Wednesday, April 11, 2007

This kind of program

Pat White's Dad shows up to games unlike Joe Kane's.The aftermath of the Pacman and Henry suspensions has started. WVU is being mentioned as the school both players attended. This is an embarrassment for all of those associated with WVU and the football program. However, some are starting to overstep the chance to take shots at these two idiots and are attempting to generalize the program. The question posed is what kind of program is WVU running in football?

One of the ways to answer that question is to look at academics. WVU football placed two players on the Academic All-American team last year. Those players were starting center and Rimington Award winner Dan Mozes and starting MLB Jay Henry. Henry was also named the Big East Scholar-athlete of the year and a finalist for the Draddy Award which is the Academic Heisman. In addition, OL Ryan Stanchek was named All-District with the other two to give three All-District Academic All-Americans to WVU which was the most for any school within the district including Penn St., UMD, the Navy, Pitt, and others.

Another answer is arrests. Surely if WVU is out of control and full of thugs then arrests will follow. Drugs, guns, rape, etc. Over the past two years WVU football players have TWO arrests. Jeremy Bruce and Adam Bednarik have been arrested for DUIs. That is all I can find. Two arrests. Someone call the NCAA and give this program the death penalty. These thugs are out of control.

How about how the current WVU athletes act. The two best players on the team are Pat White and Steve Slaton. So they must be showing off after every play and starting fights to set the thug mentality correct? I personally have never seen either do anything except either hand the ball to a referee or celebrate with their teammates after a big play. So there had to be a bunch of dirty plays or fights. Well WVU didn't have anything stand out last year and someone please tell me if they remember the last on the field incident between WVU and another team that was out of control. Like Miami-FIU, Clemson-USC, VT-Louisville (all VT in that one), or the big-time thugs at Holy Cross-Dartmouth. The only on-field incident I can recall is in 1992 versus Syracuse.

Now to the real heart of the accusation. Pacman and Henry. First of all Henry was suspended twice during his final year by Rodriguez. That may not seem like much, but one of those suspensions was against Pitt. A win in that game versus Pitt would have sent WVU the the Fiesta Bowl and a BCS berth. Instead WVU lost a close game and settled for the Gator Bowl. Henry was never arrested while at WVU. His suspensions came from immaturity on the field and breaking team rules. Pacman Jones had one major off the field incident at WVU when he was charged with a felony for a bar fight ending in him hitting another WVU student with a pool cue. He later plead guilty to a misdemeanor. EDIT. ESPN interviewed Floyd Reese who worked with the Titans when drafting Pacman. He stated that Pacman had no other red flags or incidents other than the bar fight until AFTER he was drafted. I'm not sure how WVU can be held accountable for his or Henry's actions after they were given a boatload of money and free time.

So the accusations about WVU are centered on two former players, one of which was suspended for his actions at WVU, and a player that has yet to step foot on campus. So you tell me, what kind of program is WVU running?

10 comments:

John Radcliff said...

That '92 Syracuse thing was totally not our fault. And worth it's own post.

Option Spread said...

If a blogger makes a valid point against the mass media's portrayal of WVU's program, but no one reads it but WVU fans who already know better, does it get Lattimer a spot on starting defense line? Thirty pounds of muscle? In one offseason?

chutta said...

I welcome the image of thuggery and all it entails. I encourage Rodriguez and Huggy to thug it up (and what the hell, why not "Don Imus" up the women's basketball team too). Let's put fear into the eyes of visiting teams. Can't hurt. Probably will get us better TV ratings too.

letsplaytummysticks said...

Seat at the table.

The Hog said...

letsplaytummysticks,

Thanks for reading my entry and responding to the post I made about the possible direction that WVU might be headed.

When I wrote the post, I forgot that Huggy Bear had fled KSU for WVU in the last few weeks. He's another bastion of academic integrity and really is adament about bringing in quality kids and graduating his players (tongue firmly in cheek).

Has WVU become the next Thug U.? I think it's too early to tell, but there appear to be tell-tale signs that the Moutaineers MIGHT be headed in that direction.

PacMan Jones only was arrested for his participation in a bar fight while in Morgantown, but if you do any research about him, he was his own worst enemy at almost all times while there. Everyone knew he was a hard-case kid who was a troublemaker. In simple terms, he was, is and probably will be a piece of sh!t.

I don't know as much about Chris Henry, but, according to you, he was suspended twice.

Pat Lazear...WVU took him when almost no one else wanted him.

Noel Devine....WVU took him when it was widely thought that he couldn't academically qualify anywhere else.

Remember Raymond Williams, another WVU football recruit? Didn't he take part in a crime that directly led to the shooting death of one of his best friends?

Most athletes, including football players, at WVU probably are great kids who do the right thing in and out of the class room....but there seems to be a growing trend with Mountaineer football players and recruits that stinks and is catching the eye of sports reporters and bloggers across the nation.

I've been to Morgantown for a college football game, and I loved the atmosphere and the people. I think it's a great place to be at on a Saturday during college football season.

I hope that your coaching staff isn't cutting corners that will lead to short-term success but long-term failure.

The Hog

letsplaytummysticks said...

If WVU is a Thug program then the tell-tale signs should be the ones I've pointed out.

Pacman and Henry were dealt with while here and are no longer a part of this program.

Pat Lazaer has yet to step foot on campus. He is the first player that I can recall that has any significant type of record before showing up here under Rodriguez.

Raymond Williams never set foot on WVU campus as an athlete or student.

Noel Devine was wanted by every program in the country. He still may not qualify academically and have to go to Prep school for a year, but that didn't stop every school in the nation from wanting him.

I have simply asked for some signs from the current team that it is a thug program. The academic achievement is there, no off the field issues, no on the field issues, you are basing the Thug reputation on two former WVU athletes and others that never have played a down at WVU.

Your list of WVUs problems is five players, three of which have never been on the field, over the past 5 years. Meanwhile you ignore the team on the field currently because that doesn't fit the equation you have created. If you want to look at Thug programs on your rational just check the Fulmer Cup standings at EDSBS. WVU has two lifetime points.

letsplaytummysticks said...

I will agree that most WVU fans would have been fine without Lazaer committing here and we do worry about the reputation of the program in general (other than chutta). The response I've posted to your initial blog post was based upon the bashing of WVU that is going on because of Henry and Jones. People want to label a program based upon those two while ignoring Pat White, Steve Slaton, Owen Schmidt, Dan Mozes, Jay Henry, etc. which is wrong especially considering most of those mentioned will still be here next year while Pacman and Chris are long gone.

Anonymous said...

Rodriguez runs a tight ship, and there are few, if any, incidents (that receive coverage anyway) of football players acting up in M'town. In contrast, I grew up near VT, and, during the 90s, the FB team was all high-thuggery. Anyone remember Christy Brzankala? She was raped by VT football players, and the school refused to do anything. The feds had to step in and sue in a case that eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, which dismissed on constitutionality, not facts.

VT has, thankfully, cleaned up its act recently, and this has hurt them in recruiting. The Hampton Roads thugs now go out of state (i.e., Percy Harvin at UF). Still, Beamer (whom I can't stand -- a low-rate Barry Switzer who turned a blind eye to player misconduct) has been forced by VT to run a cleaner program. BTW, I love VT as a school, but hate its football team.

WVU runs a clean program. Unfortunately, it is difficult to run a clean program and be successful (Penn State notwithstanding).

Anonymous said...

. . . continued from above . . .

WVU fans, however, are another story. Many are vicious and unsportsmanlike, but waht do you expect from Morgantown?

Yes, I live there, and the people here (not the students, so much) are a**holes. The same jackass who tries to run me down with his monster Dodge Ram will be in the stands rooting for his 'eers.

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