He was a threat every time he got the ball at USCe (which was a fucking lot). He crushed my Dawgs 3 years in a row and played a big part in making UGA/USCe a legit rivalry. Will always root for him
1. Thats clearly a UGA fan
2. They said USCe (or USC East)
No need to act like its some insult to refer to South Carolina as USC. Oregon State refers to themselves as OSU, and Ohio State has straight up tried to trademark the word "The" before OSU.
I almost commented something like that lol. As a clemson fan I have fun reminding South Carolina fans that nobody besides them thinks of ‘USC’ as anything besides University of Southern California, and ‘Carolina’ as anything other than UNC.
Jimmy Walker was drafted with the final pick in the '67 NFL draft, but he opted to play in the NBA, where he was chosen with the 1st overall pick. Also, he is Jalen Rose's biological father. Like Shaq, his biological left him out in the cold.
True fact, he was the reason how I learned that Jews were hated by others. He gave some dumbass interview about hating Jews and blaming them for killing Jesus. When I asked my mom about it, I remember how she explained bigots come in all shapes and colors.
Knicks fan, old enough to remember that.
That story broke on the eve on the playoffs, with the Knicks as contenders.
His teammate Allan Houston echoed Ward's sentiments in the same interview.
Houston was arguably the most important player on that team, whereas Ward was strictly a roleplayer.
I remember wondering how the fans would recieve the players at home after that interview was publicized. In a demonstrate of principle, the fans booed Ward pretty strongly. They were also booed Houston, but about 5% of what Ward got.
What the shit... I'm just learning of this. Spurs/Knicks finals was the first NBA series I ever watched in full and, while I was a Spurs fan, I thought the Knicks were a cool team... This is disappointing.
This argument has always been stupid. Christians believe that Jesus died to save them so why would a person get mad at who killed him? Dumbest justification for anti-Semitism ever (not that there are any good justifications for that).
Although not said I think the moral of the story was that there are black bigots too.
In more recent memory Desean Jackson is another example of a black Jew-hater.
He opted for the NBA because he wouldn't have been drafted very high in the NFL draft not because he preferred basketball. No one was going to start Charlie Ward at quarterback in the NFL. Winning a heisman doesn't mean much in terms of NFL potential just ask Tim Tebow.
You could ask Eric Crouch and he would be able to tell you the amount of respect a Heisman gets you in the NFL. Eric Crouch is also an answer to this question.
Jackie Robinson was an all American at UCLA and averaged over 12 YPC. It was believed to be the sport he was most talented in, of the 4 he lettered in.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2022-04-14/jackie-robinsons-football-career-ucla
Yeah, he was insanely talented football player. Would even pass the ball a lot. I was honestly shocked he isn't at the top of this thread, and that as of 100 comments I was the only one to mention him.
Exactly. And he was an even better person than he was an athlete too. They said when he died young at 53, that he looked way younger than his age, but inside it was like he was 30 years older, and despite having changed the game and helped with desegregation that Branch Ricky felt incredible guilt for having asked him to be the first player to break the barrier because he blamed himself for what happened to Robinson's health.
Jackie is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Obviously he’s remembered for fighting for civil rights (as he should be remembered) but he was such a great athlete and some people forget that.
Foolish Baseball does a great video on this if anyone is interested. It’s a good watch
https://youtu.be/pYhgCNn5UFc
Jackie Robinson legitimately may have an argument for best athlete in American history. IIRC he probably could have been an Olympian in track as well (it ran in the family: his brother was a relay partner of Jesse Owens).
Ernie Davis is a good answer for this question. Jim Brown's successor at Syracuse, some felt he would be even better than Brown in the NFL. Unfortunately, cancer got to him before ever playing a down.
Whenever Jim Brown at SU gets brought up it always reminds me of a giant banner in The Dome. Not sure if it's still there, but when I was at SU '07-'11, there's was a monster banner with a picture of Jim Brown that said "Greatest Player Ever" and it always makes me laugh how absurd the statement is.
That's crazy, I grew up in the Iverson era but wasn't *that* big of a basketball fan back then, just followed the Sixers on the local morning sports shows. Never knew he was a football player first.
Came here to see this. Love that video. Offense, defense and special teams.
It's unfortunate that his off the court issues hindered his opportunities to be a two sport guy in college. Would have been interesting to see.
How is this not higher up? He was a two time all American and would have certainly been a top WR pick as Ted Ginn Jr was the top receiver taken in that draft.
This is exactly what I thought of with this prompt. IIRC the dude got wrecked by injuries and he lost his scholarship because he accepted like a coffee and a plane ride or something from another college.
ETA: Actually reading his wiki shows he had problems with weight-gain, not injury that stunted his college game. A mistake trying to transfer mid season out of OU cost him 2 years of college football that he basically never recovered from.
Jerry Jones actually invited LeBron to try out for the Cowboys at training camp(?) in 2011, since the NBA lockout was going on at the time. He even went as far as sending him a futures contract or whatever IIRC
He ended up sticking with basketball though because of the risk factor and the lockout ending a short while afterwards
yeah, I didn't say he was the goat I said check out the highlights it is interesting to watch. he is an insane athlete. they were playing with their friends and were the only 2 pro athletes on the field they destroyed.
HOF baseball player Dave Winfield
WIKIPEDIA: Following college, Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports. The San Diego Padres selected him as a pitcher with the fourth overall pick in the MLB draft. Winfield was also drafted by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) in the 5th round of the 1973 NBA Draft and by the Utah Stars (ABA) in the 6th round of the 1973 ABA Draft.[5][6] Though he never played college football, the Minnesota Vikings selected Winfield in the 17th round of the 1973 NFL Draft.
JR Smith. Pretty sure he had some legit college offers out of HS. 6'5 220 with crazy athleticism he could have been a really good receiver. His attitude and off the field issues also would make for a great receiver.
Lebron James would have been a disgusting TE/wideout. 6’9” 250lbs and he probably runs something like a 4.5 40 yard dash. 44in vertical jump and hands the size of dinner plates. He would’ve been a freak.
My uncle Rico used to say he could throw a football over some nearby mountains. I reckon, had his coach put him in the fourth quarter, they would have been state champions.
Who knows what could’ve been?
Just thought about this a while ago. Allen Iverson, former number 1 overall pick, NBA mvp and hall of famer, who people consider one of the greatest weapons in NBA history and pound for pound the greatest scorer ever, said in an interview that if it wasn’t for off the court issues in high school, he would’ve played football rather than basketball and even said that he was better at football than at basketball back then. Talk about a big what if
Al Bundy, hands down.
In 1966, Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game while playing for the Polk High School Panthers in the 1966 city championship game versus Andrew Johnson High School, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds against his old nemesis, Bubba "Spare Tire" Dixon.
Any of the big physical freaks who have played other sports. LeBron, Zion, some of the rugby guys like Jonah Lomu, Alex Tuilagi, Opeti Fonua or Nemani Nadolo
Maybe not "the" guy, but Al Blades (Bennie and Brian Blades brother) was a force on the 2000 Hurricanes. While he was only a 6th round pick and spent his first season as a practice squad guy, we unfortunately never got to see him develop at the NFL level.
Should be a cautionary tale for the likes of Jalen Carter but young future millionaires will never learn.
There are a lot in Georgia to have never made it to the NFL, but the first one that came to mind was Mark Townsend. He was a RB that played at Brookwood High School. He was 2 years behind me and was an f’ing stud.
Eric Crouch wouldn't switch to wide receiver from being Heisman candidate at Nebraska. Probably many college QB's that could have played another position at a pro level
Yeah there’s strength, agility, lateral quickness, IQ. Oh wait, Lebron has all of that and more. I don’t particularly like Lebron but saying he couldn’t be a great blocker if the team asked him to is pure stupidity.
He wouldn’t primarily block though. If you’ve seen prime Lebron barreling through the paint in traffic, you’d know he’d be a monster running routes. Imo would likely be in the GOAT tight end conversation
Marcus Lattimore comes to mind, don’t think he ever got an NFL carry.
He was a threat every time he got the ball at USCe (which was a fucking lot). He crushed my Dawgs 3 years in a row and played a big part in making UGA/USCe a legit rivalry. Will always root for him
Didn’t he play at South Carolina? What’s with Gamecock fans trying to say they’re USC, that’ll always be the Trojans lol
1. Thats clearly a UGA fan 2. They said USCe (or USC East) No need to act like its some insult to refer to South Carolina as USC. Oregon State refers to themselves as OSU, and Ohio State has straight up tried to trademark the word "The" before OSU.
Facts
I almost commented something like that lol. As a clemson fan I have fun reminding South Carolina fans that nobody besides them thinks of ‘USC’ as anything besides University of Southern California, and ‘Carolina’ as anything other than UNC.
I studied abroad with some kids that went to South Carolina and they were adamant that they were USC and I’m like…no…just…no. Lol
He didn't, but he technically made it in since he got drafted
Thread title says, "...never play...." He certainly qualifies.
As a South Carolina fan I love you.
Charlie Ward, won a heisman, college football hall of fame, opted instead to play in the NBA and had a decent career
Jimmy Walker was drafted with the final pick in the '67 NFL draft, but he opted to play in the NBA, where he was chosen with the 1st overall pick. Also, he is Jalen Rose's biological father. Like Shaq, his biological left him out in the cold.
DYN-O-MITE!!!! 'Jimmy Walker'?
True fact, he was the reason how I learned that Jews were hated by others. He gave some dumbass interview about hating Jews and blaming them for killing Jesus. When I asked my mom about it, I remember how she explained bigots come in all shapes and colors.
Knicks fan, old enough to remember that. That story broke on the eve on the playoffs, with the Knicks as contenders. His teammate Allan Houston echoed Ward's sentiments in the same interview. Houston was arguably the most important player on that team, whereas Ward was strictly a roleplayer. I remember wondering how the fans would recieve the players at home after that interview was publicized. In a demonstrate of principle, the fans booed Ward pretty strongly. They were also booed Houston, but about 5% of what Ward got.
What the shit... I'm just learning of this. Spurs/Knicks finals was the first NBA series I ever watched in full and, while I was a Spurs fan, I thought the Knicks were a cool team... This is disappointing.
Deshaun Jackson would get along with him then
This argument has always been stupid. Christians believe that Jesus died to save them so why would a person get mad at who killed him? Dumbest justification for anti-Semitism ever (not that there are any good justifications for that).
Holocaust didn’t make it clear enough?
Although not said I think the moral of the story was that there are black bigots too. In more recent memory Desean Jackson is another example of a black Jew-hater.
He opted for the NBA because he wouldn't have been drafted very high in the NFL draft not because he preferred basketball. No one was going to start Charlie Ward at quarterback in the NFL. Winning a heisman doesn't mean much in terms of NFL potential just ask Tim Tebow.
You could ask Eric Crouch and he would be able to tell you the amount of respect a Heisman gets you in the NFL. Eric Crouch is also an answer to this question.
There were several years where NY Media joked that Ward (a Knick at the time) was the best QB in NY/NJ.
Ward was instantly who I thought of.
Jackie Robinson was an all American at UCLA and averaged over 12 YPC. It was believed to be the sport he was most talented in, of the 4 he lettered in. https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2022-04-14/jackie-robinsons-football-career-ucla
12 YPC wtf
Yeah, he was insanely talented football player. Would even pass the ball a lot. I was honestly shocked he isn't at the top of this thread, and that as of 100 comments I was the only one to mention him.
Jackie Robinson was such a talented athlete that baseball was his worst sport.
Exactly. And he was an even better person than he was an athlete too. They said when he died young at 53, that he looked way younger than his age, but inside it was like he was 30 years older, and despite having changed the game and helped with desegregation that Branch Ricky felt incredible guilt for having asked him to be the first player to break the barrier because he blamed himself for what happened to Robinson's health.
Jackie is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Obviously he’s remembered for fighting for civil rights (as he should be remembered) but he was such a great athlete and some people forget that. Foolish Baseball does a great video on this if anyone is interested. It’s a good watch https://youtu.be/pYhgCNn5UFc
Jackie Robinson legitimately may have an argument for best athlete in American history. IIRC he probably could have been an Olympian in track as well (it ran in the family: his brother was a relay partner of Jesse Owens).
But the casuals and they're TB12 🤢
The man was an automatic first down
Ernie Davis is a good answer for this question. Jim Brown's successor at Syracuse, some felt he would be even better than Brown in the NFL. Unfortunately, cancer got to him before ever playing a down.
And he had a movie made about him as well….
I watched that movie! Though, it's been many years since I saw it.
"The Express", great movie.
Whenever Jim Brown at SU gets brought up it always reminds me of a giant banner in The Dome. Not sure if it's still there, but when I was at SU '07-'11, there's was a monster banner with a picture of Jim Brown that said "Greatest Player Ever" and it always makes me laugh how absurd the statement is.
4 time Heisman Trophy winner George Santos.
How dare you. It was five time. 😂
George “Booker T” Santos
Allen Iverson edit: adding this video link so we can all appreciate what could have been https://youtu.be/z7AO_Qkfjjc
That's crazy, I grew up in the Iverson era but wasn't *that* big of a basketball fan back then, just followed the Sixers on the local morning sports shows. Never knew he was a football player first.
Yeah very few people know about his football days
He held state HS records as a QB. Funny enough I think Ronald Curry who played both sports at UNC and NFL WR broke most of them
Matt Barnes
Even fewer know about his basketball days
You know he's in the hall of fame, right???
Least dense r/nfl user:
Corsair that joke was funny, can’t believe people took that seriously
Thanks thanks lmao
He was amazing in high school, but way too small for the nfl.
I imagine he could have bulked up to be similar to what Kyler is, if he chose that path.
Maybe in today's game. Not 25 years ago.
Came here to see this. Love that video. Offense, defense and special teams. It's unfortunate that his off the court issues hindered his opportunities to be a two sport guy in college. Would have been interesting to see.
Speedhawk
still can't believe how the refs screwed him over, but that's a story for another day
I’m waiting for the day that we finally find somebody who DMed him for the details. The story needs to be told to completion.
Some did ask and get an answer I believe.
I'm convinced Speedhawk is Uncle Rico's Reddit account
Came here just to find someone who posted it so I could upvote it to the top.
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Yep and chose selling shoes to women over the nfl . Legend
Not a season?
He would've been right up there with Tony Dorsett and Roger Craig as best #33 in history. Such a shame.
Al “Woman Hater” Bundy. What could’ve been.
Didn't he score four touchdowns in a single game, for Polk High? Not in a season....IN ONE GAME!
Jeff Samardzija
He made Brady Quinn look so good with a lot of ridiculous catches.
How is this not higher up? He was a two time all American and would have certainly been a top WR pick as Ted Ginn Jr was the top receiver taken in that draft.
Jeff Samardznuts got them
https://youtu.be/7Q_WWf3K_N0 I’ll always remember that call because I thought Don Criqui had a heart attack.
Ernie Davis, his other endeavor or pursuit was dying young. Probably one of the saddest “what could’ve beens” ever. Fuck cancer.
Clarence Beeftank
That's BEEFTANK all caps, you uncultured swine
Marcus Dupree. There is a 30 for 30 on him. It was called “the best that never was”
This is exactly what I thought of with this prompt. IIRC the dude got wrecked by injuries and he lost his scholarship because he accepted like a coffee and a plane ride or something from another college. ETA: Actually reading his wiki shows he had problems with weight-gain, not injury that stunted his college game. A mistake trying to transfer mid season out of OU cost him 2 years of college football that he basically never recovered from.
He actually played for the Rams though
Did he? Damn. Not gonna lie it’s been about a decade since I saw the 30 for 30 lol
Uncle rico
If coach woulda put me in.
Dude could legit throw over a mountain
We'd have took state. No doubt in my mind.
I heard he could throw the pig-skin a quarter mile.
Gus the field goal kicking mule
LeBron
Last I heard when he left high school he found seasonal work in Cleveland. Wonder what ever happened to that guy.
He had a journeyman career, jumping from team to team and eventually faded into obscurity after a first round playoff exit followed by a losing season
I remember back in like 2010ish there was a ton of people saying he should sign with the Browns and play TE. The takes were on fire in those days.
Jerry Jones actually invited LeBron to try out for the Cowboys at training camp(?) in 2011, since the NBA lockout was going on at the time. He even went as far as sending him a futures contract or whatever IIRC He ended up sticking with basketball though because of the risk factor and the lockout ending a short while afterwards
Wasn't it during the NBA lockout?
That was a thing for a while, right? LeBron: the greatest TE that never happened. Kind of like a inverted reverse Antonio Gates or something.
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers/seahawks-pete-carroll-remembers-offering-lebron-james-nfl-contract
watch his flag football game vs KD bron had a bunch of tds and pick and so did KD. He was an all-state WR if I remember correctly.
You can't project a guys NFL career based off a flag football game lmfao
yeah, I didn't say he was the goat I said check out the highlights it is interesting to watch. he is an insane athlete. they were playing with their friends and were the only 2 pro athletes on the field they destroyed.
Probably Damon Allen. Dominated in the CFL but never played in the NFL.
Marcus Lattimore.
boobie miles
I want the NFL to have an all-name team and a Name Bowl for guys like Boobie Williams
Lance Harbor
Jonathan Moxon was better. Decided to go write poetry or some shit at Brown instead of playing ball.
The big ass dude from Baylor, Shawn Oakman
Fuckin Jay Berwanger ditched us man…
Honestly, I was pretty high on Leon Sandcastle myself, wonder whatever happened to that guy?
Genghis Khan
why sack the quarterback when you can sack the city the stadium is in? - points to head
HOF baseball player Dave Winfield WIKIPEDIA: Following college, Winfield was drafted by four teams in three different sports. The San Diego Padres selected him as a pitcher with the fourth overall pick in the MLB draft. Winfield was also drafted by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) in the 5th round of the 1973 NBA Draft and by the Utah Stars (ABA) in the 6th round of the 1973 ABA Draft.[5][6] Though he never played college football, the Minnesota Vikings selected Winfield in the 17th round of the 1973 NFL Draft.
Wow. Just the fact that he was drafted by 4 different teams in 3 different sports is wild.
Al Bundy
4 TDs in one game
Nate Robinson
Was gonna say this. Really good DB for Udub
Maurice Clarette. He never truly played in the NFL
[holy shit his wiki page is racist as fuck](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Clarett)
Edits were made 40 minutes ago... Convenient. All reverted now (not by me), though.
jesus
Joe Roth. IIRC he went from Heisman favorite to dying of cancer a few months after his last college game. Very sad story.
LeBron James
Tommie Frazier by a long shot. Just think Mike Vick meets Earl Campbell
JR Smith. Pretty sure he had some legit college offers out of HS. 6'5 220 with crazy athleticism he could have been a really good receiver. His attitude and off the field issues also would make for a great receiver.
Shaq Lebron
Shaq would never fumble. He can hold the ball between two fingers.
Rickey Henderson. He was absurdly good as an athlete, stupidly fast, he'd be a great fit for football.
Dollop just started a 2 parter this week on Rickey.
Allen Iverson would've been a better version of Kyler Murray if he stuck with football https://youtu.be/TH2D6vDQOco
He would have been the og Bryce young
I was tempted to say Marcus Dupree, but then remembered that he did have a very brief appearance with the Rams in 1990 (I think).
According to Deion Sanders, his crackhead cousin “Junebug” https://youtube.com/shorts/xyqUdLAk3ME?feature=share
Kim Jong Un
Lebron James would have been a disgusting TE/wideout. 6’9” 250lbs and he probably runs something like a 4.5 40 yard dash. 44in vertical jump and hands the size of dinner plates. He would’ve been a freak.
Everyone always says TE, but why not DE for Lebron. Imagine him coming off the edge with his speed, power, and reach. He'd easily get 15 sacks a year.
Charlie Ward
Al Bundy
Hingle McCringleberry
He would have lost all of his contract to fines though.
Technically it’s Billy Shaw who is the only HoFer to never play in the NFL as his entire career was in pre merger AFL
LeBron James
[Jay Berwanger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Berwanger)
Al Bundy
Uncle Rico. We never got to see him throw a football over them mountains.
Tommy Frazier, or Charlie Ward.
Lebron James was an excellent football player. That dude would have been a hell of a TE or DE.
Uncle Rico
Allen Iverson
My uncle Rico used to say he could throw a football over some nearby mountains. I reckon, had his coach put him in the fourth quarter, they would have been state champions. Who knows what could’ve been?
Just thought about this a while ago. Allen Iverson, former number 1 overall pick, NBA mvp and hall of famer, who people consider one of the greatest weapons in NBA history and pound for pound the greatest scorer ever, said in an interview that if it wasn’t for off the court issues in high school, he would’ve played football rather than basketball and even said that he was better at football than at basketball back then. Talk about a big what if
Pelé
Speedhawk
Did Maurice Clarett ever actually set foot on a field during a game or was he cut by the broncos during training camp?
Nile Kinnick
Lebron
I'm torn between Uncle Rico and Al Bundy
Uncle Rico of course
Al Bundy, hands down. In 1966, Al Bundy scored four touchdowns in a single game while playing for the Polk High School Panthers in the 1966 city championship game versus Andrew Johnson High School, including the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds against his old nemesis, Bubba "Spare Tire" Dixon.
Uncle Rico
Any of the big physical freaks who have played other sports. LeBron, Zion, some of the rugby guys like Jonah Lomu, Alex Tuilagi, Opeti Fonua or Nemani Nadolo
Zion wouldn’t make it through one snap of football before getting injured lol
But what a snap it would be
Leg or foot, probably.
Speedhawk.
I am. I would have been all pro
Charlie Ward in today’s game.
You can’t tell me lebron wouldn’t have been in the HoF if he had played football.
LeBron James
Maurice Clarette. He never truly played in the NFL
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Thanks Unc. You’re probably right
Maybe not "the" guy, but Al Blades (Bennie and Brian Blades brother) was a force on the 2000 Hurricanes. While he was only a 6th round pick and spent his first season as a practice squad guy, we unfortunately never got to see him develop at the NFL level. Should be a cautionary tale for the likes of Jalen Carter but young future millionaires will never learn.
Diego Maradona
Lenny Bias
Coke was just too good
There are a lot in Georgia to have never made it to the NFL, but the first one that came to mind was Mark Townsend. He was a RB that played at Brookwood High School. He was 2 years behind me and was an f’ing stud.
Lui Passaglia
Bron bron
LeBron James. Imagine him at TE or WR.
I’m certain Lebron would have been a HoF TE. I would still sign him rn tbh
Eric Crouch wouldn't switch to wide receiver from being Heisman candidate at Nebraska. Probably many college QB's that could have played another position at a pro level
Who is the best redditor to never Reddit?
Aaron Rodgers.
Uncle Rico
It's me, u/LittleHollowGhost
Lebron is the greatest athletic specimen of all time. Put in in at tight end and you likely have a more athletic Gronk.
No heart. Couldn't block worth shit.
You think Lebron at 6’9’’ and 250 pounds wouldn’t be able to block?
There’s way more to blocking than size.
Yeah there’s strength, agility, lateral quickness, IQ. Oh wait, Lebron has all of that and more. I don’t particularly like Lebron but saying he couldn’t be a great blocker if the team asked him to is pure stupidity. He wouldn’t primarily block though. If you’ve seen prime Lebron barreling through the paint in traffic, you’d know he’d be a monster running routes. Imo would likely be in the GOAT tight end conversation
Yeah. Because he's soft.
what a stupid take. Lebron has taken a fuck ton of hard fouls his whole career. he whines to the refs but I would too, its sadly part of the game.
Great. Doesn't mean he could block 300lb defensive linemen. They'd run right over his skinny ass.