Height & Weight of Players Over Past 100 years

[OldSchoolLion]

Interesting graphic....

https://noahveltman.com/nflplayers/

Interesting comment..."Nowadays if you're 6' 3" and 280 pounds, you're too big for most skill positions and too small to play line."

It's fascinating how over time people of a certain stature have been "squeezed out" of D1 football and/or NFL positions.  40 years ago a skilled, 6'3" 280 guy would be a lineman in the NFL.  Nowadays that guy would likely not be starting on a Power 5 team at any position.

I wonder if in the future the same will be said for the 6'4" 300 -pound lineman?  Will they be too big and too small to play on an NFL team?  Everything is becoming more and more specialized.  With participation in football already declining in some areas, this level of specialization is a bit concerning.  Years ago, one saw kids of all shapes and sizes playing hs football.  Not anymore, at least not in the hs football hot spot areas.  Combine that with the growing concern over concussions and parents not allowing kids to play football, and I worry what football in the future will have to offer the "average" kid compared to other sports that seem to offer kids of more varying body types the opportunity to play.

[OldSchoolLion]

Another way of putting it...the "big" kid always had a place in hs football.  As a hs coach, when that big kid showed up on the practice field, you said, "Son, we'll find a place for you somewhere."

Now only the giant and/or fast kid has a place.  In terms of the average population, a 6'0" 230 pound high schooler is a BIG kid.  But in hs football today, if that kid is slow, there is really not a place for him.  He is too small for the line and too slow for any other position, at least in a state like Florida.      

 

[Hwy17]

5 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Another way of putting it...the "big" kid always had a place in hs football.  As a hs coach, when that big kid showed up on the practice field, you said, "Son, we'll find a place for you somewhere."

Now only the giant and/or fast kid has a place.  In terms of the average population, a 6'0" 230 pound high schooler is a BIG kid.  But in hs football today, if that kid is slow, there is really not a place for him.  He is too small for the line and too slow for any other position, at least in a state like Florida.      

 

That kid may not have a place at one of those private schools like you mentioned above but a many a high school would find a place for him.

[DarterBlue2]

5 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

Another way of putting it...the "big" kid always had a place in hs football.  As a hs coach, when that big kid showed up on the practice field, you said, "Son, we'll find a place for you somewhere."

Now only the giant and/or fast kid has a place.  In terms of the average population, a 6'0" 230 pound high schooler is a BIG kid.  But in hs football today, if that kid is slow, there is really not a place for him.  He is too small for the line and too slow for any other position, at least in a state like Florida.      

 

 

16 minutes ago, Hwy17 said:

That kid may not have a place at one of those private schools like you mentioned above but a many a high school would find a place for him.

He would certainly still have a place on many good rural and small town teams. In the metro areas, he would have a spot on some teams, but not on the teams with a good shot at a deep playoff run unless he was very quick for his size or very, very strong. 

[CoachMacho]

In the 13 years of coaching the best D-line I ever had was about...

DE - 6'0" 200lbs

NT - 6'1" 262lbs

DE - 6'1" 210lbs

 

We ran a 3-4 and slanted the DL. So we didn't necessarily have to be as big. 

And we played 8A football. Three of the teams in our district made it to the state finals at some point. (Miramar, Flanagan, Cypress Bay)

Both DE's had back-to-back double-digit seasons for sacks. The NT signed with Western Illinois (1AA). One year we had the #1 defense in the entire county. The 2 DE's were absolutely relentless and very polished technicians. 

I've coached Corners who signed with P5 teams. But one of the best HIGH SCHOOL CB's I ever coached was a (maybe) 5'7" 150lb kid who was gonna quit football and focus on lacrosse until he met me. Ultra competitive kid. Straight dawg. One of the toughest kids I've ever coached. I was told by the HC that he was "too small" and "got bombed all the time last season". I got there, installed a different scheme, the kid went from being an afterthought to finishing his Senior season with 8 interceptions. (and he dropped at least 3) In the arguably the toughest 8A district in the state at that time. I was told NOT to put this kid out there. He turned out to be our best cover guy. I actually used his LOOKS to bait OC's into throwing his way cause I knew he'd likely pick it off. 

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3116944/5721c0b590eead5d90c4cdc7

 

Point I'm trying to make is, you can always find a spot for a kid if he's high motor, high effort. I don't give a damn if he's only 6'0" 230lbs. The mistake some HS coaches make is that they act like they're fielding a team to win COLLEGE games. Your job is to win HIGH SCHOOL games. And quite frankly, some of the best HIGH SCHOOL players aren't the most physically gifted. 

Now, you may not win a state title with a roster full of kids like that, cause at some point you'll run into a team like STA and their overall team talent will overwhelm you. But, having a team with a couple guys like that is always valuable IMO. You can win a lot of games with kids like that. 

[Hwy17]

7 hours ago, CoachMacho said:

In the 13 years of coaching the best D-line I ever had was about...

DE - 6'0" 200lbs

NT - 6'1" 262lbs

DE - 6'1" 210lbs

 

We ran a 3-4 and slanted the DL. So we didn't necessarily have to be as big. 

And we played 8A football. Three of the teams in our district made it to the state finals at some point. (Miramar, Flanagan, Cypress Bay)

Both DE's had back-to-back double-digit seasons for sacks. The NT signed with Western Illinois (1AA). One year we had the #1 defense in the entire county. The 2 DE's were absolutely relentless and very polished technicians. 

I've coached Corners who signed with P5 teams. But one of the best HIGH SCHOOL CB's I ever coached was a (maybe) 5'7" 150lb kid who was gonna quit football and focus on lacrosse until he met me. Ultra competitive kid. Straight dawg. One of the toughest kids I've ever coached. I was told by the HC that he was "too small" and "got bombed all the time last season". I got there, installed a different scheme, the kid went from being an afterthought to finishing his Senior season with 8 interceptions. (and he dropped at least 3) In the arguably the toughest 8A district in the state at that time. I was told NOT to put this kid out there. He turned out to be our best cover guy. I actually used his LOOKS to bait OC's into throwing his way cause I knew he'd likely pick it off. 

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3116944/5721c0b590eead5d90c4cdc7

 

Point I'm trying to make is, you can always find a spot for a kid if he's high motor, high effort. I don't give a damn if he's only 6'0" 230lbs. The mistake some HS coaches make is that they act like they're fielding a team to win COLLEGE games. Your job is to win HIGH SCHOOL games. And quite frankly, some of the best HIGH SCHOOL players aren't the most physically gifted. 

Now, you may not win a state title with a roster full of kids like that, cause at some point you'll run into a team like STA and their overall team talent will overwhelm you. But, having a team with a couple guys like that is always valuable IMO. You can win a lot of games with kids like that. 

Real coaching!

[OldSchoolLion]

On 9/20/2020 at 4:43 PM, Hwy17 said:

That kid may not have a place at one of those private schools like you mentioned above but a many a high school would find a place for him.

IF the coach is smart and will give him a shot.  As Coach Macho mentioned, some folks have a hang-up about what "should" be. 

[OldSchoolLion]

17 hours ago, CoachMacho said:

In the 13 years of coaching the best D-line I ever had was about...

DE - 6'0" 200lbs

NT - 6'1" 262lbs

DE - 6'1" 210lbs

 

We ran a 3-4 and slanted the DL. So we didn't necessarily have to be as big. 

And we played 8A football. Three of the teams in our district made it to the state finals at some point. (Miramar, Flanagan, Cypress Bay)

Both DE's had back-to-back double-digit seasons for sacks. The NT signed with Western Illinois (1AA). One year we had the #1 defense in the entire county. The 2 DE's were absolutely relentless and very polished technicians. 

I've coached Corners who signed with P5 teams. But one of the best HIGH SCHOOL CB's I ever coached was a (maybe) 5'7" 150lb kid who was gonna quit football and focus on lacrosse until he met me. Ultra competitive kid. Straight dawg. One of the toughest kids I've ever coached. I was told by the HC that he was "too small" and "got bombed all the time last season". I got there, installed a different scheme, the kid went from being an afterthought to finishing his Senior season with 8 interceptions. (and he dropped at least 3) In the arguably the toughest 8A district in the state at that time. I was told NOT to put this kid out there. He turned out to be our best cover guy. I actually used his LOOKS to bait OC's into throwing his way cause I knew he'd likely pick it off. 

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3116944/5721c0b590eead5d90c4cdc7

 

Point I'm trying to make is, you can always find a spot for a kid if he's high motor, high effort. I don't give a damn if he's only 6'0" 230lbs. The mistake some HS coaches make is that they act like they're fielding a team to win COLLEGE games. Your job is to win HIGH SCHOOL games. And quite frankly, some of the best HIGH SCHOOL players aren't the most physically gifted. 

Now, you may not win a state title with a roster full of kids like that, cause at some point you'll run into a team like STA and their overall team talent will overwhelm you. But, having a team with a couple guys like that is always valuable IMO. You can win a lot of games with kids like that. 

Loved your post, Coach Macho, especially the bolded words above.  That is SO true.  Great job giving that kid a shot.  

To clarify my point above, some kids don't have a place on certain teams today not because they are not deserving..it's because of the narrow-mindedness of certain coach's. 

Years ago, Kathleen gave Lakeland fits for a number of years.  They had D's in the early 2000's which folks today would look at and go "no way" in terms of their size.  But they were straight nasty and really knew how to play as a unit.  Ask Chris Rainey.

Coach Guandolo, who coached at a number of S FL high schools, was a master of getting the most out of kids.  I remember watching a state title game with a central FL coach and seeing one of his teams play.  A number of people thought that team was one of the best teams all classifications in the state.  I can only remember one kid from that team who ended up starting on a D1 team.  But as a team, they were fantastic.  

We were focused on this one O-lineman on that team.  Have no idea what his name name was...he certainly wasn't a heavily recruited kid.  Very lean and am guessing he weighed about 240.  That coach and I were having spasms watching this kid play.  His technique was great and he was dominating play.

 

 

[Guest]

I had a position group that had 3 players on it that went on to start as true freshman at Universities in the ACC Conference. I also had a player in the same position group that was considered too small for big college football. The player that was "undersized" was the only one out of that talented group to make first team all state honors. 

[Guest]

Oh and by the way those three players are still killing it in the ACC. The "undersized" first team all state player is killing it as a student in college and is one of the smartest people I know. 

[Hwy17]

13 hours ago, Just A Coach said:

Oh and by the way those three players are still killing it in the ACC. The "undersized" first team all state player is killing it as a student in college and is one of the smartest people I know. 

It seems to me like too much focus is on getting a scholarship to play division 1 college football.  What's wrong with giving a smaller sized athlete a shot if he can help your team win and perhaps get recruited by a lower division college program?

[CoachMacho]

Listen...

 

I had a kid last year who came to us from another school. They thought he was mediocre. He could never find a permanent spot on the field.

He was only 5'9" 170lbs...but he had that "dawg" in him. A relentless, tough, coachable kid.

I moved his little butt to OLB (we run a 3-4) and he started over a 6'1" 215lb kid with SEC offers. 

The season ends and he's First Team All-State. 96 tackles, 20 TFL's, 11 sacks. He's the ONLY Linebacker on the entire All State team that's the size of a DB. lol

Kid was even featured in a national Max Prep article for "Top-100 Under The Radar Players".

 

Martavius "Tay" Davis. 

You gotta believe in these kids, man. You can't always judge a book by it's cover. 

[OldSchoolLion]

19 minutes ago, CoachMacho said:

Listen...

 

I had a kid last year who came to us from another school. They thought he was mediocre. He could never find a permanent spot on the field.

He was only 5'9" 170lbs...but he had that "dawg" in him. A relentless, tough, coachable kid.

I moved his little butt to OLB (we run a 3-4) and he started over a 6'1" 215lb kid with SEC offers. 

The season ends and he's First Team All-State. 96 tackles, 20 TFL's, 11 sacks. He's the ONLY Linebacker on the entire All State team that's the size of a DB. lol

Kid was even featured in a national Max Prep article for "Top-100 Under The Radar Players".

 

Martavius "Tay" Davis. 

You gotta believe in these kids, man. You can't always judge a book by it's cover. 

A muscular, 170-pound kid is a BIG kid by "normal" teenage standards.  Combine that with outstanding fundamentals, superior tacking skills, and dawg mentality and you've got a formidable linebacker that can take down a much bigger rb.  It's BS to think one needs a 220-pound linebacker in high school today.

[gatorman-uf]

5 hours ago, OldSchoolLion said:

A muscular, 170-pound kid is a BIG kid by "normal" teenage standards.  Combine that with outstanding fundamentals, superior tacking skills, and dawg mentality and you've got a formidable linebacker that can take down a much bigger rb.  It's BS to think one needs a 220-pound linebacker in high school today.

This is one of the reasons why on another thread, I dislike the idea of academies (or at least the separation of extra curriculars from school). Many of the kids that we are talking about here are not and would not get a chance at these academies (forgetting the financial aspects). They aren't the right size. High School coaches have to play with what they have. You can't make them grow 3 inches. So they work around and have to coach kids up.

My favorite part of high school/college sports is seeing a team grow. A team goes from below average to average to good to great. A lot of that has to do with good coaching at both the head coach and position coach level. 

[OldSchoolLion]

Am watching Wisconsin play.  They've got a walk-on wr who is  5'7 174 lbs.  He just lined up at TE!  There is hope for undersized players with dawg in them.