Lyle McCombs no longer part of Football Team

[Carl Spackler]

Why post something like this without impetus? Where is the negative personal post? Every one so far has been at least neutral with a lot of will wishes. In fact, the most negative sentiment was from McCombs' former head coach.

Just an odd pre-emptive post in my opinion.

I deleted 2 posts of my own, prior to reading what sportsart wrote, but for the same reason. Nothing inflammatory or disrespectful, whatever - just some quotes from Diaco that showed up in the media. My initial reaction to this was exactly what Chin put up, in that a player that is ready to graduate, and has been through what this program went through the past few years, might simply not feel the desire to put in what it takes anymore and there is nothing shameful or wrong in that. The goal is to graduate and make something of yourself, with football as the vehicle. I'm proud to have that as a part of the UCONN tradition, and getting it back again. To me - it seems that when you do that - and make that your core values, there is no way you cannot be competitive on the actual field of play.

Anyway, as I read more and more quotes, it became crystal clear that this was something entirely not planned by the player and expected by the player, and I pulled down my comments about expectations and change for the exact same reason that sportsart commented. I'm sure it was a surprise to the family, probably moreso than the player, and I kept thinking about Cody Endres' family.

I'm happy that Lyle has the scholarship still and the opportunity to complete the degree. That paper and what it represents and how he represents it in the future is a lot more important than anything else. Lots of lessons to be learned still, and the kid still has eligibility left, to pursue education beyond the Bachelor's degree.

Choice is his.

We got BYU in 85 days and it's time to move forward.

 

[sportsart]

Why post something like this without impetus? Where is the negative personal post? Every one so far has been at least neutral with a lot of will wishes. In fact, the most negative sentiment was from McCombs' former head coach.

Just an odd pre-emptive post in my opinion.

Reading is fundamental. If you look at the post just before mine you will see someone new drudging up Lyle's past. No need for that.

 

[PUPPY4]

Lyle, good luck to you, I welcomed you when you visited for the spring game before your freshman year and I wish you the best going forward! Lyle Sr. hope you still make it up for some games it was always a good time at the tailgate with you there!

Jerry, I'll never forget that day!

 

[Jax Husky]

Well this is strange. What the heck happened?

It stinks. Smells like skunk. That's a guess anyway. This isgoing on all over the country. Well, except for west cost teams.

This is pure message board specultion on my part and hopefully not an indictment of Lyle as a person. He has given a lot to the prigram and is graduating. By all accounts, i will continue to view him as a success.

 

[Nostical]

Well Puppy4 all I can say is I love your family and loved having you in our tailgate. Ruth and I wish Lyle nothing but the best. Whatever the issues were, he now has time to get his degree and move forward. Life brings many twists and turns. Hopefully, the road will straighten out as he travels along. He's got great role models right in the family and great genes right in the mix. Heck, cousin Brandon is an MIT graduate! There are big things waiting for Lyle. His job is to reach high and grab the ring. Please don't be a stranger. You are always welcome and will forever be Uncle Boo-by to us!

 

[sdhusky]

Lyle wasn't exactly running behind a good offensive line... so it's hard to really compare him to past backs.

I think it was tough with Lyle to get on a roll - the line just couldn't consistently get him space to operate.

I think he is better than his body of work indicates but not as good as the best we've had.

He played hard, got a degree and has his whole life ahead of him. Good wishes.

 

[BlueDogs]

I wish him good luck and a great life. That said, he was a serviceable back at best with flashes of occasional brilliance but most notable a lack of cutback ability, easy to take down, and poor vision. These weaknesses were accentuated by a blocking scheme that emphasized his weaknesses.

I like Max for his toughness, good quickness, but he also is not thoroughbred either. We are spoiled by seeing exception backs, unfortunately they are far and few between.

 

[huskypantz]

Best of luck to Lyle in the future - happy that he's graduating a Husky.

 

[Point6]

He was a warrior out there and he will always be a Husky. Many thanks, Lyle.

 

[Jerry27]

I wish him good luck and a great life.

Fixed it!

 

[Jerry27]

Jerry, I'll never forget that day!

Me either, please extend my best, and I hope you do make it up from time to time.

 

[Husky25]

Reading is fundamental. If you look at the post just before mine you will see someone new drudging up Lyle's past. No need for that.

My mother reads this board and I played sports at UConn......

Why are we to supposed to refrain from posting anything negative about a player in the public eye, but it's okay to lob personal insults to fellow "common" Boneyarders?

What was written that wasn't true? McCombs past is what it is. Good or bad, it happened and he needs to own it, learn, and move forward. It happened at UConn so it's a little more public and because it resulted in an arrest, Mr. McCombs is probably aware of his son's transgression(s). Do you think that actions for a football player shouldn't have consequences (again, good or bad)?

I think the reminder was unwarranted and now everyone is walking on eggshells instead of giving their honest opinion. Two wrongs don't make a right, but the posts in this thread are nothing compared to the Prince Ali de-commit thread. People were outright mean there.

That said, McCombs is still able to graduate this summer. I hope if it was a shock as Carl indicates, he is able to pull himself up, move forward, and be successful in whatever field he chooses to pursue.

 

[Husky25]

I think it was tough with Lyle to get on a roll - the line just couldn't consistently get him space to operate.

I think he is better than his body of work indicates but not as good as the best we've had.

He played hard, got a degree and has his whole life ahead of him. Good wishes.

Correct. There are at least 6 other players involved in the running game. Then when a team gets behind by 14, they tend to abandon the running game.

 

[UconnFamily]

Lyle wasn't exactly running behind a good offensive line... so it's hard to really compare him to past backs.

Its also hard to compare him with past Uconn backs because the other backs didn't go down at first contact like McCombs did 95% of the time. The backs are suppose to help the o-line as well by breaking tackles and McCombs BARELY broke any. I wish him well but this is definitely a step forward for Uconn Huskies.

 

[Confident Carl]

Arkeel Newsome will be the REAL DEAL at UCONN. I predict right out of the gate. He is the All time leading rusher in CT History with over 11,000 yards.

 

[whaler11]

Its also hard to compare him with past Uconn backs because the other backs didn't go down at first contact like McCombs did 95% of the time. The backs are suppose to help the o-line as well by breaking tackles and McCombs BARELY broke any. I wish him well but this is definitely a step forward for Uconn Huskies.

Well obviously he's not Brown or Todman or Caulley or even Dixon.

But guys like Brockington? They looked a lot better because they ran behind some decent lines.

 

[Carl Spackler]

My mother reads this board and I played sports at UConn......

Why are we to supposed to refrain from posting anything negative about a player in the public eye, but it's okay to lob personal insults to fellow "common" Boneyarders?

What was written that wasn't true? McCombs past is what it is. Good or bad, it happened and he needs to own it, learn, and move forward. It happened at UConn so it's a little more public and because it resulted in an arrest, Mr. McCombs is probably aware of his son's transgression(s). Do you think that actions for a football player shouldn't have consequences (again, good or bad)?

I think the reminder was unwarranted and now everyone is walking on eggshells instead of giving their honest opinion. Two wrongs don't make a right, but the posts in this thread are nothing compared to the Prince Ali de-commit thread. People were outright mean there.

That said, McCombs is still able to graduate this summer. I hope if it was a shock as Carl indicates, he is able to pull himself up, move forward, and be successful in whatever field he chooses to pursue.

LOL. THe first line is funny. There is a weird dynamic around here, in that people know that family/friends etc. read and write - whether it be basketball or football. My take is that fans feel closer to the players and the program when they know that and can interact like that. My experience tells me that those family and friends know just as much as we all do about what actually happens inside the program - adn that is essentially nothing - and really, the reason that family and friends seek out websites and fanbase forums like this.

My first post is what it is. THanks for time served, memories made and congrats - seemed like a normal thing that happens a lot - didn't realize he hadn't actually earned the degree yet, and later as it became clear through press that there was more, I posted some press stuff and it became very clear to me that the player, and most likely all of his friends and family had no idea this was coming. I began to think about Cody Endres and how his family had to deal with finding out all the stuff that went down, through commentary, etc. I thought it would be a good idea to just leave what I said originally and take down the rest. I wasn't going to contribute to anything else. How would I feel if it was my kid?

THis is a lot different than analyzing the performance on the field in a football game, and doing it brutally, this is actually life, and life changing and there are better ways to let things be.

I do wish that fans of the program would realize that the parents and friends are no closer to the program than any of us are.

Plus - I didn't want to get called a d o u c h e b a g by FIshy again.

 

[FDNY99]

APR...no APR...all that matters is that in the end Lyle will earn his degree from the University of Connecticut which is worth a HELL OF A LOT!!!!! I think we have all seen this year with the number of underclassman who committed to the NFL draft and never heard their name called and those like Yawin Smallwood who heard it called at the end that continuing a football career after college is EXTREMELY difficult! Once a husky always a husky to me...I wish Lyle the best of luck as he moves on.

 

[BlueMAB]

It's unfortunate things ended the way they did. Best of luck to him in the future. I'm just glad the university is honoring the scholarship and giving him the chance to finish what he started in the classroom if he chooses to stay.

 

[Lethalinjection]

He was the best we had at a bad time. He gave full effort. End of story.

 

[UconnFamily]

He was the best we had at a bad time. He gave full effort. End of story.

They all gave full effort even the O-line

 

[gars44]

@JohnFSilver: RB Lyle McCombs is no longer a part of the UConn FB team. Will graduate this summer.

That's not good. Could have used him this year.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Lyle was a Freshman All-American. Good luck Lyle, Thank you, and you too P4!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

You must have to really F up over the course of the years to get kicked off of a college football team.

Lack of maturity and maturity caused this to happen, so it's unfortunate.

Glad he'll get a degree, glad he was a good player for UConn, so hopefully he can turn the page and start over with a college education in hand.

 

[kris1]

Arkeel Newsome will be the REAL DEAL at UCONN. I predict right out of the gate. He is the All time leading rusher in CT History with over 8,000 yards.

Well over 8,000 yards.

10,672 career yards (6th all time nationally), 187 career TDs (3rd all time nationally) to be exact.

I think he can use a year to get acclimated to college, the playbook, and the speed of the game. But if he comes in and wins some of the carries, so be it. With DeLorenzo's development, Marriner primed for touches, and the other guys coming in, I think the RB position will be a strength, if we win at the point of attack.


https://www.facebook.com/ctspeedsch...1401936539./581280081971002/?type=3&the lawer
Newsome with Ansonia HC, Tom Brockett and former Ansonia and Yale standout, Alex Thomas at a recent free youth football camp. Newsome looks bigger. Thomas played professionally in France at 200 Lbs. Newsome looks to be 185-190 heading to Storrs at the end of the month. He'll flourish under the new strength & conditioning staff. He works as hard as anyone in the weightroom.