Players That Flopped After Impressive College Football Careers
The path to the NFL is a clear one for the players that dream of one day representing their boyhood teams. They do well in the college leagues and then get drafted near the top of the order. The path is clear, and everybody has dreams of becoming the best player at their new side.
However, it doesn’t always go to plan. And, instead of punters being able to take advantage of the matchbook welcome offer or Bethard to maximise their returns on college players becoming Super Bowl champions, their career goes off in a different direction.
There have been so many examples of players with the world in the palm of their hands only to fail to make the grade once they are drafted. Here are a few examples of the most notable names.
Tim Couch
The Cleveland Browns don’t have a good track record when it comes to the draft, and an example of that was Couch in 1999. He enjoyed a stellar college career, which ensured he was a number one pick. During his college career, he threw over 8,700 passing yards and assisted 73 touchdowns. He did have a degree of success with the Browns as he scored 15 touchdown passes in his first season and helped them get to the 2002 playoffs.
However, he never reached the level that many expected him to. His five-year career with the Browns came to an end in 2004 after amassing 11,000 passing yards. He attended training camps with the Packers and Jaguars in 2005 and 2007 respectively, but he never played another NFL game.
Tim Tebow
Tebow remains one of the most revered college-level players of all time as he guided the Gators to two national championships. His physique was the first thing that people were apprehensive about, as he was built more of a tight end than a quarterback. His mobility, however, was something that NFL teams remained interested in, and they were sure that he could do a job at the top level.
This led to the Denver Broncos picking him, and his NFL career began with a strong start. He led the Broncos to a 7-4 record in his first season, with the pick of these games coming in a win over the Steelers in the playoffs. However, his style was undoubtedly his downfall, and the Broncos couldn’t get to the next level with him. In 2012 he was traded as part of the deal to bring Peyton Manning to the franchise. He was released by the Jets in 2013, before falling to impress in tryouts with the Patriots and Eagles.
Trent Richardson
There aren’t many players that come into the NFL with such a degree of excitement surrounding them, by Richardson did. He won the All-SEC running back award and two BSC National Championships during his three years at Tuscaloosa before his stock rose before the 2012 draft.
The Browns made their move, and he produced substantial numbers during his first season. However, his career took a turn for the worse when he was traded to the Colts in 2013. He started just 20 games over the next two season, and he scored seven total touchdowns in that time. However, he was released in 2015. Richardson attempted to make a comeback, but he failed at trials with Baltimore and Oakland, and he remains a free agent.
