AJC: Dennis Andrews no longer onthe Team

[AlabamaBuzz]

We will miss him on the field, but I agree that if rules exist, and the punishment for those rules is laid out, then our coach did what our coach had to do, and that is BEST for the team and the kid ultimately. It does suck that a kid this far along in the program could not keep himself within the existing team rules.

 

[Techster]

Go back and watch the 2nd offensive play of the OB. DA will be missed bigtime, this one stings.

Oh, it's definitely gonna hurt, but DA got good at being a well rounded AB because he got reps and played in place of other guys who left. Guys will be forced to step up and do their job because now one starter is gone. It was that way when Roddy left, it was that way when Orwin left, it was that way when Godhigh left, it was going to be that way after Perkins eligibility ran out, and now it'll be the same with Andrews gone.

The silver lining in all this is we have all summer and fall camp for guys like Ike Willis, Searcy, Clinton Lynch, Snoddy, and the incoming freshmen to focus and work on filling the void left by Andrews. It would have hurt a whole lot more had we gone through fall camp and this happened...that would have been a lot of wasted reps on someone who wasn't going to contribute in 2015.

 

[orange14]

+1000 I was thinking the same thing. News is never good at this time of the year until the first game.

 

[MGTfan]

This hurts, bot not too worried. We still have 4 A-Backs who have at least some experience. CPJ will probably rotate less than last year, but I think we will be fine. I'd be expecting a lot midline behind Skov though.

 

[danny daniel]

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I don't have respect for someone who blindly follows rules. To me, that's a copout, not a hard decision. It's throwing a player under the bus. "You smoked marijuana, something 75% of your peers do. Marijuana is against the rules. Therefore, you're outta here kid, even though you've worked hard, sacrificed for the program, and did everything else we asked of you." I wasn't exposed to the Reagan indoctrination, so maybe that's why I don't get it, but every modern study I've seen on "drug addiction" supports a conclusion that's the exact opposite of this hard-line, social ostracization enforcement policy.

But then again, I respect CPJ. And he's closer to the team then me, obviously. And I respect the opinions of everyone on the board b/c most of you are more intelligent than me. So, I guess all of that ^ is my emotional reaction to this unfortunate news. But as a football fan with no skin in the game, how much longer do I have to see talented football players who seem like decent people be banned from playing football because they smoke a little weed? Ricky Williams, Josh Gordon, 200 GT players the past 3 years, . . . oh well.

Coach and GT make the rules. Nobody is entitled to violate the rules just because they do not like the rules. Rules apply to everyone equally or you have Factory chaos. I hate to lose any player but thankfully we have a coach with guts and integrity.

 

[IEEEWreck]

I've got a raging clue

My clue is telling me that we should look over here.

Georgia Tech is Georgia Tech. The Rules are The Rules.

The shaft careth not for reason, nor emotion, nor benefit. So it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

 

[danny daniel]

This hurts, bot not too worried. We still have 4 A-Backs who have at least some experience. CPJ will probably rotate less than last year, but I think we will be fine. I'd be expecting a lot midline behind Skov though.

Yea. We can run the QB more and Byerly can take on some of the hits. "Next man up". I hate losing Andrews but this is an opportunity for Jarrett, Cottrell, T Marshall, maybe M Marshall, and Byerly. First Freshman to block gets the chance!

 

[deeeznutz]

I can see all the freshman RBs (whether they came in as A & B) getting told that the best opportunity to see the field this year is at AB, and those guys will have to fight it out to determine who plays. If you're MLD or MM, just follow the Ant Allen route...BB will be there next year.

 

[OldJacketFan]

I can easily see MM and/or MLD at A back, but watch out for Cottrell, I've seen him play to 2 years and he has a serious nasty streak in him when it comes to blocking! We know his work ethic and speed. As I said months ago it's going to come down to which of the freshmen have the WANT TO!

I hate for DA and the team. But he brought it on himself. My son and he are roughly the same age and you can tell them all day long but they have to learn for the themselves the sometimes rough lessons of life!

 

[danny daniel]

I can see all the freshman RBs (whether they came in as A & B) getting told that the best opportunity to see the field this year is at AB, and those guys will have to fight it out to determine who plays. If you're MLD or MM, just follow the Ant Allen route...BB will be there next year.

This may be the long term solution to how we get MLD and M Marshall on the field at the same time.

 

[GTJoeBrew]

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I don't have respect for someone who blindly follows rules. To me, that's a copout, not a hard decision. It's throwing a player under the bus. "You smoked marijuana, something 75% of your peers do. Marijuana is against the rules. Therefore, you're outta here kid, even though you've worked hard, sacrificed for the program, and did everything else we asked of you." I wasn't exposed to the Reagan indoctrination, so maybe that's why I don't get it, but every modern study I've seen on "drug addiction" supports a conclusion that's the exact opposite of this hard-line, social ostracization enforcement policy.

But then again, I respect CPJ. And he's closer to the team then me, obviously. And I respect the opinions of everyone on the board b/c most of you are more intelligent than me. So, I guess all of that ^ is my emotional reaction to this unfortunate news. But as a football fan with no skin in the game, how much longer do I have to see talented football players who seem like decent people be banned from playing football because they smoke a little weed? Ricky Williams, Josh Gordon, 200 GT players the past 3 years, . . . oh well.

So you believe that the coach should turn a bling eye to illegal activity within the team? That is absurd. I don't think that an academic institution should allow any student to participate in an illegal activity that will prevent them from getting a job with almost any hiring company. Kind of the opposite of what they are supposed to be instilling in students, athletes or not.

 

[AE 87]

My clue is telling me that we should look over here.

Georgia Tech is Georgia Tech. The Rules are The Rules.

The shaft careth not for reason, nor emotion, nor benefit. So it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

 

[RLR]

Coach and GT make the rules. Nobody is entitled to violate the rules just because they do not like the rules. Rules apply to everyone equally or you have Factory chaos. I hate to lose any player but thankfully we have a coach with guts and integrity.

You're right. I wish I could take back my post. But (without knowing the details) I still feel bad for Dennis Andrews. I think you would agree with me that CPJ's decision isn't easy. And like most hard decisions, the outcome won't be perfect for everyone. Do I have a better solution? No.

I do think that someone somewhere needs to ask the tough questions that evaluate the purpose, intent, and actual impact of these rules. I'm not saying every college football player should be entitled to smoke dope and break the rules. But let's not pretend that the people who follow the rules and the people who write the rules have the same objective and incentives. I'm advocate of emphasizing the "student" aspect of student-athletes. I think everyone has the potential to learn, and i think UNC should be given the death penalty for making a mockery of that opportunity. At the same time, I realize that part of the college learning experience is "creative destruction". It's a period of growth and learning where you're supposed to question assumptions and challenge rules. Does that mean there aren't consequences? of course not. But elsewhere in society, there is an understood acceptance of such behavior during college. The Technique has an article discussing how students who smoke weed or drink underage are highly unlikely to be charged by the police. Our last 3 presidents admitted to drug use while they were in college - from "not inhaling" to snorting coke. Business leaders, same thing, most notably Steve Jobs.

And yet, when it comes to student athletes, it's a privilege not a right to play college football. We hold the players to stricter standards. Players who break the rules make headlines and get kicked off the team. Not just for drug usage, look at AJ Green and Gurley - 2 players who were suspended because they accepted unsolicited offers of thousands of dollars to sign their name to a football. I get that's its against the rules. I get that smoking weed is against the rules. I get that they broke the rules. But what objective does enforcing these rules achieve? Who benefits from them? Do sports agents get penalized? Do memorabilia merchants get penalized? Do college boosters paying recruits get penalized? Did Dan Radacovich receive a demotion for the NCAA improper benefits investigation? Did Larry Fedora get kicked out of college football? Of course not. We throw players under the bus, b/c who the hell cares about 1 player when there are millions, if not billions of dollars to be made. The only time we don't throw players under the bus is if it's an Ohio State Investigation that leaks right before a BCS bowl game. In those cases, we'll delay the suspension until next year. B/C it's unfair to Tostidos if they pay hundred of millions of dollars for a game where Terrell Pryor isn't paying. Who would watch that? Or, if you have that lovable white bad boy star, playing QB, with a trademarked nickname that will sell hella merchadencise...b/c there definitely wasn't ph

 

[GTech63]

We have a stable of running backs coming in. Question is do we have a stable of blocking backs coming in. As many on the thread have said, the first to become good at blocking will be the the ones to play more. Our running backs will make yardage when there are blockers out front. Blocking backs are made more effective when running backs know how to use their blockers. CPJ system teaches both skills and I believe this is why they become supportive of each other in unselfish ways and begin to enjoy laying out a good block as well as setting one up.

 

[PBR549]

The prison system is littered with great athletes whose coaches looked the other way because they "needed" them. Hopefully DA will learn that there are consequences for your actions now.

 

[JorgeJonas]

We will miss him on the field, but I agree that if rules exist, and the punishment for those rules is laid out, then our coach did what our coach had to do, and that is BEST for the team and the kid ultimately. It does suck that a kid this far along in the program could not keep himself within the existing team rules.

Not to get political, but to get political, if it was marajuana, the whole thing is insane.

 

[Frenchise]

I think what RLR and even myself are trying to say that we don't really have this stigma on MJ use. Accordingly, as long as you are performing in the classroom, grinding at practice/games, I don't care what plant material you smoke in your private time. I get that it's a team rule, but MJ didn't appear to be harming DA. I do not know the specifics, so I could be totally wrong. I'm sure it could affect a player(just like alcohol), but that would show in the classroom and and at practice/games.

Just my 2 cents. I just don't care about it, it doesn't change my opinion of a person if they use MJ. I don't think alcohol is against team rules if you are of age, and I think that is a far more destructive drug. MJ will be legal in 10 years and we will look back on this and say it shouldn't have mattered.

Flame away.

 

[chewybaka]

Not to get political, but to get political, if it was marajuana, the whole thing is insane.

Completely agree...I certainly hope this was not the only decision issue...for a substance about to be legal in a growing percentage of our county

 

[UgaBlows]

I would guess that one of the Austin twins will move to A-back now

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/college/dennis-andrews-no-longer-on-team/nmSx4/.

Well, this stinks. He was one of my favorites going back to our recruiting him as QB.

The list is long, down through the ages. Billy Teas, Ted Davis, Charles Dudish, Eddie McAshan, even Dewberry was sent home once. And these are the famous, no telling how many players from deep on the depth charts have been sent packing. I don't think any of us would truly want it any other way. My way or the highway, is more in keeping with the culture of the institute than the second, third, and more chances we see given out elsewhere.