Athletes wanted!
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
As soon as
athletes began to train for speed and strength for a certain position college coaches had their eye on that individual for that certain position. It all became this sort of carousel in the recruiting process when young men were pointed in the direction of specialization despite being excellent 2 way players or multi-talented and ended up playing where their high school coach thought they worked best. You never used to hear of a recruit like Agholor being an
athlete out of
Florida and recruited as such. Specialization these days is still important to any program but, if your a stud athlete that proves you can convert that ability into sheer impact, then men you are a hot commodity. I understand the Gunner
Kiel fans of the world will expect him to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line in the fourth quarter and rightly so. That has always been the definition of leading your team to victory and managing the game. In 2012 specialization now has less of a definition (Intangibles)(
Game Changer)and accepting the idea that the athlete can touch the ball 20 times and is able to convert it into scoring opportunities at a much higher rate. Defenses have a difficult time keying on a guy when he is lined up all over the field and on special teams especially in college. Words like weapon and dynamic play maker create match up problems and the game of X's and O's has developed into many more exotic formations and flexible play calling to give the athlete a chance to touch the ball. Any sport in the world that you can create match up problems for results in a lopsided event. Football and 10 other men on the field used to be able to protect a weak link that was lacking in one area or another. Athletes exploit those weaknesses and are now recruited heavily changing the game and pushing players to become much better athletes. For example
Cam Newton, Denard Robinson and R G III have taken the
Michael Vick mold and excelled in being an athlete. Standing in the pocket and slinging the ball all over the field still wins games but, athletes create deeper and more complex issues within the scheme and if you have 2 or 3 athletes on the field together it will produce a winning formula. The great thing about athletes is that if you can find ways to get them the ball then they will create and make something happen outside of the box. You just can't game plan for creativity and sheer athleticism anymore you have to go out and recruit yourself some athletes to keep pace. That is why athletes are a must have for any powerhouse college program if they want to have a chance at a championship. You hear coaches talk about overall team speed and that discussion inevitably turns into how many athletes you have on the field and dynamics of play making. Intangibles and instinct are player traits that coaches talk about first instead of an afterthought. When coaches ask, is there anything else he can do?you know exactly whats on his mind.
Athlete! and how can I change our scheme to accommodate him instead of how does he fit our system. Welcome to the new age of
college football and to all the athletes out there, its OK to be good at everything, but your great at one thing,
winning!
Sleeperprep has your back! and we will continue to promote the athlete. When it comes time for finding a program. You'll be doing the selecting because selective colleges need athletes on the
football field.
