I think Dee Andros of Oregon State had the best nickname of all time....The Great Pumpkin. I can't find a good picture of him in his Orange jacket. If I remember he was thought as being a "big" man and by that I don't mean tall. But the few photo's I've seen of him he looks pretty ordinary in size...no Mangino or Weis. I can't think of many coaches with the waistlines of Weis and Mangino though.
Good call, Terry. Gotta love the collective sports history knowledge of this board. Farewell to the Great Pumpkin
Yeah the Fridge definitely qualifies, can't believe I forgot about him. There used to be a pict of Mangino talking to Fran after a KU/A&M game and Mangino is looking down and the caption should've been....look a twinkie....at least that's what the Farkers at OU did with it.
I recall when Fridge first started coaching at MD, he went on a diet for charity and lost a lot of weight, but it didn't last long.
Didn't Kansas play Maryland in a bowl a few years ago? I thought it was billed as the "Battle of the Waistlines", or something like that... Commander Frontbutt... that one got me good! :lol:
I think it was an assistant at LSU after they beat Spurrier, the one and only time LSU beat us during Spurrier's tenure, as Shiny Pants! I'm not sure why shiny pants but that's what they called him. The name didn't stick.
Rising senior safety Demetrice Morley currently holds the #7 jersey. He has been on a short leash with Kiffin and Company so any little slip up and he could be off the team AGAIN. I find it hard to believe that a jersey number would keep a kid from signing with a school that he felt comfortable with but I guess it's possible. For the record, I think Charles would be the one kid of the three in this everlasting soap opera that Tennessee would have very little problems with. I'd like to see him in Orange but my feeling is that he's going to be a Dawg.
We should know today. I'm leaning toward USC but having his ex HS QB playing for UGa is a big pull that direction.
In that article Tom linked I saw a lot made out of Kiffin attention to academics and even showing up at Eric Berry's 8am class. To me this is the wrong approach, it puts it all on the coach. Texas fans used to blame substandard grad rates on Mackovic, but 10 years later we are still having medicore grad rates. Bill has pointed out that Urban Meyer has increased grad rates, while that's great it still means UF grad rates sort of depend on the coaches. At ND no matter how crappy our coaches are we have good to outstanding grad rates, it hasn't varied very much no matter who the coach is because it's not the prime responsibility of the coach. Oh sure the coach has to commited to the kids going to class, he can't be working against the University. But it's the culture that is established by the University that athletes will go to class and will graduate at (or close to) the same high % as the other students. It's not that ND screening process nets them significantly better students than Texas or Fla or Tenn or Mich or Ohio State. It's just the Univ demands academic performance from the kids and provides the necessary support to them to accomplish this goal. These systems are in place for all sports and are independent of the coach of any particular sport. Stepping down off my soapbox! :wink:
The Morley thing sounds like much to do about nothing. Terry, I think that in the past you have pointed out the difference between State College and private college graduation rates, with private college rates higher in general. Also while I admire the Notre Dame culture of academic achievement, that culture just doesn't develop over night. I do want my coach involved and heavily, that is how the culture changes. If Kiffin sticks with it then he moves up a notch in my opinion.
Bill I think that's where the problem lies with the situation. People look to the coach, and while he should be on board with the goal and be a participant, if he's the leader then the result are going to depend heavily on him. I do think it's better if there is a commitment at Ath Dept level and the University level to making sure it happens no matter who the coach.
Terry, I think things are a lot different now than when I attended UF, in that it's much harder to get in and only high achieving students can now get accepted. (good thing for me it wasn't that way when I attended! ) However I also think that it is easier for a student to fail out of a state college in general than at a place like Notre Dame, that the graduation rate is not as high. I don't think the Gator grad rate will ever exceed, or probably match, Notre Dame. I also think the Athletic department is involved but think the driving force at most schools will be the coach. That may not be perfect but it beats the coach not caring.
I hate to pile on our Vol fans here, but this is just too good. If Kiffin can win like Spurrier, who was also prone to saying stuff that just pissed off everybody who wasn't a Gator, then he's going to be fun. Kiffin
Yeah I heard about this and read the article this morning. This takes it to another level of being personal and is uncalled for. I like Lane Kiffin and I think he's going to be great for Tennessee football but he needs to bridle his tongue a little more but as the Bible tells us that's hard to do. Everything he says and does is going to be put under a microscope because of his comments. I just hope his mouth isn't writing checks his coaching can't cash.