What motivates our former running backs?
I've been pondering this awhile now, given Trent's situation and now Lacy too.
It seems to me there are several potential motivations for a college back to want to be a pro player. 1) Personal satisfaction 2) financial gain 3) glory, being a star.
I imagine it's a combination of all of the above.
What I keep coming back to...surely financial gain is a very high priority for a college player. Well, after signing on as a pro, with an enormous sighing bonus...that could well check that box as done. Nevermind what they might continue to make as a durable, long term workhorse.
I understand the argument that football players are traditionally poor money managers and can never make enough to stay out of the poor house in their senior years...but I just can't see that. There is such a thing as good money managers available for these guys.
My thinking is that once a guy has ten or fifteen million in the bank, then he's down to being motivated by personal satisfaction and accolades from everybody, or in short, glory. Which is fine, I'm not trying to say anything negative here.
The point I'm getting at is, when a star running back poops out in the pros after a relatively short career, his college fans are prone to consider him a bust, or failure. The way I see it, instead, we have a young man sitting on a very nice bank account before he's even 25 years old...perhaps he doesn't want to persevere and diet and work out like crazy to get even more money or personal glory.
Glen Coffee comes to mind. He tapped the pros for his due, then decided to go in a different direction. I'm very proud of what he has done with his life since then.
If you've made it this far into this post, please excuse the long, rambling nature... but it is the off season again...
All this is to say if I signed a big bonus and then was expected to stay in top shape and bust my tail year after year and perhaps sacrifice my health in my later years, I might get a little fat and lazy.
But what I think nobody could argue with...when these guys are still in college, hungry for fame and money...Saban knows how to tune them up and get them in top form.