Throughout history, we have seen players with so much untapped potential that do not meet the expectations due to numerous of reasons: injury, drugs, personal problems, etc. Today, we will visit these athletes that could never unleash their potential.
1. Ricky Williams
Ricky Williams was the most dominant college running back in the late 90's. He won Heisman in 1998, and the AP and SN College Football Player of the Year. Williams in 1996 had 1272 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, in 1997 he had 1893 rushing yards and 25 rushing touchdowns and in 1998, his Heisman year, he had, 2124 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns. He was taken fifth in the 1999 draft by the New Orleans Saints. Williams had three average years with the Saints, totaling at least 1000 yards in each season, but injuries would end his Saints career early. The Miami Dolphins would trade for Williams in 2002, but he would only stay there for a couple of years due to him retiring in 2004 after he tested positive for Marijuana. Williams was known to be a "pot-head" he believed that marijuana was a way to open the mind. Williams tried a comeback later with the Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens later in his career but never met the expectations he had coming out of college.
2. Marcus Dupree
A 6'2" running back that ran a 4.3 40 dash... Yeah, monster. Dupree was arguably the greatest high-school running back EVER. So, what happened? Well, his family was very involved in where he would be playing college football, especially his uncle, but he would eventually end up at the University of Oklahoma. He would be teamed up with the head coach, Barry Switzer, who did not give Dupre ample amount of chances in his first three games which would result in some controversy. After Oklahoma would lose a game under Switzer, in which he did not include Dupree, Switzer would face controversy, and he would eventually ban his wing formation and run the I-formation with Dupree as his lead back. And, after that, Dupree exploded. On October 16, 1982, he ran for 158 yards against Kansas, including a 75-yard touchdown run. As a result, he was given the starting tailback position over Stanley Wilson and was named Big Eight Offensive Player of the Week. He made his first start against Oklahoma State and scored two touchdowns. Among all his other great runs, he also had a 77-yard punt return against Colorado, an 80-yard run against Kansas State, a 70-yard run against Missouri and an 86-yard run against Nebraska. Despite not starting until the seventh game of the season, Dupree finished with 1,144 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. He was named second team All-American, first team all-Big Eight Conference and Big Eight Newcomer of the Year. Dupree's freshman season would come to an end with a 32-21 Fiesta Bowl loss to Arizona State. Coming back from Christmas break, he was considered to be out of shape, which Switzer publicly criticized him. He had to leave the game several times, participating in only 34 offensive plays. Even with these setbacks, he still managed to run for a Fiesta Bowl record 249 yards, a record that still stands today. Switzer told Dupree, "If you'd have been in shape, you'd have rushed for 400 yards, and we'd have won the game." After that, Dupree had enough and left Oklahoma in 1984 to play in the USFL, and after that, Dupree never became what he could have been.
3. Bo Jackson
Yes, Bo Jackson did exceed in everything he did. But, what would have happened if Bo never dislocated his hip in 1991 which would cause for his NFL career to end. Bo Jackson was a two-sports athlete, football, and baseball. Jackson was just starting to get his NFL career off to a start. He typically missed around the first five or six games of the NFL season due to the baseball season. But in 1989, he only played 11 games and totaled 950 yards on 173 attempts, making that an average of 5.5 yards per carry... Insane. We can only imagine what Bo Jackson could have been if he stuck to only football and never got injured.
4. Rae Carruth
A wide receiver that had the Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens potential. Carruth started his rookie career out strong; he finished his rookie year with 44 receptions for 545 yards and four touchdown passes, tied for first among rookie receivers. Carruth was named to the all-rookie team at wide receiver. Carruth would break his foot in the opening game of the 1989 season and then would be arrested in 1999 for murder, ending his NFL career.
5. Courtney Brown
Brown, the first pick in the 2000 draft, displayed bursts of dominance early on. As a rookie, he captured three sacks against a division rival, Pittsburgh, and he didn't miss a game during that 2000 campaign. But, a knee injury cost him the first half of his sophomore season, and although he returned in November, where he recorded three sacks and a touchdown in his first game back, he was soon benched again with an ankle injury. Nagging injuries also scratched the next three seasons, as he missed 22 games before Cleveland had no choice but to let him go. After a year with Denver, he retired by the age of 27.
