Army senior linebacker Andrew Rodriqguez was named the winner of the Campbell Trophy on Tuesday night in New York, beating out a star-studded field of top scholar-athletes including Yale senior quarterback Patrick Witt.
The other finalists for the award known as the Academic Heisman were Georgia kicker Drew Butler, Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins, Delta State quarterback Micah Davis, Navy guard John Dowd, Northwestern State linebacker Yaser Elqutub, South Dakota running back Chris Ganious, Colorado School of Mines quarterback Clay Garcia, Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish, Kansas State defensive back Tysyn Hartman, South Florida offensive lineman Chaz Hine, Purdue linebacker Joe Holland, Washington State receiver Jared Karstetter, Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Dubuque receiver Michael Zweifel.
Congratulations to Witt on his season, regardless of which awards he won or did not pursue.
ReplyDeleteThis raises a question for you, Jim: is there any word on the status of the Yale inquiry on the head coach? I would think the University would want to resolve this very soon.
I reached out to Williams recently and he responded with a text that was still not able to talk but he expects the situation to be resolved soon. The coaching staff was greeting recruits over the weekend and I spoke to multiple people at the Yale/Harvard game who said they already had the info that Stanford backed up his version of things so I would expect him to keep his job.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear Coach Williams is expected to stay. It does not like seem like a major issue. Also, he seems like a very good communicator with his players, and to be "tough but fair".
ReplyDeleteI do worry about Yale's 2012 on-field prospects, however. So many talented seniors are departing, and I remain puzzled why this fall's team underachieved, particularly on defense. Excellent receivers return, but will John Whitelaw or another QB be able to get them the ball?
I have to believe that, the longer the Williams inquiry takes, the greater the probability that he keeps his job.
ReplyDeleteThe investigators must know that, if they are following a trail of evidence which becomes more incriminating as they pursue it, they owe it to the football program to conclude their work expeditiously.
If Yale needs to fire Tom Williams over his indiscretions, they need to do it on a schedule which allows recruiting to continue and does not jeopardize the 2012 season.
I think you could conclude the opposite. If it is as straightforward as he says - the official committee at Stanford reviewed and approved him as a Rhodes applicant, that answer could be easily provided by Stanford. I think that the fact that it's taking so long means that someone is trying to scrape together a credible account that will allow Yale to retain him.
ReplyDeleteJim - Do you think that the fact that this "investigation" has taken so long means that Yale is hoping the entire matter will be forgotten and will go away?
ReplyDeleteThat's probably a good way at looking at it. I've heard that Yale already heard back from Stanford before the Harvard game and it's hard to believe they wouldn't just release a statement. I spoke to the Yale public affairs department earlier this week and got the same "we'll let you know when the investigation is completed."
ReplyDeleteSo, probably Yale will quietly delete the Rhodes reference in Williams' bio on the website and hope that everyone forgets about his misstatements. They must want very badly to retain him. Any statement from Yale at this time would only embarrass him and the University.
ReplyDeleteThe "investigation" of Coach Williams is being badly bungled. It is not going to go away and my "friends" from other colleges are taking malicious delight in needling me about it. I can only imagine what it must be like for Coach Williams himself (particularly with what's happening in the coaching world) and the future of Yale football.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it they say about justice delayed?
Truly Blue '59
I do like Williams, and I heard from someone who played for Siedlecki's last few teams that he was really out of touch with his players. However, Yale's record for Siedlecki's last three years was 23-7, and the defense probably allowed the fewest points in the country. Williams' three-year record is 16-14.
ReplyDeleteOne can talk all one wants about "culture change," but... Siedlecki paid a heavy price, arguably excessive, for the Harvard losses and the '06 meltdown vs. Princeton.
I know both guys and they both are class gentlemen. Siedlecki knows much more about football strategy and Williams knows much more about the motivation of young men. If Yale really want to fix the football problem they will get Williams top quality offense and defensive coordinators.
ReplyDeleteYale handling of the Williams Rhodes situation is terrible and not fair to anyone especially Williams. No white professor would be handled this way. This investigation process is anti athletics and racist in nature as it should have been concluded a month ago.
Williams did nothing wrong and Yale should not let this issue hang on for this period of time. It is not fair to a true gentlemen Coach Williams.
Jim, there is an anonymous post on the Ivy League sports message board that Coach Williams has been dismissed. Like any anonymous fan site, plenty of false rumors get posted there but it also is frequently where ultimately true developments first reach a public forum.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to check your sources. I'll refrain from crowing until it's been confirmed but, whether true or not, I continue to think that you were very much off base to think that this issue would simply go away.
Ivy League universities do not trifle with fraudulent resumes.
I did check with my sources and they have reconfirmed that Williams has not been let go and they are waiting for the president to announce his decision.
ReplyDeleteYou can crow all you want because I never once said I thought this would go away nor should it once Yale started its investigation. I've let people post comments on this blog stating that opinion. I have been checking in on a regular basis and have refrained from making any generalizations because this could go either way.
Speaking as the previous poster who said that I would refrain from crowing, I do agree with you that it could go either way. And it still might.
ReplyDeleteI thought your earlier tone was dismissive on more than one occasion, but perhaps I read more than was fair into some of your posts that comparisons with George O'Leary are unfounded and that "Stanford says it's all cool."
I stand by both those comments I made. I have confirmed through reliable people that Stanford vouched for Williams saying they did recommend him to pursue a Rhodes Scholarship. O'Leary's situation was far more serious as he made up degrees and even the level of player he was. I believed when this first happened and still do that what Williams said while he was being interviewed is far more important than what he said during interviews with the media in the last few months.
ReplyDelete