Florida football: 5 great players who didn’t live up to the NFL hype

There has been a number of great Florida football players but there have also been a number of former Gators who didn’t see that success translate to the NFL.

For as much success as they have had as a college football programs, the Florida Gators aren’t without their fair share of stinkers in the NFL game. Since Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier came back to coach his alma mater in 1990, Florida football has been one of the preeminent programs not only in the SEC but in all of college football.

But even when you have two legendary head coaches the likes of Spurrier and later Urban Meyer, you tend to have guys who are grossly elevated by the system around them. While they were certainly good in college, that talent never really manifested at the professional level. Though you can blame the organization these players went to, a lot of it sadly falls on them.

So what we’re going to do today is look at a handful of former Gators standouts who got more love than they should have. While they were brilliant in college, you could just tell their success was overstated in the college game. Once they left Gainesville and went to the NFL, they were unfortunately exposed.

Here are the five most overrated players in Florida football history.

Safety Matt Elam‘s college and pro football career is an interesting one. The defensive back first came to Gainesville to play for Meyer in what was his last season leading the team. He saw his role expand as a sophomore in 2011 once Will Muschamp became the Gators’ head coach. From there, he became a First-Team All-American on that really good Florida team from 2012.

Elam left school early, as he was projected as one of the best safety prospects in the 2013 NFL Draft. He lasted until the last pick of the first round, going to the reigning Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. In four years with the Ravens, it only yielded one career interception, mired in perpetual disappointment.

After a strong rookie season, Elam regressed in year two and then tore his bicep to miss all the 2015 campaign. His fifth-year option was not picked up by the Ravens. He played out his last year with Baltimore in 2016 before legal troubles contributed to him being out of the league. Elam was arrested twice in the first half of 2017 and he hasn’t sniffed the NFL since.

Elam recently played in the CFL for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and briefly the DC Defenders of the XFL. Now in his late 20s, it’s rare to see a can’t-miss defensive back talent like Elam fall this far. To go from the best Florida team under Muschamp and to a great NFL situation in Baltimore and not succeed is troubling. He should have been a better pro.