"To go to the next level, you have to be special, and I look for those special qualities in those players, those qualities that I think will translate to the NFL"
About this Quote
The intent is evaluative and cautionary at once. Jaworski is signaling that the next level is defined by discontinuity. College can reward system fit, superior teammates, and mismatches; Sundays punish every weakness at once. By emphasizing traits that “translate,” he’s shifting the conversation from what a player did to how he does it: processing speed, pocket poise, recovery after a mistake, willingness to be coached, and a competitiveness that survives when everyone else is also elite. “Special” becomes shorthand for the unglamorous separators - mental elasticity, durability, and habits.
The subtext is also about narrative control in the draft-industrial complex. Analysts need a vocabulary that sounds definitive while admitting uncertainty. “Special qualities” is deliberately fuzzy, a phrase that protects the evaluator: if a prospect busts, the traits “didn’t translate”; if he hits, the evaluator “saw it.” In an era where measurables, analytics, and highlight culture can overpromise, Jaworski’s line reasserts the old-school belief that projection is part science, part gut, and the gap between Saturday stardom and Sunday survival is where careers go to die.
Quote Details
| Topic | Coaching |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Jaworski, Ron. (n.d.). To go to the next level, you have to be special, and I look for those special qualities in those players, those qualities that I think will translate to the NFL. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/to-go-to-the-next-level-you-have-to-be-special-101913/
Chicago Style
Jaworski, Ron. "To go to the next level, you have to be special, and I look for those special qualities in those players, those qualities that I think will translate to the NFL." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/to-go-to-the-next-level-you-have-to-be-special-101913/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"To go to the next level, you have to be special, and I look for those special qualities in those players, those qualities that I think will translate to the NFL." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/to-go-to-the-next-level-you-have-to-be-special-101913/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.



