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This is a subject that college football coaches don't talk about in public. And the media doesn't editorialize about it on radio, television or in print. It is too delicate. It has the trappings of racism. It's a "no win" issue, a controversy that people talk about when they don't think anyone else is listening.
It's all about white players who aren't recruited to play wide receiver, running back or cornerback in college. No matter how good they are in high school, no matter how productive, no matter how fast or how big they are, they are rarely if ever recruited by big-time college programs.
"College recruiters talk off the record to me," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. "They talk off the record that if an athlete is white, no matter how great his production, they won't recruit him."
Why? According to Lemming, college recruiters don't think whites have enough burst, a quick-twitch burst that black athletes have at those skill positions, particularly at running back and cornerback.
"When I started to evaluate players in the late 1970s, there were whispers that blacks couldn't play quarterback. No one talked about it publicly at the time, of course. It was an example of reverse prejudice. But now college coaches and pro scouts have changed their minds about that issue," Lemming said.
"But now white kids want to play other positions where they will be recruited because they know then won't get a fair shot at cornerback or running back."
On his annual coast-to-coast trips to evaluate the top 1,500 prospects in the country, Lemming sees hundreds of white tailbacks who are very productive but few get a chance in college. For example, there isn't a white tailback in the Big 10 this season.
Think about it. How many white players can you think of who played wide receiver, tailback or cornerback in college or even the NFL? No one was more successful than Kaneland's Don Beebe, whose 4.29 speed earned him a nine-year career in the NFL and six trips to the Super Bowl.
Others who come to mind are wide receiver Jeff Samardzija of Notre Dame, who chose a career in professional baseball; Buffalo Grove's Tom Zbikowski, who was switched from cornerback to free safety by then Notre Dame coach Ty Willingham; and retired cornerback Jason Seahorn of the New York Giants.
"You rarely see a white tailback in college, not at the big schools," Lemming said. "I can't remember the last time I saw a white tailback at a big-time school with the possible exception of Sam McGuffie, who played at Michigan, then transferred to Rice."
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Is anything "off the record" worth talking about?
There are sociological and psychological questions that may have a bearing on why black athletes excel. This is an issue best left to others. I am caucasian and the question offends me, not because caucasians aren't playing tailback, but because you think the question is worth asking. This response is "off the record"!
I think it is safe to say coaches play the best players at the positions that give the team the best chance to win.
Coaches started to play blacks at QB for this reason.
I do agree that we as a society need to stop telling our children both black and white the things that they can not do and encourage them to be all they can be.
That was a cheap racist shot at Coach Willingham, suggesting he moved Zbikowski to safety because he is white.
WHAT ABOUT BRIAN LEONARD, HE IS PLAYING FOR THE BENGALS, I BELIEVE HE PLAYED AT RUTGERS, ORIGINALLY SIGNED BY THE ST. LOUIS RAMS, HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT COMES TO MIND!
HE MADE A BIG PLAY LAST WEEK FOR THE BENGALS AS WELL!
How about one of - if not THE - best running backs in Illinois high school history: John Dergo.
Thank you TB for writing this. I have known college coaches and scouts for YEARS who have said this.
I always speak about this topic with my good friend from highschool. we both are from western PA which is a "tough" hotbed for high school athletes that eventually play in college. Being white does hurt and its rediculous. We had a white kid at our highschool who rushed over 4500 yards in 2.5 years, avg'd over 10 yards a carry and went NAIA. He ran a 4.5 and played faster on the field. And yes, he had the "black burst". He played in AAA(3rd largest). Then to compare, lets take Jordan Hall, runs a 4.5, smaller, played against way weaker competition in highschool and goes to Ohio St. and probably had 50 D1 offers. You can be black, run a 4.48, have 15 catches or rush for 900 yards, 5'9'' 180 and have 50 D1 offers, hands down. Then you can be white, have 1500 yards, 20 tds, run a 4.5 and you play d2 or d3. sorry, its a race thing. i have too many examples.
Jay I guess you are just easily offended. In the old days white racist would deny that they were prejudice against blacks. Of course sometimes and some places it still occurs. If you were to educate yourself and open up your eyes and ears in the areas of High School and College football then you could possibly learn something. Every year all across the country there are white kids that compete and excel at the skill positions in football. There are numerous instances where college recruiters and or coaches will have a white kid and a black kid with identical stat's and they automatically choose the black kid. Why? Because we have been indoctrinated to believe without exception that blacks are superior. Jay, the fact that you are offended shows your total and complete ignorance or denial of the issue. As a Caucasian you should be offended but for other reasons. I will tell you what offends me. You and people like you who bury their heads in the sand. You like so many others have been sold a false Bill Of Goods. You just automatically believe that everything black is better. Hell, you and most of your "Caucasian" brethren in this country are delirious with black worship. As for me I am white and proud to be white! I enjoy all things white. I am very proud that the best running back (his stat's back it up) in the NCAA this year is the great white Toby Gerhart. It is just too bad that most of the Heisman voters are either blacks or wannabe blacks and they gave the Heisman trophy to Mark Ingram the second best running back in the NCAA!