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“A season is a long time. Babies are born. People die.”

A coach told me that a long time ago. That one quote put a lot of things into perspective for me. The passage of time always seems much longer when you’re living it than when you revisit it.

These words start my 13th such season here at FBSchedules and writing some iteration of this silly feature. I’ve spent roughly half my life working here — child labor laws were different then — minding the store when Kevin goes off to do NIL stuff for LSU despite claiming he’s a Georgia fan and whatever else is asked of me. We’ve done some cool stuff in that time, including the addition of a lot more FCS coverage here at this ol’ corner of the interwebs, which I love.

If you were one of those babies born when this whole thing started, chances are you’re too busy acting a fool to your parents or making dumb TikTok videos to read this, but perhaps you’ve accidentally stumbled upon it. Hi.

For those who have read some or all of this time, thank you. I’m not a buxom blonde offering you questionable betting advice or a former football player screaming F-bombs at a camera five days a week because I think it’s “edgy”, but you make the choice to keep clicking on this foolishness. I appreciate you.

Onward!

I’m trying something for the “main course” here. I’ve never done this, and it will either be a wild trip down memory lane or a colossal failure. Life is for taking chances.

Life is also best lived as revisionist history, as we all know, and given the irrational anger we all have over Top 25 polls, All-America teams, and other arbitrary things, I wanted to take us back to that simpler first year. We were all screaming then about the BCS and at least a couple of these names who were consensus All-Americans. Just how much is such a plaudit a predictor of future NFL success? Let’s hop in the DeLorean and review.

Offense

Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M — 147-258, 1675 yds, 7 TD, 7 INT;46 rush, 259 yds, TD. The Heisman winner was the subject of the draft room in 2014, as he tumbled all the way to the Browns with the 22nd pick. Manziel won as many games as NFL seasons of which he was a part — two — and left the league after 2015.

Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin — 175 rush, 731 yds, 5 TD. Ball was a 2013 Broncos second-rounder, serving as one of the many Bronco backs who rotated through Denver’s backfield and the fantasy rosters of nearly every “smarter than the room” player. Ball played just five games in his second season in Denver before being hurt, then getting cut in the following preseason. He was on the Patriots’ practice squad for a year, before being released after a domestic violence arrest. Ball entered guilty pleas to two separate domestic violence charges and spent a brief period of house arrest before eventually turning his life around and becoming a recovery specialist.

Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon — 104 rush, 416 yds, 3 TD. Barner was a sixth-round pick of the Panthers and started exactly one NFL contest — that with the Eagles in 2017. He carved out a nice career as a special teams player and won three Super Bowl rings before eventually being released by Tampa Bay in 2022.

Ka’Deem Carey, RB, Arizona — 111 rush, 443 yds, 2 TD. Carey was a 2014 fourth-rounder by the Bears and played parts of three seasons in the league — also starting exactly once — before being canned in 2017. Carey went on to a stellar career in the CFL, where he still plays as a member of the Toronto Argonauts.

Marqise Lee, WR, USC — 174 rec, 2184 yds, 8 TD. The Jags regaled Lee with a second-round choice in 2014. Lee played greater than 14 games once in his NFL career, having a career-high of three touchdown catches in two separate seasons. The Jags cut Lee in 2020, only for him to sign on with the Patriots and opt out because of COVID-19. Lee has not played another NFL snap since.

Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor — 232 rec, 3377 yds, 20 TD. Williams was a Cowboys third-rounder in 2013, after which he spent parts of six seasons up I-35 in Arlington. Williams was suspended due to substance abuse at the end of a mostly lost 2018 season, which led to his release from Dallas. After that release, he has played in the XFL, IFL, CFL, Fan Controlled Football (that’s a thing?), and the Galgos de Tijuana of the Mexican Liga de Futbol Americano.

Zach Ertz, TE, Stanford — 709 rec, 7434 yds, 46 TD. Ertz is in his 13th season in the NFL and is arguably the most successful player of this group. Ertz played nine seasons for the Eagles and won a Super Bowl ring, then went on to spend three seasons in Arizona and is now part of the Washington Commanders.

Jonathan Cooper, OL, North Carolina — 46 games (31 starts) over five NFL seasons. Cooper was a 2013 Cardinal first-rounder — going seventh overall — and suited up for Arizona, Cleveland, Dallas, and Washington. Cooper was released by the Raiders in 2019 without having played a game for them and has not appeared in the league since.

Luke Joeckel, OL, Texas A&M — 50 games (50 starts) over five NFL seasons. Joeckel was the second overall selection in 2013 by the Jags. He was not a Robert Gallery-level-bad selection, but he wasn’t really stellar, either. He never made a Pro Bowl and washed out of the league after a one-season run with the Seahawks in 2017.

Barrett Jones, OL, Alabama — 10 games (0 starts) over parts of two NFL seasons. Jones was a Rams fourth-rounder in 2013, and was released by the Rams the following year. Jones then spent time with the Steelers, Bears, and Eagles, but did not play for any of those three clubs. Jones retired in 2017 and joined ESPN Radio.

Chance Warmack, OL, Alabama — 68 games (51 starts) over parts of six NFL seasons. Warmack started all 46 games in which he appeared over his first three seasons in Tennessee after being the 10th overall selection in 2013. He played in just 22 games — starting five — over his final three seasons, missing most of his final Titans season with an injury. Warmack also opted out of the 2020 COVID-shortened season and has not returned to the league since.

Cairo Santos, K, Tulane — 220-257 FG, 282-297 XP. Santos has kicked for parts of 10 seasons in the NFL after going undrafted. Santos spent nine of his 10 seasons in Kansas City and Chicago, hitting 90.4 and 84.8 percent of his kicks, respectively. Santos is now back with the Bears and serves as their kicker.

Dri Archer, AP, Kent State — 20 games, 10 rush, 40 yds. Archer was a 2014 third-rounder by the Steelers and never seemed to crack the rotation in Pittsburgh. Archer returned roughly 25 kicks in his career, eventually moving on to the Jets and Bills before Buffalo released him in 2016.

Defense

Jadeveon Clowney, DL, South Carolina — 10 seasons, 3 Pro Bowls, 126 games (113 starts), 52.5 sacks. If Ertz is not the most successful player of the group, Clowney is. The top overall pick in 2014 by the Texans has lived up to the hype in a career that has taken him to Houston, Tennessee, Cleveland, and Baltimore. Clowney is now a starter on the defensive line for his quasi-hometown Carolina Panthers.

Damontre Moore, DL, Texas A&M — 66 games (0 starts) over parts of eight seasons, 69 tackles, 11 sacks. Moore was a 2013 third-rounder by the Giants and spent much of the first three seasons as a rotational player. Moore then had stops in Miami, Seattle, Dallas, Oakland, San Francisco, and Seattle (again) before heading to the CFL and being released there in mid-2024.

Will Sutton, DL, Arizona State — 36 games (18 starts), 60 combined tackles.  Sutton was a 2014 third-rounder by the Bears and was released after suffering an injury at the end of his second season in Chicago. He then went on to stops in Minnesota, San Francisco, the AAF and the XFL.

Bjoern Werner, DL, Florida State — 38 games (16 starts), 81 combined tackles, 6.5 sacks. Werner was a 2013 Colts first-rounder who showed some promise as an edge in Indianapolis before injuries completely derailed his career and led him to an early retirement in 2017. He has gone on to become a football broadcaster, podcast host, and co-owner of the Berlin Thunder football team.

Jarvis Jones, LB, Georgia — 50 games (35 starts), 130 combined tackles, 6 sacks, 2 INT. Jones was a 2013 Steeler first-rounder and enjoyed four solid seasons there to start his career. PFF didn’t agree, calling him the worst Steeler draft pick of the last 10 years at the time. Jones’ career would also, lamentably, end in Pittsburgh, as his attempt to latch on with Arizona in 2017 led to an injury release.

C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama — 129 games, 1066 combined tackles, 12 INT, 5 Pro Bowls. Mosley would like a word about my earlier comment regarding Clowney, as he has enjoyed a rather decorated career with both Baltimore and the Jets. Mosley made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2014, was elected to three in a row in 2016-18, and made another with New York in 2022. The 2014 Ravens first-rounder logged 152 combined tackles last year, picking an errant pass and halving a sack.

Manti Te’o, LB, Notre Dame — 62 games (48 starts) over parts of 7 seasons, 212 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 INT. Te’o completed a decent enough career, logging most of his numbers over four seasons split between San Diego and New Orleans. The 2013 Charger second-rounder was more noted for whom he “dated”, however, in a situation we’re best left not revisiting. Te’o has been hired by NFL Network in the last month and will join their roster of football gabbers.

Demarcus Milliner, DB, Alabama — 21 games over parts of 3 seasons, 56 combined tackles, 3 INT. Milliner, better known as Dee, was a 2013 Jets first rounder and had a solid rookie season in the green and white. Injuries then limited Milliner to five combined games over the next two seasons before he was released, never to resurface in the NFL.

Jordan Poyer, DB, Oregon State — 155 games (117 starts), 806 combined tackles, 24 INT, 1 Pro Bowl. Poyer has carved out a pretty solid career for himself after being one of the lower drafted of the group. The Eagles selected Poyer in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. He has made a Pro Bowl with Buffalo and will spend the 2024 season — his 11th total — in Miami.

Phillip Thomas, DB, Fresno State — 8 games (4 starts), 27 combined tackles. Thomas would — fairly or unfairly — earn the moniker of the biggest bust of this group, as he washed out of the league following an injury-riddled season. Thomas played in just half Washington’s games after they selected him in the 4th round in 2013, and subsequent attempts to suit up for Miami and Buffalo resulted in releases.

Ryan Allen, P, Louisiana Tech — 107 games, 45.2 yards per punt, 40 yards net. Allen played six seasons for New England after going undrafted, putting up respectable numbers despite never appearing in a Pro Bowl. He later had cups of coffee with Atlanta, Tennessee, and Indianapolis before leaving the league.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip through some probably forgotten names as much as I. Unfortunately, my name can’t be forgotten, and I’ll see you next time.

Enjoy your football weekend, everyone, and please be safe.