USC football: 5 great Trojans who didn’t live up to the NFL hype

Dwayne Jarrett couldn’t stick in the NFL.

After the departure of Mike Williams prematurely, Dwayne Jarrett was thrust into the limelight early in his college football career. He started in eight of the 13 games he played in as a true freshman and made an immediately large impact. Jarrett hauled in 55 receptions for 849 yards and 13 touchdowns, including starring in the Orange Bowl win over Oklahoma with 115 receiving yards.

Following his breakout first season with the Trojans, Jarrett starred as a sophomore as he became the focal point of the USC passing offense. He earned First-Team All-American honors for his efforts. He racked up 91 receptions for 1,274 yards and 16 touchdowns and, though the team was upset by Texas with the National Championship on the line, Jarrett again starred in the bowl game with a 100-yard outing.

Though he was almost ruled ineligible for his junior season and dealt with a number of injuries, Jarrett was again highly productive in the passing offense. He finished the season with 70 catches for 1,015 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games. Jarrett also capped off his career by winning Rose Bowl MVP as he had 203 yards and two scores against Michigan.

Jarrett finished his career at USC as the all-time Pac-10 leader in receiving touchdowns and USC’s all-time leader in receptions. Though he was projected by some as a first-round pick, he slipped to the middle of the second round in the 2007 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he never found his footing. Over four seasons, he played in only 32 games and had just 35 career receptions before being released in 2010 after a DUI arrest and never playing in the NFL again.