perdurabo
2nd String
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http://www.lohud.com/story/sports/h...ll-skills-love-shot-putting-ability/16367363/
They crossed through his living room as if it were the sideline at the Rose Bowl. Penn State. Tennessee. LSU. South Carolina. For someone like Eric Favors, those schools, their colors, are worth a few daydreams, imagining himself wearing their storied colors on Saturday afternoons in the fall.
The fact that those schools courted him, chased him, would've fulfilled the childhood dream of a younger Favors, who wanted nothing more than to play big-time college football. Sure enough, the North Rockland senior has matured into the best player in the county and, according to longtime coaches, one of the best defensive linemen to play at the school in 50 years, maybe more.
But at a modest 5-foot-11, Favors' suitors are not the famous coaches he once expected, with their headsets and multimillion-dollar contracts. Instead, they measure improvement in feet and inches, not yards.
Before his junior year, Favors still hoped to play football in college, but his ever-increasing success with the shot put complicated that. He peaked last spring when he set a school and junior state record with a throw of 65-5¼. He finished second at the state meet and third at nationals to Benjamin Bonhurst of Smithtown West. Bonhurst now attends Florida State.
Suddenly, Favors entered the summer as the top-ranked shot-putter in the Class of 2015 and top schools from the SEC, ACC and beyond were coming to his home.
"I didn't think I was going to go to school for shot put. I thought I was going to play football," Favors said. "But it's a good education, good sports. Why wouldn't you go there?"
Favors' decision has also been simplified by his lack of suitors for football — a major bone of contention for his coaches. The 243-pound rock consistently draws an unusual amount of attention from offenses, who routinely double- and triple-team him.
They crossed through his living room as if it were the sideline at the Rose Bowl. Penn State. Tennessee. LSU. South Carolina. For someone like Eric Favors, those schools, their colors, are worth a few daydreams, imagining himself wearing their storied colors on Saturday afternoons in the fall.
The fact that those schools courted him, chased him, would've fulfilled the childhood dream of a younger Favors, who wanted nothing more than to play big-time college football. Sure enough, the North Rockland senior has matured into the best player in the county and, according to longtime coaches, one of the best defensive linemen to play at the school in 50 years, maybe more.
But at a modest 5-foot-11, Favors' suitors are not the famous coaches he once expected, with their headsets and multimillion-dollar contracts. Instead, they measure improvement in feet and inches, not yards.
Before his junior year, Favors still hoped to play football in college, but his ever-increasing success with the shot put complicated that. He peaked last spring when he set a school and junior state record with a throw of 65-5¼. He finished second at the state meet and third at nationals to Benjamin Bonhurst of Smithtown West. Bonhurst now attends Florida State.
Suddenly, Favors entered the summer as the top-ranked shot-putter in the Class of 2015 and top schools from the SEC, ACC and beyond were coming to his home.
"I didn't think I was going to go to school for shot put. I thought I was going to play football," Favors said. "But it's a good education, good sports. Why wouldn't you go there?"
Favors' decision has also been simplified by his lack of suitors for football — a major bone of contention for his coaches. The 243-pound rock consistently draws an unusual amount of attention from offenses, who routinely double- and triple-team him.
