D-3 Players in the Pros

Started by Knightstalker, August 18, 2005, 02:19:49 PM

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Pat Coleman

Would London Fletcher be that guy now? I'd probably put him ahead of Chris Warren. Probably forgetting someone huge here.
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Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

jknezek

Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 31, 2018, 01:35:14 PM
Would London Fletcher be that guy now? I'd probably put him ahead of Chris Warren. Probably forgetting someone huge here.

Pierre Garcon? Coming up on a decade in the league. A 100+ reception season in 2013. Full season starter 4 times.

Don't get me wrong, I go Fletcher for his 4 Pro Bowl selections and his Lombardi Trophy, but Garcon has been a very solid player in the NFL for a long time. 

Mr. Ypsi

Augie QB Kenny Anderson pre-dates D3 (but was 'essentially' D3) - NFL MVP is kind of a hard bar to beat!

Pat Coleman

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on July 31, 2018, 03:32:48 PM
Augie QB Kenny Anderson pre-dates D3 (but was 'essentially' D3) - NFL MVP is kind of a hard bar to beat!

I should have posted that I would delete any Kenny Anderson posts. You know better.
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

Mr. Ypsi

Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 31, 2018, 03:45:50 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on July 31, 2018, 03:32:48 PM
Augie QB Kenny Anderson pre-dates D3 (but was 'essentially' D3) - NFL MVP is kind of a hard bar to beat!

I should have posted that I would delete any Kenny Anderson posts. You know better.

Sorry, Pat.  I didn't know the Jack Sikma rule also applied to Kenny Anderson.

Pat Coleman

Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on July 31, 2018, 08:32:26 PM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 31, 2018, 03:45:50 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on July 31, 2018, 03:32:48 PM
Augie QB Kenny Anderson pre-dates D3 (but was 'essentially' D3) - NFL MVP is kind of a hard bar to beat!

I should have posted that I would delete any Kenny Anderson posts. You know better.

Sorry, Pat.  I didn't know the Jack Sikma rule also applied to Kenny Anderson.

Why wouldn't it? Even *more* obvious considering that D-III didn't exist.
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

Mr. Ypsi

Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 31, 2018, 09:20:54 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on July 31, 2018, 08:32:26 PM
Quote from: Pat Coleman on July 31, 2018, 03:45:50 PM
Quote from: Mr. Ypsi on July 31, 2018, 03:32:48 PM
Augie QB Kenny Anderson pre-dates D3 (but was 'essentially' D3) - NFL MVP is kind of a hard bar to beat!

I should have posted that I would delete any Kenny Anderson posts. You know better.

Sorry, Pat.  I didn't know the Jack Sikma rule also applied to Kenny Anderson.

Why wouldn't it? Even *more* obvious considering that D-III didn't exist.

But was Augie doing ANYTHING that would have violated D3 rules?  If not, seems awfully arbitrary.

I understand your qualms, but prefer to think of D3 current members as D3 even before D3 (except for obvious situations like Big 10 Chicago back in the day).

Pat Coleman

What D-III rules? Come on now -- we have to have some common-sense definition of what a Division III player is and I'd have to think it starts by being someone who actually played in Division III.
Publisher. Questions? Check our FAQ for D3f, D3h.
Quote from: old 40 on September 25, 2007, 08:23:57 PMLet's discuss (sports) in a positive way, sometimes kidding each other with no disrespect.

emma17

Not that he qualifies as the greatest D3 player in the NFL, but Matt Turk from UWW punted in the league for 15+ years. 3 x Pro Bowl.

Bombers798891

Like so many GOAT discussions, this comes down to a preference of peak vs. longevity.

Warren was one of the best RBs in football in 1994 and 1995. Only Sanders outrushed him in '94. Only Smith, Sanders, and Martin in '95. All of those guys are Hall of Famers. He's actually got more rushing yards than Hall-of-Famer Terrell Davis.

As a RB, of course, his career was short, and Fletcher was still an impact player into his late 30s.

Suffice to say, Fletcher had, IMO, the best career of a D-III player, but Warren was the better player at his peak

jknezek

Quote from: emma17 on August 01, 2018, 02:19:25 PM
Not that he qualifies as the greatest D3 player in the NFL, but Matt Turk from UWW punted in the league for 15+ years. 3 x Pro Bowl.

Tough position to qualify for this discussion, but that is a very impressive career. He certainly deserves the mention.

FCGrizzliesGrad

To add some more names to the discussion, I had a look through the Pro Football Reference site and after grabbing every player listed from a current D3 school (so the list isn't 100% accurate as I didn't get schools that used to be D3 but aren't now, possibly included players who played at a school that's now D3 but wasn't when they played, included players who may have attended a D3 school for only part of their college years, and of course some information could simply be wrong on their site) and taking out anyone in the league before 1974 (first Stagg Bowl was 1973 so that's where I set the cutoff), then sorting by the site's Career Approximate Value... the top players I found were:

Pos
Name
School
AP1
PB
CarAV
Yrs
Seasons
LB
London Fletcher
John Carroll
0
4
101
16
1998-2013
C-G
Joe Fields
Rutgers-Camden/Widener
1
2
80
14
1975-1988
G-C
Tom Newberry
UW-LaCrosse
2
2
72
10
1986-1995
LB
Steve Nelson
Augsburg
0
3
70
14
1974-1987
RB
Chris Warren
Ferrum
0
3
59
11
1990-2000
LB
Joel Williams
UW-LaCrosse
0
0
56
11
1979-1989
WR
Pierre Garcon
Mount Union
0
0
53
10
2008-2017
DE-LB
Kim Bokamper
Concordia-Moorhead
0
1
49
9
1977-1985
RB
Fred Jackson
Coe
0
0
48
9
2007-2015
WR
Billy Johnson
Widener
1
3
46
14
1974-1988
AP1-1st Team All Pro
PB-Pro Bowls

Others who were high in certain categories:

1st Team All Pro:
Pos
Name
School
AP1
PB
CarAV
Yrs
Seasons
G-C
Tom Newberry
UW-LaCrosse
2
2
72
10
1986-1995
P
Dave Jennings
St Lawrence
2
4
28
14
1974-1987
C-G
Joe Fields
Rutgers-Camden/Widener
1
2
80
14
1975-1988
WR
Billy Johnson
Widener
1
3
46
14
1974-1988
K
Olindo Mare
MacMurray
1
1
34
16
1997-2012
P
Matt Turk
UW-Whitewater
1
3
21
16
1995-2011

Pro Bowls:
Pos
Name
School
AP1
PB
CarAV
Yrs
Seasons
P
Dave Jennings
St Lawrence
2
4
28
14
1974-1987
LB
London Fletcher
John Carroll
0
4
101
16
1998-2013
WR
Billy Johnson
Widener
1
3
46
14
1974-1988
P
Matt Turk
UW-Whitewater
1
3
21
16
1995-2011
LB
Steve Nelson
Augsburg
0
3
70
14
1974-1987
RB
Chris Warren
Ferrum
0
3
59
11
1990-2000
G-C
Tom Newberry
UW-LaCrosse
2
2
72
10
1986-1995
C-G
Joe Fields
Rutgers-Camden/Widener
1
2
80
14
1975-1988
K
Olindo Mare
MacMurray
1
1
34
16
1997-2012
DE-LB
Kim Bokamper
Concordia-Moorhead
0
1
49
9
1977-1985

11+ Seasons Played:
Pos
Name
School
AP1
PB
CarAV
Yrs
Seasons
LB
London Fletcher
John Carroll
0
4
101
16
1998-2013
P
Matt Turk
UW-Whitewater
1
3
21
16
1995-2011
K
Olindo Mare
MacMurray
1
1
34
16
1997-2012
TE
Pete Metzelaars
Wabash
0
0
27
16
1982-1997
P
Dave Jennings
St Lawrence
2
4
28
14
1974-1987
WR
Billy Johnson
Widener
1
3
46
14
1974-1988
LB
Steve Nelson
Augsburg
0
3
70
14
1974-1987
C-G
Joe Fields
Rutgers-Camden/Widener
1
2
80
14
1975-1988
DB
Tim Hauck
Pacific
0
0
16
13
1990-2002
RB
Chris Warren
Ferrum
0
3
59
11
1990-2000
LB
Joel Williams
UW-LaCrosse
0
0
56
11
1979-1989
T
Shelby Jordan
Washington U
0
0
41
11
1975-1986
DT-DE
Barry Bennett
Concordia-Moorhead
0
0
31
11
1978-1988
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HSCTiger74

  +k FCG. Some great research there.
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cciw83

I think another name to recognize for NFL longevity is rb Jim Jodat of Carthage College.  He played 7 seasons in the NFL including a Super Bowl appearance. Playing 7 seasons in the NFL as a running back and special teams captain is way past the longevity of most rb. 

Bartman

#884
Grizzlies grad ,
     Fantasic work on this subject, +k....a lot more good D3 players in the NFL than I originally thought...as they say, not too shabby . I am thinking that London Fletcher gets the nod based on the data with 4 Pro Bowls and 16 years in the league. A past Liberty Leaguer(although I think it was UAA back then) made the list with 4 Pro Bowls, Dave Jennings of St. Lawrence, unbelievable punter(also NYG Hall of Fame) and he played WR for SLU. Based on this list , Ali Marpet has promise but he has a long way to go to compare to many of these NFLers with Joe Fields as probably the best OL for Ali to shoot for first . Next, Ali needs to surpass the best LL player, Dave Jenning's four Pro Bowls. One thing, I am sure he will surpass on his next contract, barring injury, is $$$. Thanks for this very interesting analysis of D3 in the NFL..
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