Where Have You Been?

  This is an honest and important question that needs to be answered. I just do not have an honest and important answer to give you. My life, as many others at this time of the year, have been consumed by professional and college football. The NFC and AFC champs were decided, yesterday. What is more important than that is the drama of the college football world. College football, by a long shot, is the most exciting sporting event in the world. Not just the games, the recruiting of high school players to play at the college level has more intrigue than any other sport alive. Several college recruiters will often offer the moon if the student will sign a letter of intent to play at that certain school. This 'letter' is not binding and the student will, and often does, change their mind. There are certain rules that must be followed in recruiting a player to play at a certain school. Rules, however, are stretched to the limit and are sometimes violated in order to get that 'signature of intent'. Coaches will tread that fine line in what is legal and what is downright cheating. That is because one player could have such an impact on a school's chance to become great versus good. Take Cam Newton, who played for Auburn last year, without that one player I would feel comfortable in saying that Auburn would have not won the national championship last year for Auburn. In case you have been in a coma the past year, we are talking about college football.
  For those of you who do not know, collegiate sports, especially football is a multi-million dollar business. In less than a couple of weeks we will have national signing day for all of those high school student athletes who hope to make a living in the Professional Football League but first they have to find the right college that will give them the best chance to make it to that next level. Coaches all over the country are evaluating players that will give them the best chance to increase their pay scale and reach their goal of becoming national champions of college football. It is, and has always been, "What can you do for me." The reverse is true after the player graduate, or leaves early for the NFL, The player is asked by the pro team, "What can you do for me? Let's not kid ourselves this is about money. The one thing a high school kid needs is a college coach with experience in the dealings on the NFL. I will say this, I am an Alabama Crimson Tide booster and I believe that we have one, if not the best, college coaches around. We are setting this program up to be one of the most elite programs in the nation. It is great to be a Bama fan, right now. National  championships are possible for the next several years. I will close by saying that I believe we have the coach that is very happy with what he sees and is making plans for the University of Alabama to be a program that will be in the hunt for national championships for years to come. RTR