I don’t care what Redd did or didn’t do at USC…I just don’t see why anyone would want him to do well. And in terms of the Levis situation, posters should at least judge the players that leave consistently with those that stay. Clifford got bashed all year by some yet Levis got praised and Clifford had a better year. That’s what I mean by some posters treat players that leave better than players that are here.
I'll play a bit....my kids were raised loving PSU football as much as I do. They were born in Norwalk, CT which is where Silas Redd is from. So not only was he a Penn State star...he was "their" PSU star.
Like Micah, he made an understandable decision based on his own best interests. This is a pretty common human trait. If I was Silas' father, who was a police officer, and my kid could leave the PSU dumpster fire and go to Tailback U I'd at least have to consider it. I'm sure there were hems and haws, concerns about leaving friends and a situation at PSU where you'd be THE man. Sticking to your word and personal integrity were surely discussed.
If you've ever been on the So Cal campus you may have even more insight. It is a hole in a donut of an area just south of DTLA which is pretty amazing. Years later my own son and I fell in love with the place too. It is a real easy place to "flee" to...
I have no venom for him...but no love either. I followed his career and found myself rooting for him to play, but didn't care one way or the other about his results. Like Micah, Redd's departure spurned on others, which could have decimated our program. PSU Football is more resilient than PSU Basketball, which must have a witch doctor somewhere just sticking needles through its' head.
Like Silas, Micah was clearly talented and a game changer for us. He was a l8keable guy who didn't ooze of the filth that pervades in his profession ( Calipari, Pitino, Valvano, Miller, Pearl, etc etc). He could've been our Bo Ryan....someone who was smart enough to overcome our deficiencies while making us the best we can be.
It used to be that we were happy just to not he humiliated. Pat got us to competitive and the brink of pretty good. Micah pulled some rabbits out of his hat and polished the turd of what was a less than ideal situation. He talked of commitment, culture, caring. John Harrar's motor and grind epitomized our grit. And the Coach himself started to lash out at officials who treated Jalen like a freshman instead of the All American he was because he played in our uniform.
It was easy to see a long run with Micah. And then things got really exciting. And then it was over. But it won't he over until we reset our table....likely with all new placesettimgs. So we are actually probably in a worse position than two years ago...in a flash.
I didn't celebrate the relative failures of some of our departed. I don't take joy in others' misery (unless you are Tom Brady, Urban Meyer, or the Cowboys or Celtics). Will left for the same reason that Tommy Stevens did and both had their chance. Tommy at least made an NFL roster and Will is in a draft position that is much better than had he stayed. I did root for both because I would have done the same thing. They wanted their chance.
The Wall Steet rule of Bulls Win, Bears Win and Pigs Get Slaughtered comes to mind. Micah is doing what any analyst would tell him to do for a myriad of reasons. As he poaches our roster/recruits and our program hits reset, I wonder how the story will be told in the media. Whatever he "built" will be gone. The dirty underbelly of the whole charade of college sports exposed for all to see.
I won't wish evil upon his teams (like I did for Wheeler), but I cannot root for him. The kids will make their own decisions. Maybe Micah will hire John Harrar at ND to give him a piece of the action? In my opinion John is as responsible as Micah for his success at State.
If Micah finds himself unemployed in 3-4 years, and Purdue doesn"t want him, then maybe he'll regret leaving. Or not.
