August 12, 2003

What Happened to Those Prospects?



They grew up as Gods. Praised by teammates and coaches ever since peewee football, little league, and their first basketball camp. They don’t know what the word “mediocre” mean.

These are the blue-chippers of professional sports. Some of them live up to their expectations. Some surpass them. For those people, we know their story, but what about those who fell short, the guys who got stranded at third base, and the tools that didn’t make it through their warrantee.

Here are my top ten athletes who should have, but never had, although some of these athletes still have a chance for success.

10) Drew Henson – The Golden Boy successor to Tom Brady, Henson had one decent year as the starting quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines before dedicating himself to his multi-million dollar deal with the New York Yankees.

Drew Henson's 2000 Michigan Football Statistics:



GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT EFF


9 146 237 61.6 2146 18 4 159.35



After three years playing third base in the Yankee’s AAA Columbus team, Henson has yet to make a splash in the majors other than a call up in late 2002. He’s only 23, but the addition of Aaron Boone and the fact Henson is only hitting in the .220s to .240s with a 4 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Drew Henson’s AAA statistics:



YR GP AVE AB H R HR RBI BB SO


2001 71 .222 270 60 29 11 38 10 85

2002 128 .240 471 113 68 18 65 37 151

2003 113 .233 412 96 48 12 67 25 103




But then, for only God knows why, the Houston Texans decided to draft Henson in the 6th round of the 2003 draft. However, even if Henson decide to give football another shot, he still needs to brush away 3 years of rust off of his football career, beat out former #1 overall pick David Carr, and avoid repeating the careers of the other 4 QBs on this list.

9) Rick Mirer – Another quarterback??? It seems like I can make a top ten list just for quarterbacks who were drafted in the top ten and sucked. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know why Mirer is picked that high (2nd overall in the 1993 draft). He passed for a mere 1876 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions his final year at Notre Dame. He looked more like a Tee Martin than a Dan Marino with his 9 rushing touchdowns in his junior year. If Mirer played in today’s game of college football, he would have winded up with the same scouting report given to players like Brian Griese, Josh Heupel, or Ken Dorsey, quarterbacks who kept their teams from losing the game rather than winning the game for the team. Like those 3 quarterbacks who had great players on their teams. Mirer had Jerome Bettis, Rickey Watters, Dorsey Levens, Raghib Ismail, and Reggie Brooks on offense; Bryant Young, Junior Bryant, Jim Flanigan, Chris Zorich, Jeff Burris, Bobby Taylor, and Todd Lyght on defense. Other quarterbacks who became Pro-Bowlers drafted that year after Mirer were Mark Brunell in the 5th round, Elvis Grbac, and Trent Green, both in the 8th round.

Rich Mirer’s College Statistics:



YR COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1989 15 30 50.0 180 0 1

1990 110 200 55.0 1824 8 6

1991 132 234 56.4 2117 18 10

1992 120 234 51.3 1876 15 6




Rich Mirer’s NFL Statistics:



YR GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1993 16 274 486 56.4 2833 12 17

1994 13 195 381 51.2 2151 11 7

1995 15 209 394 53.5 2564 13 20

1996 11 136 265 51.3 1546 5 12

1997 7 53 103 51.5 420 0 6

1998 --Backup with Green Bay where Brett Favre has started 155 games and counting --

1999 8 95 176 54.0 1062 5 9

2000 1 10 20 50.0 126 1 0

2001 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0




Note: Rich Mirer is the only quarterback on this list who has passed for over 2000 yards in an NFL season.


8) Wilson Betemit – The Braves signed this infield talent when he was 16 years old in 1997, and for the past 3 years, he has been highly regarded within the Braves organization. Despite being called up in 2001 and appearing in 8 games, Betemit has since regressed. He had a dismal year in 2002 playing for AAA Richmond. Now that the Braves have Furcal and Giles up the middle, Betemit was moved to 3B in 2003 in AAA Richmond, hoping to earn a spot for 2004 at that position, currently held by aging Vinny Castilla. With good defensive fundamentals, above average power, and great speed, Betemit is not washed up yet, but very close. Being a long-time Braves fan, I hope to see the trio of Betemit-Furcal-Giles for the next ten years.

Wilson Betemit’s AAA Richmond Statistics:



YR GP AB R HR RBI SB SO BB AVE


2002 93 343 43 8 34 8 82 34 .245

2003 106 402 47 5 52 7 99 34 .259




Despite his struggles in real-life baseball, Betemit has done extremely well for my Braves in High Heat 2003 with the following stats:



YR Level* GP AB R HR RBI SB SO BB AVE


2002 Rookie 122 575 195 31 173 53 43 33 .470

2003 Pro 158 675 147 25 131 27 82 35 .382

2004 All-Star 158 634 125 25 115 45 100 48 .339

2005 Simul. 161 586 85 18 96 59 112 51 .323

2006 All-Star 120 479 105 23 102 34 69 35 .372




*Levels from easy to hard in HH2003 are Rookie, Pro, All-Star, MVP, and Hall-of-Fame. Simul stands for computer simulated season.

7) Heath Shuler – Ahh, Heath Shuler, this one pains me everytime I think about it. Thinking back to the Autumns in the early 90’s I use to sneak into the football cathedral we called Neyland Stadium every Saturday when I was still in elementary school. It was right after the great Andy Kelly has graduated from the University of Tennessee Volunteers and joined the (then know as) Phoenix Cardinals. Johnny Majors is looking for his next starting quarterback, and there was ole #21. No quarterbacks wear any number above 20, right? What kind of a name is “Heath”, and why is his brother (“Benjie” who played wide receiver for Tennessee) named after a dog? Those were the questions running through my head when I first saw Heath Shuler.

After 2 years at the helm of Tennessee football, Shuler has decided to enter the NFL draft after his junior season. If he would have returned for his senior season, I was sure that he would have won the Heisman Trophy (He finished 2nd to Charlie Ward) and possibly win the National Championship as well as become the #1 pick in 1995. Like most Volunteer fans at the time, I felt betrayed by his decision. He was picked #3 by the Redskins in the 1994 NFL draft. The fact he held out for more money from the Washington Redskins made me dislike him even more. Eventually, he became one of the biggest busts of all time. Adding insult to injury, he was replaced by Gus Frerotte, who was drafted in the 7th round in the same draft Shuler was picked.

Heath Shuler’s College Statistics:



YR COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1993 184 285 64.6 2354 25 8




Heath Shuler’s NFL Statistics:



YR COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1994 120 265 45.3 1658 10 12

1995 66 125 52.8 745 3 7

1996 0 0 0.0 0 0 0

1997 106 203 52.2 1288 2 14




6) Art Schlichter – After leaving Ohio State where Schlichter was a 4 year starter and still holds the single game passing yards (458yds) and career passing yards (7547yds) records, he was drafted 4th overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1982 NFL draft.

Half way into his rookie season, Schlichter has lost all $350,000 of his signing bonus to the compulsive gambling disease he has. His urge to gamble was so great that he would think about bets he made on the horse track, on baseball games, and on football games while he was in the huddle, forgetting the play he called himself. Due to his gambling, Schlichter was suspended by the NFL in 1983. He was later cut in 1985 by the Colts and never played in the NFL again. Later on, Schlichter played in the Arena Football League during 1990-1992 where he was the MVP for the Detroit Drive in 1990.

After running dry of his own money, Schlichter’s charismatic characteristic helped him lure other people into lending him money. If that didn’t work, he used fraud to get money to gamble. Since 1987, Schlichter has been arrested and charged multiple times for bank frauds, money laundering, writing bad checks, illegal gambling, and grand theft. Despite several efforts of rehabilitation, Schlichter’s disease lowered himself to the point of stealing from family and friends. His actions ultimately led to divorce from his wife in 1994. Currently, he is still in jail in Indiana on charges of money laundering.

What happened to Schlichter was truly tragic. Maybe we shouldn’t feel sympathetic for someone who self-destructs his career and life, but in Art Schlichter’s case, we should. His career wasn’t ended by a horrific concussion or a bad attitude, it was ended by a condition few would even categorize as a disease – compulsive gambling, something that troubled the great athletes such as Pete Rose and Michael Jordan.

Art Schlichter’s NFL and AFL Statistics:



YR League GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1982 NFL 3 17 37 45.9 197 0 2

1983 NFL -- did not play, suspended --

1984 NFL 9 62 140 44.3 702 3 7

1985 NFL 1 12 25 48.0 107 0 2


1990 AFL 8 116 228 50.9 1718 27 8 MVP

1991 AFL 10 120 264 45.5 1888 33 8

1992 AFL 10 206 359 57.4 2461 45 12



5) Pervis Ellison – “Never Nervous Pervis” Ellison was a prototypical blue-chipper through out his amateur career. For his senior year in high school, he averaged 27 points, 19 rebounds, and 7 blocks per game for the Savannah Blue Jackets, earning McDonald’s All-American honors. After signing with Louisville in 1985, the freshman led Louisville to the national championship while earning the Final Four MOP (Most Outstanding Player). In 1989, Ellison was picked as the #1 overall pick by the Sacramento Kings.

Pervis Ellison’s NBA dream stumbled right out of the blocks. He began the season on the injured list after an operation to remove bone spurs in his right foot. The following season, Ellison was traded to the Washington Bullets in a three-way deal. Just as Ellison was turning it around in his third year, knee problems would hamper him for the next 4 seasons. His last years were spent with the Boston Celtics where his knee continued to bother him along with a fractured toe and ankle injuries.

Other than injuries, Ellison’s failure as a pro can be delegated to the high expectations that came with being a #1 draft. In a fairly weak draft (other top ten picks included the likes of Danny “Shoots Like a Girl” Ferry, J.R. Reid, Stacey King, George McCloud, Randy White, and Tom Hammonds), Ellison was too slow to play center and too slow to play power forward. The fact that previous #1 picks produced instant impact post players (Brad Daugherty, Patrick Ewing, Akeem Olajuwon, and Ralph Sampson), added more pressure for Ellison.

Pervis Ellison’s NBA Statistics:



YR GP FGP FTP STL BLK TO RPG APG PTS PPG


1989-90 34 .442 .628 16 57 62 5.8 1.9 271 8.0

1990-91 76 .513 .650 49 157 146 7.7 1.3 791 10.4

1991-92 66 .539 .728 62 177 196 11.2 2.9 1322 20.0

1992-93 49 .521 .702 45 108 110 8.8 2.4 852 17.4

1993-94 47 .469 .722 25 50 73 5.1 1.5 344 7.3

1994-95 55 .507 .717 22 54 76 5.6 0.6 375 6.8

1995-96 69 .492 .641 39 99 84 6.5 0.9 365 5.3

1996-97 6 .375 .600 5 9 7 4.3 0.7 15 2.5

1997-98 33 .571 .588 20 31 28 3.3 0.9 100 3.0

1998-99 -- did not play, injury –

1999-00 30 .442 1.000 10 8 13 2.2 0.4 53 1.8

2000-01 9 .286 .689 0 2 3 1.3 0.3 6 0.7



4) Adrian Gonzalez, Adam Johnson, Luis Montanez, Mike Stodolka, Justin Wayne – These players are picks 1-5 in the 2000 MLB draft. They are on the list because pick #6 happens to be Rocco “Joltin’ Joe II” Baldelli. While Rocco Baldelli, the likely AL Rookie of the Year is having a great season playing center field for the Rays, Gonzalez is struggling to stay over the Mendoza Line in the Marlin’s AAA Albuquerque; Johnson is “The Human Seven Eleven” in Minnesota’s AAA Rochester (Seven Elevens are always open, but not necessarily always doing business. Johnson’s always on the mound, but not necessarily always performing); Montanez is A, no not an “A” like on a report card, he’s still playing A ball for Daytona in the Cubs’ system; Stodolka is coming out of the pen in single A Wilmington of the Kansas City Royals; and Wayne, who has been traded to the Marlins, made his ML debut in 2002, but has a career 6.52 ERA in 29 innings.

2003 Statistics of Gonzalez, Johnson, Montanez, Stodolka, Wayne, and Baldelli:



Level GP AB R HR RBI SB SO BB AVE


Gonzalez AAA 39 139 17 1 18 1 25 14 .216
AA 36 137 15 1 16 1 25 14 .307

Montanez A 105 410 39 4 33 9 70 27 .244


Level W L S IP ERA SO BB

Johnson AAA 4 11 0 95.1 6.04 59 42

Stodolka A 2 1 0 21 3.00 10 9

Wayne ML 0 2 0 5.1 11.81 17 18


Level GP AB R HR RBI SB SO BB AVE

Baldelli ML 110 449 63 9 58 18 90 19 .298



3) Andre Ware/David Klingler – These quarterbacks brought a period of euphoria for the Houston Cougars’ football program in the late 80’s. Having to play in the same state as traditional powerhouses Texas and Texas A&M, Houston’s program was revived by these two gun-slingers. Here is a list of accomplishments by the Houston Cougars under Ware and Klingler from 1988-1991:
*Ware and Klingler combined for 15,734 passing yards and 154 touchdowns.
*The Cougars beat Texas 3 of 4 times and had a combined record of 20-6 against schools in the state of Texas.
*The Cougars put up insane scoring numbers like 95-21 over SMU, 84-21 over E. Wash, 82-28 over Tulsa, and 73-3 over La. Tech (and I thought losing 14-2 in an intramural soccer game was bad). Jack Pardee and John Jenkins (Cougars head coaches in 1988-1991) made Steve Spurrier look like “Saint Spurrier” the way they were running up the scores!
*Ware once passed for 5 TDs in a quarter, and Klingler put up 11 TDs in a game.
*The Cougars averaged 42.82 PPG in that span, compared to 22.58 PPG by their opponents.
*The Cougars in 1989 out scored opponents 53.55-13.64.
*There are too many outrageous numbers to post here!

Despite these Jaw-dropping numbers in college, the numbers of Ware and Klinglers in the NFL were just simply, droppings. Ware never passed for more than 1200 yards in his career, and Klingler averaged under 700 yards per season.

Andre Ware
Coming out of college as the Heisman Trophy winner in 1989, Ware was picked by the Detroit Lions with the 7th overall pick in the 1990 draft. After 14 games in 4 seasons, Ware was out of the NFL. He spent another 3 disappointing seasons in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders. Ware later joined the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe and retired in 1999 due to a shoulder injury.

Despite becoming the biggest Heisman QB bust ever, Ware arguably single-handedly discouraged the idea of a black quarterback in the NFL. Probably the Lions were expecting a second Warren Moon in Ware, but instead, Ware turned out to be a prototypical Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback with a phenomenal college career and a short-lived NFL stint. Because of Ware, NFL teams stayed away from black quarterbacks for the entire 90’s until some guys called McNair, McNabb, Culpepper, and Vick came into the league, but only because they added a dimension to their game, the ability to run and scramble.

Andre Ware’s College Statistics:



YR GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT EFF


1988 11 212 356 59.6 2507 25 8 137.4

1989 11 365 578 63.1 4699 46 15 152.5



Andre Ware’s NFL Statistics:



YR GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1990 4 13 30 43.3 164 1 2

1991 1 0 0 00.0 0 0 0

1992 4 50 86 58.1 677 3 4

1993 5 20 45 44.4 271 1 2



David Klingler
Klingler had big shoes to fill going into the 1990 season in Houston. He had to replace the Heisman trophy winner and a top ten pick in the NFL. All he did was pass for 5140 yards and 54 TDs in his first year as starting quarterback, but the resemblance to Ware didn’t stop there as Klingler was a top ten pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1992. He could have stopped the similarities there, but Klingler idolized Ware so much that he even duplicated Ware’s NFL career! Just like Ware, Klingler became one of the biggest busts at the quarterback position.

David Klingler’s College Statistics:



YR GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT EFF


1990 11 374 643 58.2 5140 54 20 146.8

1991 10 278 498 55.8 3388 29 17 125.4



David Klingler’s NFL Statistics:



YR GP COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1992 4 47 98 48.0 530 3 2

1993 14 190 343 55.4 1935 6 9

1994 10 131 231 56.7 1327 6 9

1995 3 7 15 46.7 88 1 1

1996 1 10 24 41.7 87 0 0

1997 1 4 7 57.1 27 0 0



After two disastrous experiments by the Lions and Bengals for drafting Ware and Klingler, the NFL has since stayed away from any Houston quarterback. Klingler’s brother Jimmy, despite leading the NCAA in total offense in 1992, was never drafted.

2) Rick Ankiel – Most of us should remember when the young strikeout machine busted onto the Major League scene in 1999. Ankiel was drafted in the 2nd round of the 1997 draft. By 1999, he was considered to be the best pitching prospect in America. He also garnered Minor League Player of the Year award in 1999. With an over powering fastball, a big curve, an unexpecting change-up, and a nasty sinker, Ankiel also carried a big bat. He made five starts in 1999, and by 2000, he was part of the Cardinals rotation. During the 2000 regular season, Ankiel had an average ERA and walks/strikeout ratio, but had 9.98 strikeouts per 9 innings, and only 7.05 hits per 9 innings. He also batted .250 at the plate with 2 homeruns, 1 triple, and 9 RBI.

However, his downfall came in the post season of 2000. In Game 2 of the Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, despite a 6-0 lead, Dr. Jekyll was overtaken by Mr. Hyde as Ankiel set a modern playoff record by throwing 5 wild pitches in the 2nd inning (Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn in Major League, played by Charlie Sheen, only had 4 wild pitches in an inning! It’s true, I’ve done the research.) Despite Ankiel’s lose-of-control, the Cardinals managed to win 10-4 and advance to the NLCS.

In the NLCS versus the New York Mets, Ankiel didn’t make his way out of the 1st inning, surrendering 3 walks and 2 wild pitches and only recorded 2 outs. Later in Game 5, Ankiel came into the game in relieve and botched 2 more wild pitches.

The next season, Ankiel’s problems aggrandized as he only pitched 24 innings, allowing 5 wild pitches and 25 walks. There had been talks about moving Ankiel to the outfields due to his hitting skills and his lost of confidence as a pitcher, but as of 2003, he is still pitching. That was the last time Ankiel saw time in the majors, however, he is still on the Cardinal’s AA Tennessee Smokies’ roster (I use to watch Carlos Delgado and Shawn Green play there when it was the Knoxville Blue Jays, later called the Knoxville Smokies).

Rick Ankiel’s Major League Statistics:



YR W L S IP ERA SO BB WP


1999 0 1 1 33.0 3.27 39 14 2

2000 11 7 0 175.0 3.50 194 90 12

2001 1 2 0 24.0 7.13 27 25 5



1) Ryan Leaf – Yes, finally we get to who everyone is waiting for and who everyone is expecting, da Leaf that didn’t quite turn “Golden”. I didn’t like this SOB the moment I saw him. One reason was that people actually thought he was better than the college living legend at the time, Peyton Manning, and all Leaf had was one good junior season? And I just don’t like the way he looked; a potato-shaped head, a monk-ish haircut, the face of a horse overly nourished horse, and teeth of a beaver. Sure he’s got a big arm and a big frame, but eventually, it was his big mouth, and little heart that led to his early retirement.

Manning or Leaf? Leaf or Manning? That was the debate all across the nation before the 1998 NFL draft. So much of a debate that even a die-hard Volunteers fan like myself was not 100% sure (The only reason I wanted Manning to go 2nd was because the Chargers had a better defense.) Finally, draft day came around: Manning #1, Leaf #2. The debates ended there. The comparisons ended there. Ryan Leaf’s career ended there.

In the 5 years since, Manning passed for more than 3700 yards and 26 touchdowns every season, made 3 Pro Bowls, and led the Colts to 3 playoffs.

Ryan Leaf struggled in his first season, throwing 2 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Due to the on-field inconsistency, Leaf decided to take out his frustration out on the media. Smart move, Leaf. Good job on trying to put out the fire with gas. The incident turned Leaf’s image from a struggling rookie to an underachiever with no work ethic or heart. In the following seasons, injuries added to Leaf’s misery as he missed the entire year. Ryan Leaf managed to garner more attention when he was video-taped playing flag football with friends while he was on the disabled list. Finally, his bitter marriage with the San Diego Chargers ended after the 2000 season, after Leaf earned some $20 million from the franchise and did didly squat on the field. He would later join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The Seattle Seahawks, and the Dallas Cowboys as back up, and eventually retired in 2001 after just 4 years in the NFL.

Most of Leaf’s problems seem to be mental. If he can control those mind demons, many believe he could make a comeback in the near future, in this age when retirements don’t count unless it’s the 3rd time around. I think there is no doubt some team will be so desperate in a year or two to give Leaf another shot. If he changes his attitude, I wouldn’t mind myself to see him finally succeed in the NFL. In fact, my fantasy football team last year was named “2005 Ryan Leaf Bandwaggoners”.

For further entertainment, read the following article on Ryan Leaf:
Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf’s NFL Statistics:



YR COM ATT PCT YDS TD INT


1998 111 245 45.3 1289 2 15

1999 --did not play, injury --

2000 161 322 50.0 1883 11 18

2001 45 88 51.1 494 1 3



Other notables:
Todd Marinovich – QB
Chuck Long – QB
Todd Blackledge – QB
Rich Campbell – QB
Curtis Enis – RB
Rashaan Salaam – RB
Ki-Jana Carter – RB
Tim Biakabutuka (I actually spelled it right on the 1st try) – RB
Yatil Green – WR
Paul Wilson – P
Danny Almonte (Little League) – P
Fernando Tatis – 3B
Sam Bowie – C
Kwame Brown – PF
Donyell Marshall – F
Bobby Hurley – PG
Danny Manning – F

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