With the beginning of college football only three weeks away, it’s time to start talking about all things football related, and that includes celebrities that once played for our favorite teams. Some of them might have gone on to play professional ball after college, and some did not. However, some of the most famous faces in the world were one time college football stars – or at least they were on the team. Read on to find out which of your favorite actors may or may not have donned your favorite school’s team jersey at some point in their college careers.
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Josh Duhamel
He’s an actor, a daddy and the husband to one of the most famous singers in the world. He was also a college football star during his prime. Duhamel was a player for Minot State. He has said many times his goal in life was to play professional football, but that two of his coaches from college told him he simply did not have the skill or ability to become a successful NFL player, which is something he says bothers him to this day. The actor, fortunately, is pretty good at what he does now, so he’s all right.
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Dean Cain
Is anyone surprised that Superman himself played college football; because I’m not. Dean Cain isn’t just a good-looking actor who got to play the coolest role on television for several years. He’s also a smart guy who not only attended Princeton University, he also played for the football team. In fact, he chose Princeton out of 17 different scholarships he was offered when he graduated from high school. He even signed with the Buffalo Bills in 1988 before deciding he’d rather act that play football for the New York-based pro team.
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Suge Knight
He’s a guy with an interesting history. Not only is he one of the original founders of Death Row Records and a constant fixture in the question of what happened in the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., he’s also a former college football player. He even played for the NFL before the strike in 1987. He played ball for the University of Las Vegas, where he spent two years. He played two games for the Rams before he ended his football career and went on to found a major music label that would make him millions.
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Bill Cosby
He’s a funny guy with one of the most memorable comedies ever on television under his belt. Bill Cosby was also a college football player for Temple. He’s been honest about the fact that he was never a star player, just a player with a little talent and some good luck. He decided to pursue a career in Hollywood rather than take his chances in the NFL draft, and it’s a good thing he did. His career as an actor is one of the most famous and most memorable in the industry.
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John Goodman
It’s not difficult to image this funny actor as a football player; he’s certainly got the physique of the offensive lineman he once played. He was part of the Missouri State football team in the 1970s, even though his college football career ended sooner rather than later thanks to an injury he sustained. He even went on to portray an offensive lineman in a movie he acted in alongside another famous actor, Dennis Quaid. Lucky for us, Goodman pursued his drama career and we’re all the more thankful to his injury for that simple fact.
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Forest Whitaker
He’s an Oscar-winning actor who once played football for Cal Poly Pomona. He was injured at some point during his career, however, and his back injury caused him to give up football and instead head to USC to pursue a career in acting. His first major role, ironically, was as a football player in the 1982 classic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He’s since gone on to star in many movies, television shows and even win an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. It’s safe to say his career change was a good one for the famous actor and one time football player.
(Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images For Tribeca Film Festival)
Mark Harmon
He’s the star of the hit television show NCIS, but he was also a college football player. He was one of many celebrities that went onto play ball for a California school. He attended UCLA, playing ball for the school for several years. What’s also interesting is that his father was also a college football player. Tom Harmon was the star quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines, and he even won the Heisman Trophy back in 1940. Harmon came by hi skill on the football team honestly, though it’s not what he chose to do with his life; instead choosing to take up acting as a career.
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Tommy Lee Jones
He’s one of the world’s most famous actors, and he’s good at what he does. However, before he decided to take up acting as a skill, he was a college football player. He was another one that was smart. He attended Harvard University and played football for the Ivy League school. He also had an interesting roommate while he attended college, future Vice President Al Gore. His career as a football star was quite impressive, but he decided to pursue acting instead of a professional career in the sport.
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Joel McHale
No, it doesn’t seem like he’d be the kind of guy who played college football, but he was. McHale, whom you know for his dry humor on Community, played college football for the University of Washington. He was originally on the row team at the college, but he gained some weight and worked out and later told the press that he essentially lied his way onto the team because it was his dream, and that if you have a dream, you can make it happen, even if it means lying to get there. He played not too long after the team’s national title.
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Ronald Reagan
When the former president of the United States was deciding what he wanted to do when he grew up, he went to college at Eureka College in Illinois. He was not just a star football player while he was there, either. He was multitalented when it came to sports. The future president was also a cheerleader and he was captain of the college’s swim team. He went on to do several other things with his life, which includes his presidency. He was one of the few former college football stars on this list that wasn’t taken out of the game due to injury.
.(Photo by Michael Evans/The White House/Getty Images)
Matthew Fox
He’d go on to star in some of the country’s most famous television shows (Lost, anyone?) but he wasn’t always an actor. Matthew Fox, while always a pretty face, was one a college football player for Columbia. He was not on the best team in the nation, however, as the first 33 games of his college career were all losses. In fact, he and his team celebrated only two wins of 40 games in his four year college education, making him one of the most losing football players in college history. Thank goodness he was a good actor.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
The Rock
That’s right; Dwayne the Rock Johnson was a college football player. He was an ACC player who spent his college career playing ball for the Miami Hurricanes. He was, believe it or not, on the team when they won the national championship during the 1991 season. He might have continued to play ball, but an injury caused his replacement, someone you might know who goes by the name of Warren Sapp, to take his place. It’s all right, though, it’s not like the former wrestling champ and major movie star has any complaints about the direction life took.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Burt Reynolds
The famous actor was one a Florida State Seminole (as a Florida Gator myself, I feel applause is necessary for writing objectively). On top of that, he was also the roommate of Lee Corso during his time at FSU. Before he even began his college football career, however, Reynolds’ sustained an injury. It was the first game of his college career. He was then involved in a vehicle accident that further complicated his injury and forced him to give up his college football career for another, slightly more lucrative career in the movies and on television.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Spike TV)
Ed O’Neill
You loved him on Married With Children and you love him on Modern Family, but you might have loved him on the field for Youngstown State when he was younger. The actor was once a player for the team, where he also took part in the theater program. It was almost unheard of for an athlete on the football team to also participate in the theater program, but O’Neill did both and it’s obvious that his interest in the theater paid off for him in the long run. He’s even got a couple of Emmy’s to show for it.
(Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images For Hollywood Life)
John Wayne
It’s a shame for the entire world that one of the most famous actors of all time was forced out of college football thanks to an injury that cost him his football scholarship. John Wayne was attending the University of Southern California on a football scholarship that allowed him to play for the Trojans. Unfortunately, he was involved in a body surfing accident that caused him to break his collar bone and lose his scholarship. In need of work, he found a job at a local film studio before he finally hit it big as an actor.
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