West continues Indian tradition
Jeff Tully
Burroughs High has a fine reputation of churning out successful
college football players.
However, along with success on the field, the Indian program also
has an impressive track record of preparing players for the future,
as well as helping them make their way to prestigious universities.
The latest in the line of successful student-athletes is senior
Alan West. The 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive lineman has committed to
play at University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy-League powerhouse.
“We try to convey to our players that there is more to life than
just football,” Burroughs Coach Keith Knoop said. “They realize that
if they want to play at the college level, they have to take care of
their academics.”
To make sure the Indian players stay on the right academic path,
Knoop and his staff initiate grade checks every five weeks. If an
athlete is having problems with his studies, the coaches guide him to
specific counseling and study groups to help him get back on track.
“I haven’t figured it out for this year yet,” Knoop said. “But for
last year, for all of our football levels, I think we had something
like 98% of our players who had a 2.4, or better, grade-point
average.
“Education is important in our program and we do all that we can
to prepare them for life after high school.”
Knoop also receives help keeping players academically on track
from the Burroughs administration.
“Not just Coach Knoop, but all of our coaches have access to my
computer system to keep track of players’ grades,” said Jay Gudzin,
Burroughs vice principal of academics and athletics. “We also utilize
the NCAA Clearinghouse so players can see what is expected of them at
a particular college.”
During Knoop’s six-year tenure as Burroughs coach, the program has
turned out its share of Ivy League players. West joins Joey Learman
(class of 1998; Columbia), Kyle Cremarosa (1999; Harvard) and Keith
Jarbo (2001; Brown) who have earned their way to institutions of
higher learning.
“The Ivey League schools are not easy to get into, academic wise,”
Knoop said. “They have certain standards that they are looking for.
At Harvard, I think if you don’t get at least a 1,320 on the
[Scholastic Achievement Test], they won’t even look at you.”
West -- who had his pick of just about every Ivy League school --
had no problem achieving that standard, as he scored a 1,370 on the
SAT. He also has a 4.4 grade-point average.
“The great thing about Coach Knoop and the other coaches is that
their help doesn’t stop with school and football,” West said. “They
help us with our problems and we can go to them if we are having
trouble in our family lives.”
West will study business at Penn.
“I want to get into business management,” West said. “I want to
run my own company some day.”
Along with his success in the classroom, West -- a Leader All-Area
first-team and All-Foothill League first-team selection -- has also
been a force on the football field as well. Along with 115 1/2
tackles last season, he ended his Indian career with 26 1/2 career
sacks, putting him second on the school’s all-time list.
In 2002, the Indians went 5-6 and advanced to the first round of
the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs, losing to La Verne
Damien, 17-14.
West joins a Penn program that is one of the best in Division IAA.
In 2002, the Quakers went 9-1, 7-0 in the Ivy League, rolling to an
Ancient Eight championship. The team ended the season ranked 17th in
the USA Today/ESPN poll.
The Quakers also became just the fourth program in conference
history to place nine players on the All-Ivy League first team.
Eighteen Penn players were honored on the all-league squad.
“I was so happy with the college when I visited that I canceled my
recruiting trip to Dartmouth and decided to go to [Penn],” West said.
“I loved the coaching staff, they really made me feel comfortable. I
am really excited about playing there.”
West also said he got some advice about choosing a college from a
pair of former Indians.
“I was actually a sophomore when Jarbo was here going through the
process,” he said. “He helped me a lot and really told me what to
expect. I also called Cremarosa and he was very helpful. I was really
able to learn a lot from both of them.”
Penn has thrived under the direction of Coach Al Bagnoli, who has
spent 11 seasons at the college and has a .761 career winning percentage. His teams have captured five Ancient Eight titles. Along
with being named Maxwell Football Club’s Coach of the Year, he was
also a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.
“The team will have a lot of seniors next season,” Knoop said. “So
Alan will go in next year as a freshman and learn as much as he can.
But after 2003, it looks like a position will be wide open for him.”
Said West: “There is a really good chance I could stat as a
junior, or maybe even as a sophomore.”