Top 10 celebs who starred/had star potential in high school football

Long before celebrities were rocking stages or reeling in Academy Awards, they were lacing ‘em up under the Friday Night Lights and turning hardware worthy, dominant performances.

From T.I.’s lightning 4.3 speed to Rick Ross’ superb protection of his quarterback we’ve zeroed in on 10 Hollywood A-Listers who either did or had the potential to be participating in National Signing Day back in their heyday had they put all of their attention into athletics.

Some went on to play in college, some settled for high school stardom and some were legends in neighborhood ball.

Checkout the gallery below (listed alphabetically).

<p><strong>School:</strong> Terrell (Texas)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> The Academy-Award winning actor was a dual-threat quarterback for the Tigers. He showed glimpses of his prowess under center portraying quarterback Willie Beamen in “Any Given Sunday.”</p> <p><em>Photo: Rich Polk/Getty Images for California Strong</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> University (Irvine, Calif.)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Ferrell was a kicker for the Trojans and still holds the record for field goals made (14) in a season.</p> <p><em>Photo: AP Photo</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Affton (St. Louis, Mo.)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Goodman was a star on the defensive line for the Cougars and went on to play at Southwest Missouri State University.</p> <p><em>Photo: Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY Network</em></p>

<p><strong>School: </strong>Freedom (Bethlehem, Penn.)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Johnson, who was also known as The Rock in his WWE wrestling days, was a monster defensive star for the Patriots and went on to play for the Miami Hurricanes.</p> <p><em>Photo: Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY Network</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Clear Creek Amana (Tiffin, Iowa)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Kutcher was a wide receiver and a linebacker for the Clippers. He later passed along his gridiron knowledge as a coach at Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.).</p> <p><em>Photo: Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Network</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Carol City (Miami)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> The hip hop mogul was a star offensive lineman for the Chiefs and was named All-Dade first team offense in 1993.</p> <p><em>Photo: Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY Network</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Devereux Manor (Berwyn, Penn.)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Stallone was a star fullback for Devereux<strong>; </strong>not hard to believe for a man who played Rocky “The Italian Stallion” Balboa.</p> <p><em>Photo: Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY Network</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Frederick Douglass (Atlanta)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> The hip hop mogul never actually played for the Astros, but in an interview with USA Today Sports, T.I. said that he was a star wide receiver in neighborhood football. T.I. also revealed that he had 4.3 speed which would have made him a hot commodity on National Signing Day.</p> <p><em>Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Berkmar Manor (Lilburn, Ga.)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Quavo was a record-setting quarterback who ran the spread-offense masterfully for the Patriots.</p> <p><em>Photo: Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports</em></p>

<p><strong>School:</strong> Palisades (Pacific Palisades, Calif.)<br /> <strong>Noteworthy:</strong> Whitaker anchored the defensive line for the Dolphins and went on to play at Cal-Poly Pomona.</p> <p><em>Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP</em></p>

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY