One thing that is hard to measure on the recruiting trail is DRIVE. This is the biggest factor that determines whether a player transfers, becomes a benchwarmer, average player, above average player, or becomes a legacy at a school. There are verified stories about players like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, JJ Watt, Walter Payton, etc. and how they went above and beyond the average player at their position to make themselves better than everybody else.
Michael Jordan would lift weights every day (even on game days) because he wasn't tough enough when he played the Pistons & Knicks early in his career.
Kobe Bryant would spend hours and hours in the gym before games, during the off-season, between games, but more importantly when other players were going out partying and having fun (he would intentionally do this so he could get a leg up on the competition).
There have been videos of Drew Brees going over his footwork and mental progression of plays out on the field against air after the practice was long over. This was his version of a walkthrough session, but he was going above and beyond after the team had gone home for the day.
Tom Brady is meticulous about his film study and being a great leader. Watch videos on how he talks to his teammates and pumps them up and lets them know that he believes in them. He also spends a lot of time getting to know his teammates and pouring into them before, during, and after the season (which also makes him a great leader because his teammates listen to him and will run through a wall for him).
JJ Watt walked on to Wisconsin and was driven to succeed because his parents couldn't afford to pay to send him to Wisconsin after his first year. He never let that drive dissipate even after getting a scholarship, becoming an All-American in college, making it to the NFL, etc.
Another good example is Walter Payton for the Chicago Bears. In the off-season when everyone else was taking vacations, partying, relaxing, he was preparing for the season by running up a hill every day multiple times a day.
All of these guys mentioned above were driven to be the very best and refused to let any circumstances determine their emotions, beliefs, or work ethic. Sometimes early success in a player's career allows them to become big-headed and lazy. They think they are great, believe they are owed something when others are in their presence, start partying and doing drugs and alcohol, and stop working DAILY on improving all aspects of their game. Coaches need athletes who are driven to be THE BEST, not just better than someone else on the depth chart.
In closing, a driven player does not transfer because they're not first on the depth chart. Those players work harder to prove everybody else wrong. For example, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore and used that to drive him to become the best athlete in history (regardless of sport or era). A player's DRIVE could be the most important attribute during the NIL and portal era.
Michael Jordan would lift weights every day (even on game days) because he wasn't tough enough when he played the Pistons & Knicks early in his career.
Kobe Bryant would spend hours and hours in the gym before games, during the off-season, between games, but more importantly when other players were going out partying and having fun (he would intentionally do this so he could get a leg up on the competition).
There have been videos of Drew Brees going over his footwork and mental progression of plays out on the field against air after the practice was long over. This was his version of a walkthrough session, but he was going above and beyond after the team had gone home for the day.
Tom Brady is meticulous about his film study and being a great leader. Watch videos on how he talks to his teammates and pumps them up and lets them know that he believes in them. He also spends a lot of time getting to know his teammates and pouring into them before, during, and after the season (which also makes him a great leader because his teammates listen to him and will run through a wall for him).
JJ Watt walked on to Wisconsin and was driven to succeed because his parents couldn't afford to pay to send him to Wisconsin after his first year. He never let that drive dissipate even after getting a scholarship, becoming an All-American in college, making it to the NFL, etc.
Another good example is Walter Payton for the Chicago Bears. In the off-season when everyone else was taking vacations, partying, relaxing, he was preparing for the season by running up a hill every day multiple times a day.
All of these guys mentioned above were driven to be the very best and refused to let any circumstances determine their emotions, beliefs, or work ethic. Sometimes early success in a player's career allows them to become big-headed and lazy. They think they are great, believe they are owed something when others are in their presence, start partying and doing drugs and alcohol, and stop working DAILY on improving all aspects of their game. Coaches need athletes who are driven to be THE BEST, not just better than someone else on the depth chart.
In closing, a driven player does not transfer because they're not first on the depth chart. Those players work harder to prove everybody else wrong. For example, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore and used that to drive him to become the best athlete in history (regardless of sport or era). A player's DRIVE could be the most important attribute during the NIL and portal era.
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