Truth & Rumors > NCAAF

How Stanford landed top WR

Views
1563
Comments
0

Henry County's Jamal Patterson, who was one of the nation's most-heavily recruited wide receivers with around 50 offers, made the stunning decision to commit to Stanford on Monday night. Patterson picked the Cardinal over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, and Oregon, among others. How did Stanford lure Patterson away from the surrounding SEC and ACC schools? "It felt like a family atmosphere, and you can't beat the academics," Patterson said. "You can only play football for so long, academics are for the long run in life. All the other programs are good, too, but it just came down to which school I felt like was the best fit for me. Stanford is where I want to be."

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Jim Harbaugh, AP Jim Harbaugh, AP
August 26, 2008  07:49 AM ET

A good move . Not only are they one of the top academic schools in the country, they pass the ball. A perfect fit. If his stated reason for going there is true, then good for him.

August 26, 2008  08:18 AM ET

"You can only play football for so long, academics are for the long run in life. "

Last time I checked, the premier WR,s you know the ones that go to Florida, Michigan, LSU, Clemson, etc. make enough money in their first year or two to live decent and happy lives, making the big schools the smarter choice...

So I interpret this as: I can't really hack it at a premier football school.

August 26, 2008  08:24 AM ET

Can't blame the guy. Top academics, beautiful campus, great weather, rich babes. What's not too like?

August 26, 2008  08:25 AM ET

why go get creamed by SEC defenses when I can put up big numbers in the Pac-10

August 26, 2008  08:46 AM ET

harbaugh laughin his **** off

August 26, 2008  08:47 AM ET

biminator.. look at the statistics.. overwhelming odds are that he'll never play a down of NFL football.

August 26, 2008  09:06 AM ET

How Standford landed top WR

Is this a University near Stanford? I will gladly be FN's spell checker for the small fee of $100 million dollars

August 26, 2008  09:08 AM ET

I am going to ignore the mispelling in the headline and comment on Jamal:

This kid seems to value his education more than winning. Harbaugh is landing some solid recruits but he's not going to go far in the Pac 10 as long as USC is around.

August 26, 2008  09:22 AM ET

biminator.. look at the statistics.. overwhelming odds are that he'll never play a down of NFL football.

bigdog1002 | 08/26/08, 08:47 AM

Give me the odds, I still bet the expected salary (considering the odds) is still higher than a run of the mill undergrad.

A receiver good enough to excel at a program like LSU probably has 10-20% chance of making it into the NFL, and even if you are only making a mil a year, 10% * 1,000,000 still leads an expected salary of 100,000...

Of course the odds overall of making it into the NFL if you don't go to a top program like that are much smaller, so of course it makes sense to get an education. I am not faulting him for that. All I am saying is that if you are really one of the country's best wide receivers, I think you aim a bit higher than an undergraduate degree in psych.

August 26, 2008  09:28 AM ET

What the hell is Standford?

August 26, 2008  09:39 AM ET

biminator...Stanford beat USC last year. To say they are not a premiere football school is not true. They play in one of the top conferences in the nation every year. It did not hurt Elway to go there. And a lot of others....I applaud the kid. He must have something going for him tohave so many big name schools after him....

August 26, 2008  09:40 AM ET

I just looked at his Rivals profile and the kid has a 4.56 GPA and a 26 on his ACT. I am a HUGE SEC fan but I think the kid made the right choice. If you are willing to admit it SEC fans, we sit around during the off season hoping the majority of our skill players can qualify academically to play. They are posting 16's on the ACT and going to summer school to improve their GPA's. This kid has his head screwed on straight. Go to Stanford, get an education so if you you happen to blow out a knee or something drastic happens you have that to fall back on.

August 26, 2008  09:49 AM ET

Yeah, he's an intelligent kid. So I guess this was the right move for him. He can go to Stanford study engineering or something.

August 26, 2008  09:50 AM ET

It did not hurt James Lofton or Margerum to play there. For the record:
The following Stanford players are currently playing in the NFL:[5]

* Jon Alston - Oakland Raiders
* Oshiomogho Atogwe - St. Louis Rams
* Greg Camarillo - San Diego Chargers
* Kirk Chambers - Buffalo Bills
* Chris Draft - St. Louis Rams
* Trent Edwards - Buffalo Bills
* Kwame Harris - Oakland Raiders
* Brandon Harrison - Houston Texans
* Eric Heitmann - San Francisco 49ers
* Julian Jenkins - Denver Broncos
* Teyo Johnson - Buffalo Bills
* John Lynch - Denver Broncos
* Michael Okwo - Chicago Bears
* Brett Pierce - Denver Broncos
* T.J. Rushing - Indianapolis Colts
* Alex Smith - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
* Donnie Spragan - Miami Dolphins
* Will Svitek - Kansas City Chiefs
* Leigh Torrence - Washington Redskins
* Troy Walters - Detroit Lions
* Tank Williams - New England Patriots
* Stanley Wilson - Detroit Lions
* Amon Gordon - Baltimore Ravens
Not too bad. So give me the list of those other schools that are significantly better at sending, and keeping, alumni in the pros.

August 26, 2008  10:10 AM ET

What? A top recruit picks a school bases on post-football possibilities? No not today, that just doesn't happen. All I can say is good job!

August 26, 2008  10:19 AM ET

It doesn't matter where you play your college ball at. As long as you put up numbers you will go to the next level. Tell me again what was the big school Jerry Rice went to... The kid is smart and made the right choice. What is his major?

August 26, 2008  10:25 AM ET

Look at some of the other top players in the league and look where they attended college. Where did Randy Moss attend college??? Power house Marshall... Terrell Owens???? Chattanooga... So that just shows it doesn't matter where you play its how you play and perform... I hope this kid turns out on top for making a smart decision!!

August 26, 2008  10:36 AM ET

Dont get me wrong, I love the kid for making this decision, I think Stanford is on its way up with Jimmy. But its foolish to think that going to smaller schools increases your chances of playing in the nfl... Sure, you can find the exceptions, name me some of TO's Moss's or Rice's teammates... you probably can't without research...

My point is simply that its a good decision, but if he wanted to better his odds at playing in the NFL he would go to nfl prep school, nothing more nothing less.

50yearfan, any school that lost to last years Notre Dame, is not a premier school... Premier schools take advantage of other premier schools when they are down. I agree they are on their way though...

August 26, 2008  10:39 AM ET

And the same point that everyone keeps making about football players making in non-football powerhouses holds true in academics. I went to a no name DIII school before grad school at UM, and I was not impressed by my classmates from the MIT's, Cornells, etc. You don't have to go to Stanford to get a decent education.

 
August 26, 2008  10:54 AM ET

biminator Look at the top 5 wide recievers in the league and tell me what college they went to. They weren't your so called NFL prep schools.

Comment

Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.


Stub Hub

The 2009 schedule has been released. Search for tickets!

Truth & Rumors

MOST POPULAR

  1. 1
    Dr. Andrews: Favre wants to be a Viking
    Views
    6420
    Comments
    1142
  2. 2
    Cutler puts off endorsements
    Views
    24533
    Comments
    204
  3. 3
    Lakers interested in Knick
    Views
    68987
    Comments
    88
  4. 4
    Will Bradley make U.S. team moves?
    Views
    4874
    Comments
    79
  5. 5
    Red Sox trade hinges on Lowell
    Views
    15365
    Comments
    65

Most Active Users

Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns

  1. 1
    Porkins: NOT BILLY MAYES!!
  2. 2
    RobertMenn: Alves Rd3 TKO
  3. 3
    Perfectpats
  4. 4
    Sassafras
  5. 5
    Oso New Jack City

Message Boards

  1. NFL > Tennessee Titans

    Steve "The Air" McNair
    Views
    425
    Replies
    15
  2. NFL > Chicago Bears

    genaral
    Views
    131
    Replies
    8
  3. Tennis > General Tennis

    2004 Federer feature: Can…
    Views
    17
    Replies
    1

Blogs