First and foremost congratulations to the 15 student athletes who signed to a university or junior college today from Longview High School. It's a tremendous honor that all high school athletes are/were not able to achieve (including me.) The hard work that these students put in on the field and classroom allowed them to be able to be in position to continue their academic and scholarly careers.
And while we didn't have anyone sign to a Power 5 Conference this year from Longview, across the nation many top talents signed to universities. With making these decisions a lot of stress for both the athlete and parents go into making that decision: Which one of these schools are going to offer me the best chance to play? Which one of these schools am I going to get the best education? Which coaching staff did I mesh with the best while visiting? Where can I have the most fun? Where do I want to spend the next 3-5 years of my life?
And while most parents have a great influence on where their athlete decides to go, it's still ultimately up to the athlete to make the decision. Today there was an incident with one mother who decided the choice her athlete made was wrong. After watching that video there are a 1,000 questions that run through my brain; clearly she was expecting her son to choose Alabama. And I'm sure by the attire they all had picked out that's what they decided on last night when he went to sleep. She was embarrassed by her choosing a different school, clearly not for her liking and decided to leave his side right there on National TV.
While I understand the dismal of her own presence, I hate how it looked. The thing that everyone at that table lost foresight of is that this young man has the opportunity to set him and everyone at that table up financially for the rest of their lives. He has an opportunity to play football at a tradition rich program, a top football conference in the United States. And if his career doesn't take off on the field, he has an opportunity to earn a free degree at the University of Florida, placing him self at the least $160,000 worth ahead of debt that the average Florida student wouldn't earn. The life lessons and exposure to the real world he will receive there will be equal to any other major university in America.
There's been other occurrences of mother's showing their disgust on TV before. And while she voiced her opinion, she did not leave his side. By the way, Landon Collins was only the best safety in football 2017 in only his 2nd year. To leave his side, on National TV is embarrassing to him, and looked very classless.
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