As Lamar polishes another trophy, Trinity gets 5 College signees.
- Thread starter JNreturns
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Congratulations to them all, and I mean it. You can't argue that they deserve it. They fit the metrics that are required to get offers. Our boys are currently enjoying the white privilege that is afforded to kids from a non metro area, class 2 school.
Article on Sports Zone this past week said Ayers has several offers and has simply not made a decision yet.
http://www.ozarkssportszone.com/201...-t-w-ayers-taking-time-with-college-decision/
It'll be interesting to see how things play themselves out for him. I don't know how D2 or NAIA programs handle their scholarship offers, but FCS and FBS schools usually sign all of their allotted scholarship slots pretty quickly. This 2018 Class was different because of the early period in December, and about 75% of NLIs were signed early. PWOs don't count against scholarship limits, so each school can decide how long they'll wait before pulling their offer and there's no prohibitive contract to sign. There's always the possibility that a school could lose a player or pull their scholarship, and leave room for him to sign before the deadline in April. But colleges usually hand those scholarships to current walk-ons that have earned them.
JUCO's a tough road. He's got options and he doesn't seem stressed, which is good. I'm sure he'll decide what's best for himself. You can't ask for much more than that.
I have lived in both rural Mo and urban MO, following HS football in both. Not trying to generalize all schools in the state but this is my experience with the few areas I am familiar with. The culture is very different. My experience in urban areas, mainly STL area, the star quality is much more hyped and valued, hence the highly marketed scholarship offers. This is a key tool in making sure they have a steady influx of new talent, not just in private but also the public schools. Some of you would be shocked at the way families move around in urban areas. Kids are groomed and pressured for college and even pros in some cases at a very young age. The team effort is not as important as the individual accomplishment and becoming what they have been told they could be sense 3rd grade. My experience in rural areas, mainly SWMO area, has been more of a focus on being the best HS player you can be, have fun and enjoy the experience. Anything else that may be to come after will work itself out. Individuals are proud to go back and see a conference or state champ banner from a team they were on hanging in the gym of their HS. I know a few individuals in the STL area who have conference champ banners from teams they were a part of hanging in multiple schools and could care less. Just two very different cultures and attitudes. Sorry I got a little long winded.
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There are a ton of variables that go into who gets recruited and how it is done. The idea that schools will find a talented kid if he's good enough, is a myth. The HS coach has to choose to devote their own time to build those relationships with colleges and promote his kids. More than that, the KIDS have to really want to play college ball. Some kids don't have that as a goal, and that's fine. Winning at the HS level, no matter how you choose to do it or why, is a great goal. Like the man said ... different cultures and attitudes. Which is great.
My experience in school was with what today would be a Small Class 4 football school - sizewise, like bottom 25% of class 4. I've been around some of the bigger Class 5 schools and I think the culture can turn like you mention above, and become very individualistic--with difficultly getting team buy in. . I've also seen how they have done things in Kearney, which like Webb, are basically Class 5 schools in size. (Both of these are examples of the focused suburban school (outside enough) to be self-contained and with strong school identities that are ingrained in the kids from a young age. Hence the successes not only in football, but in other sports...i.e., Kearney winning state in wrestling this year, and final 4 in basketball last year. Likewise with Webb's successes in other sports. And Lamar's success is really in building a group ethic...the whole is better than the parts...and better than the teams throwing DI players at them.
I think college recruiters are all about fitting players into the pre-conceived archtype, which is unfortunate. Because if you look at a player, for example, like Steve Largent... at 5'11", not blazing fast... he doesn't get a three star rating out of high school. But when he retired he led the NFL in like 5 categories of receiving, and was a first ballet HOFr. Recruiters are fixated so much on 40 times and physicality.. But can the receiver catch? Do they have a football brain? The college coaches are so vain, they actually think that the 4.3 40y dash guy will get it..BECAUSE I'll be there to teach them. Maybe? Maybe not!
There is a lot of truth here. You see the same thing in baseball, lots of what I call "Showcase Studs". Yeah they can field an easy 3 hopper at SS, take 3 shuffle steps and a small crow hop and throw 88-90 across the infield. But can he go backhand, make the play and get it to 1st with a quick release? What kind of jump does he get on a batted ball (what's his range)? Does he have good, soft hands? They have a 97 mph exit velocity off of a tee but do they understand HOW to hit. Can they take that tough 4 seam on the outside corner the other way or will they roll it over and hit a 3 hopper to SS? Do they have a baseball mind and understand the game? Can they hold up to game pressure?
Success can absolutely be measured in a number of ways. If the defining accomplishment for a high school team is a State Championship, then only one team in each class can be determined to be successful. Obviously, there's more to it than that. Winning a State Championship and being rewarded with college scholarship offers aren't mutually exclusive. Schools that win State have as much of a reason to consider their season a success as teams that send the majority of their graduating Seniors to play in college.
How colleges recruit players isn't a mystery. Not every deserving kid will get a shot. So, fair or not, the key is to know what college coaches want and (assuming a player has those things) getting them in front of those coaches. Lamar's won, like, 7 straight championships? You can't question they're successful. It'd be interesting to know more inside the program to better understand why more of their kids don't get offers. Ultimately, it could come down to something as simple as the kids not wanting to pursue the sport after HS.
How colleges recruit players isn't a mystery. Not every deserving kid will get a shot. So, fair or not, the key is to know what college coaches want and (assuming a player has those things) getting them in front of those coaches. Lamar's won, like, 7 straight championships? You can't question they're successful. It'd be interesting to know more inside the program to better understand why more of their kids don't get offers. Ultimately, it could come down to something as simple as the kids not wanting to pursue the sport after HS.
I'd take a 2-star recruit with a 5-star work ethic over a 5-star recruit with a 2-star work ethic any day. – Mike Krzyzewski
It appears that Ayers and Lucas are walking-on at Arkansas State this Fall. Are they the only Seniors from Lamar's 2018 class playing college ball?
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