As good as they are year in and year out, they only seem to put around one kid a year at the next level. Whats missing here?:idunno:

college football players.....duh

It may sound stupid, but Mayfield just makes more out of what they got, credit it to the coaches, but credit it just as much to the program, those kids dream from the time they hit 3rd grade, probably earlier for most of playing for Mayfield. Sure we have a kid or two go to smaller colleges each year, but most of our kids just don't have the size, Mayfield is just overall better as a team, always has been.

There was a list of D-1 players produced by each school on here earlier this year and Mayfield had an awful lot, there were some with more but we ranked near the top. We rarely have D-1 talent though compared to our success. We do produce a lot of kids playing places like Murray State. I looked at their roster last year and there were more Mayfield kids on it than from any other high school at 6. I know there are 2 starters and 3 that get minutes this year for Murray State. This year and last there was no D-1 talent on the team. Just a lot of average or a little above that are to small to play college but are solid high school players

Not saying I have the answer here but I think not having the size is the reason why. I might get blasted by that statement but I think that could be the reason. For example, Trajon Bright. One of the best running backs in 2A. Great football player! His stats are very good. He is fast, reads blocks very well, and knows the game of football but I think his size is what will hurt him at the next level. There is no doubt he could play at the next level.

 

I have seen several very good athletes play football at Mayfield. Another example is our lineman. About 12 years ago we had a player named Micah Jones who played on the line. Kid was huge. Another great football player for Mayfield. Well he got a scholarship to play for Kentucky because he had the size. I have seen some very good lineman go through Mayfield but they were smaller and didn't play at the next level.

 

We may not have the biggest kids to make it to the next level but I can tell you one thing we do have to make up for it and that is heart and determination. We are in the hunt for a state championship every single year. Always have been, always will be.

To be fair though how many teams that Mayfield competes against have D1 players? Doesn't seem a requirement for success at the lower levels. In fact I'm not sure it's really necessary until you get to the 5A and 6A levels.

Depends on how far you want to go back. When I played in the mid 90's I can name 5 from Hopkinsville on the 1995 team.

It's not what's missing, more what they have. And what they have is what I consider to be one of the best coaching staffs in the state and a tradition of players willing to listen. They are especially good at thinking on their toes. How many games have you seen Mayfield go the first half neck and neck/tied or down big against a tough opponent and come back second half firing out and adjusted to win the game? They have a great coaching staff that teaches the players a mentality of working together to win games, and when you have players operating as one well oiled machine, you can accomplish great things against sometimes much more talented opponents.

Depends on how far you want to go back. When I played in the mid 90's I can name 5 from Hopkinsville on the 1995 team.

 

That's pretty impressive and certainly an outlier though. Plus it's twenty years ago. It's certainly not common for a 1A, 2A or even a 3A to have one, let alone multiple D1 players.

The dirty secret is that you don't have to have college football players to win. You don't have to be a college player to be productive or be a star either. In fact even on teams that have a college player or 2 its the no-names that allow you to win championships.

The dirty secret is that you don't have to have college football players to win. You don't have to be a college player to be productive or be a star either. In fact even on teams that have a college player or 2 its the no-names that allow you to win championships.

Ding, ding, ding we have a winner.

I agree

There is more needed than just being fundamentally sound and having the heart of a champion to being successful at the next level. Less star power and more of a "I'm working for the guy next to me " attitude is not a bad thing.

I agree with all the explanations offered and will add that I really think the "working as one unit" is under-appreciated in a general sense from outsiders. The kids start learning the plays, and the technique in elementary school.

The result could been seen in last week's DeSales' game. Most people on both sides thought the game would be tight. But no one from DeSales thought our O-line would open holes they way they did. And if you looked at the kids standing on each side of the line, by all rights we should not have been able to run up the middle. But we did. And I attribute it the work ethic of the kids, and the culmination of years of teaching technique for how to block, and how to work together as a unit. I think we have won more than a few games from coaching, but not necessarily coaching in the week of the game, but coaching in the years before the game.

 

Edit: I don't mean to imply that we don't win with coaching in the week of the game and at halftime too. We got that as well.

I agree with all the explanations offered and will add that I really think the "working as one unit" is under-appreciated in a general sense from outsiders. The kids start learning the plays, and the technique in elementary school.

The result could been seen in last week's DeSales' game. Most people on both sides thought the game would be tight. But no one from DeSales thought our O-line would open holes they way they did. And if you looked at the kids standing on each side of the line, by all rights we should not have been able to run up the middle. But we did. And I attribute it the work ethic of the kids, and the culmination of years of teaching technique for how to block, and how to work together as a unit. I think we have won more than a few games from coaching, but not necessarily coaching in the week of the game, but coaching in the years before the game.

 

Edit: I don't mean to imply that we don't win with coaching in the week of the game and at halftime too. We got that as well.

To add to this, the Mayfield "culture" is hard to understand if you are not around it. Playing football for Mayfield is a BIG deal and there is a level of excellence expected. Kids grow up wanting to play for the Cardinals. Same with Highlands, Trinity, and a few others across the state. Not that it doesn't exist other places, but in Mayfield it is on another level. Combine it all it leads to a top notch program.