On Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, Council Rock North senior John Raymon signed a letter of intent to accept a football scholarship from the University of Iowa.
John Raymon – University of Iowa (Football)
Major: Sports Marketing/Sports Management
Final list of colleges: Iowa, North Carolina State, Penn State, West Virginia
Reasons for choosing Iowa: “I don’t know if it was luck, but it was the last school I looked at. My dad really wanted me to go out (for a visit), but I really didn’t want to because I wanted to get it over with and pick a school. NC State was going to be my choice.
“When I went to Iowa, I had never seen anything like that before. I had visited Purdue, but Purdue is not the same as Iowa and neither is Maryland or Pittsburgh. Iowa is known for their football and wrestling and their strength and conditioning. Their coaches are real into it, and it’s a really good football family. At Iowa, I’ll have the chance to get a Big 10 education, and you also have the athletics and a chance to win bowl games.”
When did the idea of playing collegiate football start to become a reality? “I started thinking about it since my ninth grade year, but I didn’t really think it would happen. I became a junior and senior so quickly, and it just started happening. Once people started seeing my film, they liked how I played.
“Most kids want to play in the NFL, but to make it to the NFL, you have to play in college first. It’s a big achievement, and to play at a high Division One level in football is good too.”
Council Rock North coach Adam Collachi says: “John’s just a superior athlete for his size. He can do anything. We lined him up at fullback, we lined him up at tight end, and he played defensive end for us. He’s slated to play at defensive end in college. He’s something special in terms of just that natural athletic ability that not everyone has. I’m sure when he goes to the next level he will enhance that even more.
“If you look at his performance on the basketball court this past season – for a guy his size to be able to do what he did is incredible. He’s just a naturally gifted athlete.”
Former Council Rock North coach Tom Coates: “Obviously, when I saw him as a ninth grader, it didn’t take a whole lot of coaching experience to realize he had an awful lot of raw God-given ability. He is tremendously strong naturally, and he has great athletic ability, and he can run.
“Besides that, he had an unbelievable drive to succeed. He wanted to excel so badly, and all he wanted us to do is tell him how – ‘Coach, what can I do? What can I do?’ The challenge with John was working on him not getting down. If he didn’t succeed as a sophomore, he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t dominating. I said, ‘That boy across from you is a senior. He had two years to grow, two years to learn, and you just gave him all you can handle. You’re going to be a phenomenal player. Just let nature take its course.’ That was it – just trying to get him to be patient with himself.
“There were games he had as a sophomore and junior that were phenomenal, and other games he struggled. For him, it always came back to the fundamentals, but you saw so much progress in such a short period of time.
“I’m sure Iowa is looking at him and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, imagine him in five years.’ What we did in ninth grade, they’re doing now. When I started talking to colleges about him as a sophomore, I said, ‘When you come back next year, put this kid on your radar because in two years he’s going to be something else.’
“I have coached a lot of years. I have coached in the city, and I have coached some really tough kids. This kid has probably the ability to be the most violent football player I’ve ever coached. I’m not talking toughness. I had a lot of football players who were 5-6 that were tough, and that’s nice to have, but this kid could be the most violent football player I have ever coached –and I mean violent in a good way on the field. I can’t wait to see his games on TV and watch his pass rushing ability. He could be very special.”
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