Blue-chip Recruits Still Value the WE over the ME.
In order to compete for National Championship, it is vital for college coaches to recruit at a high level. Here lies the problem: how does one continue to convince elite recruits to be a part of their program when they will likely sit behind other blue-chip recruits? Why not go to a different school, start for three years, and move on to the NFL? The answer is simple — football players still value being part of a real team over personal glory.
Usual Suspects
Nick Saban and Alabama have dominated the recruiting landscape over the past decade, finishing in the top five of the 247sports recruiting class rankings since 2008. Year in and out, Saban and his staff are reeling in the country’s premiere prospects. How, you might ask? Because Alabama consistently competes for National Championships. Take the 2017 recruiting class for example — five-star quarterback prospect, Tua Tagovailoa is headed to Alabama, despite the fact that the Tide have seemingly found their quarterback of the future in rising sophomore, Jalen Hurts. Barring any unforseen injuries, Hurts will be the starter at Alabama for the next two to three years. That means Tua Tagovailoa could potentially wait until he is a senior to play in Tuscaloosa. Waiting to play is not an issue for Tagovailoa, because he wants to play for a program that competes for championships.
Urban Meyer and Ohio State have rising senior quarterback J.T. Barrett, who is going into his third season as a starter. However, the Buckeyes have managed to sign a top ten quarterback prospect in the past two recruiting classes (Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell) and they currently hold a commitment from Emory Jones, the nations number one quarterback prospect in the class of 2018. It’s no coincidence that Ohio State has also been in two of the three College Football Playoff’s. Blue-chip recruits such as Haskins and Martell look past the fact that they may have to wait their turn because they want to compete for National Championships.
NFL Aspirations
While these blue-chip recruits are more concerned with the success of their team than personal success, it does not mean that they do not have dreams of playing in the NFL. Waiting to play at a program such as Alabama will not be held against a player going into the NFL draft, mainly because they likely sat behind a current NFL player. Take Kenyan Drake for example, who was never a full time starter at Alabama. Drake had to bide his time behind current NFL players such as Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon. Even as a senior, Drake took a back seat to Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. Despite his lack of starting experience, Drake was selected with the 78th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.
There will be individual players opting to skip out on bowl games in order to prepare for the NFL draft. However, this does not signify a changing of the times. The overwhelming majority of football players still value team success over individual success. As such, it is no surprise that programs like Ohio State, Alabama, and Florida State continue to stock pile four and five-star recruits. These elite high school athletes flock to the same programs because they want to win titles, and they understand that cannot be accomplished alone.
When you are winning, everything else takes care of itself — including making it to the NFL. Winning the National Championship isn’t easy and NFL franchises understand that; which is why they are not afraid to draft a less experienced player from an elite program.
