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 on April 20. 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.[divider]
TOP NFL CAREERS: Each Conference Linked
TOP NFL CAREERS – BIG SOUTH
(according to Pro-Football-Reference.com – since 1960)
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 awarded by year back to 1960 – and taking position into consideration; YRS — Total years in the league
| RK | FCS SCHOOL | POS | PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER NFL STATS |
| 1 | NORTH ALABAMA | LB | Ronald McKinnon | 0 | 58 | 10 | 1996-2005 | 1,011 tackles, 51 TFLs |
| 2 | HAMPTON | DL | Reggie Doss | 0 | 55 | 10 | 1978-1987 | 149 games, 20 sacks |
| 3 | NORTH ALABAMA | DB | Janoris Jenkins | 1 | 54 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 467 tackles, 23 INTs |
| 4 | HAMPTON | DL | Kendall Langford | 0 | 52 | 10 | 2008-2017 | 290 tackles, 44 TFLs |
| 5 | MONMOUTH | WR | Miles Austin | 2 | 44 | 10 | 2006-2015 | 5,273 rec. yds, 38 TDs |
| 6 | NORTH ALABAMA | DL | Shawn Lee | 0 | 46 | 11 | 1988-1998 | 292 tackles, 28.5 sacks |
| 7 | HAMPTON | LB | Justin Durant | 0 | 38 | 11 | 2007-2017 | 650 tackles, 50 TFLs |
| 8 | GARDNER WEBB | RB | Derrick Fenner | 0 | 34 | 9 | 1989-1997 | 5,574 total yds, 42 TDs |
| 9 | NORTH ALABAMA | DB | Lewis Billups | 0 | 32 | 7 | 1986-1992 | 88 games, 9 INTs |
| 10 | NORTH ALABAMA | DB | Chris Goode | 0 | 30 | 7 | 1987-1993 | 96 games, 7 INTs |
(*) – Denotes an NFL Hall of Famer[divider]
BIG SOUTH – TOP CURRENT NFL CAREERS
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 SCHOOL | POS | PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER NFL STATS |
| 1 | NORTH ALABAMA | DB | Janoris Jenkins | 1 | 54 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 467 tackles, 23 INTs |
| 2 | MONMOUTH | WR | Chris Hogan | 0 | 25 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 2,677 rec. yds, 18 TDs |
| 3 | PRESBYTERIAN | DB | Justin Bethel | 3 | 20 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 211 tackles |
| 4 | HAMPTON | OL | Michael Ola | 0 | 12 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 41 career games |
