Ryan Dickens Article Critical of UConn Football

[NavinRJohnson]

Who is Colin McEnroe? That's a serious question.

 

[huskymedic]

Gresh sticking up for us?

Ha... until this afternoon when he's on the 50K watt flamethrower espousing how the white ram rode in on the unicorn to save the day!

 

[JSM1970]

I still think this was a favor to the family or something, someone knew someone who knows someone

Look at the picture of the kid, he looks smaller than the kickers

This is on Diaco for offering kids who were clearly FCS level players.

-ing Diaco.

 

[coachcap]

Over the course of the last few months, as various verbal commitments were announced, there were those on the 'Yard who lamented Diaco & Co. targeting FCS caliber players for an FBS program. HCRE & his staff are trying to correct this strategy & NOW 'Yarders are griping about not honoring commitments made by the previous regime? Slow off season. Can't wait for National Signing Day & then Spring Practice to actually have material to comment about.

 

[noeynox]

This was not how Edsall did things the first time around, and we're only hearing (and can only hear since Edsall can't comment) one side of the story. It's quite possible Edsall was far more non-committal on the first call and the young man heard what he wanted to hear.

This is also a 1st for Edsall at UConn. He is walking into a situation where there are kids committed who may not be a fit for his program.

The board should probably tread lightly and not be to hard on the kid and his parents. They are definitely getting the worst end of this at the moment. We will survive a little bad press over this.

 

[businesslawyer]

This is also a 1st for Edsall at UConn. He is walking into a situation where there are kids committed who may not be a fit for his program.

The board should probably tread lightly and not be to hard on the kid and his parents. They are definitely getting the worst end of this at the moment. We will survive a little bad press over this.

I feel very badly for the kid and his parents -- the system sucks and he fell victim to it. But it's a system flaw -- UConn did not do anything that many, and probably most, other schools don't do in the same circumstances. And, as I said, I truly doubt Edsall flat out lied to the kid, especially as there really wasn't any reason to.

 

[Jax Husky]

I feel very badly for the kid and his parents -- the system sucks and he fell victim to it. But it's a system flaw -- UConn did not do anything that many, and probably most, other schools don't do in the same circumstances. And, as I said, I truly doubt Edsall flat out lied to the kid, especially as there really wasn't any reason to.

Early signing periods would fix a lot of this crap. Both coaches and recruits have been asking, but the NCAA has bigger fish to fry going after secondary violations at no name schools.

 

[FDNY99]

Let's look at this objectively for a second. Even though he was 6'2" 210+ lbs I clearly remember the 40 time on Ryan Mickens being listed as 4.9. I questioned it and was crucified pretty good here for mentioning that 4.9 for a D-1 LB was too slow. When Diaco offered him I figured it was as a LS..which wouldn't be out of the ordinary given his size/speed, but it seems he was offered as a LB. Now Crocker comes in as DC and his system utilizes LB's that attack...when you compare 4.9 40 speed to kids like Diggs, Joseph and Levenberry it doesn't even come close. This issue is a microcosm of what recruiting had boiled down to for Diaco...signing kids that who were serviceable at the FCS level but not in the AAC.
Now for the fallout/ramifications for this move: cross Raritan HS off the recruiting list. Although as my friend said to me earlier..even though Raritan draws from a large town most of the talent goes to the private catholic schools like Red Bank Catholic, St John Vianney and Mater Dei Prep.

 

[CL82]

I am interested in hearing Edsall's take on this. I'm guessing it will be something like:

"That's always a tough phone to call to make. I felt bad for Ryan. He is a fine young man and he was looking forward being a Husky. But when we looked at the things we feel we need to do at Connecticut to be successful on the field, Ryan was not going to be a good fit. It would be unfair at that point to have him come down here when we really didn't have a place for him to help us. So we wanted to give him as much notice as we could so that he could find a place to succeed. I've heard that URI has made him an offer, so he is in a good place. As I said, he is good kid and I wish him nothing but best in his college career."​

 

[sub legacy]

I guess UConn is the new whipping-boy for this kind of transgression. Nevermind all the other big time programs that have done this just days before Signing Day, probably since the beginning of the sport.

 

[FDNY99]

I feel very badly for the kid and his parents -- the system sucks and he fell victim to it. But it's a system flaw -- UConn did not do anything that many, and probably most, other schools don't do in the same circumstances. And, as I said, I truly doubt Edsall flat out lied to the kid, especially as there really wasn't any reason to.

BL I would say that this is more about a DC who uses his LB's a certain way and requires a certain speed/level of athleticism from them looking at film and saying that Mickens didn't fit his scheme than anything else. IMHO if RE had hired Crocker and Lashlee right away with Richardson, Wholley and C Edsall of this would have happened sooner.

 

[Jax Husky]

I am interested in hearing Edsall's take on this. I'm guessing it will be something like:

"That's always a tough phone to call to make. I felt bad for Ryan. He is a fine young man and he was looking forward being a Husky. But when we looked at the things we feel we need to do at Connecticut to be successful on the field, Ryan was not going to be a good fit. It would be unfair at that point to have him come down here when we really didn't have a place for him to help us. So we wanted to give him as much notice as we could so that he could find a place to succeed. I've heard that URI has made him an offer, so he is in a good place. As I said, he is good kid and I wish him nothing but best in his college career."​

You won't hear Edsall's take. He can't comment on recruits, so it is convenient that the family and NJ media want to blow this up.

 

[businesslawyer]

I am interested in hearing Edsall's take on this. I'm guessing it will be something like:

"That's always a tough phone to call to make. I felt bad for Ryan. He is a fine young man and he was looking forward being a Husky. But when we looked at the things we feel we need to do at Connecticut to be successful on the field, Ryan was not going to be a good fit. It would be unfair at that point to have him come down here when we really didn't have a place for him to help us. So we wanted to give him as much notice as we could so that he could find a place to succeed. I've heard that URI has made him an offer, so he is in a good place. As I said, he is good kid and I wish him nothing but best in his college career."​

You realize he can't say that, right? He can not talk about recruits except for those who sign papers with UConn.

 

[Santini35]

You won't hear Edsall's take. He can't comment on recruits, so it is convenient that the family and NJ media want to blow this up.

And by the time he can, no one will care, but the damage (what little there may actually be) will be done

 

[Palatine]

It's not like we're short on scholarships. You put him on specials as a freshmen and could throw him on the RB pile and see if he surprises. If he doesn't fit he would probably be gone in a couple of years anyhow. Hey, the kid committed to us. And I have heard the Edsall guilt trip laid on commits before. The whole "if you commit to is you don't talk to anyone else" thing. That's what Edsall expects. Sad story.

 

[noeynox]

I feel very badly for the kid and his parents -- the system sucks and he fell victim to it. But it's a system flaw -- UConn did not do anything that many, and probably most, other schools don't do in the same circumstances. And, as I said, I truly doubt Edsall flat out lied to the kid, especially as there really wasn't any reason to.

I just wouldn't go all crazy calling the kid and his folks liars. They are much closer to the situation than we are. Kid is a victim of circumstances in this situation. Nothing more than that.

 

[FDNY99]

It's not like we're short on scholarships. You put him on specials as a freshmen and could throw him on the RB pile and see if he surprises. If he doesn't fit he would probably be gone in a couple of years anyhow. Hey, the kid committed to us. And I have heard the Edsall guilt trip laid on commits before. The whole "if you commit to is you don't talk to anyone else" thing. That's what Edsall expects. Sad story.

Pal no offense but with a 4.9 40 yd time..what RB pile are you gonna throw him on? if there was any place to put this kid it was at LS. That's about it.

 

[businesslawyer]

I just wouldn't go all crazy calling the kid and his folks liars. They are much closer to the situation than we are. Kid is a victim of circumstances in this situation. Nothing more than that.

I'm not calling anyone anything near being a liar. Despite what folks say on the Cesspool, lying is not saying something that fails to be 100% objectively correct. Lying requires that you know that you are making a misstatement.

It is quite plausible that the young man on New Years heard what he wanted to hear, and fully believes Edsall recommitted to him. In fact, that is by far the more likely scenario than that he and his family are lying now.

 

[noeynox]

Pal no offense but with a 4.9 40 yd time..what RB pile are you gonna throw him on? if there was any place to put this kid it was at LS. That's about it.

I was thinking full back, but bottom line is, he was recruited by a different coach for a different scheme. That Coach has since been fired. We just hired our DC over the weekend.

 

[FDNY99]

I just wouldn't go all crazy calling the kid and his folks liars. They are much closer to the situation than we are. Kid is a victim of circumstances in this situation. Nothing more than that.

I feel bad for this kid...it happened to 2 of my friends who ended up playing at UConn. I also feel bad for him that he was offered a scholarship by a guy who really was in over his head as a HC. At the end of the day if Ryan Mickens was good enough to play LB in the AAC at UConn..he is good enough to get a scholarship form Diaco at Nebraska. But let's look at things like 40 times and then see if that is truly accurate.

 

[businesslawyer]

Edsall was wrong to do this because he told him his scholarship was safe.

"Edsall called on New Year’s Day to assure Dickens the school still wanted him and his scholarship was safe, his parents said."

Then he sent his lb coach to NJ tell him he still had a scholarship

"UConn linebackers coach Jon Wholley even met with Dickens at Raritan Thursday to talk about signing day and his upcoming visit to UConn on Jan. 20"

and then three days later he tells him he doesn't have a scholarship.

Once you give your word you keep it. Period. End of story.

So you take one side's view of a conversation and assume that their view is an incontrovertible 100% accurate view of whatever happened? Even when their position coincides with their self interest (here that they were wronged)?

I don't think so.

 

[Jax Husky]

It's not like we're short on scholarships. You put him on specials as a freshmen and could throw him on the RB pile and see if he surprises. If he doesn't fit he would probably be gone in a couple of years anyhow. Hey, the kid committed to us. And I have heard the Edsall guilt trip laid on commits before. The whole "if you commit to is you don't talk to anyone else" thing. That's what Edsall expects. Sad story.

We will need extra scholarships next year. You think the PR gets any better when you Process the kid after a season or 2? That's even worse, IMO.

 

[Ldandy]

This is the ugly underbelly of recruiting at The FBS Level. Unfortunately these type of things happen as high up as Alabama where running off 4* Prospects to squeeze a few more 5 * kids into a class is not unheard of, down to UConn where a borderline FBS/FCS prospect might be encouraged to look around when a new coaching staff takes over. While the optics on the article look bad for Edsall and UConn, consider the source. Toadrick as I refer to him is a known Rutgers Wonk, so casting UConn in an unflattering light was never a concern for him. All that said Dickens sounds like an AWESOME kid. I hope he finds a scholarship somewhere and gets his schooling taken care of. In an era where many athletes feel a completely underserved sense of entitlement, this kid has earned the right to be a "scholarship athlete."

 

[FDNY99]

I was thinking full back, but bottom line is, he was recruited by a different coach for a different scheme. That Coach has since been fired. We just hired our DC over the weekend.

Noey as a FB you need 4.7 at the worst. Think about it..a kid like Arkel or RJ who run 4.5 range running behind a kid that runs a 4.9. Sherminator ran a 4.6 I think.

 

[businesslawyer]

We will need extra scholarships next year. You think the PR gets any better when you Process the kid after a season or 2? That's even worse, IMO.

We won't need extra scholarships next year. We currently have over 20 seniors on the roster. Before even looking at who leaves or is driven out after spring practice.