The Most Hated College Football Players of All Time

College football fans are passionate. Most major college football programs are located in towns without a pro team to root for, so living and dying with a team’s success is normally par for the course.

Loving a team also means you more than likely hate another, and a rivalry with a program can trickle down to the major players on the team. When it comes to most hated college football players, we found six that weren’t only hated by their rivals, but on a national level as well.

Brian Bosworth- Oklahoma

We had to start the list off with Brian Bosworth. Widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in the country during his time at Oklahoma, Bosworth was also a major persona off the field. His nickname “The Boz” and his outrageous haircuts made him the perfect target for Big 8 (now the Big-12) hate.

He flipped off the student section against the University of Colorado, was suspended before the 1987 Orange Bowl for failing a drug test, then wore a “National Communists Against Athletes” shirt on the sideline during the game.  

Terrelle Pryor- Ohio State

There aren’t many players that can bring as much anger to the Ohio State fanbase as Terrelle Pryor. He was a five-star recruit and 31-4 as a starter, but he was the center of the Buckeyes tattoo scandal that cost head coach Jim Tressel his job.

Tressel’s departure eventually led to Urban Meyer becoming head coach a few seasons later, but college football fans are still bitter about the whole ordeal.

Todd Marinovich- USC

Known as the “Robo” quarterback coming out of high school, Todd Marinovich was groomed by his father to be the next great quarterback. He, unfortunately, had multiple clashes with coaches and teammates on the sidelines and was busted for cocaine possession in 1991.

Marinovich showed that no matter how hard you train if you don’t have your heart in playing quarterback you won’t find much success.

Tim Tebow- Florida

There was the infamous speech. There was Heisman Trophy win. Florida’s dominance over almost all of its opponents. Tim Tebow can make a strong argument for being the most hated college football player of all-time. We haven’t even gotten to his most recent quotes about athletes and whether they should be paid. 

Tebow’s success on and off the field has brought on a lot of haters, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon as he is a college football analyst for the worldwide leader in sports.

Johnny Manziel- Texas A&M

Johnny Manziel, aka “Johnny Football” was money on the college football field and he knew it. The Heisman winner constantly flashed a money sign when scoring or throwing a touchdown for the Aggies, but it was his persona off the field that has led to a lot of the haters. Failed stints in the NFL and CFL only added more fuel to the fire.

Jameis Winston- Florida State

There were three big things that got Jameis Winston on this list. The first was a sexual assault allegation that he didn’t get charged for. That brought a lot of attention from the national media. It looked to many like favoritism for a star quarterback.

The second was an incident where he yelled derogatory comments in front of a cafeteria full of students (after his sexual assault allegation was dropped).

The third was the security cam footage of him stealing crab legs from a store in Tallahassee. Winston became a punching bag for fans and the media. All this while still playing college football, before becoming the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft.