3 Categories of JUCO Athletes

Coach Kornblue first met Garden City CC Head Coach Jeff Sims when he was coaching at FAU. In an article from AFCA Magazine (Feb. 2018), Sims says he and his staff must be on target when identifying the three types of player they want to fill the Garden City roster.

1. “Try Hard.” Sims says last season’s freshman quarterback, Peyton Huslig, is a prime example. He had a 4.0 GPA in high school. He led his high school team to the state title game. He never got into any trouble and everyone described him as a hard worker, but he just didn’t show enough to get a Division I offer. Huslig opted to go the community college route to prove himself rather than Division II or III. It worked. After entering the program fifth on the quarterback depth chart, he made his way up the ladder and by Week 4 he had his shot on the field. He made it count and earned a scholarship to Missouri State for the 2017 season.

2. Academic Non-Qualifier. Sims describes these players as good enough to play at a major college but simply not academically prepared throughout high school to post the GPA and test scores needed to qualify. Sims’ goal for these players is for them to follow the structured, disciplined academic system in place at Garden City so they can earn at least a 2.5 GPA and 48 transferable credits during their two years on campus. “We tell guys, ‘You can be an All-American in our program but if you don’t have a 2.5 GPA, you won’t have the opportunity to transfer on.’”

3. “Bad Night.” Sims is quick to point out he doesn’t have any “bad people” in his program. He says everyone works too hard academically and athletically to allow a bad person to infiltrate the program. But, Sims sees opportunities for students who have had a bad night. “If you’re 20 years old, you’ve lived 7,300 days. If for 7,299 days, you’re a good dude, that one day still will hurt you because Google never forgets. But, if you make a mistake, you have an opportunity to come to our program and work really hard to show major colleges that you are a good person.”