Written by Parker Rogers
The picture is owned by Rabun Gap High School
Subject is Cedric Anton, WR, Germany
The ultimate goal for any young football player is to make it big and reach one of the top stages of football: playing at the collegiate level. Every year, we see more and more talented athletes getting their opportunity to reach this goal by getting noticed and recognized by high-level college football programs and receiving offers to go play at the next level. However, since football is an “American sport” almost all of the athletes that are seen going to the next level are Americans. This does not mean that football is just an “American sport” though; over the course of the last few decades, football has rapidly spread throughout the world and touched the lives of millions of young men.
With the spread of football across the globe, the dream of making it big and playing college football has spread with it. Young men are reaching for the stars and trying to do anything they can to get noticed by a big-time coach and make it big in America. Some even go as far as leaving their home, family, and country to come over to America to play high school football in hopes of being recognized and getting the chance to make it to the next level.
With European athletes moving to America to play high school football, the question is now being asked by European football players of all ages and sizes: “Is the only way to make it to college football by playing high school football in America?” The answer to this question is more complex than just a “yes” or “no” answer. There are reasons and validations behind athletes going to America and athletes staying in their home countries. Allow me to explain what I mean.
First, we will look at the answer that most of you all reading want to know about moving to America. In recent years, we have seen a plethora of athletes pack their bags, move to America, and receive offers to play high-level, Division 1 college football. Here are some of the numbers to show what I mean. In 2021, five members of the Europe’s Elite Top 25 players attended an American high school, and two others went and played at Junior Colleges before going and playing Division 1 football. In 2022, nine players from our Top 25 rankings attended a high school in America. The numbers seem to go up. Of these nine players, eight of them went on to play college football. In the most recent class, 2023, eight players from our Top 25 rankings played football at an American high school, and seven of the eight have committed to playing college football.
The numbers are there; those athletes who have chosen to go over to America and play high school football have found success in doing so and most have gone on to play college football. It is not a bad option if you can afford it and are willing to leave your home and your family for about ten months. Even this year (2023), our top three athletes in Olaus Alien (Loomis Chaffee School), Lucas Simmons (Clearwater Academy), and Frankie Tinilau (Miami La Salle) all moved over to America and played high school football. I must mention that many of the athletes that went over to America played in the same schools, mainly Rabun Gap in Georgia, or some at Clearwater Academy in Florida. It must also be noted that in recent years, there have been more athletes that have attended the NFL Academy in Britain who have gone on to play college football.
Now for the second option: staying in your country and playing football. The metrics on this may surprise you way more than you may actually think. In 2021, twenty members of Europe’s Elite Top 25 players stayed in Europe and played football. Of the 20 athletes, six of them went on to play college football in America. 2022 saw sixteen members of the Top 25 stay in Europe and play football, with four of them going over to play college football. Finally, this year (2023) we saw seventeen players from our Top 25 rankings stay in Europe and play football. Nine of the seventeen players have committed to play college football in America. Again, it must be noted that a healthy number of these athletes attended the NFL Academy.
Having seen the statistics and heard about what have been able to achieve, it is clear to see that success has been found by those who have stayed in their home country in Europe and played football. It is not impossible or even improbable that you can achieve the goal that almost all football players have and go play college football while being from Europe and playing Euroball your whole career.
We have seen some amazing athletes from both ends of this spectrum; from David Ojabo who went to New Jersey and ended up playing high school football to Alex Honig who played with the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns until he went to America to play college football. Ojabo ended up being a star in his Junior season at Michigan and ended up being drafted in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft (he would have been a first-round pick had it not been for a torn Achilles that he suffered during his pro day). Honig signed with TCU as a quarterback but due to his size and intense athleticism, was moved to tight end in his second year there. Honig is now at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) where we hope to see him shine in the next two seasons.
The data is laid out and both ends of the spectrum have been shown and explained. Football is a gift to everyone who has the opportunity to play it and it is a gift that should be enjoyed for as long as possible if given the chance. How to attain the opportunity to continue playing football at the next level is up to you. Do you stay, or do you go?