Best College Football Quarterback Who Never Went Pro

You've read many opinions about who is the best all time college football quarterback. But, I bet you never read an article about who was the best college football quarterback who never went pro. The answer: Tommie James Frazier Jr., quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers from 1992 to 1996.

Frazier was born on July 16th, 1974, in Bradenton, Florida. It was in 1992 that then just 18 year old Tommie Frazier came to Nebraska University and took the helm as quarterback to a college football team that had not beaten a Top 10 rival in nearly four years and had only beaten one Top 20 opponent. It was during that very first year that Tommie was recognized as “The Big Game Player.” Frazier's big contribution to his team was to serve as its leader. They did not call him “The Maestro” for nothing.

Since 1950, the NCAA Huskers had not had a national championship; however, with Frazier in the mix, they won both 1994 and 95 national championships. The 1995 Nebraska team is considered by many as the best NCAA football team of all time.

Frazier was the only player ever to win the MVP of three national championship games. In 1999, Frazier played as a back-up quarterback in the NCAA Football All-Century Team and was also a back up quarterback Walter Camp Football Foundation All Century Team the same year. Frazier did not go on to play professional football in the NFL due to issues with blood clots in his left leg as a result Crohn’s disease. [A visitor to this site (Charlie) informs us that Tommie Frazier missed 8 starts in his junior year due to blood clots. He returned to start the Orange Bowl game vs Miami.] Tommie Frazier is still considered one of the greatest college football quarterbacks ever.

There have been many quotes about Frazier’s NCAA career that can make him sound legendary such as NU Coach, Tom Osborne statement of “The thing that Tommie brings to the game is a presence, and a confidence, and a competitiveness, and an intelligence that very few players have.” Mark Whicker from the Orange County Register commented that Frazier was the “heart, soul, baton, and megaphone on the nation's best team” and Sports Illustrated Tim Layden made the comment that “Frazier must now be considered one of the best big-game quarterbacks in college football history -- it’s (version of) Joe Montana.” One thing is for sure; Frazier made a huge impact and gained many fans fast. He was admired by his teammates, adored by his fans, and respected by his opponents.

Frazier’s NCAA football quarterback career might have ended in 1996 as a player, however his love of football translated into a assistant coaching position for Baylor University, and then on to the head coaching position, in 2005 for the Doane College Tigers in Crete, Nebraska. The multiple awards he received as a college football quarterback were not only well-earned, but they also serve to guide, lead, and inspire the college football quarterbacks of the team he now coaches. Thank you Mr. Frazier for some wonderful games as the best all time college football quarterback that never went pro.

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