In a totally inappropriate topic for such talk, Dave wanted to dive into discussions on druggies now in the NFL. His last post before being told to stop was:
Now I will reply to that: Absolutely do agree that they have achieved everything they are capable of. That is why the collective Big Orange Nation is screaming for his head. Tennessee went from late January (I believe that was when the Colquitt issue happened) to present day without a single off field issue. When you personally are that successful on this board, then throw stones at the Tennessee program.
Sorry....responded in the other topic before seeing this one. As I stated....Fulmer has been trying hard to get his program in line and has done a fine job as of late doing so.
No character issues there Aquila....he's just trying to be a good father... This is a link to a Fox Sports article written almost three years ago and actually touches upon what I am saying could have been a possible flaw in the UT program over the last few years and it includes interesting opinions from Randy Sanders and Johnny Majors... http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/rlb001/2005/12/28/The_Controversy_of_the_Tennessee_Volunteers
At first glance I thought you were referring to being too hard on Dave. Now I see it is tongue in cheek about Henry. I can't believe how far off the deep end this guy went. Cindy and I met him and Tee Martin (we met the entire team but those two were the first ones) between the Arkansas and Kentucky games at a Wednesday practice in 1998. He and Tee were very respectful toward us. I would have never thought that within 10 years, he would have ruined his life like this.
There's a saying I'm trying to recall. It goes something like......glass house......throwing stones. There is not a program represented on this board that has not had some kind of issue(s) with its student athletes either while in school or after they leave the program. Clearly, Florida is no exception. Glass house...........throwing stones.........
I sincerely hate it for Henry as well. He was a great one at UT. However, to suggest that his problems nearly 10 years after he left the program is somehow attributable to his time at UT is quite a bit more ridiculous than suggesting that our current economic crisis in this country is attributable to Bill Clinton's administration. Wouldn't you agree, MCG???
Hey...Florida had an assistant coach arrested for the same drug....in basketball. Our NFL guys have so far been pretty well behaved though. I am not unaware that UF has had some problems over the years....every program has them....and certainly the prospect is always there for one of these teenagers to go off the deep end and do something stupid. But Tenn for awhile seemed to have had numerous issues going on and with Henry and Lewis getting arrested along with the LB they had that killed some people while drunk driving UT has had some serious incidents with ex-players. On Henry....he may have been a "nice kid" but I harken back to the old raging debate that I have had for so many years with Tom on him in that he had enough negatives that Florida let him know they were not interested in his services. You want me to believe he was a model human being before and during Tenn and learned all of his very bad habits as a person once he got into the NFL? Man....that is such a stretch... :roll: Did anyone read the link I provided and read comments by Sanders and Majors? You smugly asked for a rant.....now you have one. :evil:
... and it is in a topic where I can chose to respond or not and it does not screw up the conversations I want to have in the other topic.
In terms of coaching, and this goes far beyond UT vs UF, is the dilemma of 'how far do you go with a kid?'.. Many coaches often reach out continually to troubled kids trying to give them the attention they sorely need... Some coaches who do this are bandits looking to use talented kids with no real care for their character, while others are actually good men trying to give a kid opportunities when they know they are running out for the kid...even when the kid doesn't realize his chances are running low. Without getting inside someone's head it is tough to know their intentions so it can be hard to say who has a program with character issues vs one with a coach who has a soft heart..
I absolutely agree on Bowden. He has always pushed the envelope to get more talented players even though some of his recruits don't stand a chance of qualifying and in the old days some did get into school but never went to class.....Neon Deon, etc.
You and I have a bit of a different memory about Travis Henry. My memory of his situation is that the reason Florida backed off him is that the admissions office didn't think he would qualify to go to Florida. Tennessee stayed with him and he did qualify and went there. To my knowledge we did not back off him for any character issues. If I am correct then the Gators backing off him had nothing to do with any indications of future trouble so we have no high road with him.
Different schools.....different admissions policies I guess. In any event after the 2nd illegimate kid you would think the excuses ran out for this guy but he went on to father SEVEN more kids out of wedlock. And now this felony drug arrest after his MJ issues kept him on the bench for a few games at Denver. In any event he didn't fall into such hugely flawed character only after his NFL experience.
Dave, do you know the definition of hypocrisy? One such definition is the act of condoning an issue for one person and chastising another for the same or similar issues. On one hand, you criticize the Gainsville police for arresting a Florida player for "a little marijuana". I got news for you Dave: Marijuana is a drug... an illegal drug... just as illegal as any other non-perscribed narcotic. On the other hand, you can't understand an ex-Tennessee player having issues with drugs before, during, or after his tenure at Tennessee. Which is it Dave? Get off that fence. Should universities/authorities take issue with drugs on campus?
I'm just peeved at Travis on the NFL MJ issue Tom because I drafted the sucker last year for my FF team in which we pay to participate in and he was in/out based on his substance abuse issues....which obviously never got resolved. MJ issues at Tenn if they existed are low on my radar wrt to TH.
Hard drugs like the one Henry is now in trouble with should be controlled completely and laws enforced across the board at college campuses the same as with the general public. Alcohol and MJ for private use should not be promoted or encouraged but I am against throwing a college kid in jail for either of those transgressions which have stood the test of time at universities for the past 40 years in the case of MJ and for as long as colleges have existed in the case of alcohol.