Linky? I checked the official site and both are still listed on the roster. I'm sure it will happen soon since both of those players have been rumored to have one foot out the door. Both those guys looked like they would be beasts. But it seems like the attitude of entitlement from the upperclassmen of last year spread to many of the 2010 class. Between the coaching changes, being passed over by freshmen, and falling behind due an attitude of entitlement will be the reason for a lot of attrition,
...and Cotton is being switched to a medical scholarship, I believe, so he will no longer count as one of the football scholarships (?). Just heard this on the radio.
I do not like this. The only good that comes out of it is it frees up the two schollies. BUT.. You lose the time invested in them as it applies to the team. Darius White was a FIVE STAR guy that OU sought out and fought us over. I had high hopes he would be the next Limas Sweed. Then there is Taylor Bible, who also was a FIVE STAR recruit from Guyer ( I think) who I firmly believe would have panned out with more time. I would sure like a concise, truthful explanation on why this keeps happening, on to much of a regular basis. ITS KILLING US. MAKE IT STOP! I hate getting all fired up about some highly ranked recruit only to see them fade away a year or so after they come on board. And whats worse is to see them transfer out early season and then have a huge need for them later and then they are gone. See Connor Wood and Traylon Shead.
Don't get too fired up Baok, some of the departees should have not been offered or simply did not maintain motivation and discipline once on campus - coaching evaluation errors and personal issues. Think of it as a head start on spring cleaning.
Its better for them and better for the team if they are never going to crack the depth chart. Seriously, what's the point of warming the bench for 4 years for either the team or the player?
Absolutely best for all involved. Being rumored to expect between 5-7 more to leave. Encouraged attrition. This regime ain't messing around & it can only be better for the team
White and Bible were both 4 stars according to Rivals. It's hard to see how a 4 star WR couldn't crack our WR rotation. I'd like to know the whole story. I guess we see once again that the star rating system doesn't mean much.
The star rating system is only a starting place. It reflects what a player's done in high school, and is an indicator of football aptitude...that's all. It doesn't say anything about motivation, practice habits, or any of the other intangibles necessary to an athlete's performance. Recruiting will never be an exact science, and every school has players that disappoint and leave every year. UT doesn't have a monopoly on that, and it doesn't happen more at UT than any other school. The bottom line...Bible and White didn't live up to expectations at UT, for whatever reasons, and it's best for both UT and the players that they move on for a fresh start somewhere else. Maybe the light comes on for them, and certainly, UT can use the scholarships.
There seems to be a certain amount of hand wringing about whether I coaching staff made mistakes or the ranking systems are flawed. Yet no serious concern expressed about the individuals. Fact is their complete effort is required in order to succeed at the D1 level. Maybe it is improper motivation from the staff and maybe it is a lack of resolve by the individual. Reality is if it isn't working it isn't working, regardless of the percentage of fault and where it lies. In these cases it has to be better for all concerned to move in another direction, if a reasonable amount of time and effort has netted less than the desired results. If people are exiting the program at a high rate 2 to 3 years from now, maybe there is cause for alarm. If you bring in class after class of top rated recruits with multiple stars at a given position, it seems inevitable that someone will seek an opportunity elsewhere for more playing time.
DE D. Johnson, FB J. Berryhill, and OL Buchanan also will not be returning for their 5th years. Wow, we need 30 signees to fill all the attrition. Sure would be nice to pick up a fast rush DE now that we are minus one.
I've read RUMORS on other boards that White talked down UT to a certain superstar WR prospect that we're trying to recruit. That combined with other rumors that he may transfer to aggy seem to indicate that he's got a burr under his saddle about something.
Clean, Read this thread - it goes into the White rumors. Are we starting to play with the SEC rules? Isn't Alabama notorious for running off players that aren't working out? They have a rep for "oversigning" which I don't fully understand but also has to do with running players off the team in order to bring in more young talent. I'm not in favor of cutting loose guys who work hard and put the time and effort in who just suck. But, if a guy is a slacker and malcontent I'm all for it.
JS reported that Demarco Cobbs had to be physicallly restrained from kicking White's arse after badmouthing the program to DGB. White bitched about playing time, didn't produce when he got opportunities - dropped balls right in his hands, and generally took reps away from others in practice. Reports are that he was a cancer on the team. If the Cobbs story is true, the cancer one may be also. If Mack is taking the SEC approach and showing folks like that the door, then hat's off to him. Adios entitlement. Adios dead weight.
