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 – OHIO VALLEY
(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 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Too Tall Jones | 3 | 129 | 15 | 1974-1989 | 57.5 sacks, 203 starts |
| 2 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Richard Dent | 4 | 121 | 15 | 1983-1997 | 137.5 sacks, 677 tackles |
| 3 | EASTERN ILLINOIS | QB | Tony Romo | 4 | 116 | 13 | 2004-2016 | 34,183 pass yds, 248 TDs |
| 4 | TENNESSEE-MARTIN | WR-RB | Nat Moore | 1 | 103 | 13 | 1974-1986 | 7,795 total yds, 75 TDs |
| 5 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Claude Humphrey | 6 | 90 | 13 | 1968-1981 | 171 career games |
| 6 | JACKSONVILLE ST. | DB | Eric Davis | 2 | 82 | 13 | 1990-2002 | 670 tackles, 38 INTs |
| 7 | SEMO | OL | Ken Iman | 0 | 82 | 14 | 1960-1974 | 194 career games |
| 8 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Anthony Pleasant | 0 | 79 | 14 | 1990-2003 | 58 sacks, 534 tackles |
| 9 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | OL | John Jackson | 0 | 77 | 14 | 1988-2001 | 166 career starts |
| 10 | TENNESSEE STATE | DB | Brent Alexander | 0 | 76 | 12 | 1994-2005 | 898 tackles, 28 INTs |
| 11 | TENNESSEE TECH | LB | Jim Youngblood | 1 | 72 | 12 | 1973-1984 | 156 career games, 14 INTs |
| 12 | TENNESSEE TECH | LB | Lonnie Warwick | 0 | 69 | 10 | 1965-1974 | 120 career games |
| 13 | TENNESSEE STATE | LB | Mike Hegman | 0 | 68 | 12 | 1976-1987 | 119 career starts |
| 14 | TENNESSEE STATE | DB | D. Rodgers-Cromartie | 2 | 62 | 12 | 2008-2019 | 455 tackles, 30 INTs |
| 15 | TENNESSEE STATE | OL | Vern Holland | 0 | 62 | 10 | 1971-1980 | 123 career starts |
| 16 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | DE | Chad Bratzke | 0 | 55 | 10 | 1994-2003 | 56.5 sacks, 413 tackles |
| 17 | JACKSONVILLE ST. | OL | Terry Owens | 0 | 50 | 10 | 1966-1975 | 132 career games |
| 18 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | DL | Wally Chambers | 3 | 48 | 7 | 1973-1979 | 88 games |
| 19 | TENNESSEE TECH | DL | Elois Grooms | 0 | 47 | 12 | 1975-1987 | 138 career games |
| 20 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | DB | Myron Guyton | 0 | 46 | 7 | 1989-1995 | 499 tackles, 10 INTs |
| 21 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | DB | Yeremiah Bell | 1 | 46 | 10 | 2004-2013 | 729 tackles, 23 TFLs |
| 22 | SEMO | OL | Dan Connolly | 0 | 45 | 8 | 2005-2014 | 89 career games |
| 23 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Joe Jones | 0 | 45 | 10 | 1970-1980 | 134 career games |
| 24 | TENNESSEE STATE | DB | Jim Marsalis | 2 | 44 | 8 | 1969-1977 | 90 career games |
| 25 | EASTERN ILLINOIS | DL | John Jurkovic | 0 | 43 | 9 | 1991-1999 | 245 tackles, 114 games |
| 26 | TENNESSEE STATE | OL | Homer Elias | 0 | 42 | 7 | 1978-1984 | 87 career starts |
| 27 | TENNESSEE STATE | OL | Elbert Drungo | 0 | 42 | 9 | 1969-1978 | 92 career starts |
| 28 | EASTERN ILLINOIS | DL | Greg Brown | 0 | 41 | 8 | 1981-1988 | 52.5 sacks, 117 games |
| 29 | TENNESSEE STATE | OL | Robert Woods | 0 | 41 | 8 | 1973-1980 | 99 career games |
| 30 | SEMO | G-K | John Wittenborn | 0 | 40 | 10 | 1958-1968 | 116 career games |
| 31 | TENNESSEE STATE | RB | Cid Edwards | 0 | 39 | 8 | 1968-1975 | 3,006 rush yds, 15 TDs |
| 32 | TENNESSEE-MARTIN | DB | Fred Thomas | 0 | 37 | 12 | 1996-2007 | 523 tackles |
| 33 | SEMO | OL | Eugene Amano | 0 | 35 | 9 | 2004-2012 | 124 career games |
| 34 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Dan Williams | 0 | 35 | 7 | 1993-2000 | 188 tackles, 27 sacks |
| 35 | TENNESSEE STATE | DL | Cleveland Elam | 2 | 31 | 5 | 1975-1979 | 62 career games |
(*) – Denotes an NFL Hall of Famer[divider]
OHIO VALLEY – 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 | TENNESSEE STATE | DB | D. Rodgers-Cromartie | 2 | 62 | 12 | 2008-2019 | 455 tackles, 30 INTs |
| 2 | EASTERN ILLINOIS | QB | Jimmy Garoppolo | 0 | 25 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 6,946 pass yds, 44 TDs |
| 3 | EASTERN ILLINOIS | OLB | Kamu Grugier-Hill | 0 | 10 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 98 tackles, 11 TFLs |
| 4 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | P | Jordan Berry | 0 | 9 | 5 | 2015-2019 | 44.2 punt average |
| 5 | TENNESSEE STATE | S | Anthony Levine | 0 | 9 | 8 | 2012-2019 | 130 tackles |
| 6 | EASTERN KENTUCKY | DE | Noah Spence | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 37 tackles, 7.5 sacks |
| 7 | MURRAY STATE | LB | Quincy Williams | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2019-2019 | 48 tackles, 8 starts |
