George Uko

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whosyourwally
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Re: George Uko

Post by whosyourwally »

echo31 wrote: BRAVO!

The way the school dealt with it is more than likely a positive for recruiting. Do we really want any recruits who look at this situation and think, "man, I don't want to go to a school that doesn't allow me to go apeshit and punch a bunch of people on national television"? I know I don't want kids like that representing the school I attended.

first time i've had a laugh over the whole thing. thanks bud.
huckthefuskies
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Re: George Uko

Post by huckthefuskies »

wheaton4prez wrote:[
huckthefuskies wrote:Ps. am I the only one that feels Kelly has done/ put more effort into bonding with the recruits than their parents so far? Seems like the farther one heads east the more important parents will become... At some point convincing them might be more important than the recruit themselves... anyways just a thought
It's possible. I just don't see the reasoning for why it would.
No doubt that there are some kids that are looking to do the opposite of their parents wishes. There are even some that are looking for their parents to tell them what to do. The vast vast majority are sitting in the middle though. It just seems like if you want to win these parents over on Oregon and letting their kids travel that far west where they have to TRUST the coaches to return their kids better off than when they left home. To do this you need to sell something real. These parents probably care less about the facilities or 2nd highest rushing team in the nation than some of you guys want to believe... I would also venture to guess that these student athletes in the middle as a whole probably represent the best stewards of our university. On a lighter side though, I don't know exactly what helfrich does but, maybe Kent could move over to the football team at least for recruiting.
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UofDuck
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Re: George Uko

Post by UofDuck »

I take it personally because this is the program I spend my time following and dollars supporting. If something isn't right, it's up to us to say or do something about, if for no other reason than to be sure that it doesn't happen that way again.

Hey Wheat - how is it going? Got to say I am much less one sided in my opinion than your are on this issue. I must say I am conflicted regarding it though. Hout got what he deserved physically, but still needs to get some manditory bench time too - Regarding the punch, I honestly think I would have done the same thing and actually did in HS to a kid that bumped me while yapping after a loss and I am a pretty level headed guy. It just went too far for me and whamo - although my right cross is not as good as LB's :twisted: - that was a wicked shot... Look, "talking" is one thing, "slap me" physically on the shoulder while "talking" is a whole other can of worms and Hout got just what he bought. However, Blount took it to another level and that is really what damaged the team and it's reputation. He totally, and I mean totally lost it for whatever reason.

Here is my rub with how one sided you are feeling on this issue; From what I can gather from you comments, (I think) you believe that Kelly & Co are throwing the kid under the bus in part because of their own reputation. I see it as the kid getting "partially" thrown under the bus to protect the reputation of Oregon football and that is a big difference in my eyes. Oregon football is much bigger than Chip, or MB, or Phil - or Blount for that matter. Many years ago I watched a power-house Miami team completely crumble because the player's actions were not kept in check and the national public's perception was thug's were allowed to flurish in Miami. Every article I have read regarding this issue mentions that it is obvious that Oregon will not allow players to step outside the (serious) rules. That is exactly what we want the world to think isnt it? Is LB a scrificial lamb here? I would say so to some degree. Is that fair, yes and no. He did completely lose it, but the punishment is rather harsh. Is that fair? Perhaps not, but the harsh reality is, is that life isn't always totally fair. Do the ends justify thee means? In my book, they do. I DO NOT want to see Oregon implode and sometimes one is sacrificed to save the many. The bottom line is; LB broke the rules and is having the book thrown at him. Miami would have brushed it off, Oregon won't. I honestly feel really, really bad for LB, but I can see the light in the punishment too, and have to say - I agree with it considering everything.
gofightingducks
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Re: George Uko

Post by gofightingducks »

Unfortunately I never thought we had a real shot with him to begin with. Anytime USC and Cal is involved I don't like our chances not to mention Oklahoma and Tennessee.
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greenyellow
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Re: George Uko

Post by greenyellow »

Why does every thread turn into a LGB discussion? This thread was supposed to be about Uko, not Blount. I'm getting tired of every thread getting turned into one. It happened; get over it already or post in one in the Kelly's Heroes board.
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wheaton4prez
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Re: George Uko

Post by wheaton4prez »

UofDuck wrote:Here is my rub with how one sided you are feeling on this issue; From what I can gather from you comments, (I think) you believe that Kelly & Co are throwing the kid under the bus in part because of their own reputation. I see it as the kid getting "partially" thrown under the bus to protect the reputation of Oregon football and that is a big difference in my eyes. Oregon football is much bigger than Chip, or MB, or Phil - or Blount for that matter. Many years ago I watched a power-house Miami team completely crumble because the player's actions were not kept in check and the national public's perception was thug's were allowed to flurish in Miami. Every article I have read regarding this issue mentions that it is obvious that Oregon will not allow players to step outside the (serious) rules. That is exactly what we want the world to think isnt it? Is LB a scrificial lamb here? I would say so to some degree. Is that fair, yes and no. He did completely lose it, but the punishment is rather harsh. Is that fair? Perhaps not, but the harsh reality is, is that life isn't always totally fair. Do the ends justify thee means? In my book, they do. I DO NOT want to see Oregon implode and sometimes one is sacrificed to save the many. The bottom line is; LB broke the rules and is having the book thrown at him. Miami would have brushed it off, Oregon won't. I honestly feel really, really bad for LB, but I can see the light in the punishment too, and have to say - I agree with it considering everything.
I respect that you and others have a different perspective and I'm always open to hear and learn where you are coming from.

To clarify, I don't think that Kelly and staff overtly planned this to purposely use Blount's punishment to take the heat off of themselves. I believe that Kelly and staff do care about Blount. I just think they made a mistake in over-reacting to the immediate hysteria. In that moment, they needed to be stronger for Blount, not strong against him.

I understand your concern about not wanting UO to become another Miami. I don't see how that was ever really a risk. Suspending Blount for a number of games would have been showing that the UO doesn't tolerate that kind of behavior. The rub I see is that a program can implode in the opposite direction you are worried about too. If players don't feel close to their coach or feel that things are being run more like a marketing business than a football team, that could translate into the chemistry and success/failure of the program on the field and in recruiting.

A lot of people are saying and writing that the harsh penalty makes UO look bad, not good:

http://blogs.registerguard.com/cms/inde ... too-harsh/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegespo ... -it-means/
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_13284729
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 19JHL3.DTL
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/conte ... CID=984787

Even Kermit Washington, who the UO brought in, apparently thinks that the penalty was too harsh.
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ncduck
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Re: George Uko

Post by ncduck »

Please stop posting about Blount in the George Uko thread. Can this be locked or something? We already have enough threads about Blount that happen to be in the appropriate "Kelly's Heroes" section.

Blount's situation may have some impact on recruiting which is a fair assesment. However, this thread is about George Uko deciding against coming to Oregon along with several other schools. If you have comments, opinions, info to share about this topic please share by all means.

Bad Example:
Blount Blount Blount Blount Blount Blount, oh and Blount. I disagree Blount Blount. I said, Blount Blount Blount.

Good Example:
Hopefully we can manage to get some other top DT recruits to commit, sign, and gain acceptance to the school since this has been a sticking point for some time now.
duck55
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Re: George Uko

Post by duck55 »

NC - thank you, I totally agree.
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wheaton4prez
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Re: George Uko

Post by wheaton4prez »

It appears that Blount came up because of how his situation could have impacted Uko. Seems on-topic to me.
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Re: George Uko

Post by maxduck »

wheaton4prez wrote:It appears that Blount came up because of how his situation could have impacted Uko. Seems on-topic to me.
He said he is dropping Oklahoma, Tennessee, and probably Oregon. The Blount situation didn't appear to factor into the decision as he is canceling other visits as well.
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wheaton4prez
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Re: George Uko

Post by wheaton4prez »

Maybe not. It's just speculation either way. 90% of talking about recruits in general is speculation.
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ncduck
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Re: George Uko

Post by ncduck »

The problem is that this went waaaaay beyond whether it affected Uko or not.
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wheaton4prez
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Re: George Uko

Post by wheaton4prez »

Why is that such a problem? Isn't that the way conversations with people typically go? In the Blount specific thread, people are writing about LaMichael James and Jackson Rice.

We can try to stay on topic with threads. But, I don't see what difficulty is created if people wander away from the first topic in a few posts. Nobody has to read it if they don't want to. I skim over posts that don't interest me all the time.
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greenyellow
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Re: George Uko

Post by greenyellow »

wheaton4prez wrote:Why is that such a problem? Isn't that the way conversations with people typically go? In the Blount specific thread, people are writing about LaMichael James and Jackson Rice.

We can try to stay on topic with threads. But, I don't see what difficulty is created if people wander away from the first topic in a few posts. Nobody has to read it if they don't want to. I skim over posts that don't interest me all the time.
It's not just the first couple of posts on this thread. The talk went all the way over to a second page. I came to this thread to discuss Uko and his recruitment, not rehash the Blount situation.
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wheaton4prez
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Re: George Uko

Post by wheaton4prez »

Then don't read or respond to the Blount related comments. Skim over them.
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