Coaches' philosophy on scholarships varies

By Robert Naddra

For the AJC

Vaughn McMullen was not a regular starter on the Southwest DeKalb High School football team. He was not recruited by major colleges.

But McMullen is the perfect example of why long-time Southwest coach Buck Godfrey does what he does.

McMullen, who started for two seasons at Virginia State before quitting to concentrate on academics, attained two undergraduate degrees in science at the school in 1994. He earned his master’s in nuclear physics a year later. Now, he is a successful businessman who owns a software company called the Vanguard Consulting Group.

He is one of the best examples of what can happen with a high school football coach works hard to help a kid have a chance at college. While most coaches agree that helping their players find college scholarships fits somewhere in their job description, the interpretation varies throughout metro Atlanta.

Schools that consistently send a large number of players to college on football scholarships are not bound by winning percentages. Instead, it is the amount of work that a coach puts into helping his players that makes the difference.

Fourteen metro Atlanta schools had at least seven players sign football scholarships in February, and seven of those teams missed the playoffs. Of those, three did not have winning seasons.

Lithonia, under first-year coach Earl White, compiled a 2-8 record, but had nine players sign. Westlake and McNair missed the playoffs at 6-4 and each had 11 players sign. M.L. King led metro teams with 12 signees.

Godfrey said a coach’s role is crystal clear.

“If a guy is going to put himself on the line for you for four years, if he does the right thing in the classroom and on and off the field, I’m going to do my best to try to get him in school,” Godfrey said. “As a black high school, the opportunity for our people to go to college is through a good education, and I want to make sure that happens.”

Godfrey helps out

In 26 seasons as coach at Southwest, Godfrey has helped 238 players earn scholarships. Of those, 169 are college graduates.

In 1994, a staggering 26 SWD football players signed, and 20 earned college degrees. That 1994 team finished 13-1 and advanced to the Class AAAAA semifinals before losing to Valdosta 40-37 in the Georgia Dome.

Last season, when the Panthers finished 9-4, 11 players earned scholarships. This season, with his strongest senior class in more than 10 years, Godfrey believes his seniors are on track to break the 1994 record.

“My legacy will not be how many wins I have coaching football, but how many kids got to go to college,” Godfrey said. “Some have to go the hard route, but as long as they’re willing to give the effort, it will pay off.”

Fellow DeKalb County coaches Roderick Moore at McNair and Corey Jarvis at M.L. King mirror Godfrey’s philosophy.

In 2005, 25 McNair players signed, and 28 of 30 seniors enrolled in college. Last season, Moore helped 11 players get scholarships, and 22 of 28 seniors went to college.

In 2006, 19 MLK players signed scholarships, and five more received some financial aid as preferred walk-ons. Jarvis had 13 seniors sign scholarships last season.

“Buck Godfrey is my mentor, so I have the same philosophy he does,” Jarvis said. “If a kid works hard for you for three or four years, you’re obligated to get that kid into school somewhere.”

But some coaches see their roles differently. Mark Crews is carrying on a strong tradition at Brookwood, making the playoffs in each of his eight seasons, with two state title-game appearances. Brookwood has had nine football players sign scholarships in the past two years.

“First and foremost, our job is to do what college coaches do — win games and raise kids to do the right thing and learn what they need to learn,” Crews said. “We have kids from the seventh grade, and by the time they’re a senior, we feel like we’ve done everything we can do to develop him as a player. He’ll be about as strong and fast as he can be. He’ll be disciplined, and it all works toward the good of the individual. The by-product of that is they’re going to be recruitable.”

Starr’s Mill coach Mike Earwood said he counsels his players on what college division they are best suited for and said he provides highlight DVDs for college coaches, but it’s up to the kids at that point.

“Our only role is to make information available for college recruiters when they request it or pay a personal visit,” Earwood said.

Earwood’s Panthers have advanced to the playoffs eight times in 11 seasons. Starr’s Mill has never had a senior class with more than four players signing college scholarships.

Ballard said he believes lifestyle often plays a role in those numbers. He said scholarship numbers may be skewed at private schools or schools in affluent areas because parents can afford to pay for college. And sometimes players choose not to play football but go to college on academic scholarships.

“When I was at Tucker, a [football scholarship] was the only way out for a lot of those kids,” Ballard said. “At Peachtree Ridge, we have it both ways.”

Representing school

Helping players is a personal thing for Marietta coach James “Friday” Richards, who is a native of Marietta and a graduate of the school where he coaches.

Richards has been a teacher for 33 years and has coached at Marietta for 16.

“Our philosophy is Jesus, family, schoolwork and football, in that order,” Richards said. “Helping these kids means a little bit more to me because I grew up here. I have confidence our kids will represent their school and the coach who sent them there, but it’s hard for me to help you do anything if you don’t have the grades.”

East Paulding coach John Reid recently took a group of his players to a Samford camp to help them get exposure. A long-time successful coach in Tennessee, Reid is 33-6 in three seasons at East Paulding, which had only three winning seasons the previous 15 years.

Last season 10 Raiders signed to play at the next level, and Reid said he expects to have about that many this season.

“We advise kids as to their level of play and try to get each one a good plan as to how to get exposure,” Reid said. “We have a good rapport with college coaches and we keep a log of who we’ve contacted. We find out how interested a player is to play for certain teams and how willing to travel they are. That’s part of our administrative role. It’s not all about the SEC or the big conferences. I always call coaches after I send stuff. Coaches tell me they won’t even look at a tape if they haven’t talked to the coach.”

Reid and other coaches look beyond the football field when it comes to preparing their players for college scholarships.

“Academically, we start with the ninth-graders,” said Peachtree Ridge coach Bill Ballard, who led the Lions to the Class AAAAA state championship game last season. “We talk to them about their math, science, social studies and foreign language classes because those core classes are extremely important in determining where a kid can get into school.”

The recruitment of Conor Norman, a senior defensive back on the Lions’ 2008 state runner-up team, typifies the amount of work Ballard and his staff put into helping players. Norman turned down offers from Army and Gardner-Webb and was passed over by Furman, his first choice. Norman visited several schools and heard from several college coaches, but did not find his perfect match until Presbyterian College made a last-minute offer in January.

It was Ballard who suggested Norman give Presbyterian a try after the school hired a new coach in the middle of the recruiting process.

“I can’t say enough about the effort that [Ballard] and his staff puts in,” said Roger Norman, Conor’s father. “He’s working his butt off for the kids. He loves what he does and tried really hard to get as many kids on the field who want to play college ball.”

Of the eight Peachtree Ridge players who signed in February, only one went to a Division I-A school — linebacker Kevin Minter to LSU.

Going the extra mile

Those kind of numbers are typical of programs who go the extra mile to get their players college scholarships. Only two of Jarvis’ 13 signees in February went to big football schools, and all six of Godfrey’s signees went somewhere other than Division I-A schools.

But with Godfrey, that’s been happening for years. Just ask McMullen, who is just one of countless examples of what can happen when a football scholarship provides opportunity.

“Had it not been for [Godfrey], getting into college and earning a scholarship would have been a lot more difficult,” said McMullen, a 1990 SWD graduate. “Being a part of that program under coach Godfrey taught me about values and discipline.”