Da'Rick Rodgers and the Worst 5-Star College Football Recruits Off The Field

When it comes to college football recruiting, there are hidden gems and hidden land mines.

Under the radar prospects with poor recruiting grades can turn out to be the best of the bunch. But when it comes to the 5-stars, high expectations can just as quickly turn to massive disappointments.

It's one thing when a player struggles to transition to the college game; some guys just don't have what it takes to get it done at a higher level of competition. As disappointing as it is to see an elite prospect fail to succeed on the field, it can get a whole lot worse. 

Failure on the field is nothing compared to failure off of it. The absolute worst ending to a 5-star bust story is one that involves the law and a total waste of talent, and yet, it happens all the time.

Is Tennessee's Da'Rick Rogers the next blue-chip to head down this road? Only will time will tell. 

Here are some of the worst off the field trouble makers that busted big-time on the college game in the last few years. 

Melvin Alaeze, DT, Maryland

Maybe the biggest bust of the last ten years, Alaeze was considered one of the best defensive linemen prospects to ever come out of Maryland.

He was ranked as the No. 1 defensive end on Rivals and the No. 6 defensive end on Scout in the 2005 recruiting class.

Drug charges had his scholarship revoked after a year at Maryland, and while he transfered to Illinois, the law caught up with him again before he ever saw the field. 

Alaeze is serving an eight-year prison sentence for his role in a shooting and robbery.

Eugene Clifford, S, Ohio State

Clifford was one of the top overall prospects of the 2007 recruiting class, ranking as the No. 2 safety on Scout and the No. 4 safety on Rivals. 

Clifford first got himself into trouble when he was suspended for the 2008 National Championship game for an undisclosed reason, but it didn't end there.

He followed this up with an incident in July of 2008 in which he was charged with misdemeanor assault charges after police reported that he hit two employees who were attempting to break up a bar fight in Cincinnati.

That led him to transfer to Tennessee State for the 2008 season where he's had a decent, but nor4rwhere near what was expected of him, career. 

Dre Jones, DT, Texas

There weren't many prospects in the 2007 recruiting class that entered the fold with more potential than Dre Jones, a top five defensive tackle that year.

Unfortunately, we'll never know how good Dre Jones could have been because he messed up his future before it even materialized.

In one of the sadder and more senseless cases, Jones celebrated his 18th birthday with a felony charge for aggravated robbery with deadly weapon. According to reports, he and former Texas safety Robert Joseph attempted to rob cash, video game equipment, and cell phones with a pistol.

Jones was subsequently suspended indefinitely by Texas head coach Mack Brown and then faded off the map entirely

Da'Rick Rogers, WR, Tennessee

Da'Rick Rogers has been swirling in headlines since he first decommitted from Georgia in February of 2010 to instead attend Tennessee. He hasn't flamed out yet, but there's a bad feeling about this one.

He was one of the top-rated wide receivers from the 2010 class and was expected to be one of the biggest impact freshman in the country this season.

As it turns out, that might not be the case after Rogers' recent run-in with the law. He was one of several Tennessee players involved in a serious bar brawl in Knoxville that left one police office unconscious after several kicks to the head. 

The school has taken no official action toward Rogers yet, but the latest police reports indicate that he allegedly assaulted a man during the brawl. He was arrested on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges.

Fred Rouse, WR, FSU

Considered the No. 2 wide receiver from the 2005 recruiting class, Fred Rouse once declared that he would be the first player to jump straight from high school to the NFL.

Rouse had insane athletic ability and was expected to blossom into one of the nation's top receivers. He was also compared to Randy Moss in terms of his talents and his personality

In 2006, Rouse was kicked off the FSU football team after being charged with breaking into the apartment of teammate Lorenzo Booker and stealing electronic equipment.

Rouse then transferred to UTEP, but left the team in 2008 for personal reasons and eventually landed at Concordia College.

J'Courtney Williams, LB, Virginia

Williams is yet another 5-star prospect who never even came close to reaching his potential due to his multiple run-ins with the law.

The No. 1 strongside linebacker of the 2007 recruiting class, Williams redshirted in 2007 and then got himself dismissed from Virginia the following year.

Williams, who was already on probation for after earlier being charged with possession of marijuana, was charged with two counts of credit card fraud in March of 2008 after stealing a wallet from a local gym.

That sparked Groh to part ways with Scout's No. 1 strongside linebacker and Rivals' No. 12 outside linebacker before he ever played a down for the program

Willie Williams, LB, Miami

Williams was rated as the sixth overall prospect of the 2004 recruiting class and the top high school linebacker in the country.

He was at the center of a heated recruiting battle amongst all the powerhouses of Florida before eventually deciding to stay in Miami and become a Hurricane.

That's exactly what he was.

Williams lasted just one year with the Canes before transferring to Louisville because of differences with the coaching staff. A conviction on marijuana charges ended that experiment, and later, over $18,000 in stolen cash and valuables ended his dreams of playing in the UFL.