Fort What It's Worth: Greatness Comes in All Sizes
Yesterday, the Associated Press released their Little All-Americans List. Tonight Appalachian State plays Delaware for the Football Championship Subdivision National Championship. Should we, as college football fans, give any thought to these two different events. Well, yes. We have seen in the past that good players, no, great players do come from these programs. I will mention Steve McNair and Jerry Rice as examples. Steve McNair quarterbacked his team to the Super Bowl, and has an outstanding NFL career with the Titans and Ravens. Jerry Rice may go down as one of the greatest Wide Receivers in NFL history.
There are reasons that these kids never played at the Bowl Championship Subdivision level. All have their own unique reasons. Armanti Edwards, the Appalachian State superstar, was basically a late bloomer. He started playing QB during his junior year in High School and was barely noticed by the time he finished. A couple of Bowl Championship Subdivision teams offered him scholarships, but to play something other than QB. Now, he may be, arguably, the best dual threat QB in all of college football. You do remember Edwards don't you? He ripped Michigan on September 1 in Appy State's huge road upset of the Wolverines. He may get sniffs at the Heisman next year.
As a kid I remember watching Arkansas State rule the Southland Conference in the 80's. They went to the Division I AA playoffs, it seemed like, every year. They advance in most of those years eventually reaching the championship game. They lost to the very dominant Georgia Southern team. Georgia Southern's then Offensive Coordinator is now the new head coach at Georgia Tech. He will bring his Hamm Bone, as they named it after QB Tracy Hamm, to Tech.
Every year, there is a great NFL prospect that comes out of the small schools. So, you see, you don't have to be a starter at a Bowl Championship Subdivision school to play in the NFL.
Another example of that is Tony Romo. When Romo came to the Cowboys, I hadn't heard of him. But he made the team and continued to get better. Romo was an Undrafted Free Agent from Eastern Illinois, a Football Championship Subdivision school. He set records at EIU, but few people noticed. He got his chance for the Cowboys, and now he is considered one of the top QB's in the league.
My friend Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has written a book about Tony. It's called America's Next Quarterback. You can visit the website to order a copy of the book. If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you can probably pick up a copy at your local Borders Bookstore.
There are reasons that these kids never played at the Bowl Championship Subdivision level. All have their own unique reasons. Armanti Edwards, the Appalachian State superstar, was basically a late bloomer. He started playing QB during his junior year in High School and was barely noticed by the time he finished. A couple of Bowl Championship Subdivision teams offered him scholarships, but to play something other than QB. Now, he may be, arguably, the best dual threat QB in all of college football. You do remember Edwards don't you? He ripped Michigan on September 1 in Appy State's huge road upset of the Wolverines. He may get sniffs at the Heisman next year.
As a kid I remember watching Arkansas State rule the Southland Conference in the 80's. They went to the Division I AA playoffs, it seemed like, every year. They advance in most of those years eventually reaching the championship game. They lost to the very dominant Georgia Southern team. Georgia Southern's then Offensive Coordinator is now the new head coach at Georgia Tech. He will bring his Hamm Bone, as they named it after QB Tracy Hamm, to Tech.
Every year, there is a great NFL prospect that comes out of the small schools. So, you see, you don't have to be a starter at a Bowl Championship Subdivision school to play in the NFL.
Another example of that is Tony Romo. When Romo came to the Cowboys, I hadn't heard of him. But he made the team and continued to get better. Romo was an Undrafted Free Agent from Eastern Illinois, a Football Championship Subdivision school. He set records at EIU, but few people noticed. He got his chance for the Cowboys, and now he is considered one of the top QB's in the league.
My friend Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has written a book about Tony. It's called America's Next Quarterback. You can visit the website to order a copy of the book. If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you can probably pick up a copy at your local Borders Bookstore.
Labels: For What It's Worth
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