Auburn football: 5 most underrated players in Auburn Tigers history

Kevin Greene became a Hall of Famer after leaving Auburn football.

Kevin Greene‘s time at Auburn and what became of him in the NFL is one of the most fascinating stories in football history. The Granite City, Illinois came to Auburn to be part of the ROTC program and would later walk on to the football team in 1983. Despite only two years playing for Pat Dye, Greene became an SEC legend in his own right in 1984.

Greene led the SEC with 11 sacks as a senior in 1984, culminating in him being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He also took home the Zeke Smith Award for the best defensive player on the Auburn football team that season. His senior success on The Plains was good enough to get him selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1985 NFL Draft.

That’s when everything changed for Greene. For 15 years, Greene was one of the greatest pass-rushers the NFL had ever seen. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro and was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the 1996 Carolina Panthers. Greene made the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team as a member of the 100 Sack Club.

With 160 career sacks, Greene was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2016. Despite being a phenomenal player for the Rams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Panthers, Greene had to wait his turn for Canton enshrinement. Even though it was brief, his brilliance was on display early during his two-year run playing for Dye at Auburn.