Whatever Happened to the NCAA Career Scoring Leader?

Quick! Name the player who holds the NCAA record for career points and rushing touchdowns and is also 5th all-time in rushing yards? Herschel Walker? No. OJ Simpson? Nope. Barry Sanders? Get a clue. Unless you are crazy like me, you have long since forgotten about the man who holds these records (if you ever thought about him anyway). The stud running back that I'm talking about is/was Miami University's own, Touchdown Travis Prentice.

With Saturday's showdown between Javon Ringer and Chris Wells looming, I figured I could bring a seldom talked about rushing great back to the forefront...even if it's just for a day.

I thought long and hard about this because, as a Miami alumnus myself, you would think that Ben Roethlisberger is my favorite football player ever. But honestly, I think that I liked Travis more. And I've been thinking about his gridiron prowess a lot recently. Since my RedHawks are currently a down and decrepit program that can't/doesn't try to run the ball, I've been longing for the days when I watched one of the best college running backs of all time each and every Fall Saturday. In fact, instead of spewing more vitriol on MiamiHawkTalk.com, I asked if anyone out there had any info regarding the whereabouts of my favorite RedHawk of all time. A poster stating that he is Travis's brother relayed this:

For those inquiring, Travis is doing well outside of football. He still follows the game with enthusiasm, but would tell you that the "business" of football is a quite different experience. He makes no apologies for his on-field professional performance, despite his critics.

One would only need to look at the team performance before and during his first and only year at Cleveland to realize that it would have been difficult for even the best of backs to perform given the offensive deficiencies. He'll tell you that he really looked forward to returning to Cleveland for a solid 2nd season, but the business of football called for new plans. New coach, new strategy. The balance of his short career really ended in Minnesota, while being limited to short yardage plays and special teams. He wasn't going to replace Kleinsasser as their short-yardage fullback, nor was he going to replace a stable of running backs already familiar with the Vikings system, i.e. then 1st round draft pick Michael Bennett and backups Doug Chapman and Harold Morrow.

Next, Chris Palmer brought him in to complete for a spot with the Texans. He didn't stick there vying for a RB spot behind 1st rounder, Jonathan Wells and veteran starter, James Allen. He was released on the final cut.
He was picked up last 4 games of the 2002 season by Arizona Cardinals, but didn't dress. The intention was to provide a solid backup to then starter Marcel Shipp. Made a strong showing in the 2003 training camp and pre-season, competing against the demoted starter Marcel Shipp and their 2nd round pick Josh Scobey. As he explains, his spot was secured until the signing of Emmitt Smith, which made him expendable, largely because he never became a solid Special Teams player.

After being released by Arizona, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay called for his presence in their training camps in 2004. Travis chose not to continue with the "journeyman" option, deciding in favor of hanging up his cleats. In his words, "I had no desire to relocate again, and offer up my body for weeks simply for the coaching staff to evaluate their preferred backs under the guise of competition. It's time to move on with my life."

Now he's a family man running his own business, happy to have the business of football behind him. No regrets, but always the thought of what a 2nd season in Cleveland would have been. Selfishly, I'd like to see my brother's jersey retired, as I believe his accomplishments on the field and off the field during his time at Miami were worthy of such a recognition. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way, so maybe one day it will happen for him.

Well, there you have it. Seriously, look at all of the NCAA rushing records and Travis Prentice will be near the top of every stat category. The guy was a beast yet unfortunately, not many of you ever got to see him play. And from this post, you can see that a guy can do everything right and work his ass off, but sometimes that just isn't enough. Sometimes the circumstances surrounding you are too great. I wouldn't say that this is a cautionary tale, but it is definitely a reason why all college football players should strive in the classroom just as much as they do on the field. Because you can't play football forever.

I've always believed, and I always will, that Travis Prentice got fucked by the Browns. How'd James Jackson and Willie Green work out for you? No one will change my mind on that. And while I wish that he could have had a long and successful career in the NFL (like Big Ben is going to have), it's nice to see that he's at a good place in his life. Travis, if this somehow/some way gets back to you, you will ALWAYS have this blogger as a fan.