Advice for my son (Junior year WR)

I know there are a lot if guys on this forum who have a lot of experience and wisdom with the system....the dos, don'ts for college sports preparation. My son is beginning his varsity junior year in a relatively small high school outside of Philly. He's one of the starting wide receivers and kick returners on the team. Athletic, good size, great hands, speed and quickness. I am clueless as to what he needs to do now to prepare for the possibility if playing in college. Should he be doing specific things as far as tooting his own horn? Anything specific that might give him an advantage? Things to avoid? Thanks in advance. He's also a good baseball player if you have tips on that too.

Few things off the top of my head.

1. Hit the weight room. Emphasize good form squatting. The Weight you lift doesn't matter if you have poor form.

2. Do 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups every day. Plus running, on top of training he does with his HS.

3. No fast food or soda.

4. Buy him a set of cones so he can practice 3 cone drill and short shuttle. Hone his agility. Good idea for him to run routes on his free time with his QB.

5. Start taping his games. Never too early for a highlight tape.

6. Have fun and be confident!

Lots of time in the tanning booth. A name change to Shaquim, Barkevious, DeShaun, or similar is very helpful. A doctored Ancestry.com file showing that he's really black will guarantee a D1 scholly to wherever he wants to go.

I’d recommend camps for some exposure too, it’s the best way for kids to go prove themselves to coaches instead of coaches coming to the kids

Seriously though, you can never do too much. Playing well, dominating, is important and then taking that and making YouTube videos and sending highlight packages to universities that might be a good fit. Getting on the radar of the eeeevil recruiting services is very important, as 90%+ of the "recruiting" done by D1 programs happens here. Good luck!!

I would also get him involved in HS track if his school has one and if he isn't already doing so, he will get some good training for running form, especially squats and lunges, med ball work, cone work....

FootballDad said:

Lots of time in the tanning booth. A name change to Shaquim, Barkevious, DeShaun, or similar is very helpful. A doctored Ancestry.com file showing that he's really black will guarantee a D1 scholly to wherever he wants to go.

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Love it! Will shoe polish do the trick?

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the replies.

Get him a Instagram acct or youtube chanel with his highlights of games and training too. Good luck.

two things are essential, and both have already been mentioned:

1) go to as many camps as possible. competing at the recruiting venues against the darker-hued gives him both confidence and exposure.
2) run the sprints in track season. demonstrating legitimate speed (compared to the usually fictitious high school 40 times) has opened many a door for an otherwise unrecruited athlete (see Andy Isabella, for example).

another, important (though not as much as many think) item is the highlight tape. coaches want to see it if they’ve not seen the kid in person first. it’s not gonna get him a scholly, but it might get him noticed.

one last thing is also big. is it possible to transfer to a bigger school to play? White kids who play at small schools almost never get offered.

i say all this as someone who has worked in a collegiate athletic department involved in the recruiting process.

i would also ask Carolinaspeed about his son’s journey as a talented running back who got cast(e) aside despite being a record-setting performer.

without a doubt, the deck is stacked against him. but there are enough kids who break through, that it’s possible to overcome the stigma of Whiteness.

MrPoon, aside from maybe FootballDad, I probably have the most experience on CF in this area. Unless someone tells me different. Most of the guys have heard this story several times over, but it's the complete truth. It's kind of a long story, but I'll try to describe what my son went through.
I started this whole process, because at an early age my son showed a lot talent in all sports. He was good at just about every sport he tried, especially the physical ones, like football and wrestling. He had natural speed and pretty good size, despite being the youngest in his age group. He had the misfortune of having a summer birthday, but I chose not to hold him back. From the beginning most of his coaches recognized his talent early and with football he was always put at QB or RB. So as he progressed into say middle school especially the 8th grade, I began to send film out to college coaches. I sent one to Wake Forest and Clemson. They didn't really take it serious although the highlights were fabulous, running for long TD's and intercepting passes on defense and running them back untouched for TD's We took him to Clemson's camp as early as 10 years old when Dabo Swinney was still receiver coach. I've photos of him with coach Swinney. He did really well in the camps. Most of the time being the fastest and quickest in his group with great hands.
About this time he showed an interest in Track and Field, while also playing travel baseball. In his second year of running track he place 6th in the country in the Junior Olympics 100 meters, U-13. That same year Hannah Cunliffe was running in the same event and won the 100 meters in the girls event.
At this same time he began participating in local and regional combines. Winning the MVP in Charlotte, NC regional combine and going to the southeast regional combine in Atlanta. He didn't win the MVP. A player named Braxton Berrios, who was a year older won it, but he was named a top 5 RB.
Colleges must have received his combine numbers, because during his sophomore year he received his first college letter from Oregon, then LSU, Clemson, UNC, etc., but no offers.
Let me back up, during his freshman season of football during a varsity scrimmage, he took his first handoff and ran for a 60 yard TD, first high school varsity carry! Although he didn't play varsity his freshman season, his HS coach knew what he had. He was the starting RB during his sophomore season and ran for over 1,500 yards on 159 carries and 20 TD's. He started getting some attention, but no offers. Keep in mind he's playing the largest classification in NC. During all this time, we kept sending film and going to selected camps. Clemson, UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, even East Carolina.
Ok, during his junior season he rushes for over 3,000 yards on 259 carries and 37 TD's. BTW, 4.1 GPA. He begins to receive D-1AA and D-2 offers, but no D-1 offers. Dabo Swinney, now the head coach tell s him that he had great junior season, but just couldn't offer him yet? Really?
Again, I've posted what I'm about to say on CF many times. He was told by no less than three division one college coaches that they would not recruit a white RB and or it would very difficult to offer a scholarship to him. Kind of devastated him. However, Dabo Swinney was not one of those coaches. One coach came to his HS and thought he was black and found out he was white and lost interest. One school wanted to recruit him to play safety. His HS coach ran the recruiter out of his office.
FF to his senior year with only a handful D-1AA /D-2 offers. In his first carry he went 55 yards for TD. Second carry he tore his ACL while making a cut he made a hundred times. He probably would have set the National HS record for yards that year if not for the injury. He accepted a D1AA offer, but during training, he tore the ACL again.
I don't tell you this to boast about my son. I do it to tell you the road that lies ahead of your son. If mine didn't receive offers after what he did. It's almost impossible.
However, some white RB's/WR's do get offers, but I don't know exactly how. My son did everything he could possibly do.
I do think if not for his injury, he would have either played at Wake Forest or Duke. If he would have rushed for 4-5,000 yards, I don't see how they could have denied him, but it just wasn't meant to be.
I don't know if I helped at all, but you have to start early, like 10-12 years old!
If your son could get to a national combine like NIKE and bust off a 4.3/4.4, he might get some attention. That's how a white wide receiver that went to Tennessee a few years ago got attention. He went a NIKE Combine and ran a high 4.3 or a low 4.4, I forgot which. Forgot his name. Go to college camps that time your 40, short shuttle, etc. Reach out to coaches and send film. However, I think combine numbers are very important!
Again, don't know that I helped. If you have any questions, please let me know.
CS

Wow, Carolina Speed. I don't even know what to say....so incredibly sorry about your son's experience. Almost hard to believe what these pos bastards put him and you through! Horrible. I wondee if his injury was a result of him trying harder than he should have had to try...the pressure he had to go the extra mile that blacks seem to not have to do . Thank you so much for the advice and for shaeing your experience. I am just hoping my guy will get to play at SOME level in college, but even that is a hard road I am sure....but this is all good stuff. I imagine baseball (center field and third base) is the better or easier route to take. God bless.

I think he should stick with football as long as he has a passion for it. I have heard or many kids try football first. If it doesn't work out baseball will still be there. Tell your son he is as good as anyone out there. He belongs plain and simple. People don't realise that the mental aspect is just as important as the physical. Don't let him buy into the racial stereotyping that goes on. It's all bullsh**. He can compete and outplay just about anyone. Believe before you achieve!

white lightning said:

I think he should stick with football as long as he has a passion for it. I have heard or many kids try football first. If it doesn't work out baseball will still be there. Tell your son he is as good as anyone out there. He belongs plain and simple. People don't realise that the mental aspect is just as important as the physical. Don't let him buy into the racial stereotyping that goes on. It's all bullsh**. He can compete and outplay just about anyone. Believe before you achieve!

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Kinda like Riley Cooper. Can you imagine how hyped up he'd have been had he been black? The guy gets drafted by BOTH the Phillies and Eagles!!! And not one average person from Philly knows this. Not one kid knew back then when IdI tell them. What a cool story. He could have been such a star here. Stephon Diggs still hasn't had the kind of year Riley had and gets paid 17 mil.

white lightning said:

I think he should stick with football as long as he has a passion for it. I have heard or many kids try football first. If it doesn't work out baseball will still be there. Tell your son he is as good as anyone out there. He belongs plain and simple. People don't realise that the mental aspect is just as important as the physical. Don't let him buy into the racial stereotyping that goes on. It's all bullsh**. He can compete and outplay just about anyone. Believe before you achieve!

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MrPoon said:

Wow, Carolina Speed. I don't even know what to say....so incredibly sorry about your son's experience. Almost hard to believe what these pos bastards put him and you through! Horrible. I wondee if his injury was a result of him trying harder than he should have had to try...the pressure he had to go the extra mile that blacks seem to not have to do . Thank you so much for the advice and for shaeing your experience. I am just hoping my guy will get to play at SOME level in college, but even that is a hard road I am sure....but this is all good stuff. I imagine baseball (center field and third base) is the better or easier route to take. God bless.

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Thank you, MrPoon. I truly believe his injury as well as others of his kind where you are just making a cut and it results in an ACL tear is because kids are so much stronger/bigger and train harder/differently than prior generations. I don't how else to explain the rise in these types of injuries. I don't remember when I was playing seeing so many ACL tears from simply making
cuts or landings. We had tears, but they were from getting hit. I was 5'10 160lbs. as a senior RB in HS, and not nearly as strong as my son. He was 5'11 205., 45 lbs. heavier and nothing but muscle. He trained like a college/pro athlete and I think his young body/ligaments couldn't carry the load and his knee just snapped. We see it all the time now.
However, he had a dream of making it first to D-1 and then to the NFL and he understood that you had to work your butt off to be the best, especially being white. Unfortunately, he sustained two major knee injuries that derailed his dream. I am happy to report he graduated with honors this past May and is highly successful in a job he began as an intern in college and now full time.
BTW, he played a little intramural football during his last year of college and told me it was like playing against elementary school kids, so he still has a little ability and confidence. Maybe the genes will carry over to his children one day. He definitely knows what it takes to become a great athlete as well a great young man.

Carolina Speed said:

Thank you, MrPoon. I truly believe his injury as well as others of his kind where you are just making a cut and it results in an ACL tear is because kids are so much stronger/bigger and train harder/differently than prior generations. I don't how else to explain the rise in these types of injuries. I don't remember when I was playing seeing so many ACL tears from simply making
cuts or landings. We had tears, but they were from getting hit. I was 5'10 160lbs. as a senior RB in HS, and not nearly as strong as my son. He was 5'11 205., 45 lbs. heavier and nothing but muscle. He trained like a college/pro athlete and I think his young body/ligaments couldn't carry the load and his knee just snapped. We see it all the time now.
However, he had a dream of making it first to D-1 and then to the NFL and he understood that you had to work your butt off to be the best, especially being white. Unfortunately, he sustained two major knee injuries that derailed his dream. I am happy to report he graduated with honors this past May and is highly successful in a job he began as an intern in college and now full time.
BTW, he played a little intramural football during his last year of college and told me it was like playing against elementary school kids, so he still has a little ability and confidence. Maybe the genes will carry over to his children one day. He definitely knows what it takes to become a great athlete as well a great young man.

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I’m glad to hear your son is doing well outside of football. While I’m sorry he wasn’t able to achieve his dream, there are more important things then sports, like family and health. A good job doesn’t hurt either so he’s doing well for a young man. Best of luck to him.