Every college football off season, there are players who garner a lot of hype whether it’s from their performances from previous seasons, or their potential to breakout in the upcoming season. Every year, there are players who get this hype and under-perform, leading fans to be upset with the players, and leading the college football community to sort of put these players in the back of their minds. Here are the 5 most disappointing players at this point in the season, ranked 1-5. Not all the players on this list have performed poorly, it just means they received a lot of off season hype, and haven’t lived up to it so far.
1. Trevor Lawrence Clemson QB
This was an easy choice as Lawrence entered the season as a projected Heisman Trophy finalist. Some even viewed him as the favorite to bring home the trophy after an outstanding freshman season in which he led his Clemson Tigers to a National Championship Victory. Now, Lawrence has not had a bad season by most player’s standards, but he has definitely not lived up to the hype. Lawrence is not viewed as a top ten Heisman Contender anymore, and he’s had his struggles with interceptions this season. He has already thrown 8 this season, compared to his 4 last season, and has thrown multiple picks in 3 games this season. Lawrence has thrown for 20 touchdowns already and 2,027 yards though, showing that he is still one of the top players in the 2021 draft class. He has picked it up lately with two straight games of 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, but with the hype he got in the off season, and his interception problems, he has not taken big strides from last year and has been the most disappointing player in the country at this point in the season.
2. Adrian Martinez Nebraska QB
This year was supposed to be Nebraska’s year to finally reclaim a spot as one of the Big 10 Powerhouses. The hype heading into the season for this team was unreal. With former UCF coach Scott Frost heading into his second season with Nebraska, and Adrian Martinez expected to make huge strides in his Sophomore year, some were predicting we’d see Nebraska in the Big 10 Championship game. Nebraska has fallen flat on its face this season and that’s due in large part to Martinez’s failure to develop into a top tier QB. Martinez has thrown for only 1,492 yards and 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Martinez has been a shell of what was expected of him, making him one of the most disappointing players in the country.
3. Khalil Tate Arizona QB
Oh what could’ve been. After an electrifying sophomore year in which he showed the value of having a true scrambler at quarterback, Khalil Tate has managed to drop off the face of the earth. In his sophomore season, Tate rushed for 1,353 yards and 12 touchdowns in 10 games. Tate was not the starter the whole season and absolutely blew up in popularity towards the end of the 2017 season when he started putting up crazy numbers on the ground. Since that season, Tate has rushed for only 536 yards and 5 touchdowns in 19 games. Tate worked on becoming more of a passer last season in Kevin Sumlin’s system, and he threw for a respectable 2,530 yards and 26 touchdowns. People thought that this year would be the year he put it all together and we could finally see him reach his dynamic potential. Instead, he’s taken a step back in passing ability with only 12 touchdowns and 8 interceptions which is how many he threw in the 2018 season. Along with that, he hasn’t been able to show off his running ability. Once one of the most exciting players in college football, Tate has become an irrelevant player on an irrelevant team.
4. Kelly Bryant Mizzou QB
This selection is not as much about his lack of production compared to previous seasons as it is about him failing to live up to high expectations. Once a member of the 2017 College Football Semi-Finalist Clemson team, Kelly Bryant is in his first and only season as a Mizzou Tiger. Bryant, a dual-threat QB, came into this season with the expectation that he would lead the Tigers to a spot near the top of the SEC East. The tigers are sitting at 5-3 with three horrible away losses. It has been a disappointing season for the Tigers and Bryant had rough games in two out of the three losses. Bryant has never been a star, as the most he’s done in a season is throw for 2,678 yards and 14 touchdowns, but his dual threat abilities have somewhat diminished this year as he’s rushed for only 205 yards and a touchdown opposed to 646 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2017. Again, Bryant has not played poorly, but he has not played to the caliber most people thought he would when he made the move to Mizzou.
5. Jordan Love Utah State QB
This one is kind of out there as Love is not a well-known player as doesn’t play for a Power 5 school, but Love came into the season with the ability to play himself into first round draft pick consideration. Love has done the exact opposite by having his production steeply decline. Love had scouts excited about his under-the-radar abilities heading into this season as he quietly had a solid season last year throwing for over 3,000 yards and chucking 28 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions. His measurables had scouts excited with his 6’4 225 pound frame, with a strong arm. He was sort of like a smaller and even more under-the-radar Josh Allen. Love just needed to take that step forward production wise to prove that he was a real NFL prospect. Love has unfortunately taken a huge step backwards, only throwing 9 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Love’s story could’ve been a huge underdog story, but now his name seems to fall down farther and farther on 202 draft QB rankings.
