Grooms Ponders Miami And Marshall

It’s been reported this morning that Hurricanes running back signee Kevin Grooms might or might not be on a plane West Virginia-bound as he’s up in the air regarding his collegiate future, in Miami but thinking Marshall.

The hometown Grooms hails from Hollywood, played for South Broward and has long-since been a Cane. Grooms bought into the Al Golden game plan and intended on joining ‘The U’ this summer to get in game shape, but was hung up with Clearinghouse issues.

According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Grooms is Marshall bound and will arrive in Huntington on Friday night, while the Miami Herald reports that Grooms told another UM site that it’s still down to two and that no decision has been made. In other words, Grooms is all but gone and that’s tragic.

Not tragic in the sense that Miami football can’t recover from losing a kid yet to see the field. The tragedy comes in another ‘fail’ when it comes to parents teaching kids a life lesson regarding patience, hard work, putting in time and reaping the rewards. We continue to live in a ‘fast food’ society, where we expect results within minutes, or we’ll go elsewhere.

Honestly, how many times have we done that – stormed out of somewhere because the line was too long, only to drive across town to go elsewhere, which it itself took longer than just waiting it out would’ve.

Grooms is leaving Miami because of academic issues. According to the Herald and Grooms’ high school coach Allen Held, UM has asked Grooms to go the JUCO route to get his grades in order and to return to Coral Gables when he does. Virginia Tech made as similar pitch to the 5’10”, 170-pound athlete, pushing ‘prep school’ and a return to the program.

Instead, it appears to be all about Marshall, where Grooms will be an academic non-qualifier and will be ineligible this season.

When you look at the image above, you see pure elation – mother and son, donning U gear, ear to ear smiles and tossing up the “U” hands. Months later, it’s frustration and what appears to be a knee-jerk decision. Running away from a long-term life goal, instead taking the short-term quick fix. In effort to avoid putting in work at a JUCO or prep school for a year or two, Grooms will take hit talents to a lesser university where he can begin practicing with the team and gearing up for his 2012 debut.

Miami won’t sign one of the nation’s top backs until next February (barring all goes according to plan), but Duke Johnson appears Coral Gables-bound. Johnson is a four-star back out our Miami’s Norland High and in the wake of all the UM drama, has often stated that he has no plans of wavering on his commitment. Johnson isn’t worried about worst-case scenario fallout with bowl losses and scholarship reductions. He’s all or nothing when it comes to his college choice and UM is the only place on his radar.

The JUCO or prep school route would take Grooms off Miami’s radar and would allow Johnson to arrive on campus as an early enrolee, getting a leg up on a 2011 signee. Does this mean Grooms is running from competition? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s hard to argue that the would-be incoming freshman is looking to avoid paying his dues and putting in the work to earn a starting job, instead choosing the path of least resistance.

In years passed, true freshman were a gimmie to redshirt. You then put in your time with the scout team, took on the role of back up and come you junior season, were hoping to be a full time starter. Nowadays a kid arrives on campus, is frustrated if he’s not starting game one of his freshman year and puts himself on a fast track to leave campus after his junior season, with the NFL and dollar signs on the brain.

It begs the question, how do you capture the moment regarding the kid smiling in the picture above? The exuberance shown in that split second when signing with his dream school – how do coaches (and especially parents) remind the child that there’s something bigger going on here life-wise.

When do we get back to teaching the discipline of patience – the mantra that no good thing comes easy. This is a ‘fast food’ society for some, but it’s not the way to live. Life is like tending a garden. You don’t snap your fingers and achieve results. You put in the work and you sit back and wait for things to blossom.

By going to Marshall, Grooms is selling himself out. He’s choose what he feels is a better short-term game plan instead of thinking long-term and bigger picture.

If your life goal is to reach the NFL, who has the better track record for sending running backs to that next level, Miami or Marshall? Where are you going to go up against a better defense week in and week out? Where are you going to be pushed competition-wise, instead of being handed the job because the other guys on the roster can’t hold your jock?

We saw a similar tale months back when then-Miami running back Storm Johnson left ‘The U’ and transferred a few hundred miles north to the University of Central Florida. After spring competition, Johnson remained third on the depth chart behind Lamar Miller and Mike James.

Coach Golden spoke of Johnson’s mental game and had some comments about his inability to block, which buried him on the depth chart and kept him from becoming that complete, all-around back.

Instead of working on his game day-by-day and climbing the depth chart, Johnson took his ball and ran to Orlando – a lesser program where playing time wouldn’t be as difficult to earn.

There may be bigger reasons Grooms is looking elsewhere, but on the surface this story reeks of something any college football fan has witnessed case after case; today’s athlete refusing to put in the work and instead turning tail and choosing the easier path.

The other lost lesson? Parents of athletes not teaching their kids to honor the commitment made to the university, the coaches and their new teammates. In the end, it remains me-centric. What’s best for me? What can a school do for me? I’m just being used anyways, so I need to go out and get mine — as if that’s what life is truly about.

Beyond that, what about the belief that things happen for a reason? Whether your faith is in God as the creator or simply in the universe working things out, a big part of life is the search.

Grooms is robbing himself of something he might’ve learned by going the JUCO route. A lesson in character that might’ve been taught. The development of patience. Or how about the fact that something worked hard for is much more satisfying than something handed to you.

Imagine the day, whether it’s next year or the year after, that you’re barreling into that end zone for the game winner at Sun Life and you’re swarmed by teammates. Think back to a kid like Frank Gore, buried on the depth chart as a freshman in 2001 and injured all of 2002 but in 2003, he runs in the game winner in a huge win over Florida.

Weeks later, another injury sidelines him for the rest of the season but he again fights his way back and in the 2004 season opener he runs in an overtime game winner against Florida State.

Gore left Miami a great running back, but also a better man because of the character developed through overcoming adversity and putting in the work. Sadly, as the years roll on there are proving to be less kids like Gore and more like Grooms or Johnson, who want it today, not tomorrow or the day after.

You understand why a coaching staff is willing to let a kid go, but in the end, you’re sad that parents and other figures of authority didn’t do their jobs regarding a teaching a valuable life lesson to a teenager who needed one and didn’t know better.

Best of luck, Kevin. The U Family hopes it all works out as you see it playing out in your head, whether you choose to stay or go. – C.B.

Comments

comments