They are not undeveloped, they are undervalued. It took Finney about five minutes for K-State to coach him up. There are a lot of former Kansans in the NFL Hall of Fame. The problem here is not development, it is appreciation by the coaches of the schools in this state. The difference is not "staggering", your perception of the difference is really "staggering".
One of our kids back in the day, Mike Woolridge, went to Oklahoma State because he was not valued highly here. He beat out a Texas Defensive Player of the Year and started for four years for them. We had kids go out all over the country and start for good teams without being recruited here. Barry Sanders was not recruited here. I suppose he was "underdeveloped" too. Baloney. Geary is just as "developed" as any kid in Texas, he just doesn't play in Texas. K-State lucked out.
My orginal point was that Kansas kids do not have close to the same amount of field time/coach time as Texas kids. That is a fact. And the time difference these kids spend training, practicing & coaching football is STAGGERING.
But to add to that.
Texas 371 Division I FBS signees per year.
168,680 total high school football players per year.
1 in 455 players sign DI.Kansas11 Division I FBS signees per year.
14,348 total high school football players per year.
1 in 1,304 players sign DI. Where would you spend most of you time and resources as a coach?
Why do you think every major conference wants a footprint in Texas? (the SEC wanted Texas. Got A&M and that footprint is already paying off for them. Kids want to play in the SEC. What is it now, 8 straight?)
The Kansas schools are going to miss on some and also get the occasional diamond in the rough.
I think Will Geary made a great choice and probably will earn a scholarship in year two just like Finney. I wish him great success.
.
