Ky Thomas enters portal

That's all of them? Coaching, Weight Training, practice, and game time? How does coaching differ from practicing?

Do you suppose Ky just developed overnight once Trey got injured and that's why he was ready to go? Or perhaps he just needed the right opportunity to show it? Did Fleck really need to run Mo 25+ times a game with the talented duo of Ky and Bucky on the bench? It's anyone's guess I suppose.

Does it always upset you when someone disagrees with how Fleck does things?
No that’s not all of them. You made it sound like Fleck not getting players reps hurts their development. If Ky is your example I think it’s a bad one as he looked pretty developed despite no prior reps. And it doesn’t always upset me, you’re the one that seems upset. I just don’t think a few garbage touches does anything significant to make a player better. I don’t agree with Fleck’s decision to put such a huge workload on Mo and then Potts.
 
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No that’s not all of them. You made it sound like Fleck not getting players reps hurts their development. If Ky is your example I think it’s a bad one as he looked pretty developed despite no prior reps. And it doesn’t always upset me, you’re the one that seems upset. I just don’t think a few garbage touches does anything significant to make a player better.
To be clear, YOU made it sound however you took it. I said I am not a fan of how Fleck develops guys. Nothing more, nothing less.

And where do you keep getting garbage time? Would the 2nd half of the BG game been garbage time? How about the Illinois game? Iowa? Those were not garbage time opportunities. Do you just naturally assume all QB2 snaps have to be garbage time? I understand under Fleck it appears that way, which is more to my point.

The Ky situation may be over your head. A player of Ky's talent should be playing but he wouldn't have been unless several unfortunate events took place.
 
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I'd rank coaching, weight training, and practice higher.
Those are very important ingredients but what game reps does is accelerate the progress.
It gives the player hope.
It's no longer just a coach telling a guy what it will be like in a game...now, often times, "he gets it" with the opportunity to play. The coaching words take on new meaning, the why we do it this way makes more sense. The player gets hungrier...he gets a taste...he wants more...he works harder.
His confidence spikes higher and he's playing at a different level.

You never see the field and you just go through the motions in practice because whatever you do you ain't playin' anyway.

Somebody like Ky knows he's good. Not to play for so long had to be pretty depressing. Talented guys gotta see the field to spike their development.
 

You could also argue that when recruiting guys they want to be the so called "bell cow," and don't want to be in some type of time share between multiple other backs either. I love KY and really hope he reconsiders coming back but sure he wants more carries and they just wouldn't be as many next year for him. I think Ky is much better than Potts. I would have had him at 2 in the pecking order at a very similar level as bucky.
 

To be clear, YOU made it sound however you took it. I said I am not a fan of how Fleck develops guys. Nothing more, nothing less.

And where do you keep getting garbage time? Would the 2nd half of the BG game been garbage time? How about the Illinois game? Iowa? Those were not garbage time opportunities. Do you just naturally assume all QB2 snaps have to be garbage time? I understand under Fleck it appears that way, which is more to my point.

The Ky situation may be over your head. A player of Ky's talent should be playing but he wouldn't have been unless several unfortunate events took place.
Your talking about playing guys not developing them. The nfl draft suggests Fleck is developing players pretty well.
 


Those are very important ingredients but what game reps does is accelerate the progress.
It gives the player hope.
It's no longer just a coach telling a guy what it will be like in a game...now, often times, "he gets it" with the opportunity to play. The coaching words take on new meaning, the why we do it this way makes more sense. The player gets hungrier...he gets a taste...he wants more...he works harder.
His confidence spikes higher and he's playing at a different level.

You never see the field and you just go through the motions in practice because whatever you do you ain't playin' anyway.

Somebody like Ky knows he's good. Not to play for so long had to be pretty depressing. Talented guys gotta see the field to spike their development.
He redshirted then waited half a season to get 20+ touches a game. That’s not a long wait.
 


Ha, tell a player who knows he's good that's not a long wait.
Will be interesting how recruiting these players goes in the future. I imagine the days of false promises are about over and a realistic plan needs to be put in place and agreed upon by both player and coach. Reality is if Ky wanted to start super early he should have gone to a crappier program like Kansas, which is what he appears to be looking at now.
 







How do you know they haven't?
Because we would have heard about it by now. We hear every piece of news and rumors these days.

There is no way if they completed their transfer we would not have seen a tweet by them or their school.

If you are right and ZA is going to Illinois State good for him...but that is a major step down which tells me Bob is probably right and he was passed over by Athan. I wish him nothing but the best though.

Same with Ky going to Kansas...I mean good for him if that is what he wants but yikes. Better than Colorado though.
 




btown has all the answers.
No I just don’t agree with some of your takes, get over it. Don’t take a message board so personally. Just because I don’t agree with you doesn’t mean I’m right and you’re wrong.
 


Because players don’t secretly sign. Maybe they are silently committed somewhere, but neither signed during the early period.
True. Neither "signed" in the early period. I confused signed with committed. My fault.
 

Will be interesting how recruiting these players goes in the future. I imagine the days of false promises are about over and a realistic plan needs to be put in place and agreed upon by both player and coach. Reality is if Ky wanted to start super early he should have gone to a crappier program like Kansas, which is what he appears to be looking at now.
I don't get why you transfer at all. If Mo comes back and has his same speed then you get to build your body for another year without getting beat up. Ky already put enough on tape to be a late round draft pick, which is all he would be coming off a great year at KU or KSU anyway. Want to push your draft ranking up? Probably going to need another year of starting time regardless. Why not sit a year, protect your legs, and then put on a show on 2023?
 




Respectfully disagree.
Yeah, some of the takes on Ky are getting a little over the top. He looks like a good player, certainly good enough to play at the power 5 level and be an effective running back. But he wasn't leaps and bounds ahead of the other guys on our roster talent wise and had we not had all the injuries we did he wouldn't have beaten out the guys in front of him this year.

Sorry to see him go, looked like he would have been a good one for us....but the cupboard is not bare at RB and we will be just fine at the position without him.
 



Ky ran behind one of the best lines in football and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. Very similar situation to Amir Pinnix, who in 2006 ran for over 1200 yards at 5.0 yards per carry. Amir went undrafted and, I believe unsigned.
 


Ky was the best rb we had this season. It is ok to admit that this is a loss.
Ky was the best HEALTHY RB we had at the end of the season by a slim margin over Irving. Not sure why you are so determined to prove something other than this.

In direct competition with the 5 main RB on our roster for playing time he was sitting in the #4 or #5 spot when the year started.

He looked like a good player, it is unfortunate he is leaving. But it isn't like he was some all world back that was head and shoulders above the other guys on the roster. I don't think there is anyone that doesn't see this as a loss, but it also isn't the crippling blow to the 2022 roster that some want to make it out to be.
 
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Ky was the best rb we had this season. It is ok to admit that this is a loss.
You keep saying that like it was obvious. He averaged less per carry than Mo, less than Irving, the same as Williams, .1 better than Potts. Every running back we rolled out did well. It's a loss, but it shouldn't have any impact on the team unless the injury bugs hits hard again.
 

There is reality, perception, and ego all involved in the mix here.

virtually all of these guys were stars in HS. We don't know who is or was in their ear and what they're hearing. "You should be starting." "You're going to be a top draft pick." "The Coaches aren't giving treating your fairly." etc.

So these kids come into a major college program, and suddenly they're not the top dog any more. they are sitting on the bench and watching other people play in front of them.

every kid in that situation deals with it differently. some accept it better than others.

and every kid may have different goals - realistic or not.

in the past, those players had fewer options. now, they have the portal.

so, if a player believes he should be #1 at his position, and doesn't think that's going to happen at his current school, it's a lot easier to say "bleep it, I'll go somewhere else."
 





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