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Brasky
Till We Can't Be Beat. WON'T. BE. BEAT.
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Texas prospects just like everyone else, believe it or not - ESPN
"The elite high school player may actually require a more significant adjustment to college than the marginal prospect, new Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said."
"Some guys," Sumlin said, "quite frankly, were better than everybody and didn't have that work ethic in high school. Some guys can adapt to it, and for others, it's too much of a culture shock."
Jamal Turner anyone?
"Then, there's the max-out factor, the existence of which is open for debate.
The theory goes like this: A Texas prospect, because of his superior coaching and extensive exposure to a better quality of football, offers less room for growth in college. He's closer to his peak as an athlete than a comparable recruit from elsewhere.
"Numbers don't measure pride. But that same pride drove the people of Pearland to build a striking new stadium at the school four years after Heath came to town and a woman fell through the bleachers in his first season.
The same pride drove Brandon Thompson every day as a 6-foot-4, 215-pound freshman at The Woodlands to work overtime in the weight room.
He signed with Nebraska in 2008 as a heralded offensive lineman. Thompson, a fifth-year senior next fall, hasn't started a college game. Injuries, including a double abdominal-wall hernia that required surgery, derailed his career.
Looking back, Thompson said he pushed himself too hard at a young age, fueled by the knowledge that his team would face the likes of Jamarkus McFarland or Dez Bryant nearly every week.
"At times, it was almost ridiculous," Thompson said. "People care so much about it. I think it's too much. It's that competitive. It helped me in a way, but I think it hurt me, too, because you want to just keep going and going."
No doubt, a delicate balance exists between the perils associated with the passionate Texas culture and its benefits.
"The elite high school player may actually require a more significant adjustment to college than the marginal prospect, new Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said."
"Some guys," Sumlin said, "quite frankly, were better than everybody and didn't have that work ethic in high school. Some guys can adapt to it, and for others, it's too much of a culture shock."
Jamal Turner anyone?
"Then, there's the max-out factor, the existence of which is open for debate.
The theory goes like this: A Texas prospect, because of his superior coaching and extensive exposure to a better quality of football, offers less room for growth in college. He's closer to his peak as an athlete than a comparable recruit from elsewhere.
"Numbers don't measure pride. But that same pride drove the people of Pearland to build a striking new stadium at the school four years after Heath came to town and a woman fell through the bleachers in his first season.
The same pride drove Brandon Thompson every day as a 6-foot-4, 215-pound freshman at The Woodlands to work overtime in the weight room.
He signed with Nebraska in 2008 as a heralded offensive lineman. Thompson, a fifth-year senior next fall, hasn't started a college game. Injuries, including a double abdominal-wall hernia that required surgery, derailed his career.
Looking back, Thompson said he pushed himself too hard at a young age, fueled by the knowledge that his team would face the likes of Jamarkus McFarland or Dez Bryant nearly every week.
"At times, it was almost ridiculous," Thompson said. "People care so much about it. I think it's too much. It's that competitive. It helped me in a way, but I think it hurt me, too, because you want to just keep going and going."
No doubt, a delicate balance exists between the perils associated with the passionate Texas culture and its benefits.
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