Per the prophetic tongue of one said Jesus Shuttlesworth:The Link And on a side note of how the article ends...
I have been a huge fan of Akina over the years. But I must say that I am very excited to see what Jerry Gray brings to the horns, from recruiting to on the field play. Should be fun to watch. Sounds like Manny is secure with himself and just wants to win. I have not been this ready for a season to start in a long time.
If true, then Mike Stoops is a major league putz, but I guess being a Stoops that goes without saying.
I had heard from other sources not long after Gray was announced that Akina had second thoughts and wanted to stay, but Mack said it was too late, because Gray was a done deal..
It's great to hear that about Manny! In that same post, there is a response that Marquise Goodwin just tweeted that he's quitting football. I wounder if there's any truth to that.
I remember thinking at the time that the timing was definitely convenient, and my suspicion was that Akina had been asked to leave already but Mack was going to wait for him to take another offer so he could "resign" instead. This account makes more sense and fits pretty well with the timeline.
BigVegas is right. If his heart isn't on football, the Texas football team doesn't need him. As good as he is on the football field, he is world class on the track. Since track guys on his level are multi-millionaires, he can live very comfortably without the all of the hits he would encounter on the football field.
It sucks for Akina if he lost the co-DC title at Zona out of loyalty to Mack/UT and wanting to stay until Gray was freed up so as not to further upset the apple cart, hurt recruiting, etc. Class guy and I hope he gets the gig in Hawaii -- it would be a great homecoming for him.
I find it incredible (thanks Longtex) that so many people will believe anything thing they read on the internet. 1. We have to take it on faith that JS is not fudging in his blog. 2. Then we need to believe that JS has a source with in Belmont Hall. 3. Then we need to believe that particular source happened to be in the room when this was discussed between MB and Diaz. 4. Then we have to believe that source is not lying about a conversation that took place. 5. Then we need to believe that during this conversation this is exactly what got said. Was the audio recorded when it happened? I know, i know, the quote sounds awesome. It just sounds a little too awesome. Read it out loud. Does it seem natural to you? conversational? Oh, and this doesn't mean this is not Diaz's sentiment necessarily; it probably is, but come on. Whatever happened to healthy scepticism?
JS is great and I do not doubt that he has real insider info and no desire to profit financially from sharing it. The Diaz quote is also great, entirely fabricated of course, but great nonetheless.
Diaz' quote to Mack could seriously become my new sig, and reading Jesus on this, it strikes me that Mike Stoops is, well...a Stoops. No reason to expect him to do business any differently than his bro. I like and respect Akina, and hope he can use the 'Zona job as a stepping stone to where he really wants to be. Who wouldn't love it on the big island?
I find it incredible that so many people would continue to believe an internet blogger that was wrong so often during the coach hiring process just because they like what they read.
You know it is possible to take what gets "quoted" with a grain of salt AND have fun with what is stated. It is entirely another thing to sit back & cry "BOO, HISS" and "Foul" on matters that you know no more or less than the rest of us. But whatever gets you through your day.
I guess you are on to something Horns11. IT is reporting that Akina will return to Texas. He let AZ know this morning!
I also doubt that Akina was asked to leave. He was a lousy DC, but I am not sure that he is a terrible DB coach. Some of his backfields have been pretty good and the DBs excellent on an individual basis. I am not so sure that during the past two years he has had quite the same talent to work with, Thomas aside. Pass defense begins with the D-line and this season we didn't have a great one. I figure Akina might have been miffed about not getting another shot at DC or a big fat pay raise. In any event, he thought he could advance his career at UA and, apparently, that did not work out for reasons unknown. He may have had second thoughts, but if Jerry Gray convinced Mack Brown that returning to UT as DB coach was his dream and MB committed to hire him, MB had no choice but to advise Akina that he couldn't return. One thing about Akina, by all accounts he helped keep the recruiting class together and deserves credit for that. Perhaps with Diaz and Davis on board, he'll have better results than last year.
