Players address transfer speculation
Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 3:30 pm
When former SMU offensive line coach headed to UCLA, there was some speculation about whether some of the California players Klemm had helped recruit to SMU might follow him. So we caught up with a few of them after practice to find out if there was any fire behind the smoke.
• OT Taylor Reich: "Coach Klemm is my friend, and he was my position coach, but we (players) understand coaching is a business. I'm not going anywhere - I'm staying at SMU."
• QB Conner Preston: "I'm happy for him, getting a chance to get back to L.A. That (moving) is part of the coaching business, but I'm staying at SMU, and I'm looking forward to spring ball and next season."
• OL Ben Gottschalk: "I thought about (transferring). I think that's natural when the guy who recruits you and coaches you leaves. When he went to UCLA, I thought maybe it would be nice to go with him, because (UCLA) is ... 20 or 30 minutes from home. Besides, I grew up a (USC) Trojan fan - there's no way I could play for UCLA. But there are a lot of reasons to stay at SMU - on the field, academically, and the networking for jobs after graduation. I thought about it a lot over the break, and I realized, for sure, it's the best thing for me to stay at SMU."
• OT Taylor Reich: "Coach Klemm is my friend, and he was my position coach, but we (players) understand coaching is a business. I'm not going anywhere - I'm staying at SMU."
• QB Conner Preston: "I'm happy for him, getting a chance to get back to L.A. That (moving) is part of the coaching business, but I'm staying at SMU, and I'm looking forward to spring ball and next season."
• OL Ben Gottschalk: "I thought about (transferring). I think that's natural when the guy who recruits you and coaches you leaves. When he went to UCLA, I thought maybe it would be nice to go with him, because (UCLA) is ... 20 or 30 minutes from home. Besides, I grew up a (USC) Trojan fan - there's no way I could play for UCLA. But there are a lot of reasons to stay at SMU - on the field, academically, and the networking for jobs after graduation. I thought about it a lot over the break, and I realized, for sure, it's the best thing for me to stay at SMU."