OT: Edsall Wasting No Time

[BigBird]

Well, as long as ESPN is reporting on it, it must be true.

You seem to have ignored what I said. "By itself, this fact implies only a little..." Was that unclear? Look, I find this story somewhat interesting. Otherwise, I don't have a dog - Husky or otherwise - in this "fight." I understand that football is an issue and a problem at UConn. We can only speculate as to how the lack of a decent program has affected the other sports. That's another dimension of the Edsall hire. UConn wants and needs results, and tomorrow morning isn't soon enough. I understand. But as my football rooting interests lie elsewhere, I will try to leave this thread to those whose passions for this story exceed my own.

 

[Coach J]

While unfortunate for the scholar athlete, I have to imagine there is a good reason. Our football program sucks, and that's putting it mildly. Is this something that is incredibly uncommon after a regime change? Not only did the head coach change, but the entire staff of assistants, etc. did as well.

People can feel free to jump to whatever conclusions they want, but the reality is that he's trying to literally build a program from the ashes. He gets a long leash IMHO to do whatever it takes, provided he gets results on the field.

Side note - apparently even Monmouth took a pass on the kid - UCONN was his only offer. I empathize with him and his family, but a sports scholarship is not a charity.

URI has since offered him. In all likelihood that will end up being best for him in the long run if he didn't fit the new scheme here. Glad he has options now.

 

[huskymedic]

He'll be fine...

Shore Sports Zone ‏@ShoreSportsZone 4h 4 hours ago
Thanks @RaritanSports for the updates: Buffalo, Bucknell, Cornell, URI and Penn in Hazlet to talk with Ryan @ryan_Dickens33

 

[Husky25]

You seem to have ignored what I said. "By itself, this fact implies only a little..." Was that unclear?

No I caught it. What is unclear, however, is how you think that, "By itself, [being discussed by Bob Ley and friends on ESPN] implies only a little..."

It was a gradual process, but the self proclaimed, "World Wide Leader..." has become just that. They have a stake in all of the major moneymakers in North American sports entertainment and, for better or worse, they set the conversation and if they decide something is an issue, then it is.

On the other hand, ESPN is no longer merely a sports entertainment news outlet or game medium. Not only do they set the table, they have a seat at the head and as anecdotal as it may (or may not) be, ESPN has appeared to be on the opposing side of anything remotely positive when it comes to UConn football. Combine that with an overall history (if not only recently) of not being the most magnanimous of organizations. So don't be surprised if you get the least amount of push back when you evoke ESPN, yet immediately downplay what it means. Especially when reputations are needlessly at stake and the Network is in a position to set future policy on the institutions it claims to merely broadcast.

 

[BigBird]

No I caught it. What is unclear, however, is how you think that, "By itself, [being discussed by Bob Ley and friends on ESPN] implies only a little...".

That something is raised to the plain of public or media discussion is an indicator of interest. What the actual content of such discussion might be is, of course, a different thing. The importance or consequence of that discussion is yet another thing.

In the longer run, it will be seen as at best an awkward start for a woeful program. In time, few will choose to remember the story. I won't be one of that few.

 

[CL82]

That something is raised to the plain of public or media discussion is an indicator of interest. What the actual content of such discussion might be is, of course, a different thing. The importance or consequence of that discussion is yet another thing.

In the longer run, it will be seen as at best an awkward start for a woeful program. In time, few will choose to remember the story. I won't be one of that few.

And yet you keep droning on about it now.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Pretty sure the timing has to do with the hiring of the Defensive Coordinator on January 13th. Unless you think that the coaching staff is looking to submarine this particular kid, the more reasonable interpretation is that they realized that this particular player won't be effective in the system they intend to use. In my view far better to let him know as early as possible, rather than let him come to a new school only find out he won't see the field.

As noted above by others, the NCAA system is what it is. Neither the school nor the athlete is bound until signing day. This is fairly typical occurrence in football and not unheard of in basketball.

You are 100% correct in the above. I think the only issue - fully understandable and as you say "what it is" - is that per the parents (and in this I believe them) he got a reassuring call the day after Edsall was hired, as (obviously) Edsall didn't want to lose anyone until he had a chance to review them. Obviously, if he had been at all "wishy-washy" about the show of support then he could have lost someone who was a good get before he had a look at them. But it does suck.

More mysterious is the position coach purportedly visiting a couple of days before the decision was made. Perhaps he didn't impress the position coach, for whatever reason? We will never know.

As you say, not unheard of - at all - but sad for the player who (as was true in this case) gave up other possible schools because of the commitment he had made. And yes, I have heard of WBB coaches (one quite recently) yanking a scholly at the last minute because someone better came along, leaving the player hanging.

 

[CL82]

You are 100% correct in the above. I think the only issue - fully understandable and as you say "what it is" - is that per the parents (and in this I believe them) he got a reassuring call the day after Edsall was hired, as (obviously) Edsall didn't want to lose anyone until he had a chance to review them. Obviously, if he had been at all "wishy-washy" about the show of support then he could have lost someone who was a good get before he had a look at them. But it does suck.

More mysterious is the position coach purportedly visiting a couple of days before the decision was made. Perhaps he didn't impress the position coach, for whatever reason? We will never know.

As you say, not unheard of - at all - but sad for the player who (as was true in this case) gave up other possible schools because of the commitment he had made. And yes, I have heard of WBB coaches (one quite recently) yanking a scholly at the last minute because someone better came along, leaving the player hanging.

The problem is that Coach Edsall doesn't get a chance to tell his version of what was said. Remember that we aren't even hearing the kid's version of what was said. Rather we are hearing the his mom's and the coaches. I suspect that there may be some selective perception involved.

The kid has an full ride from URI and interest from other FCS schools. In the long run it is likely better for him to be playing at a level that he can be competitive. I'm sure he is appreciative that RE2 let him know early enough for him to be able to get other offers. I would be surprised if this doesn't happen again before signing day. In all likelihood, it will go uncommented upon by the press.

 

[oldude]

We don't know the full story on this kid and probably never will. Hopefully he will be a successful FCS football player at RI.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any major college sports program, and it is the element that most coaches dislike the most. 17-18 year-old kids are often too immature to deal with the process. Parents and other parties often pervert the process, and it's not uncommon for kids to mislead or lie to recruiters.

If you are Alabama, OSU, Clemson, you are virtually assured of securing a top-10 recruiting class year-in & year-out. But if you are a lower-tier FBS school the process is enormously challenging. Colleges are trying to get verbal, non-binding commitments earlier and earlier, even though national signing day for football doesn't happen until the 1st Wednesday of February during a recruit's senior year. Between a recruit's verbal commitment and signing day, there is enormous potential for both sides to change their minds. More often then not it's the player, but sometimes it's the university based on the kid getting in trouble, getting injured, academic concerns or as it appears in this instance, a reevaluation of the player's ability to play at the FBS level by a new coaching staff.

So a school like UConn tries to tie up their recruits earlier in the process. They are not getting 5 star athletes. They are looking for kids they can coach up, and sometimes the kids they bring in don't work out. I am reminded of Temple University, one of the most unethical recruiters back in the 80's. Temple used to offer more kids scholarships than they actually had to give. The scholarships went to the kids who accepted 1st and the rest had to fend for themselves. Temple was not alone in that practice.