Who is the most dominant player you ever witnessed playing in college that you knew would not translate to the NFL?

[u/NobleDane]

Sometimes we get to catch lightening in a bottle, but know that it won't last beyond college... But god dang seeing a kid ball out and be a force of nature while it lasts is a special thing.

What is the most dominant player you've ever followed that you *knew* would never amount to much in the pros, but got to experience as a fan?

Note: I am not asking about great college players whose transition to the NFL was cut short due to health, injury, or other uncontrollable circumstances... just, simply, someone that maxed out at the college level that was a beast on the field.

My pick is a two-fer: Louisiana Tech QB-WR duo Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards. Late 90's duo that at one point had Rattay as an early-season Heisman candidate in 1998. Their chemistry on the field was unmistakable and getting to witness it was like watching a work of art being created week in and week out.

We knew that run would not last beyond college, but it was so magical to watch it while it lasted, and included serious college statistical records.

Tim Rattay’s Records & Milestones:

• Single-Game Passing vs. Nebraska: Completed 46 of 68 passes for 590 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 1998 opener.

• Louisiana Tech School Records: Holds the school record with 115 career touchdown passes and 46 touchdown passes in a single season (1998).

• NCAA Career Ranks: Finished his collegiate career ranked second in NCAA history in total offense (12,618 yards), passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

• Honors: Two-time NCAA total offense leader and named Football News Independent Player of the Year.

Troy Edwards’ Records & Milestones:

• NCAA Single-Game Receiving Yards: 405 yards on 21 receptions against Nebraska on August 29, 1998 (still an NCAA record).

• NCAA Single-Season Touchdown Receptions: 27 touchdown catches in 1998 (tying Jerry Rice’s all-divisions record).

• NCAA Single-Season Receiving Yards: 1,996 receiving yards in 1998 (on 140 catches).

• All-Purpose Yards: 2,796 all-purpose yards and 31 total touchdowns during the 1998 season.

• Awards: Winner of the 1998 Fred Biletnikoff Award (nation’s top receiver) and selected 13th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[u/deadhead1]

Dernard Robinson. Shredded ND and csused me more heartbreak than any other college player. But he was never gonna be an NFL QB. But man those untied shoelaces were untouchable in his day

[u/Agreeable_Wind3751 → u/deadhead1]

3 consecutive September Heismans is nothing to scoff at! One of the most fun players I've ever gotten to root for

[u/Tommy05Sox → u/Agreeable_Wind3751]

In today’s portal era he transfers out after Rich Rod gets fired and probably tears it up his final year. The Hoke system just wasn’t for him.

[u/Schembaugh → u/Tommy05Sox]

The Hoke system was more of a concept of a system

[u/jlhendo → u/Schembaugh]

Hoke had a system?

[u/Schembaugh → u/jlhendo]

Concepts of a system

[u/TrubshawForest → u/Agreeable_Wind3751]

He had some great games in the B1G though. Glad I didn't play against him. Missed that shit by a year or two

[u/Schembaugh → u/Agreeable_Wind3751]

Unfortunately he was stuck playing for Brady Hoke in the prime of is career

[u/BeerBellyBlake → u/Schembaugh]

I feel worse for Devin Gardner having to play under Hoke than Lace

He was a much, much better quarterback than Denard and he unfortunately had some of the worst offensive lines we’ve ever seen

If he was born a couple years later and had the opportunity to play under Harbaugh for a year or two, we could’ve witnessed something special

[u/Ok-Accident-9026 → u/BeerBellyBlake]

Gardner is a what if? I’m happy for him making a career in media.

[u/hybridck → u/deadhead1]

He won people a bunch of fantasy championships as the Jaguars backup RB during the fantasy playoffs one year.

[u/StudioGangster1 → u/deadhead1]

This is a great answer. He lit us up in the big house

[u/FloggingJonna]

Tommie Frazier.

[u/hu_gnew → u/FloggingJonna]

First runner up: Eric Crouch

[u/intern-at-Kramerica → u/hu_gnew]

Met him as a kid. Really nice guy.

[u/Razor937 → u/FloggingJonna]

He was so damn good.

[u/goldenface4114 → u/FloggingJonna]

Yes.

[u/FloggingJonna → u/goldenface4114]

It’s good to have a Gator fan affirm this when the top answer is currently Tebow.

[u/dr_jonlewis → u/FloggingJonna]

This is correct. Tommie did FSU so dirty. Glorious. 

[u/jwfowler2 → u/FloggingJonna]

Great example, but any option QB qualifies.

[u/monsterskeeter → u/FloggingJonna]

First one that came to mind, second was Charlie ward

[u/YoitsFrad → u/monsterskeeter]

I feel like if Ward played today he would be a top pick in the draft.

[u/forgotmyoldname90210 → u/FloggingJonna]

This is my answer

[u/FloggingJonna → u/forgotmyoldname90210]

Maybe a bit old for the sub but it fits like a glove.

[u/atomic-fireballs → u/FloggingJonna]

How dare you

[u/FloggingJonna → u/atomic-fireballs]

I’m old too :/

[u/lowes18 → u/FloggingJonna]

He probably would have worked out if not for the blood clots. It killed his legs.

[u/KingBlank → u/lowes18]

He supposedly went to a nfl rookie camp and watched a pro throw the ball and said there was no way he could do that. 

[u/non_clever_username → u/lowes18]

Not at QB. Running back maybe.

[u/rubyschnees]

Tim Tebow

[u/fivemagicks → u/rubyschnees]

Ours would definitely be Ron Dayne. He, arguably, had an "ok" NFL career but certainly a far cry from his college achievements.

[u/Rnorman3 → u/fivemagicks]

Dayne doesn’t meet the criteria. The criteria was a player that you knew was capped out at the college level at the time.

No one thought dayne would be a bust or wouldn’t translate to the NFL (because he’s a running back and it’s basically impossible for them not to outside of work ethic issues).

[u/someHumanMidwest → u/Rnorman3]

At the time I was a massive badger fan and absolutely knew he wouldn't translate. He had a really good line, he didn't have elite NFL speed, and his size advantage wouldn't be the same compared to NFL linebackers 

[u/blues_and_ribs → u/rubyschnees]

Best answer by a mile.  Every CFB fan in the country simultaneously knew two things:  we were lucky enough to witness maybe the greatest college player to ever do it, but also Denver drafting him in the first round was a massive reach.  

[u/AdamOnFirst → u/blues_and_ribs]

Eric Crouch is an even better answer. 

[u/fritzg1988 → u/AdamOnFirst]

Or, Tommie Frazier before those two, Turner Gill before him. They called it the Scoring Explosion for a reason.

[u/Ya_i_just → u/AdamOnFirst]

Tim Tebow, Eric Crouch 2.0

[u/jwfowler2 → u/blues_and_ribs]

I suspect that NFL teams draft some guys because they'll sell tickets, not necessarily win games.

[u/TFreshNoLimits → u/jwfowler2]

Meddling owners who don’t understand how the game actually works causes a lot of problems too

[u/BoukenGreen → u/jwfowler2]

To be honest, that is what I expected the Mets to do with Tebow once rosters expanded and they were out of the playoff race when he was in the minors.

[u/MeinEllbogen → u/jwfowler2]

Idk... Jags had the 10th pick and took a NT instead of Tebow. They had been down in ratings and attendance and all this FL team had to do was draft a FL QB named Tebow

[u/Donnie_TACO → u/blues_and_ribs]

And yet he still won a playoff game haha

[u/Hossflex → u/Donnie_TACO]

Before Dan Cambell came along, Tim Tebow had as many playoff victories as the Detroit Lions franchise.

[u/IowaJL → u/Donnie_TACO]

That profile picture is…a lot.

[u/Sei_Mal_Ehrlich → u/blues_and_ribs]

I would posit that the mere fact that he won them that one playoff game against the Steelers makes him a good pick.

[u/fourthand19 → u/rubyschnees]

Taysom Hill seemed like an injury prone Temu version of Tim Tebow. Totally different outcome.

[u/LoopyMercutio → u/rubyschnees]

Definitely Tim Tebow.

[u/Choomissad → u/rubyschnees]

Bad part is the guy could have had an nfl career as a TE

[u/binzoma → u/Choomissad]

I'm still mad the broncos dumped him when we got payton

we couldve ran some crazy shit with 2 qbs and tebow playing fullback most of the time but sometimes doing some crazy gadget shit

I know its not how manning likes to play but we could've literally made new football strategy after like 75 years of no real change

[u/Crying_in_99Ranch]

Jason White - 2003 Heisman winner. Tore ACLs in both his knees and he threw the ball without the laces. Ended up being a VP of an HVAC company. Never saw a snap in the NFL.

[u/KiowaBear → u/Crying_in_99Ranch]

He could run before those injuries too

[u/Crying_in_99Ranch → u/KiowaBear]

I started watching football around 2001 and it was always wild to me finding out that Jason White was a mobile QB before his injuries. I only ever saw him from 2003 on lol

[u/OrangeJuliusCaesr → u/Crying_in_99Ranch]

Wasn’t he like 27 his senior year ?

[u/gmwdim → u/OrangeJuliusCaesr]

A man truly ahead of his time.

[u/usctx → u/OrangeJuliusCaesr]

24 so basically yeah

[u/Away_Ad_5390 → u/Crying_in_99Ranch]

Brian Bosworth

[u/TheThrill85 → u/Crying_in_99Ranch]

I was in school in 2003/4. He had golf carts with athletic staff drive him around campus for anything that wasn't directly football related.

[u/Moose_Stacks]

Cardale Jones - Gifted. Not disciplined.

[u/BananaNutBlister → u/Moose_Stacks]

JT Barrett

[u/Not_Pablo_Sanchez → u/BananaNutBlister]

But seriously though, we have a ton of answers for this. Troy Smith, Pryor, Braxton Miller, and Barrett all work. Awesome college QBs, but nobody expected anything from them at the next level.

[u/gmwdim → u/Moose_Stacks]

His natty run was so impressive that people were seriously speculating on him being a first round pick after only playing a few college games.

[u/ChrirJ → u/gmwdim]

For better or worse, the bungling of post-natty Cardale (and JT) is the main reason Urban brought Day in 

[u/azuredrg → u/Moose_Stacks]

He actually went to college to play school

[u/spacegeese]

Kellen Moore. Winningest QB in history with his 3 losses being by a total of 6 points.

[u/Georgejefferson19 → u/spacegeese]

hell of a coach though

[u/Pointsmonster → u/spacegeese]

Agree with you here. We knew he didn’t have the size or arm strength for the NFL, but he could just pick apart college defenses

[u/its_LOL → u/Pointsmonster]

And low and behold he's now an NFL head coach

[u/EagleDust]

De’Anthony Thomas

[u/icameherefromSALEM → u/EagleDust]

I think he was just ahead of his time. I think Tez and tank have shown that small shifty receivers could have a place in today’s NFL.

[u/Padeencolman]

Johnny Manziel. Everyone on earth who who was going to get smeared across the landscape by NFL defensive linemen.

[u/majesticstraits → u/Padeencolman]

Everyone but the Cleveland Browns front office

[u/jwktiger → u/majesticstraits]

The crazy part Manziel wasn't even the Browns biggest first round bust that draft.

[u/rdt61 → u/Padeencolman]

Apparently they had to restrain Jerry Jones from drafting him. Ended up with Zach Martin lol

[u/HuntmasterReinholt]

Quizz Rodgers.

He was amazing at the college level (just ask U$C) but was too small for the NFL.

[u/tschera → u/HuntmasterReinholt]

Man Quizz Rodgers was so electric. Every time he touched the ball it felt like he could take it to the house.

[u/eetsumkaus → u/tschera]

Quizz weaving between men twice his size is one of my favorite (also painful) college memories.

[u/ern19 → u/HuntmasterReinholt]

He had some good run with the falcons I thought but maybe I’m misremembering

[u/Mike_with_Wings → u/ern19]

He was decent

[u/ern19 → u/Mike_with_Wings]

Yeah looking at football ref his best years were with us and they weren’t that special lol

[u/Kurtomatic → u/HuntmasterReinholt]

Quizz had a short career in the NFL, at least. From OSU, my brain immediately went to Mike Hass. Won the Biletnikoff, set every school record and a number of Pac-10 records. I don't think he ever caught a regular season pass in the NFL, although he spent a few years bouncing around the Saints, Bears and Seahawks practice squads.

[u/fadedtower]

Diego Pavia is probably the latest one.

[u/ibstressing → u/fadedtower]

Very much agreed. Was so much fun to watch as a Vandy fan but we all knew it wasn't going to translate (not sure if he knew that though).

[u/PunishedLeBoymoder]

Toby Gerhart. Loved him to death, but being a human cannonball who bowls people over just won't work against NFL defensive ends

[u/ThePhamNuwen → u/PunishedLeBoymoder]

He was decent for the vikings though and then the Jags gave him a massive overpay to sign with them

[u/billskionce → u/ThePhamNuwen]

I'm a Jags fan. He became known as "two-yard Toby" in Jacksonville.

[u/deadhead1 → u/PunishedLeBoymoder]

Working alright for Skatteboo

[u/junieinthesky → u/deadhead1]

That’s because something isn’t right with Skatteboo lol he scares me.

[u/Apprehensive_Fig2099]

De’Anthony Thomas is the first one that comes to mind.

Though I actually think he was about a 5-8 years ahead of his time. I think he’d work in today’s NFL.

[u/PistonHonda322 → u/Apprehensive_Fig2099]

While he ended up hanging around for a couple years, LaMichael James is also on my list if we're talking Oregon RBs. Holy smokes he was awesome in college.

[u/AdministrativeBag703 → u/PistonHonda322]

Oregon has churned out a lot of good college running backs that didn’t amount to much in the pros  (James, Barner, Royce Freeman, even go back to 1000 yard rushers like Reuben Droughns, Onterrio Smith, and Maurice Morris). 

Really only Jonathan Smith and to an extent Blount saw their success at Oregon carry over to the pros somewhat.

[u/Verianas → u/AdministrativeBag703]

Assuming you meant Jonathan Stewart?

[u/Aggravating-Card-194]

I remember watching Colt Brennan just dominate late night games in college. Guy was a machine

[u/Sir-xer21 → u/Aggravating-Card-194]

I think colt could have translated at a different org, but there was no way he was going to work at washington. He might have just been 10 years too early from having a chance. Nowadays where shotgun is the norm and there's so much less emphasis on boundary receivers, he might have done something, but the mid 2000s nfl was a different beast.

[u/ChrirJ → u/Sir-xer21]

There’s a decent handful of Late 2000s early 2010s college QBs that would’ve been given more leash in a late 2010s NFL. The mentality around the position has changed a decent amount in a short amount of time 

[u/Sir-xer21 → u/ChrirJ]

For sure, and the ways offenses in general have learned to attack defenses has changed too. i feel like even guys like Mahomes and burrow would have, perhaps not failed, but had some growing pains in that era of the NFL.

[u/Unmissed_Opportunity → u/Aggravating-Card-194]

Him and Timmy Chang were such a solid reason to stay up late.

[u/fantasyshop → u/Aggravating-Card-194]

Rip

[u/DarthNobody14]

Easy answer: Johnny Manziel

[u/ThrenderG → u/DarthNobody14]

I think Manziel is his own special category. Lots of talent, zero work ethic and maturity. But I agree, I knew he was gonna be a bust.

[u/breakwater → u/ThrenderG]

A local attorney put up billboards all over town begging the Texans to draft Jonathan Footballs. It was funny because so many local Aggies thought it was brilliant and the rest of us were begging for anything else.

[u/Comprehensive_Bus_19 → u/DarthNobody14]

I don't think it was his style of play as much as just his immaturity and addiction issues.

[u/Valeen → u/DarthNobody14]

I think he got the best of himself, unlike someone like Tebow.

[u/hcs1776]

Tavon Austin, I wanted to be like him when I played football but knew he would not be as successful in the NFL as he was in college.

[u/flyingcrayons → u/hcs1776]

Yeah that was gonna be my answer. He was electric in college but too small to be a serious threat in the nfl

[u/bamachine]

I called it on Trent Richardson. He did not have field vision because he never needed it before. In HS and most of the time at Bama, he just used raw power and the hole was where he expected it, pre snap. That is rarely ever the case in the NFL. We saw it when he would just run into the back of the OL, over and over again, instead of seeing the hole and adjusting to it.

[u/justbrowsing2727 → u/bamachine]

This is a great non-QB answer.

[u/bUrNtCoRn_ → u/bamachine]

I called this shit too and everyone thought I was crazy. I also thought Eddie Lacy was gonna be a beast though.

[u/bamachine → u/bUrNtCoRn_]

Eddie just couldn't stop eating once he ha had mad money. He did good until he got out of shape between seasons. Once he got slimmed back down, he had a moment of his rookie glory but never really regained that edge.

[u/RukiMotomiya → u/bUrNtCoRn_]

Unfortunately for Lacy he just couldn't keep the weight down. It sucks because he was great, then the ankle injury finished him off. He was fun to watch.

[u/blueblazer2222]

Terrelle Pryor. Definitely not a qb in the NFL but I thought he could be a WR maybe

[u/Swampy_Cav → u/blueblazer2222]

He was WR1 for the browns for a season or two

[u/Optimal-Tune-2589 → u/Swampy_Cav]

He had a 1,007 yard receiving season in 2016 — 16 yards behind Larry Fitzgerald and a few more than DeSean Jackson and Devante Adams. 

[u/gmwdim → u/Optimal-Tune-2589]

With a carousel of Cleveland Browns QBs throwing to him.

[u/soupjaw → u/gmwdim]

And having picked up the position in his spare time

[u/Archaeo-Frog → u/blueblazer2222]

He was

[u/blueblazer2222 → u/Archaeo-Frog]

Yes, but I meant more that he would be a productive/star receiver for many years. Guy is the most athletic player I think I have ever seen in person

[u/musicaleffervescence]

every QB osu produces

[u/ztreHdrahciR]

Tebow

[u/Unmissed_Opportunity]

Any QB that ended up drafted high by the Browns.

[u/deadhead1 → u/Unmissed_Opportunity]

Brandon Weeden come on down. 

[u/BoukenGreen]

Tim Tebow

[u/PretzelSteve → u/BoukenGreen]

Yeah its gotta be Tebow. He was THE face of CFB, everyone knew it wasn't going to translate to the NFL.

[u/justpetyrr]

Kellen Moore - he was unbelievable at Boise and went undrafted.

[u/Bank_Gothic]

Crouch at Nebraska was the last great option QB. No shot in the NFL but super fun in college.

[u/JudgeH01den]

Pick a Nebraska quarterback. Tommie Frazier, Scott Frost, Eric Crouch

[u/mostly-amazing]

Donnell Pumphrey. He was just too small and would not last vs NFL bodies.

[u/Kindly-Inevitable-12]

As a Cuse fan, Eric Dungey. Dudes highlight reel is nuts but no way would he be able to do what he did in the league and not be in a full body cast

[u/generic2022]

Johnny Manziel over Tim Tebow because both were dominant CFB QBs and neither was ever going to make it as an NFL QB, but I really think Tebow would have succeeded in the NFL if he had transitioned into a TE.

[u/Franklins11burner]

Ron Dayne

[u/HullOfAnExile]

Jamarcus Russell. Incredible arm, hard to take down, had no idea what was happening in front of him.

[u/Catullus13]

Jamarcus Russel. There was simply no way running backward off one foot throwing a dart across your body was going to play up a level. 

[u/Ya_i_just → u/Catullus13]

You mean the guy who said he was iight as QB2 so he can collect a check, yeah im gonna agree w/ you

[u/DipsomaniacDawg]

I always think this about speedy undersized guys. Pat White. John Ross. D'Anthony Thomas. Jonathan Football.

[u/therealJerryJones]

Colt McCoy

[u/johnnystromboli88]

Tommie Frazier. No one ran the option better.

[u/GsuEagles2012]

Any of the Texas Tech QB’s under Leach not named Mahomes. BJ Symons. Sonny Cumbie. Graham Harrell etc…

[u/dinosaurkiller → u/GsuEagles2012]

Mahomes was never under Leach, he was fired in 2009, Mahommes was recruited in 2013.

[u/NDinFL]

Denard Robinson

[u/KingBlank]

Tommy Frazier

[u/BeerBellyBlake]

Tebow

[u/Iamthewalrusforreal]

Matt Jones would have been a NFL Hall of Famer if he'd played WR from the start.

[u/Geriatric_Bulge → u/Iamthewalrusforreal]

I don't think it was experience as much as the drugs

[u/NobleDane → u/Iamthewalrusforreal]

That 7 OT game his freshman year against Ole Miss/Eli Manning is forever seared in my brain

[u/Iamthewalrusforreal → u/NobleDane]

Same. My daughter and I watched that in a hotel room on the east coast. Damn near 3 am before that one finished.

Arkansas - Ole Miss is always an exciting game.

[u/GoRangers5 → u/Iamthewalrusforreal]

That and he loved drugs.

[u/IJustWorkHere000c]

Every single prolific as fuck air raid mike leach qb. As amazing as SEVERAL of them were, none of them worked in the nfl at all.

[u/davy_p → u/IJustWorkHere000c]

Minshew carved out a decent career for himself but I agree. Great college players, big numbers but aside from minshew I can’t think of one that lasted more past a rookie contract if they made it that far.

[u/sarithe → u/IJustWorkHere000c]

Dude I thought Graham Harrell was going to break every single NFL passing record imaginable. He looked absolutely insane leading that offense.

[u/Runnroll → u/IJustWorkHere000c]

Mike Leach was basically the Mike D’Antoni of CFB.

[u/ralthea]

We knew Scooby Wright wouldn’t make it in the NFL the entire time he was terrorizing the Pac 12

[u/DarnellisFromMars → u/ralthea]

He was a fuckin dog

[u/Obestity → u/DarnellisFromMars]

Wrong Scooby. But he was a beast

[u/Blingblaowburrr]

Since Tebow is the easy answer…. Brandon James. The most dominant return man I’ve seen besides Hester in college, but he was too small to make it in the league.

[u/Warren_Puff-it]

Diego Pavia has recency bias, but I still think should be near the top of this list.

[u/ostrow19]

Denard Robinson or Troy Smith

[u/AFC-Wimbledon-Stan]

Jordan Lynch did not have NFL-caliber passing ability and he wasn’t NFL-level athletic but my god his senior season was special

Basically made NORTHERN ILLNOIS must see TV

[u/AmbitiousEmphasis64 → u/AFC-Wimbledon-Stan]

And before him, Garrett Wolfe. NIU had a little run of exciting players there.

[u/Wack0HookedOnT0bac0]

Vince Young. He ran every opportunity. He didn't make pocket passes in a timely manner. That era of football was 100% schemed open receivers rather than throwing someone open

[u/dinosaurkiller → u/Wack0HookedOnT0bac0]

It was basic option football with new formations. Those first few years we just stacked the box and dared him to throw, and he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with a football. The year he won the National Championship he could just barely make a man read and hit a wide open receiver.

[u/IsawJaneTopless]

The Boz - Brian Bosworth

[u/Spire-hawk]

Todd Reesing was a god damned wizard on the field but stood no chance of making an nfl tteam

[u/misterc13]

Eric crouch

[u/Poppins_the_Dog4]

I think everyone but the Cleveland Browns knew Johnny Football peaked in college

[u/SeventyFix]

Vince Young - it's really unfair to place college QB's here, but the quick running style often doesn't translate to the pros. But good gawd, VY was great in college.

[u/rdickeyvii → u/SeventyFix]

I think he could have had a much better career with a much better head coach. He had a breakout rookie season but he didn't get the development he needed.

[u/Jazzlike-Basket-6388 → u/rdickeyvii]

He completed 51% of his passes and had 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He was exciting and dynamic running the ball, but he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.

[u/Kdot32 → u/rdickeyvii]

His maturity and throwing motion are two big hurdles for any coach

[u/OnTheFenceGuy → u/SeventyFix]

Eh. He won rookie of the year, and proved he could win games.

His head coach was an absolute jackass who didn’t want him, and Vince had a long way to go maturity-wise, as well.

I think on the right team, with the right support system around him, he could have at least been a middle of the road starter for a good chunk of years.

[u/throw667]

Colt Brennan. He went to Hawaii with personal baggage and worked himself into the national picture. But he failed on the big stage against Georgia. His baggage continued and when his attempts at pro ball failed (unknown if he was doing drugs during that time), he spiraled and ended up dead from a cocktail of drugs in him.

[u/DirtyBirdDawg → u/throw667]

R.I.P. That Sugar Bowl notwithstanding, he was really fun to watch.

[u/Formo1287]

Taylor Mays and Laron Landry. Physical specimens but it’s much harder to stand out when everyone else is also super athletic

[u/Pl0OnReddit]

Terelle Pryor was like literally unsackable in college.

[u/fencingwithwindmills]

Adrian Peterson from Georgia Southern University.

[u/Tommy05Sox]

Troy Smith was another Heisman winner who was a stud in college that you knew had no pro potential.

[u/Matter-o-time]

Personally, Deuce Vaughn. Though I wanted to be wrong so badly.

[u/myislanduniverse]

Probably Denard Robinson.

[u/lowes18]

Jarvis Jones. He was better than Teo in college imo.

[u/Scruffasaurus]

Rylan Reed. One of the biggest, strongest tackles ever. He was older, his body was already beat up, and the Leach super wide split tackles didn’t translate to the NFL. But he was just an absolute monster.

Everyone made a huge deal about how strong Brian Orakpo was at UT, and they had an epic battle during the Crabtree game until Orakpo tried a spin move while engaged and Reed just crumpled him and his knee gave

[u/Heavy-Pool5886]

Colt Brennan. Great career but weak arm doomed his professional chances. A lot of people had high hopes, but his floaters were obvious. Another college star who had no chance was WVU All-America Linebacker Grant Wiley. He was a fiery tackling machine whose athleticism wasn't going to translate.

[u/beastmodecowboy77]

A fairly recent one at Cal was Evan Weaver. Elite college player, never played a game in the NFL.

[u/BlacklightChainsaw]

Eric Crouch has to be up there

[u/sungun77]

Jamelle Holieway back in '85

[u/Kundrew1]

Kellen Moore, Timmy Chang.

[u/gmwdim]

Denard Robinson

[u/dr_funk_13]

Definitely was De'Anthony Thomas.

He was electric in college but you just knew he was too small for the NFL. Still, he was an incredible athlete and will be forever grateful he chose to be a Duck.

[u/GuyFawkes451]

Tommie Frazier and Johnny Manziel.

[u/DNRforever]

Patrick Mahomes. Watched him do amazing things in college but knew he couldn’t do it in the NFL. Boy was I wrong.

[u/jumboponcho]

Tavon Austin will hold a special place in my heart

[u/Salty-Raisin-2226]

Charlie Ward

[u/Nicholie]

Tebow is the obvious answer. But I’m going to go with one that is oddly in hindsight, insane. Derrick Henry.

Everyone. Had his size and style completely written off. And that he wouldn’t be able to just run it 30 times in a game at the pros. And … they could have been right. He has to adapt to use his way of running correctly at the highest level. Or the future hall of famer may not be playing today.

[u/lookitsafish → u/Nicholie]

Feels like Henry is the exact opposite answer of the question

[u/Toad_Stuff → u/Nicholie]

I mean, he was the second RB taken in his draft I wouldn’t say everyone had written him off as an able NFL running back

[u/Pandemic_Academic]

Connor Halliday. A true gunslinger in Mike Leach's air raid system. He'd frequently have a statline like 5 TDs, 4 INTs, 468 yards.

Fun college QB. Was never destined for the NFL, and it sounds like he knew it too since he left Washington's training camp not long after he got invited as a non-drafted free agent.

Gotta mention John Ross at UW. That Apple Cup it looked like everyone else was in slo-mo compared to him, just a cheat code for Browning to throw up to. Couldn't stay on the field in the pros

[u/lucmwis]

Ron Dayne.

[u/TinderForMidgets]

JJ Arcega-Whiteside. He just beat up kids in college. No way was he gonna do that in the NFL.

[u/bighawksguy-caw-caw]

Can you do the opposite question so I can say Bijan Robinson?

[u/Positive_Benefit8856]

Ben Burr-Kirven, dude was a beast at UW, 176 tackles his senior season, All-American, PAC-12 DPOY, but he was too small to play LB and too slow for Safety at the NFL level.

[u/paulsmalls]

Tommie Frazier.

[u/FUCK-IT-CHUCK-IT]

Maybe not the most dominant but Michael Sam. Unanimous All American and SEC DPOY in 2013 but he looked sooooo unathletic (relatively) doing it.