Back to business

The goal of football players everywhere is to be able to continue playing at the next level, whether moving from junior high to high school or junior varsity to varsity.

High school seniors face the prospect of advancing to the collegiate level, hopeful of receiving a scholarship to play at a major college. For three members of the Permian Panthers, the process is already well under way.

Safety Andrew Amoyaw, defensive end Austin Shaffer and receiver Melvis Pride spent the summer attending camps in an effort to make an impression on college scouts.

“Right now, Texas Tech and Sam Houston State are showing a lot of interest in me,” Pride said. “I’ve been to a few camps. Hopefully, that helps me get some recognition.”

For each, it’s a matter of finding the right fit on a number of levels in addition to football.

“I researched all the colleges I visited before I went,” said Shaffer, who has already been offered a scholarship by UTEP. “I know that they’ve got some stuff I want to study and I like the campuses.

“I’m looking at the way they run their defense. That’s going to be a key. Then there’s the town, the people and the exposure so NFL scouts will maybe one day see me.”

Amoyaw is hoping a strong season will help attract more interest.

“Nobody’s talking to me right now, but I went to a lot of camps this summer just to get my name out there,” he said. “It helped me out a lot, just to get better for my senior year.

“I’m just looking for a college that has a winning tradition and a great environment that I can get used to.”

Permian coach Darren Allman said a number of factors figure into the recruiting process, particularly academics.

“The first thing these recruiters look for when they come in is GPA and test scores,” Allman said. “If those don’t look good, they scratch that name off the list immediately.

They’re looking for the total package and (players) have to have it to get into these schools.

“Requirements are going up, as well. It’s getting more competitive and it’s pretty difficult to get into a school like Texas A&M.”

While players may possess the physical tools to play at the major college level, Allman said there are no guarantees there, either.

The process can result in disappointment for players that don’t get an offer from a big-time program.

“There can be some deceptively high hopes because these colleges spend so much money in mail-outs,” Allman said. “The good players we have who are on recruiting lists sometimes receive 10 letters a day.

“We try to educate these guys that it’s just mail. Just because you’re getting mail from the University of Oklahoma doesn’t mean they’re recruiting you. It just means they’re interested in the information because a player has shown up on their list as a potential college football player. They try to cover all their bases and not miss anybody. Most of the mail they’re sending out goes to people who will never play for them, nor will they offer scholarships to.”

But there are other options for talented athletes who want to play at the college level.

“Most college football players will go play Division II and Division III,” Allman said. “Because of the difficulty of getting a Division I scholarship, the Division II and Division III schools have very good football players.

“If you look at Hardin-Simmons there in Abilene, they play at such a high level and their kids are so big. They look like a Division I team and it’s guys who got passed up for whatever reason.”

There is also the matter of projecting how players will develop at the college level.

“A lot of times, these (Division I programs) give scholarships to guys who maybe aren’t as good right now as some other people,” Allman said. “They do it based on the body frame, the ability and what they think they can do with that kid over the next four or five years.”

Which came first?

Good athletes make for good programs. But good programs help develop good athletes.

So which causes which?

“We have a good team because of Division I athletes,” Pride said.

Amoyaw and Shaffer said individual talent and playing in an established system work hand in hand.

“We’ve got a few very good players, but Permian is a recognized team,” Shaffer said. “You’re name gets out there if you’re doing pretty good.”

Whatever the cause, Amoyaw said, the end result is what counts.

“Either way, it’s going to help us out in the season and make us better,” he said.

Allman said recruiters will find the talent regardless of the size of a high school.

“However, it’s no secret that we get a lot more traffic at a large 5A school like Permian,” he said. “At one time, college coaches liked getting players from Permian because they knew the program those guys had grown up in.

“They knew if they were getting a Permian player, they were getting someone who grew up around serious football. They would be able to step into a big-time college atmosphere and not go through culture shock because they’d already been in big-time football.”

With the Permian program again enjoying success, Allman is hopeful the college pipeline will continue.

“When college recruiters come through here and look at our players,” Allman said, “we want them to feel comfortable that these guys have gone through a great offseason program, been held to a high academic standard and have been taught well in the fundamentals of the game.

“I can tell you college recruiters like coming over here because it is Permian High School and there’s so much tradition and so many great players who have come through here. I think it helps, but we’re not the only place they come. They’re going to cover all their bases.”

While having players go on to play in college reflects on the high school program, Allman said prep coaches can’t be too avid in pushing their players.

“It’s important for us as coaches to be completely honest about our players,” he said. “The kid may be six feet tall and we’re listing him at 6-3, or he may weigh 180 and we’re listing him as 200. If you do that as a coach because you’re trying to push the kid and the college recruiters show up, they’ll see that you’ve stretched it a little bit. You have saturated your information sheet and they don’t know if you’ve stretched it or not.

“We try to be completely honest with them about speed, height, weight and whether or not we think they’re Division I football players. I think that helps to be honest with them.

Hopefully, when they come to our place, they know we’re not going to sugarcoat anything.”

Distractions

One problem all recruits face is to avoid getting too caught up in the process. While colleges may show interest, there’s still everything that goes into a senior year of high school to deal with.

Allman said players have to keep it all in perspective.

“I think that comes from the parents and the (high school) coaches being good communicators with the kids and explaining to them that if you simply go have a good senior year, all that other stuff’s going to work out in the end,” he said. “You certainly don’t want to spend your whole senior year worrying about where you’re going to go to college and look back and have regrets.

“Our guys have done a good job of setting that aside for the time being, focusing on the task at hand and knowing that will come.”

Amoyaw said it’s simply a matter of concentrating on what’s in front of them.

“I’m just focused on the season ahead of us and the task ahead of us,” he said. “I’m getting ready to do what we’re here to do, and that’s win more games and win a state championship.”

Still, Shaffer said, players don’t want to totally ignore what’s going on around them.

“If you’ve got a school seriously talking to you, you’ve got to pay attention to that,” he said. “But you’ve got to pay attention to your senior year and this upcoming season. If we want to win a state championship, we’ve got to have all our energy focused on this season.”

For top recruits, making an early commitment to a college can take some of the pressure off.

“If there’s a positive about the early commitment stuff, which is becoming more prevalent, it would be that, like in Bront Bird’s case, that he knew going into last football season that he had a scholarship,” Allman said. “He didn’t have to worry about it any more. He could just go play his senior year.

“However, there’s some negatives to doing that, too, one being that they won’t get to enjoy the experience of being recruited and going to visit different college campuses. There’s a lot of different ways to look at it.”

And colleges are seeking commitments earlier and earlier.

“What’s made it more complicated now is that schools like the University of Texas or A&M, the Big 12 schools, in competition to keep up with each other, they’re already recruiting sophomores and offering,” Allman said. “(Permian junior offensive lineman) Garrett Porter is an example of that. After his sophomore year, we had schools coming through here that have already offered him scholarships, and he’s two years away from graduating.

“That’s negative of it. It’s a hard thing for a sophomore to have to decide where he’s going to go two years from now. We’ve tried to educate him and his family on the positives and negatives of an early commitment, and ultimately that’ll be their decision.”

Pride said players can sometimes be better off waiting rather than accept the first offer they receive.

“There are going to be colleges wanting you, but you’ve got to stick in there and wait,” he said. “You never know, there might be a big one coming up.”

Whichever route a player takes, said Bird, who is preparing for his freshman season at Texas Tech, it’s important to make the right decision.

“If people are willing to let you go on visits, take them all,” he advised his former teammates. “Kind of get a feel for every program and see the pros and cons of each one.

“You’ll find that place that you feel at home with. When find that and you feel it’s right, then you need to commit to it.”