Time to be real

[CTOkie]

You do know that's on Twitter, right? And that his intended audience is the former team that he actually played football for, right? I don't think he needs a fan boy's permission to talk how he wants, if I'm being honest.

I have no issue if McCoy expresses himself anyway he wants, wherever he wants, even if it’s butchered grammar.
He was a great player and a good person and I’m not in judgment of him as a person.

 

[Soonerborn59]

I have no issue if McCoy expresses himself anyway he wants, wherever he wants, even if it’s butchered grammar.
He was a great player and a good person and I’m not in judgment of him as a person.

Yet you did judge him based on his post. CT I have all the respect in the world for you as you bring a lot of good conversation and views to the board but on this one you were wrong to make the statement you did. It didn’t shine a good light on you.

 

[CTOkie]

Yet you did judge him based on his post. CT I have all the respect in the world for you as you bring a lot of good conversation and views to the board but on this one you were wrong to make the statement you did. It didn’t shine a good light on you.

My intention was not to offend.
We seem to hold OU athletes on a pedestal and ignore the fact they’re human beings like we all are.
Having attended OU (1968-70), I observed some athletes getting preferential treatment. And I realized attending class and pursuing a degree was not the top priority of some athletes.
Now I no longer see college football in the same way I once did. I see it as a “farm system” for the NFL….which include the “all about me” antics akin to professional wrestling.
I view the term “student athlete” as an obsolete label. And like every sport played these days, there are too many athletes who simply aren’t good people. It seems as if character and academic standing are not considered during recruiting…..only size, speed and athleticism matter.
On a side note, the next three statues I would like to see at OU are those of Prentice Gautt, Bob Kalsu and Jack Mildren. These were true student athletes who represented OU in the best way.

 

[Soonerborn59]

My intention was not to offend.
We seem to hold OU athletes on a pedestal and ignore the fact they’re human beings like we all are.
Having attended OU (1968-70), I observed some athletes getting preferential treatment. And I realized attending class and pursuing a degree was not the top priority of some athletes.
Now I no longer see college football in the same way I once did. I see it as a “farm system” for the NFL….which include the “all about me” antics akin to professional wrestling.
I view the term “student athlete” as an obsolete label. And like every sport played these days, there are too many athletes who simply aren’t good people. It seems as if character and academic standing are not considered during recruiting…..only size, speed and athleticism matter.
On a side note, the next three statues I would like to see at OU are those of Prentice Gautt, Bob Kalsu and Jack Mildren. These were true student athletes who represented OU in the best way.

Good post and I agree the term student athlete needs to go away. Those statues would be great additions.

 

[JConXtsy]

With the NILs and expanded playoffs, "student athlete" is such a farce. I really don't think they should even have to attend classes if this is the way they're going to operate (NCAA).

 

[OUnabomber]

My intention was not to offend.
We seem to hold OU athletes on a pedestal and ignore the fact they’re human beings like we all are.
Having attended OU (1968-70), I observed some athletes getting preferential treatment. And I realized attending class and pursuing a degree was not the top priority of some athletes.
Now I no longer see college football in the same way I once did. I see it as a “farm system” for the NFL….which include the “all about me” antics akin to professional wrestling.
I view the term “student athlete” as an obsolete label. And like every sport played these days, there are too many athletes who simply aren’t good people. It seems as if character and academic standing are not considered during recruiting…..only size, speed and athleticism matter.
On a side note, the next three statues I would like to see at OU are those of Prentice Gautt, Bob Kalsu and Jack Mildren. These were true student athletes who represented OU in the best way.

I agree CT. Just one more reason to know less about players personally and just enjoy them as players. You will almost always be disappointed

 

[Soonerborn59]

With the NILs and expanded playoffs, "student athlete" is such a farce. I really don't think they should even have to attend classes if this is the way they're going to operate (NCAA).

I would guess many don’t attend already.

 

[JConXtsy]

I would guess many don’t attend already.

True. I've heard that's even more so the case since COVID and the expansion of "online learning."
I can't see a reason why they would attend in-person unless they're giving it to the teacher.

 

[OUSOONER67]

Do away with Scholarships, they can pay their way like others have to. They get paid, make em pay for School.

 

[Soonerborn59]

Do away with Scholarships, they can pay their way like others have to. They get paid, make em pay for School.

Yep just call them what they are - University Employees. If they want a degree pay for it themselves like most kids do.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

I'm just worried that a bunch of retarded motherfvckers are mine and my kids future. Hello Kamala?

 

[Plainosooner]

My intention was not to offend.
We seem to hold OU athletes on a pedestal and ignore the fact they’re human beings like we all are.
Having attended OU (1968-70), I observed some athletes getting preferential treatment. And I realized attending class and pursuing a degree was not the top priority of some athletes.
Now I no longer see college football in the same way I once did. I see it as a “farm system” for the NFL….which include the “all about me” antics akin to professional wrestling.
I view the term “student athlete” as an obsolete label. And like every sport played these days, there are too many athletes who simply aren’t good people. It seems as if character and academic standing are not considered during recruiting…..only size, speed and athleticism matter.
On a side note, the next three statues I would like to see at OU are those of Prentice Gautt, Bob Kalsu and Jack Mildren. These were true student athletes who represented OU in the best way.

CT, I agree and disagree. The media likes to make fun of the name "student-athlete" but especially these days, while many players come to OU to try to end up in the NFL, the it is well-known that a very small percentage make that. I was a manager for the OU football program from 1969 to 1973. There are a lot of things to consider. Integration of schools for most our recruiting territories in Oklahoma and Texas, provided very poor educations for African Americans. There was a player from Plano who was two years older than me, who was a black pleyer who didn't get into an integrated high school until he was a sophomore in hs. His preparation for secondary education was very substandard. And that was the way it was nearly everywhere in the southern half of the country.

Plano did that much earlier than most, especially among smaller schools, which we were back then. My family moved to Plano in the summer before 8th grade. It was 1964, the first year of PISD's integration. Most of those students, athletes and not, didn't have much of a chance to be even decent students. Brown vs the board of eduation was a decade earlier. But attitudes were not conducive to their succeeding at that level. It wasn't the case for us. We had weekly achievement reports, and if any teacher on an S/U basis, who gave you unsatifactory in grades or attitude, you spent a week in study hall at 7:30 A.M. Even the managers.

Then you had the guys who were mostly the stars athletes of their school, black or white, who got passed along to make sure they were elibible, the less talented the classroom kids, were a product of what happened before they ever got to OU. And the rules were different. A student could be a pretty bad student and get passed along with decent effort, if he didn't cause problems. We absolutely had some of those at OU.

That is not the case these day. I HATE what has happened with NIL. But the days of Billy Tubbs recruiting players who didn't care about any education, just playing basketball, are gone. There were certainly students who weren't good students. But the general population had plenty of those folks too.

I knew one All American in my class pretty well. Well enough to pllay pickup basketballs games with him a few times. Late in his senior year, we were talking during practice and he was telling about all he had going on. He had a new dog that he was walking all the time, and I asked him when he went to class. He laughed and said, "class? CLASS? I'm going to make (a very high selary) in the NFL. Why do I need to go to class?" He did, too. And after about a ten year career, I learned that he went back to school, and got his degree.

College isn't for evertbody, and shouldn't be. And a lot of athletes go to school, because they're good enough to be quality football players at that level. That often get them ready for what they're going to do when they're 22. I got my degree, and the education was good for me, but I never used my degree for any job I ever had. The athlete's culture is very different than most most students. Being on a pedestal doesn't always serve you well.

I did have a class with Joe Wylie, first semester my freshman year. Calculus for high school math whizzes. Joe was the best student in a 135 student class. The first test less than ten passed. I made a 68 and was pretty proud of myself. Joe got a 100. And that was the morning after a Boomers game in Tulsa, He was well known for not having had anything but an A, since a 7th grade Art clsss. He made an A in every OU class. So not all the athletes fit your generalization.

 

[CTOkie]

CT, I agree and disagree. The media likes to make fun of the name "student-athlete" but especially these days, while many players come to OU to try to end up in the NFL, the it is well-known that a very small percentage make that. I was a manager for the OU football program from 1969 to 1973. There are a lot of things to consider. Integration of schools for most our recruiting territories in Oklahoma and Texas, provided very poor educations for African Americans. There was a player from Plano who was two years older than me, who was a black pleyer who didn't get into an integrated high school until he was a sophomore in hs. His preparation for secondary education was very substandard. And that was the way it was nearly everywhere in the southern half of the country.

Plano did that much earlier than most, especially among smaller schools, which we were back then. My family moved to Plano in the summer before 8th grade. It was 1964, the first year of PISD's integration. Most of those students, athletes and not, didn't have much of a chance to be even decent students. Brown vs the board of eduation was a decade earlier. But attitudes were not conducive to their succeeding at that level. It wasn't the case for us. We had weekly achievement reports, and if any teacher on an S/U basis, who gave you unsatifactory in grades or attitude, you spent a week in study hall at 7:30 A.M. Even the managers.

Then you had the guys who were mostly the stars athletes of their school, black or white, who got passed along to make sure they were elibible, the less talented the classroom kids, were a product of what happened before they ever got to OU. And the rules were different. A student could be a pretty bad student and get passed along with decent effort, if he didn't cause problems. We absolutely had some of those at OU.

That is not the case these day. I HATE what has happened with NIL. But the days of Billy Tubbs recruiting players who didn't care about any education, just playing basketball, are gone. There were certainly students who weren't good students. But the general population had plenty of those folks too.

I knew one All American in my class pretty well. Well enough to pllay pickup basketballs games with him a few times. Late in his senior year, we were talking during practice and he was telling about all he had going on. He had a new dog that he was walking all the time, and I asked him when he went to class. He laughed and said, "class? CLASS? I'm going to make (a very high selary) in the NFL. Why do I need to go to class?" He did, too. And after about a ten year career, I learned that he went back to school, and got his degree.

College isn't for evertbody, and shouldn't be. And a lot of athletes go to school, because they're good enough to be quality football players at that level. That often get them ready for what they're going to do when they're 22. I got my degree, and the education was good for me, but I never used my degree for any job I ever had. The athlete's culture is very different than most most students. Being on a pedestal doesn't always serve you well.

I did have a class with Joe Wylie, first semester my freshman year. Calculus for high school math whizzes. Joe was the best student in a 135 student class. The first test less than ten passed. I made a 68 and was pretty proud of myself. Joe got a 100. And that was the morning after a Boomers game in Tulsa, He was well known for not having had anything but an A, since a 7th grade Art clsss. He made an A in every OU class. So not all the athletes fit your generalization.

Great post, Plano.
While you and I were students at OU, I believe there were more athletes that were true student athletes. Not so much now.
Looking at my programs of games played in the Wilkinson era, most players had majors like petroleum engineering, business, etc. (Their majors were revealed in both media guides and game programs).
But over the years, academics seem to be less important in recruiting.
I personally believe how a person expresses himself or herself reveals how educated they are.
My dad once talked about how there was a “dumbing down” in our society. When I now look at what our elected politicians, our forms of entertainment, how our educational system is now, how we’re prone to be influenced by the media from either side, and how the level of civility has diminished, I feel my dad knew what he was talking about.
“College” football is now for me a semipro farm system for the NFL and the behavior of professional wrestling within the game (college and pro) has poisoned my enjoyment and interest in watching and following the sport. (The media loves to glorify the unsportsmanlike antics).
Whatever fate OU’s football program faces won’t ever stop me from being a fan. But now at my age, I won’t have my days ruined by an OU defeat anymore.

 

[loopafied352]

I don't know, I'm sure it's like any practice and they run to 1 and 2, with some mix ins
Also, I forgot we are on our 3rd string center, injuries will make or break a team

While injuries are unpredictable and sometimes long term, OU's problems started way before any of that. Failure to recruit an elite o-line is what got us. I think every other piece is in place. It is disappointing cause there's nothing they can do about it now.

 

[LAY THE WOODY]

I don't think a one of us recognizes today's game.

 

[CTOkie]

While injuries are unpredictable and sometimes long term, OU's problems started way before any of that. Failure to recruit an elite o-line is what got us. I think every other piece is in place. It is disappointing cause there's nothing they can do about it now.

Recruiting OL talent has been a problem.
But the unexpected transfer of a top notch freshman linemen to Missouri and the expiration eligibility of two other linemen, then starting center Hickman’s injury has to be at least as problematic.
Next year’s class features some good OL talent including a five star lineman from Texas, with more to come.