College football recruiting is one of the most important parts of the game. Landing high-level high school talent can change a program’s trajectory or keep it a powerhouse.
However, five stars don’t always pan out. Despite the hype players might have, they could end up as bench players or never even see the field at all. These are the five biggest “busts” of the modern college football era.
College Football’s Biggest Busts: 5 Highly Touted Prospects Who Fell Short
Tate Martell, QB, Ohio State Buckeyes
Tate Martell committed to Ohio State in 2017 and was ranked as a four-star prospect and the 56th best player in the country. The hype around Martell was massive. He was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year in 2016 and was a two-time USA Today All-American.
Martell, however, never started a game for the Buckeyes, only appearing in seven games during his time there while backing up Dwayne Haskins. Martell then transferred to Miami, where he also lost the starting job, and then eventually moved to UNLV, where again he did not play. Martell is easily one of the biggest “what-ifs” in college football.
Demetris Summers, RB, South Carolina Gamecocks
Demetris Summers was one of the most hyped running back prospects of all time. Summers ran for 9,076 yards in high school and 127 touchdowns. He was the fourth most prolific rusher in high school football history when his career came to an end. The South Carolina native committed to the Gamecocks in 2003 as a consensus five-star and was ranked as the best running back and ninth overall player in his class.
Summers had an amazing freshman season. He ran for 638 yards and three touchdowns en route to making the SEC All-Freshman team. He led the Gamecocks in rushing in his sophomore year as well, with 487 yards. However, in 2005, before his junior year, he was kicked off the team for testing positive for drugs and never played college football again.
Max Browne, QB, USC Trojans
Max Browne committed to USC as a consensus five-star and the number one overall quarterback in the 2013 class. He threw for over 4,000 yards in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons of high school, making him one of the most exciting prospects of all time.
Unfortunately, Browne never really found his footing at USC. He played in 18 games during his time at USC, but struggled to become what he was expected to be. He finished his USC career with 650 yards before transferring to Pitt as a grad transfer. He started five games at Pitt and then had a career-ending injury.
Byron Cowart, DL, Auburn Tigers
Byron Cowart was ranked as the third-best player and the number-one defensive end in the 2015 recruiting class. He committed to Auburn and was expected to be great.
He played all 13 games his freshman year, but wasn’t incredibly productive. The following season, he played in 10 games, but again did not really produce.
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His Junior year, he was injured, only appearing in 3 games all season. He transferred to Maryland for his final season, where he had his best year yet, racking up his first and only three sacks of his college career.
Cowart did not necessarily have a horrible career, but he was nowhere close to what he was projected to be.
DeMarkus Bowman, RB, Clemson Tigers
Demarkus Bowman is the biggest bust of this decade. He was a five-star in the class of 2020 and was ranked as the twentieth-best player nationally. He committed to Clemson, where he never really became what he was supposed to be.
Bowman was the first case where we saw the transfer portal derail a player’s career. Just two games into his freshman season, Bowman was already in the portal. He committed to Florida, where he played his sophomore year, but only appeared in five games.
He redshirted in 2022 after transferring to UCF, where in 2023 he logged 10 carries. Bowman never really found his way in college football and certainly did not live up to his expectations.
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