Players that never reached their potential

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DiamondDust:
Anyone remember Darius Gilbert? He played a couple years ago. I work with him on campus (he's still in school), but I don't really remember him as a player. He's a pretty nice guy, and he usually gives some good insight to the late Dubose/early Franchione eras.</font>

Yeah he made some good plays in the 99 championship game.
 
For all you old timers out there, I seem to remember a QB named Billy Sexton, who in the 1960's was deemed to be the next Joe Namath. I don't believe he ever played a down at Alabama. Maybe it was just rumors passed on by my grandfather, but Sexton was a guy he talked about a lot and I don't really know what the story was. Does anybody here have any information about this guy?

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"Always expect the unexpected" -- Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
 
Sammy Gellerstadt.......Coach Bryant called him the best nose guard he ever saw and the most dissapointing player he ever had...nuff said!!!

MississippiTider
I remember Sam Gellerstedt very well. I've often wondered happened. He just disappeared.
Was it his decision to leave Alabama or did
Coach Bryant decide it. Thanks for any insight
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by bamatude:
I almost hate to say this because I like him, but Freddie Kitchens although he was a decent QB, probably should have stuck with baseball. Did't he have a fastball in the mid 90s. Maby he could have made it to the Bigs. He was a gutsy QB, and got a lot of wins for us , and I am sure he's proud of his career, but can't you almost see him on the mound. A Roger Clemmons clone,(I can see it). </font>


Kitchens did more with what he had than almost any other QB we have ever had. I still remember auburn players bouncing off of him in the 96' game.
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DiamondDust:
If Tidehead is around, he might be able to tell you about Gene(His dad works with Gene). Anyways, he was supposed to come in at Quarterback, but when Perkins left, Curry told him no. As a result, he was forced to pick a new position, and became a TE.</font>

That's exactly what happened. After Shula graduated, Gene was one of several candidates for the QB job the following year, but Perkins left for Tampa. Curry came in and told him to pick a new position. He ended up at TE and saw fairly limited action. He caught the game winnning TD pass in the 1988 Kentucky game, and it was the only down he played all game!
 
Here's a long list of some recent era players who have not been mentioned:

Rob-E-Staten
Travis Carroll
Chris Jordan
Curtis Alexander
Chris Simmons
Tito Smith
Eric Locke
Kecalf Bailey
Josh Swords
Brian Burgdorf
Pierre Goode
Rod Rutledge
Steve Stanley
Michael Vaughn
Adam Cox
Jamie Carter
Sam Mathews
Shaun Bohannon
Marvin Constant (was destined for greatness, In my opinion)
Kendrick Lott
Fernando Davis
Reggie Myles
Jeremy Walker
Matt Lomax
Dante Ellington
Sam Mathews
Antonyeo Williams

The large number here should show how difficult it is to achieve college football greatness for various reasons. All of the above were projected to be great players. Some may have been but didn't due to injury. Others had peaked before they came here. Some didn't do the work when they got here. And some were simply mis-evaluated. We should be proud of all those who give effort and be careful not to knock them when they don't meet our expectations. Even the great ones sometimes don't pan out.
 
Michael "Hound Dog" Rogers! After his car wreck he lost something, man could he hit.

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"Alabama players don't win Heisman Trophies, Bama Teams win national championships"
(Paul "Bear" Bryant)
 
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by JohnD:
Here's a long list of some recent era players who have not been mentioned:

Rob-E-Staten
Travis Carroll
Chris Jordan
Curtis Alexander
Chris Simmons
Tito Smith
Eric Locke
Kecalf Bailey
Josh Swords
Brian Burgdorf
Pierre Goode
Rod Rutledge
Steve Stanley
Michael Vaughn
Adam Cox
Jamie Carter
Sam Mathews
Shaun Bohannon
Marvin Constant (was destined for greatness, In my opinion)
Kendrick Lott
Fernando Davis
Reggie Myles
Jeremy Walker
Matt Lomax
Dante Ellington
Sam Mathews
Antonyeo Williams

The large number here should show how difficult it is to achieve college football greatness for various reasons. All of the above were projected to be great players. Some may have been but didn't due to injury. Others had peaked before they came here. Some didn't do the work when they got here. And some were simply mis-evaluated. We should be proud of all those who give effort and be careful not to knock them when they don't meet our expectations. Even the great ones sometimes don't pan out.
</font>


Sam Matthews was so disappointing you listed him twice huh? What about Roberto McBride?
 
A bunch of washout QB's during the late 80's of course, but a few notables

vince sutton - he had the arm to throw it through a tire at 50 yards flat footed, he could run, he was an increadable athlete, sort of reminded me of Vick, but for whatever reason he couldn't grasp the mental part of the game and lost out to Shula.

Kerry Goode - how good would he have been had he not trashed his knee before the days of HealthSouth.

The most overhyped player I remember was John Cassimus, He's my age and I remember opening the Saturday morning news hoping to see something about my team and instead I see his ugly mug on the front page "Gods Gift to Mt Brook Runs for another 100 yards!!" Of course none of that was his fault, The news always over hypes Mt Brooks players. Anyway, John showed up on campus with no more athletic skill than I had, in fact I don't think even that much, he never cracked the lineup beyond punt coverage or something like that.

Oh, and John... If your reading this.. Its the cost of fame dude.
 
i skimmed over the replys and a few i didnt see or didnt recognize was nautyn mc kay loescher (dont know if i spelled it right) but he had tons of injurys this yeAr,also ahmaad galloway with his injury. a BIG TEAM that didnt reAch its potential was the 2oo3 Football team because of all the crap that went on during the offseason,although they did reach their peak against oklahoma,tennessee and arkansas.The ut and Arkansas games could have gone either way as they were both in OT.

Roll Tide
 
Marvin Constant blew his knee out making a game winning tackle against LSU, he reached his potential that day! RTR

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We Are Alabama!
 
I think this post is about players destined for greatness who never worked out. So here's a few that come to mind:

Billy Ray - did he ever even play a down?

Bobby Humphrey - here's the thing with Bobby, he was bad to fumble the ball in crucial situations. We missed out on the 1986 Sugar Bowl because of his two fumbles against LSU. He did come up big, but he was a disappointment if that's defined as 'failure to live up to hype.'

Willie Ryles - Not his fault. He collapsed and died right before the 1986 season opener against Ohio State. Blood clot I believe.

Don Jacobs - I thought this guy was sorry. Yes, he had a good comeback against Tennessee, but he sorely disappointed me. Maybe I just was too used to Rutledge and Steadman Shealy.

Kecalf Bailey - God, I used to shudder every time he went in for a coverage play.

Tyler Watts - I know, I know, I'm gonna get some hate mail for that one. But he was so highly touted coming out of high school that he was given the job by fans before he ever really earned it. And while the torn ACL took a lot out, folks, he wasn't near that great.

Zow, Kitchens,and Hollingsworth did more with what they had - they weren't highly hyped QBs.

Joe King - yeah, remember that one

Kerry Goode - never could stay healthy.

RTR
 
Woe be it for the former Tide players who end up on this list! You shall never be forgiven! The Red Elephant fans never forget! Man are we hurting for the season to start! LOL!!!!
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