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Darius Walker is a record-setting running back with a 4.0 grade-point average and scholarship offers from nearly every major football program in the country. During a fantastic senior season he breaks Herschel Walker’s state touchdown record, earns Parade All-America honors, then stuns thousands of fans by signing with Notre Dame. Drew Weatherford is one of the nation’s top high school quarterbacks but commits to play for Florida State University before visiting any college campus. He then spends the next six months working the phones, trying to lure several of the nation’s top prep players to join him in Tallahassee. At 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, Brad Allen already has the body of a National Football League tight end. But his dreams of being a doctor cause him to spurn football factories like Ohio State and Florida and instead sign with Vanderbilt. Erik Walden is regarded as one of the top football players in the country, but academic deficiencies and a desire to play quarterback have him headed to a tiny Division-II school in the hills of Tennessee. That is, if he can make the grade. Through these four players’ eyes we enjoy an insider’s perspective of the college football recruiting process. We learn about the lavish recruiting trips and high-pressure sales tactics college coaches use to lure top talent, and we see how the demands of being a top recruit can cause even the sturdiest young men to buckle. |
