Mid-majors producing NFL players

By: Ben Garbarek

Posted: 9/11/07

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 players from little schools have hit it big in the NFL in the past; i.e. Jerry Rice and Walter Payton just to name a few; it seems to be happening more and more each year.

Two of the players many are predicting big seasons for also came from smaller or what are usually considered less prestigious programs. Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler worked his way into the starting role at quarterback and seems to be the guy to finally carry the torch left by Hall of Famer John Elway.

With a talented team around him, Cutler may make others forget he played at Vanderbilt, a smaller program in the SEC.

Another potential emerging star is Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson. I'll cut straight to the point: he went to Northern Colorado.

And who knows, this year's surprise player could turn out to be our own Ryne Robinson. Robinson became one of the top return men in the nation during his tenure at Miami and is poised to do the same in Carolina.

Now this doesn't mean great players don't come from elite programs, they do. However with teams like Appalachian State and Boise State breaking the small-school barrier and small program products consistently making a name for themselves in the NFL, don't be surprised to see a little more attention given to the little guys.