I have long talked about how many of our better players/athletes come with 'asterisks'. There are all sorts of asterisks. Poor students. Low character. Guarantee to let the kid play a position they are not really best suited for.
It must be tough for a coach trying to climb the CFB ladder while trying to bring in the perfect kid. A kid who gets good grades, who works hard and is disciplined, from a good family who can play football at the highest level and who wants to play his optimal position. Obviously, sometimes you give up an inch, some speed or a few pounds for the high character kid who you think will overcome the physical parts. But sometimes, you go for the athlete and roll the dice. A good chunk of the fan base screams for a better team.....but also wants it to be squeaky clean. Is this possible for any program that does not have their pick of the litter? Think about it? That is probably why most programs have kids who are getting in trouble.
I think that all of this talk about Flood not having 'control' is BS. I think that GS and Flood both took some risks on some lower character guys and it bit us. Peele is proven to be a clown. I really don't know much about the rest of these guys, but it seemed odd that Boggs was supposed to be so good, yet wasn't heavily recruited which always makes me wary. At the risk of making some assumptions, I am going to point out that that Boggs is from Coatsville, PA which is 15 minutes west of me and a very poor, urban area. Again, I don't know anything about him, but that is a tough place to grow up so who knows. Several of the other kids are from the immediate area outside of RU so one would think that GS and Flood has the scoop on them, but maybe took a chance if there were some signs.
So if you are to bring in some kids with questionable character, you surely have to try and keep an eye on them and cut bait when the signs are there. I don't blame Flood for what these kids did by any means unless the signs were there and he took a blind eye, but he does look bad for having given Peele multiple chances and that is one thing that may have been a mistake because I think you have to be willing to boot these guys off the team if you are willing to take some chances. I am convinced that GS had somebody following Britt around the entire three years he was at RU, keeping him straight. GS was a master at keeping the program clean, but I believe that he did it through pure will which most coaches do not have. I think he also quietly kicked some of these guys off without their issues being publicized. Did we ever find out why Campbell was booted?
It must be tough for a coach trying to climb the CFB ladder while trying to bring in the perfect kid. A kid who gets good grades, who works hard and is disciplined, from a good family who can play football at the highest level and who wants to play his optimal position. Obviously, sometimes you give up an inch, some speed or a few pounds for the high character kid who you think will overcome the physical parts. But sometimes, you go for the athlete and roll the dice. A good chunk of the fan base screams for a better team.....but also wants it to be squeaky clean. Is this possible for any program that does not have their pick of the litter? Think about it? That is probably why most programs have kids who are getting in trouble.
I think that all of this talk about Flood not having 'control' is BS. I think that GS and Flood both took some risks on some lower character guys and it bit us. Peele is proven to be a clown. I really don't know much about the rest of these guys, but it seemed odd that Boggs was supposed to be so good, yet wasn't heavily recruited which always makes me wary. At the risk of making some assumptions, I am going to point out that that Boggs is from Coatsville, PA which is 15 minutes west of me and a very poor, urban area. Again, I don't know anything about him, but that is a tough place to grow up so who knows. Several of the other kids are from the immediate area outside of RU so one would think that GS and Flood has the scoop on them, but maybe took a chance if there were some signs.
So if you are to bring in some kids with questionable character, you surely have to try and keep an eye on them and cut bait when the signs are there. I don't blame Flood for what these kids did by any means unless the signs were there and he took a blind eye, but he does look bad for having given Peele multiple chances and that is one thing that may have been a mistake because I think you have to be willing to boot these guys off the team if you are willing to take some chances. I am convinced that GS had somebody following Britt around the entire three years he was at RU, keeping him straight. GS was a master at keeping the program clean, but I believe that he did it through pure will which most coaches do not have. I think he also quietly kicked some of these guys off without their issues being publicized. Did we ever find out why Campbell was booted?
