Athletes Are Not Always Football Players

Great athletes don’t necessarily make great football players. Tiger Woods wouldn’t necessarily make a great football player, neither would Michael Jordan. So, why does Chuck Amato keep trying to make good athletes great football players?

I don’t think that coaching is the problem at NC State; however, the recruiting is. We have great athletes out there week in and week out. But, they don’t seem to be able to grasp the ideology of football. If they were a track team then Chuck would be the Vince Lombardi of the 4x100. That’s the reason that his seat inside the Murphy Center is starting to heat up.

If Amato is able to survive past this season, then a change in philosophy is needed. While the defensive coordinator at Florida State, Amato was able to recruit great athletes that were also great football players. Those players are still going to FSU, Florida, Southern Cal and Tennessee. And the athletes that aren’t great football players are coming to NC State.

Great or just good football players are able to beat Akron. Decent football teams (Rutgers) beat teams like UNC. Good football teams win the games that they are supposed to. If the Wolfpack is going to become a national power, then beating a team like Florida State shouldn’t be a big deal.

If you want to see good football players, then you need to travel to Winston-Salem, NC. Or you can see them in Raleigh on Oct. 14. At wake Forest they have smart and disciplined players that play with a lot of heart. They may not be world class athletes, but they need to be.

Jim Grobe, the Demon Deacons head coach, has been heavily out recruited by NC State. However, Wake is sitting at 2-0, while NC State sits at 1-1. How can that be? It’s because Jim Grobe is quite possibly the best football coach in the state of North Carolina.

Wake is not headed for national prominence, but Grobe is. He is on a lot of school’s short wish list. And, with most of Wake’s money tied up in basketball and women’s field hockey, it is going to be hard for Wake to hold him if another school came calling.

Amato’s most recent loss at the hands of Akron was embarrassing. And, I don’t want to hear that both teams left everything they had on the field. That’s a lie! Akron gave more than they had and the ‘Pack gave a lot less than they have. If the ‘Pack had left it all on the field, then they would have won easily.

We have plenty of athletes, but not enough heart, discipline or fundamentals. Had there not been a 15-yd celebration penalty with 1:07 left in the game Saturday, then State would have probably won.

If Chuck wants to make another bowl and or save his job, he needs to enroll in Football 101. There he will learn that football players win games and athletes win track meets.

Photos:
1. http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/ncst/sports/m-footbl/auto_action/35023.jpeg
2.http://images.news14charlotte.com/media/2006/2/1/images/0101-wake.jpg
3. http://media.gatewaync.com/wsj/photos/2004/wake/05fb/ncsu/grobe.jpg