AP sports writer Joe

Football is complicated. Life is more so.
The charge for universities is to prepare students for whatever comes after they graduate. At least that is the mission statement. At places such as Northwestern and Stanford Authentic Arden Key Jersey , it certainly rings true.
When those students are football players, the challenges are exacerbated. Balancing classroom obligations with the demands of big-time sports is difficult.
Doing so, though, provides substantial benefits, as those players have learned as part of the NFL's draft crop.
"That I could get into Stanford helps with football," says Harrison Phillips, a defensive tackle projected to go in the second round next week. "Anything worth doing in life is worth overdoing. The intellectual side of football has always been interesting to me."
Teammate and linebacker Peter Kalambayi, like Phillips, is among the 39 players on the draft boards who recently made the 2018 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society for having carried a grade-point average of 3.2 or better throughout college.
"It is definitely a lot, especially midterm and finals week. It's about understanding when you get home from practice and you are really tired and you don't want to do anything, having that discipline to do what you need. It's learning how to say no to going to social events. People hit you up and you have to tell them, 'It's not right, right now.'"
Right now, Phillips Authentic Customized Patriots Jerseys , Kalambayi and the other recognized scholar-athletes 鈥?including Cardinal teammates tackle David Bright, and Dalton Schultz 鈥?all are listed as potentially going in the three-day draft. Among the traits they would bring to the pros are exceptional study habits, discipline, strong retention skills and organization.
Of course, they need to have the athletic ability, and no health or off-field issues. And just because they excel in the classroom isn't an overriding reason to draft them.
"With some players there definitely was a carry-over, with others definitely not," notes former NFL general manager Phil Savage, who now procures talent for the Senior Bowl and is a SiriusXM Radio football analyst.
"We've seen prospects come out of academically inclined schools where the classwork is especially challenging and they had no edge over prospects who came out of other type schools that were not so highly rated academically.
"You have to be careful to tie it completely together. But guys who check off the boxes in the classroom who you know have worked hard and gotten good marks, it makes you feel good about their prospects. I do think it can be a positive as a prospect. Remember what is the core philosophy for the Patriots: Be in condition, know what to do and play hard."
College Football Hall of Fame member Pat Fitzgerald was an All-America linebacker at Northwestern and has been head coach there since 2006. He fit the category of star player and student, and he now gets to work with similar youngsters, the vast majority of whom won't be heading to the pros.
Fitzgerald believes the habits these players create in high school construct a foundation for their college careers as athletes and students. And then the environment they experience at Northwestern solidifies that foundation for their futures 鈥?whether they become NFL participants or doctors, lawyers Youth Logan Woodside Jersey , businessmen, whatever.
"It begins with the expectations and standards of our program and university," Fitzgerald says. "That is our identification, who we are, and we take great pride in that. We are recruiting a young man who is an institutional fit. We place high value in a 40- to 50-year decision. It's not just playing football, it's using the university to help you be successful in life. He wants to be successful in all he does.
"Typically, the goals are very high of the young man we get to coach, and we are able to drive them and push them to newer heights. It makes for a great group collectively."
Kalambayi and Phillips stress exactly that. Performing in the classroom is as essential as doing the job on a football field 鈥?and it forms a bond with fellow athletes.
"We're fundamentally the same 鈥?we were the smartest football player at our high school," says Kalambayi, who majored in communications and minored in French; his family is from Congo.
"Coming in from different socio-economic backgrounds and from different races, we have a general understanding of each other. We're one of the closer teams because of that.
"Our humor is different than other teams; Our conversations range from politics to football to policy. The locker room is a phenomenal place 鈥?to be around those guys and learn so much from your teammates."
Phillips had two majors: sociology, and the science of technology and society. He minored in education and graduated in December.
He reasons that his acumen for dissecting game plans and individual plays comes not only from his love for football but from his classroom skills. Phillips keeps a notebook with him and constantly writes down things he picks up at film sessions or meetings.
"I don't know how much carry-over there is, but from the football meeting rooms there's a lot of carry-over to the field," he says. "There definitely are similarities of study habits that might be the same."
When these players do move on to the NFL Panthers Donte Jackson Jersey , they tend to remain in contact with the coaches who helped them get there. That feeds back into the college programs, Fitzgerald believes.
"The No. 1 thing guys (from Northwestern who make the NFL) tell me 鈥?midway through their first year I will text and ask them did we prepare you? 鈥?and to a man the answer is the same: 'I was over-prepared.'" He said. "The active learning environment and expectations academically, our guys take the path less traveled. We hope they achieve the goal of playing on Sunday for a long time, but that is Plan B. Plan A is life.
"Hopefully, we The Buffalo Bills put themselves in a better position to fill a big need at quarterback in the draft. The Cincinnati Bengals added much-needed protection for their own franchise quarterback, Andy Dalton.
The Bills moved up nine spots in the draft by swapping first-round picks with the Bengals, who also acquired high-priced left tackle Cordy Glenn in a trade Monday, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to The AP on the condition of anonymity because teams are not allowed to announce trades until the NFL's new business year opens Wednesday. Buffalo moved up to the No. 12 spot in the draft by trading the first of its two opening-round selections, 21st overall. The Bills also have the No. 22 pick.
Buffalo also traded its fifth-round pick (158th overall) for the Bengals' sixth-round selection (187th) as part of the Bills' second major trade in three days. On Friday, Buffalo traded starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor to Cleveland for a third-round pick.
The moves helped place the Bills in a position to use one of their first-round picks to draft a quarterback. The Bills have the assets to move up even higher in the draft order by having two picks in each of the first three rounds.
Nathan Peterman, a fifth-round pick last year, is the only quarterback on the roster.
General manager Brandon Beane has said he intends to land a franchise quarterback through either the draft, a trade or in free agency.
Beane has paid close attention to what is considered a top-heavy draft class of quarterbacks. He has said he planned to meet with all the draft-eligible quarterback prospects.
The offensive line is Cincinnati's biggest focus in the offseason. The offense finished last in the league in large measure because its line couldn't protect Dalton or open holes for the running backs.
The Bengals ranked 20th in allowing 40 sacks and 31st in yards rushing last year.
Cedric Ogbuehi took over at left tackle after Andrew Whitworth was allowed to leave as a free agent a year ago. Andre Smith was signed from Minnesota to play right tackle, which was Ogbuehi's spot. The arrangement didn't work.
Offensive line coach Paul Alexander was fired after the season Authentic Josh Allen Jersey , indicating an overhaul was coming on the line.
Glenn has been a Bills starter since being selected in the second round of the 2012 draft. He was limited to six games last year due to a left-foot injury that eventually required surgery. He also hurt his right ankle.
When healthy, Glenn has been dominant in both pass protection and run blocking. He was part of a Bills team that led the NFL in yards rushing in both 2015 and '16.
Dion Dawkins is in position to replace Glenn as the starter after filling in as a rookie last season. The Bills still have a need at center after Eric Wood was diagnosed with a career-ending neck injury in January.
Trading Glenn also solves yet another salary-cap related issue Beane inherited upon replacing Doug Whaley, who was fired a day after last year's draft concluded.
Glenn has three years left on a $65 million contract he signed in 2016, and is due to make a $9.25 million base salary this season. Despite being traded, a portion of Glenn's bonus money will count against the Bills' salary cap this season.
Beane has taken a bold approach to reshaping the Bills through trades.
On the same day in August, he traded starting receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams and starting cornerback Ronald Darby to Philadelphia. In October, the Bills traded their highest-paid player, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick.
The depletion of talent didn't hamper the Bills from finishing 9-7 and making the playoffs to end a 17-year drought, which had been the longest active streak in North America's four major professional sports.
AP sports writer Joe Kay contributed to this report.
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