{"id":3505,"date":"2019-02-07T07:19:51","date_gmt":"2019-02-07T12:19:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gridironstuds.com\/blog\/?p=3505"},"modified":"2019-02-07T08:28:41","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T13:28:41","slug":"recruiting-school-the-school-i-signed-with-was-not-my-where-i-wanted-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gridironstuds.com\/blog\/recruiting-school-the-school-i-signed-with-was-not-my-where-i-wanted-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Recruiting School: The School I Signed With Was Not Where I Wanted to Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Chad Wilson – Editor – GridironStuds Blog<\/strong>
\nTwitter: @GridironStuds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Signing Day was yesterday. \u00a0It was a joyous occasion for 100’s of high school football players as they ended their recruiting process by putting pen to paper bonding\u00a0themselves to universities all across the country. Not everyone who signed yesterday was happy. Some student athletes signed on the dotted line to schools that they really didn’t want to go to but felt like they had to. \u00a0This article today is for them.<\/p>\n

I was a lightly recruited prospect coming out of high school. \u00a0Having transferred from Florida to California in my junior year and getting injured, \u00a0I entered my senior year of high school with very little fanfare. \u00a0Despite having an All-Star type senior season, \u00a0my late arrival on the scene left me out of the big boy scene when it came to college football recruiting. \u00a0Like most kids my age without guidance in the process, \u00a0I was disillusioned. I thought that all that playmaking in 12th grade meant the entire Pac-10 (as it was called at the time) should’ve been parked on my lawn waiting to offer me a scholarship. \u00a0I knew nothing of how the process works, how exposure happens and what college coaches think when they are out on the recruiting trail.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, \u00a0I only had five real offers that I could’ve committed to: \u00a0Cal (which I lost when I took too long to commit), Cal State Fullerton (I absolutely wasn’t going there), UNLV (no way I would have completed a degree at that place), San Diego St. (committed to them for one hour on my trip before my dad bit my head off) and Long Beach State (the school I committed to). \u00a0I have told this story before on this blog but I saw Long Beach St. on TV my junior year of high school and they were playing in a one sided stadium. \u00a0I saw cars on the street in the background. \u00a0I could not remember the name of that school but after signing with them and going to the stadium during our summer practices, \u00a0I realized this was the school I saw on TV a year ago and was clowning their stadium. \u00a0Imagine my surprise.<\/p>\n

Even before I got the stadium shock, \u00a0I was not in love with Long Beach State. \u00a0Hell, \u00a0I wasn’t even in like. \u00a0Long Beach State was not where I wanted to be. \u00a0It was far away from the big time football I wanted to play at USC or UCLA, \u00a0the two big local colleges in the area. \u00a0The weight room (if you could call it that) was primitive, the facilities were archaic, \u00a0the team was not good and it was a brand new coaching staff filled with guys I had never heard of. \u00a0They said it was Division I football but it damned sure did not feel like it.<\/p>\n

Thankfully in life, \u00a0my family groomed a you are no ordinary person mentality into my head. \u00a0So while the college program I almost had to commit to may have seemed ordinary, \u00a0the person going to it was not. \u00a0My goal was to play big time college football and while this was not it, \u00a0I was going to make it be that for me. I trained like I was big time, studied the game like I was big time and walked around like I was big time. \u00a0I am certain that several of my teammates did not care for the attitude but if I was to stay at Long Beach St., \u00a0it was a necessary evil. \u00a0If any of them are reading this now, \u00a0please accept my apology but it was an act of survival.<\/p>\n

To make a long story short, \u00a0the combination of my attitude, determination and focus resulted in me playing as a freshman and starting several games. \u00a0It carried over into me being a full-time starter at cornerback for my entire sophomore year. \u00a0At the end of year two, \u00a0Long Beach St. cut their football program allowing all of the student athletes to transfer to other schools and be eligible to play immediately. \u00a0I went from lightly recruited high school prospect who signed with a bottom of the barrel Division-I school to an intensely recruited young and experienced prospect with Division-I experience. \u00a0Schools from across the country came calling and after setting up several official visits, \u00a0I elected to comeback home and sign with the number one team in the country, \u00a0the Miami Hurricanes. \u00a0Most people who know of me, \u00a0think that’s where my story begins but as you can see now, \u00a0that’s not true.<\/p>\n

When I tell high school football prospects to be realistic and seize the opportunities in front of them, \u00a0I am speaking from experience. \u00a0Football is made for competitive people and if you have excelled at it, \u00a0you most likely did so because of your competitive spirit. \u00a0So when it comes time to choose a college, \u00a0your competitive spirit may overcome you. \u00a0However, \u00a0successful football players also have some intelligence. \u00a0You can’t allow your competitive spirit to overwhelm your intelligence. \u00a0I could have sat around angry and banging on the doors of the Division-I powerhouses demanding a scholarship. \u00a0I would have risked all of the scholarship offers to those lesser known schools in the process. \u00a0I would have ended up missing out on a free education and where would I be? \u00a0I may have even been successful in coercing one of the big boys into letting me in. \u00a0However, \u00a0would they have given me the opportunity to shine like Long Beach St. did when there were other guys that they really wanted on that field? \u00a0Probably not.<\/p>\n

The opportunity that came to me at Long Beach St. was truly a once in a lifetime. \u00a0So by no means am I telling you to go into that school you didn’t really want to go to and hope for them to drop their football program. \u00a0That would be foolhardy. What I am telling you is, \u00a0opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. \u00a0What is important is that you are ready for them when they come. \u00a0I could have walked into Long Beach St. feeling sorry for myself. \u00a0I could have sat around bitter that I did not go big time like some of my teammates and my cousin who signed with UCLA, \u00a0the school I wanted to go to. \u00a0That attitude would have certainly delayed my entry into the starting lineup and thus I would not have been ready for the unexpected opportunity that came when they cut the football program. Your opportunity will most certainly be different but it will be an opportunity nonetheless. \u00a0Perhaps you will be the school’s all time leading rusher. Or perhaps you’ll be the conference’s all time leader in interceptions. \u00a0Being an all-timer will certainly get you NFL attention but if nothing else, \u00a0will get you eternal respect. \u00a0The question is, \u00a0will you be ready for the opportunity when it comes?<\/p>\n

Aside from all my misgivings about Long Beach St. in the early going, \u00a0the school turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. \u00a0The student body, my teammates and believe it or not, \u00a0the game day experiences helped shape who I was as I moved on and morphed into who I am today. \u00a0There were days where I wondered what am I doing this for but I quickly washed that away with thoughts of the\u00a0end goals that I set for myself. \u00a0Nothing says you are not in the big time like getting handed Converse high top cleats to go cover speed receivers with. \u00a0Nothing says you aren’t at the college football mountain top like watching your team trainer fight with the star wide receiver over using too much pre-wrap. \u00a0Block out all of those things and remember why you play football and what your goals are.<\/p>\n

The school you signed on with may not have been your first choice but it could be the best thing that ever happened to you. \u00a0The key to making that a reality is your mindset. \u00a0Your college experience will be what you make it. \u00a0That is true whether you signed with Oklahoma or your signed with Bucknell. \u00a0It’s all up to you.<\/p>\n