Willy Korn can complete college football journey on his own terms

The email that arrived on Thursday afternoon was bare bones. There was no “high importance alert” to trumpet its arrival or colorful art to help accentuate the information it contained.

Still, it was great news: Willy Korn is not only the first team quarterback on the 2011 All-National Christian College Athletic Association Team, but the organization’s co-Offensive Player of the Year.

Thus, one of the longest, strangest trips a quarterback has ever taken has taken a nice turn.

And the trip might not be over.

Most of you know the story of Korn, a Byrnes High School legend who was expected to become an even bigger legend at Clemson.

Before the kid had even walked past the tombstones leading to the Tigers’ practice field he was getting Heisman hype.

He’d lead the school to a national championship — that was a given.

The only question would be whether or not he’d return to Clemson for his senior year or take the millions of dollars the National Football League would gladly throw at him.

Of course it didn’t work out that way.

Injuries — misdiagnosed as being much less severe than they were — cost him the chance to be the Next Big Deal in Death Valley. In fact, his major college career ended unceremoniously at Marshall, where the Thundering Herd wanted him to be a safety.

He had already graduated from Clemson, something he had dreamed of doing for as long as he could remember, but he still had two years of eligibility left and seemingly nowhere to go.

It was depressing, to say the least. And it was enough to break the spirit of a young man who had it all athletically yet seemed to lose it all through no fault of his own.

But it didn’t.

Instead, the kid who was supposed to be one of the greatest Tigers to ever play became one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in Tigerville.

In two seasons quarterbacking the North Greenville Crusaders, Korn led his team to a NCCAA Division II national championship, passed for 1,533 yards and 18 touchdown in 2010 and 2,525 yards and 27 TDs this past season.

In two years, he had just 11 interceptions.

Finally, Korn was healthy enough to do what he was capable of doing, and what he did at NGU was often dazzling. It wasn’t seen by 80,000 people in the stands or a national television audience, but it was no less real.

The next stop for Korn is Clemson Pro Day in the spring.

NCCAA football is rarely a springboard to the NFL, so it’s going to be tough for the 23-year old to work his way onto the radar of scouts.

He has already said if the NFL isn’t interested the Canadian Football League and indoor leagues are options.

But fortunately, he has options.

The journey might not have gone as he hoped or planned, but at least now Korn can complete it on his own terms.