Seems like the reaction to him signing has been very muted/low key since his incident.
I don't know what to think about him to be honest.
I don't know what to think about him to be honest.
Anyone excited about Connor Neville?
- Thread starter How_did_this_happen?
- Start date
I'll restrict my comments to his on-the-field performance. The reports that he has a live arm appear to be very accurate, but it's his footwork that I believe could make him special. I feel the same way about Hilinski, although Neville's arm seems superior to Hilinksi's coming out of high school.
As a player he seems like a good prospect. Good arm... maybe a little short, but his size is ok for the college game. Unfortunately I cannot look past the off field issue. If half of what was reported about him and the incident is true, I just can't root for the guy. Doesn't matter if he's a Coug. In the grand scheme of life, I have priorities, and college football isn't all that high. Human decency is.
I personally think Bledsoe is going to Falk him and beat him out ala Bruggman. We will see but I like Bledsoe as a prospect.
I hear and agree with your concern about his off-field issue as I am sure are most of the rest of the board. That said, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt initially. One cannot expect maturity from high school kids and his behavior may well be due to this alone. If he still demonstrates a lack of consideration for others in a few years then, yes, that is a problem. Leach, unlike some other coaches one can think of, places a high priority on character and if he judges the young man to be acceptable and amenable to growth of character then I will defer to his judgment on this.
He has been solidly committed to us for some time so it seems reasonable than some of our reaction has dissipated with time. Also there is the fact that it will be some time before he takes the field and it is a bit difficult to get too excited about something that far in the future. Glad to see that he is on board but not a recent surprise and it will be a few years for his LOI to pay dividends.
I hope Hilinski gets some live snaps in mop up situations next year. Every time I see him play I've been impressed with him.
Agree with this. Neville obviously showed bad judgement, but given the things that I've seen other high schoolers and college kids do, I'm willing to trust that Leach's assessment of the kid being worthy is accurate.
I still cant help but look at Bledsoe's film and wonder what the issue was with getting offers? Shows good pocket awareness, and a good delivery. Steps up into the pocket to avoid pressures, and even when pressured shows an ability to get the ball out fat and accurately. I think both are solid players on film, and it can only help to have more competition to replace Falk after this year.
Without truly knowing, I wonder if he just hasn't been completely open to any suitors that his father is a Coug (a pretty open, supporting one) and "I'm one too". The fact that he's a walk-on actually shows me one thing... He and his parent(s) have talked and they don't need the tax payers to pay his way through college just for playing college.
Of course all of this is conjecture, but for whatever reason, it rings for me.
I saw where he was committed to Northern Colorado (FCS) before a preferred walk on was offered by us. I loved a statement from him I read about his decision to walk on vs take the FCS offer along the lines of "I figured wherever I go I will have to compete with whoever is there, so why not compete to play at the highest level"...rings like a Falk sort of thing in there.
I am excited about him and Bledsoe, and the QB situation overall. Hilinski as a solid backup to Luke, 2 young guns with a year to compete/develop. One will likely go eventually, but no hurry.
In other Coug news, a Baynes article. ......
http://www.basketballinsiders.com/detroit-pistons-exploring-trade-market/
IDK... I knew (at 19 years of age) that filming a special needs kid doing something inappropriate was wrong. I don't buy (and hate) the "he's young and immature" excuse. He's going to need to do a lot off the field to get my support. But at the end of my day, I doubt he gives too sh*ts about my support.
i think it's also worth remembering that there was literally never any information about the incident that doesn't qualify as rumor. not one single report other than that bizarre blog post that itself didn't even say anything specific.
but yeah, even beyond all that, i tend to think of leach as a pretty stand-up guy and i too trust his judgment on something like this.
He may have made a stupid immature mistake. His conduct and behavior will now have to be exemplary, If he ever wins the starting QB job. One cannot condone his actions but everyone deserves a second chance. We probably all have done stupid immature things during our lifetimes. if one learns from their mistakes and becomes a better person,then they have earned their second chance.
ElC... I like it. You are spot on. The bottom line is, we are all individuals and deserve the be looked at, as such. We are away from the situation. We don't know the individual nor do we REALLY know the individual circumstances. I am with others that I will be watching to see what/how he chooses to conduct himself but the person that probably/hopefully knows, has accepted him (CML). I'll trust that, for now.
I also like that his brother has been brought on as a PWO. Will be interesting to see this kind of thing develop. At the least, a great support system for Connor, much like the Cracraft family. Or we might even get the next Parker Henry to raise himself up in the ranks and earn a schollie and make some damn good plays on gameday!
It's very difficult to know where to draw the line on when to dump a kid. Is filming and posting a video like Neville did worse than (or the same ballpark as) Tago being involved in an assault and theft? There's no easy answer and I don't fault people for not being happy with Neville. If I were in Leach's position, I probably would have pulled the offer. Now that he hasn't, I figure it's best just to see if he can keep his nose clean and represent us well.
I don't personally think that Bledsoe will pan out, but it'll be fun watching him compete. Neville is rated where he is for a reason.
I thought that Neville was one of the better Qb s i saw in videos last year, He seems to be a big play QB who can also run the ball .
Interestingly, it was Bledsoe who was named all-state first team 5A quarterback while Neville was only honorable mention.
Glad Cougar
I guess it comes down to, do you trust Leach or do you trust some high school sports blogger and anonymous Rivals poster?
Kids don't turn down football scholarships. I really don't think "he just doesn't need one" is the reason he didn't have many offers.
Bledsoe has an awkward delivery and a very slow release. He'll improve under Leach, but it's hard to imagine him seeing a lot of playing time after reading Leach's book.
I will put my trust in Leach and the willingness to give a kid a second chance. But I don't doubt what the blogger/anonymous Rivals poster had to say. I live in Wilsonville.
Glad Cougar
I personally know of 3 that have turned down schoolies because they were able to go where they wanted and they were well enough off, they didn't want to take a free ride from others that "need" it. I won't put their names out there, as I know them personally but it does happen. One at WSU. May not be the norm, but it happens. And Bledsoe kinda fits that very narrow circumstance where this COULD be possible.
