Most Unique Academic Majors for 2015 Power Conference College Football Players
As last week's Most Popular Academic Majors story showed, college football players tend to run in the same packs when it comes to their courses of studies.
The vast majority of players in Power Five conferences are enrolled in some sort of business major, while other common majors such as communication, sociology and sport management followed.
But a handful of athletes have decided to carve out their own unique paths in academics during their time on campus. They don't stick to the usual courses—in fact, some have interesting majors that no one else in the sport studies.
The SEC has two star players who have their eyes on the skies, while another one tends to focus on the bugs that crawl on the ground. Ohio State has an animal-loving leader on its offensive line, and USC has an established music producer already out in Hollywood.
Take a look at several players with some of the most unique majors in college football, and the paths they took to achieve their academic goals.
Auburn LB Kris Frost: Aviation Management
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When Kris Frost decided to enroll at Auburn in 2011, the athlete from North Carolina didn't choose the program because it was, at the time, the defending national champion.
According to Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com, Frost chose Auburn because of its aviation program.
"It goes to show you, when a school gives you an opportunity, you should take it," Frost told Goldberg. "Auburn has definitely given me an opportunity to fly and do other things I wanted to do outside of football, and becoming a man and getting a degree that is going to be really important to me in the future."
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn told Brad Botkin of CBS Sports, he had some "concern over the time commitment required of aviation students," but Frost has been able to pass both tests with flying colors. Frost finished third for the Tigers last season in tackles and second in tackles for loss, as a key starter at linebacker.
Kentucky OL Kyle Meadows: Entomology
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Kyle Meadows knows his major—entomology, the study of insects—is weird. And he's perfectly fine with that.
"I am just weird," Meadows told Larry Vaught of the Advocate Messenger in 2014. "I just like insects and want to major in it. You can eventually do forensic entomology, work for scientists and do research and find a species and hopefully cures (for diseases) and everything."
After redshirting in 2013, the Kentucky offensive lineman saw the field for the first time in 2014 and is now listed as the starting right tackle on the Wildcats' post-spring depth chart. As he balances bugs and blocking assignments, he said he doesn't expect to have many conversations about his peculiar major with his teammates.
"I don’t think any of them really know what my major is," Meadows told Vaught. "They don’t ask, so I just keep it to myself."
North Carolina DE Junior Gnonkonde: Peace, War and Defense
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Junior Gnonkonde isn't an average defensive lineman in the ACC. He speaks five languages, is from Ivory Coast and is pursuing a double major in both African American and diaspora studies and peace, war and defense.
The latter part of the double major is especially important to Gnonkonde, who played high school football in Lakeland, Georgia, partly due to unrest in his home country.
"One day I wish to go back and make improvements in any domain I can," Gnonkonde told Zach Read of Inside Carolina Magazine. "Security is an issue in my country. I want to bring skills back that will help my country, my community, everyone."
As he continues his studies at North Carolina, Gnonkonde is pushing for a starting spot on the Tar Heels defensive line. The junior finished seventh on the team in tackles for loss last season with five.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Ohio State OL Taylor Decker: Animal Sciences (Zoology)
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Taylor Decker could have gone to the NFL after Ohio State's national championship season in 2014, but he's back to finish what has been an interesting academic career in Columbus.
Sure, there are a few other players in college football who major in animal science. However, Decker has had plenty of hands-on experience in zoology at Ohio State.
Head coach Urban Meyer said Decker "looked like a zombie" after his zoology finals last December, according to David Briggs of the Blade. And Decker's bio on Ohio State's website states he has interned at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium each of the last two summers.
Hey, once his football playing days are over, a future on Animal Planet might be in store for the title-winning lineman.
Oklahoma State OL Jaxon Salinas: Graphic Design
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A trip to Oklahoma State's campus in 2012 made Jaxon Salinas nail down his decision to become a Cowboy. But the school's athletic facilities didn't sway him to commit—it was the university's graphic design program.
"The big thing I appreciated is that the coaches know I want to major in graphic design," Salinas told ESPN.com in 2012. "[Former Oklahoma State assistant Joe] Wickline got the head of the department to show me around and show me the classes I'll take. There’s not a lot of universities that have graphic design programs like that."
According to Gina Mizell of the Oklahoman, Salinas became interested in graphic design in high school and wants to use his skills in advertising after football. Oklahoma State's graphic design major immediately won over the now-redshirt sophomore lineman.
"Jaxon never wavered," Salinas' high school coach Aaron De La Torre told Mizell. "He had told me, 'I don't want to talk to no one else.' Even when people would come in, I was like, 'Nope, he's committed. He's solid.'"
Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs: Aerospace Engineering
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Being a starting quarterback in the SEC is tough. Being an aerospace engineering major is also tough. Tennessee star Joshua Dobbs is tackling both challenges.
According to Matt Hayes of Sporting News, Dobbs asked his mother to take him to a Tuskegee Airmen Camp when he was 13. His love for aircraft continued right into college, where he now handles a huge load of courses while leading the Volunteers offense.
This summer, he interned with aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and worked with aircraft engines. That time commitment didn't bother Tennessee head coach Butch Jones, who has plenty of faith in his smart signal-caller.
"Josh Dobbs can handle [the internship]," Jones told Ryan Callahan of 247Sports in May. "He's proven that he can handle that, and not many people can balance academics and being a starting quarterback with that curriculum. Josh Dobbs has been able to do that, but he's also been able to do exceptionally well, both athletically and academically, so that won’t interfere at all."
USC S Leon McQuay III: Music Industry
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As a starting safety for USC, Leon McQuay III knows a thing or two about hits. That also applies to him off the field, too, as McQuay works in producing as a music industry major.
McQuay's experience with music producing started before he left Seffner, Florida, for the bright lights of Los Angeles. McQuay produced a song with Florida rapper Infinite Skillz for ESPN's coverage of the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game—a game that McQuay participated in as a highly touted recruit.
"I didn't really know how to feel," McQuay told the Daily Trojan in 2013. "I was just like, 'Wow, my beat is really on TV.'"
McQuay started his own production company, LM3 Beats, during his high school days, and he continues to pump out new music as a student at USC.
West Virginia WR Ricky Rogers: Dance
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Whenever West Virginia wide receiver Ricky Rogers scores a touchdown for the first time in his college football career, keep an eye on his potential celebration.
Rogers has quite a unique major at West Virginia—dance. According to SB Nation's Cardiac Hill blog, the Pittsburgh native has been in dance since he was 3 years old, and he was set on that being his major during his recruitment.
The wideout decided to attend the hometown Panthers' rival, West Virginia, where he redshirted in the 2014 season. He made the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll during his first year of classes in Morgantown.
Rogers will continue to battle for playing time as an outside receiver this fall for the Mountaineers. Considering his dance background, it'll be hard for the staff to find someone with better footwork than the redshirt freshman.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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