Elijah Blades heading to JUCO
- Thread starter knapplc
- Start date
BIGREDIOWAN
Mods
Not buying the excuse that Nebraska wasn't a good fit by this kid. Get your nose in the books and your head out of the clouds if you want to be taken seriously and mature while going the JUCO route. Time to move on from him and pay attention to the ones that are serious about coming here and wanting to put the work in.
HuskerNBigD
Starter
For as much flack as the SEC gets for being country bumpkins and a$$-backwards there are a couple schools that have pretty high academic standards: Vandy (obviously), Georgia and Florida come to mind.
NM11046
All-American
Amen.
And because I'm feeling like it today, I'd like to point out my comments a month or two ago on his thread that said exactly this. And I was beat up for saying them.
Swiv3D
Starter
I assume you're referring to the following post or something similar.
Conceptually, I somewhat agree with what you're saying, but I also think teams need to take chances on players. Championship teams have almost always relied upon players who may be a poor fit academically and/or morally.NM11046 said:
To play Devil's Advocate, it's easy to say "if it's the guy that's slightly slower" right now, but we all know that doesn't fly when talent is a clear reason somebody got beat. In those cases, the conversation tenor is usually 'I wish we had a better player there,' not 'well, I'm glad he's a four-year guy that's committed to the team!'
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NM11046
All-American
Yes that and the info below.
I'd put my money on someone who works hard and has to try than someone who is athletically gifted and has had things come easy to them. In the long run the former typically win out. I know not everyone agrees with that. But I'll take a Sam Foltz, a Janovich, a Gebbia etc any day.
You are right (and Im not being snarky). All I have is the knowledge that he struggled to make grades. Even with a lot of folks pushing him and helping him along the way - especially the last few months. And the content of his video where he spent 35 mins talking about how he is done with FB, that he needs to support his children, that he can't be there for his baby if he is in Nebraska. That he isn't comig to NE. When asked by someone live when he was coming he said "never".
Now if he is joking, it's in poor taste. If he is not I think all the writing is on the wall that he has a lot of other things distracting him and requiring his focus right now, and I cant imagine based on what we have seen in the last few months (and more so what we havent seen) that he is comitted to coming and staying here.
Nobody that moves across the country that is only luke warm about the opportunity will stay and produce. I'd rather invest the money in a talented kid who is excited to come and has been working his tail off to get here.
But yes, if he comes I hope he is successful. I just dont see those stars aligning.
And I agree with you on taking chances - but the kids' got to be as aligned to you as you are to them - they have to want it. We missed a chance with at least one other because we shot the moon with this guy. Was it worth it? I don't know, you have to gamble big to win big.
Perhaps he was completely bought in at some point. But what I know (which is not much) based on Twitter, his comments, periscope etc it's been awhile since he's mentioned NE in a positive light. I'm sure a lot of that is a defensive posture, and as a young guy that has obviously failed and disappointed people and embarrassed himself,so I expect that. My only point is that we have to (and hopefully it's happening behind the scenes, I honestly think it is) be able to gauge the "unmeasureables" because they're what makes a great player. Focus, dedication, working through adversity etc.
I'd put my money on someone who works hard and has to try than someone who is athletically gifted and has had things come easy to them. In the long run the former typically win out. I know not everyone agrees with that. But I'll take a Sam Foltz, a Janovich, a Gebbia etc any day.
You are right (and Im not being snarky). All I have is the knowledge that he struggled to make grades. Even with a lot of folks pushing him and helping him along the way - especially the last few months. And the content of his video where he spent 35 mins talking about how he is done with FB, that he needs to support his children, that he can't be there for his baby if he is in Nebraska. That he isn't comig to NE. When asked by someone live when he was coming he said "never".
Now if he is joking, it's in poor taste. If he is not I think all the writing is on the wall that he has a lot of other things distracting him and requiring his focus right now, and I cant imagine based on what we have seen in the last few months (and more so what we havent seen) that he is comitted to coming and staying here.
Nobody that moves across the country that is only luke warm about the opportunity will stay and produce. I'd rather invest the money in a talented kid who is excited to come and has been working his tail off to get here.
But yes, if he comes I hope he is successful. I just dont see those stars aligning.
And I agree with you on taking chances - but the kids' got to be as aligned to you as you are to them - they have to want it. We missed a chance with at least one other because we shot the moon with this guy. Was it worth it? I don't know, you have to gamble big to win big.
Perhaps he was completely bought in at some point. But what I know (which is not much) based on Twitter, his comments, periscope etc it's been awhile since he's mentioned NE in a positive light. I'm sure a lot of that is a defensive posture, and as a young guy that has obviously failed and disappointed people and embarrassed himself,so I expect that. My only point is that we have to (and hopefully it's happening behind the scenes, I honestly think it is) be able to gauge the "unmeasureables" because they're what makes a great player. Focus, dedication, working through adversity etc.
famoustitles
Starter
There's the Alaric Williams approach
And then there's the blades approach. I think blades will struggle in juco, and not athletically.
And then there's the blades approach. I think blades will struggle in juco, and not athletically.
I think most of us (if not all) would agree with this, and as you alluded to, it's an inexact science.
Many of Nebraska's greatest (and even good) players are not people you'd want dating your daughter, hypothetically speaking. It's just a tough situation all around, no question. Nebraska really isn't in a position to shoo away highly sought after players who show interest in them, even if they have possible character issues. It sounds bad to say it that way, but I think it's true, and it's all a case-by-case basis.
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Hedley Lamarr
All-American
Wait he had a 2.26 gpa???? Wonder what it was before he tried to get qualified late.
TGHusker
Heisman Trophy Winner
https://nebraska.rivals.com/news/blades-breaks-silence-will-attend-arizona-western-in-2017
This may have been discussed previously, but did we have a huge miss in not 'protecting' him while he was at JUCO?
From the article:
What’s interesting is Minnick said he didn’t have any contact with the Husker coaching staff about possibly placing Blades at Arizona Western.
Blades and his camp initiated the contact on their end, which means he will not be a recruit Arizona Western protects and sends back to Lincoln in two years.
“If Nebraska would’ve placed him here, he’d be protected,” Minnick said. “But Nebraska didn’t place him here, so he could go anywhere he wants.
“If Nebraska would’ve called and said, ‘hey we want to send this kid here and get him back,’ it would be a different story. They didn’t call me about him. We recruited him, so he could go wherever he wants to go.”
Last year Arizona Western had 27 players going Division I, and this year they already have 14 with early Division I offers according to Minnick.
This may have been discussed previously, but did we have a huge miss in not 'protecting' him while he was at JUCO?
From the article:
What’s interesting is Minnick said he didn’t have any contact with the Husker coaching staff about possibly placing Blades at Arizona Western.
Blades and his camp initiated the contact on their end, which means he will not be a recruit Arizona Western protects and sends back to Lincoln in two years.
“If Nebraska would’ve placed him here, he’d be protected,” Minnick said. “But Nebraska didn’t place him here, so he could go anywhere he wants.
“If Nebraska would’ve called and said, ‘hey we want to send this kid here and get him back,’ it would be a different story. They didn’t call me about him. We recruited him, so he could go wherever he wants to go.”
Last year Arizona Western had 27 players going Division I, and this year they already have 14 with early Division I offers according to Minnick.
JJ Husker
Assistant Coach
macroboy
All-Conference
Interesting.
He flipped to us late from Florida. I bet they told him he wouldn't qualify. We decided to take the risk and he didn't make it. If he could qualify at other schools he wouldn't be going JUCO.
I don't believe he was mislead at all by the staff. I could believe that he heard what he wanted to hear and feels let down but there is a really easy answer to all of this........
HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS ACADEMICALLY!
The thing I wonder- did we pass on any other DB's bc/ he committed? I hope not.
He flipped to us late from Florida. I bet they told him he wouldn't qualify. We decided to take the risk and he didn't make it. If he could qualify at other schools he wouldn't be going JUCO.
I don't believe he was mislead at all by the staff. I could believe that he heard what he wanted to hear and feels let down but there is a really easy answer to all of this........
HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS ACADEMICALLY!
The thing I wonder- did we pass on any other DB's bc/ he committed? I hope not.
HuskerExpat
Starter
As I understand the media coverage, Blades backed away from his commitment and interest in Nebraska even before it was certain he would not qualify academically. He flat out said there was almost no chance he would end up at Nebraska. I thin he and Nebraska have parted ways, which is why there was no attempt to "protect" him at the JUCO.