What's with all the 2nd gen. players?
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like college football has a lot more 2nd gen. players (son-of SoAndSo, nephew of SoAndSo, etc.) than 10 or 20 years ago. It's almost to the point where every game there are numerous mentions of relationships between the current player and some former NCAA/NFL player.
-Does having a father or other relative who is a former player provide that much additional coaching or motivation to excel?
-Is the talent pool reaching a level where there are a number of approximately equal players, and the easiest way to differentiate between them is to take a "legacy" player?
-Does the relative provide additional access to the coaching staff that a first-timer wouldn't have, thereby allowing the kid a look he may not have received?
-Or am I just nuts, and the numbers aren't much different now than they ever have been?
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:23 PM ^
e) Genetics
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 PM ^
Therefore less of a "dad pool". Then everybody and their mother got teams and so now we see "Barry Sanders Junior"s a lot more.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 PM ^
of genetics, coaching, and opportunities.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:29 PM ^
My theory, (probably wrong) is that there isn't really much of a difference but the generation of kids entering college today is probably about the age where the announcers and fans would remember their parents playing.
General Example: Announcers and some fans may remember Butch Woolfolk playing college football but there probably wasn't enough media attention on college football around the age that Butch's father would have played. (No idea if he did, just using this as an example)
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^
People like Travis Henry spraying his glorious genetic material everywhere he can.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^
Lots of it.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
all of the above. Genetics helps, but so does the "when I grow up I want to be just like daddy" thing kids seem to have when they are younger. Plus the additional coaching and motivation provided by dad's career and the love he has for his alma mater (e.g. Butch/Troy Woolfolk) usually ends up pushing kids to work harder so they can play for their dad's school too.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
Or maybe there were the same amount, but announcers didn't feel the need to tell everyone about it all the time like they seem to now.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
I think it's more the parents knowing what it takes to succeed than genetics. To get to play college ball you need to really be squeezing out every bit of potential you have. An NFL player knows what their kid needs to be doing from one day to the next to develop and stay at the front of the pack through the years.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
are being more selfish in naming their children and thats why you notice it. Be honest, doesn't it seem like you see a lot of ____ ____ Jr. these days.
Where there was once Cal Ripken Jr and Ken Griffey Jr, now there is Tony Gwynn Jr, Eric Young Jr, Gerald Riggs Jr, Ted Ginn Jr, and in the NCAA pipeline we've already got Tim Hardaway Jr, Glenn Rice Jr, Juwan Howard Jr and Barry Sanders Jr. and IIRC we're still a few years away from the prospect of brothers Gary Payton II and Gary Payton Jr entering the realm of the national amateur sports picture.
wtf man? people are unoriginal these days.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:21 PM ^
Don't forget George Foremann and his army of kids named George Foremann.
Seriously, I'm not sure that there's more of them, but I think that all things being equal, kids are likely to get more media attention when they are the child of a former player than ones who are not. Plus, there are thousands of kids being recruited and the kids who are descended from former players stick out more in your memory.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:53 PM ^
Pay for players has skyrocketed over the last 20-30 years. I remember when players use to have real jobs in the off season to supplement their playing salaries.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:10 PM ^
I wish I had a better memory:
I recall someone (I think from the USC/osu game) being mentioned a couple of times with a reference to their godfather (who was an NFL player.) I know the genetics side of being second/third generation but found it humorous that one can now succeed because of their godfather.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:23 PM ^
Donavan Warren was the godson of USC's Mark Carrier. Maybe that's what you're remembering?
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 PM ^
Thanks nikj.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:11 PM ^
about Sal Aunese's kid, who's now a walkon QB at LSU. Sal Aunese was recruited by Les Miles at Colorado. Sal died of cancer at just 20 years old (I think) and was a big inspiration for the Buffalo's 1989 season.
Of course the most interesting part of the whole story is, Sal fathered a child with Head Coach Bill McCartny's daughter.
T.C. McCartny
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:35 PM ^
I remember when this happened it seemed Coach McCartney was going to go off on this kid for getting his daughter pregnant and not planning on marrying her. Of course, instead, he embraced Sal and the grandson. Truly was a great story.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:13 PM ^
TC McCartny is the QB, not the daughter.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:34 PM ^
I think that children of football players are more likely to start playing youth football. Many parents won't let their kids play football (peewee or high school) because of the injury/violence factor. I think this is less likely to be the case where the father had a successful football past.
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
Don't forget that a lot of African-American athletes were frozen out of NCAA ball a couple generations ago - even in the North, where segregation wasn't official, teams didn't have many black players - so the generation that played in the '60s and '70s was often the first.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:36 PM ^
College football has good family values
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:57 PM ^
It doesn't matter because RichRod doesn't support family values