**Dwight D. Eisenhower**   
**West Point 1911-1912**   
**Starting running back and linebacker**

He even played against college football legend Jim Thorpe! Unfortunately, a devastating knee injury forced an end to his football career.

**Ronald Reagan**  
**Eureka College (Illinois) 1930-1932**  
**Offensive and defensive interior lineman**

Not much can be on the specifics other than he was known to have overachieved despite his smaller size at the position. 

**Gerald Ford**  
**University of Michigan 1932-35**  
**Center and linebacker**

By far the most accomplished of the group on the gridiron, Ford was a star, winning the national championship twice and being named MVP his senior year! He played in the East West Shrine Bowl, a game meant to showcase college football’s best against each other. After his collegiate career, two NFL teams offered him a contract: The Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. However, professional football was not yet a lucrative nor desirable career, and Ford them both down in order to study law. 

**Richard Nixon**  
**Whittier College 1932-1935**  
**Backup offensive and defensive lineman**

Nixon played sparingly throughout his career but was known for being a good teammate, attempting to uplift the spirits of crestfallen teammates and did everything the coaches asked of him. 

**John F. Kennedy**   
**Harvard 1936-37**  
**Tightend and defensive end**

Kennedy was known for his athleticism and his talented hands but also for being underweight for the position. His career came to an abrupt end during a scrimmage in his sophomore season. Unlike today, where receivers are protected by various rules, no such protections existed back then and Kennedy was hit so hard while jumping up for a catch that it ruptured a disk in his spine. He had complications from this injury for the rest of his life.

It’s college football weekend! Here are the 5 presidents that played football in college.