There’s a sentiment in sports that if you like a team, you inherently like every player on said team. In an ideal world I’d like to agree, but the fact remains there are many personalities, playing styles, and ability on a roster and some are not going to jell well. For me it’s these guys:
Kevin Frahm–can’t stop the run, can’t rush the passer, looks over-matched versus division 2 schools (e.g. PSU). Hate the hair.
Keith Pankey–will never forgive this guy for the angle he took on Toby Gerhart in 2008. It was apropos, though, and Pankey’s career has essentially been that one play on repeat. He can’t tackle or cover yet he continues to start. Let me guess, Mike Riley knows more than me. Uh huh.
Ryan McCants–I haven’t completely given up on him, but I’m as close as you can get. Fumble problems, hesitant running, and the early Steven Jackson comparisons/hype (via Angie Machado) have made this guy a bust.
Wilder McAndrews–hate this guy. Never saw the logic in handing a broken-wristed guy a scholie. Luckily Riley’s patience is shot as well and he’ll be off the team soon.
Kreb Brothers–red-headed maladroits. Both are leaving the program. Yay.
Suaesi Tuimaunei–burned more than a Santa Barbara forest. Has no control over his body. Slow. No redeeming qualities. Found a niche on special teams, keep him there.
Unga Brothers–can’t get into these guys. I know a lot of people rave about them, but meh, I see mediocrity and more slowness.
Rueben Robinson–early, but I don’t like what I’ve seen.
Sean Martin–unimpressed with this guy’s game film. Played slow. Haven’t seen him in a game yet so the verdict is out, but it doesn’t look promising.
Kevin Cummings–I have nothing against this kid, haven’t seen any game film, etc. I just don’t like his measurables and the fact that he looks 40 years old in his Rivals photo. As of right now I don’t like him. That could change.
Malcolm Marable–hate this recruit. We’re chasing the little guys now looking for another James/Quiz. First it was Tremaine Thompson, now Marable. Seen this guy in person and he lacks speed, size, and shiftiness. Just a real reach.
So there you have it. The players above all exact ennui in me. Surely you have some of your own and want to vent, so go ahead.
big roo. won’t bring his game (if he ever had one) to the gym.
Good call. Watched him closely tonight…he doesn’t even move for rebounds. The guy is terrible.
On an 85 scholarship roster, there are inevitably some guys who will never see the field. So the Krebs and McAndrews fit with that in mind.
We won’t see anything of Martin, Cummings or Marable for a while either with the possible exception of maybe Martin on ST. Yeah, I think there are better RB prospects out there, but the coaches think there’s something there. So if Marable turns out to be the player you think he’s destined to be then none of us will be surprised. If he turns into a thousand yard runner, then we can check him off this list. Quizz, Bernard, Jackson and Simonton have set the bar pretty high. We knew what we were getting with Quizz and Jackson, but I would say that Bernard and Simonton were surprises with similar attributes.
Tuimaunei is a definite bust on D, but I give him credit for finding a productive role on ST. He could have crawled in a hole and disappeared.
You include the Unga brothers, but I think you’re only half right. Feti seems a little slow and indecisive at times. Still, he plays ST with some passion. But Uani shines on ST, and I think he’ll be an upgrade over Kristick… easily. I would go so far as to say that he puts Robinson, Pankey and Wilson on the second team. Uani with Bubba and Roberson would be my ideal starting line-up next year.
Frahm is just depth for practice at this point. I don’t think the coaches thought he would be starting his soph year when they recruited him. I dislike more that he was starting than I dislike his game. That speaks to the depth at DE more than anything else. So with that in mind, I would like to take this time for a public service announcement.
Owa… we would love you more than anyone else would.
So that leaves us with McCants. So far he’s a waste of talent. When he seems to start to figure it out he puts the ball on the deck. And that puts him on the sideline. He needs to take a cue from the way Quizz carries the ball… and work on his hand strength.
So I need to add a player.
Darrell Catchings… although he’s been more of a disappointment than a dislike. Pankey may have taken a bad angle on Gephart last year, but it was Catchings who fumbled the ball through the end zone at the end of the game. Then he disappeared. Sure, Morales stepped up, and James and Sammie are who they are. But didn’t Catchings used to be more than a medical resdshirt question?
McCants should try a move to LB, don’t you think? I do.
I guess. But Darkins wisely vacated the LB position because there was too much depth for him to see the field. If we get Murphy in this class then maybe he should consider it.
He runs with little authority and puts the ball on the ground a good percent of the time. He’s got good speed for his size, so LB might nullify the negatives and make him viable. Otherwise might as well yank the guys scholie because he can’t be a starting (or even backup) RB based on what we’ve seen.
I totally agree about Catchings, his name is very deceiving. He is way undersized and really isn’t that great. Additionally he has a ton of drops, I personally think we shouldn’t pursue a medical redshirt for him so that we can free up a scholie sooner.
Agreed, Catchings has a ton of drops. He also has a hard time creating separation via speed or great routes.
I can’t think right now, I’m still too much in shock from that Seattle Hoops final. This after tight games vs. the big Washington schools? Have they quit? Can everyone in the State of Washington beat the Beavers? How about Western Washington or Eastern? Maybe Evergreen or PLU? Puget Sound? Whitworth? Whitman? All losses at this point.
Yeah, after that game I might stop watching hoops. That was insanely bad. The problem is they don’t even look like DI players. Like, the guys on Seattle looked more like PAC-10 caliber talent…I’m just talking about the eye test. As far as game, they were far superior.
Heh heh. Maybe yesterday.
Give Seattle some credit. They had a game like this–on the bad side–a couple days ago then came to Gill and killed us.
I wouldn’t take much from the game except:
1. It’s a loss.
2. There was a lot–and I mean a lot–of running in practice today.
3. Anyone who loses to us from here on out is embarrassed by association.
Making the guys run is the old lipstick on a pig mentality. We simply need players who pass the eye test and can score. An average fan’s cursory glance would say that these guys do not look DI. Don’t you agree? I find it amazing that mid-majors can get guys who pass the eye test but a pac-10 team can’t.
Dockery. Why can’t he be a senior?