It has been confirmed that Mike Davenport, a former Highland High School quarterback (and quarterbacked them for 3 years, started as a sophomore), has left the team. Jay Heater reported:
"...Unfortunately, Zamberlin also had to deal with some bad news on Friday as freshman quarterback Mike Davenport, out of Highland High School, decided to quit football. After returning from a two-year mission, Davenport informed Zamberlin that his heart isn’t in it. Davenport’s decision leaves the Bengals dangerously short on quarterback depth."
Really? This is exactly why ISU should never recruit mission kids in any sport, ever. Yes it sounds harsh and it is. I don't care. You see, when the God you pray to every day and night gives you the opportunities to play sports, especially at the advanced levels, it's usually a good idea to take Him up on it. You can find other ways to serve Him, like doing good things for your local community.
ISU, unlike BYU and Utah and Utah State, cannot afford to wait 2 years for players who will end up leaving anyway. We are in a dire situation. We need players and wins now. Like, RIGHT NOW. Time is not a luxury we have. Also, it's damned unfair to hand out scholarships to kids who will be gone for 2 years when there are other willing athletes we can stock the rosters with. It should also be noted that those kids are gone for 2 years. That's 2 entire years of football they miss, and football is much harder to keep up on than in basketball. When you do get back, you're 2 years behind in experience. That's a virtual death sentence to a career. If a mission kid really wants to place his priorities with his life outside of football, he should hang up the cleats after high school and tell coaches and recruiters what he's doing and why so schools don't waste precious time with him and vice versa. We have already lost a promising young runningback (Skylar Morgan) to a mission so we're also down a runningback.
So that's my stance. ISU should never recruit kids who will be going on missions. Nobody is worth waiting two years for.
-Ross
1 comment:
I think there is a definite advantage to recruiting mission kids, but only at certain positions. A lineman, for example.
There needs to be some type of protection for the school who the mission kid initially signed with, though. A kid can be recruited after 1 year, if I'm not mistaken. If a kid signs an actual letter of intent with a school, then leaves for a mission (whether he has played for a year or immediately), he should be committed to play for that school upon completion of the mission or face the loss of one year eligibility. You can't help if a kid just doesn't have the heart to play anymore, but there should be some protection so that he doesn't use his freshman year as a "highlight reel" and then field offers for the next two years.
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