 Sugar Bowl. For this reason, he was chosen as the first pick in the 2007 draft by the Oakland Raiders. However, his NFL career was marked by inconsistent play and questions about his work ethic.
The Louisiana State graduate played three seasons in the NFL and made just 25 starts, winning just seven of them while completing 52.1 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. Weight problems and his lack of commitment meant that he could not develop. The Raiders released him in 2010 and he never signed with another team for a second chance.
Tim Couch
(Getty Images)
Couch’s story was not always destined to be equated with failure. Named the sixth greatest high school athlete of all time by ESPN at the time, Tim Couch signed on to play for the University of Kentucky. Two seasons as a starter were enough for him to set seven NCAA records, 14 SEC records, and 26 school records. Under Couch’s leadership, the Wildcats beat Alabama for the first time in 75 years, and LSU for the first time in 21 years, and finished fourth in the voting for the 1998 Heisman that would go to Ricky Williams.
The quarterback was chosen first overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 1999 draft. In his favor, it must be said that he helped the Browns reach the playoffs in 2002. Unfortunately for him, that year he was overshadowed by the rest of his seasons in which injuries were a constant and had an impact on his level. After two comeback attempts with the Green Bay Packers, in 2004, and with the Jacksonville Jaguars, in 2007, he retired permanently.
Brian Bosworth
(Getty Images)
Bosworth shined in college with the Oklahoma Sooners, and became the only one to win the Butkus Awards twice, which honors the best linebacker of the season. His extravagant personality and eccentric hairstyles put him in the spotlight of the cameras. In 1987 he entered the NFL supplemental draft after being expelled from college and wrote a letter to a third of the teams in the league telling them not to choose him because he was not going to sign with them.
His dream was to play for the Los Angeles Raiders. However, the Seattle Seahawks ignored him and selected The Boz, who retired two seasons later after multiple shoulder injuries and without ever having excelled on the court as he did off it. After retirement, he became an actor.
Robert Griffin III
(Getty Images)
It is true that, in his case, he had much more continuity in the NFL than other members on this list, but he was never able to meet the expectations that he had generated during his time in college football. Griffin played at Baylor University, where he won the 2011 Heisman Trophy. The Washington Redskins traded multiple picks to the Rams to move up to #2 in the 2012 Draft to select RGIII.
The beginning was great, Griffin led the Redskins to the NFC East title (Griffin won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award that same year) and his first playoffs in five years as a rookie, but after an injury in those playoffs everything came to nothing. down to the point that Washington cut him on March 7, 2016. His journey would continue in Baltimore and Cleveland, without much results. He now follows the league closely as a sports commentator.
Tony Mandarich
(Getty Images)
Known as “the greatest offensive line prospect of all time” during his college football career with the Michigan State Spartans, he was selected second overall by the Green Bay Packers in the 1989 NFL draft. But after from receiving the highest salary in history for a rookie offensive lineman, Mandarich’s drug and alcohol problems eventually forced him out of the league. He was released after four seasons.
After five years away from football, he returned to the Indianapolis Colts, where he spent his last three seasons. He is the only top-five pick in his draft class who was not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Kellen Moore
(Getty Images)
His legacy was forever recorded in university books. Going 50-3 as a starter at Boise State, Kellen Moore holds the NCAA record for most wins by a quarterback and remains the only quarterback to reach the 50-win mark. He racked up individual awards, including being named a Football Writers Association of America First Team All-American, two-time Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
The numbers were no longer the same once he began to be required in the NFL. There he spent six years as a player: three with the Lions and three with the Cowboys. In Detroit he was never taken into account and in Dallas he made his debut during Week 15 of the 2015 season and became a starter in the last two games. That included just one game against Washington where he threw for 435 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Andre Ware
(Getty Images)
The year 1989 saw one of the best seasons in NCAA history for a quarterback. Houston’s Andre Ware compiled record-breaking numbers by setting 26 league and 15 Southwest Conference records (4,699 passing yards and 46 touchdowns). His performance did not go unnoticed and he became one of the most decorated players in history. In addition to his consensus First Team All-America selection in 1989, Ware became the 54th recipient of the Heisman Trophy.
In 1990, Ware was chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, where he played in 14 games and only six starts. In 1994 he was signed by the Vikings, but was released before the start of the season and ended up on the Los Angeles Raiders roster, being released after several games without being activated. The following season he was signed by the Jaguars, one of the two expansion teams that year, but was released the week before the regular season began.
Chuck Long
(Getty Images)
Long then spent four years as Iowa’s starting quarterback: the 1982 Peach Bowl, the 1983 Gator Bowl, the 1984 Freedom Bowl and the 1985 Rose Bowl. Long was named offensive MVP in the Peach and Freedom Bowls. In total, he appeared in a record five bowl games. In 1984, he set a national record by completing 22 consecutive passes against Indiana. In 1985, he won the O’Brien Trophy as the nation’s top quarterback, the Maxwell Trophy as the nation’s top player, and was unanimously voted All-America.
Of course, with those attributes it was logical that he would continue his campaign in the NFL. Long played with the Lions, Packers and Rams during a long run in the league, which lasted from 1986 to 1994. But his NFL career was disappointing. During his rookie season, he was called into a game after an injury suffered by then-starting quarterback Joe Ferguson. His best season was 1987, in which he threw for 2,598 yards, 11 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. In 1990 he was traded to the Rams, but after a frustrating year with the team, Long would quickly return to Detroit for the ’91 season, although he did not attempt any passes.
David Klinger
(Getty Images)
Klingler, the highly touted successor to Pro Bowl quarterback Boomer Esiason, broke or tied an astonishing 33 NCAA records following his junior season with the Houston Cougars in 1990. Klingler’s explosive arm was the main reason behind the Houston’s explosive offense in the early 1990s. It was only a matter of time before we saw him take the NFL by storm.
Unfortunately, David was a shadow of the player he once was during his time with the Bengals from 1992 to 1995. A potentially career-ending elbow injury and a poor offensive line in Cincinnati didn’t help Klingler. By the time his third season of professional football concluded in 1994, pass rushers had sacked him an incredible 82 times. He then spent two unremarkable years with the Oakland Raiders before retiring from the NFL at the age of 28 after the 1997 season.
Huey Richardson
(Getty Images)
Richardson accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played defensive end for coach Galen Hall and coach Steve Spurrier’s Gators teams from 1987 to 1990. He was selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) first team in 1989 and 1990 and first-team All-American in 1990. At the end of his four years as a Gator, he totaled 26.5 quarterback sacks and 50.5 tackles for loss.
Huey was the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 1991 NFL draft, although they had three other options, all of whom were selected previously. They decided on Richardson, who played in only five games that year, recording two tackles. The Steelers converted him to inside linebacker, then outside linebacker (his position in college). When that didn’t work out, he was traded to the Redskins, but after four uneventful games, he was released and signed with the New York Jets. After just seven games, at the close of the 1992 season, Richardson’s short NFL career came to an end.
Troy Edwards
(Getty Images)
Edwards attended Louisiana Tech University, where he played for the Tech Bulldogs from 1995 to 1998. As a senior, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the most outstanding receiver at conclude the 1998 season. His 27 touchdown receptions during his senior year remain the NCAA Division I-A season record.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the first round in the 1999 NFL draft. Despite high expectations, other receivers quickly surpassed him on the depth chart. In a radio interview, Troy admitted his unhappiness, although years later he blamed his immaturity for not living up to expectations. In 2002, he was traded to the Rams, where he played one season. He also played for the Jaguars (2003 and 2004) and the Lions (2005). In seven seasons in the NFL, he played in 92 games (started in 22), caught 203 passes for 2,404 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Brady Quinn
(Getty Images)
A native of the University of Notre Dame, Brady Quinn appears among the quarterbacks in his category who turned out less than expected. In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, he threw for 7,345 yards and 69 touchdowns for the Irish. Charlie Weis had just coached Tom Brady to three Super Bowl championships and turned Quinn into a two-time All-America selection, a Heisman Trophy finalist and the 2006 Maxwell Award winner.
Brady seemed like the perfect NFL prospect, playing in the ideal system to prepare him for the next level and with the perfect coach. Perhaps the slight dip in his game in 2006 should have been an indicator. It is very likely that his career would have been different if he had first gone somewhere other than Cleveland. After three seasons with the Browns, he was traded to Denver, where he played for two seasons. Quinn spent his final playing years with the Chiefs, the Jets and the Rams, one year with each.
Lawrence Phillips
(Getty Images)
Phillips won the 1995 Orange Bowl and the 1996 Fiesta Bowl playing for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, which led to him being selected sixth overall in the 1996 NFL draft by the Rams. He was extremely talented, but also controversial. He showed flashes of his quality, but couldn’t overcome his off-field issues, which included punching a student and entering a teammate’s apartment and punching him.
The Rams opted to integrate him into their discipline and have a star at the running back position. Phillips played 15 games as a rookie and while he didn’t have spectacular numbers, he looked like he could have a solid career as a professional. Everything changed for his second season in which he was abruptly cut shortly after Week 12 for battling his addictions and not leaving his problems behind. He tried to revive his career with the Dolphins and 49ers without much success, ending up playing in the CFL in 2002 and 2003 before retiring from football permanently.
Vernon Gholston
(Getty Images)
Despite being unable to play for a year due to a broken wrist, Gholston’s college numbers are more than positive. During his time at Ohio State, he started 25 games. He finished with 87 tackles (47 solo) and 30.5 stops for loss. He also had 22.5 sacks, which ranks sixth in school history.
Like most NFL teams, the Jets were in awe of Gholston, whom they took with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft. Gholston ended up becoming a special teams’ player and had zero impact on the team’s defense. New York during his three years with the team in which he did not add a single sack. Vernon tried to revive his career with the Bears, Rams and Redskins but since 2010 he has not played a game in the NFL. On August 31, 2012, he was released by the Rams.
Justin Blackmon
(Getty Images)
Blackmon received a scholarship to attend Oklahoma State, where he played for the Cowboys from 2008 to 2011. He was redshirted his freshman year, but earned a starting position. In 2010 he was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year (first receiver to earn that honor) and recognized as a unanimous All-American. He holds the NCAA records for most consecutive games gaining 100 yards or more and gaining 200 yards or more. In the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, Justin caught 8 passes for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns. After the game, he declared for the NFL draft.
Of course, Jacksonville is one of the teams with multiple first-round draft errors (Blaine Gabbert and Taven Bryan, other cases). But none left the Jags in a worse position than Blackmon. Between arrests and league suspensions for various infractions, he only played 20 games, 18 starts, in three seasons as part of the Jaguars roster.
Trent Richardson
(Getty Images)
Richardson played for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American and was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. Considered the top running back prospect for the 2012 NFL draft, he would end up being selected by Cleveland. The Browns needed a quarterback, but instead of making a trade or something, they decided to go with a running back. And although Trent didn’t break the league by any means, Cleveland somehow managed to take advantage of the Alabama graduate.
Richardson had had a more or less decent debut campaign, but he himself made it clear that when he was at the University of Alabama everything was structured, he had a calendar, a program of activities and in the NFL all that structure must be done by one same. The running back was traded to Indianapolis in exchange for a No. 1 draft pick. With the Colts, the running back was a real disappointment and after two years he signed as a free agent with the Oakland in March 2015, but the Raiders released him in August of that same year.
Johnny Manziel
(Getty Images)
Something we learned from this ranking is that winning the Heisman does not mean that you will be good in the NFL. Playing for Texas A&M, Manziel enjoyed a historic 2012 campaign with the Aggies, culminating in him becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman. He also became the first freshman in NCAA history to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
Johnny was selected in 2014, when he himself sent a message to quarterbacks’ coach Dowell Loggains in the draft to ask him to be drafted because he wanted to play in Cleveland. The Browns marveled at this attitude, but did not notice his scandals. In the preseason his first fine came, he lost the starting job with Brian Hoyer and never managed to establish himself as an option. In 2015 he suffered a concussion and, instead of going to rehab, he went to party in Las Vegas. In total, he started 8 games in his two years with the Browns, throwing seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, and was released in March 2016. In 2018, he said he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Tim Tebow
(Getty Images)
The perfect example of a true college football star and a terrible professional player. He played at the college level as a quarterback in Florida, where he was national champion in 2006 and 2008. In 2007, when he became a starter with the Gators, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first sophomore to do so, after breaking the records of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), both in rushing touchdowns and total touchdowns. He would make the jump to the NFL in 2010, the year in which he was chosen in the first round of the draft by Denver.
The Broncos invested the No. 25 overall pick in the popular quarterback. However, he would not be able to establish himself as a starter in his first year, for the second he entered in place of Kyle Orton and although he guided them to the postseason, he did not establish himself as an answer in the position, allowing them to acquire Peyton Manning during the agency. free which marked his departure via trade to the Jets after just two seasons with the club. But he had already lost his magic, so he decided to quit and try his luck in professional baseball. He tried to return, but he couldn’t.
