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It is a subject that is hush-hush among college football coaches. It is the issue about why they don't recruit white athletes to play certain skill positions--running back, cornerback and wide receiver. Even the media often doesn't want to go down that road.
Wheaton North's Mike Trumpy was confronted by the stigma while he was scrutinizing the recruiting process and weighing all of his options before he opted to commit to Northwestern last week.
Trumpy has all the tools. He is a 6-0, 200-pound running back with 4.5 speed. As a junior, herushed for 1,664 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaged seven yards per carry in arguably the most competitive conference in the state and was named to the Sun-Times' 25-member All-Chicago Area team.
He has good bloodlines. His uncle, Bob Trumpy, played tight end at Illinois and Utah and was a two-time All-AFL and two-time Pro Bowl selection during a 10-year NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals.
He also is an outstanding athlete. He is one of the leading hurdlers in the state. He has been timed in 10.7 seconds for 100 meters and 14.28 seconds for the 110-meter high hurdles. Last February, at the Proviso West indoor meet, he was timed in 7.4 seconds in the 55-meter high hurdles to tie a record set by Olympian Greg Foster.
But Trumpy is white.
"In football, when you're talking about skilled players, there is a reverse prejudice that white players have to deal with," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports. "College coaches for the most part don't believe white kids can play tailback or cornerback. Trumpy has done a great job of proving he can play at the highest level."
During his recruiting, Trumpy received only three big-time offers--from Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Stanford.
Several big-time schools, including Illinois, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama, Colorado, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Ohio State, expressed interest. Some invited him to visit the campus, some wanted him to participate in a one-day camp, others requested film. But none of them offered a scholarship.
"It's old-school prejudice," Lemming said. "College coaches don't believe white tailbacks have running instincts to be big-time tailbacks. They don't believe white tailbacks and cornerbacks have natural instinctive moves or loose hips on offense or the ability to turn quickly and backpedal on defense.
"A lot of times over the 30 years I have been evaluating high school players I have mentioned a tailback I like who happens to be white and the college coaches won't even bother to see him. They don't get a chance to play in college. And how many white tailbacks and cornerbacks do you see in the NFL?"
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Comments
Well any kind of discrimination is bad. I am sure Trumpy can be a good running back. It's just like the quarterback position. When an African American kid plays quarterback and is a good runner he is labeled an athlete. Now they have pro style quarterbacks and dual threat quarterbacks as categories. You can guess which color is PRO style and which is DUAL THREAT. So racism still persist in certain postions in sports. Why can't the African American be just a quarterback and get labeled. Sickening.
Posted by: Tim from Evanston | April 28, 2008 02:21 PM
We have a long way to go in this society before racism is eradicated . We must all be honest with our selves and " be the change that we hope to see in this society".When I first read this article I felt anger and now I feel sadness , hurt and compassion. It brought out a deep wound that I have struggled to let go of most of my adult life . I could accurately throw a football 95 yrds in college and was never considered to play quarterback, so I played running back and I had to be twice as good as the white running backs.I remember always leading the sprint line and the white quarterback would step on my heals at the end of the sprints. When I confronted him he told me he would do it again and the white captain walked up pushed me and said" N " get back in line .Needless to say I defended myself and I was labeled a trouble maker.I gave up college football at that point. I loved football with a passion and regret quitting to this day .I guess what I am trying to say is lets us not consider race as a factor ,look at ability , hardwork and desire . I do not want to see any young man denied a chance to succeed at something he works at and when he has the ability. Sports is an avenue, whereas we can learn to be tolerant of one another and work together , grow as individuals and as a society.
Posted by: Anonymous | April 29, 2008 09:24 AM
I'm afraid that there may be some truth behind what you say there may also be just as much which is not true. Many of the school you sites as having an "interest" can be quite selective and usually don't offer scholarships unless someone at least comes to visit and interview. His numbers are good but not necessarily any better than any other back they might recruit.
Posted by: Curley | April 30, 2008 02:09 PM