While putting together an interactive map of this year's area college football recruits, Community Engagement Editor Cheryl Sadler asked, "Why don't any of these guys smile for their pictures?"

This is a topic we've previously covered. Before the season started, we asked area high school players to say cheese when we stopped by practice.

If you look at the pictures accompanying the map, our request went in one ear hole and out the other. Except in one case: Kirtland's Christian Hauber smiled for his picture. Going by how his season went, he had the right idea.

Here's a recap: Hauber's team went 15-0 and won the Division V state championship -- the first football title in school history -- and on Wednesday he signed to play football at Air Force.

Is it all because he smiled when we took his picture after practice during two-a-days? No, but we'd like to think it had something to do with it.

Unfortunately, there is no indication players will stop trying to look tough and mean even though it looks like they forgot to take out their mouth guard.

As my colleague Sean Linhart said, "There's no smiling in football!"

- Howard Primer