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

Many NFL scouts and pundits are often skeptical when it comes to “one-year wonders” in college football as they look for consistent production to signify the value of a prospect. And one of the cautionary tales in that regard over the past few years is pass-rusher Kevin Dodd, who starred one year for Clemson and capitalized on that to be a relatively high draft pick.

Dodd served as a backup on the Tigers defense over his first three seasons, playing in just 24 games and registering a meager 20 tackles over that time. He finally got his opportunity to play as a starter on the defensive line in the 2015 season, however, and certainly appeared like the next standout defensive end to enter the professional ranks.

In his final season at Clemson, Dodd was a monstrous force on the defense. He had 12.5 sacks and an incredible 24.0 tackles for loss on the year with 62 total tackles. Furthermore, he made his presence felt on the biggest stage as he notched three sacks in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Alabama, even in the narrow loss for the Tigers.

The Tennessee Titans made Dodd the first pick of the second round, No. 33 overall, in the 2016 NFL Draft with high hopes for his future as a pass-rusher. Unfortunately, he played in only 18 games over two seasons in a limited role and had just one sack. Then, after failing to report to the 2018 training camp, he was waived by the Titans and has not signed with an NFL team since.