MD Football -- right decision?

fredp45 · Post by **fredp45** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 9:31 pm

(Not sure if this forum is for sports teams in DC only or if MD football applies, which I'll assume it does for this thread.)

I was watching WV play Pitt today and the 'neers have a LB that strated for them today who grew up in Wheaton MD. He was originally signed by the Terps to play for them. His name is Pat Lazear and if I remember correctly, he was one of the most highly sought after players in the DC area his senior year. After signing with the Terps, he was arrested for driving a getaway car in a robbery of a Tasty Freeze, or something like that. When he was charged, Fridge (or MD) pulled his scholarship immediately. Also immediately, WV (and Rich Rod) signed him up. He's a sophmore now. While I live in WV now, I'm not impressed with the academics requirements of WV athletes nor am I impressed with the character of the guys they sign (e.g., Pacman, Henry, etc..)

Question -- did MD do the right thing? I don't know how good his grades were but I'll assume he qualified. I don't remember if he had other issues and this was one of many. When it happened, I was proud of my alma mater for dumping him, thinking that you don't want to have someone like that on your team, nor do you want them on campus, representing the football team. However, now I wonder if MD wasn't a bit premature in making this decision. Should they have given the guy a chance, a last chance, right from the start and insisted on a perfect record or else? Could MD have molded this guy, with the other quality guys that Fridge recruits, or do you not even bring a guy like that in?

KazooSkinsFan · Post by **KazooSkinsFan** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 6:48 pm

Are you serious? As a Terp alum of course they did the right thing. If everything you say is right, driving a getaway car in a robbery is a pretty good reason not to have him play pro-ball much less college. I don't mean to question your facts, just that people say a lot of stuff and I don't personally know the story. But if all that's true I'm sure glad he's not representing my school.

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:41 pm

Both the Terps and the Mountaineers have standards.

It's just that only the Terps know what that means.

welch · Post by **welch** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 10:50 pm

Yes, the Terps did the right thing.

Ultimately, the purpose of the University of Maryland is to be a university. It has a football team...not the other way around. A university has certain standards, as CT says.

KazooSkinsFan · Post by **KazooSkinsFan** » Thu Dec 11, 2008 1:10 pm

welch wrote:Yes, the Terps did the right thing.

Ultimately, the purpose of the University of Maryland is to be a university. It has a football team...not the other way around. A university has certain standards, as CT says.

Exactly. I went to Maryland in the 80s. The death of Bias, Ross wanting to get boarderline retarded people into the school because they could play football and ripping MD in the press for turning him down, Drisell contacting a rape accuser to keep the player playing, it was out of control. They did let them both go and cleaned up their act, but with that history it took a good 10 years before I really started following Maryland again. They are a school first, winning without integrity is no victory.

fredp45 · Post by **fredp45** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:09 pm

Just so you know I wasn't bs'ing here Kazoo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01244.html

KazooSkinsFan · Post by **KazooSkinsFan** » Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:14 am

fredp45 wrote:Just so you know I wasn't bs'ing here Kazoo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01244.html

I like the article referring to the robbery as an "incident." What hurts though is I'm a Michigan alum too, Rich was OK with this? Pathetic.

fredp45 · Post by **fredp45** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:47 am

Yeah, the reason WVU football was good under Rich Rod? He didn't care who he recruited...it was about winning ONLY. Michigan is a great academic school and I just don't see the school giving him too many mulligans (kids who don't make grade or are thugs) up there.

My take on Rich Rod -- He comes to Michigan and inherits Carr's kids -- what were they, 8-5 his last year? (I don't remember their exact record, but I know they weren't a losing team.) He likes the spread offense and tries to fit ground and pound players into his system. How about, taking the kids you have for the next couple years and do what they can do while waiting for your recruits to show up? That way, you continue winning, getting bowl bids, making your team attractive? Not RR..he has to do his spread offense regardless, maybe it's all he knows!

Don't worry Kazoo, Rich Rod won't last long in Michigan -- he'll end up at a school that doesn't care about academics and where he can recruit the Pacman's, the Chris Henry's and the Pat L's of the world.

KazooSkinsFan · Post by **KazooSkinsFan** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:26 pm

fredp45 wrote:Yeah, the reason WVU football was good under Rich Rod? He didn't care who he recruited...it was about winning ONLY. Michigan is a great academic school and I just don't see the school giving him too many mulligans (kids who don't make grade or are thugs) up there.

My take on Rich Rod -- He comes to Michigan and inherits Carr's kids -- what were they, 8-5 his last year? (I don't remember their exact record, but I know they weren't a losing team.) He likes the spread offense and tries to fit ground and pound players into his system. How about, taking the kids you have for the next couple years and do what they can do while waiting for your recruits to show up? That way, you continue winning, getting bowl bids, making your team attractive? Not RR..he has to do his spread offense regardless, maybe it's all he knows!

Don't worry Kazoo, Rich Rod won't last long in Michigan -- he'll end up at a school that doesn't care about academics and where he can recruit the Pacman's, the Chris Henry's and the Pat L's of the world.

Overall I haven't made up my mind about Rich at Michigan. I do think we needed a change and I like the spread. I grew up in Michigan and am a big Bet Ten fan. The problem with the Big Ten has been that Michigan can line up and bowl over everyone but OSU, but then when we go to the best bowl games we play teams with a lot more innovative O's and we lose. Carr was once a great coach, but for some reason he lost his nerve. He turned into Bo Schembecler's conservative grandmother. No lead was to small or too early to sit on and give the other team the ball immediately over and over and over. Which is why we ALWAYS trailed in our biggest wins, that's the only time the other team didn't get the ball 10 times to try to get a field goal and win.

Anyway, I don't buy the media hype and hadn't seen them make anything stick on Rich. In fact the accusations by WVU seemed bitter and frankly bizzare, like that Rich had academic records no one else had on the players, he shreaded them and they were lost. :hmm:

Frankly I thought the WVU administration sounded completely inane and incompetent by their OWN stories, and there were many. But I'm not "sold" on Rich so much as I've been giving him the benefit of the doubt until evidence proves otherwise. I don't know enough about this or Rich's involvement in it to draw a firm conclusion, but I didn't like his quote. It's not an "out" but it's a "strike," something the WVU administration never got for me against him in their self gratifying blame game.