Jeff Jones, former top recruit, leaving Gophers football

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GopherHomer said:
We all had high hopes for Jones with the Gophers, but in terms of what we're actually losing it doesn't really matter all that much. At this point, Jones has to be considered a bust...plus we have two really nice freshman RBs. Losing the ACTUAL Jones affects our team very little...it just puts a damper on what we dreamt 'could have been.' I would only be upset if it left our RB core bare because he wasted time on a kid who couldn't cut it. Best of luck to him, though. I hope he finds his path.
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Good summary, to put it another way...There really are no guarantees in recruiting but you hope when you bring in a guy as highly regarded as Jones that your odds of him not panning out are significantly reduced based on his projected talent level. It is important for all teams to not miss in recruiting but it is especially important at the schools like Minnesota where the local talent base is not as high and in general depth might not be as strong as say the Ohio States of the world. So while we seem to be fine at the RB position and JJ might not be visibly missed on the field, losing a guy that was hopefully going to be a gamebreaker still has a negative impact on the program overall. Nothing that will cripple the team or set things back, just more a disappointment to have a player most hoped would be a star not pan out.
 



Sportsfan24 said:
I don't believe his stance ever changed. It's the part of college football I hate.

Coaches have too or choose to manipulate the fans through the media. The best coaches stay true to themselves therefore they remain consistent. The rest fall somewhere in between.

Kill mostly certainly treated Brewster recruits differently than his own. That's a negative in my book.

However my guy Brewster chose to play Trumaine Brock up until he was academically ineligible; this means Brock ignored what he needed to do (academic staff would have been on him for a while and Brewster would have received reports every step of the way) and Brewster played him anyway.

Kill IMO correctly chose to protect his player from scrutiny but also hold him accountable. Unfortunately the whole consistency thing.......

Results. Brewsters guy is collecting checks. Kills guy will be found somewhere in south Mpls in the near future; if he couldn't make it at the U.........

Who's right, Who's wrong? I heavily lean toward Kill but the class is half empty (or full) for both IMO.


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Says who!? Little premature aren't we?
 

Sportsfan24 found the needle in the haystack (Hey did you hear you can find Tom Brady's in the 6th round?) Outliers can be found with everything. Brock left to go to Bellhaven b/c he was suspended...eventually? Do they play football? Luckily, it worked out for Brock.

However, I will never fault a coach for being strict. Look at how many athletes struggle to function properly in society. It's a higher percentage getting in trouble than everyday citizens. Too many have not been held accountable along the way.
 


You'd have to work at the NCAA to fully understand his eligibility situation, but let's ASSUME it's as follows:

Year 1: Redshirt (academic issues)
Year 2: This year
Year 3: JUCO

That would give him 2 more years, assuming he finishes an Associate's degree in 1 year...which I assume he could (notice how many times I've said "assume"?).

Academically, I have NO idea how he did his first year, but I assume it was decent or else he would've been ineligible this year. So again, let's guess:

Year 1: At least 30 credits (12 + 12 + 6). Seems safe to assume this
Year 2, Fall: Let's go worst case scenario and say 0
Year 3: He'll need around 30 - 35 credits to earn a degree. So like 15 this spring, 6 - 9 this summer, and 12 next fall. That's pretty doable for an average college student, but of course we have no idea about Jeff Jones. Best case scenario, he graduates next Dec and is back in Jan 2017.

Personally, I'm betting we'll never see him in M & G again. Sad. Hope I'm wrong and he plays his final 2 years up here.
 

MGGopher said:
Personally, I'm betting we'll never see him in M & G again. Sad. Hope I'm wrong and he plays his final 2 years up here.
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In cases like this it seems pretty rare that the guy returns to his former school. Agree, little chance he'll be a Gopher again. Even if he does get eligible to return to DI in a year or two, it's likely he and the Gophers will have probably moved on to greener pastures by then.
 


SelectionSunday said:
In cases like this it seems pretty rare that the guy returns to his former school. Agree, little chance he'll be a Gopher again. Even if he does get eligible to return to DI in a year or two, it's likely he and the Gophers will have probably moved on to greener pastures by then.
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I suspect this is true more for academic reasons than athletic ones. I don't believe universities are that receptive to taking students back.

On a related note, this is another example of what a stupid system is in place for football and basketball. It works great for the fans but a better system (for the players but the universities too if they really do value academics) would be like minor league baseball or Canadian junior hockey. The best players would play their sport and not have to "pretend" to be students.
 



Guys, can you all just stop bashing this kid!

I can't believe all the crap that everyone is making up about him and dragging him through the mud.

This is really disgusting!


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I hope things work out for Jones and he can have a good life. If that good life includes football, great.

But, from a selfish fan standpoint, it's not like the Gophers are losing a guy who ran for 1,000 yards and 15 TD's last year.

I wonder if, for a kid like Jones, he might have been better off going to a school away from home and away from the old high school crowd. Maybe at another school, he might have been better able to focus on academics. Or, maybe not. For some kids, staying close to home is the right choice. For others, a fresh start in a new environment may be the best choice.
 

Winnipegopher said:
On a related note, this is another example of what a stupid system is in place for football and basketball. It works great for the fans but a better system (for the players but the universities too if they really do value academics) would be like minor league baseball or Canadian junior hockey. The best players would play their sport and not have to "pretend" to be students.
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Separate the athletic departments entirely from the Universities, instead making them athletic clubs that are sponsored by the University. No more academic requirements, but no more scholarships either. Pay the players a wage, if they want to use that money to go to school offer them a reduced rate but they have to be admitted through the same process as a "normal" student. Athletic departments could still offer academic support if they choose to. Of course in this model, there are no more "non-revenue" sports, they would wither away within a matter of years, which would make many on this site very happy.
 




Ski U Master said:
Separate the athletic departments entirely from the Universities, instead making them athletic clubs that are sponsored by the University. No more academic requirements, but no more scholarships either. Pay the players a wage, if they want to use that money to go to school offer them a reduced rate but they have to be admitted through the same process as a "normal" student. Athletic departments could still offer academic support if they choose to. Of course in this model, there are no more "non-revenue" sports, they would wither away within a matter of years, which would make many on this site very happy.
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Great post!

No way the universities would go for it. They would never want their employees to lose the "student athlete" label. It would cost them far too much money to pay them minimum wage.
 

Ski U Master said:
Separate the athletic departments entirely from the Universities, instead making them athletic clubs that are sponsored by the University. No more academic requirements, but no more scholarships either. Pay the players a wage, if they want to use that money to go to school offer them a reduced rate but they have to be admitted through the same process as a "normal" student. Athletic departments could still offer academic support if they choose to. Of course in this model, there are no more "non-revenue" sports, they would wither away within a matter of years, which would make many on this site very happy.
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This model exists (without the wages) at D-3. Follow that if you want. The quality of football would be terrible under your proposed model.
 

dpodoll68 said:
This model exists (without the wages) at D-3. Follow that if you want. The quality of football would be terrible under your proposed model.
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Well, the wages are the key to the entire model, silly. The money is what keeps the quality athletes there by creating a de facto paid minor league.
 


I wish him well, but I'm not bummed about this.

Dude came in with academic issues, didn't distinguish himself, and then again had academic issues again. Considering the help these guys get academically at the University, academic issues are just simply a lack of effort. No need to have this guy eating up a spot other players could use, like one who could accumulate a stat of some sort in a game.

I know this guy was Maroon Jesus to some folks but I'm not too worried about losing him.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I wish him well, but I'm not bummed about this.

Dude came in with academic issues, didn't distinguish himself, and then again had academic issues again. Considering the help these guys get academically at the University, academic issues are just simply a lack of effort. No need to have this guy eating up a spot other players could use, like one who could accumulate a stat of some sort in a game.

I know this guy was Maroon Jesus to some folks but I'm not too worried about losing him.
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There have been some fantastic players who didn't distinguish themselves early in their careers and struggled academically (almost left) who went on to have fantastic Gopher careers.

Hageman
Michael Carter
T. Stoudemire

I'm bummed because he is a great talent who struggled a bit academically. By all accounts, he's a great kid. The staff did not have to go out of their way to praise the kid. He's a great kid, he's talented, I hope he ends up back here.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
There have been some fantastic players who didn't distinguish themselves early in their careers and struggled academically (almost left) who went on to have fantastic Gopher careers.

Hageman
Michael Carter
T. Stoudemire

I'm bummed because he is a great talent who struggled a bit academically. By all accounts, he's a great kid. The staff did not have to go out of their way to praise the kid. He's a great kid, he's talented, I hope he ends up back here.
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Yeah but you have to be eligible too.

Dude might be a great talent but stars aren't a sure deal. With the little time he had he didn't do much, and has blown it at academics.

I believe he has to now get a low level degree of some sort at the JUCO level so he'll have possibly a year left after that?

His lack of opportunity is mostly on him.
 

Sportsfan24 said:
I'll do you one better. Hopefully I'm flat out wrong and proven an idiot.
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Well just this time.;).

Sounds like Jones has good character. Just hate to count him out yet. It would have been just as easy for him to quit.
Obviously, I am hoping he can turn it around as well.

Cheers!
 

Mpls. schools need to figure out how to prepare these kids academically. We need our urban schools cultivating the talent they have.
 

Mvgopher said:
Mpls. schools need to figure out how to prepare these kids academically. We need our urban schools cultivating the talent they have.
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Self responsibility, blame should rest with him and his family.

In addition unlike it's suburban neighbor school districts Mpls was faced with a growing non speaking English population to educate. The new changes hopefully will lessen the burden on the district.


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Sportsfan24 said:
Self responsibility, blame should rest with him and his family.

In addition unlike it's suburban neighbor school districts Mpls was faced with a growing non speaking English population to educate. The new changes hopefully will lessen the burden on the district.


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I don't disagree. Family dynamics make all the difference. I can't speak to Jeff's. Yet I have seen those with the most dysfunction who have been survivors and thrive not victims.
 

Mvgopher said:
I don't disagree. Family dynamics make all the difference. I can't speak to Jeff's. Yet I have seen those with the most dysfunction who have been survivors and thrive not victims.
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Great points; I probably should have stated IF blame needs to be assigned...........


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Mvgopher said:
Mpls. schools need to figure out how to prepare these kids academically. We need our urban schools cultivating the talent they have.
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Psh - how about their parents...? Looks like Sportsfan beat me to it!
 

VACTERL said:
Psh - how about their parents...? Looks like Sportsfan beat me to it!
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You got it. Not to be judged or judegmental, you have to look at the demographics. Family dynamics have changed. vicious cycle
 

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