The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...ortCat=nfl

"Prepped for the NFL? Each year, roughly 2,500 Division I football players leave college because they have exhausted their athletic eligibility, or are leaving early, or have graduated. Each year, about 200 rookie players make NFL rosters. Thus, more than 90 percent of Division I football players never play a down in the NFL. Take into account that some of the NFL rookies are Division II, Division III or NAIA players, and it's closer to 95 percent. Watch any top college football team -- the players are fast, muscular, and obviously devote tremendous amounts of time and energy to football. Ninety-five percent of them won't play in the NFL. If they don't study and don't go to class, they walk away from college football practically empty-handed."

"Brooks and Willis also checked out Nick Saban's 2002-2004 LSU teams, including the 2003 team that won the BCS title. (Saban has not been at Alabama long enough to assess how his recruits there will do in the pros.) From those LSU years, 11 players played at least five seasons in the NFL, 10 played two to four years, and three played one year. That means 80 percent never played an NFL down.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesNick Saban demonstrates how to take a snap. Too bad he won't demonstrate how to find a career if you don't make the NFL and didn't study in college.

It's simply not true that playing football at a big-deal college grooms you for the NFL. Coaches sometimes encourage this illusion -- which lures players into giving their all to the team, only to discover, too late, that college is over, the NFL didn't call, they didn't attend class and are not prepared for success in life. A couple of weeks ago, Saban told reporters he got the Crimson Tide fired up for its game against mega-underdog Chattanooga by warning players, "You would someday be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz and roll your window down to talk to a pretty girl and she'd say, 'You lost to Chattanooga when you played at Alabama.'" The overwhelming majority of the players on the current Alabama roster will never be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz. Encouraging that illusion improves Alabama's football results, while potentially distracting players from studying. Yet studying means a lot more to the typical Crimson Tide player's future than football."

Yeah, a bunch of 300lb bouncers with half a PE degree.

Makes me that much more proud of Joe Webb.

They need to be practicing their first public speech at work. "Would you like fries with that sir?"

Young men don't listen to statistics. If they did, more would finish high school rather than dropping out. I had freshmen and sophomores assure me they were the next Michael Jordan and then admit they were not even on the West End team. They are so sure, IN THEIR OWN MINDS, that they can play pro ball, and they don't even pretend to think that "ball" has anything to do with doing classwork. Each year WEHS (enrollment was 1,400 or so) had 15-16 freshman session rooms but only 7-8 senior session rooms. Get the picture?

I explained many times over many years the earning potential of a high school diploma and the even greater earning capacity of a college degree. Some listened and learned, many did neither. One student, after scoring well on the PSAT (only about 60 took the test each year), got an inquiry from a school whose name she wanted me to pronounce for her. "It's Wellesley", I replied and explained what a special opportunity going to such a school would be. She later decided to attend Vandy because it was closer to home.

We had students attend Cornell, MIT, Duke and other pretigious schools. I remain very proud of having taught at a school that made such a difference to many students. I just wish we had been able to reach more of them. Solomon Crenshaw who writes for the NEWS is one of our graduates. His father was President of our PTA until his kids were graduated and knew our frustrations since PTA meetings could be held in a small classroom, and 80% of those present were teachers.

(12-15-2009 08:57 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...ortCat=nfl

"Prepped for the NFL? Each year, roughly 2,500 Division I football players leave college because they have exhausted their athletic eligibility, or are leaving early, or have graduated. Each year, about 200 rookie players make NFL rosters. Thus, more than 90 percent of Division I football players never play a down in the NFL. Take into account that some of the NFL rookies are Division II, Division III or NAIA players, and it's closer to 95 percent. Watch any top college football team -- the players are fast, muscular, and obviously devote tremendous amounts of time and energy to football. Ninety-five percent of them won't play in the NFL. If they don't study and don't go to class, they walk away from college football practically empty-handed."

"Brooks and Willis also checked out Nick Saban's 2002-2004 LSU teams, including the 2003 team that won the BCS title. (Saban has not been at Alabama long enough to assess how his recruits there will do in the pros.) From those LSU years, 11 players played at least five seasons in the NFL, 10 played two to four years, and three played one year. That means 80 percent never played an NFL down.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesNick Saban demonstrates how to take a snap. Too bad he won't demonstrate how to find a career if you don't make the NFL and didn't study in college.

It's simply not true that playing football at a big-deal college grooms you for the NFL. Coaches sometimes encourage this illusion -- which lures players into giving their all to the team, only to discover, too late, that college is over, the NFL didn't call, they didn't attend class and are not prepared for success in life. A couple of weeks ago, Saban told reporters he got the Crimson Tide fired up for its game against mega-underdog Chattanooga by warning players, "You would someday be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz and roll your window down to talk to a pretty girl and she'd say, 'You lost to Chattanooga when you played at Alabama.'" The overwhelming majority of the players on the current Alabama roster will never be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz. Encouraging that illusion improves Alabama's football results, while potentially distracting players from studying. Yet studying means a lot more to the typical Crimson Tide player's future than football."

So i guess you never saw that NCAA commercial that came out a couple ago that says there are over 380000 student athletes and most of the go pro in somethimg other than sports.

(12-15-2009 09:09 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Yeah, a bunch of 300lb bouncers with half a PE degree.

Makes me that much more proud of Joe Webb.

That's exactly why the NCAA extended its rules past entrance requirements to include "progress toward degree" as well. They found that many coaches were at one time making it a practice of routing their athletes into infinite "basket-weaving" courses until they exhausted their elegibility and then "dropped them" from tutorial resources just when they had to take the more difficult "meat and potatoes" courses for graduation.

"Sports Illustrated" did a series on the Black athlete to show this was a national behavior. Actually it applied to many athletes of all ethnic groups, not just blacks though the series was primarily about them. Nearly every athlete finished eligibility if they were any good and stayed in school, even for the scout team, but relatively few graduated.

While we are on the subject, I don't want to miss an opportunity to sing a former Blazer's praises: Bryan Thomas, former prop-48 football player, not only "made progress" toward his degree, he also graduated with his degree approximately 1 week before being selected as the 22nd over all pick in the 2002 NFL Player Draft.

(12-15-2009 08:57 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...ortCat=nfl

"Prepped for the NFL? Each year, roughly 2,500 Division I football players leave college because they have exhausted their athletic eligibility, or are leaving early, or have graduated. Each year, about 200 rookie players make NFL rosters. Thus, more than 90 percent of Division I football players never play a down in the NFL. Take into account that some of the NFL rookies are Division II, Division III or NAIA players, and it's closer to 95 percent. Watch any top college football team -- the players are fast, muscular, and obviously devote tremendous amounts of time and energy to football. Ninety-five percent of them won't play in the NFL. If they don't study and don't go to class, they walk away from college football practically empty-handed."

"Brooks and Willis also checked out Nick Saban's 2002-2004 LSU teams, including the 2003 team that won the BCS title. (Saban has not been at Alabama long enough to assess how his recruits there will do in the pros.) From those LSU years, 11 players played at least five seasons in the NFL, 10 played two to four years, and three played one year. That means 80 percent never played an NFL down.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty ImagesNick Saban demonstrates how to take a snap. Too bad he won't demonstrate how to find a career if you don't make the NFL and didn't study in college.

It's simply not true that playing football at a big-deal college grooms you for the NFL. Coaches sometimes encourage this illusion -- which lures players into giving their all to the team, only to discover, too late, that college is over, the NFL didn't call, they didn't attend class and are not prepared for success in life. A couple of weeks ago, Saban told reporters he got the Crimson Tide fired up for its game against mega-underdog Chattanooga by warning players, "You would someday be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz and roll your window down to talk to a pretty girl and she'd say, 'You lost to Chattanooga when you played at Alabama.'" The overwhelming majority of the players on the current Alabama roster will never be an NFL player in a Mercedes-Benz. Encouraging that illusion improves Alabama's football results, while potentially distracting players from studying. Yet studying means a lot more to the typical Crimson Tide player's future than football."

Oh I bet they will be able to afford that Mercedes-Benz. Most of the workers at the plant get a deep discount on an annual lease.

(12-15-2009 09:27 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  They need to be practicing their first public speech at work. "Would you like fries with that sir?"

"Welcome to Wal-Mart. Get your sh!t and get out!"