Boys or Men?

I listened to the most thought provoking sports radio show yesterday morning. They were discussing the 2012 NFL Draft. This particular discussion was focusing on how when many analysts talk about a college football player who is a draft prospect, who may have a troubled resume, the player is referred to as a "kid." But when analysts talk about the rest of the college football players who are draft prospects, they are young men.

So are we letting our standards slide, when we talk about player who has encountered some problems during his college years and say, "Oh, he's just a kid." Or, "He didn't know any better."

Lets face it. Most of the college football players who are NFL draft prospects are 22 or 23 years of age. At what point do we draw the line? At what point do they go from being boys to men?

Michael Floyd being interviewed at Notre Dame's Blue-Gold  game.

I admit it, even I most likely called Michael Floyd a kid at some point during all of these draft discussions, when talking about his past missteps and his future career in the NFL. But at 23 years of age, is he really a kid any more? I hope that he, and the other guys who have had troubled college careers, have gotten their issues all straightened out and do amazing things in the NFL, but we all know that is not always the case.

The best thing that I have heard, though,  throughout all of these discussions is the need for mentors in the NFL. Not only for those guys who HAVE had rocky starts in college, but for ALL NFL rookies. Why reinvent the wheel, when you can have current NFL veterans show them the ropes, and hopefully prevent them from making the same mistakes that they (or someone they knew) made. Thank you to Desmond Howard and Oscar McBride, for reaffirming that I am not crazy in my beliefs that mentoring in the NFL often plays a crucial roll in the success of these YOUNG MEN!

Okay, I guess that's my soap box for today! Have a fantastic Monday!

Cheers!