It's time for football talk. The season is getting close.
Here are my top ten worst SEC football players you'll never forget. My memory only goes back so far. Feel free to add your own.
10. Mario Fannin
He came to Auburn as a highly touted recruit. A big back with world class speed. Four stars. All the hype an incoming freshman could want. And every year he was at Auburn, he was known for two things: being the greatest running back of all time at practice and fumbling during games. Who else could run for 200+ yards in team scrimmages and then cough up the ball when it counted? Mario Fannin. That's who.
9. Fred Talley
Now, Fred Talley doesn't make this list because he's a top ten worst player. Not by any means. But tell me, Auburn fan, will you ever forget the day? I don't even need to explain further. If you root for Auburn, you know why Talley is here.
8. Brodie Croyle
He was supposed to be what Tyler Watts was hyped to be. He was supposed to be a mixture of Joe Nameth, Joe Montana, Brett Favre, and Dan Marino. He was supposed to be almighty savior of Mike Shula. Instead, Croyle simply pulled the chair out from Shula's career. Literally. Croyle was never known as the hotshot quarterback. He was an undisciplined goofball. A victim of 11 sacks in one game. An injury prone, fratastic rich kid who attended private school. And he somehow managed to be an NFL backup for several years. You'll never forget him.
7. Chris Capps
What's a list of worsts that includes Brodie Croyle and fails to mention Chris Capps? Every Bama fan just shivered. In Tuscaloosa, he is the He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. From holding calls to sacks to false starts to just plain sucking, Chris Capps had it...well...he had nothing. He was one of the worst left tackles to ever start in the SEC, and he started multiple years.
6. Jordan Jefferson
Where were you when one of the best teams in SEC history lost because Jordan Jefferson, a player that wasn't even on the team the entire season, threw the season away? Jefferson's auspicious start occurred in a bowl game where he made his first start of his career. He launched the ball to wide open receivers, took off down the field on exciting runs, and gave favorable hope to LSU fans that he would continue to lead the machine that Saban once had built and Myles now controlled. And Jefferson did lead them. To fumbled snaps. To clock management goofs. To off the field trouble. To suspensions. To a blown national title. Unforgettable and really, unconscionable how a team that recruits so well was never able to find someone - anyone! - that could replace this guy.
5. Tray Blackmon
I remember the articles of his recruitment - the next Ray Lewis. I remember the articles during practice - the next Ray Lewis. I remember the articles during the season - the next Ray Lewis. And I remember when he finally got thrown into a game - the next Ray Lewis. Blackmon was so talented, such a physical freak, that even though he was completely lost against Florida in 2007, he still dominated the game defensively. I watched him run the wrong direction, spin around in a circle, and still make it to the other side of the field to deliver a big hit. The guy was on track to be a legend. And unfortunately, one of the most gifted players to ever come to Auburn did leave a legend. The legend that left football early to play Canadian football in order to support his baby mamas.
4. Brent Schaefer
"He's like Houdini out there!" said Mike Tirico, game one of the 2004 season. Eric Ainge and Brent Schaefer were both top quarterback recruits. So talented were these two that Fulmer recruited both of them and then started both of them practically at the same time of the same games. Who would win out? Schaefer was reminiscent of Michael Vick. Flashy moves. Lightning speed. A cannon for an arm. But he only ran his way out of town and only threw his arm out trying to win for Ed Orgeron in Oxford. Schaefer was a one man team, and he was good enough to win as a one man team. But he didn't. He was one of the more bonehead players I've watched as a football fan, and how someone that talented was able to do so little, I'm glad I'll never know.
3. Michael Johnson
Many Auburn fans just clicked the X at the top of the screen. You know Fred Talley, and you know Michael Johnson. Yes, the same Michael Johnson that did absolutely nothing for Georgia unless it was the Auburn game. And usually, Johnson was making clutch catches at pivotal moments of the game. In fact, he single handedly won the 2002 game with an electric catch in the endzone. What else did Michael Johnson do in his career? Nothing. And most have probably forgotten him. But not Auburn fans.
2. Stephen Garcia
When Garcia was on, he was on. He could launch perfectly thrown spirals right into the hands of his receivers against talented defenses like 2010 Alabama's. But, like in that same game against Alabama, he could also come out on the first play of the half and literally throw the ball the wrong direction out the back of the endzone. Garcia was tall, big, reckless, stupid, and exciting. Never a dull moment. In fact, he should be a legend. Parties with coeds in a hotel room the night before a bowl game? Liquor binges that resulted in wild acts of debauchery? Somehow managing to Van Wilder the NCAA system and play for South Carolina for a decade? You can't forget Garcia.
1. Xavier Carter
Before your incredulity gets the best of you, forget his name. It's not his name that matters. This list is a combination list of "worst players" and "unforgettable players." Carter fulfills the "worst" part. What do you know Xavier Carter for? Well, he's the guy that kneeled the ball on the 1 yard line after receiving the kickoff. That's the worst unforgettable play I could ever imagine.
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