Great journey awaits these young men

One's supposed to be a cinch starter next fall.

Others got the full rides, but will have to compete for playing time.

Then there are the preferred walk-0ns. They face the biggest challenge.

No scholarship. No playing time, at least for awhile.

They'll be scout-teamers, the guys who run the opponent's plays against the varsity every week in practice.

Those are our community's young men, high school football stars, the majority of whom Wednesday got what will probably be their last moment in the spotlight for a long time on national signing day.

That's not a bad thing.

It's what they do out of the spotlight that will help or hinder them on their journey.

Whether that translates into playing time depends on several factors -- i.e., injury, maturation, coaching -- and it will be fascinating to follow over the next few years.

What's more important, though, is these young men complete their education.

A quaint notion, yes, but it's still the objective.

Sure, these kids harbor dreams of playing in the NFL one day.

Odds are that won't ever happen for them.

Getting a degree? Much more realistic.

We wish them luck.

Especially on fall Saturdays.