Sundays are just as good as Saturdays to watch Ivy players

The Yale Daily News (U-WIRE) NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- As a Division I-AA non-scholarship conference, the Ivy League has encountered serious recruiting difficulties in recent years, as tuition has increased and the level of play on the football field has suffered. Television networks' lack of Ancient Eight coverage indicates that national and even regional fan interest in the sport has waned. The likes of Calvin Hill and Brian Dowling no longer entertain fans at the Yale Bowl. The Ivy League just isn't the same as it used to be. Or is it? Over the past two years, seven Ivy League graduates have either made or tried out for NFL teams, including three drafted in the first four rounds last year. In this day, when tuition is pushing $30,000 per year, a regional telecast is nowhere to be seen, and professional scouts are hard to find, how is it that so many Ivy grads have made the incredibly selective next step? That fact is even more startling considering that NFL rosters are much smaller now than they were 20 years ago, and the draft has fewer rounds. "Professional football players come from such a small pool in the world," said Cornell football coach Jim Hofher, who has coached three of those seven players. "Ninety-nine percent of players are not going to the pros. We play college football in the Ivy League. We're just trying to develop the players so they can have an opportunity to play in the games." Hofher stresses the importance of the individual player's own will and character in his development into a pro-caliber player. And, he adds, sheer genetics plays a big part. "It all depends on how hard they work," Hofher said. "Most Ivy League players are not a finished product when they arrive. As a coach, it's our job to help them develop. We try to motivate them so they want to get better." Prime examples of this process are two Cornell players who were both drafted in the fourth round this year and are presently on NFL rosters. Ivy League Player of the Year Chad Levitt -- who fell 58 yards short of the Ivy rushing record when he broke his wrist late last season -- arrived at Cornell as a 205-pound freshman. Levitt began last season a robust 240 pounds, a virtual wrecking machine. Big Red defensive lineman Seth Payne joined the team as a 228-pound freshman but was drafted at his senior playing weight of 290 pounds. "Most of these players arrived on campus average-sized," Yale football coach Jack Siedlecki said, "and they made themselves professional athletes. They showed the commitment to go to the next level. And unlike five or six years ago, every Ivy League school has a full-time strength and conditioning coach." Buffalo Bills defensive end Marcellus Wiley -- a second round draft choice out of Columbia -- is probably the best example of the self-made contributor on the professional level. Wiley set foot on campus five years ago as a 200-pound running back. He lined up against the Jets last Sunday as a 280-pound defensive end. And Yale's own Chris Hetherington bulked up to 245 pounds and now plays for the Indianapolis Colts on special teams. "We're trying to sell that to our guys everyday that over the course of four years, they develop into excellent athletes," Siedlecki said. "You don't see immediate results. They're not there right now and they're not going to be there tomorrow. You've got to have the commitment to do it over the long haul." But the fact remains that every school across the country is stressing strength and conditioning more -- the Ivy League is certainly not leading the drive toward bigger, stronger, and faster players. Hofher notes that last year's graduating class was the first to play four years of varsity football after freshman football was eliminated following the 1993 season. Coinciding with that decision was the introduction of spring practice, which gives players additional practices to develop. "Thirty-six extra practices and 10 more games make a difference in a player's development," he said. Siedlecki believes that the shrinking NFL rosters may, in fact, help Ivy League graduates. With a limit of 53 on the active roster, the six-man developmental squad plays an important role during the week in practices. "You need to have brighter kids who can play several different positions and pick up many different schemes quickly," Siedlecki said. But the bottom line still requires a little luck -- coaches are always looking for what Tellier calls the "late bloomer who will develop into a Division I player and possible pro prospect." So when you're complaining about the level of play in the empty Ivy League stadiums this fall, pay attention. The next time you see one of the players may be on Sundays.

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