Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Before he made a habit asking others whether they could smell what he was cooking, Dwayne Johnson was a highly recruited football player who accepted a scholarship to play defensive end for the University of Miami, winning the national title following the 1991 season. Ahead of his sophomore season, he lost his starting spot to a future Hall of Famer. “As a freshman, he came out, and back then we didn’t play too many freshmen,” former Hurricanes defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said of Johnson, according to ESPN. “But he was very strong, he had some great practices and we were able to play him as a freshman, and at one point we thought maybe we’d start him as a freshman. The problem with Dwayne was there was a guy named Warren Sapp who came along the next year.”