How, how, how ND?

[RDF]

ron said:

my question is, why wasn't ty a great fit? that bit of subjectivity can be used to justity non-football or program concerns. lets see, the guy graduates his players, is a moral/stand up guy, went 10-2, and contrary to public sentiment did recruit/mold some pros, and he's a bad fit? wow.

anyway, someone sent this to me today. what does it say?....

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Demetrius Jones, the Notre Dame quarterback who lost the starting position after a poor performance in the season opener, expects to play next season at Northern Illinois following his quick decision to transfer.

Jones surprised Notre Dame's coaches by not showing up Friday for the bus trip for the team's game at Michigan.

Jones said he was stung by coach Charlie Weis' comments that freshman Jimmy Clausen had been the team's top quarterback but was not named the opening game starter as he was recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow.

"When I heard Jimmy was the No. 1 all the way through spring and that the only thing that was keeping him out of the lineup was his surgery, well that's not what I was led to believe going into the summer," Jones told the South Bend Tribune for a story Monday. "I thought I was getting a chance because coach Weis believed in me. Then I didn't know what to believe anymore.''

Jones, who is from Chicago, said he attended Northern Illinois' 21-19 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in DeKalb, Ill., but had not yet been in contact with the school's coaching staff and did not know when he would begin practicing with his new team.

"My plan is to practice with them this year and be eligible to play next fall," he said. "I'd then have three years of eligibility. That's how I hope it works out."

Northern Illinois spokeswoman Donna Turner said Monday that she had no word that Jones was yet part of the team.

"Everything so far has taken place outside the athletic department," she said.

Willingham was a bad fit for ND because of their unrealistic expectations and the fact he wasn't going to get the opportunity with the way he runs a program. He's a good man and runs an honest program--he graduates players, expects them to get an education and their well being comes before winning football games. He's a good coach--and will win--but for the expectations at ND--it was an awful match.

Ron--why don't you wait for a response before getting on your pulpit--you have no information/idea of how that program is run and knowing a few players on that team--and their families--I do--but thanks for jumping in with your two cents without knowing anything.

[ron]

what are you talking about rdf? you made a statement, & i asked you why he wasn't a good fit, and then relayed my beliefs as to why he should have been...ironically beliefs similar to your own...you provided nothing of note, for a guy that "knows"...hahahahahah...its so necessary to provide some "insider info" to you man...wow....hahahahahah

okay mr domer insider....was race an issue with ty's firing, and lack of acceptance? provide specific instances and events to justify your standing as a "insider". don't wax ambiguously...change the names if you have to. inside-guy..hahahahahah

actually, the presumption in your post is as i see it, ty couldn't win enough for those @ notre dame. why do you say that? he won @ stanford, with less talent.

[RDF]

ron said:

what are you talking about rdf? you made a statement, & i asked you why he wasn't a good fit, and then relayed my beliefs as to why he should have been...ironically beliefs similar to your own...you provided nothing of note, for a guy that "knows"...hahahahahah...its so necessary to provide some "insider info" to you man...wow....hahahahahah

okay mr domer insider....was race an issue with ty's firing, and lack of acceptance? provide specific instances and events to justify your standing as a "insider". don't wax ambiguously...change the names if you have to. inside-guy..hahahahahah

actually, the presumption in your post is as i see it, ty couldn't win enough for those @ notre dame. why do you say that? he won @ stanford, with less talent.

I gave you a name of a starting player at Notre Dame--Trevor Laws, from Apple Valley, MN-who signed with ND because of Ty Willingham. I know him/his family and Marcus Freeman--former ND player--who graduated last year and --Rashan Powers-Neal--former recruit and they all were Ty recruits. Their families are all loyal to Ty this day.

I thought you were busting my nuts and saying Willingham wasn't fit as a coach--which was NOT my point. I apologize if I took what you were saying wrong-but I thought you were jumping to a conclusion based on what was written and should've explained it better.

Willingham winning at Stanford is completely different--the Pac 10 runs their programs differently--they still hold the college experience as important--and education does matter. At Stanford, they don't need FB to be the "top dog"--they are the best overall athletic program in the country on a consistent basis--and if not the top--one of the top 3 in country. Willingham could get kids who were not only great students but good players and if they lost 4 games--it wasn't a "failure".

Notre Dame was a terrible fit--he was never going to get a fair shake--and his firing showed it. I laugh at how Weis mentions the "Shape" of the program--and his best players have been Ty's recruits--Laws is his best defensive player now--and he hates Weis. Now he'll never say it publicly--but you know how things go and many kids and their parents knew of the caliber of person Ty was--he cared about them on/off the field. The thing is--he wasn't going to get a chance to see if he could get things going--he was axed. Weis is going to get years to prove he's fit for the job--and they are accomodating every wish he has--which includes taking some student athletes the school wouldn't admit for Willingham. Ty Willingham is at a school that will allow him to win/run things as he'd like-Weis is there to turn things around by any means necessary--and they are starting to find out--maybe he's not what he's hyped to be.

If you are not going to be allowed the same changes as the next guy, if you are told you can't hire certain people to your staff that Willingham wanted, and if you are told that graduation rates matter--only to see the school not back you--and now Weis can do things that Willingham wasn't allowed--you are set up in a bad situation.

Weis bullies, plays favorites, tries to intimidate people into performance--and you are dealing with kids--not professional athletes. He has trashed the man who recruited some of his best players--and guys who were recruited by a man who cared about them on/off the field and have them set up to graduate from ND and in Laws case--have a degree and play on Sundays. He has gone to 2 BCS bowls with Ty's players--and the majority of guys playing on offense are Weis' guys--how's that faring? Remember when Willingham was bashed for not being able to score an offensive TD? He still found ways to win football games and he played a young Brady Quinn--who developed into a good College QB. Now it's all his fault.

ND is a joke--if Charlie's last name was Thomas and he was brown--he'd be gone after this year but you see what is going on--and your insticts are correct.

[ron]

yeah....its clear whats going on. and the kid that has left has a good pt...you say its open, but then say it really wasn't? wow....

well, sometime, not often, but sometime, you reap what you sow. and it would seem that law is being applied today.

i tell you what...id love for them to not win a game. that would make my year! hahahahahaha

[sleepyjackson21]

Looks like they aren't going to release Demetrius Jones from his scholarship. Bad move by the Domers, i think this will really hurt them in terms of recruiting in the Chicago Public League. First they don't give the kid a fair shake and then when he wants to transfer they don't let him. Nice work there Charlie.

[HoyaFanNY]

weis is an egomaniac. he didn't have his team even remotely prepared for the season. jones had no business starting, but weis thought he could run the west virginia offense with no playmakers and a crap o-line. he is clueless.

[ron]

are you series sleepy? what in the hell could they be thinking, besides that the kids are virtual chattel, and belong to nd.

nd is not alone in that presumption, but being so high profile, why would they be cold to that perception.

fools.

[hifigator]

On a somewhat related note, I saw where the line for this week's game opened at Michigan State (-4 1/2). It has moved all the way to (-12 1/2) now. I don't think I have ever seen that much movement in 2 days unless there was some kind of injury or suspension issue. That is just incredible.

[theexorcist]

"--the Pac 10 runs their programs differently--they still hold the college experience as important--and education does matter. "

No offense, but can you source this? This seems like a very broad statement.

[AustinHoya03]

Weis just got extended again:

Story

[hifigator]

That is some funny stuff there.

I especially liked this part:


“We’ve done the forecasting, people. Sure, there’s flexibility. The recruits of tomorrow will be different. So will the game. But there is one and only one answer for this: Charlie Weis. He’ll be able to relate to the gill-bearing wideouts of 2214, as well as be able to cope with the predicted introduction of energy weapons into gameplay in the mid-2160s. And most importantly, he’s got a commitment to his players, be they the anticipated cyclopic nuclear mutantbeasts from the Varragaraz Neutral Zone of No Return in 2245, the highly aware cyborg running backs from the Great Metallization of 2084, or the Vandal Jackalmen of the 2165 Gatorade Insurrection.”

[RDF]

theexorcist said:

"--the Pac 10 runs their programs differently--they still hold the college experience as important--and education does matter. "

No offense, but can you source this? This seems like a very broad statement.

pac 10 teams don't have the recruiting budgets that others do, they didn't get training table for athletes until the last 5 years--which is way behind and was a huge disadvantage, the Pac 10 has academic standards that is above the NCAA in some cases--you could have kids academically ineligible to play that are eligible by NCAA standards--and it's obviously not every school--they have their share of renegade programs--but Stanford and Washington hold athletes to high responsibilities academically--especially for CFB standards/practices you hear from athletes about other more highly touted universities.

Cal, Stanford, Washington, UCLA, and USC are all strong programs--but also have pretty strong standards academically as well--in relation to other big time FB programs. We're not talking Ivy League--but in comparison to peers, they have lost some recruits simply because they were told they'd have to go to class and do their own work. It's why Willingham was going to return to Pac 10 no matter how long it took him after he was ousted at ND. He likes the type of people he works with in University setting, the type of program they want him to run--not just about on field success--it's about developing kids on/off the field.

Now many other schools do this within their leagues--but the overall picture on the college experience including COLLEGE is stronger in Pac 10 for FB as a league.

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

To make matters worse for ND - their play book is now online: www.collegegameballs.com/2007/09/18/charlie-weis-explains-nd-playbook/

[kghoya]

"I'm going to root for those [Notre Dame] guys," Jones said. "The only thing I regret is how I had to leave. [Notre Dame] let me go the best way they could and that's pretty fair to me. If fans want to bash me, I understand where they're coming from. But this was a very hard decision."

One person Jones does not want to see bashed, however, is Irish coach Charlie Weis.

"He made an impact on my life, how to be a family man, lots of things," Jones said. "Everybody may not like him but he takes care of his business and he takes care of it every day. He doesn't change for anybody. He doesn't even let something like being 0-3 rattle his character or personality.

"When we talked [this week], we had a healthy conversation. He was talking to me like a father, not just a coach. I admitted to him that if I'd come to him before the Michigan game, he would've talked me out of [leaving].People didn't acknowledge that coach Weis and I had a great relationship. We've been through some rough times and some good times but we're linked to each other.

"I represent him. No matter what happens down the line, my career started at Notre Dame and that was because of coach Weis. I was a soldier in 'Charlie's army' and I enjoyed every minute of it."

When others suggested Jones should switch positions with Jimmy Clausen coming to Notre Dame, "the only one going to bat for me, saying 'Demetrius is a quarterback,' was coach Weis," Jones recalled. "Coach Weis told me this would be the hardest decision I would make. I feel like I'm blessed to have a second chance to do something so important."

[RDF]

Demetrius was at ND for a reason--he's intelligent. PR 101 in place with the above statements and take the statements he made earlier--the fact ND was not letting him go, and now he's resolved the situation--take a look at the statements. Not saying he's lying--but just saying.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

All I know is that USC is going to embarrass the Irish in South Bend this year.

I also know that I will love every second of it.