20 most hyped college football recruits of all-time
By Dustin Hull
7. John Elway
To many scouts, John Elway was like no other high school quarterback they’d ever witnessed to that point. His arm was something of a legend, and it led him to be considered as not only a great football prospect but someone who could’ve eventually played in Major League Baseball.
But despite the fact he could throw a baseball from home plate over his college’s outfield fence, Elway would eventually set his sights on football alone in the pros.
Elway had one of the most illustrious four-year stretches ever in high school and was chosen to the Parade All-American team his senior year despite missing five games during the season. Five. That’s how good everyone knew he was.
It wasn’t just the arm, a “gift from God” as Elway’s coach put it, but also his crafty elusiveness and a reasonable amount of speed. He ended up with over 60 scholarship offers to contemplate, and that was just in one of his sports. He’d also been drafted by the Kansas City Royals that year, which is interesting to think about, seeing as Dan Marino was also selected by them. Imagine George Brett and two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history playing on the same team.
But Elway chose Stanford over what we can assume were many programs with much better football programs. After all, Elway would never make a bowl game at Stanford, but would have an incredible career there with over 9,000 passing yards and 77 touchdowns. He then became the greatest player in Denver Bronco history.
Next: Adrian Peterson