True Student-Athletes

[JCP1984]

I was at a Jesuit luncheon and was able to listen to the HC at Jesuit brag about his upcoming team and his upcoming senior group of student-athletes. He informed us that twelve of the 30+ seniors want to play college football at some level (two have already received 1A offers). What was really impressive was the following statements regarding those 12 seniors: The overall average of those 12 was an "86" and 9 of the 12 had an SAT average (math and verbal only) over 1100. All of the others were over 1000, and the average of the 12 was "1160." As a graduate of the school, I know how challenging the course load is. And, I'm impressed the boys can compete against the best in UIL 5A, which is the best football in the state. He said they played several schools (Cedar Hill, Trinity, SGP, Coppell, Berkner) that were area and state ranked in '06. He also said they lost to those five, which is something they will try to avoid doing in 2007. He said the '07 team should be better than the 2006 team, but it will be tough making the playoffs, since everyone in 7-5A should be better. And, he said unless there are some upsets, the first round opponent would probably be either Desoto or Cedar Hill, two teams Jesuit would not match up well against. He said something I'm betting is very true: "you can't hide or get a free ride in the playoffs at the 5A level, especially with the districts Jesuit plays in the first two rounds." I hope he and his team do well this season, and I'm hoping they can make the playoffs and go a few rounds deep.

[RangerFan]

I am not surprised by any of those numbers. I graduated from Jesuit in the late 70's, and I know it is a tougher school now than it was then. Almost half of the 500+ applicants for 9th grade get turned down, so the student body is smarter each year. I know one of the 12 seniors, and he has a 90 average and a 1240 SAT. He's been offered by a few 1A schools, and he is also looking at Princeton. What is also amazing is that mnay of the football players play other varsity sports. One senior, Sam Wernick, played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track in the district meet. And, he's another brainy athlete. It is a tough school, and there are no easy courses. Any young man who excels both in the classroom and on the football field is busting his butt, which is also the case at many if not all of the demanding public schools. I love watching the studs in this area play on Friday nights, but it saddens me when I hear about low grades, low SAT scores, and other problems in the classroom. I am impressed with young men who work hard in both areas, and who excel at both. I know doing well at both is not easy, but I do believe a young man who can excel on the playing field can, if he works hard at it, can also excel in the classroom. A friend and neighbor of mine works at a public hs near Jesuit, and she says it is sad how many students there no not try very hard and just get by. It is neat to be a highly sought after 1A college football prospect. It is equally impressive to be a true student-athlete able to use football to get into a school like Princeton, IMO.

[78 Spartan]

To be honest, and I don't mean this as a slam, but I don't think 1160 as an average SAT is really all that impressive for a school with Jesuit's academic reputation. According to Jesuit's own website, the mean score for the school as a whole is 1228. What am I missing?

[RangerFan]

All of those SAT scores are from the spring of their junior year. Most will take the test 1 to 3 times more as seniors, and most scores go up 50 to 200 points each year. I'd be willing to bet that if you took the top 12 senior athletes at any public school out there, the Jesuit numbers would amaze you. A true story: When Jesuit played Longview in 2004, the Longview HC was amazed to find out that Sean Carney, Jesuit's standout DE and now a Tulane DE, was considering Harvard and had a 1260 SAT. He told the Jesuit coach that only one of his seniors had above a 1000 on the SAT. The Jesuit coach laughed and told him he didn't have any seniors below a 1000, but he still knew his team was about to lose to a superior football team. Again, SAT scores aren't the end all, but it is impressive to see young men excelling both in and out of the classroom.

[The King]

The Offensive Line avg at my school was 1250 for the SAT our Junior year, probably taken at the same point in HS as these Jesuit players took theirs.

[78 Spartan]

Of course, O-linemen are always the smart guys. ;)

[SLC93]

Of course, O-linemen are always the smart guys. ;)

Spoken like an old hawg?;) :D

[RangerFan]

That OL SAT average is impressive. Again, I don't think SAT scores are the end-all. I was agreeing with what the other Jesuit fan/grad was saying. I am always impressed by students who excel at both the academics and the athletics, and I wish folks would recognize them more. Sometimes I'm not sure if college football at the major universities is really about true student-athletes; so often we hear about college football players who barely get by but who somehow find a way to do everything necessary for their sport. I know there are great student-athletes at all the schools out there, and I think what they accomplish is more improtant than any standout player who dos not get it done. Anyway, here's to the true student/scholar-athlete...I only wish I had been just one of two!

[CFlb38 08]

ehh....who really cares? we should talk about SLC or Sam Mcguffie.

[jakerz]

ehh....who really cares? we should talk about SLC or Sam Mcguffie.

ou sucks.

[mojotrain]

I was at a Jesuit luncheon and was able to listen to the HC at Jesuit brag about his upcoming team and his upcoming senior group of student-athletes. He informed us that twelve of the 30+ seniors want to play college football at some level (two have already received 1A offers). What was really impressive was the following statements regarding those 12 seniors: The overall average of those 12 was an "86" and 9 of the 12 had an SAT average (math and verbal only) over 1100. All of the others were over 1000, and the average of the 12 was "1160." As a graduate of the school, I know how challenging the course load is. And, I'm impressed the boys can compete against the best in UIL 5A, which is the best football in the state. He said they played several schools (Cedar Hill, Trinity, SGP, Coppell, Berkner) that were area and state ranked in '06. He also said they lost to those five, which is something they will try to avoid doing in 2007. He said the '07 team should be better than the 2006 team, but it will be tough making the playoffs, since everyone in 7-5A should be better. And, he said unless there are some upsets, the first round opponent would probably be either Desoto or Cedar Hill, two teams Jesuit would not match up well against. He said something I'm betting is very true: "you can't hide or get a free ride in the playoffs at the 5A level, especially with the districts Jesuit plays in the first two rounds." I hope he and his team do well this season, and I'm hoping they can make the playoffs and go a few rounds deep.

That's excellent! Do you suppose they might put Permian back on their schedule?

[RangerFan]

I believe they played Permian, Midland, Lee, & Odessa back in the 90's because they had to play so many non-district games and because that district had an odd-number for many years. I believe the HC at the time had an agreement with the schools in that district to play every team for two years.

I have been told they will play Plano West. Coppell, & Bishop Lynch in '08-'09 in non-district games. Those three schools are close and would make sense. Plano West and Coppell are solid 5A programs. The Jesuit-BL rivalry is as good as it gets in the private school world.

Historically, Jesuit has always played great teams, even before getting into the UIL. That is one of the many reasons why the transition into UIL 5A has not been that difficult. The big difference from when I was playing to now is that we maybe played 1 to 3 big UIL schools and now they play at least 9 every year. I can recall going to watch Jesuit play schools like Carter (they beat them one year), Highland Park, & Plano in the 80's, 90's, and even early 2000's.

I don't think Jesuit would be afraid of playing Permian. I don't think Permian is in the same league as Trinity and Cedar Hill. I was amazed at how well Jesuit did against Trinity, and I am still a little afraid myself of that 2006 Cedar Hill team. I went to the Trinity games against Jesuit and against SLC, and I remember thinking after the 3rd quarter that both jesuit and SLC were down by about the same margin. Now, I firmly believe SLC would beat Jesuit easily, but I thought Trinity would, too. The final score makes it seem that way, but all of the fans knew that it was a game until very late. Size, strength, and Jesuit miscues on offense proved too much in the 4th quarter. I still think Trinity should have beaten SLC in the playoffs, but once again SLC found a way to win.

[DrEdward]

SAT scores are important; despite some criticism of them, they are a pretty good indicator of how well one will do in college. Certainly, theya re not a perfect predictor, but what is? I do believe that many colleges and universities have strayed away from what college football was originally supposed to be. But that is one of the problems of specialization in a modern university. We can talk about that later. Jesuit deserves credit for continuing to emphasize the importance of an education for its athletes.

[78 Spartan]

Spoken like an old hawg?;) :D

Absolutely.

[Rolltide]

That's excellent! Do you suppose they might put Permian back on their schedule?

It would be nice if they could re-new the Strake Jesuit vs Dallas Jesuit game. I ask Coach Counter (Strake Jesuit) every chance I get. He thinks it would be a good series as well especially since both are in UIL. The two Jesuit Schools in Washington D.C. (Georgetown Prep & I believe Gonzaga) hadn't played each other for quite sometime but recently re-newed the game as a fund raiser for I believe Shriners. They play the game at Georgetown University.

[JCP1984]

I know the HC and AD at Dallas Jesuit. They decided when Jesuit got in the UIL to just play local schools in non-district. Soon after setting the schedule, the administration changed their mind and wanted to play Strake. But, the schedules were already set. I don't think they will play in non-district anytime soon, but it would be great. The HC at Strake does a great job, and it would be a great game. The travel and cost makes it less of a good thing, though. One ironic thing about the two Jesuit schools is that only one has made the playoffs in football each year: DJ in 2004, Strake in 2005, and DJ in 2006. Both have had some tough districts to compete in, but both have done pretty darn well.

I think SAT scores are an indication of a student's background academically. I think any student having passed through 11 or 12 years of schooling should be capable of making a good SAT score. Other than that, I think it is just one of several measuring sticks college admission folks use.

[Rolltide]

I know the HC and AD at Dallas Jesuit. They decided when Jesuit got in the UIL to just play local schools in non-district. Soon after setting the schedule, the administration changed their mind and wanted to play Strake. But, the schedules were already set. I don't think they will play in non-district anytime soon, but it would be great. The HC at Strake does a great job, and it would be a great game. The travel and cost makes it less of a good thing, though. One ironic thing about the two Jesuit schools is that only one has made the playoffs in football each year: DJ in 2004, Strake in 2005, and DJ in 2006. Both have had some tough districts to compete in, but both have done pretty darn well.

I think SAT scores are an indication of a student's background academically. I think any student having passed through 11 or 12 years of schooling should be capable of making a good SAT score. Other than that, I think it is just one of several measuring sticks college admission folks use.

I think we have a chance to compete for the 4th playoff slot in our district. Our starting QB transfered back to his home school and he will be tough to replace. A lot of our fans would love the opportunity to come up to Dallas everyother year. I have two more years including this one to try to push it from this end :) .

I do agree, good, bad or indifferent SAT scores are a major consideration when colleges are evaluating students.

[RangerFan]

Good luck to Strake Jesuit this year. back in my day, St. Thomas was the team Jesuit knew it had to go through to win the TCIL State Title. I think Strake passed ST. Thomas in the late '90's.

Dallas Jesuit is probably playing for 3rd or 4th in their district, and even that won't be easy. Trinity & SGP are the top two, and there are probably 3 or 4 others competing for the last two spots. I like this Jesuit team, and there were some impressive kids in the spring. This was the first spring ever for Dallas jesuit to wear pads, and it was fun to watch. Their DT was unblockable, and they have 2 or 3 speedy kids on offense.

I would love to see the Jesuit schools square off at the beginning of each season. I wonder if either will ever go far in the playoffs? Probably wishful thinking...

[Warbird]

Speaking of student athletes, I think one player at Abilene may be a National Merit Scholar. Not sure who, though. Anybody know?

[The King]

Of course, O-linemen are always the smart guys. ;)

Yeah I was the OL that brought that avg down. Later on in College I roomed with one of our DL, right before we graduated he figured out that all the smart guys were on our OL (We graduated college mostly on time).