nobody owes you patience

Welcome back to another Leech Letter,

There is a 5-foot-11 offensive lineman in the NFL right now named Willie Lampkin.

Voted the best blocker in the ACC. Consensus All-American. The film was not a secret. Every team in the league watched it.

Draft day came and went. Seven rounds. Not one call.

One team gave him a shot. He went out in the preseason and did exactly what he did in college. Dominated. They still cut him. Then he sat on waivers, and every single team had the chance to claim him.

One did.

Twice, the whole league looked at him. Twice, it came down to one yes.

I coach at the FCS level, and I tell our players some version of this story all the time.

Here is the truth about the next level. First, they look at your body. Can you walk on the field and size up against the big dogs? That check happens before anyone asks about your heart. Then, if somebody cracks the door open, everything flips. Now it is all about what you do with the opportunity.

And here is the part young guys hate to hear. Coming from a small school doesn't buy you patience. It costs you patience. Nobody is waiting for you to catch up. Nobody grades you on a curve because your weight room was small. Your margin is razor thin. The guy from the SEC gets three chances to flash. You get one.

That is not unfair. That is the deal. We don't do handouts in this sport. You earn what you get.

Coach, you already know where I am going with this.

You are the small-school guy too. Nobody owes your program patience either. Not the parents. Not the AD. Not the kid deciding whether to buy in.

So be exceptional on the boring days. Run the warm-up like it matters. Coach the third-teamer like he is the starter. Build toughness every day in the dark, so when your door cracks open, you don't need patience.

You just need the door.

Keep the Fire Burning,

Leech