Re: Biggest Disappointment In Recruiting (Football)
First and foremost, I think we should all agree to not list players who were academic casualties. Regardless of how highly-touted those players were, they never made it on campus and no one knows whether or not they were really any good or if it was just all hype.
Now for a few of the true busts off of the top of my head:
Billy Ray: People thought this kid was the second coming of Joe Namath, but it never worked out. He played a little, but only slightly, and ultimately transferred to Duke. At Duke, he set a bunch of passing records under Spurrier and won the ACC.
Brandon Miree: Big-time recruit, and after Shaun left he said that Miree would make us forget about him. Obviously, didn't work out, and he transferred to Pitt. A decent player, actually, but never as good as expected, and he never did much of anything for us.
Albert Means: Even had there been no recruiting scandal, Means was still a massive bust. People thought this guy was one of the best prep linemen ever, and he wasn't even an average college player. Even after he transferred to Memphis, he was a below average player even in C-USA. The guy had all of the agility of an 18-wheeler. Again, recruiting scandal aside, total bust.
Ray Hudson: Burner out of Florida who just never lived up to the hype. He rode the bench all the way until his senior year, and just when it looked like he was going to turn it on, he had a career-ending knee injury against Kentucky in 2004.
Dante Ellington: Another huge offensive line recruit, supposed to be a superstar. He showed some flashes, but generally speaking he wasn't a very good player. Bust.
Leslie Williams: Another line bust from the '99 class. Williams was recruited out of high school and was thought to be one of the top edge pass rushers in the country. We all thought we had a sack machine in the making. Problem was, he could never put on any weight, and was smaller than some of the linebackers. He stayed at Alabama his entire career, but rarely played.
Tarry Givens: Out of Tallahassee, he had huge size and speed and recruiting gurus thought he was a Randy Moss clone. 'Bama fans were stunned when we got him because this was during a time that FSU got essentially every top offensive recruit in the country. He played wide receiver at 'Bama for about three years, but couldn't run a route or catch the ball with any consistency. We tried him at tight end, and shortly thereafter he quit.
Anthony Bryant: Supposedly a dominating interior defensive lineman, Bryant was always overweight and had no agility. He rarely started, and going into his senior season he was beaten out by an undersized walk-on. We thought he'd be an All-American, and he couldn't even start on a team with no talent or depth at his position.
Thurman Ward: Most thought it was a great recruiting coup when we got Ward out of Starkville. He was big for a DB and had blazing speed, but he never did much. He had an interception return for a touchdown against Arkansas in 2001, but was then moved to offense by Fran, moved back to defense by Shula, and ultimately quit before his senior season.
Von Ewing: The second biggest signee in 2001, everyone thought he was going to be the next Chris Samuels. He never started a game, and finally quit football so he could be a full-time actor.
What ever happen to that guy?
