I think about weird shit sometimes....Like, does the guy who came up with the waffle iron live like a rockstar? I mean, if you came up with some appliance and ended up making hundreds of millions, do you live a wonderful quiet existence or do you let it all hang out and snort lines of coke with Lindsay Lohan in the women's bathroom of some trendy bar in West Hollywood?
So today I was thinking to myself, "self, if you took all the current professional athletes not playing in the NFL, and tried to create an all-star football team, which players would you choose?"
It's a pointless, but semi-entertaining "what-if" scenario, so I tried to come up with players at all 22 starting positions, plus a kicker, and guess what? - It's HARD to come up with guys at every position. There are some slim pickings - especially when you get away from the skill players and try to put together offensive and defensive lines.
But I gave it a shot anyway. When picking my "Non-NFL, Pro Athlete All-Football Team" (what a fucking terrible name) I adhered to the following self-imposed rules:
1) Players must be a professional athlete currently playing a sport that is not football. This includes all major leagues, minor leagues and Kentucky basketball. Only current professional athletes are eligible. Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and Brian Jordan need not apply.
2) All players must have played football on at least the high school level - and played it well enough to earn Division I scholarships. Yes, Dwight Howard is a phenomenal athlete, but I've seen him try to get physical under the basket and no way that guy holds up on a football field. Only professional athletes who have previously played football at the high school, college or professional levels are eligible.
3) Players must be at the age where if they chose to play football instead of their current professional sport, they could potentially be playing in the NFL right now. Herschel Walker is currently a professional MMA fighter, but at 47 he can't play in the NFL anymore. He's disqualified.
With those rules in mind, here's the coulda-woulda-shoulda football team I came up with:
Quarterback: Joe Mauer (6-5, 225) Minnesota Twins (MLB) Catcher
A three-time AL batting champ and the 2009 AL MVP, Mauer is probably the best amateur football player on this list. As a senior at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, MN, Mauer completed 178 of 288 passes for 3,022 yards and 41 touchdowns, leading his team to the state championship. He was named USA Today High School Baseball Player of the Year and High School Football Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the only athlete to garner both honors. The consensus #1 football and baseball recruit in the country, Mauer opted to sign a professional baseball contract over playing both quarterback and catcher at Florida State after his hometown Minnesota Twins selected him 1st overall in the 2001 MLB Draft.
Running Back: Carl Crawford (6-2, 215) Tampa Bay Rays (MLB) Left Fielder
Tampa Bay's perennial All-Star outfielder and four-time AL stolen base champion was a three-sport superduperstar at Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, TX. On the gridiron, every premier school in the country offered Crawford a scholarship and in basketball he was such a star point guard that UCLA offered him a free ride. Crawford chose to play both baseball and football at Nebraska before Tampa Bay signed him to a contact he couldn't refuse after selecting him in the 2nd round of the 1999 MLB Draft. Former Nebraska football coach Frank Solich has stated that Crawford was such a good player he could have started at quarterback as a true freshman in their vaunted option offense. At 6-2, 215 with lighting speed, he could have become a heck of a NFL running back.
Fullback: Brendan Schaub (6-4, 250) UFC Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Fighter
A purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Schaub owns a 4-1 career MMA record as a heavyweight and is scheduled to make just his second UFC fight on March 21, 2010. Prior to becoming a fighter, Schaub played fullback in college at Colorado from 2004-2005. Utilized as a traditional blocking fullback, he ran once for four yards and caught three passes for eight yards in 12 games as a senior. He would later play in the AFL and was a fullback on the Buffalo Bills practice squad before hanging up his shoulder pads to compete in the Octagon.
Wide Receiver: Jeff Samardzja (6-5, 218) Chicago Cubs (MLB) Pitcher
The owner of every career receiving record at legendary Notre Dame, Samardzja chose to bypass a NFL career to sign with his hometown Chicago Cubs. Thus far, it doesn't appear he made the right choice. In two seasons with the Cubs he has a 2-3 record and 5.20 ERA in 62 innings while failing to stick as a starting pitcher. While Samardzja throws 95 mph, his control and breaking ball have wavered. At Notre Dame, "Shark" was a phenomenal receiver with great leaping ability and even better hands. As a junior, he caught 77 passes for 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns and was named First Team All-America after catching 78 balls for 1,017 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior in 2006.
Wide Receiver: Jared Mitchell (5-11, 192) Chicago White Sox Draft Pick (MiLB) Left Fielder
A two-sport star at LSU, Mitchell was considered one of the top wide receivers in the country at Westgate High School in New Iberia, LA. Mitchell was a reserve wideout at LSU, catching 24 passes for 274 yards in 32 career games. He and teammate Chad Jones became the only two players to capture both a BCS National Championship (2007) and College World Series Championship (2009). On the diamond, Mitchell was a force, hitting .327 with 11 homeruns, 50 RBI and 36 stolen bases his junior year. The White Sox drafted him with the 23rd overall selection in the 2009 MLB Draft and he started his professional career by hitting .296 with 5 stolen bases in 34 games of Class A baseball last year.
Tight End: LeBron James (6-8, 250) Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA) Forward
King James was already featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior basketball player at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, OH, but his athletic exploits weren't limited to just basketball. On the gridiron, James caught 57 passes for 1160 yards and 16 touchdowns while leading his team to the state championship game during his junior year. Despite his status as a five-star football recruit, he decided to give up football as a senior to focus solely on basketball. James was selected with the 1st overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft straight out of high school by his hometown Cavs and in six seasons he has been named to three First Team All-NBA squads, captured a scoring title, won Rookie of the Year and MVP honors and led his team to the NBA Finals all by the ripe old age of 24. Obviously, he made the right decision, but it's kinda cool to imagine what a 6-8, 275-pound (after training for football) tight end with a 44-inch vertical and 4.5 speed would have done in the NFL.
Offensive Tackle: Glen Davis (6-9, 290) Boston Celtics (NBA) Forward
"Big Baby" Davis was a terrific two-way football player at University Laboratory High School in Baton Rouge, LA, starring at defensive end, defensive tackle and running back. In high school, Davis stood 6-7 and weighed an astounding 345 pounds. Today, he is a relatively svelte 290 pounds despite growing another two inches since high school. How highly was Davis thought of as a football player? Rivals ranked him as the 13th best high school basketball player in the country, but still questioned his decision to play basketball at LSU over a future on the football field. At Baton Rouge he averaged 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as a junior and was selected in the 2nd round of the 2007 NBA Draft. A reserve power forward for the Celtics, Davis stepped in for an injured Kevin Garnett in the playoffs last year and averaged 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 14 games. He recently expressed an interest in pursuing a career in the NFL someday. At 300 pounds with the agility and stamina to play in the NBA, he would make one helleva left tackle.
Glen Davis High School Football Highlights:
Offensive Tackle: Wes Shivers (6-5, 265) UFC Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Fighter
Shivers was an All-SEC offensive tackle at Mississippi State where he played at 320 pounds. Dtafted by the Tennessee Titans in the 7th round of the 2000 NFL Draft, Shivers gave up football after he was cut by the Atlanta Falcons after playing in three regular season games.
Offensive Guard: Bob Sapp (6-4, 325) DREAM Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Fighter
Sapp is the only athlete on this list who actually played in the NFL - even if it was for only one game. A standout offensive guard at Washington, Sapp was expected to be a high pick in the 1997 NFL Draft. In fact, Mel Kiper Jr. ranked him as the best offensive guard prospect in the entire draft. However, his stocked slipped for whatever reason and he wasn't selected until the 69th overall pick in the 3rd round. Over the next four seasons, Sapp played for the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens and Oakland Raiders, but he appeared in just one game with Minnesota in 1997 before leaving football to start a career in Japanese professional wrestling, then kickboxing and later MMA. Sapp compiled a 10-9 kickboxing record before competing in MMA where he has a record of 10-6-1 with Pride, K-1 and DREAM - all lesser competition than the quality of fighters in UFC.
Offensive Guard:
Center:
Defensive End: CC Sabathia (6-7, 290) New York Yankees (MLB) Pitcher
Before signing with the Cleveland Indians after they selected him with the 20th overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft, Sabathia had signed a letter of intent to play football at Hawaii. A three-sport star at Vallejo High School in Vallejo, CA, Sabathia was an All-Conference tight end and defensive end. He also happened to be a top-notch baseball prospect, going 6-0 with a 0.77 ERA his senior year. Sabathia made the right decision. At just 20 years old he had a 17-5 record and was runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year, and in nine big league seasons he's 136-81 with a 3,62 ERA and 1,590 strikeouts in 1,889 innings pitched. He won the AL CY Young Award in 2007 and signed a seven-year $161M contract with the New York Yankees.
Defensive End: Brock Lesnar (6-2, 265) UFC Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Champion
Yes, Lesnar already tried, and failed, to make the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings in 2004. But let's get this straight, it was just a matter of time before Lesnar would have been a NFL player. In 2004, the then-WWE Champion left a lucrative wrestling contact on the table to try his hand at a real sport - professional football. Lesnar worked out for NFL scouts and ran a 4.7 second forty-yard dash with a 35-inch vertical leap, incredible numbers for a defensive lineman. No one doubted his athletic ability. After all, Lesnar was the 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Wrestling Champion at Minnesota, where he compiled a 55-3 record in two varsity seasons. But Lesnar hadn't played football in TEN YEARS. No athlete, no matter how athletic, can just pick up a sport after 10 years and expect to compete with the game's greatest players. Yet Lesnar almost made the team - he was one of the Vikings' last cuts that preseason. One of his key NFL highlights was sacking Kansas City quarterback Damon Huard in a preseason contest and knocking him out of the game. If Lesnar would have taken the Vikings' offer to play with their NFL Europe team that year, I bet he's playing in the NFL right now. Instead, he's beating the snot out of the biggest, most skilled professional fighters on the planet. What an incredible athlete.
Defensive Tackle: Matt Mitrione (6-2, 275) UFC Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Fighter
Affectionately known as "Meat" in college, Mitrione was a starting defensive tackle on Purdue's Rose Bowl team in 2000 and would play 9 games in the NFL with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent. He played at 300 pounds.
Defensive Tackle:
Outside Linebacker: Elijah Dukes (6-1, 248) Washington Nationals (MLB) Right Fielder
Talented and tormented, Dukes was a star high school football recruit before embarking on his turbulent baseball career. Rivals ranked Dukes as a four-star recruit and the 19th best high school linebacker in the country and he was committed to play football at North Carolina State before signing a contract with Tampa Bay after they selected him in the 3rd round of the 2002 MLB Draft. Dukes has a rare combination of power, speed, plate discipline and arm strength, but a series of on-field and off-field altercations has stunted his baseball career. Still, he is one of Washington's key players they are counting on to rebuild their franchise.
Outside Linebacker: Matt Holliday (6-4, 235) St. Louis Cardinals (MLB) Left Fielder
Big, strong, fast, and blessed with a rocket arm, Holliday has enjoyed great success in baseball, winning both NL batting and RBI titles in 2007 en route to leading the Colorado Rockies to the World Series. Before becoming a standout baseball player, Holliday was one helleva football player. He was an All-America quarterback at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma and had signed a letter of intend to play football at Oklahoma State before signing with the Rockies after they selected him in the 7th round of the 1998 MLB Draft. Like Joe Paterno did countless times in his coaching career, I'm moving this tough, athletic quarterback to linebacker on this team. Holliday just signed a seven-year, $120M contract with St. Louis.
Middle Linebacker: Kimbo Slice (6-2, 235) UFC Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight Fighter
Perhaps the most well-known street fighter on the planet, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson was a star linebacker at Palmetto High School in Miami, FL. Despite getting a late start in MMA, Slice has a 4-1 record and won his first UFC contest on December 5, 2009.
Cornerback: Allen Iverson (6-0, 165) Philadelphia 76'ers (NBA) Guard [PICTURED ABOVE]
A.I. was the original Mike Vick, passing and running for breathtaking touchdowns at Bethel High School in Hampton, VA. Iverson passed for 1,423 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 781 yards and 15 scores as a junior, leading his team to the state championship. On defense, he was an All-State defensive back, intercepting 8 passes. Iverson was banned from playing all sports his senior season following his highly controversial participation in a bowling alley brawl, but he would go on to become a basketball star at Georgetown after spending four months in prison. He was selected with the 1st overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft by the 76'ers and his blazing speed and crossover dribble translated into instant NBA success as he captured four scoring titles, the 1997 Rookie of the Year and 2001 MVP awards and carried the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals. Although Iverson is a sure-fire Hall of Fame basketball player, it warrants mention that he was actually considered a better pro football prospect in high school. Had the bowling alley brawl never happened, who knows what Iverson would have done if he had the opportunity to play football during his senior year.
Allen Iverson High School Football Highlights:
Cornerback: Nate Robinson (5-9, 180) New York Knicks (NBA) Guard
The pint-sized Robinson is actually the only current NBA player who has played college football. As a true freshman at Washington in 2002, Robinson played in all 13 games and tallied 34 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 pass deflections at cornerback. After averaging 13 points per game on the court during his freshman season, Robinson quit football to focus on basketball and would go on the become a 1st round selection in the 2005 NBA Draft. He's averaged over 12 points per game in four NBA seasons, but his real claim to fame is as a three-time Slam Dunk Champion. There is little doubt Robinson could have been a NFL cornerback. His speed, athleticism and other-worldly vertical leap made him a can't-miss prospect and potential first round NFL draft pick.
Free Safety: Grady Sizemore (6-2, 200) Cleveland Indians (MLB) Center Fielder
Cleveland's pretty-boy center fielder was an All-State football player once upon a time. At Cascade High School in Mill Creek, WA, Sizemore rushed for 1,201 yards and 21 touchdowns on offense and tallied 79 tackles and 8 interceptions on defense during his senior season. He was named First Team All-State defensive back and was all set to play both baseball and football at the University of Washington before signing with the Montreal Expos after they selected him in the third round of the 2000 MLB Draft. He clearly made the right choice. In just five full MLB seasons, Sizemore has been named to three AL All-Star teams and won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.
Strong Safety: Jeff Francoeur (6-5, 220) New York Mets (MLB) Right Fielder
In June of 2002, Francoeur had a tough decision to make - play baseball for his hometown Atlanta Braves or stay committed to playing both football and baseball at Clemson. Atlanta made the choice much easier by offering and signing him to a $2.2 million bonus. On the surface, it seems like he made the right choice, but to be perfectly honest, his best sport was probably football. Francoeur has had moderate success in his first 5 seasons in MLB, hitting .270 with 88 homeruns and 400 RBI, but at Parkview High School in Georgia, he was a gridiron savant. Francoeur was the centerpiece of a football program that went undefeated in 2000 and 2001, and won the state champion in 2002. As a junior, he caught 14 touchdowns as a receiver and intercepted 15 passes as a safety. You never really know, but he had 1st round NFL pick written all over him. It would have been fun to see him as a 6-5, 220-pound strong safety in the SEC.
Kicker: Darin Erstad (6-2, 220) Houston Astros (MLB) Left Fielder
In 1995, Erstad was the best college baseball player in the nation at Nebraska and the California Angels made him the 1st overall pick in that year's MLB Draft. He would later help the Angels capture a World Series Championship in 2002 and has a .282 average with 124 homeruns and 699 RBI in 1,654 career MLB games. However, if for some reason baseball never worked out for him, Erstad could have always fallen back on his backup plan - NFL punter. He served as the starting punter on Nebraska's 1994 National Championship football team, booming 50 punts for 2,130 yards. While his 42.6 yard average ranked an impressive 14th in the nation, Erstad's real football accomplishment was his net punting average of 41.2 - meaning opponents averaged only 1.4 net yards per punt return. That's some great hang-time! In addition, he placed 20 punts inside his opponent's 20-yard line. Erstad also served as the backup placekicker, booting three field goals (including a long of 48 yards) and 10 extra points that season.
