For nearly 40 years, the NFL had staged an all star game between its top players and the top players in the college football game. It was competitive in its early years but the NFL players eventually dominated the contest. Still, the contest generated a lot of interest in its early years and even raised a lot of money for charity.
It would be meaningless to have the NFL’s top superstars battle the top players in college because that would create mismatches that would hinder attendance for these games. I would propose to bring back the college versus NFL all star game by having the top college players go against the best first year players in the NFL. This would create a more even match-up for both sides and the games would be more competitive. This game would be held after the NFL season and would be played under NFL rules in terms of formations allowed and penalties called. There are two reasons why I believe a college/NFL all star game would be effective:
Reason #1: It would give the college players an opportunity to see what playing against professional football players is like
One of the biggest reasons why college football players fail in the professional game is their unpreparedness. The transition from the college game to the pro game is a major transition both physically and mentally. You can look back at many of the draft busts in NFL history and their reason for failure will always be the same: they weren’t really physically and mentally for the demands of the pro game.
Having an all star game between college’s best players and the NFL’s best first year players will give college players a chance to play against actual professional players and give them a taste of the increased physicality and mentality required of them in the professional game. Playing first year NFL players would ensure that the games will be fairly competitive and also would ensure that more of the NFL players would agree to take part in the game since the veterans probably would not agree to compete against college players.
Reason #2: It’s A Good Chance To Measure The Growth Of The First Year Players Since They Began Their Careers
The NFL’s using premier superstars such as Aaron Rodgers and J.J. Watt would not be practical because the NFL would dominate the college players. However, using first year players presents a more even matchup since these players are only one year removed from college.
Staging an all star game between NFL’s freshmen and the college all-stars gives the fans a chance to see how much the freshmen have grown and how one year of the professional life changes them physically and mentally. After all, these freshmen were once football players in college who were selected to be part of an NFL team. It would be great for the fans to see what a difference one year makes.
