The Pros
There is no doubt that good things come from the system in place for young football players. The leap of game intelligence from high school to professional is considerably large. Going through college play for a few years is designed to prepare you for that level of play. Not only that, but college football “ensures young athletes earn an education and time for their bodies to mature before turning professional.” (Crawford) A great young recruit can earn themselves an athletic scholarship which covers the cost of raging college tuition costs. This provides them with the ability to not worry about potential student loan debts while still earning an education. The leap in physical performance is also very large from high school to the pros, and college-level football provides a bridge in that gap for athletes as well.
The Cons
Even though young athletes’ bodies can mature during their college years, they can just as easily be seriously injured. Former NFL player, Arian Foster, states that “3 or 4 of [his] surgeries came from college” (Foster, 36:57) Everyone at the college level is competing to get to the same place, which causes disregard for others in their attempt to impress recruiters. There is also an issue with the educational side of things. Like anything, there are varying levels when it comes to learning, comprehending, and being passionate about schoolwork. Most college football players go along with what their advisor says so that they are allowed to play, not necessarily all courses that they would prefer to take. A football player’s schedule includes weight-lifting, practices, and meetings as well as 2 to 3 classes per day. To add to that, they are just as worried about maintaining a mandatory minimum GPA of around 2.3 as they are about performing well in the games. This is quite a bit of stress on a young adult’s mind in my experience.
Below is a collection of clips from Joe Rogan’s podcast interviewing former NFL player Arian Foster.