Here's an article on Romain that basically admits he's getting screwed because he's White, but then wimps out by suggesting he should have switched positions or accepted a small school scholarship. It also has factual errors -- Nick Goings isn't white, and Danny Woodhead didn't make the Jets roster.
The Plight of White Running Back Dillon Romain
There isn't a white running back among the
30 leading rushers in the NFL. There's only one white running back among the
top 20 rushers in college football (
Stanford's Toby Gerhart, who is 1st). White running backs have been bordering on extinction for years. The last white running back to rush for 1,000 yards was Craig James with New England. In
1985. The last white running back to lead his team in rushing? Carolina's Nick Goings in 2004.
These statistics have not been lost upon the New Jersey 2008 Gatorade high school player of the year, running back Dillon Romain. He led his school to three straight state titles. He had the requisite GPA, SAT, and a good 40 time. The last 10 State players of the year from Jersey all received D1 scholarships. Several of them are in the NFL. Romain didn't get one Division I offer.
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Others such as Melvin and Toal think a contributing factor could be that Romain is white and plays running back.
"Being a white running back is not the easiest thing,"Â Toal said. "There's stereotypes out there in this day and age."Â
Romain did not wow recruiters with his physical gifts, but he always produced â€" and at the highest level since Don Bosco played some of its games against national competition, including teams from California and Ohio.</BLOCKQUOTE>
What's the move here? Should Romain have just switched positions?
At 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, he probably could have been an slightly undersized safety (adding 15 pounds of muscle in college is nothing) in D1 and gotten a partially free education. At worst, couldn't he have been a backup DB who also played on special teams? Problem is, Romain pigeonholed himself by only playing running back in high school.
Why didn't Romain just accept a I-AA scholarship? There have been
quite a few players who have made the leap from I-AA to the NFL in the last 40 years - Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Kurt Warner, Marques Colston, and Donald Driver to name a few.
Why not dominate at the Division II level? Reaching the pros that way isn't unheard of -
Danny Woodhead made the Jets this year. He's a 5-foot-8, 200-pound
Division II legend (2nd most all-purpose yards ever at that level; he was the
Nebraska Gatorade high school player of the year in 2004).
Romain decided to prep for a year, and he's now trying out multiple positions to enhance his chances of playing Division I.
Former Don Bosco star Dillon Romain, passed over for Division 1 scholarship, hoping year at Blair Academy helps college dream come true (
Star Ledger)
http://www.hoopsworld.com/FeedItem.asp?FEED_ITEM_ID=1162668
