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 ranked individuals who play/played for current FCS conference schools (no Appalachian States or Marshalls … and just because the player may have actually played D-2 football when they were in college, that doesn’t disqualify).
This 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 material was more easily attainable. 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 – MVFC
(according to Pro-Football-Reference.com)
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 TEAM | POS | FCS PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER STATS |
| 1 | SOUTHERN ILL. | QB | Jim Hart | 4 | 136 | 19 | 1966-1984 | 34,665 yds pass, 209 TDs |
| 2 | NORTHERN IOWA | QB | Kurt Warner (*) | 4 | 113 | 12 | 1998-2009 | 32,344 yds pass, 208 TDs |
| 3 | SDSU | OL | Jim Langer (*) | 6 | 107 | 12 | 1970-1981 | 151 career games |
| 4 | SDSU | G | Adam Timmerman | 1 | 102 | 12 | 1995-2006 | 172 career starts |
| 5 | NORTHERN IOWA | OL | Brad Meester | 0 | 100 | 14 | 2000-2013 | 209 career starts |
| 6 | NDSU | LB | Steve Nelson | 3 | 95 | 14 | 1974-1987 | 17 career INTs |
| 7 | WESTERN ILL. | DB | Rodney Harrison | 2 | 92 | 15 | 1994-2008 | 34 career INTs |
| 8 | WESTERN ILL. | LB | Bryan Cox | 3 | 88 | 12 | 1991-2002 | 939 career tackles |
| 9 | WESTERN ILL. | OL | Frank Winters | 1 | 88 | 16 | 1987-2002 | 231 career games |
| 10 | SOUTHERN ILL. | DL | Houston Antwine | 6 | 87 | 12 | 1961-1972 | 156 career games at DL |
| 11 | YOUNGSTOWN | QB | Ron Jaworski | 1 | 84 | 15 | 1974-1989 | 28,190 yds pass, 179 TDs |
| 12 | SOUTHERN ILL. | LB | Bart Scott | 1 | 82 | 11 | 2002-2012 | 747 career tackles, 75 TFLs |
| 13 | SDSU | K | Adam Vinatieri | 3 | 78 | 24 | 1996-2019 | 599 career FGs |
| 14 | SOUTH DAKOTA | DE | Ordell Braase | 2 | 77 | 12 | 1957-1968 | 157 career games |
| 15 | NDSU | DE | Phil Hansen | 0 | 77 | 11 | 1991-2001 | 634 career tackles |
| 16 | NORTHERN IOWA | LB | Bryce Paup | 4 | 76 | 11 | 1990-2000 | 545 career tackles |
| 17 | INDIANA ST. | OL | Tunch Ilkin | 2 | 75 | 14 | 1980-1993 | 177 career games |
| 18 | NORTH DAKOTA | LB | Jim LeClair | 1 | 73 | 12 | 1972-1983 | 158 career games |
| 19 | NORTHERN IOWA | DL | James Jones | 0 | 71 | 10 | 1991-2000 | 432 career tackles |
| 20 | WESTERN ILL. | DB | Mike Wagner | 2 | 70 | 10 | 1971-1980 | 36 career INTs |
| 21 | NDSU | DB | Tyrone Braxton | 1 | 69 | 13 | 1987-1999 | 36 career INTs, 824 tackles |
| 22 | SOUTHERN ILL. | OL | Carl Mauck | 0 | 69 | 13 | 1969-1981 | 151 career starts |
| 23 | SDSU | E | Pete Retzlaff | 5 | 67 | 11 | 1956-1966 | 7,412 rec. yds, 47 TDs |
| 24 | INDIANA ST. | DB | Vencie Glenn | 0 | 63 | 10 | 1986-1995 | 35 career INTs, 642 tackles |
| 25 | NORTH DAKOTA | RB | Dave Osborn | 1 | 55 | 12 | 1965-1976 | 4,336 yds rush, 29 TDs |
(*) – Denotes an NFL Hall of Famer[divider]
MVFC – 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 | SDSU | K | Adam Vinatieri | 3 | 78 | 24 | 1996-2019 | 599 career FGs |
| 2 | NDSU | QB | Carson Wentz | 1 | 45 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 14,191 pass yds, 97 TDs |
| 3 | NORTHERN IOWA | RB | David Johnson | 1 | 36 | 5 | 2015-2019 | 5,347 total yards, 48 TDs |
| 4 | NDSU | OL | Joe Haeg | 0 | 19 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 35 career starts, 4 yrs |
| 5 | SOUTH DAKOTA | OL | Tom Compton | 0 | 19 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 35 career starts, 8 yrs |
| 6 | NDSU | OL | Billy Turner | 0 | 18 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 41 career starts, 6 yrs |
| 7 | ILLINOIS STATE | DL | Shelby Harris | 0 | 16 | 5 | 2014-2019 | 14 career sacks, 136 tackles |
| 8 | NORTHERN IOWA | LB | L.J. Fort | 0 | 12 | 7 | 2012-2019 | 85 career tackles |
| 9 | SDSU | OL | Bryan Witzmann | 0 | 11 | 5 | 2014-2019 | 20 career starts |
| 10 | SDSU | TE | Dallas Goedert | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2018-2019 | 941 career rec yds, 9 TDs |
