Can I Do This?

Get faster. Get stronger.

But first, learn to play football.

You can bench 600 pounds, but if you have no idea how to use it on the football field, you’ll get your ass handed to you.

All very good points, and I want to thank you for your responses. As to the eligibility I believe it is 10 semesters after you start playing, I’ve heard it elsewhere, but here is an article that talks about people playing while attending graduate school, meaning that they played later in their college careers and can carry that over to grad school, something that I am interested in.

When I continue school this fall, I think I’ll start a journal of my training and learning of football skills so that others can see how I’m progressing and give me pointers.

Good ! Keep us updated, for sure.

At 6’8 and 220, you are definitely able to play college d1 sports. However, your eligibility is a question. I suggest you read up on the official NCAA website on this stuff.

I echo what everybody else is saying and with the info provided tightend is probably the best position for you.

One specific thing though, if you are 220 and run a 5.1 now, there is essentially no way you will be 265 and run a 4.6. It is very difficult to gain significant weight and run significantly faster. A half a second improvement in the 40 is huge.

Good luck in your journey, prove me wrong if you can.

I think if you are enrolled in an NCAA school right now, your ten semester clock has already started ticking, but that still means you could play a year in grad school. And I say go for it. There isn’t a program in the country who wouldn’t raise an eyebrow at you if you became the beast you described. A tight end from my college, who is your height, couldn’t crack the starting lineup here and caught about 10 passes in his career, managed to get himself an NFL contract without having close to the athleticism you are shooting for. Skill is important, but you better believe he’d be selling insurance right now if he were 6’3". Keep playing intramural sports and/or join one of the varsity teams that your school does field, and make sure to keep your grades up (obviously) and keep hitting the weights. And two words: Joe Defranco.

From a guy married to a lady who worked at the NCAA, your DI clock started as soon as you enrolled in classes full-time. You have ten semesters to fulfill your four years from that point.

For DII and DII, you have 10 total semesters in which you were enrolled full-time… no running clock.

As for your best shot, I think that by adding 40 lbs of muscle, your 40 time would drop like a rock, unlike what the former poster said.

IF, and notice I said IF your vertical is 30", then you have a very small Explosive Strength Deficit based on your Realtive Squat number. Right now, you might squat 1.5X your BW, which is pretty good… for a freshman female soccer player.

Kidding, your issue is a total lack of leverage… 6’8" and 220… You might even create more muscular tension by squatting 300 than a guy like me does squatting 400, but you have zero leverage…

With 40 pounds of muscle, your squat would increase substantially… basically here is the way to look at it… to stay the same relative strength value, if you added 40 pounds of muscle, could you add 60 pounds to your squat (1.5X)…? I sure as heck hope so… you would probably add a couple hundred pounds to your squat because in order to add that weight, you’d have to get your Lurchy ass in the rack.

So, if your relative strength increases, and you are pretty reactive, your 40 time will drop… I am of course assuming you maintain good hip ext etc…

I would do safety squats personally at that height, along with Trap Bar Deads, but I am short guy 5’11"… so what do I know?

The other thing to consider is learning to get, and to take hits… I know this sounds funny, but at TE or H-Back, you’d have to take on the other team’s best atheltes: DE and OLB… amazing explosion. First year guys always suck at hitting… they think real fotball is like pick-up… hehe.

Think of it this way, you have never faced a human being as strong as a DE or OLB from DI, nor have you ever faced an athlete as fast as a DI DE or OLB… plus, he is one of the most pissed off human beings unleashed on this earth…

Now just block him.

Ha!

This isn’t armchair “I woulda”, “I coulda” stuff like all of our beer commercial type friends say… on the field you merely have to sack up and do the job…

The rest is all up to you from here.

Thib, Cressey, Waterbury, John, anybody’s programs can help you get there… now just do it with a passion.

Oh, and here is a personal story:

Two years as a DI WR (redshirted one), blew knee out during year two. Took 5 years off from school to figure out what I wanted to do… worked, partied, etc. Went out east to a small DIII school where the average SAT on the FB team was 1250 or so (geeks like me)… played out my 3 years running track and catching passes while getting a great education. Transferred in at age 26, and captained the FB team at 28… good times. No big stadium, but it was a good way to finish up my Ugrad.

Go Trin!!

Just watch your semesers… and DI is out of the picture unless it is soon.

J

For anyone who was remotely interested in this, it is still a goal of mine, and I’m a hair under 230 right now, my numbers have all gone up and I feel stronger and faster than before. I just started a blog on my T-Nation to document my training, feel free to check that out.