By now, we all know how impressive the youth football in south Florida has been for decades.
In many ways, it’s the reason that this area is home to more football prospects than anywhere in the country.
It is now common for talented young men to make their way from youth fields in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, and make an impact right away at the varsity level in high school.
We have gone over it plenty during the past few years – especially here in the off season - about the offensive line position in south Florida.
Because of the elite talent that we have in this region of the country, record numbers of college coaches head south to see some of the outstanding prospects that continue to emerge.
While these colleges are checking out some of those impressive prospects, they also get the chance – firsthand – to see that in south Florida, and throughout the state, the offensive line position is starting to be a place to create a pipeline and change the look of teams nationally – just like running backs, receivers and defensive backs have long done.
The greatest thing about the off season in south Florida is there is really no off season.
Sounds confusing, but football has now become a 12 month a year deal, and if you don’t keep up, there is a long line that you will have to stand in to grab the spotlight back.
There was a time when many would criticize colleges for handing out offers away from the football season. There was a thought that actually awarding a scholarship in January, February or March was not something you do, but times have changed.
Play four years of varsity football in prospect rich Miami-Dade County and make a major impact in everyone of those years, you become a legend.
There are not many who have been fortunate to wear a varsity uniform in this area of the country and make an immediate impact without some fanfare.
There was a time when there were no 9th graders who attended high school. 10th-12th were the years where you left your mark – unless it was a private school, and even then, the thought of some 13-14-year-old competing against prospects who were ready to go to college was not even an issue. But times have indeed changed, and if you are good enough to play as an 8th or 9th grader, you do it – and in many cases – do it very well.
The one thing that gives any athlete in south Florida an edge is the early playing time that football prospects continue to receive.
There was a time – a few decades back – where there were no freshmen playing varsity and very few sophomores. It was just something that was etched in stone.
To play as a freshman was simply unheard of – and even the thought of a sophomore getting actual varsity playing time was something that just didn’t happen. But times have changed – and no longer is it unusual for 9th and 10th graders to grab the spotlight.