Awake in America
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- Jun 30, 2012
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People that disagree are disagreed with
What causes this site to exist is the weird distribution of white players in the NFL, and how some of the very good ones got there. Jason Sehorn isn't a "genetic freak", nor is J.J. Watt. White players lead in several NFL stats, but there are virtually no white players after the leaders! That's weird! Even if they represent the very top of white athletes, there are players with ability right up against theirs. Here's an example of how this business works, involving actual players and teams. It got my mind engaged when I heard about Bowling Green's lack of speed:
Bowling Green is in the MAC. They played Florida this year, and gave the Gators a scare, until Florida's speed took over the game. Their coach, Dave Clawson, claimed that he didn't have a single player on his fairly black roster that could break 4.5 in the 40. Florida has several, of course.
The University of Georgia has at least two white walkons that can break 4.5. One of them broke 4.4 in high school. Conner Norman ran a 4.39 at the Scout combine, 37 inch vertical, 4.1 shuttle, and racked up great stats and accolades against VERY strong high school competition. He received ZERO scholarship offers. He can outrun the entire Bowling Green roster, and several others. His high school coach was perplexed by the lack of offers, having put players into Division I many times.
“His [measurables] were every bit as good as Thomas Brown’s, and I coached both of them.†“Very similar size, similar body build, both of them real strong, consummate weight-room guys,†he said of Norman and Brown. “And Connor is just as fast. I tried like crazy to get Division I schools to recruit him. I couldn’t even get I-AA schools to offer him. They wouldn’t do it.â€
Another Georgia walkon, Merritt Hall (not the other sub 4.5 guy), is the starting fullback. He was the state defensive player of the year as a junior, and all everything. His coach:
“We did everything we could, putting out DVDs and writing letters and all these things,†Pridgen recalled. “I even said to our assistant coaches, ‘What are we doing wrong?’ Because even schools like Georgia Southern and Jacksonville State were, like, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ It really drove me crazy. … It was maddening to me and to him.â€
He can start as a walkon at a top ten program, but can't get a scholarship offer to Jacksonville State?
Kyle Karempelis is one of the all time greats in Georgia high school history. To have scored more touchdowns and rushed for more yards, you need to be in Herschel Walker territory. He received ZERO scholarship offers. He can run under 4.5, and dominated against all the hip swivelers Georgia high school football could offer. Not good enough for the Akron Zips?
There are more examples from just this one team this one year (Blake Sailors, Rhett McGowan and Kosta Vavlas), and it interests me because that's where I went to school. Those three might be the next Harrison Smith, Chad Greenway and Danny Woodhead, or better. They won't be, because they never got the chance. Pure luck has led to two of them actually getting some non-special teams playing time, though neither gets to play his natural position. We see guys like this do really well in spring games every year, and wonder how they can perform well against some of the best the SEC has to offer, yet couldn't get an offer from Wofford.
I'll start believing it's just a matter of athleticism when I stop seeing examples like these guys, or just stop watching high school football altogether.
What causes this site to exist is the weird distribution of white players in the NFL, and how some of the very good ones got there. Jason Sehorn isn't a "genetic freak", nor is J.J. Watt. White players lead in several NFL stats, but there are virtually no white players after the leaders! That's weird! Even if they represent the very top of white athletes, there are players with ability right up against theirs. Here's an example of how this business works, involving actual players and teams. It got my mind engaged when I heard about Bowling Green's lack of speed:
Bowling Green is in the MAC. They played Florida this year, and gave the Gators a scare, until Florida's speed took over the game. Their coach, Dave Clawson, claimed that he didn't have a single player on his fairly black roster that could break 4.5 in the 40. Florida has several, of course.
The University of Georgia has at least two white walkons that can break 4.5. One of them broke 4.4 in high school. Conner Norman ran a 4.39 at the Scout combine, 37 inch vertical, 4.1 shuttle, and racked up great stats and accolades against VERY strong high school competition. He received ZERO scholarship offers. He can outrun the entire Bowling Green roster, and several others. His high school coach was perplexed by the lack of offers, having put players into Division I many times.
“His [measurables] were every bit as good as Thomas Brown’s, and I coached both of them.†“Very similar size, similar body build, both of them real strong, consummate weight-room guys,†he said of Norman and Brown. “And Connor is just as fast. I tried like crazy to get Division I schools to recruit him. I couldn’t even get I-AA schools to offer him. They wouldn’t do it.â€
Another Georgia walkon, Merritt Hall (not the other sub 4.5 guy), is the starting fullback. He was the state defensive player of the year as a junior, and all everything. His coach:
“We did everything we could, putting out DVDs and writing letters and all these things,†Pridgen recalled. “I even said to our assistant coaches, ‘What are we doing wrong?’ Because even schools like Georgia Southern and Jacksonville State were, like, ‘No, I don’t think so.’ It really drove me crazy. … It was maddening to me and to him.â€
He can start as a walkon at a top ten program, but can't get a scholarship offer to Jacksonville State?
Kyle Karempelis is one of the all time greats in Georgia high school history. To have scored more touchdowns and rushed for more yards, you need to be in Herschel Walker territory. He received ZERO scholarship offers. He can run under 4.5, and dominated against all the hip swivelers Georgia high school football could offer. Not good enough for the Akron Zips?
There are more examples from just this one team this one year (Blake Sailors, Rhett McGowan and Kosta Vavlas), and it interests me because that's where I went to school. Those three might be the next Harrison Smith, Chad Greenway and Danny Woodhead, or better. They won't be, because they never got the chance. Pure luck has led to two of them actually getting some non-special teams playing time, though neither gets to play his natural position. We see guys like this do really well in spring games every year, and wonder how they can perform well against some of the best the SEC has to offer, yet couldn't get an offer from Wofford.
I'll start believing it's just a matter of athleticism when I stop seeing examples like these guys, or just stop watching high school football altogether.