Ranking The 11 Most Hated College Football Players Since The Year 2000

When it comes to College Football, there has been no shortage of villains throughout the years. Often times, players find themselves on the list of the ‘Most Hated College Football Players of All-Time’ due to no fault of their own and strictly because they are so impressive on the gridiron.

Below, we take a look at the 11 most hated college football players since the year 2000, the most polarizing players over the past 25 years.

With less than a month until the 2025 College Football season starts, we are taking a look back at the past 25 years today.

From the showboats to the players branded as ‘dirty,’ these are the 11 most hated college football players since 2000. Among them are multiple Heisman Trophy winners, multiple national champions, but what they all have in common is hatred from opposing fan bases and in many cases hatred from their own fan base.

11. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State University

The Ohio State Buckeyes starting QB from 2008-2010, 2-time Big Ten Champion, and 2010 Rose Bowl MVP, Terrelle Pryor was hated by opposing fan bases and eventually by many Buckeyes for his off-the-field issues.

In 2011, it was reported he was driving with a suspended license. It was alleged that he got paid thousands for signing autographs, and he eventually opted to leave Ohio State and declare for the NFL Draft after being banned from having contact with any Ohio State recruits.

10. Kellen Winslow Jr., University of Miami

Some of the most polarizing figures in College Football history have been members of the University of Miami Hurricanes with Kellen Winslow Jr. among them. It was an incident in 2003 following a Miami-Tennessee game where the #6 Hurricanes lost to #18 Tennessee that landed Kellen Winslow Jr. on this list.

During a play where he blocked two Volunteers players for a Devin Hester sweep, Kellen Winslow Jr., was later asked about it and told the media “I’m a soldier.” This resulted in accusations of ‘stolen valor.’ He would later apologize for the remarks but the damage was down and he had angered a huge portion of the country with his comments, making him arguably the most polarizing figure in CFB that season.

9. Vontaze Burfict, Arizona State

Vontaze Burfict started his collegiate career at Arizona State and only *just barely* qualified academically for the 2009 season. In 2010, it became apparent that Burfict was responsible for a disproportionate number of personal fouls, including grabbing the facemask of Stanford WR Doug Baldwin in an incident that would cost Arizona State the game after the facemask penalty led to Stanford’s game-winning TD.

Many, myself included, remember Vontaze Burfict for helmet-to-helmet hits as his preferred method for immobilizing offenses, a reputation he gained as early as high school when parents would complain to his coach.

8. Shedeur Sanders, University of Colorado

I had to include at least once very recent player on this list and among College Football players over the past 10 or so years there is no one more polarizing than Shedeur Sanders, whose father Deion was his head coach and also one of the most polarizing CFB players in his own time (real ones remember the ‘Seminole Rap’).

Shedeur Sanders’ number was retired by the Colorado Buffaloes despite winning just 13 games in 2 seasons. The Hype Train had the world convinced he would go in the 1st round of the 2025 NFL Draft only to see him drop to the 5th Round and 144th pick overall. His life became a reality show and with it came the haters.

7. Maurice Clarett, Ohio State University

Maurice Clarett set records at Ohio State in his freshman year, rushing for 1,237 yards and 18 touchdowns. Ohio State is arguably the most hated College Football program of all-time. It’s between them, Alabama, and Notre Dame, so Maurice Clarett already had a target on his back.

That only exacerbated the hate when the incidents started happening… Yelling at his position coach during the 2002 Northwestern game… Admitting he never attended a class during his time at OSU… Publicly bashing the school for not paying for him to fly to a funeral… All which led up to his suspension from OSU in September, 2003.

6. LeGarrette Blount, University of Oregon

Former Oregon Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount had a LOT of haters and it is hard to argue that much of the hate wasn’t justified after a 2009 incident during Oregon’s game against Boise State.

After the game, Boise State defensive player Byron Hout was punched by LeGarrette and knocked to the ground. Blount then punched his own teammate, Garrett Embry, who was attempting to restrain him after he punched the Boise State player. Video footage of the incident exploded on social media and earned LeGarrette Blount a nasty reputation in college.

5. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Sooners

The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, Baker Mayfield, had haters wherever he went. Baker started college with 2,315 yards, 12 TDs, and 9 INTs at Texas Tech before announcing he was leaving the school because of a “miscommunication” with the Texas Tech coaching staff.

That move earned him a lot of haters in the Lonestar State but when he then went to Oklahoma and torched opposing teams for years he became one of the most hated in the game. He played like a guy with a chip on his shoulder and his celebrations were brash. Many of his haters have come around to him in the NFL which can also be said for most of the players on this list.

4. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M Aggies

Johnny Manziel aka ‘Johnny Football,’ winner of the 2012 Heisman Trophy, is easily among the 5 most-hated college football players of all time. He actually owns the trademark for ‘Johnny Football’ after registering it back in 2013 so any other Johnny’s out there playing ball, watch out.

Manziel was notorious for partying hard then lighting up opposing defenses. He was electric. If you didn’t have skin the game you loved to watch him play but if he was playing your team you loathed him with the burning fire of a thousand suns. He broke Tebow and Newton’s single-season offensive production records, he later tweeted he “couldn’t wait” to leave College Station, alienating his own fan base. The red flags were everywhere.

3. Cam Newton, Auburn University

It is remarkable that the Florida Gators had two of the most-hated College Football players of all time on the same squad: Cam Newton as a freshman back up to Tim Tebow in 2007. In November 2008, he was arrested on felony chargers (burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice) and was accused of stealing a laptop from another UF and then throwing it out a window in an attempt to hide any guilt from the police.

While facing expulsion over the incident and three days before the Gators were in the National Championship, Cam Newton announced he was transferring. Flash forward a year after Blinn College and Cam Newton was at Auburn where he’d win the 2010 Heisman Trophy, SEC Championship, and National Championship…

All while his actual eligibility was being called into question throughout the 2010 season over bribery allegations that resulted in a 13-month investigation that was unable to confirm any reports of ‘illicit recruiting tactics.’ Cam had haters everywhere he went in college but especially in the SEC.

2. Jameis Winston, Florida State

The hatred toward 2013 Heisman winner Jameis Winston hit such a fever pitch that ESPN was covering him around the clock in Tallahassee. Jameis had his off-the-field issues: crab legs at Publix, yelling obscenities in the cafeteria, and assault allegations.

All of that fueled the nation’s hate toward Jameis Winston as he led the Florida State Seminoles to an undefeated regular season and the school’s third National Championship, giving FSU the bookend wins on the BCS title era.

1. Tim Tebow, Florida Gators

Everyone hates Mr. Perfect and you would be hard-pressed to find another individual in College Football more ‘perfect’ than Tim Tebow.

Born in the Philippines, where he would reportedly later spend one of his spring breaks on a mission trip circumcising children, Tebow’s family moved to Jacksonville when he was just 3-years-old and it seemed like a foregone conclusion he would to go UF at that point.

Tim Tebow led the Gators to 2 National Championships (2006, 2008), he won the 2007 Heisman Trophy, and was a 2x SEC Male Athlete of the Year award recipient. All along the way, opposing fan bases were resorting to black magic in order to see Mr. Perfect fail, which he never did.