GreatLakeState
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MICK MCCABE: How one local recruit's story ended with a happy ending
January 27, 2008
Alex Debniak took a realistic approach to recruiting.
The Hudsonville defensive end/running back was shooting for the stars,
but deep down knew they probably would be out of reach.
"I was hoping for Michigan or Michigan State to come through with an
offer," he said. "But at the end of the day, I thought I'd end up at a MAC
school."
Western Michigan made an offer to the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Debniak,
and he figured Central Michigan, where his father, Mark, played, would
come around, too.
So he would wind up in the Mid-American Conference, and he was fine
with that. Then the phone rang.
"Hello, this is Coach Buh from Stanford," the caller said.
OK, Debniak thought, who is really on the other end of the line?
It did turn out to be Andy Buh, linebackers coach at Stanford, and he had
just finished watching a Hudsonville game tape.
How Buh got the tape is another story.
"I'm incredibly lucky," said Debniak. "My dad works with a guy at Wells
Fargo, Dan Grady, who used to be the recruiting coordinator at Western
Michigan."
Western is where Jack Harbaugh, father of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh,
was once head coach, and Grady got the film into the Stanford coaching
office.
That Buh called minutes after watching the tape meant he was seriously
interested.
"He said it looked like I was a flying a 4.1 40," Debniak said.
Buh was exaggerating, of course, but Debniak does have serious speed
for his size. He won the OK Red 200 title in 22 seconds and was
electronically timed in the 40 at 4.43.
Combine that with running for 1,237 yards and 15 touchdowns, and
recording 12 sacks, and he was someone Stanford wanted to get on
campus.
"Wow! It was pretty incredible," Debniak said. "It's a world-renowned
school. I want to major in psychology, and it has the No. 1 psychology
department in the country."
As you might expect, Debniak hit it off with Harbaugh.
"He's very down-to-earth," Debniak said. "He's a great guy. You can tell
he has a confidence about him. He reaches out to you and wants to get to
know you as more than just a player."
Debniak loved the campus and the coaches, but there was something
else. He was bowled over by the football players, who are anything but
dumb jocks.
"They were very well-rounded," he said. "It's an incredible place. They
only have 7,000 students, and they only pick the best of the best. I
thought: 'That's what I want to be.' "
Harbaugh offered Debniak a scholarship, and at a lot of schools, that is
where the story ends. But at Stanford, the offer was contingent on him
being accepted through the admissions department.
"I had to go through the same process all of the students go through,"
said Debniak, a 3.5 student. "I worked very hard on the application. I had
to write six essays. One of the essays asked what I could add to the
school."
Debniak can offer much more than just another outside linebacker, and
two weeks later the admissions department let him know he will get his
wish. He will be one of those Stanford guys.
"Words can't describe how I feel," Debniak said. "I'm so blessed, but I
know I have a long road ahead of me."
He already has traveled a long road.
MICK MCCABE: How one local recruit's story ended with a happy ending
January 27, 2008
Alex Debniak took a realistic approach to recruiting.
The Hudsonville defensive end/running back was shooting for the stars,
but deep down knew they probably would be out of reach.
"I was hoping for Michigan or Michigan State to come through with an
offer," he said. "But at the end of the day, I thought I'd end up at a MAC
school."
Western Michigan made an offer to the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Debniak,
and he figured Central Michigan, where his father, Mark, played, would
come around, too.
So he would wind up in the Mid-American Conference, and he was fine
with that. Then the phone rang.
"Hello, this is Coach Buh from Stanford," the caller said.
OK, Debniak thought, who is really on the other end of the line?
It did turn out to be Andy Buh, linebackers coach at Stanford, and he had
just finished watching a Hudsonville game tape.
How Buh got the tape is another story.
"I'm incredibly lucky," said Debniak. "My dad works with a guy at Wells
Fargo, Dan Grady, who used to be the recruiting coordinator at Western
Michigan."
Western is where Jack Harbaugh, father of Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh,
was once head coach, and Grady got the film into the Stanford coaching
office.
That Buh called minutes after watching the tape meant he was seriously
interested.
"He said it looked like I was a flying a 4.1 40," Debniak said.
Buh was exaggerating, of course, but Debniak does have serious speed
for his size. He won the OK Red 200 title in 22 seconds and was
electronically timed in the 40 at 4.43.
Combine that with running for 1,237 yards and 15 touchdowns, and
recording 12 sacks, and he was someone Stanford wanted to get on
campus.
"Wow! It was pretty incredible," Debniak said. "It's a world-renowned
school. I want to major in psychology, and it has the No. 1 psychology
department in the country."
As you might expect, Debniak hit it off with Harbaugh.
"He's very down-to-earth," Debniak said. "He's a great guy. You can tell
he has a confidence about him. He reaches out to you and wants to get to
know you as more than just a player."
Debniak loved the campus and the coaches, but there was something
else. He was bowled over by the football players, who are anything but
dumb jocks.
"They were very well-rounded," he said. "It's an incredible place. They
only have 7,000 students, and they only pick the best of the best. I
thought: 'That's what I want to be.' "
Harbaugh offered Debniak a scholarship, and at a lot of schools, that is
where the story ends. But at Stanford, the offer was contingent on him
being accepted through the admissions department.
"I had to go through the same process all of the students go through,"
said Debniak, a 3.5 student. "I worked very hard on the application. I had
to write six essays. One of the essays asked what I could add to the
school."
Debniak can offer much more than just another outside linebacker, and
two weeks later the admissions department let him know he will get his
wish. He will be one of those Stanford guys.
"Words can't describe how I feel," Debniak said. "I'm so blessed, but I
know I have a long road ahead of me."
He already has traveled a long road.
