The path from Division III to the NFL
When Cecil Shorts from Mount Union was taken by the Jacksonville Jaguars in this year’s NFL Draft, the selection flew predominantly under the radar. Viewers at home were most likely unaware, but Shorts joined a very small club of football players from Division III colleges who have been taken in the draft.
If a player chooses to go to a Division III school, it usually means that they are planning for a career in something besides sports. Since Division III colleges in the NCAA aren’t allowed to offer athletic scholarships, there certainly isn’t as much recruiting as bigger Division I programs. Getting noticed by professional scouts takes an enormous amount of dedication and effort if a player is competing at one of the less-heralded levels of collegiate football.
Even when a player gets drafted, the process still isn’t over. There’s no guarantee that he will immediately make the team, and even if he does, any injury or acquisition can dramatically alter his future. Look at the cases of Derek Stanley, a wide receiver from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, or Michael Allan, a tight end from Whitworth.
Stanley was drafted in 2007 by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick in the seventh round. He had a total of six receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown before being released in 2009. Stanley’s last action in a uniform happened when he was signed by the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in May 2010, but he was released less than a month later.
Allan had an even shorter career. Also drafted in 2007, he went to the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round with the 231st pick, but never recorded a stat as he sat on the practice squad. He was cut in 2008 just before the regular season. After that, Allan went to the California Redwoods, a UFL team, but didn’t last long. He then went to the Seattle Seahawks before being released a month later.
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For those careers cut short due to being the odd man out or other circumstances, there are still some D-III players finding success at the highest level of professional football. These players have proved their abilities despite not going to a top-tier football college, and they have the statistics to prove it.
Pierre Garcon has proven to be a helpful addition to any fantasy football team in the past two seasons, but he seemingly came out of nowhere. Garcon was drafted from Mount Union by the Indianapolis Colts in 2008 in the sixth round with the 205th pick and has proved his worth as a great route-runner, catching 67 passes for 784 yards and six touchdowns in 2010. In his young three-season career, Garcon has 118 receptions for 1572 yards with 10 touchdowns. He should keep getting rewarded with Peyton Manning as his quarterback.
Despite his success, though, Garcon wasn’t expected to have a major impact on the Colts. Nate Dunlevy of Colts’ site 18 To 88 thought Garcon would follow the pattern of other late-round wide receivers and be a failed experiment but has since wondered if maybe Garcon’s small-school status has even been an advantage for the wide receiver.
“I think his status as a D-III player worked in his favor with fans, to be honest,” Dunlevy said. “It made him seem like a project, a guy who might have slipped under the radar. ?Had he gone to a school like Florida, people would have assumed he fell because of a lack of talent.”
Not every D-III player has to be drafted to find success, though. Fred Jackson, from Coe, wasn’t able to play in the NFL until the Buffalo Bills signed him four years after his 2003 draft. Before then, he was playing in the now-defunct NFL Europe league, amongst other places. In 2007, he became the first Division III running back to start an NFL game since Dec. 24, 2000.
Jackson stayed as a productive complement to Marshawn Lynch until 2009, when he took over the starting job from Lynch. After Lynch was traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 2010 season, Jackson was looked at to lead the rushing offense. He didn’t disappoint, getting 222 carries for 927 yards for five touchdowns this past season. In his four seasons, Jackson has racked up 2860 rushing and 1093 receiving yards, showing off his versatility.
While Jackson and Garcon are relatively young athletes from D-III schools, London Fletcher is a veteran who has proven himself against the odds. Regardless of what team he has played on, Fletcher has been the symbol of consistency. Never missing a game in his NFL career, Fletcher wasn’t chosen in the 1998 Draft but was signed as a rookie free agent by the St. Louis Rams. After leading the team in tackles for 1999 and 2000, and helping them win Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans, Fletcher went to the Buffalo Bills in 2002 and finally signed with the Washington Redskins in 2007, where he currently plays. Fletcher continues to lead their defense as a charismatic veteran.
Kevin Ewoldt of Redskins’ blog Hogs Haven had faith in Fletcher the minute he came to his team due to his connections with other personnel in Washington.
“Our defensive coordinator at the time, Gregg Williams, is one of the best in the business and had coached Fletcher in Buffalo,” Ewoldt said. “Although Fletcher had not won any Pro Bowls at the time, he has never been hurt and has always played at a high level, including his Super Bowl win with the Rams.”
To Ewoldt, players from D-III colleges are at a disadvantage due to the level of competition, but then again, so is any rookie from a university. The main factor is preparation.
“NFL players are faster, stronger, and smarter (playbook-wise) so they can’t simply depend on their athleticism to win battles,” Ewoldt said. “They have to be smarter, and London Fletcher proves that every year over and over. Many of the current, young Redskins LBs talk about how much they’ve learned from Fletcher, especially in the film room. They said on the field he knows what’s going to happen before anyone else does.”
Fletcher may not have taken a conventional path to the NFL, but he’s certainly proven that great athletes can come from small schools. Ewoldt sees Fletcher as the nucleus that keeps the Redskins’ defense intact.
“Fletcher has met all expectations and more,” Ewoldt said. “The guy is the heart and soul of the defense.”
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