Offered as a freshman; FBCA's Strickland is becoming national recruit
If you can play, college coaches will find you.
It doesn't hurt if you are 6-foot-4, 300-pounds either.
Remington Strickland was offered in the ninth grade when he was at Logos Prep.
"I was definitely shocked when I was offered by Texas State in the ninth grade," he said. "I'll never forget it. I didn't know they you could get offered as a freshman. It really opened our eyes to the recruiting process."
The junior moved to anchor Fort Bend Christian Academy's offensive line a year ago, and is now under the tutelage of coach Jordan Black, the Eagles' first-year head coach and long-time NFL vet.
"The culture is so different here with coach Black," he said. "He is showing me things about the game that I would have never learned had he not been my coach. The offseason we went through has made me so much stronger and more athletic."
The two-year starter at FBCA has yet to give up a sack on his side of the ball, ever. Scary thing is that he's just learning the position.
"My strong suit is pass blocking," he said. "Coach Black instills that footwork is everything. Add that with good technique and you can move anyone."
His efforts over the summer at the Under Armour All-American Regional camp and the Nike Opening Regional event also put him on the national recruiting map.
"I'm wanting to go check out Nebraska, OU, Texas Tech among others," he said. "I'm really open right now, but just looking for a place where I really like my position coaches, has a great culture and tremendous academics.
"I know that so many good private school players go un-recruited," he said. "I know I have to play well on Friday nights and show out at the bigger camps and compete against the four and five-star kids across the country."
His favorite player?
"I really like to watch Travis Frederick of the Dallas Cowboys," he said. "For me, I'm just seeing how far football takes me. When I'm done, I'd like to be on OL coach and teach what I've learned."
Now that's paying it forward.