Top High School athletes, especially in football and boy’s basketball, have to understand how important it is that they use football or basketball – or whatever the sport – as a means to get a quality education, and not let football – or any sport – use them as someone who just does enough to stay eligible through College.
NCSA Speaker Charlie Adams inspires athletes
Whenever I travel to speak on recruiting I always pick up the local paper and inevitably find content that has something to do with recruiting or the impact of being a College student-athlete. Traveling out of DC after speaking at a Combine, I read a Washington Post article on Washington Redskins linebacker Rocky McIntosh. He played College football at the U – the University of Miami. McIntosh took total advantage of being on scholarship and getting the max out of his experience. Here is part of the article by Rick Maese:
McIntosh left Miami with degrees in criminology and English. He was just a few credits short of a third degree in African-American studies.
“I had to get as much as I could out of there because they were going to get as much as they could out of me,” McIntosh said.
In college, he interned for two summers at a prominent Miami law office. On the Wonderlic Personnel Test, an intelligence assessment given each year to NFL prospects, he scored a 29, a number usually reserved for quarterbacks and offensive tackles.
Even after entering the league, he’s kept his nose in the books. McIntosh has completed two sessions of classes at the Wharton business school at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School in an NFL-sponsored program.
Rocky McIntosh - has two degrees
This is a player in his 5th year in the NFL. He continues to use football as a way to set himself up for the next 40 or 50 years of his life. Did you catch his quote about his days at Miami, where he earned two degrees? He said he had to get as much out of there as he could because they were going to get as much out of him! There is a player that ‘gets it.’ While in College he made sure he got quality internships.
Certainly at the D1 level they will own a piece of your hide. That’s what McIntosh meant when he said they were going to get as much out of him. He was fine with that because he was on full scholarship, but he attacked the books just like he did ball carriers. He made sure he wasn’t one of those players that got chewed up and spit out without a quality degree.
A lot is made about College head coaches being responsible for the athletes academic progress, and they’d better make sure their players are sound or they will have eligiblity issues and all kinds of challenges. But players and families have to understand it is up to the player to make sure he or she gets the most out of their educational window. A lot of these coaches are under massive pressure to win, especially at the D1 level, and while they do want their athletes to do well in the classroom they have to produce in the ‘W’ column or it is ‘bye bye.’
I went to the University of Mississippi. I remember sitting in class next to some football players that were there only to do what they needed to do to stay academically eligible. Some thought it didn’t really matter if they graduated because they thought for sure they were going pro and they would make a boatload of money and be set. In reality, they usually weren’t even drafted and became NFL free agents that lasted in “the League” about as long as it takes to drink a cup of coffee. Then they were cast to the streets without a degree. That’s a sickening feeling.
On the same hand, I remember sitting next to football players such as Kent Austin. He worked his tail off in the classroom (4-time SEC All Academic team) and on the field (6184 passing yards in the SEC) as a QB for Ole Miss. He earned the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete award in 1985 and was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate scholarship in 1986. He played pro ball in Canada for a long time, got into coaching and was recently named Head Coach of Cornell University in the Ivy League.
He was busy as he could be as a QB in the rugged SEC, but he made the most of his academic window as well, and he always had time to speak in the community. I remember him coming out on a Sunday night to speak to the youth of the Church I attended in Oxford. One of his good friends was defensive lineman Bryan Kennedy, who earned 3 letters for Ole Miss. He racked up 69 tackles and had 2 fumble recoveries as a senior. I remember always seeing him in class, participating and working hard. Kennedy graduated and got into the music industry. He has written nine hits for country star Garth Brooks, including “Good Ride Cowboy,” “Beaches of Cheyenne” and “American Honky Tonk Bar Association.” Kennedy also opened for Brooks’ tours in the late 1990s.
So, as the recruiting process continues for you, remember people like Rocky McIntosh, Kent Austin and Bryan Kennedy, and make sure you get the most out of your academic window as a College athlete. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it down the road.
To learn how to connect with opportunities to be a student-athlete at the Collegiate level
To bring a NCSA Speaker in to emphasize the message of Academics and Character in the Recruiting process
Charlie Adams
NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network Recruiting Expert
cadams@ncsasports.org
