How does this kid not SIGN????

Could be other issues......high school HC's can make or break a kid's chances.

That small, he probably needs to walk on......though he probably had some shot at a 1 AA or D 2..........

Maybe teams wanted him to play DB, and he didn't want that.

A ton of things it could be.......

Air, if I'm not mistaken they are allowed more scholarships than 1-A schools but they often break them up and split scholarships between several players. This allows them to get more kids in a uniform on the practice field and build. They (Northwestern State) may be in one of those thin years on scholarships where everything is accounted for and didn't have any money left. Although if he is as a good student as you say I'm sure they got him some academic money for the year. May be a situation where he will be able to get athletic money next year.

I have a little insight on that conference because I have a couple of kids that play for schools in the Southland Conference. One at SFA and another at Nichols.

Looks like a great player but it all comes down to what the college coaches think sadly. I have never figured out what half of them are looking for, sometimes I think they don't know half the time either LOL. I had the good fortune to coach Bob Sanders in HS. His senior year wasn't getting any D-1 looks. Coach from a Big Ten school was up recruiting a Jr. who would be the state player of the year his Sr year. HC brings Bob in and introduces him, coach says Hi turns right around and says where's so and so(the Jr) Later tells HC Sanders is too small to play in the Big Ten he'd never make it........

So who the hell knows how the recruiting process works any more! I think alot of schools are so caught up in the size issues that they will take a decent big kid over an outstanding smaller kid just in hopes the bigger kid pans out while they pass on kids who end up being better players. Who knows its crazy.

forget about the WR, Where did the QB end up at? He looks pretty dang good!

Very impressive kid. Speed & acceleration, shiftiness, great vision. Lots of skills.

Not to take ANYTHING away from that kid, but I'd give my left arm for the downfield blocking he got!

Well, you don't. You don't You just tell your kids to keep focused, and concentrate on what they can do to improve. Studies have shown that the "pie in the sky" carrot (ie in this case, scholarship) is not an effective tool to elicit the desired change in behavior.

This kid is a great H.S. player. Unfortunately, this is no guarantee that the players will ever be MORE than "great H.S players". Plays such as the reverse at around 3:40 or so really showcase this. That doesn't look like Trindon Holiday or Skylar Greene or Shyrone Carey. It doesn't "wow"

This kids "downfall" is his test score. 21 is actually slightly lower than the National Average. Had he received 25,26's, an entirely different type of school would have been available to him. Not saying this to degrade the young man at all, simply to impress upon those interested that Excellence...TRUE excellence in academics (not just working hard in the classroom to get grade inflated G.P.A's and average test scores) opens doors.

Now, where I think the college recruiters went wrong here is that the kid is at ECA. Those kids know the "hows" to football. How to prepare, how to work, how to practice...This isn't a kid who has been coddled...he hasn't been treated like "football royalty". He has had to compete for his playing time. All good traits.

Sadly, the bottom line is that recruiters can't miss small. It is kind of like a couple of girls in the bar...you don't know how it is going to work out in the end ...but you always pick the PRETTY one and hope for the best.

Ever see A Beautiful Mind? John Forbes Nash proved that the optimal strategy when competing for girls is almost never to shoot for the prettiest one...there is, of course, a football-related application for this concept:

smartfootball.blogspot.com/2008/06/runpass-balance-game-theory-and-passing.html

I disagree with this to a certain extent. While I would say the overall knowledge base is greater the higher you go in football, this is not an absolute. Football hiring practices are often not based on the best available candidate, but rather the best available candidate that that HFC has previously coached with or knows/knows of. Additionally, some guys are on staff almost solely as recruiters, and their worth as a tactician or position coach is more suspect. Circumstance and timing have as much or more to do with a coach's station as talent and ability.

The kid in question has an issue, and that is his size. If you are at a D1 program and you offer a guy that doesn't fit the prerequisites on the measuring stick, he better be successful. If he flops, then you are an idiot for taking him. Now, if I offer a kid solely based on the measuring stick and he flops, then that's the kid's fault. He had all of the tools and just didn't put the effort in to get there. It is a CYA mentality as much as it is anything. Can this kid be an asset? Perhaps. But if I can get a guy that's comparable, but is 5" taller, it would seem to make sense to pursue the taller athlete. He has something now that the player in question more than likely will never have. That's not to say that the shorter kid may not be the better of the 2 options, but I will tend toward what appears to be the more certain selection now, since I may not be around if this coming season goes poorly.

There is no exact science to recruiting or to the draft because there is no way to accurately predict what someone may turn into in the future based on circumstance, genetics, effort, etc. Try as we might to pin these things down, there are a lot of factors that will never be able to be measured. How many 1st round QBs ever really pan out? There are a few franchise guys, a few journeymen, but the majority of 1st round QBs are "busts" by NFL standards. Shouldn't the NFL guys be the best in the business at analyzing talent? They are at the highest level, after all. Recruiting and the draft are as much an art as a science.

So you think that anyone who does not get offered a scholarship is low on their level of talent??

Maybe the kid only wanted to go in state. I dont know.. I just know that he is walking on at a school that is around an hour from home..

Based on your statement.. maybe I need to change my name to ignorancehater.

Whatever, I'm sure your team couldn't use a guy like this. The kid's talented, and he'll get a shot to play in college. Don't be ignorant.

Airraider,

I understand your predicament with your players now looking and seeing a kid who is this good not getting the chance they think he should, but IMO this kid, while an outstanding player, can be found in almost every city in the country. A 5'8" - 5'10", 160-190, 4.4-4.6 shifty great high school player can be found on many high school teams across the country. Most of them end up at DII or DIII schools with great careers.

It is surprising that a DII school didn't offer him something, but did he begin the recruiting process saying that he would only go DI? If he did, as many great HS players do, then he could have hurt his chances at the smaller schools. I don't know, but I have seen a player's or parent's ego get in the way of a scholarship or opportunity at a smaller school.

You are very right.. and I have had more than a few of them.. but all of those kids were making 14's and 15's on the ACT.

I always thought to myself.. man if this kid just had the grades.. but what if he did??

I wonder.. why am I even bothering with college coaches when they come in asking about my players.. I dont have anyone that has the grades and skills of this kid.. just kind of puts in you in a funk you know?

I can see how frustrating that could be. Again, I would advise that you make sure you don't use the "scholarship" as the carrot.

As far as not having anyone with the skills...from the video you showed, i wasn't particularly impressed with him as a "college" player. Much of what we saw was a good H.S receiver who was well coached to exploit small school zone defense. These type of players win H.S. games and championships. They do not get scholarship coaches salivating.

DCohio--Your questions showing other issues are great. HOWEVER, in this particular situation I would VENTURE (can't know for sure) that they wouldn't apply. ECA is one of the top programs in the state, and a few years ago, one of the top programs in the country. They don't have "non committed" kids in the program. I believe the reason he is being asked to walk on is that he has the top speed of a 6'3 receiver, but he is listed at 5'10 (which translates to around 5'8 in recruiting speak).

Yeah, always shoot for the drunkest girl.......