15 college football players whose careers ended too soon

Which 15 former college football stars had their careers ended far too soon, both in NFL and college, because of injuries suffered while in school?

Everyone loves a good sports story. However, not everything is sunshine and rainbows in the world of sports, namely college football. In fact, there have been a number of stars who had their careers cut far too short due to injuries, leading to early retirements.

Earlier this week, Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams III announced his sudden retirement from football after suffering a second neck injury. He was injured during a spring practice and in order to avoid further damage, he sat down with family and decided he was going to hang up the cleats.

Williams III is not alone.

Some of the former college football stars on this list ended up in the NFL, but injuries suffered while still in school forced them to give up the sport they loved, whether they were ready to or not.

Here are 15 college football stars whose careers ended far too soon.

While Josh Mabin isn’t exactly a household name, he has earned a spot on this list because he’s one of the most recent players to retire for health reasons. Also, because his reason for retiring is unique.

Prior to the 2016 season, the sophomore revealed that he had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which essentially means his heart had built up too much muscle to properly circulate blood, putting him at a major risk for sudden cardiac arrest, which could lead to death.

If that’s not the wildest reason to retire, I don’t know what is. He was set to be the backup middle linebacker for Oklahoma State in 2016, but he made the announcement just days before the season. He finished his Cowboys career with four total tackles in five games.