The list of Colts potentials that never panned out

[Mike Tahoe]

I was just thinking about some of the players we drafted (or signed) in the past who had a ton of potential or were popular college players and for whatever reason they just never established themselves as long term successful players.  Can you guys think of any others? I'll start

 

Roy Hall - 5th Round pick in 2007. Physical specimen.  He was big, strong, fast, and built like a prototypical NFL player, but for whatever reason he just never amounted to much with the Colts. Possibly bc his hands were a liability?

 

Mike Hart - 6th Round pick in 2008 Big time running back at Michigan and fan favorite.  Just when it seemed like he would catch on and get some playing time his career got derailed by injuries.

 

Vincent "Sweet Pea" Burns  -  3rd Round pick in 2005. This was one of many defensive lineman drafted during the Dungy era.  He was a 3rd round pick and seemed quick enough to play DE in Tampa-2, but for some reason he just never could become a productive player.

 

Marcus Howard - 5th Round pick in 2008. Similar to Sweet Pea, he was a fast, under-sized defensive end who looked like he had potential.  But, he never really caught on and was gone a couple years after being drafted.

 

Da'rick Rodgers -  Undrafted. Signed in 2013. He was a tall, fast receiver who looked like he could become a receiving threat and appeared to have a bright future for the Colts, but I think he had some issues off the field and never really played any more after the 2013 season. 

 

I will stop there and add more later... Its wild to think of how many gifted athletes come through the league and just either don't get their chance or have a set back that keeps them from making it long-term.

 

[shasta519]

I still remember that Rogers catch against KC that was arguably the catalyst for the comeback. And that slant against CIN that he took 70 yards to the house after shoulder blasting Taylor Mays. I really thought Rogers was going to be a beast...he had that type of potential. Probably an even better WR than Moncrief...at least in the short-intermediate area. 

 

Another WR would be Duron Carter...though he actually never even played. And on that note, Ben Heenan was another supposed "steal" from the CFL.

 

 

 

 

[PrincetonTiger]

Memories   

  How about Adongo, Muamba et. al

[shasta519]

2 minutes ago, PrincetonTiger said:

Memories   

  How about Adongo, Muamba et. al

 

Adongo for sure.

[Nesjan3]

 Duron Carter, Adongo, Muamba. Tyler Varga all young guys who supposedly were going to light it up, Varga sadly was injury prone.

 

 

[Aluckiswolverine]

Oh man Mike Hart and Roy Hall... so many legendary threads back in the day about those two.  

[pgt_rob]

Caesar Rayford. The man, the myth, the legend. lol

[Boiler_Colt]

Joseph Jefferson, Donald Strickland, Quinn Pitcock, Drake Nevis, Buster Davis to name a few.

[Jdubu]

4 minutes ago, pgt_rob said:

Caesar Rayford. The man, the myth, the legend. lol

Cmon man, I’m still holding out hope for a return of Caesar, he is a beast in hiding. I feel it 

[lollygagger8]

T Rich....

 

 

 

 

too soon? 

[Valpo2004]

1 hour ago, shastamasta said:

I still remember that Rogers catch against KC that was arguably the catalyst for the comeback. And that slant against CIN that he took 70 yards to the house after shoulder blasting Taylor Mays. I really thought Rogers was going to be a beast...he had that type of potential. Probably an even better WR than Moncrief...at least in the short-intermediate area. 

 

Another WR would be Duron Carter...though he actually never even played. And on that note, Ben Heenan was another supposed "steal" from the CFL.

 

 

 

 

 

Rogers probably could have been at least a WR2, but he got into trouble again with a DUI and the Colts cut him.  But he did show some stuff while playing.  

 

Duron Carter I couldn't figure out.  I was at camp the year he was with the Colts and he made several circus catches that day.  And the reports out of camp where that he was doing this on a regular basis.  

 

But you get him in a pre-season game and he dropped passes that hit him in the numbers.  

 

He seemed immature too.  After spending the season on the Colts practice squad he decided instead of trying again to make the roster he got upset and just went back to playing in the CFL despite the fact that he makes less there then he would on an NFL practice squad.  

[Scott Pennock]

Steve Emtman

Quentin Coryatt

Trev Alberts

Anrhony Gonzalez

Brandon Burlsworth

Austin Collie

Jon Hand

Andre Rison

Jeff George

 

I could probably go on......but I digress

[shasta519]

41 minutes ago, Boiler_Colt said:

Joseph Jefferson, Donald Strickland, Quinn Pitcock, Drake Nevis, Buster Davis to name a few.

 

Drake Nevis is a good one.

[twfish]

1 hour ago, Nesjan3 said:

 Duron Carter, Adongo, Muamba. Tyler Varga all young guys who supposedly were going to light it up, Varga sadly was injury prone.

 

 

One terrible concussion and a complete distrust from the NFL and the organization who were wanting him to take a medicine his professors at Yale told him not to touch definitely does not correspond with being injury prone. I mean he retired because of that incident.

[Mel Kiper's Hair]

41 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

Steve Emtman

Quentin Coryatt

Trev Alberts

Anrhony Gonzalez

Brian Burlsworth

Austin Collie

Jon Hand

Andre Rison

Jeff George

 

I could probably go on......but I digress

 

The early 90's!

[Mike Tahoe]

Looking back on it... Pretty much the entire 2007 draft for us was a swing and a miss.  Clint Session was decent but then we lost him to free agency. This had to be the worst of the worst for the Polian era of drafted players

 

2007 Draft class for Colts:

Anthony Gonzalez 

Tony Ugoh

Dante Hughes

Quinn Pitcock

Brannon Condren

Clint Session

Roy Hall

Michael Coe

Keyunta Dawson

[Mike Tahoe]

1 hour ago, pgt_rob said:

Caesar Rayford. The man, the myth, the legend. lol

Didn't we fleece a 4th rd pick from Dallas for that guy bc he had like 4 sacks in a preseason game against some fourth stingers? One of the few highlights on Grigson's resume.

[Coffeedrinker]

3 minutes ago, Mike Tahoe said:

Didn't we fleece a 4th rd pick from Dallas for that guy bc he had like 4 sacks in a preseason game against some fourth stingers? One of the few highlights on Grigson's resume.

No, Dallas traded a 7th round pick.

[chad72]

Austin Collie will always be a case of what could have been. His football IQ was very high and when he was on the field, he was highly productive and found open spots in the zone for Peyton always. He was an outstanding route runner that could separate though he was not the fastest guy.

 

I am glad he has found his new passion, and that is to help others that deal with issues like his.

[Mike Tahoe]

25 minutes ago, Coffeedrinker said:

No, Dallas traded a 7th round pick.

OK my mistake... a 7th rounder seems a lot more reasonable.  Thanks for the clarification

[Coffeedrinker]

2 minutes ago, Mike Tahoe said:

OK my mistake... a 7th rounder seems a lot more reasonable.  Thanks for the clarification

I do agee turning an UDFA into a draft pick was pretty good by Grigs.

[Indyfan4life]

I was such a big fan of Gonzalez. Even bought his jersey when drafted. Dude just couldn’t stay healthy. Same for Austin Collie. Unfortunate too. When healthy, both of them were fantastic receivers. 

[Coffeedrinker]

19 minutes ago, chad72 said:

Austin Collie will always be a case of what could have been. His football IQ was very high and when he was on the field, he was highly productive and found open spots in the zone for Peyton always. He was an outstanding route runner that could separate though he was not the fastest guy.

Collie would have been awesome if not for the concussions.  He had the quickness in and out of his breaks like Harrison and hands like Wayne and also a dedicated pro who worked hard at improving.  He was one of my favorite Colts in his short time with the team.

[Mike Tahoe]

3 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

 

I was such a big fan of Gonzalez. Even bought his jersey when drafted. Dude just couldn’t stay healthy. Same for Austin Collie. Unfortunate too. When healthy, both of them were fantastic receivers. 

 

I enjoyed watching Gonzalez too.  I remember his very first NFL touchdown against the Ravens.  He put a double move on David Pittman,  it was an out and up type pattern and Pittman was faked out so hard he fell to the ground leaving Gonzo wide open for a 57 yard dart from Manning.

 

Now Gonzalez is the GOP Primary in Ohio, if he wins the November election against Democrat Susan Moran,  he will have a seat in the House of Representatives at just 33 years old.

 

Its good to see he is still successful outside of football after injuries derailed his career. 

 

 

[Indyfan4life]

18 minutes ago, Mike Tahoe said:

 

I enjoyed watching Gonzalez too.  I remember his very first NFL touchdown against the Ravens.  He put a double move on David Pittman,  it was an out and up type pattern and Pittman was faked out so hard he fell to the ground leaving Gonzo wide open for a 57 yard dart from Manning.

 

Now Gonzalez is the GOP Primary in Ohio, if he wins the November election against Democrat Susan Moran,  he will have a seat in the House of Representatives at just 33 years old.

 

Its good to see he is still successful outside of football after injuries derailed his career. 

 

 

Had no idea. Good for him. 

[CR91]

1 hour ago, Mike Tahoe said:

Looking back on it... Pretty much the entire 2007 draft for us was a swing and a miss.  Clint Session was decent but then we lost him to free agency. This had to be the worst of the worst for the Polian era of drafted players

 

2007 Draft class for Colts:

Anthony Gonzalez 

Tony Ugoh

Dante Hughes

Quinn Pitcock

Brannon Condren

Clint Session

Roy Hall

Michael Coe

Keyunta Dawson

 

wasnt that the year his son took over?

[CR91]

guys we're forgetting the greatest TE tandem ever jacob tamme and tom santi. or have about the greatest group of interior linemen ever mike pollack steven justice jamey richard

[Mike Tahoe]

26 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

wasnt that the year his son took over?

 

Good point.  That would definitely explain the lack of success drafted that year

[Coffeedrinker]

1 hour ago, CR91 said:

 

wasnt that the year his son took over?

No, Chris Polian took over as GM in 2009

[CR91]

2 minutes ago, Coffeedrinker said:

No, Chris Polian took over as GM in 2009

 

I thought that was when it was made public, but chris was working behind the scenes

[ar1888]

Lavon Brazill

Dante Hughes

Fiilli Moala

Chris Rucker

Kevin Thomas

Donald Strickland

Delone Carter

Terrence Taylor

[TheRustonRifle#7]

4 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

Steve Emtman

Quentin Coryatt

Trev Alberts

Anrhony Gonzalez

Brian Burlsworth

Austin Collie

Jon Hand

Andre Rison

Jeff George

 

I could probably go on......but I digress

Steve Etman played in only a few games in his career with the Colts. The kid was the real deal, look at the won vs loss record when he played.

 

Brandon, not Brian, was a very talented O'Lineman but was killed prior to the pre-season by a driving accident.

 

Andre Rison went on to be a very good Wide Receiver...

[Coffeedrinker]

6 minutes ago, CR91 said:

 

I thought that was when it was made public, but chris was working behind the scenes

He had other jobs within the Colts organization but he was not the GM until 2009.

[Scott Pennock]

20 minutes ago, TheRustonRifle#7 said:

Steve Etman played in only a few games in his career with the Colts. The kid was the real deal, look at the won vs loss record when he played.

 

Brandon, not Brian, was a very talented O'Lineman but was killed prior to the pre-season by a driving accident.

 

Andre Rison went on to be a very good Wide Receiver...

My point with Rison was we traded him after a solid rookie season, Chris Hinton and our 1st to draft.......Jeff George. Ugh.....

 

Burlsworth was a HOSS and his death sucked for his family for sure, and the Colts.

 

Emtman......his knees literally blew out the moment he stepped on our turf....

[coltsfeva]

4 hours ago, Scott Pennock said:

Steve Emtman

Quentin Coryatt

Trev Alberts

Anrhony Gonzalez

Brian Burlsworth

Austin Collie

Jon Hand

Andre Rison

Jeff George

 

I could probably go on......but I digress

Emptman could have been a great player. It just stinks that he got a double whammy with two knee operations.

 I’ll always remember this game:

 

[Scott Pennock]

Roosevelt Potts

Ashley Ambrose and Ray Buchanan had great careers after leaving the Colts

Albert Bentley - had all the tools except we traded for Dickerson

Corneleus Bennett - wish we had hom at the beginning, not when he was 35

Vick Ballard

Edge - pre KC horse collar tackle that took his long speed away.....

 

But hey, we semi-restored Tony Mandarach to NFL respectability for a few years

[PrincetonTiger]

42 minutes ago, Scott Pennock said:

My point with Rison was we traded him after a solid rookie season, Chris Hinton and our 1st to draft.......Jeff George. Ugh.....

 

Burlsworth was a HOSS and his death sucked for his family for sure, and the Colts.

 

Emtman......his knees literally blew out the moment he stepped on our turf....

They weren’t misses

[Superman]

1 hour ago, ar1888 said:

Terrence Taylor

 

I was looking for someone to name him. There was a picture of him from back when he got drafted looking particularly rocked up, and I can't find it now. This guy got drafted with a 4th round comp pick, and didn't even make the final roster. He went unclaimed, hit some practice squads later that season, but never played a game in the NFL. I wonder if he had a PED problem that never got reported...

 

[a06cc]

6 hours ago, Boiler_Colt said:

Joseph Jefferson, Donald Strickland, Quinn Pitcock, Drake Nevis, Buster Davis to name a few.

Not going to lie. Drake Nevis would fit our system now. At the end of the season he was playing well. Even got a sack. It was the scheme switch that did him in.

[Mike Tahoe]

2 hours ago, coltsfeva said:

Emptman could have been a great player. It just stinks that he got a double whammy with two knee operations.

 I’ll always remember this game:

 

 

Wow that is some Colts nostalgia right there. Thanks for sharing that gem of a video.