CINCI.com: Parcells had his share of recruiting miscues
BY RANDY BEARD | TALLAHASSEE (FLA.) DEMOCRAT
With his primary focus on filling staff vacancies, Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was in his office Thursday morning playing phone tag while attempting to evaluate the college talent that was gathered 600 miles away.
"With the NFL Network, you can scout the Senior Bowl pretty good right now from your living room," Parcells said of the all-star game that was played in Mobile, Ala., Saturday after a week of practices supervised by NFL coaching staffs. "But I am sorry I'm not there this year. You can tell a lot more when you see players up close."
At least some coaches can.
Jack Youngblood likes to tell a story that takes Parcells back to his assistant coaching days at Florida State in the early '70s. Youngblood, who became an All-American at Florida, said he might have played for the Seminoles if only Parcells hadn't told former FSU head coach Bill Peterson that the player's arms were too skinny.
"Thank goodness there was a baseball coach who was helping recruit at Florida who had a better eye than Parcells," said Youngblood. "Dave Fuller was the one who told Coach (Ray) Graves, 'Let's take a chance on this guy.' ... Otherwise, I would have gone to North Florida Junior College and become a nuclear scientist or something."
Youngblood wasn't the only future All-Pro that Parcells misjudged.
"Years ago, Parcells told me, 'Jack don't feel too bad. About three years later, I was recruiting in South Alabama and there was a kid who was running up and down the field breaking all the records in Alabama high school football ... It was Walter Payton.' ''
Parcells' analysis: Payton was too small to play college football.
"Everyone passed on Payton," Parcells said of the Chicago Bears' great who played at Jackson State. "But it's all true. I've got about two or three of those stories."
He also admits to under-rating Woodrow Lowe, who became a three-time All-American at Alabama and played linebacker for 11 years with the San Diego Chargers.
"That's the way it is ... It's not an exact science," said Parcells.
It's a point that can't be emphasized enough with colleges gearing up to sign another recruiting class Wednesday. And while Parcells has proven himself as a judge of talent in the NFL, he believes that evaluating players for the draft is also cloaked in uncertainty.
"There are always guys who don't look like they are supposed to be that good. They aren't built like Greek Gods, but they turn out to be the best players," Parcells said. "You have to have some height, weight, speed criteria. But at the end of the day I just want to know how the guy plays."
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With his primary focus on filling staff vacancies, Dallas Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was in his office Thursday morning playing phone tag while attempting to evaluate the college talent that was gathered 600 miles away.
"With the NFL Network, you can scout the Senior Bowl pretty good right now from your living room," Parcells said of the all-star game that was played in Mobile, Ala., Saturday after a week of practices supervised by NFL coaching staffs. "But I am sorry I'm not there this year. You can tell a lot more when you see players up close."
At least some coaches can.
Jack Youngblood likes to tell a story that takes Parcells back to his assistant coaching days at Florida State in the early '70s. Youngblood, who became an All-American at Florida, said he might have played for the Seminoles if only Parcells hadn't told former FSU head coach Bill Peterson that the player's arms were too skinny.
"Thank goodness there was a baseball coach who was helping recruit at Florida who had a better eye than Parcells," said Youngblood. "Dave Fuller was the one who told Coach (Ray) Graves, 'Let's take a chance on this guy.' ... Otherwise, I would have gone to North Florida Junior College and become a nuclear scientist or something."
Youngblood wasn't the only future All-Pro that Parcells misjudged.
"Years ago, Parcells told me, 'Jack don't feel too bad. About three years later, I was recruiting in South Alabama and there was a kid who was running up and down the field breaking all the records in Alabama high school football ... It was Walter Payton.' ''
Parcells' analysis: Payton was too small to play college football.
"Everyone passed on Payton," Parcells said of the Chicago Bears' great who played at Jackson State. "But it's all true. I've got about two or three of those stories."
He also admits to under-rating Woodrow Lowe, who became a three-time All-American at Alabama and played linebacker for 11 years with the San Diego Chargers.
"That's the way it is ... It's not an exact science," said Parcells.
It's a point that can't be emphasized enough with colleges gearing up to sign another recruiting class Wednesday. And while Parcells has proven himself as a judge of talent in the NFL, he believes that evaluating players for the draft is also cloaked in uncertainty.
"There are always guys who don't look like they are supposed to be that good. They aren't built like Greek Gods, but they turn out to be the best players," Parcells said. "You have to have some height, weight, speed criteria. But at the end of the day I just want to know how the guy plays."
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posted by The Gryphon at 6:27 PM
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