Tracking the spectacular, Dateline-worthy self-immolation currently being orchestrated by Johntay Cook got me thinking: Every college football fan, Longhorn or otherwise, has that one recruit they were sure would become a legend — only to watch them flame out in spectacular fashion. I’m talking about the ones who dominated in high school, put up record-breaking numbers, and were hailed as the “next big thing”… only to disappear into obscurity due to injuries, a bad fit, off-field issues, bad luck or otherwise.
Who’s the biggest bust you’ve ever hyped up? You know — the one you told all your friends who are fans of other programs to ‘watch out’ for.
Drop your most disappointing high school-to-college disasters in the comments.
I’ll start with two Longhorns I mentioned in the Johntay thread from 2007-2008:
Buck Burnette was an offensive lineman recruit from Wimberley. Buck may have been good at hunting deer, but unfortunately for Buck, he needed a trigger lock on his fingers, as he invited hunters on Facebook to bag Barack Obama after he won his first term. Using the N-word was also a nice touch. (No alcohol was involved in this incident at all.) Never played a down for the Horns.
Andre Jones was a heartbreaker for me. Andre was a five-star defensive lineman from El Paso who also never played a down, as he got implicated in a strange robbery case w/ model citizen Robert Joseph. (remember him?) Andre Jones always claimed he wasn't even at the scene of the apartment robbery and it was a case of mistaken identify, but he was unable to clear his name, as the video evidence his lawyer produced was inconclusive. We will never know the truth, but poor Andre was cooked. That sucks if that poor guy got shafted, but pretty much anyone who hung out w Robert Joseph was compromising their career, reputation, safety, citizenship, life, etc.
Love to hear yours. It can be from any college.