Up until an interesting turn of events around this time last year, being a ball boy ranked right down there with being an offensive lineman on the list of thankless roles in football.
But that all changed a year ago when Florida State's ball boy, "Red Lightning," came out with his very own highlight video, followed by Sports Science's feature on Red Lightning and Auburn's ball boy back in September.
This morning ESPN published a piece on Kwame Mitchell, Oregon's ball boy, and the process that he had to go through to earn the job. The tryout to earn the job started during spring practice and the "final exam" took place during the spring game.
Mitchell also had to pick up his workout routine to keep up with the demands during practice; spring was one thing, but it amped up to a whole new level in the fall.
None of that was particularly surprising, but there was one sentence in the article that really stood out. After making the cut, the university put Mitchell on scholarship.
That right there tells you how important Oregon feels that their managers are to effective practices. The price of effective practices goes well beyond paying the man a small stipend, or hourly wage. Given the means, I'm confident that most coaches would do the same (or something similar) for their managers.
First a scholarship, then a trip to the first ever college football playoff, and now an ESPN article - it's only a matter of time before Mitchell has his own highlight video.