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Some people see football as a way of life; they play it with passion, heart, desire, and the hopes that one day they can play the sport for a living.

There are several high school football All Star games every year where only the best of the best high school football players are allowed to attend; each of whom came with the hopes of gaining entrance to a Division I school in order to pursue their football careers. However, doing so is not so easy.

“There are 254,000 seniors who play high school football. There are only 5,042 athletic scholarships awarded at the D1 level. Your odds are 1-50 that you get a scholarship,” claimed analysts at Varsityedge.com.

These statistics may be very shocking to some. According to these statistics, on average only one player form every team will have the opportunity to pursue their football dreams

However, that does not take into consideration the fact that some schools with richer Football history average more players who gain Division 1 acceptance. This leaves smaller, less known schools virtually out of the picture. Well, at least until now.

Senior Nazredine “Big Naz” Abdulla was one of the very few high school football players who was invited to play in the Blue-Grey All Star Football Classic in Florida, which is an All Star game with very rich history.

“It’s really fantastic, first of all it’s a real individual honor for Naz, he was selected out of a lot of student athletes and he went through three phases to get there," said Mr. Coldiron, the football coach.

The first game was played in 1939 in Alabama on Christmas day until it was later moved to Florida. This is an annual game that allows a lot of high school football players to gain exposure to college recruits in order to receive an allusive football scholarship.

“I had to go to two camps that only the best players were chosen to go to,” said Abdulla.

The team only had a couple of days to practice with each other before going out and playing in the Blue-Grey All Star Football Classic game.

Big Naz was able to make an impact on the coaches and was chosen as one of the team Captains.

“Practice was incredibly intense,” said Abdulla. “Everything was done so fast and the vibe was amazing. All the players were always pumped and ready to hit and just play football.”

The game was played on Saturday, Jan. 14 and was nationally televised on Fox Sports at 8 p.m. When it came down to the game, Big Naz was ready to play. Abdulla played middle linebacker for the North team and made a huge impact in the game.

Abdulla was in on various tackles and also had a fumble recovery in the second half to finish off his incredible performance. Abdulla’s performance did not go unnoticed being that he gained the attention of many college coaches now trying to recruit Abdulla.

“I feel like I did well in the game, but the experience was just amazing. Definitely something I won’t forget any time soon,” said Abdulla.

Abdulla has now received letters from many colleges trying to recruit him. However, he has still not made up his mind on which college he wants to attend to pursue his dream of playing football.

This goes to show that even a small town athlete can be recognized and pursue their dreams in whatever sport they choose. This also opens the door for many Granite Hills athletes, showing that Granite Hills can also produce high level players.

“It means a lot for Granite Hills, especially for the small team that varsity has,” stated varsity cheerleader Madison Rice. “Naz going to Florida gives hope to other players that maybe they can do the same, even if they are from Porterville.”

Abdulla going to the Blue-Grey All-star Football Classic has helped put Granite Hills higher on the map. This means many more opportunities for athletes to show what they got and pursue their athletic careers.

Bear Pascoe, which will be playing in the Super-Bowl this Sunday, is another Granite Hills athlete that has achieved his goals and made it to the NFL. Granite Hills is becoming a place where both educational and athletic excellence can be achieved. Granite Hills High School is definitely becoming the place to be.

Nazredine “Big Naz” Abdulla’s game can be watched online at http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/pages/prepzone

Comments  

 

0 #9 Kimberly 2012-02-17 01:41

It's unbelieveable where one student can go with their talent. I hope you make it big and take it internationally .Super proud of you BIG NAZ!!!!

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0 #8 Dulce 2012-02-07 22:41

I think Big Naz is a great football player, and I am sure that he is going to make it to the world of professionals one day in his future career!

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0 #7 Shelbynlozano 2012-02-07 22:37

I think that it is just amazing how someone from a small town can really reach for the stars, and become a TRUE All Star. Naz has done such a great job, with the help of his coaches, to get where he is, and Porterville should be very proud of what Big Naz and Bear Pascoe have done for this small town.

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0 #6 Raul Mata 2012-02-07 18:06

It's pretty cool to know that Naz was selected to play in the Blue-Grey All Star Football Classic in Florida. It's not a surprise that he was selected though, he is such a talented player.

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0 #5 Jose Cervantes 2012-02-07 18:05

Well Congradualation s "Big Naz," that does sound like quite a great honor. The numbers are quite astonishing so you should be very proud of yourself. You seem to have gone far and beyond others to have been selected out of all the other students athletes. Good Luck in the future and keep up the good work.

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0 #4 brandon avalos 2012-02-07 17:53

Good job Big Naz i am very proud of you. Its and honor that a kid from the little town of Porterville got picked to play at Florida, at a professional stadium, and with some of the best players in the country.

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+1 #3 nasredine bignaz abdulla 2012-02-07 17:50

This is a great article Grizzly Gazette. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the wonderful article.

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0 #2 Jose Zavala 2012-02-07 17:50

I hope Granite Hills High school gets the recognition it deserves. We have many great athletes in this school and "Big Naz" happens to be one of them.

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0 #1 Heriberto Zavala 2012-02-03 19:37

I jump of joy when I hear that some random student from Granite Hills High School is playing an ALL_STAR game. I congratulate "Big Naz". I am sure that he is going to make it to the world of professionals one day.

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