GRAM4LIFE
Well-Known Member
I think most of us have missed the boat on this one. TOPS is not given by the university. It is given by the state of Louisiana. I recieved TOPS on graduating high school. If I would have choose to go to any state school then I would have gotten tution paid for through TOPS regradless if I would have gone to Grambling, LSU, or Northwestern State. No school controls who the state gives the scholarships to. That is done when the child is in high school by looking at the individual's GPA and ACT score.
As for the number of signings by Grambling... This has nothing to do with number of football scholarships avaiable. You must send in a letter of intent to the NCAA for every person who is going to play football. Including walkons... So, the number of signings may be big but it has nothing to do with who received scholarships. You must take into account that not all of the players from each year's class continue on with the program. Some decide not to play football and some transfer. Also, Prop players cannot received scholarships on leaving high school.
Taking all of that into effect... The numbers look big but aren't want you may be thinking. There are a lot of kids in LA that want to play for both Southern and Grambling. Doug just doesn't limit himself to football scholarships available. When he recruits, he tells the kids that he doesn't have a scholarship available for him but he still wants him. Explains that there are other ways to get into college. Grants, Loans, Academic Scholarships, Waivers, Other Atheletic Scholarships (Track, B-ball, etc)... That's how all the big boys do it at other schools. This is far from limited to Grambling.
This is the same thing that a college recruiter would do for a regular student. If the student wants to go to Grambling or whatever college, the recruiter will explain all the ways that the student has available to get there. These kids we are talking about just happen to want to play football and Doug wants them to play for us. Most of these kids wouldn't even go to college if not for the opportunity to play football.
As for the number of signings by Grambling... This has nothing to do with number of football scholarships avaiable. You must send in a letter of intent to the NCAA for every person who is going to play football. Including walkons... So, the number of signings may be big but it has nothing to do with who received scholarships. You must take into account that not all of the players from each year's class continue on with the program. Some decide not to play football and some transfer. Also, Prop players cannot received scholarships on leaving high school.
Taking all of that into effect... The numbers look big but aren't want you may be thinking. There are a lot of kids in LA that want to play for both Southern and Grambling. Doug just doesn't limit himself to football scholarships available. When he recruits, he tells the kids that he doesn't have a scholarship available for him but he still wants him. Explains that there are other ways to get into college. Grants, Loans, Academic Scholarships, Waivers, Other Atheletic Scholarships (Track, B-ball, etc)... That's how all the big boys do it at other schools. This is far from limited to Grambling.
This is the same thing that a college recruiter would do for a regular student. If the student wants to go to Grambling or whatever college, the recruiter will explain all the ways that the student has available to get there. These kids we are talking about just happen to want to play football and Doug wants them to play for us. Most of these kids wouldn't even go to college if not for the opportunity to play football.