The Fleeting Glory of Being a HS Football Star

"A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."

It's the final line spoken by George C. Scott in the movie Patton.

And not to get overly dramatic about football - a game often compared to war with the central idea of acquiring territory - it can be used when it come to the barely tenable role of being a high school quarterback hero.

It struck me as I read Sunday's edition of The State which featured an article about USC football recruit Connor Shaw. The headline reads: "Connor Shaw: USC's next great QB?"

A friend of mine who bleeds orange asked the question, "who is the first great USC quarterback?" (My answer: Anthony Wright, who has started in the NFL and has thrown more than 600 pass attempts.)

So Stephen Garcia, who had the role of high school football quarterback hero two years ago is now a forgotten man with three years of eligibility remaining? One dreadful half against Iowa in the Outback Bowl and lets count down until Connor Shaw gets to campus? (which will be January at the earliest.)

Stephen Garcia (Courtesy University of South Carolina)

Let me make two points about the article about Connor Shaw:

1. Joseph Person, the excellent USC beat writer for The State, makes no statements that claim, promise or allude that Shaw is going to achieve greatness at USC.
2. Quite often, someone besides the writer comes up with the headline in the newspaper business.

And following spring practice - and a nice performance in the spring game - Clemson fans have now penciled in Kyle Parker as the starting quarterback for the Tigers.

Many have jumped on Parker passing former Byrnes HS star Willy Korn for good in that quarterback competition.

This is the same Korn who was described in an online article prior to his verbal commitment to Clemson by saying "Scout.com's Miller Safrit has referred to Korn as one of the top quarterbacks on the east coast for the class of 2007."

Willy Korn (Courtesy Clemson University)

And now some think of him as a backup with three years of eligibility remaining.

I know the most popular player on any football team is the backup quarterback, but the shelf life of our high school football stars is falling a lot closer to a loaf of bread than a Hostess twinkie.