4* OL Riley Norman commits to Michigan State for track, not playing football

Submitted by MichiganMan2424 on

Riley Norman, a 4 star OL out of Cadillac, MI, just committed to Michigan State, but to do shotput, not play football. He was a consensus 4 star recruit, and part of the Rivals Top 250. It had rumored for a while that he was not planning on playing football in college, but had not been confirmed until now. He was considered to be a heavy MSU lean, so him going to MSU is no suprise.

If he ever decided to play football at MSU, he would not be allowed to walk-on and use the track scholarship. The scholarship would be shifted over to football, and count against MSU's 85 scholarship limit.

Edit: http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-R…

http://247sports.com/Player/Riley-Norman-13717

http://michiganstate.scout.com/a.z?s=175&p=8&c=1&nid=5680725

It's Norman, not Normal mods. Thanks for incorrectly editting my OP.

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MichiganMan2424

August 15th, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^

He could play football, but his scholarship would be considered a football one and not track. When there's a two sport athlete, the scholarship is given to the higher grossing sport money wise, which is football over track.

He also quit his HS football team, so I think he's done for good.

Joined: 03/09/2011

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Jasper

August 15th, 2012 at 9:40 PM ^

"When there's a two sport athlete, the scholarship is given to the higher grossing sport money wise, which is football over track."

Not that I doubt you or anything, but where exactly does it say that? I wasn't aware of that rule.

Joined: 12/30/2010

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MichiganMan2424

August 15th, 2012 at 9:58 PM ^

Rules for multi-sport athletes

The NCAA also has rules specifying the sport in which multi-sport athletes are to be counted, with the basic rules being:[18]

  • Anyone who participates in football is counted in that sport, even if he does not receive financial aid from the football program. An exception exists for players at non-scholarship FCS programs who receive aid in another sport.[19]
  • Participants in basketball are counted in that sport, unless they also play football.
  • Participants in men's ice hockey are counted in that sport, unless they also play football or basketball.
  • Participants in both men's swimming and diving and men's water polo are counted in swimming and diving, unless they count in football or basketball.
  • Participants in women's volleyball are counted in that sport unless they also play basketball.
  • All other multi-sport athletes are counted in whichever sport the school chooses

So I actually may have mispoken by saying it goes to the highest grossing sport in all circumstances as the last bullet point says the schools may choose in some instances, but in this and most other instances that's how it works.

Joined: 03/09/2011

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NFG

August 15th, 2012 at 9:10 PM ^

Some people just don't want to live with all the injuries after football, and some people don't want to play for a man with the personality of wet towel. Good luck at shot put.

Joined: 04/24/2012

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Marvin

August 15th, 2012 at 9:15 PM ^

This seems cool to me. I respect kids who like the old classics like discus and shot. If that's your bag, then climb into it right? edit: unless it's fantasy gaming. No one can do that and be right.

Joined: 08/17/2010

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WolvinLA2

August 15th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^

Although Norman had early rankings based on his size, it's hard to tell how good he really is at football. He has very few offers, and didn't go to any camps, but that could have more to do with his indecision than anything else. Considering MSU is the only team to throw a early offer his way, it's probably safe to say he's not a future NFL guy, so I think it's smart to do what he wants.

Joined: 11/13/2009

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spartanfan123

August 15th, 2012 at 9:42 PM ^

Teams don't usually waste their time recruiting and offering a kid who has no interest in them. If Norman was to play football, he was going to do it at MSU. Also he's a quiet kid you never gave interviews, and the kids are the ones that report scholarships, so its possible he just never reported any. 

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Wolverine Devotee

August 15th, 2012 at 10:16 PM ^

Norman.....that name rings a bell. Isn't his brother a former player from a recent team of theirs?

 

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Jinkin Mongol

August 15th, 2012 at 10:26 PM ^

Three time Olympian Reese Hoffa threw 63' 9.5" as a senior in high school.  In London he won a bronze medal to go along with his two world championships.  He is sponsored by Nike, gets to travel the world looking at hot track chicks and probably does OK for himself financially.  His "dream is to compete in a bear suit, being brought onto the track in a cage." which suddenly makes him one of my favorite athletes. 

Riley Norman has a PB of 61'2.5" set as a junior last year.  The kid obviously has talent and with a lot of hard work and what not could make it to an Olympics or two as well.  When I ran in circles for the Maize and Blue it appeared to me that the weight throwers certainly had to work hard but they could have a pretty normal college life, probably much more so than a football player.  Also, I never heard of one getting concussed and a few got a free education.  Good luck to the kid (except when he competes against UofM of course).

 

Joined: 01/28/2011

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Clarence Beeks

August 15th, 2012 at 11:40 PM ^

That number for Hoffa makes it all the more amazing to me that TJ Duckett gave up shot put to play football at MSU. Not necessarily that he played football (obviously, as a first round pick with a decent NFL career, he made the right choice by sticking with football), but rather that he didn't do both at MSU.

Joined: 09/06/2008

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elm

August 15th, 2012 at 11:16 PM ^

There is always the risk of being impaled by a stray javelin, but otherwise, track and field has gotta be healthier. 

More seriously, thanks for the comparison betweenNorman and Hoffa.  Do you (or anyone else) know how much good shot putters tend to improve in a year?  In other words, how likely is it he goes fro, just over 61 to nearly 64 this coming year?

Joined: 05/11/2011

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Clarence Beeks

August 15th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^

It's interesting to me that MSU keeps attracting throwers of this quality. They got Duckett (who obviously chose football over track), Zach Hill (who topped Duckett's 10 year old state record) and now Norman.

Joined: 09/06/2008

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MGoneBlue

August 16th, 2012 at 12:21 AM ^

Here was I expecting jabs at State's inability to reel in linemen for whatever reasons.  Not slamming a high school kid for choosing shot put over football.  

Although I guess it's not the worst for MSU.  Since Dantonio is hiding in the weeds, all the linemen thad didn't commit obviously don't have the needed pad level to see him, right?

Joined: 05/30/2011

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SKIP TO MY BLUE

August 16th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^

Many of us play sports when we are younger for the fun of it and for the love of the game. High School sports become more serious depending on your school or conference. College it becomes a job regardless if you are DI or DIII. I would see all my friends having fun when I had to go to practice and study hall. I wanted to have fun in college and never loved baseball, so I quit the college team. I regret it more now (20 years later), but I still never wanted baseball to be my life. The regret though is more in the contacts you earn by being on the team and being a part of the athletic program. Norman will still get all those things while doing the sport he loves.

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