Yesterday I went on about how coaches have to put a line down in the sand about these players who commit domestic violence, drug offenses, or theft. Today, a coach finally said enough is enough and sent a player packing. I mentioned Todd Graham, head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils and his line in the sand mentality with his players.
Coach Graham is a man of principle, and he wants his players and staff to act accordingly with those principles that he lays down for his team. Graham wants his players to go to class, to act with class in public, and to be on time to practice and team meetings. Nothing that is considered crazy by any normal thinking person. Everybody has a boss that tells you what is expected of you on a daily basis at work. College and college football are the jobs of these football players and by adhering to Grahams rules, they are setting themselves up for success and in the end isn't that what a coach and college is out there for these young men?
Let's face it, most of these players on a college football squad are not going to hit it big at the next level, so they have to have some discipline instilled in themselves to help get through the rest of their lives. Coach Graham is instilling this train of thought in their brains now, so that they experience success in their lives.
Who doesn't Todd Graham put up with? He doesn't put with former ASU linebacker Davon Durant, who was dismissed from the Sun Devil team for his domestic violence and aggravated assault charge that he pled guilty to. Durant was rated as one of the top Junior College players when he came to Arizona State. He was rated the number 1 inside linebacker and the number 6 prospect overall in junior college. Now, he will be lucky if he gets ANYBODY to take him on their team. As I stated before, coaches hate distractions like kids hate broccoli. Granted he is talented, but at some point second chances won't happen for players like this because they just won't be worth the headache they bring to a football program.
"He's done," said Graham, "We parted ways. He put himself in that position. It's a bad deal, but you got to have accountability. We just don't talk about character and discipline. We live it."
How refreshing is that? To me, it's extremely refreshing in a time where players get slaps on the wrist and get chance after chance after chance. Those of us in the real world get fired if we did something like what Davon Durant did.
Kudos to Coach Graham for laying the law down and not wavering from his beliefs on how to run his football team. Hopefully more coaches catch on with this type of discipline and want less and less distraction for their program. Phenomenal job Coach Graham!
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Quick Hit: Discipline Problems
Coaches hate losing and distractions the most. When those two things happen during the course of the season, and they do, it drives them crazy. Well, down in Tallahassee, Florida there seems to be daily distractions for Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher. To say that this is not an issue would be to say that Pete Rose doesn't gamble. What do coaches have to do to correct things like this?
The fights, domestic violence, drugs, or any other type of felonies that are broken are the result of bad decisions made by the player, not the coach, but what kind of responsibility do the coaches have? As a person who coaches young people, it all comes down to setting the ground rules and making them stick for everybody. Regardless of importance to the team. The third string offensive lineman gets the same consequence as the first team lineman. What brings down a teams chemistry quicker than most things is when the players see the difference in consequences between players on a team. This has to be something that coaches now have to adhere to at some point.
Jimbo Fisher is going to have to institute some type of team self monitoring where the upperclassmen keep the younger players from making some stupid mistakes. He may even have to have some of his coaches go out and monitor there player whereabouts on a Friday night. That may be a very tough thing to do because players are so mobile nowadays that finding any of them on any given night may prove fruitless.
However, these discipline problems are the players problems. When I see the Florida State quarterback in a bar and he is underage I think to myself, "Why?" Why does this person want to put themselves in a situation where they can lose their scholarship and really have no recourse or choice after that. Why do they want to punch a woman? What is inside them that says punching a woman is okay in ANY circumstance? Nobody knows except the player that perpetrates any kind of assault like that. I heard something the other day that has crossed through my mind a few times in my life when I've seen this kind of violence happen. A friend of mine said, "If the boss says 'don't go to the bar' you don't go to the bar." I absolutely agree with that statement. These players/kids are over the age of 18 and that means adult consequences with whatever negative actions they decide on doing. By not following what the coach or boss says, you are saying to your coach and team that you are bigger than the team. Which is incorrect. If the coach found you to play for him, he can find another player just like you that won't make stupid decisions and won't cause him or the school any headaches.
In the end, these coaches need to start taking a hard line with these kids who think they are above the law or the team (Jameis Winston). When coaches like set tough ground rules down and actually follow them for every player regardless of talent they will see team chemistry is much better and that these distractions that they despise simply go away. Just saying...
The fights, domestic violence, drugs, or any other type of felonies that are broken are the result of bad decisions made by the player, not the coach, but what kind of responsibility do the coaches have? As a person who coaches young people, it all comes down to setting the ground rules and making them stick for everybody. Regardless of importance to the team. The third string offensive lineman gets the same consequence as the first team lineman. What brings down a teams chemistry quicker than most things is when the players see the difference in consequences between players on a team. This has to be something that coaches now have to adhere to at some point.
Jimbo Fisher is going to have to institute some type of team self monitoring where the upperclassmen keep the younger players from making some stupid mistakes. He may even have to have some of his coaches go out and monitor there player whereabouts on a Friday night. That may be a very tough thing to do because players are so mobile nowadays that finding any of them on any given night may prove fruitless.
However, these discipline problems are the players problems. When I see the Florida State quarterback in a bar and he is underage I think to myself, "Why?" Why does this person want to put themselves in a situation where they can lose their scholarship and really have no recourse or choice after that. Why do they want to punch a woman? What is inside them that says punching a woman is okay in ANY circumstance? Nobody knows except the player that perpetrates any kind of assault like that. I heard something the other day that has crossed through my mind a few times in my life when I've seen this kind of violence happen. A friend of mine said, "If the boss says 'don't go to the bar' you don't go to the bar." I absolutely agree with that statement. These players/kids are over the age of 18 and that means adult consequences with whatever negative actions they decide on doing. By not following what the coach or boss says, you are saying to your coach and team that you are bigger than the team. Which is incorrect. If the coach found you to play for him, he can find another player just like you that won't make stupid decisions and won't cause him or the school any headaches.
In the end, these coaches need to start taking a hard line with these kids who think they are above the law or the team (Jameis Winston). When coaches like set tough ground rules down and actually follow them for every player regardless of talent they will see team chemistry is much better and that these distractions that they despise simply go away. Just saying...
Monday, July 13, 2015
Myles Jack: Pac-12 Player to Watch
Everybody has a guy on their team that they take their lead from. Down in Westwood, that player for the 2015 season is Myles Jack. This is young man that possesses a unique ability to bring the heat in terms of hits and has the ability to cover first round draft picks in pass coverage, just ask Nelson Agholor about Jack's coverage ability...
For the entire column go to www.campuspressbox.com
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinion
Email: mike.wilson@campuspressbox.com
For the entire column go to www.campuspressbox.com
Follow me on Twitter @pigskinopinion
Email: mike.wilson
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Duck Power: Royce Freeman
For the Oregon Ducks the last few years have been the best in school history. They have battled for the National Championship twice, gone to Rose Bowls, had a Heisman winner last year, and have had their "brand" explode across college football. One of the constants in this success has been a tremendous running attack. The Ducks run the ball all over the field and have had phenomenal talent in the backfield and this upcoming year will be no different. Royce Freeman is another in a long line great Duck running backs and he looks to improve on his freshman year.
Freeman ran for 1,365 yards last season and had 19 touchdowns to go with all those yards. People have to remember that Royce is only going to be a true sophomore. With a break out year like he had, there is talk of how Freeman can get into the Heisman race for 2015. Can he get in the race? Sure he can, but would voters go for a player from the same university as the year before? Probably not, but that has happened before. It has happened four times, with the last school winning back to back Heisman Trophy awards being another Pac-12 team in USC. Matt Leinart winning in 2003, Reggie Bush in 2004.
What will he have to do to get into the race? Obviously he is going to have to have a similar year if not better than 2014. The Ducks are going to have to win and win like they have in the past 5-7 years. He's going to have to have Heisman "moments", which means big, long runs as he is breaking tackles. Highlight type of runs, which means Sportscenter highlights in the Top 10 on a lot of Saturday nights. He has to become the star of the offense like Mariota was the last couple of years for the Ducks. The way running backs are chosen for this award, Freeman is going to have to have a season for the ages. He's going to have stand out like crazy especially playing on the West Coast where most writers on the East Coast have already turned off their t.v's and have gone to bed and won't see his accomplishments in real time and in context with the entire game.
It's been six years since a running back has won the award. Mark Ingram, from Alabama, was on the best team and was truly the best player on that team. Here's one more thing that Ingram had in common with the other Heisman running backs... He had over 2,000 yards on the ground. Like I stated earlier, he needs a "season for the ages". Now, having a huge season doesn't guarantee the Heisman because there have been plenty of running backs who have had around 2,000 yards and came up short in the Heisman voting. Melvin Gordon comes to mind, but he was competing against Mariota.
In the end, Royce Freeman is a guy that every defensive coordinator takes seriously and if he is successful in 2015, the Ducks will be successful. If you asked him what he thinks about winning the Heisman, he would probably say he doesn't think about that stuff and that getting another shot at the National Championship is what he is all about. It'll be interesting to watch the Ducks this year and how they make Royce Freeman the centerpiece of their offense. Go Ducks!
.
Freeman ran for 1,365 yards last season and had 19 touchdowns to go with all those yards. People have to remember that Royce is only going to be a true sophomore. With a break out year like he had, there is talk of how Freeman can get into the Heisman race for 2015. Can he get in the race? Sure he can, but would voters go for a player from the same university as the year before? Probably not, but that has happened before. It has happened four times, with the last school winning back to back Heisman Trophy awards being another Pac-12 team in USC. Matt Leinart winning in 2003, Reggie Bush in 2004.
What will he have to do to get into the race? Obviously he is going to have to have a similar year if not better than 2014. The Ducks are going to have to win and win like they have in the past 5-7 years. He's going to have to have Heisman "moments", which means big, long runs as he is breaking tackles. Highlight type of runs, which means Sportscenter highlights in the Top 10 on a lot of Saturday nights. He has to become the star of the offense like Mariota was the last couple of years for the Ducks. The way running backs are chosen for this award, Freeman is going to have to have a season for the ages. He's going to have stand out like crazy especially playing on the West Coast where most writers on the East Coast have already turned off their t.v's and have gone to bed and won't see his accomplishments in real time and in context with the entire game.
It's been six years since a running back has won the award. Mark Ingram, from Alabama, was on the best team and was truly the best player on that team. Here's one more thing that Ingram had in common with the other Heisman running backs... He had over 2,000 yards on the ground. Like I stated earlier, he needs a "season for the ages". Now, having a huge season doesn't guarantee the Heisman because there have been plenty of running backs who have had around 2,000 yards and came up short in the Heisman voting. Melvin Gordon comes to mind, but he was competing against Mariota.
In the end, Royce Freeman is a guy that every defensive coordinator takes seriously and if he is successful in 2015, the Ducks will be successful. If you asked him what he thinks about winning the Heisman, he would probably say he doesn't think about that stuff and that getting another shot at the National Championship is what he is all about. It'll be interesting to watch the Ducks this year and how they make Royce Freeman the centerpiece of their offense. Go Ducks!
.
Monday, July 6, 2015
In Coach Andersen We Trust
Change. It's what was needed by Oregon State after another season of mediocrity. However, the person that caused the change is now at Nebraska. Mike Riley up and left for Lincoln last Decemeber and it left huge questions in Corvallis. Low and behold, we got a coach that we never saw coming. Gary Andersen from Wisconsin, yes, Wisconsin decided to take the job at Oregon State....
For the entire column go to www.campuspressbox.com
Follow me on Twitter: @pigskinopinion
Email: mike.wilson@campuspressbox.com
For the entire column go to www.campuspressbox.com
Follow me on Twitter: @pigskinopinion
Email: mike.wilson
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Friday, July 3, 2015
Oregon State | Pump Up 2015-2016 | HD |
With 62 days left until kickoff to the 2015 season, here is something to get you a little fired up! Go Beavs!
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