Regretful situation
UCLA freshman tailback Aundre Dean told me after the game he was not going to transfer, a decision he made after meeting with coach Rick Neuheisel and running backs coach Wayne Moses a few weeks ago.
Dean burned his red-shirt season and was barely used.
"I know it's something they said they regret, and I regret it to,'' Dean said.
this is a young kid maturing. Remember how adamant the young man was about NOT redshirting and playing this season. Its funny how the college game can humble these young kids.
the bigger deal will be 4 years from now...if we have no credible running backs, it's a problem. If new recruits fill in, who cares? he's got three years ahead of him to perform.
Now you can understand how it happened to Dorrell. Be careful and watch before you leap.
Yes, people were very critical of Dorrell at the time. Where are they now?
I don't understand why his redshirt was burned because of injuries in the beginning of the season, only to have him sit the rest of the year. We didn't have to give him those 4 reps. It's a very regrettable situation.
A regretful error on the part of Neuheisel. However, a big difference between the current coaching staff and the previous is that the error was acknowledged and expressed to the player. I believe Dohn has reported many times that the communication between the coaching staff and the players has improved under Coach RN. Dorrell, on the other hand, did no such thing. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even know if he did anything wrong in the first place!
I really don't see this coming into play. We have lots of young running backs including Knox, who DID red shirt. We've never had an issue recruiting above average running backs. 3 years from now, he will be a senior Knox a junior and there will be plenty of backs around them in support.
It's agreed that he wasn't needed this year, but nothing to dwell on.
Besides, everyone knows running backs are only as good as the O-Line they run behind. If we build a good O-Line, the backs will be fine.
This may also ignite a desire in Dean to work harder, knowing he isn't going to play just because he was a major recruit. He still has to work hard every day..could be a life changing lesson for him.