This note from former Eureka High football star Cardedrick Foreman (Class of 1998), says the things that I've long believed about the challenges even the most gifted athletes face on the North Coast.
Cardedrick lives in Utah, with his family, now. He spent four years playing Weber State — and I actually heard some knothead who follows H-DNL football try to say that Weber State doesn't play big-time football. Those, I think, are the type people Foreman addresses:
"Thanks so much for the consideration...People don't know I didn't play my sophomore year (at Eureka High) because my grades weren't good and my parents said 'no-go' to teach me a lesson! Now I have a 4-year degree and had a great career. I'm a proud father and husband. I often wonder how much better I could have been if the coaches didn't hold me back and just let me play and supported the fact that I wanted to go to a bigger college program. There is plenty of talent in Nor-Cal just little support...talk about a guy who put up numbers and got zero credit/support Reggie Menniweathers would be a great story!"
Foreman played wide receiver as a freshman on the Eureka High JV team where, at that time, the JV club passed for far more yardage than the varsity. The majority of the pass yards came on passes to Foreman. Then, he sat out his sophomore years when his peers who'd starred on the JV team were called up to play varsity football. He was, honestly, by far the best of those sophomores. How many parents would keep their sophomore off the team, over grades, if they were keeping them off the varsity team?
In his junior year, with Eureka play 22 different starters on offense and defense, Foreman was a full-time defensive back. He was the quickest, most elusive player on the team -- but, Eureka used 22 different starters, so Foreman didn't play a down on offense. That would, for modern-day fans, be the equivalent of Mo Purify only playing defensive back in his junior year. Foreman was the team's best receiver, too, but he only played defense.
Well, when injuries hit the running backs before the North Coast Section semifinal game between Eureka and Amador Valley, Foreman finally got the call and got some reps at flyback in the playoff game. Before his senior year, Eureka's starting quarterback (my oldest son) transferred to St. Bernard -- and Foreman spent his final year at EHS playing quarterback. And, he ran the complicated fly offense well -- as the best running quarterback the Loggers had ever had.
Foreman could've played both ways -- and starred. He had the speed and strength to have wowed college scouts -- especially once he got to the college camps and combines. But, it didn't happen that way. He played wherever he was told. It seems like the result should've been coaches helping showcase him on both sides of the ball -- and then at camps and combines. If Foreman had his 1,000 yards rushing -- or his 50 catches -- and his inate ability to play DB ... he'd have been a big-time recruit. If he'd gotten to camps and combines, there's no telling how far he could've gone.
He got to Weber State, which is clearly commendable, on his own. And, he's making a nice life for himself on his own.
Reggie Menniweathers was a great running back, with great speed and power. He ran for over 1,000 yards a year for three years on raw talent. He played fullback, halfback, flyback...but never a down on defense. He was built to run over and tackle kids in high school. Playing defense would've helped give him that extra edge if a college came calling. He wasn't nearly as gifted as Foreman, but he was a raw talent who could've used his ability as a running back to play in college. And, if he could've been coached into a serviceable defender -- and, really, it wouldn't have taken much -- he'd have been one of those guys everybody talked about for years.
I believe after rushing for over 3,000 yards, Reggie spent a year at College of the Siskiyous. Then, that was it.
There's no doubt that there are great athletes up there now, but ... there couldn't be athletes better than Foreman. There wasn't a running back in the H-DNL the last 3, 4, 5 years as good as Menniweathers. I saw the best back this year and, honest, Menniweathers was at other-worldly by comparison. Give him the ball, teach him to tackle...get him that college attention...and he'd have played four years and, maybe, everything would've been different for him and his family.
We'll never know, though.
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