Andy Geiger- Retired Athletic Director (Merged all relevant threads)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Interesting article, defending the football program and Coach T.

http://www.limanews.com/story.php?IDnum=5927

“But when 48 hours after they hear that type of lecture (from Tressel) and go out and make that type of mistake, it’s very discouraging.”
Tressel suspended Irizarry and Guilford the day after the alleged robbery. Geiger made it clear Tuesday that they won’t be back in Ohio State uniforms.
“The two young people have irrevocably thrown away any connection with Ohio State foot-ball. That’s too bad, what a waste. They’re talented guys. I’m at a loss to explain it,” he said.

SOUNDS PRETTY CUT AND DRY BOTH ARE HISTORY AT OSU, WHAT A WASTE OF TALENT, WELCOME TO THE LOCAL PRISON LEAGUE IZZY IDIOT AND IRA GUILTY GUILFORD.


:gobucks3: :gobucks4: :scum4:

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Irizarry could've been an all-conference tight end, and maybe an all-american. Now he's just going to be Bubba's "tight end".

 

[Oh8ch]

“But when 48 hours after they hear that type of lecture (from Tressel) and go out and make that type of mistake, it’s very discouraging.”

I love Andy and I love JT, but I gotta say this.

I have seen this quote three times now and it still bothers me in relation to this particular incident. It seems to imply that the coach needs to talk to the kids and remind them not to mug people. As if Geiger is saying, "How can Irizarry go out and knock a kid to the ground and take his billfold after we just told them not to go robbing people?"

This incident is unlike anything that has happened since Stonerook and Co. were out breaking into cars in the parking garage when Ayers was here. Regardless of all the good things people say about Irizarry and his grades and community service this is not something you do because you were out late or had one to many. He is a thug. He may need help, but he also needs punishment.

Greg Simpson was a well known thug well before OSU extended a scholarship offer. That he behaved as he did during and after his stay at OSU should surprise no one. I have always resented Randy Ayers for bringing him here and putting this stain on the program. He knew.

Most of the time you can't see this stuff coming, but often you can. Everything about Irizarry indicates he has taken a serious left turn since coming to OSU. Such a turn is unusual, but I am trying very hard to believe that is exactly what happened.

I was in the Schott when JT delivered his "they will make you proud in the community" speech. He did not promise we would have beahvior problems comparable to other major programs - he promised much better than that.

This crap is getting old.

 

[edbuck51]

I've heard tons of complaints about JT, Geiger, and how OSU should be doing better. I have not heard one of the criticizers offer any suggestions on how they could do things better. It would be great if all we read or heard about the Bucks was how outstanding everyone was, or how many national championships they won. I think with Tressel in charge we'll have plenty of those stories. Unfortunately, there are going to be troubling stories with students athletes as well. Look at what's going on at Penn State. They nearly cancelled their spring game because they had so many suspensions. This is a problem for all colleges, not just Ohio State. Players, parents, and the people who mold these players when they are young need to be accountable more than the college coach. Who should shoulder the blame for Clarett's attitude? Tressel, Geiger, or Mrs. Clarett? I try to send an e-mail to every journalist who has called Tressel to task for this, and asked what they would do to make things better. I'm still waiting on my first response. Hopefully, one day people in this country will quit trying to fix the symptom, or redirecting the blame, and get around to addressing the problem. What about Irizarry and Guilford? People are acting like it's OSU's fault that they did what they did. Aren't they responsible in some way?

 

[themongoose32]

Great post edbuck. It's easy to point the finger of blame at a person and a lot harder to actually come up with a perfect solution that will solve every problem there is in the world. What happened in the Irrizary and Guilford case was no ones fault but there own, there is just no one else to blame.


The Mongoose

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Everything about Irizarry indicates he has taken a serious left turn since coming to OSU.

He had made that left turn well before coming to OSU...the problem is that Tressel didn't see him make it.

 

[edbuck51]

Mililani. That's part of my point as well. When he got into situations when he was younger, why did'nt the people around him nip things in the bud then? I'm not at all sure what happened when he was still in high school, but apparently he had issues. Maybe someone could have thrown him a rope then. Maybe someone tried, and Louis just has one of those personalities where you continue to make mistakes no matter how hard others try to help. I'd bet nobody wanted Louis to be successful more than JT, but I guess some guys just don't get it.

 

[Oh8ch]

People are acting like it's OSU's fault that they did what they did. Aren't they responsible in some way?

edbuck - agree completely with personal responsibility for the players. The point I am after is that the coaches need to be selective in who they offer.

When Ayers was here he brought a lot of bad apples on board and then did little to manage them - or so I would read the results.

It is unfair to accuse JT of this just yet. Although MC had a reputation that preceded him and others (now to include Mili) have indicated he should have seen Izzy coming as well.

I also agree it is a catch 22. We would have crucified JT had he turned down either of these players. But when a player embarrases the school by doing things in college that he also did in HS it is fair to glance in the direction of the coach, if not out and out point a finger that way.

My recommendation is that the NCAA follow the lead of Colorado and impose strong incentives to bring in kids who want to go to school first and the NFL second. OSU can't get ahead of the NCAA on that one because it would make them uncompetitive and for all my ranting I don't want that either. But Geiger should be pushing for those kind of rules - and he may well be.

 

[edbuck51]

That is a tough one. School first, or the NFL, and all it lure? It's obvious to me that OSU, and most other schools, want 4.0 students, who are All-American on and off the field. It's just hard to find 22 guys a year to recruit who fit that mold. The last thing I would want to hear people in Columbus saying is, "we would be better in football, but our acceptance standards are too high". Why did Tressel back off Morgan and Williams? I'm sure they try to get good guys, or at least get guys who they think they can work with. It just seems unrealistic to compete at a national level with 85 choir boys. In the time Tressel has been here, he's probably had around 150 players under his supervision. If you took 150 males out of OSU's general student population, do you think their offenses would be more or less? This is certainly a cultural issue with roots well beyond Tressel's control. It's just so easy for our society to put the blame on someone in a highly visible position, and make them responsible to fix everyone else's problem. I think what they did to Martha Stewart was a prime example of our scapegoat mentality. If the 9-11 comittee gets its way, George Bush will be responsible for the attack on the US as well. We should work on finding solutions to why we are spoiling these prima-dona athletes, and then acting surprised when they screw up.

 

[Hubbard]

edbuck - agree completely with personal responsibility for the players. The point I am after is that the coaches need to be selective in who they offer.

When JT realizes he made a mistake and then acts on it then people get in an uproar about it (see Williams from Austintown), or jsut decides to pass on a player(see Ray Williams). He made the right choice on those ones.

 

[RugbyBuck]

I could be wrong, but I don't have any problem with the way JT has handled things since he's been back. I think he's given second chances where they were appropriate and not given thirds (with the obvious exception of MoC). He has changed the team culture such that the problems that we are seeing are individual cases that could be lumped together, but are not indicative of a systemic problem like we had with Ayers and were at least, I think, starting to have with Cooper. I'd be disappointed if JT let Izzy back in under any circumstances this time, but while I disagreed with the choice to give him a second chance last time, I could see his point. There is no chance of Izzy coming back and Ira may have gotten caught in the undertow, but on the whole I think it will work out for the team. I am hopeful that this will be the spike on the graph for this sort of thing.

 

[lvbuckeye]

I love Andy and I love JT, but I gotta say this.

I have seen this quote three times now and it still bothers me in relation to this particular incident. It seems to imply that the coach needs to talk to the kids and remind them not to mug people. As if Geiger is saying, "How can Irizarry go out and knock a kid to the ground and take his billfold after we just told them not to go robbing people?"

...<snip>...
This crap is getting old.

you are taking that statement ENTIRELY out of context... the speech that Tressel gave was right after B. Joe's Open Container ticket... Tressel told the team that they need to quit screwing around and stop breaking the rules... then, two days later, this happened... Tressel didn't tell the kids not to go around robbing people... he told them to behave themselves... It is NOT Tressel's fault that Izzy an IG robbed that guy two days later...

 

[Oh8ch]

LV - I agree. It was Geiger who related the speech to the mugging incident, thereby implying that the speech somehow should have deterred mugging. It is that reference by Geiger that I have trouble with.

 

[buckiprof]

My recommendation is that the NCAA follow the lead of Colorado and impose strong incentives to bring in kids who want to go to school first and the NFL second.

Being a student first and desiring to make it to the NFL are not mutually exclusive. Former players can come in and talk to the team about how short the expected career in the NFL is and why it is so important to get that degree, but unfortunately these former players are talking to 18, 19, and 20 year old males. As a generalization, most, not all, people of that age tend to believe that they are invincible and immortal to some degree (at least all of my friends when we were that age did). Couple that with the possible mindset that some have in that "I will be different. I am the exception." and the talk from former players about the importance of a degree generally falls on deaf ears. It is difficult enough being 18, 19, or 20, but add to that being a member of OSU football team (and your life is under a microscope, especially if you start) and the crap many have been fed throughout high school on how the ARE special and they ARE the exception and the task of getting them to listen is very difficult.

Maybe what they need to do is a take-off of the scared straight program and chronicle some former NFL players and what they are doing after their playing days are over. I still remember ready the story about Icky Woods, 3 years removed from the NFL, selling meat door-to-door in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. And as an incentive to purchase $X of meat, he would do the Icky Shuffle as part of his sales pitch. I would hope that some footage of Icky doing the Icky Shuffle on someone's front porch to get them to buy some meat, and a certain level of being demeaned that comes with that, would wake up some of these kids. But then again, many may feel that "That won't happen to me."

 

[SanClementeBuck]

Buckiprof and others here have valid points. One of the great conundrums is the fact many talented players have been surrounded by sycophants from an early age based upon physical prowess. Couple that with less-than-good guideance in social responsibilities, or the absence of maturation within the family unit...and one invariably gets an individual with social problems, immaturity and impulsive responses to pressures. In a greater sense, no one has ever forced them to conform or to toe the line with maturing discipline.

Oftimes these individuals never get to college level...simply because they don't acquire the skills sets...independent from sports talent...to get to the next level. We seldom see them in the college environment.

All of a sudden everyone is shocked and surprised when a talented player puts himself and others at risk because of personal behavior...when, all along, if you really knew the background, the kid has been a walking billboard for his natural proclivities.