25 biggest villains in college football history

8 of 25

2 Jan 1996: Lawrence Phillips #1 of Nebraska runs the ball while pressured by a Florida Gators defender during the Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe Arizona. Nebraska won the game to claim the national championship in Division 1 football. (Getty IMages) /

Lawrence Phillips

Running Back, Nebraska

Lawrence Phillips is one of the sadder stories of any player who ever played college football. Loaded with immense talent, Phillips saw his career, and eventually, his life go down the drain, ending with a suicide in jail. Once considered the best running back in college football, Phillips let his terrible anger get the best of him, leading to many off-the-field incidents that eventually derailed his promising career.

During his time with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Phillips emerged as arguably one of the top college running backs of all-time. He could do everything for the Cornhuskers, who won two National Championship with Phillips toting the rock. After helping the team to the title in 1994, Phillips pleaded not guilty to criminal charges two weeks later, after grabbing a 21-year old student by the neck. He then was ruled ineligible for taking a $100 lunch, but after paying the money back was ruled eligible to play in 1995.

As a frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, Phillips once again let his anger get the best of him. Phillips broke into teammate Scott Frost’s apartment, grabbing Kate McEwen by her hair and throwing her down three flights of stairs. He then rammed her head into a mailbox, in a scary scene that happened on campus. The team suspended him for six games, but he came back in time to help Nebraska to their second straight title, racking up three touchdowns in a 62-24 victory over No. 2 Florida.

For all his faults, the St. Louis Rams still made him the No. 6 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. He bounced around the NFL, AFL, and CFL for a couple of years, before last appearing with the Calgary Stampeders in 2003. The rest of his life was filled with criminal activity, including a first-degree murder charge for the death of his cellmate while in prison. He hung himself while awaiting trial to see whether or not he would receive the death penalty. His family donated his brain to Boston University to be checked for CTE.

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