That's the exact thinking that parents have begun to push down their kid's throats that has made the game less fun to coach...when did playing become about getting scholarships? And even more, when did it become about getting a DIA scholarship?

 

Thanking like yours is the kind that fuels AAU, single sport athletes who need to "concentrate" on their "best" sport, and parents who complain after great high school careers and infect their children with this kind of egocentric thinking.

:puke:

 

I'm just not a big believer in the giving "Everyone a trophy" idea. I am just saying that you can't argue that someone wasn't good enough when they go to the highest level.

For those making the argument: is D1 really the "best of the best"?

 

 

Jerry Rice - Mississippi Valley State

Brett Favre - Southern Mississippi

Randy Moss - Marshall (D1AA at the time)

Chad Pennington - Marshall

Byron Lefwitch - Marshall

Al Harris Texas A&M-Kingsville

Adam Vinatieri South Dakota State

Ken Anderson, Augustana

Lyle Alzado, Yankton

Jon Kitna, Central Washington

Walter Payton, Jackson State

Art Shell, Maryland-Eastern Shore

Gene Upshaw, Texas A & I

 

Nice list.......another one is Larry Allen of the Dallas Cowboys who turned out to be one of the best linemen in NFL History......played at Butte College, a JUCO in California. I guess he wasn't good enough at the beginning?

To list 20 players is nice, and I don't have a dog in this fight, but there are 53 active NFL players on 32 teams every year, and that equals 1,696 players per season on NFL rosters, plus the taxi squad.

 

The fact is it can be done, but the odds are very much stacked against you.

 

Dreams continue...that is why there is Arena Football, and even teams like the Cincinnati Commandos and whatever league they are in.

Nice list.......another one is Larry Allen of the Dallas Cowboys who turned out to be one of the best linemen in NFL History......played at Butte College, a JUCO in California. I guess he wasn't good enough at the beginning?

 

Larry Allen didn't graduate high school. That's probably the reason he didn't go D1.

About 6 million kids play high school football each year in this country, about 10% go on to play football in college at all levels. If you get to put pads on after high school and get an education to boot, congratulations, you are a great player regardless of the level of college football. As for the "D-1 caliber" guys, usually they fit into the height, weight, speed categories that D-1 schools want. D-1 schools miss on some great, great high school players because they don't want to take a chance on a guy that is a little shorter or a step slower in the 40 so those guys play elsewhere and make some school very happy. Bottom line, any opportunity to play college ball is good enough.

 

Very, very good point, and a pet peeve of mine about college, and even more so about professional, football these days. WAY to many players get D1 scholarships or are drafted into the NFL because they fit the physical "metrics." How often do we hear about 6'6", 325lb offensive lineman drafted in the first round despite the fact that they've exhibited "erratic" behavior the past couple seasons, and display a work ethic that lead people to question whether they truly want to play football or not? Unfortunately, the answer is we hear about it way too often.

When is "Good" good enough? Miles Simpson!

Good enough is a level never reached personally by most great football players at any level, that's what makes them good enough.

I have a similar situation with my son... He had several offers from other schools but once he stepped on the University of Dayton's campus and met the players, coaches and Dean of Engineering he knew it was the right school for him.

Football can only last so long and take you so far in life, at UD you are a student first and football player second!!!

 

:thumb: Good for both of them! Fine athletes, better people. The fact that they bought into the team concept, paid in positive results throughout their high school careers. Even if they did not play a down of football moving forward the boys had fun and past the tourch to future generations. The fact that they made decisions as student/athletes it says a lot about the boys and their families. Georgetown, Dayton, Centre, TMC are all great schools and even better close enough to follow the boys as they go through the college ranks. Success is in their futures and we are very proud and are certain they will represent the community well.

Do you really want a list of division 1 players that are or were nfl stars? It's like the go to Kurt Warner played in the arena league. I just think in the context of the origonal post, people can no longer arugue if a player is good enough when they accept a divsion 1 scholarship.

You said:

I just think in this context, good enough is if you are offered and accept a D1 scholarship.

 

So I was just going on the thought that if you play on the highest level in D1 you are "Good enough", but what if you don't play on the highest level in college but you make it to highest level in pro sports? And, it is possible.

For the record, I didn't try to name all the non-D1 players in the NFL in my list, just some food for thought. I love watching NFL games when they tell what college a player played for, I am always amazed at the small schools that are listed.

Good enough is good enough if someone is offered a Division 1 scholarship and accepts it. Tons of players can play NAIA or D2 or D3, but the truth of the matter is, I could care less about those schools or if they win or not. I bet most of the people on this board wouldn't know the d2 champion last year unless they looked it up.

 

I play DIII football and I could honestly tell you I don't care if you never watch a game or care if I win or lose that's fine but sometimes talent isn't the case there are several guys on my team that are far bigger now then they were in high school so maybe could get offers if when they left high school they were as big as they are now. I love when people ask why I play DIII there is no money in it. I just tell them... You wouldn't understand.

For those making the argument: is D1 really the "best of the best"?

 

 

Jerry Rice - Mississippi Valley State

Brett Favre - Southern Mississippi

Randy Moss - Marshall (D1AA at the time)

Chad Pennington - Marshall

Byron Lefwitch - Marshall

Al Harris Texas A&M-Kingsville

Adam Vinatieri South Dakota State

Ken Anderson, Augustana

Lyle Alzado, Yankton

Jon Kitna, Central Washington

Walter Payton, Jackson State

Art Shell, Maryland-Eastern Shore

Gene Upshaw, Texas A & I

 

NAIA Players in the NFL: http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/091005aaa.html

Kids need encouragement, but I'm worried that too often -- for the good-intentioned reason of 'building self-esteem' -- we've made kids believe the falsehood of "you can be anything you want to be if you just put your mind to it." (I'll never be a sub-3-minute miler, no matter HOW hard I 'put my mind to it!').

 

A very good friend of mine in coaching gets massacred by people in his community because of kids he's coached who have been built up at home or elsewhere to be the next 'full-ride' kid. He knows based on experience (HS coaching AND D-1 playing) that the kid is 'missing something' the colleges require (e.g., height, frame-size, speed, hips, etc.). When the kid invariably doesn't get that full-ride, there's criticism that the coach didn't do enough for him (and this guy does as much or more than any HS coach I know to help his players get recruited).

 

** In Kentucky, an average range of only 16-22 HS football players a year sign an LOI for a full-ride to a BCS or I-AA school (stats of last 4 years). Let's average that to 19.

** If the 220-or-so football playing HSs in the state average 12-15 seniors on their team, that means there are about 2645-3300 seniors playing football in a given season. Let's average that to 2970.

** That means in a typical year, the chances of a Sr. football player in Ky. getting a 'full-ride' in football is about 19:2970...or 0.6%.

 

Bottom line: to get a full-ride, you have to be very, VERY good. To get one playing in Kentucky, in a way you have to be even better -- because our poor history of producing D-1 caliber talent makes D-1 coaches look down their nose at our kids.

 

By the way, having that D-1 caliber kid is great to have (blessed with a couple this year myself). But to have a successful HIGH SCHOOL football team year-in/year-out, I'd be just fine every year with a team full of hard-nosed/tough kids who are committed enough to train every week of the off-season to reach their best athletically. The key is that every kid you let play must meet a minimum standard of 'athleticism' but must be DISCIPLINED enough to do their jobs right every play, regardless of any other factor.

 

In other words, a lot of 'non-D-1' kids would meet my definition of 'good enough' anyday!

Larry Allen didn't graduate high school. That's probably the reason he didn't go D1.

 

Does not matter according to your statements. So, according to you, he didn't play DI, so he is not in the "Good Enough" category. I'm just trying to figure out what you're trying to convey in your post, so re-define "Good Enough" in your opinion.

When is "Good" good enough? Miles Simpson!

 

Please :isurrender: