I spoke to Uncle before he tweeted this last night. No, I was not one of those he was asking not to call/text him. That's why he called me before he tweeted it. ha. TyRon entered his name in the portal but never took it out ... someone else did. (see the tweet than mentions that) He got a lot of grief for being in the portal for an hour and there's no way he can go back now. Someone in the forum did a good job of connecting the dots to CRob. TyRon really liked CRob and his cousin was around is new position coach while at UNC...apparently they are nothing alike. (CRob was NOT involved in any of this ... bashing CRob is not justified). In addition - the message around the program is "rebuild". Upper classmen don't always embrace that message. They have a year or two to try to get to the next level and aren't excited about a rebuild. Summary: (he wanted to test the market) 1. Position coaching change from a guy he loved to a guy that coached DBs 2. He's almost out of eligibility and still wants a shot at the NFL He's all Gator and is prepared to make sure he has a special season.
Thanks, confused though by the comment that he didn’t pull his name from the portal. How then could it get pulled? Who has the authority ?
I get liking your position coach. I have no place telling a kid what he should do in a situation like that. I could be wrong but has Crob put any or many linebackers into the NFL? I imagine Grantham has through sheer number of years and players coached but I wonder if has been many in the past 10 years.
Great question. The Hopper's are moving on for fear of further damaging his reputation (since it looks like he flip-flopped in 68 minutes). We should probably move on too as we whistle past the graveyard.
You would think his position coach he liked so much would have had him on the field earlier. And liking your position coach may not always be the best thing for you. We were a 6-7 team last year. What else would you call it other than a rebuild? "Rebuild" means to me that we will be playing the best players regardless of time in program. If Hopper keeps working, then he'll get the PT no problem. Getting PT is what will help get the interest from NFL scouts. Now, if he's worried he won't see the field next year under the new LB coach then I'd see why he might want to look elsewhere. I just don't see that being the case for Hopper. He was clearly our best LB last year.
Grantham has his faves and played them almost exclusively. Once Grantham was fired, CRob got Hopper on the field and that is when we were all like WTF -- why has he been on the bench the entire time? Grantham was really bad for the program. In addition, look at his new position coach. He coached safeties last year and TyRon's cousin played D at UNC for the past four years (the Hoppers know what they are getting). Most of our new position coaches were homerun hires. CB, RB, WR, OL, DL and OLB (and the players in those positions are jacked). Our TE coach coached RB's and our MLB coach coached Safeties last year. Kemore transfers and Hopper tried to test the waters. Coincidence? I'm not saying the MLB and TE coaches aren't going to get it done, I'm just trying to explain from the players perspective. Especially from the players who only have 1-2 years of eligibility left.
Thanks for a great explanation Roswell. So Hopper entered the portal and someone else withdrew his name? That sounds really odd that someone else can interfere. But unless I have this all confused, that person kinda did us a favor right? Maybe I’m missing something here but that sounds peculiar to say the least.
To clarify -- you can re-enter the portal. However, TyRon isn't comfortable re-entering b/c of the grief over the 68 minutes he was in there (he got ridiculed on social media for flip-flopping). He would look like a fool if he re-entered unless he explained everything that happened which would expose someone in our compliance department. He is worried about his reputation. You call your school's compliance department to enter the portal. They are the only one, beside the player, who has access to your specific portal. This is why Uncle is unhappy.
Thanks. I can't say I agree, but its nice to get their viewpoint. It is not unusual at all for position coaches to want to move around so it looks better when trying to move up the coaching ladder. Bateman's resume' is a clear upgrade to CRob. He has coached ILB in the past. Plus, with such a huge staff with analysts, players thinking one position coach will be holding them back is surprising. This staff seems to analyze everything to try to get players in the best position to be successful. I am not so sure Hopper doesn't end up on the outside anyway. He's not big enough to be ILB in the NFL, IMO. I sure like watching him in O&B, but I think it's wrong if someone else pulled his name from the portal.
That is exactly what I told his Uncle --- TyRon's future is on the outside ... just move him out there now and let Peterson work with him. Uncle agreed -- said it isn't easy to shed a 300 lb pulling guard when you weigh 220-225 lbs and that he should be on the outside. Keep in mind he played CB/S at Roswell.
Harsin put his name out for the Oregon job and would like to get to the NW region or Pac10. Reason why his coaches and coordinators are jumping ship.
I venture to guess Mike Peterson can teach Hopper more about playing LB in college and the NFL than TRob or others as well. There are a lot of Defensive Coaches on that roster with tremendous coaching experience in NFL and the pros he could benefit from. Coach P as an off field hire has incredible knowledge, as does Spencer, Raymond, Bateman, Toney, and Peterson, not to mention the Chaney and Bell types if you give this coach a chance, look what he did with parking, meals and Housing in 45 days. Look at all the hires. Even S&C has people from NFL, … If players want to depart, that is their prerogative and ultimately Billy will find players loyal to him and they love being Gators. Those here for the wrong purpose should go.