Tyler Thomas, wow. Way to make your university proud and further asphyxiate Riley's on-life-support reputation for recruiting quality men.
Anyway, on to the important matters.
On August 18th, I questioned why Trevor Romaine wasn't on this team (greyshirting), and why Connor Hammlet (who was also greyshirting) received Fred Thompson's scholarship to become the 6th TE (no that is not a typo) on the roster. I knew Kahut was injured and therefore Romaine could come in handy, but further, it seemed a good idea to start grooming next years kicker…oh…I don't know, this year?
As September 4th approaches, the question becomes more valid. Cliff Kirkpatrick writes:
Kahut situation
Riley agreed with my concern over PK Justin Kahut's sore back lingering into the season after a car accident before training camp.“We are not passed that concern until he starts kicking regularly,” Riley said. “At this point he hasn’t done that.”
The backup plan is for P Johnny Hekker to handle kickoffs and freshman walk-on Max Johnson from Astoria to do the extra points and field goals.
My problems with this situation are twofold:
1. The Beavers just went through this situation 3 years ago with Loomis and Serna. To error once is semi-understandable, but to not learn from that mistake is unacceptable. A kicker as poor as Max Johnson cannot under any circumstance be your contingency plan. There is no excuse or justification here.
2. The moment Kahut was injured, Riley should have been on the phone with Romaine. Instead, he called Connor Hamlett and added a 6th tight end to the roster and second from last year's class (Tyler Perry being the first). Is the 6th TE really a priority? I am having a hard time understanding the logic.
The defense's poor performance this fall had me concerned. Now special teams, which figured to be a strong point, may once again revert to 2007 levels. Having to out-shoot opponents, while fun, is not a winning strategy.
Let me guess, Mike Riley is a genius, and I'm the idiot?
You typed Connor instead of Tyler T. May want to fix that since Connor still has his shot with OSU.
I agree completely…where did you get that quote from Connor Thomas?
My guess is when all is said and done we’re going to see Hekker on kickoffs and Kahut for XP and FGs.
I am REALLY beginning to think that Mike Riley is lowering goals/expectations so they’re easier to meet. I’ve never liked his lack of a killer instinct, and now it just seems more and more apparent that to defray high expectations, lest he fail to achieve them, he wants to invest lots of time in “great stories,” so he can take victory/solace in small, individual developments instead of major team accomplishments like a major bowl game.
Its dangerous to try to guess or assume people’s motivations, but the handling of kicking duties/scholarships (another freaking tight end?!?), the situation at left tackle, more play at the safety guaranteed to result in TD’s down the center of the field,(apparently Katz hit 3 or more 80-yard td passes the other day – more than one against #28)….), it all seems like building an excuse for future disapointment. I’m sure at the end of the season we’ll hear how much #28 grew over the course of 4-years as the Beavs play another meaningless bowl game.
Some of us have discussed this before and I may be redundant here, but the behavior appears to becoming more and more explicit. At least to my eyes.
Riley’s contract needs to be changed. Years shouldn’t be added for “a bowl game,” but rather for Holiday or Alamo bowl or better. Time to start raising the bar because Riley won’t do it himself. It seems he’s managing perceptions more than program growth.
Angry..thanks for the quick correction. Still wishing the Thomas family the best and hope we get to see Connor as a Beav.
Objcritic..I agree that Bowl games are 99% expected at this point in Beaver Nation. The Pac-10 gets 5-6 teams in so it shouldn’t be that difficult. Beaver Nation wants to be inspired and Sun Bowls are nice but not any step forward like we must take. I agree that Holiday and up should be the standard. With the Alamo Bowl also now in the mix I am optimistic we will take that step this year even if USC can’t play in bowls or there is an extra bowl. Atleast it is a new step and new destination even if our standing in the Pac-10 is about the same. That being said the only REAL game in college football is BCS Bowls. That is what it is almost all about. With Larry Scott trying to be aggressive, I want the Beavers to be agressive too and really fight hard as a team for that extra breakthrough. We are so close and there are enough examples out there of when you work together and give it your all and fight with passion..that you can achieve greatness. Beaver Nation is united but we have to have focus, take it a game at a time, and keep pushing til the end of the season. With a couple breaks and fierce determination we can land in Pasadena. GO BEAVS!!
OS_Beaver – Word.
I know the nerves are probably raw and the cackles are up on this story – and I am not taking a pot shot at you guys, because it generally comes back at you two fold. But reading that police report was just the cat’s meow. 300 pounds and naked, droping into a three point stance to fire off on cops in some ladies/stranger’s home – upstairs in her home no less – only to be Tazered to the floor and arrested. That is the kind of stuff for the ages. I could just see a scene like that on an Animal House part III type of movie. Too funny.
I can’t imagine how his poor mom felt when she read what her son was up to while away at school. Kids.
Don’t fret, a Duck will be next, but sometimes you just have to laugh, otherwise you would have to cry.
By the way guys, was the kid any good? Playing time for him, or just a distant back-up? Is the brother a prize recruit? I wonder if his folks will “persuade” Jr to go elsewhere?
He certainly had all the tools to be a good lineman. But he was busted earlier this spring for an MIP and a fake license at a bar. So his problems have probably kept him from developing into what might have been.
It’s sad, bizarre and even a little funny. I have to imagine that he was so blottoed that he thought he was in his own home getting ready for bed rather than breaking in somewhere strange. Either way, he has a lot of work to do on his personal failures before he recovers from this one.
His brother has more upside than did he. He’s been playing at a higher level for a longer period, and he has better size. I’m sure the staff is treating them as individuals with individual minds. But who knows what the parents must be thinking at this point?
I was in LA all day working, but on the ride up the coast I turned on ESPN radio…first thing I heard was “Oregon State”…then “lineman” and I thought “oh no”. Van Pelt said it was one of the best/funniest stories he ever heard. I literally had ESPN on about 2 minutes all day today and heard that.
What happened to my post – 10 more days?
I’m not sure what you mean by that. Was a comment removed?
You might be looking for this one in a different post:
http://angrybeavs.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php
If Hekker were to pull a hamstring who punts?
Keith Kostol, a freshman walk-on.
Surrisingly the 15th rated punter in the 2010 Class according to nationally recognized Chris Sailer Kicking is enrolled at OSU as a regular student. Wonder why the beavs haven’t asked him to walk-on?
With history as my guide, I’d say because they don’t know how to evaluate punters.