FCS (1-AA) Football: A major road to the NFL

When Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was taken as the 16th pick of the NFL draft on Saturday, it was a fitting culmination of a journey that began on what might have looked like a bumpy, unpaved road to nowhere. Rodgers-Cromartie wasn't on the college radar when he was graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School in 2004. He decided to play for Tennessee State University, a Division I-AA program in Nashville.

Not a bad choice. Division I-AA may not be the big time, but it has a long history of pumping star players into the NFL. Many of the cornerbacks that signed with Division I-A schools that year will be watching Rodgers-Cromartie play football on Sunday this fall.

Doesn't matter where you play your college ball. As the list of Division I-AA alumni in the NFL proves, talent is a difficult secret to keep.

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