For Jerome Smith and many others, a hard but realistic result

[Van111]

I am not a fan of kids opting out of school for the NFL Draft, but it is a reality, much more so in BB than FB which at least has an age requirement, but these kids in some cases, like Jerome, are just getting bad advice. Yes I get it, these kids in some cases do well by doing so. The #1 pick was an example this year. But out of 102 kids that left for the promise of an NFL carreer, just 39 of 102 were drafted in the first 2 days, coincidentally the same number that went undrafted, yes 39. These agents are like sharks waiting for anyone to stray, and don't try to tell me that these kids haven't directly or indirectly gotten the scope from an agent prior to making that call, it is happening. All to often, it doesn't work out. Jerome should be suiting up for the Orange this year and graduating, even possibly getting some grad course in instead of now being on the outside of evreything looking in. Where is that agent now, think he is returning this young mans calls? Yes, staying all through college doesn't guarantee you an NFL spot, ask Macky about that, but one thing you will have is a degree. So, young men, if you are thinking of bugging out early for the dream, in my book you had better be a solid day 1 & 2 draft pick (you might slip to day 3 and thats ok), otherwise stay in school.

 

[City of Cuse]

I am not a fan of kids opting out of school for the NFL Draft, but it is a reality, much more so in BB than FB which at least has an age requirement, but these kids in some cases, like Jerome, are just getting bad advice. Yes I get it, these kids in some cases do well by doing so. The #1 pick was an example this year. But out of 102 kids that left for the promise of an NFL carreer, just 39 of 102 were drafted in the first 2 days, coincidentally the same number that went undrafted, yes 39. These agents are like sharks waiting for anyone to stray, and don't try to tell me that these kids haven't directly or indirectly gotten the scope from an agent prior to making that call, it is happening. All to often, it doesn't work out. Jerome should be suiting up for the Orange this year and graduating, even possibly getting some grad course in instead of now being on the outside of evreything looking in. Where is that agent now, think he is returning this young mans calls? Yes, staying all through college doesn't guarantee you an NFL spot, ask Macky about that, but one thing you will have is a degree. So, young men, if you are thinking of bugging out early for the dream, in my book you had better be a solid day 1 & 2 draft pick (you might slip to day 3 and thats ok), otherwise stay in school.

Didn't Jerome graduate?

 

[44PRIDE]

He did graduate but he had a year of eligibilty left. And the thought was that he'd see decreased playing time in 2014. This is what drove his decision to leave with eligibility left...

 

[irishredhomebrew]

To add to that, if he had his degree, then he made the right choice. The shelf-life of RBs is pretty short.

 

[sufandu]

I am not a fan of kids opting out of school for the NFL Draft, but it is a reality, much more so in BB than FB which at least has an age requirement, but these kids in some cases, like Jerome, are just getting bad advice. Yes I get it, these kids in some cases do well by doing so. The #1 pick was an example this year. But out of 102 kids that left for the promise of an NFL carreer, just 39 of 102 were drafted in the first 2 days, coincidentally the same number that went undrafted, yes 39. These agents are like sharks waiting for anyone to stray, and don't try to tell me that these kids haven't directly or indirectly gotten the scope from an agent prior to making that call, it is happening. All to often, it doesn't work out. Jerome should be suiting up for the Orange this year and graduating, even possibly getting some grad course in instead of now being on the outside of evreything looking in. Where is that agent now, think he is returning this young mans calls? Yes, staying all through college doesn't guarantee you an NFL spot, ask Macky about that, but one thing you will have is a degree. So, young men, if you are thinking of bugging out early for the dream, in my book you had better be a solid day 1 & 2 draft pick (you might slip to day 3 and thats ok), otherwise stay in school.

Jerome Smith had his degree and most felt his draft stock had peaked, so there was no reason for him to return. Some of these kids may be getting bad advice (maybe some just don't like school), but that wasn't the case with Jerome Smith.

 

[SBro44]

All good points... but other than RB's (shelf life issue)

Why not get a masters degree?

 

[sufandu]

All good points... but other than RB's (shelf life issue)

Why not get a masters degree?

Maybe SU doesn't offer the program he wanted. Maybe he's ready to be done with school. Maybe he can get a good job with a bachelors. I don't know, but he was ready to move on and he did it with a degree in hand. I'm not sure why anyone would fault him for it.

 

[JackBauer44]

Jerome got camera time on Hard Knocks last night when they started doing their cuts. It actually put a pit in my stomach. Still wish him the best. Loved the person/back he became while at SU.

 

[Van111]

He did graduate but he had a year of eligibilty left. And the thought was that he'd see decreased playing time in 2014. This is what drove his decision to leave with eligibility left...

Would have been nice to see him play one more year, and if he did graduate, kudos to the young man, but he could have had a graduate degree or close to it, and maybe a better year to hang his hat on as last year was not his best performance. Just saying, coulda, woulda, shoulda...we all have done it.

 

[sufandu]

Would have been nice to see him play one more year, and if he did graduate, kudos to the young man, but he could have had a graduate degree or close to it, and maybe a better year to hang his hat on as last year was not his best performance. Just saying, coulda, woulda, shoulda...we all have done it.

But what if he had even less playing time. Then he spends a year frustrated that his best year was two seasons ago. The coulda, woulda, shouldas can go both ways. I really think he made the right decision. He was always gonna be a long shot to play football in the NFL. Now he can get his post football career started unless he decides to play at a lower level, in which case he can start getting paid to play.

 

[Scooch]

Let's be honest though, most people really don't care what's "best" for the kid, whether it's football or hoops.

They want a productive player to stay with their favorite program.

 

[SBro44]

Maybe SU doesn't offer the program he wanted. Maybe he's ready to be done with school. Maybe he can get a good job with a bachelors. I don't know, but he was ready to move on and he did it with a degree in hand. I'm not sure why anyone would fault him for it.

I'm not faulting him for anything. Every situation is different.

For me personally... School was a lot more fun than working is... and sure maybe he can get a good job with a bachelors, but maybe he can get a better job with a masters... In 30 years when football is long in the rear view mirror, you would still have that masters and the added value of it. I don't think the NFL was ever a realistic option for him (very good back, but didn't have NFL speed), which to me is all the more reason to use every advantage of the scholarship.

 

[sufandu]

I'm not faulting him for anything. Every situation is different.

For me personally... School was a lot more fun than working is... and sure maybe he can get a good job with a bachelors, but maybe he can get a better job with a masters... In 30 years when football is long in the rear view mirror, you would still have that masters and the added value of it. I don't think the NFL was ever a realistic option for him (very good back, but didn't have NFL speed), which to me is all the more reason to use every advantage of the scholarship.

Exactly, for you school was more fun. For me, I hated it. The masters -vs- bachelors thing is career dependent. If he was ready to be done with school, he may not have done well anyway. Then he wouldn't have been taking advantage of anything. He would have been delaying his future.

 

[Van111]

Exactly, for you school was more fun. For me, I hated it. The masters -vs- bachelors thing is career dependent. If he was ready to be done with school, he may not have done well anyway. Then he wouldn't have been taking advantage of anything. He would have been delaying his future.

true, but the post isn't really centered on Jerome, I was referring to a lot of kids that leave before they get a degree. I liked school, and hated it at the same time, so know what you mean. It is individually based, but still, many bolt for the promise the NFL brings, only to find themselves without a home.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

All good points... but other than RB's (shelf life issue)

Why not get a masters degree?

He could always get on staff at a university as a Graduate Assistant and pursue his Masters degree that way.

He took a shot at the NFL and it didn't work out. At least he can say he got a shot. Jerome Smith is a class act and there's no doubt in my mind that he will be a success in life, with or without football.

 

[sufandu]

true, but the post isn't really centered on Jerome, I was referring to a lot of kids that leave before they get a degree. I liked school, and hated it at the same time, so know what you mean. It is individually based, but still, many bolt for the promise the NFL brings, only to find themselves without a home.

It's certainly true that some don't take advantage of their opportunity to get an education. I don't think so many kids leave early in football that it's a concern. Out of 125ish BCS programs, less than one team's full allotment worth went drafted on the third day or undrafted. If you compare that to the total number of players or the number of non-athlete dropouts, I don't think that's an alarming number. I would like to know how many of those kids were like JS where they would've been 5th year players that already had degrees, some of which may have been pushed out to open up scholarships, or were going to be ineligible for their last year. If you take those two groups out, it seems the number of guys leaving on bad advice would be smaller. I think it's a much bigger problem on the basketball side.

 

[xc84]

My hunch was always that he was not encouraged to stay due to the breadth of RBs they have.

 

[SU2NASA]

Let's be honest though, most people really don't care what's "best" for the kid, whether it's football or hoops.

They want a productive player to stay with their favorite program.

Yep. I've never cared about graduation rates - these kids aren't at SU to become doctors. They're there to represent the school and win football games. Whether they get a degree or not has no bearing on it.

 

[Pyle]

I have a much bigger problem when the BB players do it. When someone like Smith actually gets his degree and decides it's time to move on then hey, everyone lived up to their end of the bargain. When I see guys like Flynn, Greene, Grant, etc leave early and end up in the D league or playing for Brisbane after 2 years it drives me crazy.

 

[CU44SE]

Will always root for Jerome, but the NFL is a passing league and it really doesn't have room for RB's that are not involved in the passing game unless they are all world runners. He is a very good runner, but is not so amazing at running the ball that his passing deficiencies could be ignored. The unfortunate truth was that he was not a very good pass blocker or receiver and had to come off the field on passing downs for syracuse.

 

[jekelish]

Let's be honest though, most people really don't care what's "best" for the kid, whether it's football or hoops.

They want a productive player to stay with their favorite program.

I hate to admit it, but my first thought reading through this thread was, "Well, we'll be fine at running back anyway so we don't REALLY need him."

So in other words, I absolutely agree with you.

Don't get me wrong - I hope these kids do very well. I wanted to see Jerome make it with the Falcons, and I hope he gets a chance with another team soon. But the fact is that, in most cases, these are kids who play for our favorite teams. If they didn't, we'd pretty much never care about what happens with them. It's the cold hard fact of sports fandom. Once a player stops wearing your team's jersey, you tend to put him out of your mind in most cases.

 

[Scooch]

I have a much bigger problem when the BB players do it. When someone like Smith actually gets his degree and decides it's time to move on then hey, everyone lived up to their end of the bargain. When I see guys like Flynn, Greene, Grant, etc leave early and end up in the D league or playing for Brisbane after 2 years it drives me crazy.

Curious as to why it "drives you crazy"? What do they owe you?

 

[Scooch]

I hate to admit it, but my first thought reading through this thread was, "Well, we'll be fine at running back anyway so we don't REALLY need him."

So in other words, I absolutely agree with you.

Don't get me wrong - I hope these kids do very well. I wanted to see Jerome make it with the Falcons, and I hope he gets a chance with another team soon. But the fact is that, in most cases, these are kids who play for our favorite teams. If they didn't, we'd pretty much never care about what happens with them. It's the cold hard fact of sports fandom. Once a player stops wearing your team's jersey, you tend to put him out of your mind in most cases.

I also just hate the insincere, patronizing stuff people spew about education and graduating and all that.

Why on Earth would someone care if Donte Greene gets his degree? I do not buy for a second that 99% of people really care about a player's welfare. They care about a good player being on their favorite team.

Next time there's a long thread bemoaning how some random volleyball player left school early for whatever reason I'll take this stuff more seriously.

 

[Eric15]

Let's be honest though, most people really don't care what's "best" for the kid, whether it's football or hoops.

They want a productive player to stay with their favorite program.

Truer words have never been spoken in the history of collegiate sports message boards.

 

[Eric15]

I have a much bigger problem when the BB players do it. When someone like Smith actually gets his degree and decides it's time to move on then hey, everyone lived up to their end of the bargain. When I see guys like Flynn, Greene, Grant, etc leave early and end up in the D league or playing for Brisbane after 2 years it drives me crazy.

Donte left early for his own personal family reasons - his mother died and he had a sibling to provide for. And playing professional basketball 6 months of the year in Australia sounds like a pretty awesome way to spend your 20s to me.