One thing young people can do to increase their chances of playing College Sports is to study remarkable players like the great Jerry Rice. Many players were born with greater physical blessings, but his work ethic and desire were so great he carved out an unforgettable college and pro football experience. I recently went to hear the former 49ers great (although he jokes now that many people know him more for Dancing with the Stars) speak at the Key Bank Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series put on by the College Football Hall of Fame. Rice played at Mississippi Valley State and then twenty years in the NFL. I took notes of what he said.

“I miss football every day,” he said. “It’s hard. It was a passion. I can understand what Brett Favre has gone through.”

It’s important for young people to know that you only have so long to play the sport you love in a structured manner. Most won’t play pro, so the window is just a short number of years.

One time I visited with a female athlete at State University of New York at New Paltz. She said, “I love my sport. I figure I’ve got 4 years in High School and 4 years of College and that’s it as far as playing in an organized setting. I am not about to miss that chance.”

This past March before I delivered College Recruiting Simplified at the NIKE ESPN Rise Combine in Cincinnati, a High School football coach told me something that really stuck. He said he tells all his players that are capable of playing some level of college, and that love the sport of football, that they shouldn’t miss the window.

“I tell them that when they are done with high school and college football, good luck trying to get 21 other guys together in full pads to play a game of football.”

That’s why you shouldn’t leave any stone unturned in doing everything you can to play college sports, IF you love your sport.

Back to Rice. He is considered the greatest receiver to ever play football, did not get a single Division One offer. He played at 1-AA (as it was called then and I still like to call it) Mississippi Valley State. His family didn’t know how to get the word out about his skills in high school.

“Things happen for a reason,” Rice said of not playing at the highest level of college. “I was meant to go to Mississippi Valley State. In San Francisco I played with Ronnie Lott who played at Southern Cal and Joe Montana who played at Notre Dame. I respect their schools but I felt I did a pretty good job coming out of Mississippi Valley State.”

Here are some other things I heard Rice say that can benefit potential college athletes in all sports, and those in their families:

ON HIS WORK ETHIC: “My first ten years in the NFL, I did not take a vacation. I felt I had to prove myself every year.”

ON WHY HE RAN 60 TO 80 YARDS AFTER EVERY BALL HE CAUGHT IN PRACTICE (WHICH

TEAMMATES COULDN’T UNDERSTAND): “I did that so that in a game I would know what to do with the ball. It wouldn’t be, “I’ve caught the ball, now what?”

ON HUSTLE: “I like watching college basketball better than the NBA because you see the hustle.

ON FUNDAMENTALS: “You don’t see the fundamentals in football as much now. You are not seeing the quality of football.”

ON BEING COACHABLE DEEP INTO HIS NFL CAREER:

“When I was with the Raiders late in my NFL career, I told the coaches that if they saw something, to tell me. You never get to a point to where you can’t learn.”

ON BEING COACHED BY BILL WALSH, ONE OF THE GREATEST COACHES:

“If we didn’t practice well, Bill would start practice over again. The game was merely an extension of practice. One time after a game where I had 11 catches and 3 TD’s, he brought me into his office the next Monday and looked me square in the eye and said, “I need more from you.” He had told Joe Montana and others the same thing. That’s why we won so many Super Bowls.”

ON WHY HE WORKED SO HARD IN THE OFF SEASON AND IN PRACTICE: “My strategy was I wanted to finish the 4th Quarter like the 1st Quarter. I would wear my opponent down. Even if a play went the other way from me, I ran deep to wear out my opponent. Even if the play ran away, I blocked my opponent hard to have them worn out by the final Quarter. I worked hard every practice of my life. I always wanted to walk away from practice with something.