Mid-year defections

[SMUHouston]

I have heard from a good source that Tate Wallis , Chris Poulos, Mark Hodges, Tommy Adams, and many other walkons have quit. The most interesting however is Bennett calling Keith Williams into his office and telling him he no longer has a scholarship because of no apparent reason. He was out of trouble, had good grades...very suspicious.

[Charleston Pony]

I didn't know Williams was on scholarship. Of the guys you mention, I assume only Wallis has any shot at any playing time, and that would not be at the QB position. If those guys want to play, they could probably all help some I-AA program and I don't think anybody would be shocked by any of them leaving. As this program continues to improve, there will be more and more of this happening. It's hardly a problem. It happens everywhere.

[Mickey]

Originally posted by SMUHouston:
I have heard from a good source that Tate Wallis , Chris Poulos, Mark Hodges, Tommy Adams, and many other walkons have quit. The most interesting however is Bennett calling Keith Williams into his office and telling him he no longer has a scholarship because of no apparent reason. He was out of trouble, had good grades...very suspicious.

Wallis, Adams still on roster. Hodges, Poulos, Williams not.

[Mickey]

Of walk-ons who have gotten or might eventually get pt, Barnhart, Burnett, Poynter, Rowland, Hasson, and Pope are also still on the roster.

[Charleston Pony]

haven't heard much about Pope or Burnett but if either one of them could turn out to be the same kind of player Brian Bischoff was for the Ponies, I've got to believe they will eventually earn scholarships. It's going to be interesting at LB next year.

As for Poynter...I say let the brawling begin for playing time on the OL. We need to get mean and nasty up front!

[PonySnob]

We need to filling our team with nothing but players who can actually play at the Div 1 level.

[Stallion]

Walk-ons Quit? Shocking! Seriously the financial commitment alone is astronomical. So does that mean we have something like 22 scholarships to give-and I'm including Pryor, Akinyemi and Munlin. Hmm I thought some of you people said we would only give 9 earlier this year. I guess my estimate of at least 18-20 was conservative after all. That could mean as many as 5 more commits.

<small>[ 01-17-2004, 11:27 AM: Message edited by: Stallion ]</small>

[cheesepony]

Stallion! You make me laugh - I agreed with you (and also remember when you said it) that we'de have 18-20 'ships to offer. Listen - the bottom line is this people, MAXIMUM effort and outstanding attitude seem to be the only thing Bennett is going to tolerate. If you're a coach or player who's here to hangout and collect a paycheck/scholarship, there's no real use for you. I like the continued emphasis on speed players, and the coaching additions are BETTER than I would have hoped for. No more 3 yards and a cloud of dust with 10 men in the box (IF the OL coach and coordinator are on the same page in terms of blocking schemes, which I think they will be - that NFL experience is INVALUABLE for linemen).

[gpony]

test

[gpony]

I heard that walk-ons pope and burnett are very tough kids. Both won starting spots on one or more special teams last year as redshirt freshmen.

[OldPony]

I hate to see any players leave. I guess if you aren't getting any PT and don't seem to fit in the coaches plans, it probably means that you aren't really all that good so changing schools is not going to make a pro career for you. We had a couple of QB's though who were very good passers who weren't trated right and went on to do OK but its not the norm. Stay in school with your friends and get a good education is the best advice for most all of them.

[PlanoStang]

Originally posted by OldPony:
I hate to see any players leave. I guess if you aren't getting any PT and don't seem to fit in the coaches plans, it probably means that you aren't really all that good so changing schools is not going to make a pro career for you. We had a couple of QB's though who were very good passers who weren't trated right and went on to do OK but its not the norm. Stay in school with your friends and get a good education is the best advice for most all of them.

I guess OK for you is making the pros. Thats excellent for me considering the odds. See Josh.

If you don't think you're being treated right by the coaches, and football isn't any fun anymore, then get OUT OF TOWN. We need people that like to play football, not prima donna QBs that won't change positions, and WANT to play for SMU.

<small>[ 01-19-2004, 04:24 PM: Message edited by: PlanoStang ]</small>

[GoRedGoBlue]

Originally posted by PlanoStang:

Originally posted by OldPony:
[b] I hate to see any players leave. I guess if you aren't getting any PT and don't seem to fit in the coaches plans, it probably means that you aren't really all that good so changing schools is not going to make a pro career for you. We had a couple of QB's though who were very good passers who weren't trated right and went on to do OK but its not the norm. Stay in school with your friends and get a good education is the best advice for most all of them.

I guess OK for you is making the pros. Thats excellent for me considering the odds. See Josh.

If you don't think you're being treated right by the coaches, and football isn't any fun anymore, then get OUT OF TOWN. We need people that like to play football, not prima donna QBs that won't change positions, and WANT to play for SMU. [/b]

SMU generally has a policy of not running off it's players like UT TECH INDIANA etc have been known to do.

[McAndless]

Originally posted by SMUHouston:
The most interesting however is Bennett calling Keith Williams into his office and telling him he no longer has a scholarship because of no apparent reason. He was out of trouble, had good grades...very suspicious.

Does anyone know more about this situation? Surely Bennett would just pull a scholarship for no apparent. If he did, couldn't legal action being taken. There must be more to the story than we are being told here.

Expand if you can SMUHouston

[McAndless]

Originally posted by SMUHouston:
The most interesting however is Bennett calling Keith Williams into his office and telling him he no longer has a scholarship because of no apparent reason. He was out of trouble, had good grades...very suspicious.

Does anyone know more about this situation? Surely Bennett would just pull a scholarship for no apparent. If he did, couldn't legal action being taken. There must be more to the story than we are being told here.

Expand if you can SMUHouston