02-07-2017, 10:49 AM
I just realized that I concentrated more on saying who I played with instead of answering the original question..."How did these guys look growing up."
Allen Wenglekowski was a good athlete in high school, but was not All State in anything. I never imagined he would play in the NFL. But he got really big in college.
Van Williams was a physical freak who looked like he should be in the NFL. He was a RB who was outbenching many of his O-linemen. People are a lot bigger and stronger today than they were in the early 80's. Back then benching 8 plates (405) was a big deal. Van would do laps around the gym jumping on one leg switching legs at each corner.
Boyce Green was fast, but I never thought of him as NFL fast. The year I was there he did not get many carries because he was behind Van. He played another year after I was gone. But even then he split carries with another RB at a tiny college.
It shows me that there is something to scouting that many of us do not see. I was surprised when Allan got a scholarship to Pitt. They were a huge power back then. They had just finnishe #2 in the country. But some scout for them was able to see what kind of an athlete Allan would be if he concentrated on football only. And some NFL scout was able to see how good Boyce could be even though he was not putting up huge numbers at a small school.
Clearly not all NFL players dominate from the start. It is definitely a huge myth that they were all so physically blessed that they did not have to work to get into the NFL. Other than just a few ridiculous guys most NFL starters have busted their asses to get there. That is why there is not a lot of correlation between high school recruiting rankings of players (which are generally based on raw athletic ability) and how they turn out in the NFL (based more on work ethic). There are a lot of really great athletes who do not make it to the NFL simply because they don't work hard enough.
Allen Wenglekowski was a good athlete in high school, but was not All State in anything. I never imagined he would play in the NFL. But he got really big in college.
Van Williams was a physical freak who looked like he should be in the NFL. He was a RB who was outbenching many of his O-linemen. People are a lot bigger and stronger today than they were in the early 80's. Back then benching 8 plates (405) was a big deal. Van would do laps around the gym jumping on one leg switching legs at each corner.
Boyce Green was fast, but I never thought of him as NFL fast. The year I was there he did not get many carries because he was behind Van. He played another year after I was gone. But even then he split carries with another RB at a tiny college.
It shows me that there is something to scouting that many of us do not see. I was surprised when Allan got a scholarship to Pitt. They were a huge power back then. They had just finnishe #2 in the country. But some scout for them was able to see what kind of an athlete Allan would be if he concentrated on football only. And some NFL scout was able to see how good Boyce could be even though he was not putting up huge numbers at a small school.
Clearly not all NFL players dominate from the start. It is definitely a huge myth that they were all so physically blessed that they did not have to work to get into the NFL. Other than just a few ridiculous guys most NFL starters have busted their asses to get there. That is why there is not a lot of correlation between high school recruiting rankings of players (which are generally based on raw athletic ability) and how they turn out in the NFL (based more on work ethic). There are a lot of really great athletes who do not make it to the NFL simply because they don't work hard enough.
