“Bust.” It’s a loaded word around the NFL, used to describe a highly hyped up player who fails to produce at the professional level. College football has produced countless stars who lit up Saturdays. Yet, for all their dominance at the collegiate level, not every standout player finds the same success on Sundays, whether due to injuries, off-field issues, or simply the jump in competition. This article takes a closer look at seven of the best, most anticipated college football players in recent history whose pro careers didn’t pan out as expected.
Johnny Manziel
“Money Manziel,” “Johnny Football,” a stadium referred to as “The House That Johnny Built.” Manziel earned these nicknames through his electric play at Texas A&M, where he threw for 7,820 yards and 63 touchdowns over two years while rushing for another 2,169 yards and 30 touchdowns. It was this domination, highlighted by moments such as his legendary win over No. 1 Alabama and winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy, that led people to believe that the Browns had finally found their answer when they drafted him in 2014. This was not the case.
Manziel’s partying and crazy antics in college finally caught up to him in the NFL: the quarterback stopped watching film and struggled with drug and alcohol addiction throughout his brief pro career. Manziel started 14 games in the NFL, putting up 1,934 all-purpose yards and a measly eight touchdowns.
Dri Archer
Archer may be a less well-known name due to playing at Kent State, but he was an absolute force in the MAC. Over his last two years in college, Archer rushed for an explosive 8.6 yards per attempt and 30 all-purpose touchdowns to go along with his average of 40 yards per punt return. Archer boosted his draft stock by running a 4.26-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and was a third-round draft pick by the Steelers in 2014.
While it may not be fair to consider the speedster a massive bust due to his later round selection, his pro career was still a massive disappointment considering his flashy play at Kent State. Despite being a home run hitter in college, Archer’s longest play from scrimmage of his NFL career was only 15 yards—one of just 10 career carries.
Robert Griffin III
Griffin III is more of a “what if” than a bust. After being named the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, the quarterback was selected by Washington with the second pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. During his time at Baylor, Griffin III’s dominance came from his dual-threat ability, which was highlighted by his 4,293 passing yards, 699 rushing yards, and 47 touchdowns during his Heisman season.
At the beginning, it looked like that production would carry over to the NFL: Griffin III won the 2012 Offensive Rookie of the Year and led Washington to the NFC Wild Card game. Griffin, who had suffered a knee injury earlier in the season, played in the game and subsequently reinjured his ACL and LCL. Griffin continued to suffer from injuries for the rest of his time in the league and was never able to recapture the magic of his rookie year. Despite playing seven years in the NFL, we never got to see Griffin III’s full NFL potential.
Trent Richardson
Richardson was the definition of a system player whose weaknesses got exposed at the NFL level. In his final year at Alabama, the running back ran for 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns en route to getting selected third overall by the Browns in 2012.
After leaving Nick Saban’s scheme and the elite Crimson Tide offensive line, however, Richardson failed to come close to his college stats, running for just 2,032 yards and 17 touchdowns over his three-year NFL career. Richardson is the perfect example of stats over traits—his college numbers were great, but he simply did not have the skill to reproduce them without an elite team around him.
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow was one of the most dominant college quarterbacks of all time. During his time at Florida, Tebow led the Gators to two National Championships while claiming a Heisman Trophy for himself. Tebow’s 145 collegiate touchdowns landed him within the top five in Heisman voting three times. This production, paired with his leadership and charisma, got Tebow drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos in 2010.
While Tebow’s NFL career was not a complete failure, highlighted by his 2011 postseason victory over the Steelers, his inaccurate passing and lack of athleticism prevented his college success from fully transferring to the NFL. Tebow was replaced by Peyton Manning in 2012 and only threw eight more passes in the NFL before reappearing with a stint in minor league baseball in 2016.
Tavon Austin
A certain generation of football fans grew up watching Tavon Austin’s West Virginia highlight reel on repeat. Along with his fan-favorite jukes and speed, Austin was a versatile offensive tool for the Mountaineers, illustrated by his 1,932 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns in his senior year.
In 2013, Austin was drafted No. 8 overall by the Rams, where he was expected to be their immediate WR1. The gadget player was never able to fill that role, becoming more of a special-teams/situational playmaker rather than a consistent producer. Austin continued to have his fair share of highlight plays over his nine-year career, but he never lived up to the college hype that skyrocketed him to a top-10 draft pick.
JaMarcus Russell
While this list contains only players drafted after 2000, JaMarcus Russell is in contention for the worst No. 1 pick of all time. Entering the draft, the LSU quarterback was considered to be the perfect prospect. Russell was 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds with a cannon for an arm and solid mobility for his size.
Despite a bad pre-draft interview, the Raiders drafted Russell in 2007, perhaps hoping he could replicate the success of similarly built Super Bowl XL champion Ben Roethlisberger. Russell, however, never lived up to those expectations, constantly battling work ethic and personal issues to the tune of a 7-18 record over his three-year career. Russell’s hype was built more on potential than performance relative to the other college stars on this list, but the infamy of his inability to perform at the NFL level rivals few.
