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 – SOCON
(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 SCHOOL | POS | PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER NFL STATS |
| 1 | CHATTANOOGA | WR | Terrell Owens (*) | 6 | 165 | 15 | 1996-2010 | 15,934 rec yds, 153 TDs |
| 2 | WEST. CAROLINA | DL | Clyde Simmons | 2 | 114 | 15 | 1986-2000 | 121.5 sacks, 966 tackles |
| 3 | WEST. CAROLINA | OL | Tony Jones | 1 | 97 | 13 | 1988-2000 | 174 career starts |
| 4 | CHATTANOOGA | DL | Jack Gregory | 2 | 78 | 13 | 1967-1979 | 158 career starts |
| 5 | VMI | LB | Joe Fortunato | 5 | 75 | 12 | 1955-1966 | 153 career starts, 16 INTs |
| 6 | ETSU | DB | Donnie Abraham | 1 | 63 | 9 | 1996-2004 | 442 tackles, 38 INTs |
| 7 | SAMFORD | DB | Cortland Finnegan | 1 | 59 | 10 | 2006-2015 | 662 tackles, 18 INTs |
| 8 | WEST. CAROLINA | DB | Willie Williams | 0 | 56 | 13 | 1993-2005 | 626 tackles, 26 INTs |
| 9 | THE CITADEL | LB-P | Paul Maguire | 2 | 55 | 11 | 1960-1970 | 41.7 punt avg., 151 games |
| 10 | CHATTANOOGA | OL | Charley Long | 2 | 51 | 9 | 1961-1969 | 124 career games |
| 11 | THE CITADEL | RB | Stump Mitchell | 0 | 50 | 9 | 1981-1989 | 11,985 all purpose yds |
| 12 | CHATTANOOGA | DB | Drayton Florence | 0 | 47 | 11 | 2003-2013 | 488 tackles, 20 INTs |
| 13 | WEST. CAROLINA | WR | David Patten | 0 | 46 | 12 | 1997-2008 | 4,715 rec yds, 24 TDs |
| 14 | CHATTANOOGA | DB | Buster Skrine | 0 | 37 | 9 | 2011-2019 | 507 tackles |
| 15 | ETSU | DB | Gerald Sensabaugh | 0 | 35 | 8 | 2005-2012 | 411 tackles, 14 INTs |
| 16 | ETSU | RB | Earl Ferrell | 0 | 33 | 8 | 1982-1989 | 4,578 total yds, 32 TDs |
| 17 | WEST. CAROLINA | K | Dean Biasucci | 1 | 31 | 11 | 1984-1995 | 185 FGs made |
| 18 | THE CITADEL | WR | Andre Roberts | 2 | 27 | 10 | 2010-2019 | 3,010 rec. yds, 15 TDs |
| 19 | FURMAN | LB | Orlando Ruff | 0 | 25 | 7 | 1999-2005 | 360 tackles |
| 20 | SAMFORD | DB | James Bradberry | 0 | 22 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 279 tackles |
(*) – Denotes an NFL Hall of Famer
SOCON – 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 SCHOOL | POS | PLAYER | PB | AV | YRS | SPAN | CAREER NFL STATS |
| 1 | CHATTANOOGA | DB | Buster Skrine | 0 | 37 | 9 | 2011-2019 | 507 tackles |
| 2 | THE CITADEL | WR | Andre Roberts | 2 | 27 | 10 | 2010-2019 | 3,010 rec. yds, 15 TDs |
| 3 | SAMFORD | DB | James Bradberry | 0 | 22 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 279 tackles |
| 4 | SAMFORD | DL | Michael Pierce | 0 | 21 | 4 | 2016-2019 | 151 tackles, 13 TFLs |
| 5 | SAMFORD | SS | Jaquiski Tartt | 0 | 17 | 5 | 2015-2019 | 271 tackles, 15 TFLs |
| 6 | FURMAN | OL | Dakota Dozier | 0 | 7 | 6 | 2014-2019 | 52 games, 11 starts |
| 7 | SAMFORD | DL | Nick Williams | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2014-2019 | 60 tackles, 6 sacks |
