Spring Break
Mid-majors producing NFL players
Ben Garbarek
Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Sports
If there's anything we can learn from Appalachian State's monumental upset of University of Michigan, it's that the talent gap in college football is beginning to dwindle.
While no one outside of Boone, N.C. thought that the Mountaineers had a snowball's chance in hell of winning that game, it goes to show how talented many of the players at smaller schools are.
The profile of a school's program doesn't necessarily predict those player's abilities at the next level.
A look around the NFL shows many of the game's biggest stars hail not exclusively from Big Ten or SEC powerhouses, but also from lesser-known programs that, for the most part, continue to remain in obscurity.
Last year San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson overjoyed fantasy football owners everywhere (myself included, I nearly bought his jersey in appreciation) en route to setting the single-season touchdown record for the Chargers. But before LT was blowing up the scoreboard in the NFL, he played his ball at Texas Christian University. He wasn't an USC Trojan or a Florida Gator; he was a Horned Frog.
One of last year's biggest surprises was New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, who became the early favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year before being injured last season. Where did he play his college ball? Hofstra University. I had to look it up just to see where Hofstra actually is.
Even Miami University has been in on the darkhorse action in the NFL. Former Offensive Rookie of the Year and Super Bowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger has been a high-profile player since being drafted in the first round by the Steelers, but there were some early doubts about him due to his collegiate background.
While Miami has a proud history of winning football teams, the fact remains that we compete in a mid-major conference that hosts some of the worst teams in Division I-A football.
Big Ben had a stellar junior year in Oxford and led the RedHawks to a No. 10 national ranking at the end of the 2003-04 season, but there was still reason for skepticism because of the opposing talent level in the MAC. Roethlisberger had the tools, but he had to prove he could use them against the best and brightest football players rather than beating up weaker programs.
While no one outside of Boone, N.C. thought that the Mountaineers had a snowball's chance in hell of winning that game, it goes to show how talented many of the players at smaller schools are.
The profile of a school's program doesn't necessarily predict those player's abilities at the next level.
A look around the NFL shows many of the game's biggest stars hail not exclusively from Big Ten or SEC powerhouses, but also from lesser-known programs that, for the most part, continue to remain in obscurity.
Last year San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson overjoyed fantasy football owners everywhere (myself included, I nearly bought his jersey in appreciation) en route to setting the single-season touchdown record for the Chargers. But before LT was blowing up the scoreboard in the NFL, he played his ball at Texas Christian University. He wasn't an USC Trojan or a Florida Gator; he was a Horned Frog.
One of last year's biggest surprises was New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, who became the early favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year before being injured last season. Where did he play his college ball? Hofstra University. I had to look it up just to see where Hofstra actually is.
Even Miami University has been in on the darkhorse action in the NFL. Former Offensive Rookie of the Year and Super Bowl Champion Ben Roethlisberger has been a high-profile player since being drafted in the first round by the Steelers, but there were some early doubts about him due to his collegiate background.
While Miami has a proud history of winning football teams, the fact remains that we compete in a mid-major conference that hosts some of the worst teams in Division I-A football.
Big Ben had a stellar junior year in Oxford and led the RedHawks to a No. 10 national ranking at the end of the 2003-04 season, but there was still reason for skepticism because of the opposing talent level in the MAC. Roethlisberger had the tools, but he had to prove he could use them against the best and brightest football players rather than beating up weaker programs.
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