Randy Moss

Moss was born in 1977 and grew up in a small West Virginia mining town called Rand. As a student in the nearby Belle school system, Moss emerged as a phenomenally gifted young athlete. He led the DuPont High School Panthers

Randy Moss

to two state football titles, and as a basketball player was named West Virginia's high school player of the year. He even excelled in baseball and won track titles at the state level. Legendary Notre Dame University coach Lou Holtz called him "the best high school player I've ever seen," according to Sport's Curry Kirkpatrick, and duly signed him to play for the legendary Fighting Irish after graduation. The full scholarship was rescinded, however, when Moss became involved in a school brawl and spent a month in jail after rupturing a fellow student's spleen.

Holtz suggested Moss to the Florida State University Seminoles, who allowed him to play as a "red shirt," or an off-the-roster player, during his freshman year in 1995. The following spring, Moss returned to Charleston to serve out the remainder of his sentence for malicious wounding on a work-release program, but tested positive for marijuana use. He was jailed again, and Florida State kicked him off the team. From there Moss enrolled at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and helped make their football team, the Thundering Herd, a leader in its collegiate I-AA division. Moss's receiving and running talents led the team through a spectacular two seasons, and he was a fourth-place candidate in the Heisman Trophy voting for the best American college football player after his sophomore season.