chaseball said:

.ND also has a really good track record developing talent over the last 15 years or so (although Brian Kelly might be the one most responsible for that and hes gone)

Click to expand...

What...
In...
Theeeeeeeeee...
Hail....
Are...
You...
Talking about?

I assure you....
Those players were going to play on Sunday with zero influence by the previous coach!!

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

FightingIrish44 said:

Good point. I think just a little bit of logic makes it easy to assume that NIL has basically nothing to do with it.

I can’t imagine any NFL or college coach, at any level, letting someone outside the program dictate who they will or will not play. Their money is at stake if they play the wrong guy so why would they care about NIL?

Freeman has made millions of dollars over the last 10 years. He doesn’t need to deal with anyone’s interference in how he should run his program. I would think he would just resign if he was getting serious pressure to keep playing Leonard, and if he’s not getting serious pressure, he doesn’t care who is getting what money.

Click to expand...

Are you serious? How many times have we seen professional franchises stay with a coveted player they acquired, either as an expensive signing or a former top draft pick they are loath to give up on, to the detriment of their team, oftentimes being the reason a coach gets fired, because they couldn't let go of some important player they brought onto the roster almost as if it were a reflection on them personally.

So no, I definitely don't think coaches/team are above not doing the right thing, or the smart thing, and making a clean break and getting rid of an underperforming player no matter how much it cost to get him on the roster.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

HarlemIrish said:

Chuck Knoblauk & Scott Brosius instrumental in WS title

Click to expand...

As an Oriole fan I always rooted for Mussina. I wish he could've got a WS title in NY, one achievement lacking on his resume. I believe their "drought" has still continued since his retirement.

4-4-3 said:

I think you’re overstating it as per the Yankees.

So, just for the record as to guys who were big-time stars in MLB, Cuba or Japan who DIDN’T POOP THE BED after coming to the Yankees via free agency:

Catfish Hunter*

Reggie Jackson*

Goose Gossage*

Dave Winfield#

Tommy John#

Wade Boggs*

Jimmy Key*

David Wells*

Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez (Cuba)*

Mike Mussina#

Hideki Matsui (Japan)*

C.C. Sabathia*

Mark Texeira*

Masahiro Tanaka (Japan)

Gerritt Cole

Juan Soto

NOT A BAD HAUL. ANY QUESTION, CHECK OUT THEIR STATS IN PINSTRIPES.

And though he wasn’t a SUPERSTAR per se, let’s also thrown in Johnny Damon, whose 4 year Yankees stats were impressive as a SUPPORTING CAST MEMBER on some super Yankee teams.

An * indicates a member of a WS winner. A # indicates a member of a pennant winner.

Click to expand...

Chuck Knoblauk & Scott Brosius instrumental in WS title

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

The guy played football @ Duke. As a suffering Big Blue & ND Fan. I’m 0-2 with Duke QB’s.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

FightingIrish44 said:

Good point. I think just a little bit of logic makes it easy to assume that NIL has basically nothing to do with it.

I can’t imagine any NFL or college coach, at any level, letting someone outside the program dictate who they will or will not pay. Their money is at stake if they play the wrong guy so why would they care about NIL?

Freeman has made millions of dollars over the last 10 years. He doesn’t need to deal with anyone’s interference in how he should run his program. I would think he would just resign if he was getting serious pressure to keep playing Leonard, and if he’s not getting serious pressure, he doesn’t care who is getting what money.

Click to expand...

Yeah, and the money somebody spent to bring in Leonard is basically a sunk cost at this point, anyways.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

mbd11 said:

But I'm assuming those same donors, like us here on this board, want to win? So if the guy they paid a lot of money for isn't getting the job done, they'd be okay with replacing him?

Click to expand...

Good point. I think just a little bit of logic makes it easy to assume that NIL has basically nothing to do with it.

I can’t imagine any NFL or college coach, at any level, letting someone outside the program dictate who they will or will not play. Their money is at stake if they play the wrong guy so why would they care about NIL?

Freeman has made millions of dollars over the last 10 years. He doesn’t need to deal with anyone’s interference in how he should run his program. I would think he would just resign if he was getting serious pressure to keep playing Leonard, and if he’s not getting serious pressure, he doesn’t care who is getting what money.

NDinNJ said:

I'm going off of prior to him going to Alabama. If you don't bring Hartman in, have a real QB competition, he may not transfer, maybe Angeli beats him out, maybe not. Remember, Angeli played in a couple of games, albeit garbage time, but he ran the offense well, and he played in the bowl game as well, and produced.

Again hindsight is 20/20. Easy to say now, but at the time it's different. I just prefer they groom who they recruited unless they bring in an elite QB, like a Jayden Daniel's type. Bringing in average QB's is clearly not the answer.

Click to expand...

That’s fair. I do agree with you in terms of developing the QB room over being transfer happy.

In terms of Buchner/Hartman, I do think the right move was made in that scenario, especially seeing how things ended up with Buchner.

Overall I’m not sold on Angeli. The one game he started and played was against a beaten down Oregon State team with no head coach and playing against a bunch of backups.

That said, Leonard hasn’t proven he can beat any defense well through the air, but, it’s early and we have a small sample size.

4-4-3 said:

Re the NIL piece, Pete Sampson offered on his POST-DEBACLE PODCAST -- words to the effect -- that there would be no thought of not starting Riley against Purdue as he'd cost a lot of money to bring in, and what message would it send to donors, whom they wish to tap again in the future, if Riley got benched.

NIL may indeed be corrupting the process of deciding who should start at quarterback. This will be ROUNDLY DENIED, I imagine, the first time the question is posed to Freeman, but then Sampson is a savvy guy, and I don't think he'd make this comment if he hadn't heard the topic discussed by someone who would know or might even be concerned about it

Click to expand...

But I'm assuming those same donors, like us here on this board, want to win? So if the guy they paid a lot of money for isn't getting the job done, they'd be okay with replacing him?

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

ZibbyQuinn said:

He should start, 0 doubt about it

Click to expand...

Move him to weak side and put Kiser on the bench

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

4-4-3 said:

Coan took a lot of crap when in fact he's been by far the best of the transfer QB's at ND. His immobility - due, I believe, to his foot injury at Wisconsin where he'd been a decent runner as he'd also been as an attack guy in lacrosse in high school -- hampered him, no question.

But he delivered the ball and with GREAT ACCURACY. Four TD passes in his first game at FSU in a comeback win plus another comeback win against V-Tech, I believe.

GAMER.

Click to expand...

I saw him keep the ball on an option play at Wisconsin for some yards although he’s not exactly fleet of foot. He was pulled early in that Va Tech game. I think it was understandable not because of Coan but more to spark up the offense. Then Coan comes in cool as a cucumber and leads ND down for the tying touchdown and he made a nice play on the two point conversion.

He also played darn well in the bowl game but the defense blew the game. I think Coan was a championship caliber player.

I think it was wise to bring in all three transfer QB’s who started for ND though the jury is still out on Leonard (I happen to believe it was still a very sound decision to bring him in even if the process may not have been).

Not bringing in a proven QB for 2022 ended up being to the team’s detriment and I think that could have been seen before the season. I do understand why they rolled with Buchner though.

Now people are mad at the portal decisions even though they clearly worked out in 2021 and 2023 in my opinion.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

Telx1 said:

I thought Ausberry had a great second half. Shedding blockers, making critical stops, good in coverage. Hope and expect he’ll see even more playing time tomorrow.

Click to expand...

He should start, 0 doubt about it