Still more players suspended?
What should we make of this? Willie Williams booted off the team last week for driving without a license but with marijuana. Jajuan Spillman for a similar incident in January that just landed in court last week. Now George Stripling for a violation of team rules? Three players were booted off the team during the off season.
Obviously, Steve Kragthorpe is making a point, that he will not tolerate activities that will reflect badly on the team. The question is why Bobby Petrino did not have similar problems, at least on the surface.
Could it be that the problems existed under Petrino but he had a different way of handling them? He wasn’t a nice guy, in fact many of the players despised him. He kept them around because he needed them?
We may never know for sure about Petrino’s style. But we do know that Kragthorpe will not tolerate questionable activities. Reminds me of a new executive arriving on the scene. He establishes his own rules, cleans house if necessary and sets new standards.
Or could it be that the coach is considered naive, such a nice guy that players think they can get away with things?
You still have to respect a coach who, despite controversy over his team’s performance, insists on players abiding by the rules. He is in charge, no doubt about that. No more Mr. Nice Guy.
Maybe he will suspend his defensive coordinator next. Urrutia could probably be sat for a couple of weeks as well.
If Tom Jurich believes in Steve Kragthorpe, I believe in Steve Kragthorpe. I’m afraid the initiation process could take a while and we will just have to grin and bear it until he gets things in line.