Quarterbacks.... why?
 

Why do so many sucsessful college quarterbacks fail in the NFL? Is it coaching?

What percentage of college players are good enough for the NFL? I don't know. But I do know how many NFL players are good enough for the NFL. In other words, the NFL is a lot harder than college ball.

why do so few successful Formula 2 drivers become successful F1 drivers?

Why do so many high school quarterbacks fail in college?
I have been around high school ball for 20+ years. In talking to them after they are playing in college I heard a basic repeating theme.
In high school the other team always had one or two really good players, in fact the team practices were based around stopping or staying away from the opponents good players.
In college every player is as good, or better, as that high school star. Every one. Half of the players were better than anything they had ever seen. High school to college is a whole different world. Many could not play the new college game.
The step from college to pro ball is even bigger. It is a different game, with different players.
Gary

^^^^ Yep. It's hard to fathom just how good professionals are....all sports really.

Look at the systems many end up in. You're just now seeing NFL OC's catering to the skills of the QB rather than changing the QB to fit their system. Baltimore is a great example with Jackson. Baltimore is building a team, or has built a team, around Jackson's incredible athletic ability rather than trying to make Jackson a pocket passer. Another really good example is Mahomes in KC. The college game is different from what the NFL game has been but that's changing slowly. I think it will be interesting to see what Cincy does with Burrow.

Multiple reasons, but often times really good QB's in HS and college can simply rely on their sheer athleticism to excel at those levels. They can get away with misreads and bad decisions because the defensive competition is not good enough to exploit their mistakes. Even in top-level college games, they're playing against kids that have zero chance of playing at the next level. When they get to the professional leagues EVERYONE is really good. The "walk-ons" and "weak links" don't really exist in the NFL.

If these college QB's haven't mastered the study habits necessary to understand NFL defenses and and embraced the mundane aspects of the weekly"grind", they may survive in the NFL but they won't truly excel. Cam Newton comes to mind.

Must not follow the Browns, Bengals or Lions much huh? :D

I think Newton is a good example of a QB that the OC tried to change. Cam was Lamar Jackson before being Lamar Jackson was cool. But then again, Mike Vick was Cam before being Cam was cool.

I'd add, that because many got by on their talent in high school and college, they never had to learn to try hard, adapt, or study their opponent. Ironically, it seems like the QBs who really excel in the NFL come from the pool who were just barely good enough to get into the NFL. (Which is different than saying that those were just barely good enough often excel, as that isn't the case.)

The NFL is hard, both because they take the best players from college and because they have the best players from the past 10+ years. (In high school and college you aren't going to play someone who is 10 years older than you.)

Good point...and those players now have ample Pro experience.

Processor speed.

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I think it's the case for any occupation at the top level. Sports, business, or even entertainment. The typical CEO puts in way more quality hours than you'd imagine. Heck, even Britney Spears likely puts in way more effort than you'd imagine.

When in HS was really good with state allocades. Got full ride scholarships. Realized there are a huge numbers between HS and College. And huge numbers between college and pro. Also learned a lot of being picked is not really talent or ability it is being in the right place at the right time. That is why you see the failures.

That's why I chose college to learn to do other things. Saw too many good people becoming teachers.

This for sure. Ever play pick up with anyone that even had a tryout in the majors?
They can usually beat the whole team.

There's more than a few Navy pilots who can land a jet on a carrier deck in a raging storm yet will never have the right stuff to be an astronaut.

Remember that guy who quit his job because he thought he could become a pro golfer if he practiced for 10,000 hours? Neither does anyone else.

I play tennis (well, played might be more like it - father time has taken his toll) at a fairly high level. Had an opportunity to play several sets (probably a half-dozen over a couple of days) against a three-time All American (SEC) female player. I walked away happy to have won three games total - and I faced multiple Add Outs in the games I managed to win.

Her professional career was pretty much a bust. Although she reached reasonably high singles and doubles rankings on the ITF, she did virtually nothing in the WTA and was never a threat on the international level. Still, she was absolutely lethal against any normal human.

_

Freshmen year of college I studied a lot with a second-year football player who was a business major. His second year in, he had figured out that he wasn't going beyond college with football (and that despite being a standout talent in high school, he was going to be lucky to get played in many NCAA Division I-A games) and decided to switch his major to business so that he would at least graduate with a degree that would help land him a job. He had some conflict with his coach because his major was more demanding than the typical majors they steered college players towards. Even though our school was somewhat of a joke in football, every single player on our team and every team he played was better than anyone he'd encountered in high school. I always thought he was smart to actually use his scholarship to try to set himself up for after college.

All true. Less than 3% of all HS football player get a ride in the NCAA. Less than 2% of D1 football players even get drafted in the NFL. QB's, arguably the hardest position in all of sports, face a gauntlet of physical and mental demands few have. The "windows" become even more minuscule. Lastly, there are only two or three slots per team.

I played QB and Safety in HS and was reasonably good...SoCal has a lot of talented players and I was in the 75th percentile. That will get you exactly zero interest from a big school. Zippy.

This was a long time ago (I don't think the La Brea Tar Pits had officially opened - still waiting for the last Dino to die) before specialization and the demands on the mental aspects of QB (even in HS) became as important as physical presence.

I had zero illusions of playing football in college. I could have punted at a D1 school but I didn't see the point. Stupid.

My best friend was the All CIF AAAA player of the year his junior and senior year as a Fullback and Defensive End. He was just better than everybody else.

He called me after his first few practices at USC..."Different world, Paul: The upper class men are all men...very talented and fast men."

He concussed out of USC and never played a varsity game.

I played a lot of pick-up basketball with NBA and college players in college and early in my Navy career. I was, again, good enough and smart enough to know my role and make sure I didn't get over the tips of my basketball skis. Assists, lot of assists.

Whatever talent you think you may have, to see the athletic ability of NBA and college players in real time, on the same court, is humbling in the extreme.

Summary: You have to be pretty good to make the NFL.

That's why they need a big contract, and big incentives...it is the NFL (Not For Long), so they need to make their mark, collect their money, and exit the game in a few years.

The Tom Bradys, and Drew Brees of the league are the quintessential unicorns of pro sports, and probably won't be duplicated in the future.