Okay, so I was scrolling through old college football clips last weekend and stumbled upon the 2001 Miami Hurricanes. Man, that team was stacked! Like, stupid loaded with talent. Got me wondering – where did all those guys end up after college? Like, for real. So I dug in.
Starting the Roster Hunt
First thing I did was pull up that 2001 roster online. Man, just reading names felt like looking at an NFL All-Star team. Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Andre Johnson… crazy. I started scribbling down all 22 starters plus key backups. My notebook looked messy as hell but whatever works.
The NFL Tracking Grind
Next part sucked. Had to look up every single player one by one to see if they made the league. Googled like “Ken Dorsey NFL career” and “Vince Wilfork retirement” for hours. Browser had like 50 tabs open until my laptop started wheezing. Found some surprise guys – never knew cornerback Mike Rumph actually played 6 NFL seasons!
Biggest headache? Tracking the lesser-known backups. Took forever to confirm linebacker Howard Clark never got drafted but bounced around practice squads. Also got sidetracked reading about how Jeremy Shockey partied too hard in New York. Classic.
Where Are They Now?
This got interesting. Made a checklist:
- Still in football? Found 9 guys coaching now. DJ Williams? High school defensive coordinator in Colorado.
- Business stuff? Clinton Portis lost millions then started some trucking company. Andre Johnson does real estate.
- Complete vanishings? Nada on tight end Robert Williams since 2010. Hope he’s good.
Wildest discovery? Bryant McKinnie opened a pancake house in Miami after football. Seriously. Went from blocking for Lamar Jackson to flipping flapjacks.
Putting It Together
Organized everything into categories so it wasn’t just chaos:
- NFL Superstars (Ed Reed, HOF obviously)
- Solid Pros (Frank Gore, 16 seasons?! insane)
- Journeymen (like QB Ken Dorsey – backup forever)
- Never Made It (mostly special teams guys)
- Post-Career Surprises
Dropped jaw at how many first-round picks bombed. William Joseph drafted 25th overall? Played like 4 years. Ouch.
Final Thoughts
Took three coffee runs to finish this. Crazy takeaway? Only 5 of 22 starters didn’t get drafted. Everywhere you looked – NFL jerseys. But what hit hardest? Seeing how many guys struggled after football. Injuries, money problems… felt kinda sad scrolling through those stories. Still, that 2001 squad? Absolute freakshow talent factory. And Shockey’s probably still partying somewhere.
