Steve Christilaw: Choosing a college challenging for some athletes

Choosing a college is one of those big decisions that keep a lot of people up at night, especially for young athletes hoping to take their game to the next level.

Do you choose a school that fits best athletically? Do you choose the best academic school and try to make things work athletically?

I recently met a man who is happy to not have to make any of those compromises. His son is one of the top linebacker prospects in the country, a physical specimen who, as a high school junior, has the kind of body that makes college linebacker coaches drool.

This young man already has the strength and build most colleges hope to have after sending their incoming freshmen linebackers off to spend two years in the weight room.

For this family, college choices take on a whole different version of reality.

There was the day last week when 101 pieces of mail arrived on their doorstep from Mississippi State University.

MSU, one of the darlings of the Southeastern Conference thus far this season, wanted to offer the young prospect 101 reasons why he should become a Bulldog. The school already has offered a full-ride scholarship.

Father and son made a visit to Starkville, and like all of the schools the pair have visited – both officially and unofficially – the school rolled out the red carpet, meeting with coaches and touring facilities.

During a meeting with an assistant coach, the father asked about the ratio of players to tutors – how many players would each of their tutors handle?

“He laughed,” the dad said. “This is the SEC. We have more money than we know what to do with. Your son will have a one-on-one tutor the whole time he’s here.”

Much of what makes this young player such an in-demand recruit is genetic – something dad likes to joke about – “We definitely hit the genetic lottery,” he laughs.

To put in context, remember the sad story of the Seattle Seahawks and Brian Bosworth. The Boz was a beast at the University of Oklahoma – a physical specimen who dominated on the college football field. But his size and strength was bolstered by steroids – artificially bulking him up.

This youngster is gifted to have the broad, chiseled shoulders, muscular arms and thin, powerful hips that coaches would design in their dreams for an inside linebacker. Add in consistent, 4.8 second times in the 40-yard dash, impressive bench press and squat numbers and an impressive knowledge of the game and a willingness to learn more and you have not just a player – you have a prototype.

When you’re in demand the way this young linebacker is, there are lots of things to deal with.

The daily mail is always full of letters from myriad schools. So many, the father explained, that his son can’t read them all and still get his homework done. But just knowing that a school is interested enough to keep in touch makes him feel better about the process.

A long list of assistant coaches – and more than a few head coaches – have the son’s cellphone number and they keep in touch on a weekly basis.

The pair have traveled to most of the Pac-12 schools to check out campuses and football facilities. And to meet coaching staffs.

The USC coaching staff was busy recruiting this young man when they were all at the University of Washington, and their interest did not diminish when they moved to Los Angeles.

Oregon and Stanford both have proclaimed their deep interest and, while they haven’t made official offers, each has informed the family that a formal offer will be forthcoming.

The Washington State staff has a full-ride scholarship offer on the table and linebackers coach Ken Wilson stays in touch weekly.

The rules for recruiting high school players are complicated and there is much to the process that would boggle the mind of the average college football fan and keep NCAA compliance officers busy.

The jury is still out – Dad wasn’t about to tip his son’s hand on where he would choose to play his college football.

Washington State is definitely in the mix – both father and son love the whole coaching staff in Pullman.

But mention the value of a Stanford University education and dad gets a big smile on his face and his eyes light up.