Jones to N. Illinois

[Nuffsed]

Not trying to jump you, but why would you be correct? Also, what about last year made you think there was a 'coup', now or then? We have had 2 players transfer at a position were we do have some talent, and have lost 3 games this season. Personally, I fail to make a connection between this and a 'coup'.

This is splitting hairs, but what is the difference between 'smelling' and 'predicting'? Both are essentially pointing to the same thing, as far as I understand.

As for the third point, I think you are wrong on both counts. I do think winning more games in his first two seasons than any HC in ND history pretty much shows that Charlie can be an effective college head coach. Also, after two years, if he is going to take the level of scrutiny and crticism that he has this year (which seems irrational to me since you could see it coming long ago) I'd say he has earned his stripes as already being a college head coach.

For the record though, you are one of the non-Koolaid drinkers that doesn't seem to freak out and run around bashing people, so thanks for that

GO IRISH

My original post before I edited it made much more sense...lol.

Maybe a "coup" is too harsh of a term, but from what I have seen, to include the way players talk about CW as if they have to take a deep breath and try to find something nice to say, and through everything else I have read or seen, I "predicted" last year that the glory moment would come to an abrupt halt, to include this season. This year, I "smelled" a coup because I think the team is better than they are showing. It is just a hunch that some animosity might exist that would encourage(?) 70% effort rather than the full 100%, thereby undermining the head coach. Are you coup wit dat?

There is good news though. Just like kids that act silly, then get (scolded, spanked, your choice), they can snap out of it immediately. I think CW, who has never been a head college coach through a full cycle (he only has 2 so far, now he has made his bed and has to lie in it) will get it together. I really like his staff (OL can improve, as well as special teams) and I think they will overcome.

 

[Tennesseeirish]

He's a quitter! I hope they don't release him from his scolarship. Regardless of how this whole thing transpired between him and the coaching staff, if doesn't have the gonads to address it man-to-man (face-to-face), then he doesn't deserve to be "released"! I have no problem w/ him seeing that this isn't the right place for him to "pursue his QB dream at a D1 school", but he needs to be a man in regards to his actions (deciding to leave)!

I agree with you here

 

[Nuffsed]

How could anyone prevent this? .

Gold - I see where I left out part of my response to you. The prevention I'm talking about is preventing the staff from not knowing about the rumblings of its athletes.

Wait, that didn't make sense either.

Miscommunication should be prevented. If DJ was going to leave, then DJ was going to leave. But why was he not able to communicate with the staff and vice versa before things got silly?

Thanks for the response.

 

[Moostache]

I saw all I ever needed to see from Jones in the GT game....he was at best seen as a marginal thrower (reports have NEVER said he was wowwing people in practices with his precision or throwing power), he was supposed to be a big time "dual-threat" QB in the mold of a Pat White or even Dennis Dixon.

He was neither. He was not as fast as advertised in that game. He was about as elusive as a Volkswagon bus and he had hands of stone and an inability to secure the football even with both arms wrapped around it.

He wasn't given a chance? BULLSHIT! He was given an offense that his abilities were supposed to actually enhance...instead he single-handedly turned the ball over twice, panicked like a deer in head lights when pass plays WERE called and set this team back a good 4-5 weeks in the process. Had he done anything other than sink the team into a 16-0 hole via bad play and questionable decision making, he would have been on the field more. Weis stated at the beginning of the year that he would not view it as a rebuilding year - so when the first game was going down the tubes fast, he tried to act and pulled Jones for Sharpley. Jones own reaction to this move was the last straw....he pouted. He went and stood away from the coaches and took himself out of the game and essentially sealed his own QB fate at that point.

I believe that the plan all along was to see if Jones was capable of running a wide open spread option attack and if he could, use him this year and allow Clausen to wait while his elbow was fully healed and then open up the competition in Spring ball next year. ND would have gladly rolled that offense out against PSU and UM if Jones had lived up to his own hype as a dangerous 'dual-threat' QB....problem was he was exposed as a 'no-threat' QB - he was not fast enough nor elusive enough to make people miss while running and he was either not competent enough or decisive enough to throw the ball.

Goodbye and good riddence to what would only have become a team cancer over time as he rolled around in his own victim-hood mentality. Both Jones and ND are better off without each other's company for the next 3 years...

 

[Nuffsed]

Goodbye and good riddence to what would only have become a team cancer over time as he rolled around in his own victim-hood mentality.

I think the cancer had begun to spread. I think that is what I was "smelling."

 

[johnnd05]

BGS has finally put up a typically splenderrific post on this issue, which I think says all that needs to be said.

 

[Tennesseeirish]

BGS has finally put up a typically splenderrific post on this issue, which I think says all that needs to be said.

Very well said

 

[Newc]

I saw all I ever needed to see from Jones in the GT game....he was at best seen as a marginal thrower (reports have NEVER said he was wowwing people in practices with his precision or throwing power), he was supposed to be a big time "dual-threat" QB in the mold of a Pat White or even Dennis Dixon.

He was neither. He was not as fast as advertised in that game. He was about as elusive as a Volkswagon bus and he had hands of stone and an inability to secure the football even with both arms wrapped around it.

He wasn't given a chance? BULLSHIT! He was given an offense that his abilities were supposed to actually enhance...instead he single-handedly turned the ball over twice, panicked like a deer in head lights when pass plays WERE called and set this team back a good 4-5 weeks in the process. Had he done anything other than sink the team into a 16-0 hole via bad play and questionable decision making, he would have been on the field more. Weis stated at the beginning of the year that he would not view it as a rebuilding year - so when the first game was going down the tubes fast, he tried to act and pulled Jones for Sharpley. Jones own reaction to this move was the last straw....he pouted. He went and stood away from the coaches and took himself out of the game and essentially sealed his own QB fate at that point.

I believe that the plan all along was to see if Jones was capable of running a wide open spread option attack and if he could, use him this year and allow Clausen to wait while his elbow was fully healed and then open up the competition in Spring ball next year. ND would have gladly rolled that offense out against PSU and UM if Jones had lived up to his own hype as a dangerous 'dual-threat' QB....problem was he was exposed as a 'no-threat' QB - he was not fast enough nor elusive enough to make people miss while running and he was either not competent enough or decisive enough to throw the ball.

Goodbye and good riddence to what would only have become a team cancer over time as he rolled around in his own victim-hood mentality. Both Jones and ND are better off without each other's company for the next 3 years...

Very Well Said!! I couldn't agree more.

 

[goldandblue]

BGS has finally put up a typically splenderrific post on this issue, which I think says all that needs to be said.

good reading.

 

[piyachi]

Are you coup wit dat?

Well if that was/is the case I would be anything but 'coup' wit it. Personally I hated the guts of my coach in college but I still played at 100% every time, and it wasn't like I had any shot at going pro. I said it in another forum, but I really believe it's simply a combination of youth/inexperience and fear of not having support from the guy next to you. Of course there is no way to know without being in the huddle, but I sincerely hope you are wrong.

Also think about this: every single player on that line still has a chance to go pro. They have spent countless hours of their lives preparing to be the best football player possible (I truly think that you can't reach their level without real desire, unless you are an ABSOLUTELY freakish athelete). Why would anyone throw that away because they don't like their coaches' personality? I have never disliked anyone enough to give up (potentially) a national championship or a pro contract worth.... (isn't the minimum 500k?).

 

[Newc]

Thats a good point piyachi...these guys have to have an absolute unwaivering love of the game to play at this level and public perception isn't always accurate when it comes to judging that.

Take T.O. for instance. There are a ton of people out there who think that he is selfish and a horrible human being, but to be honest the guy is a hell of a football player who puts in alot of effort to be where he is. Have you ever seen that guy's body, I can't imagine the work it has taken to prepare himself like that...I for one could not do without the beer, but thats another story.

These college kids know that this is their last "tryout" for the NFL, which is why guys like DD would rather transfer to play elsewhere than sit. I find it hard to believe that a whole team full or even a mojority for that matter would not play their hardest because they are mad at their coach. I give these guys more credit than that and believe they are smart enough to know that they are infact auditioning for that million dollar contract and the bright lights of sunday football.

 

[Newc]

Oh...and the whole pride thing factors in as well.

 

[onenybrother]

Charlie is handling this situation all wrong. To make the kid pay 14,500.00 to enroll at the school was wrong. Chicago Public League put out a lot of talent, hope they has short memories.

 

[piyachi]

NIU didn't have any scholarships available so from the ND perspective the point is moot. No matter what ND did (and this decision wasn't Charlie anyway - it was Kevin White), Jones would have to pay for this year. The point was simply to say 'We don't approve of what you did'. Either way I hope Chicago Public League remembers us for Filer and Flemming, not Jones.

 

[Nuffsed]

Thats a good point piyachi...these guys have to have an absolute unwaivering love of the game to play at this level and public perception isn't always accurate when it comes to judging that.

I find it hard to believe that a whole team full or even a mojority for that matter would not play their hardest because they are mad at their coach. I give these guys more credit than that and believe they are smart enough to know that they are infact auditioning for that million dollar contract and the bright lights of sunday football.

Have you watched any of the games so far? Dead last in the country statistally goes a bit beyond simple perception. Not all college athletes want to play in the NFL.

Piyachi: "Why would anyone throw that away because they don't like their coaches' personality?"

Ask Demetrius. And any other athlete on the team who saw him as their leader.

Piyachi: "I said it in another forum, but I really believe it's simply a combination of youth/inexperience"

I think that this is 98% of the reason the season has gone the way it has so far. I think CW is paying the price for his late hire and TW's leaving the cupboard bare. A two year gap.

That's all I have to say. Time for me to look forward to the rest of the season.

 

[KamaraPolice]

The Blue-Gray Sky: September 2007

 

[Fbolt]

Wish granted, Jones ponders next move

By John Mullin
Tribune staff reporter

September 21, 2007

The answering message on Demetrius Jones' cell phone was fitting: "Have a blessed day and stay encouraged."

Jones was able to do both Thursday when Notre Dame released the former Morgan Park quarterback from his scholarship and cleared the final obstacle from his path to Northern Illinois.


Or wherever he ultimately decides to go.

By enrolling as he did last week at Northern Illinois, which recruited him heavily and offered him a scholarship out of high school, Jones retains his three years of college eligibility.

Those could play out at Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Louisville or any of the schools that have interest in Jones, just not a school that plays Notre Dame.

"I'm not going to Michigan or Penn State," Jones said, laughing. "I would never do a thing like that. Now that would be a media fiasco."

What has transpired in the wake of Jones' abrupt departure from Notre Dame last week has been a media fiasco of its own. Jones was not on the team buses leaving Notre Dame Friday for Michigan, touching off a flurry of he-said, he-said in the media between Jones and the university.

It is that misunderstanding that bothers Jones the most now. Jones will go to Saturday's Notre Dame-Michigan State game.

"I'm going to root for those [Notre Dame] guys," Jones said. "The only thing I regret is how I had to leave. [Notre Dame] let me go the best way they could and that's pretty fair to me. If fans want to bash me, I understand where they're coming from. But this was a very hard decision."

One person Jones does not want to see bashed, however, is Irish coach Charlie Weis.

"He made an impact on my life, how to be a family man, lots of things," Jones said. "Everybody may not like him but he takes care of his business and he takes care of it every day. He doesn't change for anybody. He doesn't even let something like being 0-3 rattle his character or personality.

"When we talked [this week], we had a healthy conversation. He was talking to me like a father, not just a coach. I admitted to him that if I'd come to him before the Michigan game, he would've talked me out of [leaving].People didn't acknowledge that coach Weis and I had a great relationship. We've been through some rough times and some good times but we're linked to each other.

"I represent him. No matter what happens down the line, my career started at Notre Dame and that was because of coach Weis. I was a soldier in 'Charlie's army' and I enjoyed every minute of it."

When others suggested Jones should switch positions with Jimmy Clausen coming to Notre Dame, "the only one going to bat for me, saying 'Demetrius is a quarterback,' was coach Weis," Jones recalled. "Coach Weis told me this would be the hardest decision I would make. I feel like I'm blessed to have a second chance to do something so important."

jmullin@tribune.com

 

[piyachi]

Well I have to admit, I think I am more impressed with him now than I ever was when the QB race was on. I hope this means people stop bashing him.

Also, no mutiny. Just one player doing what he thought was best for him at the time.

I wish him the best wherever he plays.

 

[johnnd05]

Yeah, that article is really impressive. I was really surprised at how he said that Weis would've been able to talk him out of it. I'm still really disappointed with what Jones did, but that does actually help me understand it a bit more.

Oh, and in case anyone didn't see it, the plot thickened further yesterday:

NIU not on ND's release list

According to a statement from athletics director Kevin White Thursday, Notre Dame will release quarterback Demetrius Jones from his scholarship as long as the school is not on ND's future football schedule -- and it's not Northern Illinois.

"Since learning of the situation surrounding the departure of Demetrius Jones on Friday, Sept. 14, the University of Notre Dame has been gathering facts to better assess his interest in transferring,'' White said in his statement. "Today, without formal confirmation of Demetrius' status, we reached out to him to assist him and his family in ascertaining his athletic and academic future plans.

"We are helping Demetrius compile a list of prospective schools that are not on our immediate future football schedules. We will grant him a release to those schools, and we will assist him in settling at another institution as best we can.''

Jones, who started the first game of the season against Georgia Tech, left the team last week and had enrolled at Northern Illinois. But Notre Dame refused to release his scholarship to Northern Illinois, John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director, told the Associated Press.

Jones could play for Northern Illinois on scholarship in 2008, but he would have to pay his own way this year.

"We have initiated our normal protocol by identifying a list of institutions to which he has an interest in transferring," White said. "While Demetrius did not consult us on his decision, the university and he are now working together in our customary fashion. Our hope is that this process assists him in finding an institution that will enable him to meet his goals both as a student and as an athlete.

"It's our hope that Demetrius can enroll at an institution at which he might be able to receive a scholarship, possibly be eligible for the 2008 football season and, importantly, continue to make progress toward his degree without interruption.''

I imagine that part of what's going on here might be worries about whether NIU tampered with this situation. If they acted poorly then ND wouldn't want to do them a favor by releasing DJ to them.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Jones just pulled into the parking lost at ND...appartenly to do an interview with B&G an talk to his former teammates about his departure

 

[johnnd05]

Jones just pulled into the parking lost at ND...appartenly to do an interview with B&G an talk to his former teammates about his departure

Huh. Wow. Maybe he can undo what he did to us last week ... or maybe it'll be just another unneeded distraction.

 

[goldenlid]

Is it true that he is no longer enrolled at NIU.