Sports fans will be hard-pressed to find another league out there with more unique names than those playing in NCAA football.
College football’s landscape is massive in the United States. From coast to coast, there are a plethora of programs, each with a massive number of players on it. It leaves a high chance for some uniqueness when it comes to names.
Yet, it seems year after year, the monikers and nicknames utilized on the gridiron get more outrageous. In 2024 alone, the NCAA has players like Oklahoma QB General Booty, Duke LB Memorable Factor, North Texas DB Moh Bility, and SMU OL King Large.
What are some of the other names in college football that stand out? The Sporting News has the answer.
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Best college football names in 2024
| Name | Position | School |
| Tree Babalade | OL | South Carolina |
| Rocky Beers | TE | FIU |
| Moh Bility | DB | North Texas |
| General Booty | QB | Oklahoma |
| Chief Borders | LB | Pittsburgh |
| Major Burns | DB | LSU |
| Pig Cage | DB | LA Tech |
| Cannon Coffee | DB | Kentucky |
| Demon Clowney | DE | Charlotte |
| Rabbit Evans | DB | Utah |
| Memorable Factor | LB | Duke |
| Stone Handy | LB | Charlotte |
| D’Icey Hopkins | DB | Georgia State |
| Legend Journey | DL | Cal |
| Hero Kanu | DL | Ohio State |
| King Large | OL | SMU |
| Snoop Leota-Amaama | OL | Nevada |
| Octavious Oxendine | DL | Kentucky |
| Dude Person | DB | Central Arkansas |
| Turbo Richard | RB | Boston College |
| Shitta Sillah | DL | Purdue |
| Tiger Shanks | OL | UNLV |
| Rhino Tapa’atoutai | OL | Arizona |
| Parker Titsworth | OL | Ohio |
| Nitro Tuggle | WR | Georgia |
| Phat Watts | WR | Tulane |
| Donta Whack | RB | UMass |
| Squirrel White | WR | Tennessee |
| Tripp Woody | P | Iowa |
Tree Babalade
Babaladae’s real name is Oluwatosin. His nickname, “Tree,” came from the fact he towered over his teammates at an early age.
Rocky Beers
Rocky is not named after the famous movie character, Rocky Balboa. He is named after the uncle of his mother, who died at an early age.
“When we got married, [Kari] said our first boy, I want to name him Rocky,” Ike Beers, the father of Rocky, said.
Rocky is the brother of former FIU tight end, Rowdy, and Oregon State women’s basketball player, Raegan.
Moh Bility
Bility’s real name is Mohammed. The family cut the name down to simply, “Moh,” causing the unique moniker when you saw the full name.
General Booty
Booty’s full name is General Axel Booty and is a part of the famous Booty family from Shreveport, La. His father, Abram, a former LSU wide receiver, reportedly has a fascination with the military and he was adamant about naming his first son, “General.”
Snoop Leota-Amaama
Leota’s Amaama’s real name is Tapuvae. It’s a family name handed down from his mother’s side of the family. As an infant, Tapuvae’s actions reminded his father of Snoopy from the “Peanuts” cartoon — hence the nickname.
Ironically, he has an older brother Aaron who goes by Dogg. The former offensive lineman for Utah wore pajamas with puppies on them as an infant, leading his parents to call him “Doggy” and later “Dogg.”
So, while the two brothers’ nicknames are “Snoop” and “Dogg,” neither is derived from the rapper with the same name.
Tiger Shanks
Shanks’ real name is Hunter, the same as his dad. Since birth, his family has referred to him as “Tiger.“
Nitro Tuggle
Tuggle’s real name is NiTareon. He went by it until he scored a blazing 4.4 speed during high school. From that, his mom and his uncle came up with the new name, “Nitro.“
Rhino Tapa’atoutai
Tapa’atoutai’s real name is Siaosi. He earned the nickname “Rhino” while playing youth football in Utah.
“If I mess up I’ll be back next play,” he said of the nickname.
Squirrel White
White’s real name is Marquarius Malik. The nickname, “Squirrel” comes from his childhood when his great-grandmother noticed him mimicking the movements of a squirrel.
“When she was holding me, there was a squirrel in her garden,” White said of his nickname. “It picked her tomato, and when the squirrel moved, I moved at the same time. So, she started calling me (Squirrel).”
