Tylermarona
Walk On
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My story coming to Cuse
- Thread starter Tylermarona
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RF2044
Living Legend
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That was awesome -- cool read, thanks for sharing that retrospective.
Tylermarona
Walk On
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I remember I set a notification on my phone for signing day of 2012. I set that notification 3 years ahead of time. I did not sign that day. I did not even sign that year. I felt like I was worthless. I had no interest from schools. Yet, it was all I wanted.
When signing day came and went, it was the worst day of my life. My mom and grandpa tried to console me. They took me to a LA Kings game, with box seats no less. It was not enough. I knew my destiny was Junior College football. Most people think of JC football as either the guys who just want one more shot at glory or the guys who had terrible grades. The latter was somewhat true. But, I was still eligible to play for any D1 school. For me, it was my weight keeping me back.
It is funny to think that someone in this world has to gain weight in order to get a preferable outcome. I went into high school at 6'4 and 168lbs. When I turned sideways you could not see me. I could not bench press more than 100 lbs. I was as thin as thin could be. I put on 68lbs in high school and made it to 238. Many many many players get scholarships at 238. The problem was I did not play a flashy style of football.
My high school had me play a style of football that was very effective but dissimilar to project to college programs. Again it hurt my stock toward D1. I spent many nights emailing coaches instead of doing my homework. I invested my whole life in this journey, and nothing was happening. I could not understand. I felt crazy.
My Senior season I averaged 1.0 Sacks per game. That is almost impossible for a normal player. Not to toot my own horn but I wasn't bad at football by any means.
Here comes JC football now. It was one of the most humbling and disenchanting times of my life. I went to Pasadena City College.
Look there's me at PCC
Still pretty thin.
Anyway, through the toughest time I could ever imagine, I managed to earn a starting spot and I got a lot better that year. It was clear that I was not ready to be a D1 All American yet, but I still thought I should not have to be at a JC.
Signing day of 2013 comes... and passes. Still no schools have offered me a scholarship. At this point I was crying most nights, because I actually thought I was living a lie in my head. I was beating guys for a position on the field that had 50-60 offers. It was really really really hard.
I was sitting in my room one day, and I got this really random facebook friend request from a guy. His profile picture was him in a cap and gown. So I was like what the hell and I accepted it. He then messages me. "Hey Tyler, My name is Eric White and I am with Syracuse Football. We would like to have you visit campus as soon as you can!"
I dropped my spoon in my oatmeal, and I thought ... "Is this it?" Did I make it...? How does this work? Signing day already passed.. I thought I was no good. Then I got a call from a 315 area code number. On the other line was Scott Shafer. "Tyler we are going to offer you a scholarship to play football for us. We did not know you were available. As soon as we did we knew we needed you."
and then
For some it is the toughest day of their lives. For others it is the best. It does not have to be either or. For me it was the worst. I had to wait. Which made it so much sweeter, but playing college football is amazing. Do not let someone say you aren't good enough. Because they cannot open up your chest and see how big your heart is. In whatever you do - make it your goal to push through everything, because one day you will have your own locker with your name on it. In whatever context that applies to you.
When signing day came and went, it was the worst day of my life. My mom and grandpa tried to console me. They took me to a LA Kings game, with box seats no less. It was not enough. I knew my destiny was Junior College football. Most people think of JC football as either the guys who just want one more shot at glory or the guys who had terrible grades. The latter was somewhat true. But, I was still eligible to play for any D1 school. For me, it was my weight keeping me back.
It is funny to think that someone in this world has to gain weight in order to get a preferable outcome. I went into high school at 6'4 and 168lbs. When I turned sideways you could not see me. I could not bench press more than 100 lbs. I was as thin as thin could be. I put on 68lbs in high school and made it to 238. Many many many players get scholarships at 238. The problem was I did not play a flashy style of football.
My high school had me play a style of football that was very effective but dissimilar to project to college programs. Again it hurt my stock toward D1. I spent many nights emailing coaches instead of doing my homework. I invested my whole life in this journey, and nothing was happening. I could not understand. I felt crazy.
My Senior season I averaged 1.0 Sacks per game. That is almost impossible for a normal player. Not to toot my own horn but I wasn't bad at football by any means.
Here comes JC football now. It was one of the most humbling and disenchanting times of my life. I went to Pasadena City College.
Look there's me at PCC
Still pretty thin.
Anyway, through the toughest time I could ever imagine, I managed to earn a starting spot and I got a lot better that year. It was clear that I was not ready to be a D1 All American yet, but I still thought I should not have to be at a JC.
Signing day of 2013 comes... and passes. Still no schools have offered me a scholarship. At this point I was crying most nights, because I actually thought I was living a lie in my head. I was beating guys for a position on the field that had 50-60 offers. It was really really really hard.
I was sitting in my room one day, and I got this really random facebook friend request from a guy. His profile picture was him in a cap and gown. So I was like what the hell and I accepted it. He then messages me. "Hey Tyler, My name is Eric White and I am with Syracuse Football. We would like to have you visit campus as soon as you can!"
I dropped my spoon in my oatmeal, and I thought ... "Is this it?" Did I make it...? How does this work? Signing day already passed.. I thought I was no good. Then I got a call from a 315 area code number. On the other line was Scott Shafer. "Tyler we are going to offer you a scholarship to play football for us. We did not know you were available. As soon as we did we knew we needed you."
and then
For some it is the toughest day of their lives. For others it is the best. It does not have to be either or. For me it was the worst. I had to wait. Which made it so much sweeter, but playing college football is amazing. Do not let someone say you aren't good enough. Because they cannot open up your chest and see how big your heart is. In whatever you do - make it your goal to push through everything, because one day you will have your own locker with your name on it. In whatever context that applies to you.
Tylermarona
Walk On
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Thank you very much !
Very inspiring.
Consigliere
Co 2020 Cali Award Winner, Record Thru 5 Games
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Great perspective and story of perseverance. Thanks, Tyler!
Tylermarona
Walk On
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Great question. I did not figure people would actually want to know about that aspect.
Anyhow, JC football in CA is very popular. It is very competitive as well. Except the program that I played for. We went 1-9 my lone season while playing for them. It was quite the S*** show. My "teammates" were young and immature. They did not share my drive to get recruited or play for a reason. Most of them just had it in their mind as a stop gap between high school and a 4 year college.
the bad part was we had a guy on our team that was an immigrant from russia. He bounced around to multiple JC programs to remain eligible as a green card resident by being in school. Although he ran a black market operation from his Santa Monica apartment. He was not present for 4 out of the 10 games. Because he did not feel like showing up...
We had multiple guys that would get caught gambling in the locker room, and one day got busted by the cops for a high stakes game. Which would take place right next to my locker no mind you. Again I do not have any hard feelings towards these guys. They were of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. It was just clear I needed to get to a place that had like minded people.
I would go to my JC coach's office daily for about an hour, and I would express my desire to get recruited to a D1 school. He had sent hundreds of guys D1. So I had full faith in him. His coaching prowess was over shadowed by guys who just did not care to participate in bettering themselves. Granted we did play against multiple now NFL players. Our team had ... you guessed it, none.
The pros about going to JC were it landed me at Cuse. It also introduced my to my best friend for life now Mike Lasker Jr. I loved my time at cuse. I took 4 visits after being offered my slew of scholarships, Cuse first, UCLA, Miami and Colorado. It was hard to get out of my mind the commitment that Cuse players had toward the school, the program, and life. It just fit so well with me. It tickled my fancy. It was the opposite of what I had dealt with previously. It made me realize how I was being humbled to eventually give back to men that are looking to make that transition now. I currently mentor a few folks that are trying to go through the same process and I love it. It makes me believe that there was a plan all along for me. It just took the long road.
Tylermarona
Walk On
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yeah I will be here moving forward. I also will be contributing to Troy Nunes as well.
texascpa
Living Legend
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Wow, now that's a good read. My favorite take-away from this is the mention of the commitment of current Cuse players. I assume it's tough to stay committed when you lose often, so it's good to know the positive mindset of the players.
Tylermarona
Walk On
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hung em up. I ended up having back damage from pitching... of course, only my luck. I live vicariously through my girlfriend who was an all american pitcher in softball
IthacaBarrel
Shaky Potatoes
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Have to ask how overwhelming or maybe not so much... the jump from JC to 1A was??
Thanks Tyler, great stuff, best of luck to you in future endeavors
hungrychuck
All Conference
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Love this account of your experiences.
You're a very good writer.
Please keep it coming, fascinating insight!
You're a very good writer.
Please keep it coming, fascinating insight!
Tylermarona
Walk On
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The jump from JC to D1 was bigger than I could have thought. Many players at the JC level have great talent but are not well equipped to make it to the next level. For instance, my room mate was Mike Lasker and I faced him in JC. He was a good to above average Tackle in D1 ( he should have played guard, he was an NFL ready guard). Most of the guys I faced were very very very soft. The only player that really had toughness was Cameron Artis-Payne NFL RB. So no shock there.
The line play is the biggest difference. I had come to find out. Most JC teams have 1 maybe two D1 players on the O line. D1 obviously has 15 D1 o linemen. I was going to be the 2nd Left Defensive end come the end of camp. Made my way up from 3rd LE. I had the fight. I did not think that it would be that hard but it was.
The hardest part was going through the rigors of being compared to current NFL players at camp. Coach Bollough compared me to many NFL Ends. I did not believe him until he showed me tape (from his time at the browns). He wanted me to be an NFL polished guy the moment I stepped on campus. That was not the case. Ultimately the emotion and let down of your coaches is the toughest part.. or at least for me it was.
Tylermarona
Walk On
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Thank you!
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