Muschamp's time in NFL reinforced his emphasis on players earning degrees
Thursday, January 20, 2011 | Football, Track and Field, Scott Carter
Former Gators defensive end Carlos Dunlap is back in Gainesville and enrolled in classes this spring. Based on comments I've seen on the Internet, many are surprised that Dunlap has returned to UF to complete his degree.
He is taking 12 hours this semester toward the 20 he needs to complete a degree in family, youth and community services – plus a minor in business.
Dunlap recently finished his rookie season in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, leading the team with 9.5 sacks. Players who leave school early to enter the draft say they'll come back to earn their degree all the time.
Some do, some don't.
It took former UF running back Emmitt Smith six years after leaving school early to earn his degree. But the NFL's all-time leading rusher still calls the spring 1996 day when he walked across the stage to pick up his degree one of the most proud moments of his life. He had won his third Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys just a few months earlier.
New Gators coach Will Muschamp saw the opposite end of the spectrum during his season as an assistant coach in the NFL in 2005. Muschamp shared the story during his introductory press conference last month.
“I was at the Miami Dolphins, and I'll never forget it,'' Muschamp said. “A 24-year-old man who had a bad knee, who was married and had two children, came into my office with tears because they had cut him that day.
“He said, 'Coach, I've got nothing to fall back on.' And that's when it really it home with me. I said, 'Well, you just need to go back and finish up school.' ”
The player then voiced concerns about how he still needed more than a year of classes to graduate and that the school he attended didn't pay for former players to return to school to pursue their degrees.
Muschamp said the poignant moment opened his eyes and it's a story he shares with recruits so they'll know what he expects before arriving on campus.
In a day and age when 16-year-olds often become mini-celebrities on the Internet thanks to constant attention from various recruiting sites, perspective is often fumbled away during some of their most formidable years.
Every five-star recruit in the nation figures it's only a matter of time before he starts cashing those fat NFL paychecks. Of course, the reality is much different.
“Less than 4 percent of everybody who plays college football – Division I, I-AA, Division II and Division III – make it less than four years in the National Football League,'' Muschamp said. “So, at 26, the money is done and you've got the rest of your life to live.''
In his first couple of months on the job, Dunlap provides a good teaching point for Muschamp as he works to close his first recruiting class with the Gators.
“You've got to get your degree,'' Muschamp said. “I'm going to emphasize it.''
