nfl players who were small in high school

All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of the National Football League. Jaguars 2023 NFL Draft concludes with 13 players chosen, . Leno, in fact, is probably a better left tackle than the much . -- Chris Low. He became the epitome of a "clutch" receiver. However, South Dakota State's running backs coach at the time, John Johnson, had heard of Strong because he also is from Arkansas. "It was a game that I was just thinking like, 'Yeah, this is that game that put me on,'" he said. We decided to go back and look at how all 32 were perceived as high school recruits. "I knew when I first saw him that if there was anything he wanted to do, he could. But most people forget to imagine how small this receiver really is. This includes a man who was part of one of the greatest one-two punches in the history of the NBA and two of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Anything. The loss ended a 7-3 campaign for McCook's Rams, who missed the Division II playoffs for the first time in four years. So he always preached to me as an athlete, but he wanted to make sure that my academics were good as well. College football reporters' NFL draft takeaways, Roger Federer, Dwyane Wade and more shine on the Met Gala's red carpet, Fantasy football rankings for 2023 season, 10 fantasy football breakout players for 2023, 'It's going to be epic': Stephen Curry and LeBron James face off -- again, Ranking the fights at UFC 288: Why Henry Cejudo's return tops the list, Truex Jr. snaps 54-race Cup Series winless streak, Liverpool, Tottenham put on a show as Klopp goes overboard, Bundesliga title twists, Haaland scores No. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. By his sophomore year, Leatherwood was a starter. But because he wasn't a huge recruit out of high school, he and his father had to do the legwork themselves. Brady instead stuck it out and eventually won the starting job, and just about every decision he has made since then has worked out rather well for him. He has been given the nickname "The Hitman" by fellow teammates and coaches, because of his ridiculously hard hits on the field. In that game, he had 138 yards rushing on 13 carries with two touchdowns in three quarters of football. In 2020, he was voted a second-team all-SEC selection by the league's coaches. He also put up 19 reps on the bench press, an impressive number for a wideout. From Anamoose, North Dakota, Volson is, like Watson, an almost prototypical late-bloomer story. A native of the state of Washington, Joe Tryon initially committed to Washington State in August 2016. It's a drive that rose from the pain of losing his father at age 12 and watching his mother fight through multiple medical ailments in the years that followed her husband's death. 2017 position ranking:No. Of course, because of these physical advantages, Watson probably hasn't been tested much when it comes to things like route precision and his ability to catch contested balls. . Juston Lewis. Kraft sliced more than a 10th of a second off his 40-yard dash (from 4.69 to 4.5), and added 2 inches to his vertical jump (36.5) and five pounds to his body. At such a small height, many critics doubted he could defend the average height of 6'2" for receivers in the NFL. He just needed someone to take him from A to Z.". Jackson is already a Pro Bowler, and he is just getting started. 2018 position ranking: No. His dad and former position coach, Luther Elliss, described it as a "flash in the pan of a college career" that included overcoming a torn ACL and MCL in 2019. After sorting through dozens of offers, Sewell whittled his choices down to four: Alabama, Oregon, USC and Utah. He earned a scholarship after making the Wisconsin roster and Watt is now a football star who will be noticed just about anywhere he goes. The closest he had come to playing on the offensive line to that point was taking a few snaps at tight end in high school. 1 running back. Smith holds all sorts of records and awards for his receiving/punt and kick returning abilities. With the explosion of websites, podcasts and analysis of the NFL draft, it can be hard to go unnoticed if you're a Power 5 player with some potential. "My motor is always running because I don't know how else to do it but work," Kraft said shortly before he returned to the South Dakota State lineup this past midseason. He was so low on the depth chart at Michigan at one point that he considered transferring. Rounds 2-3. 50, Man United in pole position for top four, but can't take their eyes off Liverpool, The VAR Review: Red cards for Jota, Skipp; Richarlison penalty claim, Zags, Vols have gained spots in men's WTE Top 25, Titans quarterback Will Levis opens up about emotional draft day, After hoopla of going No. The Eagles realized this small rookie's talent and set him up for the starting role. NFL scouts have taken notice of both, but also see work to be done in his mechanics, with a tendency to run loose routes and fall into bad habits of too-high blocking technique. Take a look at some of the best photos of Aaron Rodgers from throughout the years! This past season, Miller had 40 solo tackles, two sacks and four forced fumbles en route to being named SWAC Defensive Player of the Year. Kiper's grades | McShay's best picks Rivals rating: 2 stars, not in Rivals 250. Chase put up modest numbers as a true freshman before emerging as a star in 2019 with 84 catches for 1,780 yards and 20 TDs to help LSU win a national title. Listed at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, Turner proved to be a steal for the Cougars. "Here I was in the Tennessee weight room, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He has been a Carolina Panther since the start of his career in 2001. Former Idaho defensive tackle Noah Elliss is poised to follow his father's footsteps to the NFL, and he's nearing his lifelong dream despite having played only 11 collegiate games. Look at these schools that were interested in him." Bagent hails from Martinsburg, a town of less than 20,000 in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, 10 miles from the Shepherd campus. You see him walking around with the other offensive linemen, he fits." A month later, he picked the Hokies and stuck with that commitment even after several other Power Five offers came in. Opponents had to commit to stopping the run -- NDSU would just keep hammering teams with the ground game until they did so -- which meant Watson was generally left to beat overmatched cornerbacks and distracted safeties. And a handful of those players have North Texas ties, whether they played here in high school or . There were 19 players each from Houston (TX) and Miami (FL) high schools on Kickoff Weekend rosters, tied for the most of any city. Now a mini sensation, Sproles started to get the attention of every team in the NFL. Life is funny, sometimes. Caleb Farley was a high school quarterback who committed to Virginia Tech as a wide receiver. That's an average of 20.4 yards per catch and 8.0 yards per carry; throw in a 26.4-yard kick return average, and you've got a player who was plainly too explosive for college football's second subdivision. Lott had recruited Williams out of prep school when he was on staff at Johnson C. Smith University, but didn't get the chance to start coaching him until he was hired at Fayetteville late last spring. Now teams are designing game plans just to stop him. His career started in 1999, when the Buffalo Bills drafted Winfield in the first round of the NFL Draft. Gregory Rousseau played all over the field during his high school career and was listed as an athlete by Rivals. Once he established himself as a dynamic pass-catcher, he earned a four-star ranking from Rivals and was rated as the ninth-best player in the state of Pennsylvania and the 12th-best tight end in the nation. DALLAS For three nights, hundreds of college players dreams of making it to the NFL came true. College football reporters' NFL draft takeaways, Roger Federer, Dwyane Wade and more shine on the Met Gala's red carpet, Fantasy football rankings for 2023 season, 10 fantasy football breakout players for 2023, 'It's going to be epic': Stephen Curry and LeBron James face off -- again, Ranking the fights at UFC 288: Why Henry Cejudo's return tops the list, Truex Jr. snaps 54-race Cup Series winless streak, Liverpool, Tottenham put on a show as Klopp goes overboard, Bundesliga title twists, Haaland scores No. An immediate star, Holliday burned defenders. Anudike-Uzomah, who . He did acknowledge that he likely would be drafted higher had he played somewhere other than Princeton. Most people like cheering for the underdog. He picked Northwestern over offers from schools like Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Virginia and Virginia Tech. All he did was throw for 4,500 yards and 41 TDs while leading the Crimson Tide to a national title. You may not know that Brady's difficulties go all the way back to his high school days. All the smallest football players in the league right now prove how much can be accomplished with quickness, skill, and drive. The old adage in sports is that you cannot teach speed. However, he didn . XFL semifinals: Defenders roll Sea Dragons, set up title showdown with Renegades. 12 wide receiver. 31 overall prospect in the nation. Don't mistake FCS for little brother football, at least not in the Dakotas, where Kraft and the Jacks do battle with the neighboring North Dakota State Bison. There were then whispers that the Dallas Cowboys did not see him as a future franchise quarterback when he was on the team's roster. "And yet there's other kids at Alabama, Georgia, that aren't even getting looked at -- three, four stars. And he was never even the starter. The 2023 NFL Draft has arrived! He thrived late in close games, leading his team on a number of two-minute drives, late comebacks and, in 2021, a pair of last-second playoff wins. The No. "As far as effort-wise, as far as character-wise, teaching you things to say, how to carry myself, as far as how to be a pro on and off the field. Stokes' other offers included Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and West Virginia. He has speed and moves like no one else in the NFL. Friday night high school football games are an American tradition. For Cordell Volson, a spectacular Bison lineman, it's a similar story. Michigan football had the second-most players (9) drafted in the 2023 NFL draft. 2018 position ranking: No. Before they were selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday night, the 32 players who heard their name . Those are the things that he kind of taught me.". He generated interest from larger schools that could have provided a greater platform to test his skills, but Williams decided he didn't need that. Watson was, like so many FCS stars, a late bloomer. At the age of 31, Smith is still one of the best receivers in the game today. He would not go unnoticed for long while there and the Detroit Pistons selected Rodman in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft. According to CBS Sports' prospect rankings for the 2023 NFL Draft, these are the nine players ranked inside the top 32 who were ranked lower than four stars coming out of high school by the . Strange made that clear last summer when he walked into Wright's office and told him, "I made a commitment to y'all, and that's not going to change.". A 2 time Pro Bowler, defensive player of the year, and Superbowl champion, Sanders has many accolades to prove his success in the NFL. Even though he has had a very large number of injuries, Sanders has still managed to succeed. Pierre Strong Jr., a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, didn't have any in-state scholarship offers coming out of high school despite a prolific career, which led him to believe that if he couldn't get an offer in-state, he certainly wouldn't get one out of state. "There wasn't really a moment that it clicked for me at the Senior Bowl or anything like that. He was a three-year starter at UH who finished his career with 114 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. That is now, many years later, humorous in that Aaron Rodgers stands at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, and he is widely regarded as one of the best athletes to play the QB position. He still recorded 727 all-purpose offensive yards. 36 offensive guard. They will outrun, jump over, and maybe even beat down the larger opponents. In the sixth round of the 2010 Draft, the Texans drafted this speed demon as a kick/punt returner. He has stayed with the Colts ever since. Penei Sewell was the top player from the state of Utah in his recruiting class and ranked as the fifth-best tackle in the country. . "If you can play, they'll find you," said Luther Elliss, who spent nine seasons with the Detroit Lions and five seasons as an assistant coach at Idaho. Jayson Oweh was a basketball player for the early parts of high school. Najee Harris had one of the more infamous recruitments in recent memory. Paul George put up impressive numbers during his high school career and he won multiple awards for his performances on the court. 2017 position ranking: No. A five-star recruit in the 2017 class, Harris committed to Alabama as a high school sophomore. "No one has ever given me anything or honestly expected much from me because of where I've come from. Farley was injured early in his VT career and eventually switched to defensive back. He combined for 42 tackles in his first two seasons. He has over 5,000 kick return yards, 900 rushing yards, 900 receiving yards, and 1,000 punt return yards through a four season career. In 2008, Rice was drafted by . In 2005 he led every receiver in the league in every major receiving category. Poor Tony Romo has not been able to land respect since even his high school days. In 2008, Rice was drafted by the Ravens. Tyson Bagent's 24-yard TD pass to Josh Gontarek with 1.9 seconds left in the game lifts Shepherd to a 38-34 win over Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA D2 playoffs. "[Insert player] was only a two-star . The NFL released its initial 53-man roster of 20 former Iowa high school football players. As a rookie he recorded 1,448 all-purpose yards working as a receiver and punt returner. "I was really surprised that [West Virginia] didn't offer him," McCook continued. In 2006, he only played 4 games. Surtain ended up starting 38 games for the Crimson Tide and became one of the top corners in the nation. Aaron Rodgers, Pleasant Valley (Chico, Calif.) Green Bay Packers. He found this with the New York Jets. The NFL has 1,696 active players, according to the league. Smith is a nine year veteran that still has a lot of gas left in his tank. I believe we will hear this name in the near future as the newest NFL success. -- Heather Dinich, Virtually any North Dakota State draft prospect, especially on offense, has to be viewed through a very specific lens. As a sophomore in 2019, Tryon put up 12.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. Wes Welker is a household name when speaking of clutch wide receivers. Our team of college football reporters -- Chris Low, Heather Dinich, Bill Connelly, Harry Lyles Jr. and Kyle Bonagura -- share the stories of some small school draft prospects who, through hard work, determination and resolve, are bucking the odds in taking an unconventional path to the draft. Slater quickly moved into the starting lineup for the Wildcats and ended up starting 37 games in his career 26 at right tackle and 11 at left tackle. Check out the highlights from South Dakota State's tight end Tucker Kraft. This means that out of the approximately 1.2 million high school football players in the United States, only 0.02% to 0.025% make it to the NFL. Pro-Football-Reference.com Blog and Articles; We're Social.for Statheads. He owned every mistake that happened, from an interception to a sack to a mishandled snap, and I can tell you, he didn't create any of those mistakes. Warner won the Most Valuable Player award for Super Bowl XXXIV. In his career so far, he has 740 tackles, 32 turnovers, 2 defensive touchdowns, 71 deflected passes, and even a few blocked field goals. Volson played on both the right and left sides and logged time at both tackle and guard. A lanky cornerback known for his speed, Eric Stokes was recruited at a variety of positions. That, along with his talent and his tenacious play on the defensive side of the basketball, helped Pippen to evolve into a player who is often under-appreciated because he played alongside Michael Jordan. 30 Greatest Small School Players in NFL History. The big schools' loss was Shepherd's -- and now, perhaps, the NFL's -- gain. But I never got a sniff from them, not even as a preferred walk-on.". He accumulated 1,765 all purpose offensive yards, and 16 offensive touchdowns. He can get low and run over defenders. But the Bulldogs saw him as a defensive back and were able to land the signature of the Georgia state champion track star in February 2017. The four-star, top 100 prospect out of New Orleans reeled in dozens of offers before narrowing his choices down to LSU and Auburn. He's a wide receiver in a tight end's body.". 6 wide receiver. 1 . Jimmy Graham is a unique instance of an elite athlete not being noticed in high school because nobody could have guessed, at the time, that he would develop into the best tight end in the NFL. 26 running back. Winfield became well known for his bone crushing tackles on the field. ", "Of course, he knows the ins and outs of pro football if you talk about the NFL, you talk about college football, he was a high guy at all levels," Miller said. A life philosophy forged from playing nine-man high school football in Timberlake, South Dakota, population 509, and spending every Friday night playing quarterback, running back, linebacker and punter. "He can be overpowering because of his size, but also because of his speed. While he initially committed to Arkansas State after deciding to leave Missouri, Deion Sanders convinced him to go to Jackson State, where he was one of the leaders of a defense that allowed just 13.5 points per game in 2022. 1063 player of his class. He first verbally committed to Tennessee in August of 2017, but he backed away after Butch Jones was fired. He settled on Fresno State, where he began his ascent toward a professional playing career that should make him a wealthy man for the rest of his life. Get better soon, Jordy. Either of those QBs could, at one point or another after high school, have given up on the game of football because they were not viewed to be elite players. He was even qualified for the 2007 World Championship Athletics competition for sprinting, but he decided not to go. It didn't matter that he was small, because no one could catch him. He ended his career as one of the most celebrated players ever for a celebrated small-school program. "Tyson, to me, is a once-in-a-lifetime guy." And how did he stay there for four seasons, 17,034 yards, 159 touchdowns and 44 wins? The following browsers are supported: Chrome, Edge (v80 and later), Firefox and Safari. Overall, we saw 11 five-star prospects get drafted in the first round. So what the heck is the catch here? college players are selected. Winfield became apt at creating turnovers and bringing pressure to the quarterback. ET on ESPN, ABC and the ESPN App). And he still accomplishes the same feats today, six years later. A quick look at this year's NFL Pro Bowl roster is telling. He played 188 NFL games, all with the Cincinnati Bengals, and made two Pro Bowls (1987, 1988) and two All-Pro teams (1987, 1988). The NFL is a big man's league. In his final season at South Dakota State, Strong rushed for 1,686 yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 7.0 yards per carry. Watson quickly became both too big and too fast for anyone trying to guard him at the FCS level, and his stats bear this out: Over parts of four seasons in Fargo, he caught 105 passes for 2,140 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed a Deebo Samuel-esque 49 times for 392 yards and two more scores. FBS schools like Air Force, Boise State and Northern Illinois all gave Lance a look as a quarterback, but many Power Five programs wanted Lance to switch positions. "He fits. "I kind of had to almost keep track of what I was eating to keep myself in shape every day," he said. He rarely misses tackles. Trevor Lawrence lived up to the hype. Memo to current and future college football coaches: This Matthews family has a history of churning out talented players. But what really impressed were his perfect blend of rushing, receiving, and kick-return yards. The league's top prospects stepped into the NFL Photo studio for Draft portraits. While the percepti. But only one town Rock Hill, South Carolina calls itself "Football City." That's because the city of 75,000 . XFL semifinals: Defenders roll Sea Dragons, set up title showdown with Renegades. Some of the entries were high-profile high . The school was real and so was Green's talent, and he became one of the best defensive players to ever play for the Washington Redskins and also an ageless wonder who remained a superstar late into his career. ", Strong had the NFL combine he knew he needed, with his 4.37 time in the 40-yard dash standing out as the best among his position group. The player on my list with the most experience in the NFL is Vikings Cornerback Antoine Winfield. M'Pemba was one of the nation's premier athletes in the class of 2023 and played multiple positions in high school, but projects as an edge . That's not the only commitment Strange has made to Chattanooga. In 2007, he moved up to the second string running back. The big schools' loss was Shepherd's -- and now, perhaps, the NFL's -- gain. College scouts and coaches were left wanting more for whatever reasons, though, and George was ignored by the top programs in the NCAA. While there might have been a time when Strange felt spurned by some of the college football powerhouses, he never felt the urge to leave Chattanooga for a chance to play in the SEC, ACC or anywhere else. Despite setting a single-season school record for total yards in 2001 (2,466 total . 212 pounds isn't that small for a running back. G. Newman Lowrance/G. In fact, Strange said the only FBS schools to offer him a scholarship were Air Force and Army. He has played in four Pro Bowls and has nearly 8,500 career receiving yards. In 2009, he started at his role of Strong Safety for all 16 games of the season. Starks was not recruited to play following high school and he was only on the taxi squad a group of backups who replaced starters who are either injured or suspended at Rogers State College. In his final season at Princeton, Iosivas had 66 catches for 943 yards and seven touchdowns. Jordy Nelson was a productive high school quarterback athletic enough to excel at other sports. NFL Coaches. See all 259 picks | Team by team Owens would make plenty of scouts and coaches look rather silly, as he went on to be one of the greatest wide receivers in the history of pro football; even if he was a pain in the neck for coaching staffs and teammates. After a four-year career at UM, Paye ended up as a first-round pick in the 2021 draft. Lance became the starter as a redshirt freshman and had a remarkable season: 2,786 passing yards, 1,100 rushing yards and 42 total touchdowns. Every NFL team passed on Owens several times, as he fell to the third round before the San Francisco 49ers took a flier on him. He thus ended up at Northern Iowa, he became a NFL castoff, he worked stocking shelves as he attempted to keep his dreams alive in the Arena Football League, and he ultimately shocked the football world by leading both the St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals to Super Bowl appearances. The Philadelphia Phillies did not let Howard get past the club in the 2001 draft and Howard repaid the team with multiple noteworthy years, including one that saw Howard win the National League Most Valuable Player award. He is the best little man in the game today. Houston even uses him as a tight end every now and again during games. Fields was brilliant in his two seasons in Columbus, throwing for 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns with two top 10 Heisman finishes. By early 2016, Jones was bumped up to a four-star grade by Rivals and began to attract attention from other schools. Though still a young player at 29, he can still make up for those missed years. Strange is currently No. While he was recruited by the University of Michigan, Brady was hardly seen as being an elite quarterback worth starting right out of the gates. 10 and No. Fantasy women's basketball: Why to focus on guards early in your draft, Miami Heat celebrate Florida Panthers while trolling Boston Bruins and Milwaukee Bucks, Transfer Talk: Manchester United see Lautaro Martinez as a striker option, Kiper's updated Big Board for the 2022 NFL draft: Ranking the best prospects at every position, Seven-round NFL mock draft: Reid's predictions for all 262 picks, 'I see a player who deserves to be drafted': Aqeel Glass' chance to become an HBCU trendsetter, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. His upside is immense, as are his effort levels, with ESPN's Jordan Reid projecting him to be picked near the top of the second round in his latest mock draft and Todd McShay having him going toward the end of the first round. Nelson made the team as a walk on and he was eventually moved to wide receiver. He opted out of the 2020 season, so he finished his college career with 191 tackles and 18 tackles for loss in just two seasons. Thinking about giving up on a personal or professional dream? The 2023 NFL Draft is considered deep at the tight end position, and Kraft is among the Day 2 sleepers that could emerge as quality starters in the NFL . But, every once in a while a few small guys will come into the NFL and wreak a little havoc. He had the most receptions (103), receiving yards (1,563), and receiving touchdowns (12). Scottie Pippen was undersized and downright scrawny when he walked onto the Central Arkansas University basketball team. But when UGA fired Mark Richt, Smith opened up his recruitment. Strong said he felt that his NFL dreams came within reach once the Jackrabbits played Colorado State last season. Davis committed to Kentucky in March of 2016 but did not waver with his commitment after receiving a host of other Power Five offers later that year. In 2009, the Chargers had him rushing beside Tomlinson as the starter. The famous quote that has been associated with the National Hockey Leaguer was made by Mark Forster, who coached Dan Girardi when Girardi played for the Welland Cougars: The scouts just messed up when it came to Dan. Girardi was a solid young player and he won the Memorial Cup as a member of the London Knights. In all, he threw for 10,098 yards and 90 touchdowns as a college QB. "We ate decently too. ", He just needed a chance. "I would tell [my trainers], 'Man, I'm from a smaller school, a 4.4 is not good enough,'" Strong said. But he took it for everybody.". Graham was initially a basketball player and he played that sport while at the University of Miami. In the end, he stuck with his Alabama commitment. Virginia Tech was the second school to offer him a scholarship, doing so just a day after Wake Forest. 2 weakside defensive end. Fate would be kind to Pippen during his college days, as he went through a growth spurt that gained him roughly seven inches in height. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. It's just a chip on my back mentality." Once in Fargo, he blossomed. When the season began, he immediately made up for the lost time, returning an interception 32 yards for a touchdown in the season opener. He completed 69% of his career passes -- he's not an all-or-nothing passer.
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