CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: OrangeAfroMan on April 14, 2025, 10:00:26 PM
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Can we form a list here of guys who only started for one season?
I want to separate them from 2-4 year guys, when considering all-time greats.
So the obvious guys are Barry Sanders and Cam Newton.
A guy like Joe Burrow doesn't count, because he started in 2018 and was okay, then had an all-time great season. But he's not eligible for this.
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Barry Sanders, RB, OKST (1988)
Cam Newton, QB, AUB (2010)
Brad Banks, QB, IOWA (2002?)
Marcus Dupree, RB, OU (1982)
Maurice Clarett, RB, OSU (2002)
Scooby Wright, LB, ARI (2014)
boy, 2002 was something....
Larry Johnson, RB, PSU (2002)
Mac Jones, QB, ALA (2020)
I feel like there's got to be tons of WRs, but...
Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU (2019)
Kyler Murray, QB, OU (2018)
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You guys got any more?
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Melvin Gordon. TJ Watt.
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Gordon had a 1600 yard season before going off for 2500 in 2014.
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DE Derrick Rodgers, ASU (1996) - went to a CC first, only season at ASU had 12 sacks and was an All-American. He went ballistic in the 19-0 shutout vs defending champ Nebraska.
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Oh, duh.....Corey Dillon! 1 year at Warshingon, went for 1500 yds and 20+ TDs.
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Senior (1989)
Gerry Gdowski put together a storybook senior season, breaking or tying 11 school records, winning a host of honors and coming within an eyelash of leading the Huskers to an unbeaten regular-season and a second-straight Big Eight title. The only blemish on Gdowski's and Nebraska's record in 1989 was a 27-21 loss at Colorado on Nov. 4. In that game, Gdowski rolled up 280 total-offense yards against a defense that had been giving up 301 per game, and threw three TD passes.
Unheralded at the start of the season, the fourth-year senior put up some of the best numbers ever for a Husker QB. He completed 71 of 136 passes (52.2 percent) for 1,326, threw only two interceptions (none in his last 92 attempts) for a school-record interception percent of 1.47, and threw 19 TD passes, one of Vince Ferragamo's school record. He threw at least one TD pass in 10 of NU's last 11 games, including each of the last nine contests, and exploded for 10 in the last three games. All those figures came together for an NCAA pass rating of 177.3 points, another school record, and one which surpasses the NCAA record of 176.9 set by Brigham Young's Jim McMahon in 1980--but Gdowski averaged only 12.4 attempts per game, and the NCAA minimum is 15.
Gerry also proved to be the Huskers' biggest rushing threat ever at QB, as he ran for 925 yards, breaking the position record of 826 set by Taylor just the year before, and 13 TDs, tying Taylor's 1988 QB record. His four rushing TDs and 174 yards on the ground against Iowa State were both position records, while his 74-yard TD run vs. the Cyclones was the longest ever by a Nebraska QB and the longest run for a Husker in 1989.
That performance helped him average 7.91 yards per attempt in 1989, breaking the old school record (minimum 100 att.) of 7.81 set by IB Mike Rozier in his Heisman Trophy-winning season of 1983. Gdowski's rushing and passing stats combined for a school-record 32 total-offense TDs, and 2,251 total-offense yards, second only to Jerry Tagge's record of 2,333 in 1971--but Tagge played 12 games that season, to Gdowski's 11 in 1989. Gdowski's per-game average of 204.6 broke Tagge's old mark of 194.4.
Gdowski's top total offense came at Oklahoma State, where he rushed for 125 yards and passed for 170, giving him 295 yards on the day, the fifth-best game in Nebraska history and the Huskers' best in 16 seasons. He capped his season with the finest passing game a Nebraska player has ever had against Oklahoma, completing 12 of 15 passes for 225 yards and a career-high four TDs. His 294.0 pass rating in that game ranks as the second-highest ever at NU. Gerry was named Big Eight offensive player-of-the-week for his performances against Iowa State and Oklahoma.
In final Big Eight stats, he was first in passing efficiency (177.3), second in total offense (204.6 ypg), sixth in rushing (84.1 ypg) and eighth in scoring (7.1 ppg). Gdowski shared Big Eight offensive player-of-the-year with Colorado quarterback Darian Hagan.
1988 (Junior)
Gdowski saw action at quarterback in seven of 12 regular-season games, plus the Orange Bowl vs. Miami, and completed five of eight passes for 64 yards. He rushed 17 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns.
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That's a guy that jumps off the page from that 1 season, but I never heard of him until researching teams for Whoa Nellie.
I wonder why he wasn't given the reins earlier.
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TJ Watt.
Nice!
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RB Rudi Johnson, Auburn (2000) - like Dillon, 1-year guy, 1500 yds.
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Travis Stephens, lest a Gator forget.
All American.
had 291 rushes for a single-season school-record 1,464 yards and ten touchdowns.[color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)][16] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Stephens#cite_note-UT-16)[/iurl][/font][/size][/color] In addition, he had 19 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown in regular season play.
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That's a guy that jumps off the page from that 1 season, but I never heard of him until researching teams for Whoa Nellie.
I wonder why he wasn't given the reins earlier.
Steve Taylor
Drafted 12th Round by Indianapolis Colts
1988 First-Team All-Big 8 (AP, UPI, Coaches)
1987 First-Team All-American (Football News)
1987 Third-Team All-American (AP)
1987 First-Team All-Big 8 (AP, UPI)
1987 Sugar Bowl MVP
1986 Sports Illustrated National Player-of-the-Week (Florida State)
1986 CNN National Player-of-the-Week (Florida State)
1988 (Senior)
Although Taylor did not repeat as an All-American, he did improve in almost every statistical category. For the first time in his career Taylor threw for over 1,000 yards, in total he threw for 1,067 on 151 attempts and 11 TD’s. Taylor’s longest pass of the year was a staggering 82-yard pass to Todd Millikan on third-and-22 against Missouri, later in the same game Taylor completed a 59-yard pass to Nate Turner on third and 14. Taylor ranked second in the Big 8 in passing behind No. 2 nationally ranked Mike Gundy of OklahomaState. Taylor was also a worthy competitor on the ground, as he rushed for 826 yards on 157 carries and 13 TD’s. Taylor not only made plays in the air, he also reeled off a 60 yard touchdown run against OklahomaState in a 63-42 win. Taylor’s 5.3 yards per carry for the season was astonishing for a quarterback. As a quarterback Taylor ranked 7th in the conference in rushing and combined with his passing was ranked 5th in the conference in total offense with 1893 yards. In the second game of the season against Utah State Taylor threw for 143 and a touchdown as he became the eighth Nebraska player to top 2,000 career passing yards, Taylor also rushed for another 74 yards and two touchdowns to pass Vince Ferragamo and move into fifth on NU’s career total offense chart. Against Arizona State, Taylor was one of three Huskers to rush for more then 100 yards (Ken Clark 122, Taylor 116, Terry Rodgers 113). Two games later against Kansas in a 63-10 win Taylor reached two career milestones, he became the fifth Husker to top 4,000 total-offense yards, finishing the game with 4,034, and he became the third Husker to record 50 career total-offense touchdowns. The next week against Oklahoma State, Taylor would score five more touchdowns and set the school career-record at 55. In the regular-season finale against Oklahoma, Taylor would score the only touchdown of the game in the first quarter on a 1-yard run; Nebraska would go on to win the game 7-3. This win would end Oklahoma’s 31-game Big 8 win streak and earn the Huskers an outright Big Eight title and an Orange Bowl berth for the first time in five years.
Taylor would end his career holding many Husker records: rushing attempts by a quarterback in a season (157 in 1988), rushing attempts by a quarterback in a career (431 in 1985-88), rushing net yards gained by a quarterback in a single game (157 vs. Utah State, 1987), rushing net yards gained by quarterback in a season (826 in 1988), rushing net yards gained by a quarterback in a career (2,215 in 1985-88), tied with three others for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a game (3 vs. Iowa State, 1988), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season (13 in 1988), rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a career (32 in 1985-88), and passing touchdowns in a game (5 vs. UCLA, 1987).
1987 (Junior)
Taylor started his junior season by rushing for 157 yards against UtahState, a single-game record for a Nebraska quarterback, then laid to rest any doubt about his passing ability the following week vs. UCLA. When the third ranked Bruins’ defense held the second-ranked Huskers’ high-powered rushing attack to a season-low 117 yards, Taylor responded with one of the top passing performances ever for a Nebraska quarterback, as he complete 10 of 15 passes for 217 yards and five touchdowns in leading the Huskers to a 42-17 lead on their way to a 42-33 win. The five TD passes broke the old Nebraska record and tied the Big 8 Conference mark set in 1938 by Ralph Miller of Kansas against Washburn (Miller, of course, has gone on to become one of the nation’s most successful college basketball coaches, and heads into his final year at Oregon State in 1988-1989). Taylor’s performance vs. UCLA earned him the first of two-straight Big 8 offensive player-of-the-week awards. In the Huskers’ third game, he rushed for 122 yards and two TD’s and passed for 69 yards and another score as he led Nebraska to a 35-28 win at ArizonaState. A four-TD-pass effort at Missouri later in the season was another standout performance. Taylor finished the year with 659 rushing yards, a single-season record for a Husker quarterback, while completing 57 of 123 passes (46.3 percent) for 902 yards and 13 TD’s, with nine interceptions. He went into his senior year ranked 10th in career passing at Nebraska (1,748 yards), fifth in career touchdown passes (tied at 19), seventh in career total offense yards (3,047) and 22nd overall in career rushing yards (1,299, 18 yards short of Tuner Gill’s quarterback record of 1,317). His eight rushing TD’s increased his career total to 19, another NU quarterback record. The Huskers’ fastest-ever quarterback (4.54 in the 40), he has been the team’s second-leading rusher each of the last two years.
1986 (Sophomore)
Steve’s 1986 Fiesta Bowl performance helped propel him into a starting job for the following season, and his first career star was a memorable performance. In a national-televised opener vs. Florida State, he complete 10 of 16 passes for 130 yards and two TD’s, and rushed 12 times for 139 yards and two more TD’s in the Huskers’ 34-17 win over the Seminoles, winning Sports Illustrated and CNN national offensive player-of-the-week honors. Three games later, he hit on nine of 19 passes for 196 yards at South Carolina, and hit tight end Todd Millikan with an 11-yard TD strike with 1:26 left to give the Huskers a 27-24 win over the Gamecocks.
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Gordon had a 1600 yard season before going off for 2500 in 2014.
He was not the starter in 2013. That was James White.
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Can we form a list here of guys who only started for one season?
I want to separate them from 2-4 year guys,
Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU (2019)
If I'm understanding you correctly, Chase can't be on the list. He played in all 13 games in 2018 and started in 7.
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Clarret is the poster boy for this phenomenon.
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Rasul Douglas, WVU. Juco kid who transferred into WVU in 2015. Barely played. Had 8 tackles in the 10 games he appeared in.
In 2016, he tied for the FBS lead in INTS with 8, recorded 70 tackles, was first team All Big 12, and named 2nd Team or Honorable Mention on several AA teams.
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Some nominees from University of Iowa
RB Shonn Greene, won the Doak Walker Award in 2008, running for 1850 yards and 20 TD's.
QB Brad Banks, finished runner-up in 2002 Heisman race to Carson Palmer. Starting QB for Iowa team that went 8-0 in Big Ten and went to the Orange Bowl.
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Travis Stephens, lest a Gator forget.
Ehh, being a Gator and very familiar with the Vols makes Stephens not a 1-year guy in my mind, but he fits the description. But we know the Travises were a thing (along with Travis Henry, from FL) before 2001. I was too close to consider him, lol.
Stephens' performance in the rescheduled game in the Swamp was one of the strangest outcomes I can remember. We had a very good run D that year, and while Stephens WAS good, UT just didn't run it on us back then. But damn, he did that day!
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He was not the starter in 2013. That was James White.
Okay, then I guess we need to edit it from started for only 1 year to was only a major contributor for one year.
A guy with a 1600 yard season in his back pocket is on the radar already, yes?
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If I'm understanding you correctly, Chase can't be on the list. He played in all 13 games in 2018 and started in 7.
Yeah, I guess we needn't stick to the "started" thing and go with "major contributor." You could argue Chase contributed in 2018, but I believe he was 4th in receptions......WR is hard for this kind of thing. If you're the 4th option one year, then blow up to All-American status the next, I think that qualifies.
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Rasul Douglas, WVU. Juco kid who transferred into WVU in 2015. Barely played. Had 8 tackles in the 10 games he appeared in.
In 2016, he tied for the FBS lead in INTS with 8, recorded 70 tackles, was first team All Big 12, and named 2nd Team or Honorable Mention on several AA teams.
Good one, thank you.
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Some nominees from University of Iowa
RB Shonn Greene, won the Doak Walker Award in 2008, running for 1850 yards and 20 TD's.
QB Brad Banks, finished runner-up in 2002 Heisman race to Carson Palmer. Starting QB for Iowa team that went 8-0 in Big Ten and went to the Orange Bowl.
I got Banks on the initial list, for sure. I loved watching him play. I didn't realize Greene was such a 1-year wonder. Perfect!
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Clarret is the poster boy for this phenomenon.
I'll take Dupree
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Gordon had a 1600 yard season before going off for 2500 in 2014.
Started only four games. James White started 12.
Technicality, but I enjoy it.
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Yeah, I guess we needn't stick to the "started" thing and go with "major contributor." You could argue Chase contributed in 2018, but I believe he was 4th in receptions......WR is hard for this kind of thing. If you're the 4th option one year, then blow up to All-American status the next, I think that qualifies.
With this caveat, I submit Kelly Washington.
From the same year as Stephens, 2001.
Washington spent two seasons at the [color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)]University of Tennessee[/color] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tennessee).[color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)][5] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelley_Washington#cite_note-5)[/iurl][/font][/size][/color] As a 22-year-old freshman in 2001, he caught 70 passes for 1,080 yards and seven touchdowns and made the freshman All-American team.[color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)][6] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelley_Washington#cite_note-6)[/iurl][/font][/size][/color][color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)][7] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelley_Washington#cite_note-7)[/iurl][/font][/size][/color] In 2001, he etched his name in the Tennessee school history with a single-game record 256 receiving yards on 11 catches in the regular season matchup with LSU.[color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)][8] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelley_Washington#cite_note-8)[/iurl][/font][/size][/color][color=var(--color-visited,#6a60b0)][9] (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelley_Washington#cite_note-9)[/iurl][/font][/size][/color]
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Terrell Farley Nebraska sort of fits here. He fell out of the CC sky in 1995, didn't start until the 7th game, and was dismissed from team part way through 96 season.
That guy was a specimen. Wreaked havoc.
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Okay, then I guess we need to edit it from started for only 1 year to was only a major contributor for one year.
A guy with a 1600 yard season in his back pocket is on the radar already, yes?
For sure. He contributed greatly in 2012 too. Ask Fearless.
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Terrell Farley Nebraska sort of fits here. He fell out of the CC sky in 1995, didn't start until the 7th game, and was dismissed from team part way through 96 season.
That guy was a specimen. Wreaked havoc.
2 of the 7 sacks of Wuerffel in the Fiesta
10 total tackles, including two sacks for 22 yards in losses vs #8 KSU
Playing alongside Jamel Williams didn't hurt
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For sure. He contributed greatly in 2012 too. Ask Fearless.
still hopin to forget
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still hopin to forget
Take it to the recurring nightmare thread.
:86:
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Sooners, Horns, MELVIN GORDON!!!!
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Clarret is the poster boy for this phenomenon.
Barry Sanders had like 1,600 yards more and 29 more touchdowns than jailboy in his Heisman season. The only poster boy for this phenomenon is Barry.
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I really can't think of any Horns that fit this. Most anyone who had an excellent season, had at least some decent playtime before that. Or after.
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I keep wanting to list Kenneth Walker III‘s 2021 season at Michigan State, but then remember KW started at Wake Forest the two seasons prior. Responsible for his dunce coach’s $100M contract.
Mitchell Trubisky had a monster sole starting year at North Carolina in 2016 before the Bears drafted him second overall.
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I really can't think of any Horns that fit this. Most anyone who had an excellent season, had at least some decent playtime before that. Or after.
yup, Osborne and Solich really didn't like to play freshmen
liked to get everyone game reps before they carried any load
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Terrell Farley Nebraska sort of fits here. He fell out of the CC sky in 1995, didn't start until the 7th game, and was dismissed from team part way through 96 season.
That guy was a specimen. Wreaked havoc.
Hmm, never heard of him.
(https://media.tenor.com/2BPlcLVJKcQAAAAM/littlegirl-kid.gif)
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The 06 champs had a CB who barely played at Utah before transferring to Florida.
CB Ryan Smith
2nd-team All-American, led the SEC with 8 INTs.
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In looking him up, apparently he REALLY wanted to play for Meyer. So much so in fact that he took 21 credit hours over the summer to become a grad transfer, lol. Damn, son!
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Hmm, never heard of him.
(https://media.tenor.com/2BPlcLVJKcQAAAAM/littlegirl-kid.gif)
He was the first Husker player I thought of. An absolute stud.