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Ashiru

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Reading this again here is the worst thing said about Diaco:

""He said Diaco and the coaches were coming up to him at practice, yelling at him, and asking him, `Do you love football?! Do you love football?"

WTF, That's it? That's what Diaco is guilty of? That's the smoking gun?

Reading that makes me think Diaco is too soft.
 
"Do you love football?!" is not a berating... Is it? Surely P and co said worse?

1) there are facts missing here
2) that said, it sounds like a misunderstanding, and I would hope Diaco takes it on himself to clear it up... Give Ashiru a chance to learn from it.
 
Stairmaster said:
I thought people hated HCBD's "kumbaya" shtick and wanted him to be more like this? Tough crowd.
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I loathe his Peace and Love talk at press conferences. If he is getting fired up at practices, I am happy. But as I said earlier, why does he say one thing and do the opposite?
 
During games, Diaco has been very encouraging to a fault. He never seems to get upset at all. He is the anti-Jim Calhoun on the sideline. I don't think Diaco has ever lashed out at players in full view of the public unlike virtually all FBS head coaches. Have you ever watched Brian Kelly, Rich Rod, ...?

Diaco has talked repeatedly about the lack of mental toughness, changing the culture and installing a winning attitude in the program. None of us know what happened with Ashiru and like Diaco said, he is a great kid. Coaches being tough on players and driving them to be their best is what competitive sports is all about. Unfortunately, not all kids respond to tough love. Heck, listen to all the stories about Calhoun, but his players responded and seem to love him.

If anything, I have thought Diaco has not been tough enough.
 
businesslawyer said:
There are two sides to most stories, and I will be fair, but the words of Mr. Ashiru are far, far more damaging than any of the nitpicking or second guessing criticism that we have been treated to since literally opening night on this board.

If this was HDBD's way of opening up a slot to rebuild, it is extremely troubling (and not something that, to me, is justified just by getting more wins).
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Don't understand about the need to open up a slot, he had 24 slots open at the Cincinnati game. he must be planning on a large influx of juco players. As you said it is extremely troubling if this situation took place as presented in this column. Sad to say but this young man is owed more than that if he still loves football. This can't happen at UCONN. WE are Better than that.
 
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jackl said:
Don't understand about the need to open up a slot, he had 24 slots open at the Cincinnati game. he must be planning on a large influx of juco players. As you said it is extremely troubling if this situation took place as presented in this column. Sad to say but this young man is owed more than that if he still loves football. This can't happen at UCONN. WE are Better than that.
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Diaco said it was Ashiru's choice not his. Look, Ashiru is a good player and I don't think Diaco wants him to leave. As a 4th year player in the program, a losing program in recent years, if he is not 100% committed to self improvement and the team, it's probably really hard on him.

I would think Diaco would want Ashiru to have been a senior leader on the team next year, but he would have to be 100% committed. I don't think he tried to run him off the team.
 
businesslawyer said:
There are two sides to most stories, and I will be fair, but the words of Mr. Ashiru are far, far more damaging than any of the nitpicking or second guessing criticism that we have been treated to since literally opening night on this board.

If this was HDBD's way of opening up a slot to rebuild, it is extremely troubling (and not something that, to me, is justified just by getting more wins).
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BL, if the numbers we have been presented are correct there are plenty of roster spots alread open to rebuild with. This does not pass the smell test that he doesn't want to play FB anymore. Even if he did not start he only has one year of eligibility left. We could use the experience he has as a sub which we do a lot of now on almost every down.
 
metsfan2323 said:
The article doesn't refute what Diaco said about the Ashiru situation at all. Diaco said he didn't want to play anymore which probably means play for UCONN.

No doubt Diaco pushed him hard and that is why he quit, but the coaches are supposed to push the players hard no? Do Jim and Geno push their players hard? Just ask Alex Ohriaki and Roscoe Smith and Geno has had a number of players leave for other less demanding programs. Jake Voskhul called his dad after a grueling 2:0o am practice his freshman year wanting to quit because Calhoun was a crazy man.
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Calhoun was a winning coach and had more leeway. Diaco is a losing coach and lacks credibility at this time. There may be truth in this article. This kid was one of UConn's better players. Sometime the good ones have to take the most abuse, and he just cracked. UConn football is in deep trouble. I think it is hilarious that he sent an email to Warde and expected a reply. From his father's statement, maybe he will come back and it was all a misunderstanding. More likely, he will be a superstar elsewhere.
 
So what that article is saying is that Ashiru is a good football player, good person off the field, good student, and had a year of eligibility left, but for some odd reason the coaches wanted their exact prototype of a player not to play there anymore? Seems a bit fishy on the part of the author of the article and Ashiru's dad, and possibly Ashiru. Why on earth would a coach want a player who meets all of his criteria off of the team? That's what makes no sense.
 
I just hope BD isn't some bipolar lunatic, incapable of nuance or adaptation.
 
Maybe buddy is right and Ashiru cracked. If the coaches are making him the focal point our our defensive lapses then we are in big trouble. There are 3 players that have more than underwhelmed on the field and 2 are LB's not named Ashiru.
 
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businesslawyer said:
There are two sides to most stories, and I will be fair, but the words of Mr. Ashiru are far, far more damaging than any of the nitpicking or second guessing criticism that we have been treated to since literally opening night on this board.

If this was HDBD's way of opening up a slot to rebuild, it is extremely troubling (and not something that, to me, is justified just by getting more wins).
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This is only a valid argument if he was not saying it to other players which I find hard to believe. he was recruited by a different coach and philosophies have changed greatly. If he feels the need to leave because philosophies have changed greatly since he started so be it. The linebackers at notre dame had no issues with diacos coaching and rose up to a national championship game defense.
 
I'm not going to make the effort to type it, as to why, but once again, this is the very first sign, that I think we are actually on the way to building a champion again. Best of luck to Jefferson, I hope he learns from this. Get yourself up and go, and communicate.

It's also a repeated and recurring sign, that the media that covers football, specifically college football in CT, has no idea WTF is involved in this sport, and I hope that Diaco learns from this.

Edsall actually made the effort to bring media people into a film room at one point not too long ago. You hear me Bobby? Media people don't know sh---t about this sport in this state.
 
My two cents, going back to pre season camp, Ashiru kind of drew the ire of the staff. When someone mentioned Ashiru to Poindexter, his comment was he wished he would hit like Stewart. I don't think Ashiru's playing style was this staff's cup of tea from a physicality standpoint. Stewart will make a big hit from time to time, but from a playmaking standpoint I would take Ashiru all day, you are hard press to remember one big hit from Jeff Ashiru.

Wish this young man the best. I was a big fan of his ability and liked how he seemed to have good range and speed. I think in an ideal defense for us, Ashiru would be OLB in a 3-4, with Vann and Joseph playing ILBs.
 
noeynox said:
My two cents, going back to pre season camp, Ashiru kind of drew the ire of the staff. When someone mentioned Ashiru to Poindexter, his comment was he wished he would hit like Stewart. I don't think Ashiru's playing style was this staff's cup of tea from a physicality standpoint. Stewart will make a big hit from time to time, but from a playmaking standpoint I would take Ashiru all day, you are hard press to remember one big hit from Jeff Ashiru.

Wish this young man the best. I was a big fan of his ability and liked how he seemed to have good range and speed. I think in an ideal defense for us, Ashiru would be OLB in a 3-4, with Vann and Joseph playing ILBs.
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I think an ideal linebacker is Ashiru's smarts with Stewart's speed and violence. You determine where the ball is going, and you get to the ball, and when you get there, you get there with anger.
 
None of us know all the facts, nor will we ever.

The writer is looking to sell papers and get folks talking. Again this is part of big time college football. You all ought to read the Knoxville papers during last season. It would make most of you blush
 
Carl Spackler said:
I'm not going to make the effort to type it, as to why, but once again, this is the very first sign, that I think we are actually on the way to building a champion again. Best of luck to Jefferson, I hope he learns from this. Get yourself up and go, and communicate.

It's also a repeated and recurring sign, that the media that covers football, specifically college football in CT, has no idea WTF is involved in this sport, and I hope that Diaco learns from this.

Edsall actually made the effort to bring media people into a film room at one point not too long ago. You hear me Bobby? Media people don't know sh---t about this sport in this state.
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I hope your first paragraph is right.

I had a sinking feeling all day last Saturday that things weren't going to go well.

This coming Saturday looks to be an apocolypse.
 
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uconnbill said:
None of us know all the facts, nor will we ever.

The writer is looking to sell papers and get folks talking. Again this is part of big time college football. You all ought to read the Knoxville papers during last season. It would make most of you blush
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LOL yeah we are just Yankee rubes who have no grasp of what goes on in college football.
 
Carl Spackler said:
I think an ideal linebacker is Ashiru's smarts with Stewart's speed and violence. You determine where the ball is going, and you get to the ball, and when you get there, you get there with anger.
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My ideal linebackers look a lot more like Smallwood, Moore, Lansanah and Fincher. When you watch them play the name Graham Stewart never crossed your mind.
 
whaler11 said:
My ideal linebackers look a lot more like Smallwood, Moore, Lansanah and Fincher. When you watch them play the name Graham Stewart never crossed your mind.
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I was more of a Bama Wilson, Greg Lloyd, Scott Lutrus guy, but I think that is splitting hairs. :)
 
The one thing I think I understand about Diaco is that almost everything he says is for a reason.

His comments about cleaning out lockers and kicking people off the team was a desperate attempt to get their attention.

I can't shake the idea that come he!! or high water he was chasing an upperclassman from the team over those two weeks.

So here is the problem: It didn't work. It didn't come close to working. It was the opposite
of working.

It blew up horribly in his face and the team completely no-showed at home. (And if you are going to tell me they put in an effort - that is even worse - at least you can fix quitting).

It happens - these aren't his players and he's made it clear he's not responsible for how poorly they play - but it does mean even if Diaco can recruit and coach this mess is a long way from getting fixed.
 
metsfan2323 said:
Reading this again here is the worst thing said about Diaco:

""He said Diaco and the coaches were coming up to him at practice, yelling at him, and asking him, `Do you love football?! Do you love football?"

WTF, That's it? That's what Diaco is guilty of? That's the smoking gun?

Reading that makes me think Diaco is too soft.
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If this is his father's best example of "berating" then I'm inclined to believe he's more of a Mr. Oriakhi than someone presenting a serious issue.
 
noeynox said:
I was more of a Bama Wilson, Greg Lloyd, Scott Lutrus guy, but I think that is splitting hairs. :)
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Lloyd and Fincher are actually my two favorites. So many good linebackers. What the he!! happened.
 
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whaler11 said:
Lloyd and Fincher are actually my two favorites. So many good linebackers. What the he!! happened.
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About ten years ago I ran into some guys from Glenn Mills, PA that worked at that place down there with the troubled youth. They happened to be HS football coaches down there. They were telling me Tino Sunseri was the premier HS QB in the nation (slight exageration on their part I suppose). The converstation, as any FB conversation I have turned to UConn. They told me how they tried sending a kid, I think Nate Williams was his name, to UConn to play LB, and that Todd Orlando really tried to convince Edsall but that Randy wouldn't pull the trigger on an offer. The kid went to Northwestern then onto the NFL. I only share this as a reminder of the caliber of LB play we've had that we could turn a way a kid that good, and we probably ended up with a better player in his place.
 
Carl Spackler said:
Marquise Vann is no slouch
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He is not. He is also maybe a have tick below those guys and that is not a knock. All of those other guys have spent time on NFL active rosters. For a program like ours, that is absolutely kick legit.
 
Carl Spackler said:
Marquise Vann is no slouch
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I like Vann. He is probably my favorite player on this team.

I also like the cut of Diggs' jib.

Vann would get my second place vote for Team MVP behind Foxx.

I don't feel like figuring it out but he's probably like the 11th or 12th best LB since 2000.
 
huskymedic said:
Brian Koonz
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Not that the Greenwich Time covers UCONN sports too much, albeit perhaps via some Stamford Advocate/Hearst articles, but it's interesting for Koonz to suddenly appear. Perhaps Jefferson Ashiru was pushed hard by UCONN, and maybe they questioned his commitment in practice despite some strong performances at times.

Acknowledging that possibility, Koonz always seemed to have something against UCONN when he covered the hoop team for the Danbury newspaper. Noting no reference to even reaching out to any coaches or school officials (not that they'd respond), maybe Koonz's historic chip is relevant in reading his piece. Grain of salt, perhaps given the source. Regardless, good luck to Ashiru in his future.
 
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whaler11 said:
I like Vann. He is probably my favorite player on this team.

I also like the cut of Diggs' jib.

Vann would get my second place vote for Team MVP behind Foxx.

I don't feel like figuring it out but he's probably like the 11th or 12th best LB since 2000.
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I think Vann is overused by the staff. He is such an intense player, he looks utterly exhausted by the end of the game. I love that whether the score is tied or UCONN is getting obliterated, he takes on o linemen head on to maintain his gap. And if you watch closely, aside from Campenni, he gets the most attention from opposing offenses.
 
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