Joe Dahl speaks about ..........
- Thread starter Whitworth-Coug
- Start date
Probably not... Or his classic response where he will half agree/admit something but then follow that up with a handful of negatives/disagreements...
For me, the scholarship issue is being overblown. Dahl transferred to WSU as a walk-on and didn't get a scholarship until he had been on campus for at least a year and a half. If it was about the scholarship, he wouldn't be at WSU. Leach could have used one of his 25 scholarships to cover Dahl earlier and he didn't. People are making way too much of that in my opinion.
The truly damning thing about Dahl being at WSU is that he'd rather pay out of pocket to play for Leach than get a free education playing for Wulff. That tells you how much he didn't respect Wulff. I'm a little disappointed that this is being discussed years later. I don't care that he didn't like Wulff, but to say that he didn't come to WSU because he wasn't offered a scholarship, then transfer to WSU without a scholarship doesn't make logical sense. If he didn't come to WSU just because he was pissed that he didn't get enough respect from Wulff when he wanted it, it shows a lack of understanding of the process.
Wulff gave out scholarships to six offensive line players in 2011. The three high school players that he offered were all significantly bigger than Dahl. Christ - 300 lbs, Mitchell - 300 lbs, and Taiese - 340 lbs. Wulff obviously screwed up on is evaluation of Dahl and should have offered sooner, but then again, so did everyone else outside of Montana. He was going for guys that were going to have the size to play OL sooner than later because he was trying to keep his job. Dahl was a 240 lb DE project when he came out of high school.
It's obvious that Wulff picked the wrong horses early, but Dahl showed a lack of maturity pouting about the lack of an early offer. Getting offers late didn't keep a half dozen kids from bailing on WSU last year and gutting the top of our class. Just my opinion, but a kid whining because he didn't get enough early love isn't meaningful to me. If he wanted to be at WSU on scholarship right away, the opportunity was there and he was the one that made the choice he did. Of course, maybe Wulff dropped a deuce in his house and Dahl just couldn't picture himself playing for the guy.
So you're telling us that a 17 year old might not have a full understanding of the recruitment process and isn't fully mature? Interesting take for a fortysomething(?) year old to have.
While you hate what he said. I celebrate his complete honesty.
By the way, the reason why Leach waited to give Dahl a scholarship is that there is an NCAA rule that states if a player is a walkon for at least two years, he does not count toward the maximum of 25 new scholarships each year.
Dahl's story illustrates what was going on at WSU and how dense Wulff was and how little respect people had for him, and how things are much better for him now. It's good that he talks about it because it destroys the absolutely moronic idea a small tiny group is still clinging to that Wulff wasn't that bad. He was that bad. He was the worst ever, and we...just like Dahl have a better future now.
I think it's more important to focus on how Dahl has progressed as a college football player, and the work he's put in to put himself in position to be one of the best offensive linemen in the country. I think it's a testament to his own personal dedication, as well as the staff's ability to develop the players who have that dedication.
Wulff? Whatever...who gives a shit anymore?
Wulff? Whatever...who gives a shit anymore?
Until Wulff is put in the rear view mirror, the Mike Leach era will never stand a chance of being judged objectively.
You do understand the irony of bitching about Wulff not offering a scholarship while offering excuses for Leach not offering a scholarship? BTW, I'm not defending Wulff in this case. He blew it in hindsight. It's just stupid for Dahl to say that he was offended by being told he wasn't worthy of a scholarship in September 2010 by Wulff but then go on to walk-on for Leach. For all of his talk of honoring his scholarship offer from Montana, they might have preferred that he switch to WSU right away instead of eating up a scholarship during his redshirt season. They likely wasted over $30k on the kid counting tuition, fees, room and board. Dahl showed a lack of maturity and a lack of understanding of the process. He is complaining about something that goes on hundreds of times every year. This whole story really isn't one at all.
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No. It's a story about a guy who was basically ignored by what he really wanted, and finally decided that he would go and get what he wanted himself. Leach offering later was because they didn't know him when they walked in the door, but as soon as they could get one for him they made sure to reward his hardwork. Dahl continued to work hard and now will probably get drafted in the 3rd-4th round. Which means he will make about 500k-600k / year.
He worked hard. He developed into a great player, and he was rewarded. Deone wasn't even over 200lbs until his senior year which just illustrates even further that the S&C program Leach brought develops players for success if they work hard.
Again, excuses for Leach and blame towards Wulff. Look at this story from a different perspective. Let's say that Pete Carrolll tried to pull away a recruit from WSU in late January and that kid stayed with WSU. Let's say that kid left WSU and went to USC as a walk-on for Lake Kiffin because he decided he didn't really want to be at WSU and that kid became an NFL star. Was Pete Carroll incompetent for not recognizing the kid's talent sooner?
It's great that Dahl that has developed into a fine player and Leach deserves credit for that. Making his feel good story into an indictment of a former coach is stupid. There are hundreds of kids who get late offers every year. Pretending like this is a unique story that means anything is just reaching.
Again, he was 17. He didn't like the way he was treated overall by Wulff's staff. He was not the only one that didn't like the treatment. You make more excuses for Wulff than anybody this side of ED. I don't know exactly why he was upset at Wulff. You don't know exactly why he was upset with Wulff. But, he was turned off by Wulff. Not sure why you are putting more blame on a 17 year old. Again, frankly I find his honesty refreshing. You just see it as one more person throwing dirt on Wulff.
I don't find as much fault with Wulff missing on him. It happens. In the end, he did offer. But, he had already poisoned the well with Dahl. Again, Wulff did something to turn him off that while Dahl was a lifetime Coug, he would rather go to a FCS school over a P5 school.
Yes, and it's time to let Leach stand on his own merits at WSU. AT WSU, not what he did a decade ago at Texas Tech.
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Again, I'm not defending Wulff here. He probably should have offered the kid sooner. At the same time, we had six commits from guys that were 40-60 lbs heavier than Dahl at the time. It's not like Wulff wasn't giving out OL scholarships that year. This is a non-story. Kids get told to wait until late in the season all the time. And again, the irony is the bitching about a scholarship and then walking on at a later point. That makes any comments about scholarships stupid and pointless in my book. A 17 year old kid through a hissy fit because he didn't get the offer when he wanted and it cost Montana $30k and himself over $20k.......now that's an intriguing story.
Again, I'm not defending Wulff here. He probably should have offered the kid sooner. At the same time, we had six commits from guys that were 40-60 lbs heavier than Dahl at the time. It's not like Wulff wasn't giving out OL scholarships that year. This is a non-story. Kids get told to wait until late in the season all the time. And again, the irony is the bitching about a scholarship and then walking on at a later point. That makes any comments about scholarships stupid and pointless in my book. A 17 year old kid through a hissy fit because he didn't get the offer when he wanted and it cost Montana $30k and himself over $20k.......now that's an intriguing story.
Flat, as with Booker, Taiese and Mitchell didn't have a prayer to qualify out of high school. Wulff easily could have offered him.
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At the end of the day, I agree that Wulff should have offered him. My point, which hasn't changed, is that it's ironic to bitch about Wulff not offering Dahl a scholarship early then ignore the fact that Leach didn't offer him a scholarship at all for two seasons. Dahl was a petty little brat in 2011 who went to Montana just to throw the bird at Wulff. It cost Montana a wasted year where they could have recruited a different guy and it cost Dahl at least 1 1/2 years in scholarships at WSU. This is a story that is more about immature and foolish young kids are then it is about coaching staffs. And the, "the NCAA doesn't count the scholarship against the 25 player cap" excuse is just that....an excuse. If Leach felt that Dahl was worthy of a scholarship and if Dahl was really worried about the money, Dahl would have had a scholarship. This whole "story" is about Dahl's ego and nothing else.
