| College Football The place to talk about college football teams other than Ohio State |
07-06-2004, 08:09 PM
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Serenity now
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So you violate probation and end up getting more probation? That makes a whole lot of sense. I'm sure Coker is already scheduling his miami orientation.
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07-07-2004, 07:34 AM
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Assistant Coach
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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/...6017900bb.html
Quote:
It's not UM's job to save star recruit
By Dave George, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 7, 2004
All or nothing, the gift of a prized athletic scholarship or the loss of a promising young life to the ravages of the streets. That's the way the Willie Williams story is being sold. It's convenient that way, but not completely honest.
Honest is saying that anyone with the good grades and test scores that Williams earned at Miami's Carol City High School has the maturity, the discipline, and most importantly, the responsibility to look out for himself.
What came out of a Fort Lauderdale courtroom Tuesday was well short of that.
A circuit judge pronounced that Williams, a Parade All-America linebacker signed but not yet accepted by the University of Miami, is not "a lost cause" despite his 11 arrests in the space of five years. Immaturity is the major factor here, said the judge, and Williams' lawyer quickly tossed another log on the brushfire of rationalization, saying that the poor kid's probation-busting problems during a January recruiting trip to Florida "stemmed from the fact that he was given liquor."
Paul Dee, the athletic director at Miami, offered less insight into the situation but plenty of action. "Now that Willie Williams' legal issues have been ruled upon by the courts," Dee said in a one-sentence statement, "the formal application process for determining his admission status to the University of Miami will begin."
Not exactly a green light for Williams to join Larry Coker's football team this fall, but the kind of yellow that very few people hesitate to run.
College football programs are built on great talent, which means that coaches and administrators alike will bend backward for great distances to get it. They'll see a skunk of a blue-chip prospect and call him a playful otter. They'll see a huge, honking risk of a scholarship offer and call it a golden opportunity, knowing that boosters would roast them alive for playing it safe.
If Miami should have known about Williams' long rap sheet, so should Florida have known before inviting the 6-foot-2 linebacker with the NFL potential on a campus visit. And if FSU fans are getting a kick out of all this ethical shaking and baking, remember how Bobby Bowden once prayed that Peter Warrick would be charged with a misdemeanor rather than a felony for his part in a retail theft scam so that the former Heisman Trophy candidate could get back on the field quicker.
"Boys will be boys," Bobby said at the time, "and some of them seem to find more adversity than others."
So that's how it works, huh? Some young people find flowers as they walk across a meadow and others, darn the luck, find something they really wish they hadn't stepped in, again and again and again.
Well, I'm not buying it. The University of Miami does not exist as a halfway house between the juvenile justice system and the NFL. There is no obligation there to save Williams from himself, or to save society from Williams. Tom Osborne already tried that self-serving argument years ago with Lawrence Phillips at Nebraska and it's just as distasteful today.
If Williams really is going to be a Hurricane, there should be weightier conditions than Dee's previously compiled list, which includes 50 hours of community service, mandatory study hall and a dire warning not to mess up again.
He should be told, by Coker, that he absolutely will not play as a true freshman. That's a reasonable probationary period and a dose of discipline for both player and coaching staff. A stiffer option, though less realistic, would be shipping Williams off to a junior college for two years of seasoning, with the future offer of a Miami scholarship as a reward for good behavior.
Nate Harris is proving the potential value of that tactic. He had it all, then he had nothing, and now he's on the verge of having it all again.
A highly prized linebacker at Miami Edison, Harris was a member of the Hurricanes' signing class of 2002. He blew it big time shortly thereafter by getting involved in an armed robbery in Liberty City. Miami revoked his scholarship offer, demonstrating the distinction between violent crime and discharging a fire extinguisher as a prank, which was one of Williams' January offenses. Harris dealt with the consequences of his action, doing six months in a disciplinary boot camp as part of a plea bargain, and is playing now at Dodge City Junior College in Kansas.
One season down and one season to go before Harris gets out of Dodge, at which time Nick Saban, coach of the BCS national champion LSU Tigers, has indicated he may offer the detoured Miamian a scholarship.
Williams has yet to show that much commitment to his own future. Miami should be far more careful of its own reputation, so long on the mend.
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08-25-2004, 07:23 PM
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Hall of Fame
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Willie Williams Out 2 Months
Had knee surgery today. Now he has plenty of time to study.
Quote:
Miami's Williams sidelined with knee injury
August 25, 2004
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Miami freshman linebacker Willie Williams will be sidelined at least two months after having surgery Wednesday to repair a torn ligament in his right knee.
Williams, widely considered the nation's top prep defensive player, injured the knee in a pileup near the end of practice Tuesday. He had surgery to repair the lateral collateral ligament in his knee.
Although the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Williams has looked sharp this fall, he wasn't going to be allowed to play for at least the first month of the season while he ``proves himself academically.''
Williams has been under intense scrutiny since he signed with Miami in February and it was revealed that he had an extensive criminal record. He pleaded no contest earlier this summer to two separate charges stemming from his official visit to Florida and was placed on probation.
He must follow a strict set of rules to remain a student and keep his scholarship.
Updated on Wednesday, Aug 25, 2004 5:15 pm EDT
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Williams Out With Knee Injury |
08-25-2004, 09:04 PM
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All-American
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EMERGENCY ALERT: To all Miami-area hospital staff !!
Doctors: Keep wallets and car keys in a secure locked location!
Nurses: No matter what, do NOT bend over!
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08-25-2004, 09:10 PM
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Capo Regime
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No football for WW...now I really like my odds in my bet with Bomb. Idle hands...
WW will be in the clink by Valentine's Day
__________________
Oderint dum metuant.
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08-25-2004, 09:13 PM
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Inside the Matrix
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 couldnt have happened to a better guy |
08-25-2004, 09:46 PM
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All-American
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Karma Happens!
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08-26-2004, 07:22 AM
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Heisman
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by osugrad21
No football for WW...now I really like my odds in my bet with Bomb. Idle hands...
WW will be in the clink by Valentine's Day
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Valentine's Day??? Hell, I'm going with Labor Day.  |
12-26-2004, 11:19 PM
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Head Coach
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