3 Things High School Football Players Are Doing that Will Get Them Kicked Out of College

By: Chad Wilson – Editor Gridiron Studs Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds

Every February,  there is the joy and jubilation that comes on National Signing Day.  All of the pictures taken,  the smiles on the faces of the parents and family symbolizes dreams being met.  What many fail to realize is that a lot of the smiles turn into frowns and disappointment as a growing number of athletes are being sent back home or end up transferring from the school they originally signed with.

Some of the circumstances when it comes to transferring are out of the student athletes control but many of them are.  Here are three really big things that some high school football players do that get them sent back home from college.

 (1) TAKING THEIR EDUCATION FOR GRANTED

Many high school seniors experience that thing known as senioritis.  Wikipedia describes it as the following:

mainly used in the United States and Canada to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their high school, college, and graduate school careers.

Some are able to turn their academic light back on when they arrive at college but some others are not.  For some,  high school was one big bout of senioritis.  Academic probation and stress is what plagues these athletes at the next level.  Your lack of will to study and learn WILL catch up to you at some point.  If it didn’t catch you in high school,  it will catch you in college when you are ineligible causing you to miss valuable practice and game time.  In college, your back up will often times be as talented or even more talented than you physically.  Go ahead and let him steal some snaps from you if you want to.  You will have some nice helmet less action shots of yourself on the sidelines. Let me see your right click on those.  If you happen to skirt by college without a dedication to your studies,  it’ll catchup with you when you don’t make it to the league or when you do make it to the league and someone smarter than you stiffs you for all of your cash.  Get on academic probation enough in college and your team now has a legitimate reason to release you from your scholarship and to quote the great Jimmy Johnson “they’ll get someone that looks just like you.”

(2) HAVING STICKY FINGERS

In a football locker room,  almost anything is forgivable but being a thief is on the short list of things that are not.  If you have a passion for taking things that don’t belong to you,  your days as a college football player are numbered.  Aside from the unlimited amount of fists you are going to have coming at you,  the plots made against you by your teammates to have you removed will be things Hollywood would die for.  Stealing is a crime against your family and if your family can’t trust you,  they have to get rid of you.  The heat you will feel as a result of your five fingered ways will be so hot,  you will likely volunteer to leave.  Soon you’ll be back home in your teen bedroom that you will likely share with someone else.  The hardest part is that if you are known as a thief,  another school is not going to sign you.  Nothing will break up team chemistry faster than you passion for that felony.  If you’re into theft,  I suggest you find a way out before you land on campus.

(3) SMOKING THAT KUSH

For those who don’t know what Kush is,  it’s your latest slang for marijuana.  The drug has taken on more nicknames over the years than anyone can count.  Countless number of athletes enter their college careers already fully go on an addiction to this plant.  Forget about your political feelings about the drug.  Carrying it and using it is currently a crime and against any school’s policy.  In high school, you had very few consequences for using marijuana.  There were no random drug tests and all you had to do was keep your use away from your often distracted parents and you were good.  Because of these lack of consequences,  you went full go on this habit and now you are addicted.  You don’t think you are but you are. When you are taking out of this world measures to circumvent and beat the random drug tests in college as opposed to just stopping,  guess what,  you’re addicted. Getting caught with marijuana in your system can and will lead to your removal from the school and the university. When that is at stake and you still must engage in the practice, guess what, you’re addicted.  Marijuana has been known to sap your motivation.  It can change the order of your priorities.  Why risk it?  Get your third strike for smoking and you’re back home in that teenage bedroom.  You’ll have all the time in the World to test out all of the theories on the effects of the drug on your ability to secure a bright future.  Good look with your life goals after that.

So there you have it.  Three things you may want to make a point of avoiding NOT in college but right now while you are in high school.  Habits formed are hard to break. Don’t start because it may be too hard to stop.  If you have started,  make every effort now to change the behavior before you get to college or you may see your dreams go right down the drain.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Chad Wilson is a recruiting expert and owner of GridironStuds.com a website devoted to promoting the talents of youth and high school football players. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a high school football coach and father of three kids, two of which are college student athletes and another well on his way. Email: cwilson@gridironstuds.com.

Leave a Reply