Most Underrated College Football Players of All Time

It’s easy to remember the names of Heisman Trophy winners. They are college football players we loved or ones we couldn’t believe won the award. But what about the names that didn’t always make it to the brightest of lights? The players who were great but never quite got the shine they deserved? 

Being underrated can happen in a lot of different ways. Sometimes you’re not appreciated in the time you’re playing. Sometimes, after records get broken and years go by, the memories start to fade and we don’t appreciate the accomplishments as much as we should. 

These are the most underrated college football players of all time. 

Born: Oct. 20, 1976 (Pahokee, Florida)

High school: Glades Central Community High School (Belle Glades, Florida)

Position: Wide receiver

College years: 1994-96

College highlights: National champion (1996), three-time SEC champion (1994-96), AP All-American (1996), NFL All-Rookie Team (1997)

NFL career: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1997-2001)

Bottom line: Reidel Anthony was a star wide receiver for the University of Florida on three consecutive SEC championship teams in the mid-1990s.

He played for Steve Spurrier and capped his career as an All-American and national champion in 1996 before leaving school one year early for the NFL draft. 

Anthony’s 18 touchdown receptions as a junior in the national championship season stood as the SEC record until 2019, when LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase broke it on the way to winning a national championship. 

Born: Sept. 20, 1943 (San Antonio, Texas) 

Died: Dec. 13, 2017 (age 74, Marietta, Georgia) 

High school: Thomas Jefferson High School (San Antonio, Texas)

Position: Linebacker/offensive line

College years: 1963-65

College highlights: National champion (1963), AP All-American (1965), Outland Trophy winner (1965), Maxwell Award winner (1965), NFL Rookie of the Year (1966), five-time Pro Bowl (1966-68, 1970, 1972), two-time All-Pro (1967, 1968), NFL 1960s All-Decade Team 

NFL career: Atlanta Falcons (1966-76)

Bottom line: By the time Tommy Nobis left the University of Texas he was arguably as famous as any player in the NFL. He already had appeared on the cover of Life, Sports Illustrated and Time magazine for his accomplishments. 

Nobis won a national championship in 1963 with the Longhorns and — here’s the real kicker — started on both sides of the ball for the entire time he was in college and won the Outland Trophy in 1965. 

Nobis was the first overall pick in the 1966 NFL draft and the first player picked by the expansion Atlanta Falcons. Nobis played in relative anonymity for his entire NFL career but still put up monster numbers on some really bad teams. Those bad teams likely cost him any shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Born: March 22, 1985 (Van Wert, Ohio)

High school: Crestview High School (Convoy, Ohio)

Position: Offensive line

College years: 2003-07

College highlights: Four-time All-MAC (2004-07), Rimington Trophy finalist (2007)

NFL career: Denver Broncos (2008), Minnesota Vikings (2009), Washington Football Team (2010-16)

Bottom line: Kory Lichtensteiger had a couple of things working against him coming out of high school. He played for a tiny, rural school at Crestview High in Convoy, Ohio, and was a tad undersized at 6-foot-2. 

That wasn’t enough to hold Lichtensteiger back. He dominated as a four-year starter and four-time All-MAC player at Bowling Green and ended up playing nine seasons in the NFL. 

Born: May 25, 1999 (Atlanta, Georgia)

High school: Roswell High School (Roswell, Georgia)

Position: Quarterback

College years: 2017-18, 2020-21

College highlights: Dudley Award (2020), Davey O’Brien Watch List (2020, 2021), Maxwell Award Watch List (2020, 2021)

NFL career: Tennessee Titans (2021-present)

Bottom line: We made Malik Willis the only current college football player on the list for good reason. He seems to fall in line with past high NFL draft picks from smaller colleges like Carson Wentz and Trey Lance. 

Willis played his first two seasons at Auburn, where he was used sparingly, before transferring to Liberty and lighting up the stat book. After sitting out 2019, Willis led the Flames to a 10-2 record in 2020, when he threw for 2,260 yards and 20 touchdowns and ran for 944 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Liberty also finished the season in the top 25 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll for the first time in school history.