I Commit You Not – The Right Way to Handle Your College Football Recruitment

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson – Editor GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

Remember when people got engaged,  got married and remained married until death?  Yeah me neither.  Divorce rates in our country have grown steadily over the years as people have found the word commitment less and less appealing in their social standards.  College football recruiting over the last decade has mimicked this pattern in a most troubling way.

I am not certain who is to blame for the trend we have seen in college football recruiting recently.  Recruits now commit just for the hell of it and often change their minds multiple times in the process.  I do know this,  the word “offer” has seen it’s value plummet faster than United Airlines stock days after their overbooked flight fiasco.  College football coaches are passing out offers left and right,  often times in an effort to gain publicity.  Kids who have neither gained lip hair nor varsity playing time are picking up offers from Power 5 schools.  Perhaps social media is to blame as it has appeared to have shaped society’s behavior since it arrived on the scene roughly a decade ago.

Cheap offers have meant cheap commitments and in it’s wake the college football’s recruiting process has developed a three ring circus feel to it.  However,  as my mother and many other mothers told me growing up,  just because everyone else is doing it,  doesn’t mean you have to do it too.  With that in mind,  here are some small guidance tips for you in handling the commitment process in your college football recruitment.

Getting Offers

Offers have taken on the role of helmet stickers in recent years.  Recruits try to stack them up and compare them with other classmates like they are Pokemon cards.  I am not going to even attempt to stop youngsters from engaging in this process.  Recruits are often judged by the number of offers they accumulate before they are signed.  Should it be that way?  Of course not but it’s a sad reality.  Now more than ever,  fans influence the actions of coaching staffs in college football.  Much heralded recruits are pushed forward by their status as fans pressure staffs to see those players on the field.  Despite this,  your ability better match your offer count or you will eventually find yourself performing the most death defying disappearing act from the field of play.

Recruits should do all they can to acquire the attention from college football programs around the country.  This means train hard, practice hard and play hard.  Put good film out there each and every Friday night.  This also includes putting together a solid offseason.  A college football recruit’s offseason, among other things,  should include attending showcase camps, joining 7-on-7 teams, attending college camps in the summer, getting your film out to college programs if your school does not already do so and creating a profile on the GridironStuds App.  When the offers come,  be thankful,  show interest in all schools that are interested in you and do honest research on all who extend you an offer.  Offers are not just to be taken, hung on your wall (aka your timeline) and then ignored as you try to appeal to the next bigger name in college football.  Somewhere along the lines,  the right school for you may be the one you’ve paid no attention to.

Choosing Your School

Now that the offers are stacking up,  one of these schools will be the one your are signing a scholarship offer to once your signing day arrives.  Many young athletes lack any proper guidance in this process.  An alarming amount of prospects are choosing schools based on the school’s status and not on its fit.  It’s almost as if the recruit is choosing the school based on what the public at large will think as opposed to what would be in their best interest.  Welcome to being a teenager.  However,  the choice you make will take you out of your teens and into your early adulthood.  This is not time for a bird brained decision.

As I mentioned earlier,  do honest research on every school that offers you.  Some of the schools that offer you can be a hidden gem that will bring out the best in you and help you reach your potential.  Somewhere in this process,  you will also have to be honest with yourself and your current abilities.  It’s ok to “fake it till you make it”.  In other words,  I have no problem with a recruit putting forth a superhuman persona publicly and even maintaining a high supply of confidence inwardly. However,  you must also carry a satchel of truth.  Perhaps you are a bit “overhyped”.  Sometimes that big time school signing all the top names is not the place for you.  Maybe what you need is the school not quite as big in media stature that has a staff that will commit the time and effort to you and your potential.

Recruits should be researching depth charts, history of the school at your position,  background of your position coaches and coordinators along with the academic qualities of the school.  Recruits should ask themselves if they need tutors to complete schoolwork and how good is the college athletic program at providing tutors.  All of these factors should be evaluated.

Taking Visits

Official visits are cool but they are not reality.  Official visits often involve trips to restaurants you will never eat at while at the school,  stays in hotels you will undoubtedly never stay in again and smiles from coaches that will decrease by over 70% after you have arrived on campus as a scholarship athlete.  The best thing an official visit will give you is a feel for the atmosphere on campus.  That is only going to be a portion of your decision making process.  Do not make it the entire reason you choose a school.

Unofficial visits during spring break and the summer time paint a better picture for the prospect.  These visits tend to be more pure in nature and give a better feel as to what things will be like if you actually decide to attend the school.  Of course,  unofficial visits mean that the recruit must come out of pocket to take the trips and they can get expensive.  I will say,  it’s the best investment you will make.  Find a way to get those unofficial visits in.  This means save money,  ask relatives for help or jump in with a group that is making those trips and pay your share.  Evaluate the campuses when you get there, observe as much as you can and ask every question imaginable.  Unofficial visits are where it’s at.

How to Commit

I know,  the title of this paragraph sounds simple like I am going to teach you how to tie a tie.  However,  this part of the process has become a joke with each passing signing day.  Many recruits will commit after their first offer.  Some will commit because others are currently committing.  Others will commit to get their rating up on a recruiting website (no really) and others will quite frankly reply “I don’t know” when asked why they just committed.  Sometimes,  kids feel the pressure to commit because a school will tell them that they only have one spot left and someone else might take it.  That information from a coach is something to consider as you get late in the process (i.e. during your senior season) as opposed to January before your senior year.  If a school is pressuring you in the Spring heading into your senior season about a spot that’s going to be gone,  you have to seriously consider your value to that program.

After you have done your research and taken your unofficial visits and I mean,  all of them,  you are now most likely in a position to make an informed decision,  known as a commitment. Do not commit during a trip to one of the schools as your judgement is often clouded while on campus.  Often times you will have an early leader for any number of reasons.  There’s no harm in comparing all the other schools to that number one school as you make your trips and do your research.

Now that you have done your research and taken all of your trips,  you can sit down and make your decision when you are at home.  Include the sensible people in your life in this process if need be.  Honestly evaluate who the sensible people are in your life.  During the recruiting process,  you will encounter many people that have motives for pushing you in one direction or another.  Stay clear of those with motives that fall outside of your best interest.  You can take that last sentence to mean exactly what you think it means.  Stick to your research and what you observed on those unofficial visits.  Once you have decided on a school,  inform the coaches of your decision and then you can plan how you want that commitment announcement to be made.  There are a number of ways that can be done but I won’t get into that in this article.

Once you have made that commitment,  stick to it barring some truly unforeseen circumstances.  Some unforeseen circumstance would be coaching staff gets fired, change in your family situation, NCAA sanctions against the school, etc.  Let’s not go changing our commitment because your friend isn’t signing there, you simply changed your mind or the coach didn’t call you every day after you committed.  Remember that you did your research so trust it.

Once you’ve committed,  it’s probably best that you don’t take any more trips.  In a perfect World that’s how it should go.  You wouldn’t be cool with your girlfriend committing to you and then telling you that she’s going to go on a few dates with some other boys in the meantime just for kicks.  Same story here.

How the Media Creates Busts and Ignores Producers

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson - Editor - GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

In this day and age more than ever, the public as well as the media loves athletes with big personalities. Big personalities get big coverage and with that we all often get lied to.

Display a big personality in these days and you are ratings gold for media outlets. The public at large has an insatiable appetite for entertainment. At every turn we must be cured of our boredom. This is the reason why smart phones have taken off over the last decade. We must be entertained at all times.

So where do the lies come in? The media will always gravitate to the big personalities. Big personalities make their jobs easier. Big personalities provide stories that get clicks, views and shares. More viewers, more advertisers. More advertisers, more money.

Once the media finds a personality, they will cover up their short comings on the field of play. They will also give them awards and accolades because it adds to the narrative. In essence, the media will create a star for their own use. I have watched this at almost every level of sport especially in football.

Unfortunately what comes next is the downfall. At some point, the hype won't meet the height. The public consumes all the good stories and the only thing left is to drag the personality back down the ladder the media accelerated him up.

In the process, strong performers get overlooked, get less coverage and get underserved. What we are creating in sports media is a diva syndrome. If you aren't outlandish, you don't get covered. Perhaps this has always existed but with the advent of social media, this whole scenario is on steroids.

I first observed this in college football recruiting g coverage and now I am noticing it in the NFL draft coverage. Athletes on the high school level will be given awards, MVPs and superlatives for things that have little to do with their on field play. Since the public at large does little to research nor do they know enough to decipher what they are seeing, they take these media opinions and run with them.

Unfortunately it doesn't just stop in high school. This phenomenon grows in college and balloons in the NFL draft. I have been spending quite a bit of time watching draft hopefuls on tape and as someone who has both played and coached the game, I have one thought. What in the hell are people looking at? I am left to think one thing, these networks providing draft coverage and mock drafts must have only one objective and that is to entertain. Clearly they are not here to inform.

So time and time again, the media will create the stories for us and go out of their way to help us think what they want us to think. With our society becoming less and less willing to work to get knowledge, we become victims of the media puppets

A Primer On Speed, the 40 Yard Dash and Why We Often Get it Wrong

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

The 2017 NFL combine just passed a week ago and for the last seven days, NFL football fans and the media personnel that play up to them have discussed the 40 yard dash times of the prospects ad nauseam.  Yes, we all know the obsession over 40 yard dash times can reach epic proportions but can something talked about so much be very misunderstood?  The answer is yes.

Training and 3 Point Stances

I’ve had the pleasure of watching the greatest wide receiver of all time,  Jerry Rice and the greatest cornerback of all time, Deion Sanders play their entire careers.  I mention these two positions because these are the times that most fans and media obsess over. The time during which wide receivers lined up in three point stances has long passed.  The practice of lining up in a 3 point stance as a wide receiver had made it’s way out of the NFL game by the time Jerry Rice stepped on the scene in 1984.  As part of his audition for the NFL in ’84,  Jerry Rice,  like all other prospects, was asked to run a 40 yard dash and come out of a three point stance. As we all know by now,  Rice’s time (4.7) was not ideal and people questioned his ability to be an elite NFL wide receiver.  In a short sprint like the 40 yard dash, technique is of the utmost importance.  Negotiating your way out of a three point stance and into proper running form while making maximum use of your push forces is just about everything.  Choose the wrong stance or make some false steps and your time will look like a retired busy street prostitute without her make up on.

Deion Sanders, nor any cornerback before or since him has lined up in a 3 point stance to play the game. Two guys of equal speed with varying amounts of work, experience and training in sprinting from a three point stance will have different results on a stopwatch at the end of a 40 yard dash. An extremely technically sound track athlete who has spent a great deal of amount of time coming out of blocks and three point stances will have an edge in this drill.  Many scouts will use the 40 yard dash just as a judge of a prospects athleticism.  What this means is,  the time may not be as important as how the prospect looked running the 40.  Other scouts and GMs will cave to the pressure of making a decision on a prospect based on the number on the page because they feel they must cater to their fan base.  What’s important to remember here is that much of the time of a 40 yard dash has to do with something that never occurs in the life of a wide receiver or defensive back and that is sprinting out of a three point stance.

40 Yards vs. 100 meters

Common fans without knowledge of track, speed and how it works will often confuse 100 meter success with 40 yard dash times.  Often fans will feel that a prospect with fast sub 11 second 100 meter dash times should be a sub 4.4 blazer in the 100 meters.  They also feel that any guy that can’t break 11 seconds in a 100 meter sprint can run 4.5 or better in the 40 yard dash.  This is not necessarily correct.

Success in the 100 meters is often tied into the participant’s ability to achieve top speed and hold it for a significant period of time (speed endurance).  What people mistakingly feel is happening when they see someone moving past someone else towards the end of 100 meters is the athlete accelerating.  This is not the case. What is happening at the end of a 100 meter sprint are varying degrees of deceleration.  Some athletes either through training or genetics have a greater ability to delay acceleration in the sprint than others.  It is possible for an athlete who’s top speed is not as high as another to beat that athlete simply because they can hold their top speed longer and decelerate less at the end of the sprint..

So, with these facts in mind, a very successful 100 meter sprinter may not possess the attributes to hit top speed in enough time to crank out a blistering 40 time.  However, they may possess the ability to reach top speed beyond 40, hold it longer than others and run a 100 meter time better than everyone who whipped them in a 40 yard dash.  Conversely, there may be athletes that can hit top speed rather quickly,  run a great 40 time and soon there after run out of steam resulting in a poor result in the 100 meters.  Every professional track season,  you will see athletes that dominate indoor meets running the 60 meters but fall back into the pack during outdoor season when it’s time to run the 100 meters.  Why do you suppose that is?  Some of the most successful 100 meter runners in history were taught to and mastered the art of spreading out their acceleration pattern to reach top speed around 60 meters and control deceleration through the finish line.




Speed vs. Endurance (The cheetah vs. the lion)

We all marvel at the speed of the cheetah.  Hell I could watch cheetahs run all day, it’s exciting but guess what,  cheetah’s can’t run all day.   Producing the type of power it takes to move at extreme speeds often taxes greatly the athlete that can achieve it.  To acquire such power,  an athlete must incorporate a certain amount of rest during and in-between training sessions.  The incorporation of this rest comes at the expense of cardiovascular development.  Keeping it in simpler terms, your best 100m runner does not run the 800m and your fastest 40 yard dash guy likely is not out in front of your conditioning sprints during practice.

Going back to Jerry Rice.  While the clock for Rice may have said 4.7 in the 40,  it is widely known that Rice was extreme when it came to training for endurance. Rice was famous for his hill runs during his off-season training.  Willie Gault,  another widely known wide receiver during a part of Rice’s career was an Olympic sprinter.  Gault would not beat Rice through his hill runs during an offseason training session.  Fast guys run fast but need a lot of rest.  Their first quarter 4.3 may be a 3rd quarter 4.5 or 4.6 if they are used frequently.  Elite speed athletes will often take breaks during competition in an effort to conserve for moments when they feel they will absolutely need a burst.   So that 4.3 is on some plays and maybe not so much a 4.3 on several others.  The cheetah can only chase it’s prey for about a minute before it must surrender the chase.

A Lion is not a cheetah when it comes to speed.  However,  a Lion has a better combination of speed and endurance.  Lions are fast enough to capture most of their prey and have the ability to chase more and longer than the cheetah.  Jerry Rice was the same speed in the first quarter as he was in the 4th.  That is what he trained for.  Rice’s style of training meant he had to sacrifice some ultimate speed in exchange for all day speed.  It’s easy to get enamored with that occasional raw sprint that makes you say wow.  Remember,  I can watch cheetah’s run all day but for that to happen I’d have to watch several different cheetahs because typically high power output means longer duration of rest thereafter.

I often tell young defensive backs don’t get caught up in running the sexy 100 meters in track.  Go run the 200 meters and 400 meters.  It takes a lot of strength to play hard for 60 minutes in a football game.  An elite sprint here and there in a contest may win us a game sometimes but it’s more likely that good sprints all game will net your team more consistent results.

Straight Line Speed vs. Technique

A delayed read is slow no matter how fast the ensuing action is. Being able to put your hands up really fast after I punched you in the face will still result in a bloody nose.  The majority of fans watching the NFL combine on TV these days will check out after the 40 yard dashes are over.  Many of them will fly to their Twitter accounts ready to name their top prospects based on the 40 times they just witnessed.  A wise fan,  stays and watches the drills.

A slow cut out of the break turns a 4.3 wide receiver into a 4.5 wide receiver.  A mishandled turn out of a back pedal turns a 4.4 defensive back into a 4.7 disaster on a go route.  A slow reaction cut off of a block means that a 4.2 running back rarely ever gets the chance to show us that speed he had at the combine.  Numbers on a page are exciting.  We love lists, rankings, figures, totals, analytics, etc.  We also don’t like to do research.  Research is time consuming so we love it when it looks like someone else did it for us.  Fans will unabashedly look at 40 times on a page and make their mock drafts with all the fast times at the top.

Football affords few to run in straight lines or to make runs without first processing information.  To be fast you have to train to be fast (most people).  The more time you train to be fast the less time you train to be technically sound in the movements that take place on the field.  We can import all the sprinters from the top NCAA track program next year at the combine and they will blaze the fastest times.  Are you ready to draft them all in the first round to play running back, wide receiver and defensive back for your favorite NFL team?  There’s only but so much time in the day.  Realize that some of your faster 40 yard dashers spend more time learning how to dominate that drill than they do perfecting a route, a back pedal or a jump cut.  So don’t just go willy nilly over three figures and dot listed on a screen.  The trick for your top performers on the gridiron is to find the right mix of training for athleticism and training for performance. Very few can pull off being elite in both categories.

 

 

Four Things You Have to Know When Going the Junior College Football Route

Chad Wilson

By: Jerry Williamson – Special contributor
Twitter: @JerryRecruiting
Instagram: @Jerry_RisingStars

Jerry’s Bio:  FIU alumnus, Talent Scout & Journalist for Generation Nexxt, Founder/Chief Executive for Rising Stars and Academic Mentor

2017 – marks approximately a decade worth of experience as an academic mentor finding student-athletes college placement (throughout the southeast region) as well as networking with a number of junior college football coaches and recruiting analyst.

In my first of many junior college football articles for Gridiron Studs, I’ll use my expertise in guiding both the student-athlete and individual of interest down the right path of success as their junior college compass, and concur their academic requirements to become a FBS, FCS, D2, D3 and NAIA signee hopeful.

12 – Unit Rule

The biggest mistake high school graduates experience, when pursuing the junior college route, is taking full-time semester hours at their local community or junior college, and not knowing the moment they enroll in 12 credits, their division one eligibility clock has started. It doesn’t matter if the local community or junior college doesn’t have a football team. Due the student-athlete’s lack of knowledge and guidance, his chances of signing division I, is slim to none. So don’t enroll in anything at 12 credits or beyond to avoid this situation. Last but not least, make sure you send your official transcript (envelope) to your prospective junior college before enrolling or you’ll not be eligible. Always, keep one or two for a backup, just in case.

60 Credits – Associate of Arts Degree

For all non-qualifiers out of high school (meaning not successfully passing their ACT/SAT along with a 2.5 weighted GPA) must earn their associate of arts degree to advance on to the next level. But, here’s how high school seniors set themselves up for failure.

Their mindset is sadly, only on football, and not realizing their ACT/SAT test scores places them into sometimes, the lowest level of college prep. College prep courses aren’t transferable credits that a student-athlete can use towards their 60 credits of obtaining an AA degree. So, a semester or two goes down the drain and now, the student-athlete is playing catch-up academically right out the gate.  This places the athlete into a stressful situation over the next two years.




Four to Five Semester Graduation Rule

Junior college student-athletes who enroll come fall, and who are placed at the lowest prep courses, are given approximately four to five semesters to graduate (Freshman – FALL , SPRING, SUMMER & Sophomore – FALL, SPRING). if they want to have a great experience regarding recruiting. Unfortunately, the student-athlete will most likely graduate during the summer of his sophomore year or even worse, redshirt the incoming fall as a redshirt sophomore and hope college football programs maintain contact.

If you (high school senior) would like to avoid this situation, knowing you fall into this testing situation heading into junior college, this is what I recommend: Immediately take the results of your SAT/ACT test scores to your local community or junior college and see what level it places you at. Next, find a tutorial for you placement test. When I obtained my AA Degree from Miami-Dade College the placement test was named the CPT (College Placement Test).

The next thing I recommend if you don’t test well is taking a year off from football and catch-up with your credits. Remember, the four and five semester graduation rule is now your SAT/ACT at the junior college ranks. Think of it like that. So, it’s vital for your recruiting success.

The moment you graduate high school (April or May), immediately enroll for upcoming summer courses at your community of junior college. You’ll have four free semesters (Summer, Fall, Spring, Summer) and remember, don’t enroll in 12 credits. Come August of the following year, you’ll have 36 to 44 credits under your belt.

Core Courses

I have observed college football programs place student-athletes into multiple physical education and football courses to maintain or boost their grade point average. Remember, core credits (Math, English, Science) is what you’ll need to transfer. You can have 15 credits of football related course with a 3.8 weighted GPA and a college football program will not recruit you because academics get you at the next level, not just football.  It’s the same principle.

Not An Elite Prospect? Find Your Gimmick in Recruiting

Chad Wilson

By: Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

Well gimmick may be a strong word even the wrong word but it’s an emotional word. It’s a word that likely got you to land your eyes on this blog post. Mission accomplished because if you are a prospect or the parent of one,  I need you to read this.  One of the best ways to succeed in life is to have great self awareness.  This also happens to be the most important factor you need to possess as a college football prospect.

Self awareness is so rare in our society that one can describe it as an art.  As a college football recruit,  it’s going to be your prize possession.  Often times an elite recruit is recognized as such early on in 8th or 9th grade.  What makes them elite?  It’s usually one of two things.  Either the prospect has unusual height or he has unusual speed.  Sometimes they have both in which case they are a no doubter.  The rest of the prospects are faces in the crowd until they find a way to breakout.  So how exactly do you break out?

One of the biggest mistakes that potential recruits make is thinking that their on field production is going to be enough to have colleges beating down their door.  This is not nearly as true as some would like to think it is.  A 5’9″ quarterback that throws 50 touchdowns in a season is still a 5’9″ quarterback and thus not all that attractive to colleges.  A 185 lb. defensive end with 30 sacks in a season is still a 185 lb. defensive end that will have to face 300 lb. tackles in college and thus not very attractive to college programs.  So when the deck is stacked against you,  what can you do?

First and foremost all prospects should enter high school with the full intent of being a good student.  Trying to overcome the bad grades of the freshman and sophomore years when you are a junior is like the Cleveland Browns trying to make a playoff run starting week 10 of this past football season.  This point is more important for the prospects that don’t fit into the category of elite.  At some point,  you may have to face the fact that you aren’t a Division I player and will need your academics to help you continue your football career.  FYI, many a football player have come from college programs that fall below the level of FBS.  The trick for prospects is to try to continue playing,  you never know how things will break for you down the road.   The 5’9″ quarterback may need to frame himself up as an incredibly intelligent player who can overcome the physical limitation with sheer IQ and ability to find an opponent’s weakness.

When you are not elite,  getting eyeballs on you in recruiting can have a lot to do with how you package yourself.  Are you a 5’8″ WR?  You already know what the story is going to be for you.  So, if you are fast,  you need to play up this fact.  How can you do this?  The first and most simple answer is to run track.  College coaches trust track times.  They are not too keen on trusting a 4.3 at some weekend camp on a dusty field behind a shopping mall.  They will, however, trust your 10.72 100 meter time at your district championships.  I will use Chaminade Madonna HS 2018  RB Shaun Shivers as an example.  Shivers is 5’6″ and I am certain he knew he was not going to reach the height of NBA power forward.  He did however balance out the lack of height with uncanny speed by working hard as a track athlete.  Colleges are willing to overlook Shivers’ lack of height because he has developed elite speed.  Shivers is one of the fastest 100m sprinters in the country. It is rare that you see Power 5 programs extend offers to prospects that are 5’6″.  Shivers is committed to Auburn,  a top flight program in the SEC.  I am not saying that you need to be one of the fastest athletes in the country like Shivers but I am saying it behooves you to develop great speed if you are height challenged. One of the best ways to do this is with track.  When you have developed that speed,  take every opportunity to play up that speed. Your Hudl clips should feature you running away from people.  You should post your track times and accomplishments.  Market your “gimmick” and if it’s speed you have to let people know.

What if you are a 185 lb. defensive end that is playing that position because you are great at it and your team needs you there?  You have to know that colleges are not likely to sign you to play that position.  The best thing for you to do is not necessarily harass the coach to move you to linebacker or DB but rather, go learn linebacker and / or DB techniques.  Then you can attend camps and play the linebacker position at the camps.  Be sure to have someone film you doing LB drills and performing as a LB or DB.  You can also go through LB and or DB drills with a trainer and have yourself filmed performing those drills.  Use that footage as part of what you package and send out to college recruiters.

Do you have a family member that played collegiate football or professional sports? By all means use this.  Sometimes having that pedigree will be the decision maker for you with colleges.  Colleges know that taking the son of a professional athletes can often pay off when it is not readily apparent that the skill is there. Sometimes,  athletes develop slowly but if you can show that others in your bloodline have it,  a college might take that risk.  Did your dad, uncle or cousin play professional basketball?  Put that information out there.  I have watched plenty of sons of former professional athletes look goofy in their adolescent years only to blossom into a monster later on.  When I was in high school and colleges would send out questionnaires, one of the questions on all of them was “list any family members that have played college football”.  That question was not on there for no reason.  Colleges know the value of a bloodline.

The bottom line is this.  You have to find your angle as a recruit when you are not elite and exploit it. Don’t think that when the time comes,  colleges will offer you a scholarship “just because”. Realize that there are tons upon tons of high school football players for them to choose from. Examine your strengths and your advantages.  Perhaps you go to a school that has produced a ton of great college players.  Find something that works in your favor and I am telling you that you scoring the most touchdown in the county is not going to be it.  Dig harder, think smarter and find your unique asset that makes you stand out of the crowd of 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of prospects that are in your class fighting for a college scholarship.

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Are you a college football prospect? Have you downloaded the GridironStuds app and created a profile yet? If not, do it now.  College football coaches are combing through the profiles right now looking at and evaluating prospects.  Plus elite prospects can you use the app to build a fan base and keep them informed on your recruiting progress. You can do that and more.  Download The GridironStuds App here.

Is Youth Football in Danger?

Chad Wilson

By: Scott Huntington – Special Contributor – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @SMHuntington

The number of concussion-related incidents in professional and youth football alike in the past decade has prompted ample concern. The media spotlight has been prominent as well. The discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the concussion-related ailment that many football players suffer from without notable symptoms, was chronicled in the relatively recent film “Concussion,” starring Will Smith.

The possibility of severe injury has always hung over youth football. Still, recent incidents, such as the CTE-related death of 25-year-old former youth football player Joseph Chernach, whose family was awarded just under $2 million by Pop Warner as a settlement, have given the discussion more fervor than ever. It prompts the question: Is youth football in danger?

A Decline in Youth Football Participants?

A statistical example of CTE’s stigma in youth football today is the decline in participants seen in the early 2010s. ESPN reported that Pop Warner saw a 9.5% drop in participation from 2010 to 2012. This comes on the heels of ample CTE-related media attention prompting medical professionals such as Dr. Robert Cantu to severely warn against anyone under the age of 14 being involved in collision sports.

Since then, Pop Warner participation has crept up very slightly, despite continued parental concerns. A 2015 survey by Harris Poll for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found a third of parents worry their kid will get a concussion, and 1 in 4 bar their children from contact sports because of concussion fears. This data lines up with ESPN’s report from 2013.

With all the public CTE-related incidents in mind, it’s difficult to blame parents for their hesitation when signing their children up for football. Although CTE-related injuries are far from guaranteed, the risk of contact sports is certainly heightened more than ever despite increasing safety initiatives.

The Lingering Popularity of Football Remains

Football remains popular compared to most other sports in the United States. The 2016 NFL season averaged 17.6 million viewers per game, a slight decline from 19.6 million a year earlier but impressive nonetheless. On a per-game basis, no other sport compares. The end-of-week emphasis and party-like atmosphere of NFL Sunday is still very much alive in American culture, as millions tune in each week. This prompts many youngsters to continue to have dreams of playing in the NFL.

In addition to the NFL’s continuing popularity, some children today are likely to have parents who played in Pop Warner themselves and experienced no major concussion-related symptoms.

Parents who incorrectly believe CTE is limited to harder-hitting football in the professional ranks are mistaken. More parents are apprehensive than ever, though it’s doubtful Pop Warner will be in serious danger anytime soon despite escalating pressure.

While there may be fewer kids playing youth football, the game’s general popularity and the belief of some parents that CTE symptoms are limited to professional leagues should help youth football remain very relevant for years to come.