15 college football players whose careers ended too soon

Aug 30, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Clint Trickett (9) throws the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter of the 2014 Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

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.

Josh Mabin

LB, Oklahoma State

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.

14

Stanley Doughty

DT, South Carolina

This was one of the more interesting situations that led a player to retire from the sport far too early. Stanley Doughty was considered one of the top defensive linemen in college football before suffering a spinal injury during his final season with the school which ended up keeping him from the NFL as well.

Basically, Doughty suffered a spinal injury and the South Carolina training staff told him to play through it because it was just “a stinger.” Everyone who has played football knows what that feels like and it’s not comfortable, but Doughty’s injury seemed to go even further than that.

To this day, he claims that every time he tilts his head back, he feels tingling through his deltoids and chest. He is suing South Carolina, and the NCAA, for neglecting to adequately treat him following his injury and telling him to play through it.

According to Doughty, who played from 2004-06 with South Carolina, he was signed by the Chiefs before he even graduated, but their training staff said that he wasn’t going to be cleared to play. He missed out on an NFL career and was forced to shut things down far too soon.

Dec 4, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; The Alabama Crimson Tide logo on the playing field at the Georgia Dome in preparation for the SEC Championship Saturday. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Tyrone Prothro

WR, Alabama

Tyrone Prothro made a catch that’s still being talked about today. The former Alabama receiver went up to make a reception over Southern Mississippi’s Jasper Faulk in a September 2005 game during Prothro’s junior season. He came down with his hands around the ball, which happened to be around the back of Faulk.

Just watch this incredible reception. It’s quite possibly the best college reception of all-time:

That reception in an early-season game was the play he was made famous for. Fans knew his name because of the catch — well and the fact that he was one of the SEC’s best returners before the 2005 season.

A few weeks later, he was known for something horrific. Prothro went up for a catch against Florida and the Gators’ defensive back came down on his leg, shattering both the tibia and fibula. It was one of the most horrific injuries in recent memory. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is even slightly squeamish.

Prothro’s leg would never be the same. After 11 surgeries, his leg was still not close to fully-healed and he knew that his playing days would be over. He never played another down, finishing his Alabama career with 58 catches for 853 yards and five touchdowns while he was also a heck of a return man.

Jan 1, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Thomas Tyner (24) rushes for a touchdown during the second half of the 2015 Rose Bowl college football game against the Florida State Seminoles at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas Tyner

RB, Oregon

One of the most shocking retirements in recent memory was former five-star running back Thomas Tyler of Oregon. He was ranked a top-20 recruit in the country in the 2013 class, according to 247Sports, and was expected to do big things with the Ducks’ explosive offense.

Heck, Oregon running backs have been on everyone’s Heisman radar for the past few years. Tyler was expected to be the next big thing, but after missing the entire 2015 season with a shoulder injury, he announced his retirement from football. Quite the fall from grace going from a blue-chip recruit to a retired collegiate athlete.

Tyner, however, is a different case.

In just two years with the Ducks, he racked up 1,485 yards from scrimmage and 15 total touchdowns. He also averaged 5.6 yards per carry. He was retired for 15 months until he recently decided to return to college football, but this time with rival Oregon State.

John Canzano of The Oregonian reported that Tyner requested a release from Oregon and was granted that the next day. He chose Oregon State as his next home, stating that he always wanted to be a Beaver.

Although he’s no longer retired, it’s too soon to tell if his career will end too early because of lingering injuries.

Jan 5, 2014; Mobile, AL, USA; Ball State Cardinals wide receiver Willie Snead (3) celebrates with wide receiver Jamill Smith (2) after catching a pass in front of Arkansas State Red Wolves linebacker Qushaun Lee (not pictured) for a touchdown in the first quarter at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Dante Love

WR, Ball State

Leading the nation in receiving, Dante Love looked to be one of the next small school stars to make it to the NFL. The year was 2008 and he had just dominated college football the year before, albeit at Ball State, catching 100 passes for 1,398 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Love was on every scout’s radar heading into his senior season, but he needed another big showing to earn himself NFL Draft consideration. He was averaging 144.3 yards per game through his first three and everything was on schedule to get him a draft selection. However, his final career college game came far too soon.

Ball State traveled to Indiana in the fourth game of 2008 and Love was looking to lead his Cardinals to an upset, but he was more worried about if he would ever walk again than anything else in the second quarter. He was running downfield when two Indiana defenders made a play on him and he went down awkwardly. He didn’t get up.

In fact, he suffered a broken neck and it happened to be one of the scariest moments of the season. Everyone in the stadium fell silent as Love was taken out on a stretcher. He was told by doctors that he would never be able to play football again and later returned to the team as more of an assistant coach that year.

Love finished his college career with 199 catches for 2,778 yards and 20 touchdowns.