The FCS has had hundreds of standout players move on to have special NFL careers, and a good number have made it to the NFL Hall of Fame. We decided to break down the “FCS-to-NFL” ranks by conference … leading up to a final national ranking of the top FCS products to finish a career in the NFL. We only ranked individuals who played for current FCS conference schools (no Appalachian States or Marshalls, for instance … and just because the player may have actually played D-2 football when they were in college, that doesn’t disqualify).
This ranking will be using the Pro Football Reference criteria for AV – “Approximate Value”, which uses an algorithm that measures a player’s statistics, honors, awards, you name it — on an annual basis dating back to 1960 when all of this statistical material was more easily attainable/tracked. It takes into account that an offensive lineman can’t put up stats like a quarterback, obviously, but an O-lineman with Pro Bowl credentials and being a cornerstone on a Super Bowl team will be rewarded too. Then … the annual points are added up to create a “career AV” which is a total reflecting the “Approximate Value” of a player’s career.
Obviously, Hall of Fame players do well in this rating, but you may be surprised at times at the rating given to a player who had a long career … with some true highlights … who did not make the Hall of Fame. It happens. See the list below.
TOP NFL CAREERS: Each Conference Linked
TOP NFL CAREERS – BIG SKY
(according to Pro-Football-Reference.com)
ABBREVIATIONS: PB — Career Pro Bowls; YS- Years started; AV — site’s “Approximate Value” point system used by Pro Football Reference to quantify a player, based on statistics, honors, etc awarded by year back to 1960 – and taking position into consideration; YRS — Total years in the league
| RK | FCS TEAM | POS | FCS PLAYER | PB | YS | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER STATS |
| 1 | IDAHO STATE | DL | Jared Allen | 5 | 12 | 125 | 12 | 2004-2015 | 643 career tackles, 136 sacks |
| 2 | IDAHO | LB | Wayne Walker | 3 | 12 | 111 | 15 | 1958-1972 | 200 career games |
| 3t. | IDAHO | OL | Jerry Kramer (*) | 3 | 9 | 90 | 11 | 1958-1968 | 130 career games |
| 3t. | NORTHERN COLO. | DE | Aaron Smith | 1 | 7 | 90 | 13 | 1999-2011 | 481 career tackles |
| 3t. | NORTHERN COLO. | WR | Vincent Jackson | 3 | 8 | 90 | 12 | 2005-2016 | 9,080 rec. yds, 57 TDs |
| 6 | UC DAVIS | QB | Ken O’Brien | 2 | 7 | 86 | 10 | 1984-1993 | 25,094 pass yds, 128 TDs |
| 7t. | PORTLAND STATE | QB | Neil Lomax | 2 | 7 | 82 | 8 | 1981-1988 | 22,771 pass yds, 136 TDs |
| 7t. | IDAHO | OL | Mark Schlereth | 2 | 7 | 82 | 12 | 1989-2000 | 156 career games |
| 9 | MONTANA STATE | K | Jan Stenerud (*) | 6 | 18 | 78 | 19 | 1967-1985 | 373 career field goals |
| 10 | IDAHO | OL | Mike Iupati | 4 | 9 | 76 | 10 | 2010-2019 | 130 career games |
| 11 | EASTERN WASH. | OL | Michael Roos | 1 | 9 | 75 | 10 | 2005-2014 | 148 career starts |
| 12t. | IDAHO | DB-P | Jim Norton | 3 | 9 | 73 | 9 | 1960-1968 | 45 career INTs/42.1 punt avg. |
| 12t. | MONTANA | OL | Scott Gragg | 0 | 9 | 73 | 11 | 1995-2005 | 149 career starts |
| 14t. | MONTANA | DL | Doug Betters | 1 | 7 | 69 | 10 | 1978-1987 | 43.5 career sacks |
| 14t. | IDAHO | OL | Jake Scott | 0 | 8 | 69 | 9 | 2004-2012 | 128 career starts |
| 14t. | CAL POLY | DB | Bob Howard | 0 | 10 | 69 | 13 | 1967-1979 | 37 career INTs |
| 17t. | NO. ARIZONA | WR | Michael Haynes | 0 | 8 | 60 | 10 | 1988-1997 | 6,588 rec. yds, 47 TDs |
| 17t. | WEBER STATE | DL | Bob Pollard | 0 | 11 | 60 | 11 | 1971-1981 | 152 career starts |
| 19 | NORTHERN COLO. | QB | Bill Kenney | 1 | 7 | 59 | 9 | 1980-1988 | 17,277 pass yds, 105 TDs |
| 20 | EASTERN WASH. | OL | Ed Simmons | 0 | 7 | 54 | 11 | 1987-1997 | 142 career games |
| 21 | IDAHO | DL | Marvin Washington | 0 | 6 | 51 | 11 | 1989-1999 | 40.5 career sacks, 386 tackles |
| 22t. | EASTERN WASH. | DB | Kurt Schulz | 0 | 6 | 50 | 10 | 1992-2001 | 30 career INTs |
| 22t. | IDAHO STATE | OL | Will Grant | 0 | 6 | 50 | 10 | 1978-1987 | 95 career starts |
| 22t. | MONTANA | DL | Mike Tilleman | 0 | 10 | 50 | 11 | 1966-1976 | 137 career starts |
| 25 | NO. ARIZONA | LB | John Rade | 0 | 8 | 48 | 9 | 1983-1991 | 122 career games |
(*) – Denotes an NFL Hall of Famer[divider]
BIG SKY – TOP CURRENT NFL PLAYERS
ABBREVIATIONS: PB — Career Pro Bowls; AV — site’s “Approximate Value” point system used by Pro Football Reference to quantify a player, based on statistics, honors, etc and taking position into consideration; YRS — Total years in the league
| RK | FCS TEAM | POS | FCS PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER STATS |
| 1 | IDAHO | OL | Mike Iupati | 4 | 76 | 10 | 2010-2019 | 130 career games |
| 2 | MONTANA | DB | Trumaine Johnson | 0 | 36 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 23 career INTs, 392 tackles |
| 3 | SACRAMENTO ST. | LB | Todd Davis | 0 | 34 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 470 career tackles |
| 4t. | EASTERN WASH. | WR | Cooper Kupp | 0 | 24 | 3 | 2017-2019 | 2,596 rec. yards, 21 TDs |
| 4t. | MONTANA STATE | OL | Michael Person | 0 | 24 | 7 | 2012-2019 | 48 career starts |
| 6 | PORTLAND STATE | LB | Patrick Onwuasor | 0 | 21 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 234 career tackles |
| 7 | IDAHO | OL | Jesse Davis | 0 | 20 | 3 | 2017-2019 | 41 career starts |
| 8 | IDAHO | DL | Benson Mayowa | 0 | 16 | 7 | 2013-2019 | 34 career TFLs, 131 tackles |
| 9 | EASTERN WASH. | LB | Samson Ebukam | 0 | 13 | 3 | 2017-2019 | 119 career tackles, 13 TDLs |
| 10 | EASTERN WASH. | WR | Kendrick Bourne | 0 | 10 | 3 | 2017-2019 | 1,102 rec yds, 9 TDs |
