After watching the documentary "The U" this week, about the dominance of the University of Miami over the last 20+ years in college football, I started thinking about the former Hurricanes in the NFL.
It seems to me that the U has produced such a high percentage of really good NFL players that there had to be something behind it. Miami is up there with the schools that are represented most in the NFL, but no other school has the percentage of players that are actually GOOD. From Ray Lewis to Ed Reed to Antrell Rolle to Willis McGahee to Michael Irvin to Jesse Armstead and I could go on, drafting a player from Miami give you the best chance that that player will pan out for your organization.
One of the reasons for this is that Miami recruits almost exclusively from southern Florida, where high school football is king. Thousands of people go to each game. The pressure these kids are playing under from the time they pick up a football is enormous. And while this is the case in many place in the country (Texas, Ohio, Western PA, etc) the difference with the Miami players is that they are in or around major urban areas with major gambling rings and gangs. In "The U" they talk about how they were scared of dropping a pass or missing a tackle in their high school games because there was a good chance that someone who lost money on that game would attack them afterwards. Playing under this kind of intense pressure with those kind of stakes from a young age prepares you better than anything for the pressure of the NFL.
Relatedly, by going to the U with all these hardened, great athletes, they get used to playing with NFL level talent. Players coming from schools were maybe 3, 4, 5 players might be going pro may have a hard transition into the NFL, but on any given Miami team, regardless of how successful that team is, there are probably upwards of 7, 8 or 9 players that are at least talented enough to be pros.
Miami players are bred to perform under pressure which relates directly to NFL success. Every football player drafted in all 7 rounds of the NFL draft has the potential to play in the NFL, and were probably the star of their high school or college team, but Hurricanes already have the seasoning and experience of playing alongside pros and with pro-level pressure. So if you are an NFL GM this April, when all else fails, draft a Cane.
-Andrew Emmer
I agree with Andrew, when watching the NFL playoffs a lot of players came from Miami. Being in a great conference, these players are playing against some of the best teams every conference game. Because of this NFL GM's and Owners are comfortable taking these players, because they know they have been playing against good competition.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was crazy hearing about people betting on high school and even pop warner games. Some of those kids are 12,13 or 14 and they have pressure put on them to perform well. I'm just glad no one put money on my high school's baseball team