Rich Rodriguez (official thread of last laughs)

[osugrad21]

I agree he is a good coach and he'll win his share of games up there once he gets his system going, but he has a history of having mentally soft teams and losing a lot games that really count. He'll certainly make scUM football more interesting, but I don't see it as a huge step forward for their program.

Not sure Im following the soft thoughts...he has run some damn good offenses at Tulane, Clemson, and now WVU. Not sure I would classify them as soft...

This move surprises me because he was finally getting some recruiting momentum going in WVU.

 

[NFBuck]

Not sure Im following the soft thoughts...he has run some damn good offenses at Tulane, Clemson, and now WVU. Not sure I would classify them as soft...

Soft as in they haven't responded well under pressure.

This move surprises me because he was finally getting some recruiting momentum going in WVU.

Me too. Was kind of a whirlwind courtship. Like I said earlier, IMO, this was just Martin and Coleman reaching for a "big name" to appease an increasingly restless fanbase and alumni network. The name they should've gone after was Brian Kelly. That would have worried me.

 

[sandgk]

Not sure Im following the soft thoughts...he has run some damn good offenses at Tulane, Clemson, and now WVU. Not sure I would classify them as soft...

I think this softness issue falls from the way his teams seem to implode when faced with a tough defensive team (USF) or when they should be blowing out an opponent in a rivalry game (Pitt).

That said - toughness is the metier he is said to bring to practices, which should translate to the field - and he did have Pat White running at speed despite a clear case of injury or ill-health in more than two games this year.

By all accounts, Rodriguez brings a no-nonsense approach to the Michigan program. Carr announced his retirement Nov. 19, two days after his team?s fourth straight loss to rival Ohio State. Michigan plays Florida in the Capital One Bowl Jan. 1 and needs a win in that game to avoid a fifth consecutive bowl defeat.

?He is more intense than any other football coach I have seen,? said Chris Richardson, a reporter for the Blue and Gold News, which covers WVU athletics. ?You may not see that on the sideline during games, but his practices are some of the hardest things I have witnessed. He is a throwback in that regard.
?A lot of the players who have played for him in the past and those who have played for him at West Virginia, they say the one thing they realize is that the practices were harder than the games. The tempo is so fast and so much expected of you.
?If you?re not going to work hard, you?re not going to play for Rich Rodriguez. He brings that in-your-face mentality.?

For example.

This move surprises me because he was finally getting some recruiting momentum going in WVU.

Interesting thing on that recruiting is that the tone of Jenkins reaction makes it sound like he is not happy with this change. Case of the state's highest paid employee taking liberties that Josh cannot afford?
As for the general recruiting uptick, much of the recruiting improvement he brought to WVU was from the Sunshine and East Coast (PA, NJ, MD) states.

Now he has a shinier bauble to entice recruits with.

As long as he restrains his urges to bring in a player no matter what, this could be a deadly combination.

 

[scarletngray]

I wish I could dismiss this hiring as easily as some of you have...but I can't.

Rodriguez is a damn good coach in my opinion. How that translates in Ann Arbor remains to be seen...

I agree. RR did an admirable job at WV and I think that it is a solid hire for UM. Time will tell how good a fit he is at TSUN. Given the right athletes, and we know that scUM recruits well, he could build a formidable team.

 

[stowfan]

So, can we start calling tsun the West Virginia of the north?

Give NF a GPA for that one, also you have to check this thread;

Scout.com: West Virginia Forums List

 

[BuckeyeCrazy107]

It's official. He's the next coach at Michigan. This worries me a bit if TOSU will have to face the thread against scUM. Also, Pryor has contacted Rodriguez and has told him that scUM is now in his top five schools.

 

[heisman]

Not sure Im following the soft thoughts...he has run some damn good offenses at Tulane, Clemson, and now WVU. Not sure I would classify them as soft...

This move surprises me because he was finally getting some recruiting momentum going in WVU.

Not sure it's soft, but they are not physical on either side of the ball. In WVU's two losses, USF had better athletes than them and outran them sideline to sideline. They beat them at their own game. Pitt, on the other hand, just physically manhandled them up front, leaving them looking for answers, to which they could not find. Big East teams don't play a physical style of football. His style fit in very well. This will not be the case going forward.

I've always said that there are 3 kinds of coaches. The one's who want to trick you (RichRod), the one's who want to beat you up (Miles), and the one's who can do both ( ).

 

[OWUBuckeye51]

I wish I could dismiss this hiring as easily as some of you have...but I can't.

Rodriguez is a damn good coach in my opinion. How that translates in Ann Arbor remains to be seen...

Agreed. RR is innovative...and while he may have choked in some big games over the past few years, I think he is an upgrade from VIIoyd. Not to knock Carr...but I think the game was passing him by a touch.

I don't want to get too excited or cocky...this was a pivotal hire for scUM - time will tell how pivotal.

 

[Tonyank]

Well this year looks like RR can't beat his rival on the last game of the regular season.....

Hopefully he takes that trend with him to scUMville.

 

[bukIpower]

ain't goin to lie but if (when) they get Pryor they will make BIG problems for OSU. If you look in the past the teams that have beat us they have one thing in common.... I mobile QB.

2005- VY, and Michael Robinson
2006- Tim Tebow, Chris Leak
2007- Juice Williams...

IF he really does go to michigan I'll be one worried kid... to be honest why wouldn't he go to michigan though? He gets to be the starter right away, he gets to play in a pass/run offense, and he gets to go to a place that gets good players/national attention as well. IMO him not going to Michigan would be a major surprise. Anyone else see Pryor going there? Also what are the chances Jenkins goes to Michigan as well??

 

[Sportsbuck28]

Well, the fact that Michigan has a terrible offensive line returning, they are starting their offense over from scratch, and the fact that Ohio State will be competing for NC's the next few years in addition to having the best recruiting class in the nation in terms of quality is why I don't see him going there.

Him going anywhere other than Ohio State would shock me more than Mount Union beating LSU.

 

[OregonBuckeye]

ain't goin to lie but if (when) they get Pryor they will make BIG problems for OSU. If you look in the past the teams that have beat us they have one thing in common.... I mobile QB.

2005- VY, and Michael Robinson
2006- Tim Tebow, Chris Leak
2007- Juice Williams...

IF he really does go to michigan I'll be one worried kid... to be honest why wouldn't he go to michigan though? He gets to be the starter right away, he gets to play in a pass/run offense, and he gets to go to a place that gets good players/national attention as well. IMO him not going to Michigan would be a major surprise. Anyone else see Pryor going there? Also what are the chances Jenkins goes to Michigan as well??

Did Mark May log into buckIpower's account?

 

[NFBuck]

If you look in the past the teams that have beat us they have one thing in common.... I mobile QB.

2005- VY, and Michael Robinson
2006- Tim Tebow, Chris Leak
2007- Juice Williams...

Chris Leak was more of a pro-style QB than a "mobile" one.

 

[bukIpower]

true but at the same time that could be a reason WHY he goes... You have a chance to play for Rich, who will put Terrelle in a position to succeed both passing/running the ball. He can be their man from day 1, and he can be the one to turn that program around. He also has a chance to be a leader for a new offense and be a trailblazer so to speak. I'd say it's now 50/50 OSU and michigan, but he hasn't even visited Michigan yet so once I think he does that it's over.

The thing Terrelle won't take into account and I wish he would is what we do with our personel. We dont' stick to one system we play a system that fits our kids. Look at what Troy did not what Todd is doing. He's been quoted as being worried about our system and that's weird he would say such a thing when we just imployed an offense for a mobile QB just last year?? How quickly things are forgotten!

Anyways I don't think RR is the man for the job but thats just me. Hit system could give OSU problems as far as on offense but his 3-3-5 system on defense would be a disaster against us. His ethics are somewhat iffy as well so its a good committment for michigan to have RR but not a great committment.

Chris leak was above average IMO in running ability.... he just didn 't do it as much. He had the potential to run but would rather pass the ball. Anyone would look like a pro style QB next to Tim Tebow though

 

[jwinslow]

Sorry, I'm not taking cover from the falling sky.

2005- VY, and Michael Robinson
2006- Tim Tebow, Chris Leak
2007- Juice Williams...

It's remarkable how often these games are misrepresented.

VY? 23 pts.
Robinson? 10, plus a pick 6 stopped 1 yd short.

Offense (or opposing defense) cost OSU those games.

Juice? 28, while lights out... the worst of the 4. Defense could not get ILL off the field either.
Leak? He's black, not mobile. Very different spread attack from these 4, and not what I'd expect from Pryor.
Tebow? Did well enough as a package player, primarily a RB. Didn't see many defend him any better this year.

Forgive me if I don't panic about the impending doom, because the talks of past woes are wildly overstated.

He gets to be the starter right away,

Mallett has not transferred. RRod better tread lightly with recruiting TP, or he might be left without either one next fall

he gets to play in a pass/run offense, and he gets to go to a place that gets good players/national attention as well.

um ok. Not really an advantage vs OSU.

IMO him not going to Michigan would be a major surprise.

Boy one day passes and yet another new team appears on Pryor's list, and suddenly it would be shocking to see him pick the lone constant in his recruitment