The No. 20 player on our list beat the odds a couple of times to play his way on to this ranking.
Doug Bartels was just 14 months old in 1990 when a man with a gun burst into his home and kidnapped him right out of his babysitter's arms. He was stuffed in a duffle bag and left in the woods as the kidnapper demanded a ransom of $100,000.
Bartels used that reprieve to grow into a 6-5 defensive tackle and center for Boylan under coach Dan Appino. With Bartels providing the push up front on offense and defense, the Titans went 7-4 in 2005 and then 8-0 in NIC-10 play and 10-2 overall in 2006. Those two seasons were the beginning of Boylan's record 75-game NIC-9/NIC-10 winning streak that stretched over 10 years.
His size and technique would have made Bartels a hot college prospect, but he was focused on becoming a doctor and early on narrowed his choices to Harvard or Northwestern. He chose to walk on at Northwestern and his timing was perfect.
In 2007, Bartels redshirted and then made the team in 2008 as a center. The Wildcats suffered a rash of early season injuries, forcing Northwestern to start Bartels at offensive guard, a position he'd never played.
Bartels ran with the opportunity. He ended up starting the final nine games of the 2008 season and all of the 2009 season. These were big years for the Northwestern program. The 2008 team went 9-4 under Pat Fitzgerald and played in the Alamo Bowl. The 2009 squad finished 8-5 and played in the Outback Bowl.
Bartels didn't know it, but 2009 would be the pinnacle of his time at Northwestern. He had shoulder surgery before the 2010 season and never fully recovered. He played in nine games and started three.
Bartels then had surgery on his other shoulder before the 2011 season and didn't regain his starting job. He spent his final year as a backup left guard and special teams player.
Still, Bartels played in 48 games over four years, starting 24. The Wildcats went 30-22 during his time in Evanston and played in four bowl games.
Although his college playing career didn't finish as well as he hoped, his academic career proceeded as planned. After graduating from Northwestern, Bartels went to Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center where he earned his medical degree in 2016. Today, Bartels is an orthopedic surgeon in Rochester, Minnesota.
| No. 20 - Doug Bartels, Boylan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Level | School | Accomplishments | Points |
| 2005 | High School | Boylan | Playoff Team | 1 |
| 2006 | High School | Boylan | First Team All-Conference | 2 |
| Conference Champion | 1 | |||
| Playoff Team | 1 | |||
| All-State | 1 | |||
| 2008 | College | Northwestern | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| 2009 | College | Northwestern | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| 2010 | College | Northwestern | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| Starter | 1 | |||
| Winning Team | 1 | |||
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| 2011 | College | Northwestern | Letter Winner on Power 5 Team | 4 |
| Bowl Game | 1 | |||
| Total | 32 | |||
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