It wasn't like we were eating pizza, chicken wings and beer every night.". The 'Worst Game' in NFL History Was the Best Game Lawrence Taylor Ever Played. He committed to Penn State as a sophomore, but later walked back on that verbal commitment. The Bison star tested extraordinarily well at the NFL combine, measuring 6-4, 208 pounds with a 4.36 time in the 40. 2023 NFL Draft: Pick-by-pick analysis for Day 3, Rounds 4-5 Kyle Pitts began his high school career playing quarterback before he made a move to tight end. In his lone season at Miami, Phillips had 45 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Before they were selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday night, the 32 players who heard their name . 'Football City': Nearly 2 dozen NFL players have come from one small Warner won the Most Valuable Player award for Super Bowl XXXIV. T.O. But several players have navigated that route and are hoping to hear their name called during the 2022 NFL draft on April 28-30 on ESPN and ABC. The NFL cares that you're talented and you have the DNA or the makeup to sustain and do well in the league.". How tiny Eaton, Colorado, produced 3 current NFL football players The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Links to Kansas City: The college, high school stars that got drafted 2018 position ranking: No. 10 and No. Etienne, a native of Jennings, Louisiana, was a three-star recruit who pulled in a slew of offers from across the country. 175 pounds is a very low weight for receivers in the NFL today. His physical traits are thrilling, and he has NFL in his blood: His father, Tim, spent five seasons in the league, while brother Tre had a cup of coffee with the Miami Dolphins. "He's one of those guys that doesn't just try to block you. After that first season, I thought that he had a chance to be a really special player. Take a look at these players from small schools who are making a big impact in the NFL. You know Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt as maybe the best defensive player in the NFL and a superstar who has cashed in on a massive contract and on numerous endorsement deals. Just being able to play football was the only thing that mattered to me.". The No. He is a whole lot lighter though. The closest he had come to playing on the offensive line to that point was taking a few snaps at tight end in high school. 2017 position ranking: No. He flourished in that position and, despite multiple back surgeries, worked his way into the first round. 1 . Listed at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, Turner proved to be a steal for the Cougars. The 6-foot-4, 359-pound Elliss was invited to the NFL combine and spent about two months in Arizona training for it. He ended up playing both guard and tackle for the Crimson Tide. The coaching staff at Central Michigan instead saw a tight end in Watt and he played that position until he chose to return to his home state and walk onto the University of Wisconsin football team. 1 offensive tackle. But he took it for everybody.". He is currently projected as high as a fourth-round pick. One of the best small forwards in the history of the NBA was barely an afterthought following his high school days. Vincent Jackson, WR (Northern Colorado) (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) Chris O'Meara/AP2012. Darrell Green went to college at what was known, at the time, as Texas A&I University, which kinda/sorta sounds like an online school that would email you a degree when you were finished taking classes. 39 strongside defensive end. Their stories are different but share a common thread: They played far from the bright lights of the big-time college football programs, but didn't give up their dream of playing in the NFL. He is the best little man in the game today. But those who know Kraft, and especially Kraft himself, will tell you that he does his best work where there is work that must be done. Before they were selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday night, the 32 players who heard their name called were high schoolers with a dream. Data Provided By He found this with the New York Jets. 32 lingering post-draft questions: Will Lions have regrets? All in the FCS. In the end, Smith bypassed the local school and picked Alabama. Smart move, guys. 30). "I think the heptathlon kind of lets me show more on a numbers basis on how athletic I am," he said. "My motor is always running because I don't know how else to do it but work," Kraft said shortly before he returned to the South Dakota State lineup this past midseason. Penei Sewell was the top player from the state of Utah in his recruiting class and ranked as the fifth-best tackle in the country. He has stayed with the Colts ever since. Volson redshirted for one season, then served as a backup for two, piling on both pounds and technique in the process. He led the league in receptions in 2007 and 2009. The California native was set to enroll early at Alabama, but Michigan continued to stay in the picture. Travis Etienne became the one that got away for LSU coach Ed Orgeron. Now Lance is headed to San Francisco. High Schools With the Most NFL Players on 2022 Kickoff Weekend Rosters Lance became the starter as a redshirt freshman and had a remarkable season: 2,786 passing yards, 1,100 rushing yards and 42 total touchdowns. Bagwell was an accomplished soccer player and his baseball skills got him a look from non-juggernaut, the University of Hartford. Nick Fairley is an NFL defensive tackle, most recently with the New Orleans Saints. Strange made that clear last summer when he walked into Wright's office and told him, "I made a commitment to y'all, and that's not going to change.". 1. Some of the entries were high-profile high . By early 2016, Jones was bumped up to a four-star grade by Rivals and began to attract attention from other schools. A crazy fast 4.35 40 yard dash, Jackson leaves defenders in the dust. Nope. Four high school athletes with metro ties drafted. You don't need to be big if you can outrun everybody. Lott had recruited Williams out of prep school when he was on staff at Johnson C. Smith University, but didn't get the chance to start coaching him until he was hired at Fayetteville late last spring. Other outliers include Lukas Van Ness, who ranked as a low three-star and the No. At 6-3, 195 pounds, Williams possesses a rare combination of size and agility, even by NFL standards. Just imagine that the ultimate bad boy of the NBA could have been just some short guy who wasn't able to make it. Because of that, attending Stanford was his goal because of its standing as a Division I program in the Pac-12 that also has high academic standards. Bagent had offers from a couple of FCS schools, but Shepherd was an obvious draw. He receives the play call and then explains the play to the rest of the group. He tries to hurt you," Wright said. 35 defensive end. An immediate star, Holliday burned defenders. Houston even uses him as a tight end every now and again during games. He surprised everyone with his ridiculous speed and the inability of other players to tackle him. He wasn't even the sole running back, yet. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. DALLAS For three nights, hundreds of college players dreams of making it to the NFL came true. While the percepti. Players with Washington high school ties selected in 2022 NFL Draft All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. At that point (December 2016), Fields was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals. Top 10 NFL Series Journeymen Under 6-feet tall Versatile Never scored TD Overpaid Ringless vets Born outside U.S. Small-school Undrafted Marketable While most NFL stars were four- or five-star . Look at these schools that were interested in him." He was a three-year starter at UH who finished his career with 114 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. Farley was injured early in his VT career and eventually switched to defensive back. The three-star recruit chose the Wildcats over offers from Illinois, Kansas, Rice, SMU and Wyoming. Terrell Owens was a freak athlete in high school, but he was not seen as an elite football player worthy of starting for one of the bigger programs in college football. He recorded 76 tackles, 5 deflected passes, 2.5 sacks, and a couple of turnovers. He was even qualified for the 2007 World Championship Athletics competition for sprinting, but he decided not to go. Top 10 current NFL players unranked out of high school - MaxPreps.com He started in 2019 and the 2021 spring season, and took advantage of the extra year of eligibility allotted to all 2020-21 athletes by starring again as a super senior this past fall. Some of the entries were high-profile high-schoolers. If you're not a 6'5", muscle-strapped male fast enough to blow past offensive linemen while . College football reporters Ryan McGee, Harry Lyles Jr. and Bill Connelly take you inside the unconventional path taken by four of these prospects. Strange is no longer flying under the radar as he prepares for the NFL draft on the heels of an impressive showing at the Senior Bowl and a remarkable display of athleticism during workouts at the combine. They would make up for it with seven playoff wins in Bagent's final three seasons. . He first verbally committed to Tennessee in August of 2017, but he backed away after Butch Jones was fired. "If you can play, they'll find you," said Luther Elliss, who spent nine seasons with the Detroit Lions and five seasons as an assistant coach at Idaho. He has slightly below 4,000 kick/punt return yards in his career. It was more, 'OK, I need to come in here and dominate.'". 37 NFL Pro Bowl Players Were 3-Star Recruits (or Worse) But he is pretty short and really productive. Trey Lance went from small-town Minnesota to FCS star to first-round pick in the span of three years. 2017 position ranking: No. For Cordell Volson, a spectacular Bison lineman, it's a similar story. 2018 position ranking: No. He was all set to go to Air Force before deciding that Colorado was farther away from home than he wanted to be as a 17-year-old. He rarely misses tackles. (formerly Lee) High School. He went ignored by every NFL team in the draft, and the New York Giants gave him an opportunity to shine during a preseason game against the New York Jets. The famous quote that has been associated with the National Hockey Leaguer was made by Mark Forster, who coached Dan Girardi when Girardi played for the Welland Cougars: The scouts just messed up when it came to Dan. Girardi was a solid young player and he won the Memorial Cup as a member of the London Knights. 2 weakside defensive end. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft. During the summer of 2016, Wilson gave a verbal commitment to Boise State. Power Five schools like Cal, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon State and Syracuse all offered Wilson, but none prioritized him like BYU did at that point in the process. Some thought A&M, which had just hired Jimbo Fisher, might swoop in and snag Waddles signature, but the speedster ended up going with the Crimson Tide. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Mac Jones initially committed to Kentucky in July of 2015. Some, such as Cole Strange, Christian Watson and Pierre Strong Jr., wowed observers at the NFL combine. "I know that I have to work a little extra just to get to where I want to go," he said. Two of his brothers also played for the Vandals, and Kaden Elliss was taken by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. From that point, he said scouts started taking him more seriously. Walter Payton #34 of the Chicago Bears celebrates on the field as the Bears win the NFC Championship. That, along with his talent and his tenacious play on the defensive side of the basketball, helped Pippen to evolve into a player who is often under-appreciated because he played alongside Michael Jordan. Owens would make plenty of scouts and coaches look rather silly, as he went on to be one of the greatest wide receivers in the history of pro football; even if he was a pain in the neck for coaching staffs and teammates. "I was really surprised that [West Virginia] didn't offer him," McCook continued. He's a wide receiver in a tight end's body.". But, you know, I always feel like I always have something to prove, even if I am a lot better than a lot of these dudes in front of me." After nearly a year as a BC commit, Paye received a late offer from Michigan and it was too much to pass up. Williams saw his entire 2020 season wiped out due to COVID, so while he kept working out, there was ground to be made up from a technical standpoint. In 2020, he was voted a second-team all-SEC selection by the league's coaches. The NFL's All-Small Team - Sports Illustrated But, every once in a while a few small guys will come into the NFL and wreak a little havoc. But he also brings a predictable unknown to the table when it comes to pass blocking. @SURamsFootball pic.twitter.com/OIG1PdkygE. Now he is off to Jacksonville as the No. His performance at the combine could elevate him to a Day 2 pick and potentially the highest drafted player from any school in the state of Tennessee. Fields would back away from his PSU pledge and ultimately sign with Georgia. "He fits. Leatherwood ended up as the No. His career started in 1999, when the Buffalo Bills drafted Winfield in the first round of the NFL Draft. "But that doesn't stop me as well. Bagent's parents are both Shepherd grads. Smith is a nine year veteran that still has a lot of gas left in his tank. "He came from Romania, so he came from a communist country and made it out of the mud and worked really hard to be where he was when he got to the U.S. Did Pats make Mac Jones happy? Others, including Joshua Williams, Noah Elliss and Cordell Volson, had skills that could not be ignored. Kadarius Toney was a quarterback at Blount High School in Alabama, but colleges recruited him as an athlete. -- Heather Dinich, Virtually any North Dakota State draft prospect, especially on offense, has to be viewed through a very specific lens. Bagent hails from Martinsburg, a town of less than 20,000 in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, 10 miles from the Shepherd campus. It is, in fact, routinely reported that only percent of the players who feature in the highest division of college football were, out of high school, deemed to be five-star recruits. Jordy Nelson was a productive high school quarterback athletic enough to excel at other sports. At the opposite end of the spectrum are the athletes who were either not noticed or not highly recruited coming out of high school. His playing days could have ended at the College of Charleston when he failed to make the college team, but Gardner instead campaigned for an opportunity to practice with the squad. Chase opted out of the 2020 season, but the decision did not affect his draft stock whatsoever as he was the first receiver off the board. Easily one of the most versatile players in the league, Sproles has the perfect blend of rushing, receiving, and returning skills in the NFL. As far as what kind of a player an NFL team would get if it drafted him, Miller describes himself as "old school" with his leadership, aggression and leading by example. But most people forget to imagine how small this receiver really is. "We had played for a Division II national championship in 2015, and I really believe that it came down to him having a chance to play in front of his family and friends." This includes a man who was part of one of the greatest one-two punches in the history of the NBA and two of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Sproles is the face of the little man of the NFL. He is among Mel Kiper Jr.'s top five running backs. Don't mistake FCS for little brother football, at least not in the Dakotas, where Kraft and the Jacks do battle with the neighboring North Dakota State Bison. 2-Star Recruits Who Made It to the NFL & Shocked the World - Joker Mag "Here I was in the Tennessee weight room, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. These are the stories of players who toiled away from the bright lights, but through hard work and dedication still attracted the attention of NFL scouts and are hoping to hear their names called during the 2023 NFL draft on April 27-29 (coverage begins at 8 p.m. "[They said] here's what you need to do, and he just kind of had to do it on his own," Luther Elliss said. Chattanooga coach Rusty Wright predicted that Strange would put up monster workout numbers at the combine, which is exactly what happened. And in 2017, seven players from area high schools were taken. And he did. 1, Panthers' Bryce Young is all 'business now'. Even so, the word was out last summer among NFL scouts that Williams was someone worth checking in on. Tracking fifth-year options for 2020 first-rounders: Which were picked up, and which were declined? But when UGA fired Mark Richt, Smith opened up his recruitment. Jimmy Graham. Glossary, Stat Minimums, Frequently Asked Questions about the NFL and Football. Friday night high school football games are an American tradition. -- Chris Low. Jaylen Waddle was one of three five-star recruits to sign with Alabama during the 2018 cycle. In the next few years, Jackson could become the top receiver in the NFL, dominating defenses every single Game Day. For Horn, his father is Joe Horn, the former New Orleans Saints receiver. The second half of 2015 will be rough for Nelson, as he will miss the entire NFL season because of a torn ACL. The NFL released its initial 53-man roster of 20 former Iowa high school football players. 9 strongside defensive end. Watson quickly became both too big and too fast for anyone trying to guard him at the FCS level, and his stats bear this out: Over parts of four seasons in Fargo, he caught 105 passes for 2,140 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed a Deebo Samuel-esque 49 times for 392 yards and two more scores. After graduating from LSU, Holliday decided to enter the NFL draft. It's just to say the NFL doesn't care where the talent comes from. And once he stayed local and chose Miami, the coaches there molded him into a pass-rusher. The old adage in sports is that you cannot teach speed. Strange is currently No. All of that is what made Kraft, then a freshman, call home from SDSU, where he'd been redshirted by one of the two schools above Division II to even bother giving him a look, and declare to his mom that one day he was going to play in the NFL. Slater had great grades in high school and Northwestern proved to be the perfect mix of athletics and academics. Born in Menomonie and a graduate of Mondovi High School, Krumrie was a three-time All-Big Ten selection at Wisconsin and a 12-year pro. His career at Buffalo hit a peak when in 2003 he recorded 107 tackles, 3 turnovers, and 11 deflected passes. The difference is the competition they've faced. One of the top strong safeties in the game today, Bob Sanders dominates on the football field. NFL Draft 2023: Jacksonville Jaguars add 11 undrafted free agents BYU entered Wilsons recruitment late, but Wilson quickly jumped on the offer and signed with the Cougars. He lowered his interception rate every season while maintaining ridiculous production -- he's not a finished product. He took his decision to national signing day with Alabama and Texas A&M as his two finalists. Rice uses pure toughness and speed to overcome his small size. The steady stream of scouts who came through campus marveled at Williams' fluidity and size. 2023 NFL Draft: Will Levis, Zay Flowers among Round 1 prospects Anything. He should have had his pick of colleges from the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and many others, right? "I'm one of the hardest workers you're ever going to find on the field," he said. While he initially committed to Arkansas State after deciding to leave Missouri, Deion Sanders convinced him to go to Jackson State, where he was one of the leaders of a defense that allowed just 13.5 points per game in 2022. Poor Tony Romo has not been able to land respect since even his high school days. Either of those QBs could, at one point or another after high school, have given up on the game of football because they were not viewed to be elite players. 360-754-5473. He also put up 19 reps on the bench press, an impressive number for a wideout. Strange's broad jump of 120 inches was an inch off the combine record for an offensive lineman. The Ravens realized his potential though. "I think they were close, but they did not pull the trigger on that." A five-star recruit in the 2017 class, Harris committed to Alabama as a high school sophomore. Shortly after receiving an offer from the Hokies, Darrisaw committed. A lanky cornerback known for his speed, Eric Stokes was recruited at a variety of positions. Take a look at some of the best photos of Aaron Rodgers from throughout the years! After going through a couple of seasons involving limited playing time with Buffalo and Baltimore, Strong Safety Jim Leonhard decided it was time to go somewhere where they would start him for his ability and forget about his size. In his final season at Princeton, Iosivas had 66 catches for 943 yards and seven touchdowns. Not to mention he returned kicks a few times, too. -- Bill Connelly. In total, Miller had 226 tackles, 23.5 for loss, 8.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in 26 games at Jackson State. And he still accomplishes the same feats today, six years later. The league's top prospects stepped into the NFL Photo studio for Draft portraits. Well before he was the best rebounder in the NBA and a charismatic and controversial figure who should maybe give more thought to the heads of state he hangs out with during his free time, Dennis Rodman was undersized and even rejected by basketball and football teams. He became the epitome of a "clutch" receiver. "I just chose to go to Mizzou just because I thought that's what the best competition was," Miller said, referring to playing in the SEC. Rivals rating: 2 stars, not in Rivals 250. 1 player from the state of Florida, the No. Can street race king Perez challenge Verstappen for the title? In 2019, Bateman became a star with 60 catches for 1,219 yards and 11 TDs as Minnesota emerged as one of the surprise teams in the country. He was so low on the depth chart at Michigan at one point that he considered transferring. Rousseau opted out of the 2020 season, but put up huge numbers in 2019: 54 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks. Wes Welker is a household name when speaking of clutch wide receivers. It's always been a dream of mine and something I've always wanted.". One of the most versatile running backs in the game today, Jones-Drew can pound it through the line for a first down. In the open field he is unstoppable. Check out the highlights from South Dakota State's tight end Tucker Kraft. "I couldn't really turn down Princeton, and I loved the coaching staff as well. The four-star, top 100 prospect out of New Orleans reeled in dozens of offers before narrowing his choices down to LSU and Auburn.