![]() ![]() “Back then, there was just one way to get through the door, into the media and that was to write stories for the newspaper and then maybe the newspaper would hire. Knowing his future was not at the next level in the NFL, Staples chose to leave the team and begin his journalism career. However, for a player on the football team to want to cover the athletics program, there was a clear conflict of interest. As a journalism student with a desire to cover sports for a living one day, his logical next step was the student newspaper, The Independent Florida Gator. It was also during his freshman year that Staples was faced with a career crossroads. It took maybe one play for me to realize that ‘oh my God these guys are so much better than I am.’ But being part of the team, everyone was nice and everyone really did look out for each other.” I was 17-years-old and it was 95% humidity. There were a lot of times where I honestly didn’t know what I was doing. “They actually did look at me and once I got on the team, everyone was really nice to me. “It wasn’t quite like Rudy for me as a walk-on,” he said. While he knew he was never going to make the main team and earn playing time, Staples was content doing his job the best he could for the betterment of the team. Staples would man the scout team for the Gators his freshman year and was on the team and on the field when Florida was crowned National Champions in 1996. They need bodies for practice, so that’s how that went.” Basically, at that level, I was told later, if you are a minimum size, can chew gum and walk at the same time, you’ll make the team as an offensive lineman. I chose my school based on school alone and I got an academic scholarship to Florida but had no idea if I’d keep playing or not. “I was a 6’3”, 245-pound offensive lineman, but there was no way that was good enough to play Division I football anywhere. “I ended up walking on at Florida, but I really had no idea how that process worked,” he said. Find somewhere to go to school on scholarship and go somewhere with a journalism program. When it was time to attend college, he had a vision for what he wanted to do. Undersized by offensive tackle standards, Staples made up for his lack of dimension with gumption and determination. Through perseverance and practice, he would earn a spot on varsity and soon a starting job by his junior and senior years. While Staples admittedly had no idea what he was doing once he got the pads on, he soon found a home on his team’s offensive line. They told me ‘You’ll figure this out on your own.’ As the year went by, it just nagged me and I knew I couldn’t leave it like that, so I went back the next year and stuck it out.” My parents were so mad at me, but they didn’t make me go back out there. I just walked off and said I didn’t want to do this. I actually went out for the team my freshman year in high school, but practice was so hard. I was like 5’1” and 180 in sixth grade and then like 6’3” and 185 in tenth grade. “So, I was too fat to play as a younger kid,” said Staples with a laugh. After a rocky start, he soon found his footing and his love of the game grew by leaps and bounds. ![]() Growing up in the suburbs of Orlando, Florida, Staples got his start playing the game as a freshman in high school. You can trace that perspective and enthusiasm for the sport directly to his roots in the game. Currently covering college football for The Athletic and SiriuxXM Radio, Staples has built a long and distinguished career in the media, providing one the most unique voices currently covering the game of football today. In the world of college football, few people cover the sport with the diligence, passion, and joy that Andy Staples does.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |