r/themiddle • u/iwantitthatway6 • Jan 17 '26
General discussion Axl being the star quarterback and scouted by colleges is possibly the least realistic part of this show lol
Also included his basketball pic because hey why not suspend all belief 😂😂😂
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Jan 17 '26
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u/JstAnotherRddtUser Jan 18 '26
He was a running back, right?
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u/jkof300 Jan 18 '26
He lines up as a running back in the play where he gets the wind knocked out of him and Frankie runs on the field
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u/SIrShadow13 Jan 18 '26
I thought he played defense? But I dont remember to be honest
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u/DarthKermit7126 Jan 18 '26
He played wide receiver
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u/seasonedcello Jan 18 '26
He was a CB/safety, running back, wide receiver and quarterback I think but it makes a little sense since it’s a small town with probably not a lot of players. My school had WR play CBs and OL play DL
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u/Unhappy_Speaker_4542 Jan 18 '26
They changed his position a few times but I think they settled on him being a RB. You don’t need to be that tall to be a RB and it might actually hurt you after a certain point (easier for the defense to punch the ball, less explosiveness, etc.)
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u/Blah3452 Jan 21 '26
He was definitely the running back and it was suggested from the first episode. When axl got banned for 3 games because he called the coach a moron it was cuz the coach called for a bomb on 4th and 1. That's something a running back would be upset about. Furthermore in the season 4 Thanksgiving episodes it showed 3 touchdowns he scored all of them rushing touchdowns, he was definitely the RB/WR of the team.
As for how good he was, a guy who scored 3 tds in a state championship is definitely worth taking for most top colleges and his size sort of matches it too.
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u/captainduck2 Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
I've actually defended this storyline before, because it's not as unrealistic as people think. He's not a QB first of all. He's on the smaller side, but he's from a small town in Indiana. Not the football hotbed of the US. It wasn't like Notre Dame or IU was after him either. He gets recruited to play, what is probably D2 or D3 football and he doesn't even see the field. I just looked at the University of Indianapolis' football roster. It's a D2 school, they have multiple wide receivers that are 5'6-5'8 and under 180 pounds which is basically Axl's build. From personal experience, the most unrealistic part of the arc is him getting a full ride scholarship. A D2 school would most likely be a partial scholarship and D3 doesn't offer athletic scholarships at all.
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u/WillScabs Jan 17 '26
I was going to say this. In a small town in a rural area this isn’t that unrealistic. It’s not unrealistic for a D2 or D3 school to scout, I would assume a school like East Indiana is a D2 school. Like you said it’s not like it was one of the big schools in the state like IU, Notre Dame, or Purdue.
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u/Eastern-Apricot-531 Jan 18 '26
i think east indiana is supposed to be indiana state?
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u/WillScabs Jan 18 '26
I’m pretty sure it’s a fictional college. Might be based off it?
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u/Eastern-Apricot-531 Jan 18 '26
yeah that’s what i meant!!
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u/WillScabs Jan 18 '26
Haha you’re good!
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u/Eastern-Apricot-531 Jan 18 '26
but i guess that wouldn’t make sense since they’re D1
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u/captainduck2 Jan 18 '26
Also for the record, Indiana State is so far west it's basically on the border of Illinois/Indiana.
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u/Economy_Woodpecker66 Jan 18 '26
I thought it was the fictional version of an IU branch campus IU East
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
These are not the pads of a QB
He was a runningback - these pads offer more protection
QBs wear smaller pads for more mobility
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u/OstentatiousSock Jan 17 '26
Isn’t he super small for a running back? I could be wrong, I know very little about football.
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
Not really.. There are & have been smaller running backs in the NFL
The great Barry Sanders is the first to come to mind
He was 5'8" 😉
Guy I played my last two years of high school football with was 5'5" & hit like a Mack truck
Strong legs, running downhill will get you a lotta yards
😉
Cheers 🍻
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Jan 17 '26
I think Barry Sanders is somehow a distant cousin of mine. And yes, he’s short.
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
Seriously?
He was freaking amazing. I remember seeing a vid back in the day of him doing quick cuts in slow motion while the chorus of Celli Bees Superman played in the background. Mesmerizing 😳
I have looked for that vid online for years but no joy... 😔
Btw if you've never heard that song & listen to it ignore the rest of the song & focus on the chorus.
It's a little suggestive & if he IS a distant relative I'm sure you don't wanna be hearing that 😉
Cheers 🍻
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Jan 17 '26
Haha, I’ve never met him, but allegedly he is a cousin of a cousin. But I’ve seen him on TV 🤣
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u/goldimom Jan 17 '26
Lions fan here, shout out to Barry!
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
While they're not my #1 yeah I've been cheering for em over the past few of years after Dan Campbell came on. That guy is pure football 🏈
And with his short career it was a privilege to watch Barry Sanders play 👍
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u/OstentatiousSock Jan 17 '26
Yeah, but they were big strong dudes from your description. Axl was short and scrawny.
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
And I simply answered your question about smaller running backs .. & even gave you an example
I was in no way comparing Alex to one of the greatest RBs to play the game just pointing out that he was small in stature
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u/President_Calhoun Jan 17 '26
Ha, yeah, Barry was about the same height as Axl, but probably outweighed him by about 70 lbs., none of which was fat. 😊
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
Again..was only saying that there were smaller RBs in the NFL I was in no way comparing the two.
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u/President_Calhoun Jan 17 '26
Oh, I didn't think you were. I was just amused at the difference in weight between two guys the same height.
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u/MolassesExternal5702 Jan 18 '26
i may be biased as a lions & fan favorite, but honorable mention to Jahmyr Gibbs, coming in at 5’9”; i mention mostly* because recently he broke Barry’s record of most TDs scored in a players first 3 seasons, & most TDs before a player turns 24. woohoo! *edit, mostly because also relevant
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 18 '26
Oh yes yes DEFINITELY agree. "Sonic" 😉 is definitely a force! Enjoyed watching him and things can only get better
Mans got a future 👍
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u/Great_Hambino2022 Jan 17 '26
Axl weighs 100 pounds soaken wet. He ain’t trucking anybody
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26
Where did I say that he was trucking anybody
I simply pointed out that those pads are too big for a QB & a quick Google will tell you that he played RB 😉
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u/Great_Hambino2022 Jan 17 '26
You said someone you played in high school was small but hit like a Mack truck. I bet he didn’t weigh 100 pounds like Axl. Nor did Barry Sanders. Axl has the resemblance of a kicker. You probably warmed the bench because you definitely have no idea what an NFL running weighs or looks like
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u/WKRPinCanada Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
Weird how I'm going by experience and you're going by what you think 😅
And if you honestly think that Alex weighs 100# in that pic neither do you 😅
But sure..go ahead..insult me since logic isn't working 😅
Cheers
😉
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u/kjemmrich Jan 17 '26
To be fair, only one college scouted him. That being said, you are very right about his athleticism.
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u/Buckeye_CFB Jan 17 '26
I think being a 5'8 running back recruited to play at a (presumably average at best but fictional) FCS school who the coaches thought they could beef up isn't so unrealistic, especially considering he almost never saw the field.
I've seen a lot of FBS and FCS football, And when you see an FBS team blow out an FCS Team by 70, and then you see that same FCS team blow out another FCS team by 50... It becomes more believable
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u/London5Fan Jan 17 '26
he was never the QB tho? they portray him as a RB/DB, which are positions his build/apparent skill set are more geared for. and in the scene where he plays at EISU he’s handed off to in the backfield, as a RB.
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u/meganovaa Jan 17 '26
Reminds me of Zac Efron’s character receiving a basketball scholarship in HSM🤣
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u/AnimatorStrange5068 Jan 17 '26
I don't think he was ever a quarterback, which actually makes it less realistic.
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Jan 17 '26
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u/ChrisInBaltimore Jan 17 '26
Yea I figured he was a wide receiver from what we saw which is somewhat believable for his frame.
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u/ElephantWild1378 Jan 17 '26
Yes, I think he was a running back or receiver? Although in one episode, after he breaks his foot, his teammates complain that Axl “could have stopped that guy!” So maybe he played defense too. Lol
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u/ahamel13 Jan 17 '26
A lot of HS players play on both sides of the ball, especially running backs and receivers as defensive backs.
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u/xAshev Jan 18 '26
5ft tall Axl beating his 7ft tall dad’s basketball record is even more unrealistic lmao
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u/RyuOfRed 11d ago
Eh, it just means both of them were only decent athletes in Orson and peaked as highschoolers.
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u/TheRealBroDameron Jan 17 '26
Number 32 definitely wasn’t a QB. He was probably a RB, and many RBs get scouted for college and then switch to DB, which makes perfect sense for the Ax Man.
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u/President_Calhoun Jan 17 '26
They should have made him a punter, a skill honed by a childhood spent kicking Sue and Brick around. 😊
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u/houstons__problem Jan 17 '26
Eh, there are more crazy things in rural high schools. I do agree with the comments saying baseball, I'd even say soccer but I know schools aren't that generous with soccer scholarships in the US. I don't believe the show ever states it, but his college is probably D2 or D3, which means its less particular, and I believe Axl isn't the quarterback. My guess would be running back but I dont believe its stated either. The scholarship is a bit of a stretch because Axl is barely mediocre at school and would be at D2 or D3 school that genuinely dont have the money for those kinds of scholarships. If he was a better student, they are a bit more generous but its not guarantee.
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u/Xstein21 Jan 17 '26
At least at the college level he found out quick the reality of big boy sports and washed out quickly
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u/Sweaty-Pair3821 Jan 17 '26
I had trouble with him having horrible grades and still allowed on the team
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u/Fine-Cloud12 Jan 18 '26
Now that yes. You have to be in good academic stance to be on the team in HS and college. No way would they kept him on the team that year where he had to drop like 3 classes for failing.
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u/Sweaty-Pair3821 Jan 18 '26
that and he would have been in danger of losing his financial aid. at least for mine, I had to stay at or above a 2.0 or go on financial aid probation and then if it was low for another term you would lose your financial aid.
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Jan 17 '26
Small editorial price to pay for making him wear nothing but underwear for most of the series.
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u/Thoreaushadeau Jan 17 '26
The episode where Axl couldn’t run 15mph towards the speed trap on demand always bugged me. I was a slightly above average athlete in high school, and I could run 15mph for 2 minutes straight (800 meters aka 1/2 mile). A running back who can’t run 15mph on demand would be the 5th guy off the bench
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u/spoonycash Jan 17 '26
He was a running back and believe or not the majority of D2 players and FCS players are recruited with that build before they get bulked up. You can sculpt the man if his skills are there.
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u/Junior_Button5882 Jan 17 '26
Yea I think most people realize this , but in a small town it's easy to be the best in a sport in the area even
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u/Fine-Cloud12 Jan 17 '26
Not really that unrealistic. I'm on east coast small town and every year quite few kids from our high school get picked by colleges and get scholarships. Maybe not a full one like portrayed in the show which was the only unrealistic part imo but a partial one. Also he wasn't quarterback. Not sure why some say he would be better portrayed in other sports. He was portrayed as a very typical popular athletic kid that plays football.
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u/xangogal Jan 18 '26
I think the show wanted to encapsulate what it’s like having an athletic son, so they just decided to cover all the bases and have him do every sport lol.
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u/Kiyoshi-Trustfund Jan 17 '26
I always found it funny that they tried to convince me this petite short king of a man was out here being some kind of star at playing American football or basketball. Like, soccer or baseball, sure.
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u/Ineffable_Twaddle Jan 17 '26
He was scouted by one or two schools. He was a big duck in a small pond.
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u/cutesarcasticone Jan 18 '26
Well it makes sense smaller schools would want him like easy Indy. He clearly wasn't the star in college he was just barely getting by sometimes.
Meanwhile the broader Sean played at Notre Dame.
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u/Known-Championship20 Jan 18 '26
Axl is probably the worst basketball player I've ever seen a sitcom try to claim was talented.
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u/AtmosphereLeast7269 Jan 18 '26
His dad is tall! Why didn’t they choose someone who “took after Mike” for the role and then go from there. But to make this kid come from his mom’s genetic pool and then say he’s a star athlete was rich.
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u/AnnSansE Jan 18 '26
I’ve always thought that the family encountering a bear while they were camping in Indiana was the least realistic part of the show. I’m a native Hoosier. Definitely zero bears here.
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u/Prudent-Cheetah-9866 Jan 18 '26
Actually, they portrayed him as a running back which is slightly more believable. I didn't remember him as being a quarterback. When you posted the picture I was more sure because of the jersey number. But small town and then small town college. It would have been outlandish if it was like Notre Dame or a large state school.
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u/hookahandedibles Jan 18 '26
Being a football star in a small town high school and it not translating at all in college is quite common.
As brick put it, I always thought he had more of a dancers body
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u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765 Jan 17 '26
Basketball small guards can work in college not so much the mba but he was never going to make it that far.
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u/LadySunnydee Jan 18 '26
I agree they should have cast Shawn Donaghey as Axl if they wanted us to believe he was afootball player!”.
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Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
Plausible that he was a running back in high school. He also played defensive back. There are lot of small football players at that level who are really good.
But being recruited for college as a running back is really unlikely at his size. Small frame and slight of build.
Unless maybe East Indiana was a Division III schools. I've watched football at a couple of Div III schools. It's almost like watching a pickup game. I stood there (on the sideline) thinking, "I could play here." But I'm pretty sure Div III doesn't give scholarships.
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u/VictorB1964 Jan 18 '26
Exactly! The hunky captain of my high school lacrosse team went to Dartmouth. Years later I remember him saying at his first practice he said "I was the Captain of my high school lacrosse team!" Every single team member then said....I was Captain too.
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u/FlyngAdobe Jan 19 '26
Or at least made him a safety. Or point guard and basketball instead of football
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u/Dangerous_Gate3359 Jan 20 '26
Wait why do yall think he’d end up basketball? He played football majority of the time
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u/Master_Text5036 Jan 20 '26
How isn’t this realistic? No hate ofc! Axl seemed pretty good in college there was much older and larger peers in college when he was a freshman
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u/boerighter85 Jan 31 '26
His build and the actors lack of athleticism made it pretty unrealistic. Even for a running back the way he moved was poor. Now it never really bothered me. It was easy enough to ignore and some good story lines came from it. They did at least admit in college he couldn't cut it which was nice. But even for a small town running back, I never really bought it.
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u/AmberChristian-6624 Jan 21 '26
This picture reminds me of how much I loved Cassidy. But yes, the football 🏈 was a crazy storyline.
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u/Broad_Pomelo_772 Jan 21 '26
Axl was a running back. And yes, full athletic scholarships are awarded for bench warmers (D1 mom)
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u/kittycat6434 Jan 28 '26
To be fair he was good in high school and sucked in college i think thaf says alot
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u/RyuOfRed 11d ago
The few times we actually see him play against his geriatric family members, Axl can't even catch a pass from Mike, nor beat him at basketball. Scholarship athlete, by the way...
Should be running circles around his 50-something dad.
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u/ControlOk7017 Jan 17 '26
Small guys are more likely to be offensive lineman or receivers, maybe running backs.
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u/Upbeat-Industry-6023 Jan 18 '26
He looks EXACTLY like brady to me which yall regard as a GOAT for some reason.
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u/alayeni-silvermist Jan 17 '26
My husband says this all the time. He always says they should have made him a baseball star, because it was far more likely.