[1/26/05].

Wednesday for high school senior football players is a mixture of Mardi Gras, Christmas and the Fourth of July.

There’s a party, a gift and then an eruption of emotion.

For the next four years, these superlative athletes will get a college education paid for and the bonus of getting to play major college football, plus, for a few, the chance to advance to pro contracts and become millionaires.

Mississippi’s Big Three colleges will be holding signing parties en masse on Wednesday. The Big Three have plenty to choose from in this fertile football state, and frequently come calling Warren County’s way.

Every year this county produces athletes who have the ability to play on the next level. But there’s a problem: grades. Failing scores trump the brightest opportunities.

Rory Johnson graced the cover of the 2003 Vicksburg Post prep football edition touted as &#8220A Scout’s Dream.”

And he was. On the football field, Johnson’s skills were rarely matched. He possessed size, speed, a nose for the football and all the ability in the world. He signed with Mississippi State out of high school, yet attended Hinds Community College because he didn’t make his grades.

Two years later, he is on Ole Miss’ commitment list, but, according to his junior college coach, &#8220has a long way to go” to become eligible in Oxford.

Johnson’s story around here is nothing new. Each year this county seems to have plenty of worthy candidates, but when signing day comes around, many realize their poor classroom performance, lousy test scores and a laissez-faire attitude about academics are as significant to recruiters as their on-the-field stats.

Of the three or four bonafide Division I-caliber athletes in Vicksburg this year, only one appears close to making the grade and the accompanying ACT score. David Heard and Brett Morgan were the last two Division-I football signees from Warren County to actually qualify and attend their school straight out of high school. For every two like those, however, so many more fail to make the cut.

A sliding scale which combines a student’s grade point average with his or her ACT score is used for eligibility. A student with a 2.5 GPA, for example, needs a 17 on the ACT test to become eligible.

Those numbers would hardly be called unattainable, especially for those of us who have gone through high school already. In my experience, students who put forth an effort, work hard and attend classes will undoubtedly pass with flying colors.

Athletic talent, as deep and rich as it may be, will not carry any of our young people forward. It’s like being handed a Wonka Golden Ticket redeemable for about $100,000 worth of education costs over four years. The ticket comes with provisions, though, before the dream can be redeemed.

It’s those provisions – attending class, doing homework and qualifying in academics – that keep many of our athletes on the outside. Failing in the classroom is like throwing the golden ticket, and the future it holds, in the trash.