Answering Saturday Blitz on Surprise NFL Busts

Saturday Blitz asked twitter to list the most surprising “college football stars” who didn’t make it in the NFL

So it’s with a heavy heart that Badger of Honor looks at former Wisconsin Badger football stars to answer Saturday Blitz’ question.  We’ll look at some of the biggest names who struggled to make it in the NFL.

The Saturday Blitz question here asks you to assess Wisconsin Badger stars, so that’s the starting point.  Namely, that they have to have starred at Wisconsin.

The next piece is the surprise element to the player failing to make the NFL grade.

That pushes me towards higher draft picks.  It’s hard to really be shocked that an undrafted player or late round pick didn’t make it in the NFL.  But a guy who went in the first round after a decorated Badger career.  That’s who were focusing on with our list.

I should pause here to note the subjective nature of the surprise element.  At the risk of a spoiler, Heisman winner Ron Dayne is not on my list.

Dayne of course set the NCAA rushing record with 7,125 total yards in his four season in Madison.  Donnel Pumphrey of San Diego State sort of broke that record last season.  Due to an NCAA statistical change, Pumphrey’s rushing stats include his bowl game numbers which edged him past Dayne.

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He was a 1st round pick of the New York Giants who played for three teams in seven NFL seasons.  Dayne averaged 531 yards per season in his professional career.

However, he’s not on my list because I wasn’t really surprised he struggled in the NFL.  Dayne was a bruising powerful runner with good vision and balance.  But he was not elusive or fast. You see his highlights and my reaction is more about the great OL that leaves him untouched until he’s beyond the line of scrimmage.

His physical presence wasn’t going to trouble NFL defenses.  But his lack of burst would leave him vulnerable to getting chopped down before the big wheel could get moving.

Nonetheless, a few Badger stars who were unable to translate their college stardom to NFL glory were surprising.  Scroll through to see my list and hit me in the comments or on social media to tell me what I got wrong.