Utah, We All Hate These Guys But…

You know the thing that players always say in press conferences:

"THEY didn't believe in us!",

"THEY gave us no chance!",

"THEY didn't think I could be here!"

And the kid is holding the trophy and we all collectively hate the THEY that the kid is referring to. How could THEY be so wrong about this kid? He's a champion! How dare they!

Well now, after the NFL draft, THEY need some credit.

And let me tell you who THEY are.

They're the Balding 45 year old single guys in windbreakers with a clipboard and the stink of Arby's on their breath.

Scouts.

Specifically those that scout high school prospects.

Mel Kiper and Todd McShay and Adam Schefter tell us about players who have been in Nick Saban's program for 3 years, who are 22 years old. Big deal.

I'm talking about the Scouts that we love to make fun of...the ones from 24/7, Rivals, and whatever other sites are out there.

These guys select 32 five star players in the whole country. And when they give a kid a five star rating they're saying he is going to be a first round NFL draft pick. They publish it for everybody to scrutinize.

These scouts went to a 5'10" 165 pound Bryce Young when he was 16 years old and had braces...

And the scouts said "You're going to be the first pick in the NFL draft in 3 years."

And he was.

And they hit 13-of-31 first round picks based on their 5-star ratings that they gave the kid when he was 16 or 17 years old! Remarkable.

So THEY, deserve our respect today, even though we hate them.