Ten former five-stars to suit up in the AAF this weekend

When the Alliance of American Football hits the field for the first games of in its inaugural season, the league will not be short on star power. Ten former five-star prospects can be found on the rosters of the eight AAF teams, and many more names familiar to college football fans will look to resurrect their professional careers when the league kicks off the weekend of Feb. 9-10.

Background: Richardson committed to Alabama in the summer prior to his senior year, but still made things interesting last with official visits to Florida, Florida State and LSU before electing to stick with the Tide. Once at Alabama he had an excellent career that led to several accolades, including two national championships and SEC Offensive Player of the year honors in 2011.

How he landed in the AAF: Richardson was selected third overall by the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 NFL Draft and had a nice rookie year, accounting for more than 1,300 yards from scrimmage. But just two games into his second season he was traded to Indianapolis where his career cratered and following the end of the 2014 season he was waived. He also spent time with Oakland and Baltimore, but never appeared in a regular season game. Richardson spent 2017 in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders before signing with the Birmingham Iron late last year.

Background: At one point the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2015, Thompson committed to Georgia over Clemson, Florida State and others during the fall of his senior season.

Once in Athens Thompson worked his way into the lineup as a true freshman and showed flashes of the potential that led to his lofty ranking. He put it all together as a sophomore in 2016, when he had 64 total tackles including 9.5 for loss and five sacks. But following that season Thompson ran into off-field issues, including being hospitalized for what was termed a “significant” non-football “medial issue.” Thompson withdrew from classes and missed spring football in 2017, but returned and played in several games later that fall, recording 38 tackles on the Bulldogs run to the national championship game.

How he landed in the AAF: After going undrafted in 2018, Thompson signed with the Cleveland Browns but was waived prior to the start of training camp. He signed with the Arizona Hotshots in January.

Background: Hill committed to Florida over Florida State and Miami at the start of his senior season. Once with the Gators, Hill made an immediate impact, making the SEC All-Freshman team while helped the Gators win a National Championship. He played two more seasons for the Gators before declaring for the 2011 NFL Draft.

How he landed in the AAF: Hill went unselected in the 2011 draft and started his NFL career with the New York Giants in 2012. After spending two years with the club, he signed with Baltimore in 2014 and had a breakout NFL season in 2015, starting 14 games and setting career highs in tackles and passes defensed. But off-field troubles haunted Hill during his NFL career and after being suspended multiple times, including for the first 10 games in 2016, Hill was released. He spent 2017 in Canada playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before signing with the Orlando Apollos in 2018.

Background: The highest-ranked prospect ever to sign with Rutgers during the Rivals era, Hamilton immediately moved into the rotation along the defensive line during his freshman season for the Scarlet Knights. While Hamilton had a productive collegiate career in which he appeared in 51 games for Rutgers, a knee injury prior to his senior season was sign of things to come.

How he landed in the AAF: Hamilton underwent double knee surgery the winter following his final season at Rutgers caused him to go undrafted. Shoulder surgery seven months later caused Hamilton to be away from football for another three months, but he was medically cleared 13 months ago. He will suit up for the AAF’s Salt Lake Stallions this weekend.

Background: Williams committed to Texas A&M as an underclassman but took official visits to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Arkansas before sticking with the Aggies. At Texas A&M, Williams had a decent career, rushing for 1,343 yards on 204 carries with 18 touchdowns in three seasons before leaving school early for the 2015 NFL Draft.

How in landed in the AAF: After going undrafted in 2015, Williams bounced around the NFL, spending with with Washington, Dallas, New England, MIami, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Despite all those stops, he’s managed just 12 yards rushing in his NFL career. Williams was among the Cowboys final cuts in 2018 and signed with the San Antonio Commanders last month.

Background: Johnson committed to LSU as an underclassman and never swayed on that pledge. With the Tigers, Johnson stepped in right away and had a freshman All-American season but never seemed to build off that strong start and after a junior season that saw him finish with 35 tackles, nine tackles for a loss and three sacks, he decided to leave school for the NFL.

How he landed in the AAF: Johnson went undrafted in 2014 and bounced around from Miami to Washington to New England to the New York Jets and finally the Indianapolis Colts. His most significant time came with the Patriots in 2016, when he started one game and had eight tackles in four total appearances. After starting the 2018 season on the Colts injured reserve, he was later waived and signed with the Memphis Express.

Background: The son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert set a Texas high school record with 4,827 passing yards as a junior. He would go on to commit to Texas that next February over offers from Cal, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. After playing his freshman season, Gilbert earned the starting job as a sophomore. Shoulder surgery during his junior season was followed by a transfer to SMU, where Gilbert was the starting quarterback for each of his two seasons in Dallas.

How he landed in the AAF: Selected in the sixth round the 2014 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams, Gilbert would go on to play for five teams in five seasons but did not make his NFL debut until the final game of the 2018 season for the Carolina Panthers. The previous month Gilbert had been drafted by the AAF’s Orlando Apollos, and he returned to the team following the conclusion of the 2018 NFL season.

Background: Selected to the roster of the inaugural Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge, Hackenberg was bumped to five-stars following his performance in the Under Armour All-American Game as a senior. After signing with Penn State, Hackenberg would go on to start every game of his collegiate career, throwing for 8,318 yards and 48 touchdowns in three seasons. Hackenberg declared for the NFL Draft following his junior season.

How he landed in the AAF: Hackenberg was selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Jets and signed a four-year deal. The Jets made him inactive for all but one game of his rookie season, and he did not play a down during the 2017 season. In May, 2018 Hackenberg was traded to Oakland, which in turn released him a few weeks later. Philadelphia and Cincinnati both picked him up at different points during the 2018 season. The Bengals released Hackenberg from their practice squad in November, and he was drafted by the AAF’s Memphis Express later that month.

Background: Isaac chose USC over Michigan and Notre Dame during the recruiting process. Isaac saw immediate playing time at USC, carrying 44 times as a freshman, but left Los Angeles and transferred to Michigan after just one season. Following a denial of his hardship request by the NCAA, Isaac redshirted the 2014 season in Ann Arbor before rushing for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns over his final three seasons with the Wolverines.

How he landed in the AAF: After suffering a knee injury that required surgery toward the end of his senior season, Isaac went undrafted by the NFL in 2018. He was one of the AAF’s first 100 players selected last August for the inaugural season of the league and plays for the Birmingham Iron.

Background: A one-time USC commitment, Redfield flipped to the Trojans' rival and signed with Notre Dame in the 2013 class. He played immediately after arriving in South Bend, eventually earning a starting position in his sophomore season. Prior to his senior season, however, Redfield was dismissed from Notre Dame after being arrested for marijuana possession and carrying a handgun without a license. A transfer to Division 2 Indiana University of Pennsylvania resulted in a 2017 season in which he recorded 78 tackles and four interceptions.

How he landed in the AAF: Despite the strong showing in his final collegiate season, Redfield went undrafted last spring. The Oakland Raiders invited him to their rookie mini-camp, but did not stick. Redfield plays for the Birmingham Iron with Isaac and Richardson.