Small Time College Football Players, Not As Great As They Might Think

   There is a problem plaguing many small colleges across the country; it’s their football players walking around like they own the school.  It’s not all of them--maybe not even half of them--but small school football players have this problem, and even a few is too many in my opinion.  If they played at a major college program or even a bad Division I program I may not condone them acting like they are all that, but at least I could understand why they think like that.  To play at that level you have to be a damn good football player.  But thinking you’re an impressive athlete because you play Division III football is like a soap opera star thinking they are a good actor because they are on TV.  So I made a list of the top ten reasons why no one should be impressed by these unprized athletes:

10.  Vince Young would be considered a smart football player by comparison.

9.  The talent level is often better at near by high schools.

8.  Weight lifting maxes rival the ones from my high school baseball team.

7.  The reason the second string quarterback dresses is because his GPA is above a 3.0.

6.  It is not an automatic assumption you lost when someone hears you got in a fight with a member of the football team.

5.  The phrases “he’s fast” and “good hands” never seem to apply to the same player.

4.  Being on the team does not require you started in high school.

3.  You're not shocked the white guy down the hall with a beer belly John Daly would be impressed with starts in your school's backfield.

2.  It becomes hard to tell which player is the team’s kicker . . About 25 of them fit the profile.

1.  Students start to naturally assume every fat guy they have in their classes plays football.

            I know what you might be thinking; players like Pierre Garcon played Division III football and now they are in the NFL.  They are just the exception to the rule. Often these small school players never do anything more impressive then scoring a few touchdowns in front of an unpacked stadium that would make a Texas high school student laugh.

            Growing up in South Bend, I have heard about and witnessed my fair share of Notre Dame football players acting like jackasses (i.e., a star wide receiver telling a girl she could hook up with him because it's her birthday).  But let's remember that they play in a stadium that holds over 80,000 fans and are on national television every week.  Not to mention I often watch their players on Sundays once they leave school.  So if they want to walk around with some extra swag in their step it makes sense, even though I do not think anyone should act like they are better than anyone else.  It would be hard not to, though, with tens of thousands of fans screaming your name and cheering for you in a crammed area.  Heck, the only national media coverage your school gets athletically is once a year at the bottom of Sportcenter, showing the score of the tune up game a Division I school just played against you.

            The purpose of this article is to make a public request to all college football players who only show up on rivals.com because they add themselves.  The request is to not act like the big man on campus.  Face it: Your school is too small to handle people acting like douche bags.  So next time you think you’re the shit just remind yourself you're only as good as your school.