Post by The Legend on Nov 16, 2011 21:50:28 GMT -5
Rayder had great success in his high school career
As a child, Tom Rayder was anything but troublesome. He enjoyed a simple, comfortable, quiet life in the suburbs, where his family sent him to an academically strong public school, where he could prepare to attend a good academic college and get a well-paying job out of school. This plan changed a bit when he started playing football.
He found his love for football first in his father’s stories of playing at the college level. Tom’s father played linebacker at the University of Virginia. He decided that it was necessary to pass on stories that would instill a love of football in his son, and it worked. Tom began playing with his friends in the park and quickly found that his talents served him well on the gridiron. Occasionally his friends would make rules that kept him from scoring all of his team’s points, but he still found ways to rack up amazing numbers in these pickup games. This success in pickup football inspired him to continue his path in the game.
He tried out for the team his freshman year of high school and was a resounding success, playing multiple positions at the varsity level. In his high school career, he split time at outside linebacker, cornerback, fullback, and quarterback, breaking school records in tackles, interceptions, passing touchdowns, and total touchdowns, while breaking state records in the latter two. He was voted first team All-State in his sophomore, junior, and senior years, earning high school All-American honors in junior and senior year.
At the conclusion of high school, having committed to Boston College, Tom was preparing for a fantastic college life. That preparation was cut short when his parents separated, leading to a difficult decision as to his home address during breaks. He eventually chose to stay with his mother, who served as his primary support in his childhood. This stress, however, affected Tom’s behavior in his freshman year, and he partied a little too hard, leading to less impressive stats in his freshman season than he was capable of. Having fought for the starting job and won, Rayder led the team to a 9-3 record and a win in a bowl game. His statistics were not impressive, however, as he completed only 52 percent of his passes for 1,900 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Tom showed off his athletic ability at Boston College, leading the Eagles to a National Championship his senior year
Having collected himself and gained control of his behavior, he went into his sophomore year hoping to improve, and certainly did. He led the team to an 11-1 record and an ACC championship, but the team lost in the national championship on a last-second field goal. That year, he completed 70 percent of his passes for 3,800 yards and 25 touchdowns. He finished second in the Heisman voting to a running back from Mississippi, but his future was obviously bright.
In his final two years of college, Rayder completed 72 percent of his passes for an average of 3,600 yards and 26 touchdowns per season, leading the Eagles to an overall 23-1 record and a national championship victory in his senior year. In addition to this championship, he won the Heisman his senior year, and was poised to enter the NFL until a lockout cancelled the season and he was forced to search for other options.
In four years with Rayder as the starter, the Eagles reached two national championships and won one
As academically inclined as Rayder was, he knew his best career path would still be in football, so he turned down offers from engineering corporations such as Raytheon and Sun Catalytix and decided to enter the UFSL draft.
Immediately upon his entry, Rayder began to market himself to General Managers. He compiled a list of his own pros and cons, as he wanted teams to know exactly what they would be getting if they drafted him. The pros obviously were more common than the cons, but cons did exist.
Among the many positive aspects of Rayder’s game was his accuracy. His completion of 72 percent of his passes over his final two years of college is a testament to this. Despite an average receiving corps, he was able to put up fantastic numbers. His ability to learn quickly allowed him to pick apart opposing defenses, continuously reading and outthinking defensive schemes. He also has the ability to make throws downfield to his deep threats, leading to his high yardage numbers. By far the most attractive aspect of his football skill set, however, is his work ethic. Since cleaning up his act after his freshman year, he spent a large portion of his time in the weight room, physically preparing himself for his competition.
After his success in college in high school, Rayder looks to lead a successful UFSL offense
The major cons of Tom Rayder consist only of his inability to scramble effectively and the fear that he may sink back into the partying lifestyle that ruined his freshman season. Though his footwork is not a detriment to the team, Rayder is primarily a pocket passer, and prefers picking up first downs through the air rather than with his feet. General Managers also worry that if he begins his hard partying again, his work ethic will diminish, and his production will fall off.
Despite these cons, Rayder is considered one of the safest bets in the inaugural UFSL draft, because of his production in recent years and the scouting reports of managers from other leagues. He is expected to go somewhere in the first or second round of the draft, depending on the need of teams for a well-rounded passing attack.
