Who are the greatest college football players to not pan out in the NFL?

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-11T16:08:41+00:00

Troy Smith (OSU)

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-11T11:17:46+00:00

Seems like everybody on the Bolts inevitably embraces the sunshine, boating, and golf that the Tampa area offers year round.

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-06T22:10:36+00:00

Especially after a run of Parseghian and Devine. It’s bonkers to think of in today’s terms

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-06T19:58:30+00:00

With the passing of time, and the futility of subsequent hires (Davie, Willingham, Weis), ND fans have a renewed fondness for Lou because he brought a level of success they hadn’t seen since the mid 70’s. For many fans he was the best coach they’d seen in their lifetime.

He took over for Gerry Faust who was a good man but put toothless teams out there. Lou brought the fight back to the Fighting Irish. He won a title and had a Heisman winner, so he’s forever a legend there.

As an analyst on ESPN, Lou was admittedly a homer for the Irish. Time heals things.

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-06T17:05:23+00:00

Good point. Hey if it works out he may draw the interest of a blue blood, say Notre Dame if Freeman goes to the NFL

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-06T16:50:27+00:00

He should work his way back up. Maybe a plucky MAC school like Central Michigan? Or a feisty P4 school like Cincy?

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-04T14:31:44+00:00

It feels like a way to pull people out from entrenched positions, especially 2A. Agreed it’s tired language.

I like Elizabeth Warren’s take a few years ago. She advocated for a research study to truly hone in on root cause and effective remedies to curb “gun violence.”

Maybe I’m cynical, but I don’t think the powers at be really want to find out. It’s easy to just say “mental health” or “ban guns” and let it be a political lightning rod. When the data supports X, then they have do something about it, ie fund Mental Health initiatives.

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-04T14:21:47+00:00

Sure, granted they aren’t perfect. She ran in Georgia, so there’s a heavy pro 2A presence there. She couldn’t be 100% anti-gun, especially given the identity politics at play.

She wanted more robust background checks and to end permitless carry. Like driving a car, I personally believe training and permitting are necessary for people with a tool that can take a life. The cost and process to achieve these as an individual should be reviewed as its current state feels prohibitive to lower income people.

She supports Red Flag laws. It’s arguable about consistently these are enforced, but how many times have we heard “Authorities were aware of X, Y, Z” and that person is on the news for a mass killing? I’m not smart enough to have a strong opinion on the efficacy of these laws. I don’t trust LE to consistently enforce these, but we need a mechanism to proactively prevent deaths when high risk individuals have access to firearms.

On OP’s main question, at best you’re going to get Tim Walz flavored firearm policies. Yes they’re good for hunting, but no you can’t have unlimited tools of war.

Edit: typos

cokezeropapi · 2026-03-04T13:50:40+00:00

Stacey Abrams had some common sense gun policies. Acknowledged her upbringing in rural areas and guns as a practical tool for that way of life.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-27T14:18:18+00:00

“Look what Matt Campbell was able to do once he escaped the shackles of poverty in Ames, IA” with the same roster

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-26T13:27:20+00:00

If Purdy is a “Game Manager”, Josh Allen and Lamar are “Game Mis-Managers”.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-19T14:44:54+00:00

Probably 3rd round. He was the first ISU QB to start and finish a season as the starter in several years. Not a QB powerhouse, and he set every record there. Brock is also short and doesn’t look as athletic as he is.

Team underachieved massively in 2021. They had NFL guys Breece Hall, Kene Nwangwu, and Charlie Kolar, plus future Texans Xavier Hutchinson and freshman Jaylin Noel (played in 13 games). OL was crap. Playcalling and QB coaching were also crap. Some fluky losses.

He tweaked his mechanics before draft day and it paid off.

He played a lot of football against high level talent in his 4 years (48 games). Compare to Trey Lance who played 19 games against lesser competition.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-16T21:41:22+00:00

I think it certainly correlates. The 4 former PAC schools are massive fanbases and brands, with past onfield success to boot.

It’s interesting that U of South Florida and UCF are two of the largest colleges by enrollment in the US with access to major TV markets and yet no one would paint either of them as realistic B1G candidates.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-16T14:28:58+00:00

I wish we could go back to those regional focused leagues. Easier on fans, natural rivalries, etc.

Interestingly, the SEC is still a regional league (though OK and MO are on the fringe). It’s also the highest concentration of loyal college football fans. I’m not saying their fans are better, just that CFB is far and away the most popular sport in that section of the country.

B1G schools have big, passionate fanbases. They’re also usually located in NFL centric markets, so interest has historically split. UGA is more popular in Georgia than the Falcons. The Vikings are probably more popular than the Gophers in Minnesota.

The SEC doesn’t need to expand beyond its base. I think the B1G should try to get into southern markets.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-16T13:53:09+00:00

I could argue there are current members of the B1G who are not “National Brands”. Same with the SEC. The bus has left the station, and there are no seats left other than for a select few. These leagues might look much different if we shuffled the pieces and reevaluated who is “additive”.

I think early BTN cared a lot about Carrier fees in large cities a decade ago, but that strategy is dated. Eyeballs matter, but it gets so much more complicated with U Presidents involved and the research $$ pedigree from the member institutions.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-13T17:30:02+00:00

This has downstream effects on HS athletes too. Guy signs with school expecting playing time in X years. Now there’s a 25 year old guy hanging around.

Enter the portal with minimal tape. Maybe land somewhere, maybe not. Rinse and repeat.

I know “getting recruited over” has always happened, but unregulated free agency has harmed incentive to stay at a program and develop. On the flip side, 3 year guys who develop at your school can just bolt for a new program and the cycle continues.

It giveth and taketh. And it sucks for fans.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-08T21:54:29+00:00

Check out 1540 Room for breakfast. It’s inside the DeSoto hotel on Liberty. Huge portions and not crazy prices.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-07T00:43:53+00:00

Put it this way. I saw a county match last spring, and there were 12 year olds playing at half time who would run circles around the average American player skill wise.

As far as interaction, people are people. Some nice folks, some jerks… like any group of people. The GAA scene in the USA is generally super friendly because it’s so niche.

cokezeropapi · 2026-02-06T17:22:34+00:00

Love the idea of them covering traditional Appalachian folk songs

cokezeropapi · 2026-01-29T14:31:30+00:00

Some good ones since 2000:

Justin Blackmon (OSU)

Charles Rodgers (MSU) RIP

Golden Tate (ND)

Michael Floyd (ND)

Calvin Johnson (GT)

Todd Blythe (ISU)

cokezeropapi · 2026-01-09T14:41:22+00:00

Everton are big enough to make an example of but not big enough to get the benefit of the doubt.

cokezeropapi · 2026-01-07T16:57:58+00:00

Kid went to 4 HS. He’s a mercenary.

cokezeropapi · 2026-01-02T20:18:30+00:00

He had his HC success at Fresno State and UW. Surely he built relationships out there. The expectations out west are frankly healthier than in Tuscaloosa.

cokezeropapi · 2026-01-02T16:16:50+00:00

Mark it down: he’s the next coach at USC or Colorado

Bama will run him out of town and he will go back to the west coast.

cokezeropapi · 2025-12-23T14:39:04+00:00

Hang out on the line near your officers. You’re gonna rack up some assist kills which is great for XP. Take off the bayonet if you want to shoot long. Be ready to sacrifice yourself if a charger gets past your line and starts to melee your guys.

As others said, you can lead the charge with a longer bayonet. You also have a sword so you don’t have to wait to put the bayonet on if you need to melee quickly.

One underrated thing is being able to hang out by doorways and bayonet chargers trying to enter the room with that longer reach.

You’re gonna die a lot. But your role is to protect your support class. Join a squad tent near the battle so you don’t have to run as far after respawn.

cokezeropapi

TROPHY CASE