USD Football 1996

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Pro scouts were not so quick to figure out that West Chester's Lee Woodall was a linebacker worthy of the NFL. been even more tightly tied by the rules concerning the number of paid campus visits recruits may make. "You'll see better players going to small schools, because they're offered a full ride to a Division II school, and that might be their best scholarship offer," said Kenny Zuckerman, director of foot– ball operations at ProTect Management Corporation. "This is due to the limit in visits, as well as scholarships . They might not even get offered visits to the major schools." They might not be accepted either, thanks to tougher admission standards: at least a 2.0 GPA with a 900 on the SAT or 21 on the ACT; or a 2.5 GPA with a 700 SAT or a 17 ACT. "I think the smaller schools are a little more lenient in accepting a play– er who might be borderline," Zuckerman said. "Say he's a 2.0, and a Division I school figures he 's a Prop 48, so he can't play his first year. He might be able to go to a Division II school or Division III and play his first year. " But the major schools aren't the only ones to bemoan the more stringent aca– demic rules. "In I-AA, we have the same criteria in NCAA admissions requirements and certification requirements [as Division

leges," Jackson

said.

Many players still yearn to be part of the black- school tradition, and those col- leges have sent a who's who of talent into the NFL over the years, including

Jamain Stephens was plucked by the Steelers in the first round of the '96 draft

Payton and Buck Buchanan (Grambling), two of the 10 players recently selected as the College Football Hall of Fame's inau– gural class from NCAA Division I-AA, II, III and NAIA schools. For other athletes, the decision may come down to a desire to stay near home or to attend a smaller school where they won't be lost in the crowd. The opportunity to play immediately can also be enticing. But sometimes , it's not that simple. Before 1973, there was no limit on the number of prospects a college foot– ball program could sign each year. But 1l NCAA rules now permit teams to sign 0 '!l just 25 players a year, with 85 on schol- 8 arship at one time (down from 95 in 1991 ~ and 105 in '76). Recruiters' hands have z 11 g For quarterback Perry Klein, a transfer ;:

I

,; from Division I-A California to obscure 6 .__________..._..___.. z C.W. Post ended up paying dividends.