Common Thread
February 06, 2008 06:53 AM | General
February 6, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - With the exception of a very few late signees this is the day that college football recruiting comes to an end for the class of 2008. This is the day that colleges proudly publish their list of commitments—a list that will subsequently be analyzed by the masses with the tenacity of an IRS auditor.
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| Tony will gladly take another Aaron Beasley in this year's recruiting class.
WVU Sports Communications |
We are all looking for the next superstar. Which one will it be? Will the prospect carrying four stars next to his name guarantee future success? Uh, no. Does the young man who played at the perennial high school powerhouse guarantee similar success? Again, Nada.
There are two elements that should be used when evaluating any West Virginia recruiting class. The first is history and the second is heart, which will subsequently be referred to as determination.
Let’s deal with history first. There are 26 members of West Virginia’s all-time team from 1990-1999. The best of the best for a period of 10 years and not once during that span did a Mountaineer recruiting class receive national raves. I don’t recall anyone saying on signing day in 1990 that Rich Braham was a sure-fire All-American who would undoubtedly lead WVU to an undefeated season followed by 13 years as a starter in the NFL.
I must have missed the report the day Marc Bulger signed in 1996 that said he would finish as the all-time leader in total offense, passing yards, touchdown passes and NFL Pro Bowler.
When they plucked Mike Compton out of Richlands, Va., in 1989 there was no one shouting that he would leave as a consensus All-American, 12-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl champion.
Did I mention that wiry 185-pound high school receiver named Anthony Becht who ended his days in Morgantown as a 260-pound tight end that just finished his eighth season in the league?
Folks we’re only skimming the surface on a decade full of Mountaineer stars that for the most part did not arrive in Morgantown with recruiting trumpets blaring. I don’t care how many stars this year’s recruits have next to their name, I would be in sheer delight for a group of Aaron Beasleys, Mike Collins’, Shawn Foremans, Steve Grants, Matt Taffonis, Gary Stills, Lovett Purnells, David Saunders, John Thorntons and an Adrian Murrells.
The common thread that most of those players shared was that at some point during the recruiting process they were told they lacked something that prevented them from being the bluest of blue chips. Questioning of their ability ignited the second element needed to determine a recruiting class’ ultimate success or failure: determination.
It may come as a surprise, but receiving a scholarship at a major college for some high school stars is the conclusion of a dream. That’s all they ever wanted and ultimately that’s where it ends. Upon arriving at school they’re content to just be part of the team and go about their business.
The great players have a determination and persistence that literally wills them to success. I don’t know if our 30th president Grover Cleveland was a recruiting guru but he knew all about what it takes to be successful. “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Here, here Mr. President.
It’s that persistence and “Press On” mentality that brought Owen Schmitt to Morgantown, Marc Magro to all-conference status, and Bobby Hathaway to the guy who made a fourth-down tackle for a loss in the Fiesta Bowl.
That’s Mountaineer football plain and simple.
Guys with as much or more heart than physical ability injected with the state’s culture of blue-collar toughness and a never-ending determination and persistence to be the best they possibly can become.
It’s too early to know how many will have the intangibles of greatness in this year’s class, all we can do now is wait and watch and hope for history to repeat itself.
