Over the past four days, there are a few news items football fans were certain to note.
— On Sunday, New England defeated Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX in dramatic fashion and you could not have imagined a less likely hero than Malcolm Butler.
Butler, a rookie defensive back, secured the Patriots’ 28-24 win with an interception at the goal line with 20 seconds left in the game.
The story of this lightly-regarded prospect captured the imagination of fans everywhere. Butler played at Vicksburg High School, but poor grades prevented him from gaining the attention of major colleges. Instead, he went to Hinds Community College, only to be kicked off the team for breaking undisclosed team rules.
At that point, he started work at a local chicken restaurant, but returned to Hinds the following season and earned a scholarship to Division II West Alabama. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Patriots last spring. The 24-year-old, like many free agents was a long shot at best to make the roster. There was nothing to indicate then that Butler would ever see action, let alone make the decisive play in the most important game of the season.
— Tuesday, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, a former Pro Bowl player, was suspended for at least one season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy for the second time in as many seasons. Gordon already had been suspended for the first 10 games of the season after an earlier violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
When on the field, Gordon was recognized as a remarkable talent. Now the future of the three-year veteran is clouded at best.
— Wednesday, of course, was National Signing Day for college football programs. The success of those efforts are judged on the number of five-star and four-star high school players signed by the schools. Alabama was considered to have the nation’s best recruiting class for the fourth year in a row while Mississippi State and Ole Miss had classes in the top 20.
These three news items may, at first blush, seem to have little in common.
Yet taken together, a larger point emerges: The value of a thing does not always depend on the worth of its raw material, but on the work applied to it.
The cost of a piece of marble is what it is, but Michelangelo’s David is a treasure of far greater value, even though it, too, started as a piece of marble not unlike many others.
There is little doubt that, as far as raw talent and abilities, Josh Gordon surpasses Malcolm Butler. Here, then, we see what often makes the difference between a Super Bowl hero and a young man who seems determined to squander the abilities he was so richly blessed with.
Butler’s story inspires us, for we understand there was a time when the only person who really believed in Butler was Butler himself. When the opportunity arrived, Butler was prepared to do the hard work that culminated in Sunday’s crowning moment.
If Butler’s story is an inspiration, Gordon’s is one that depresses. Here we find a young, talented athlete whose commitment wavered, whose demons triumphed, a young, troubled man who remains defiant in charting his own road to ruin.
These two stories, taken together, should serve as both a warning and an encouragement for all those high school players who signed football scholarships Wednesday.
Truth be told, there are more Malcolm Butlers in the NFL than you might think.
Of the 44 starting players in Sunday’s Super Bowl, none of them were five-star recruits coming out of high school. In fact, there were just four four-star players. The other 40 were rated as three-star players or even worse.
Every player who signed a scholarship Wednesday has his own supply of raw materials — size, speed, strength, agility, athleticism.
The unanswered question is what manner of work will be applied to those raw materials.
For the lightly-regarded player whose signing drew little attention Wednesday, that should be a source of inspiration. For those whose signing was met with great fanfare, it is a warning: Even the finest piece of marble is just a rock until the work begins.
Malcolm Butler and Josh Gordon are pretty good examples to note.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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