jtk1519
02-13-2006, 03:27 AM
I have to admit that I really didn't follow this story much but it has been all over the Tech boards as well as a few others. I thought the discussion here would be interesting.
For those that don't know, Jocques Crawford is a 3 star RB out of Memphis Tennessee that signed with Tech earlier this month. Leach has taken a ton of criticism for that signing because of Crawford's criminal past. Crawford was initially charged with felony aggravated **** of a 15 year old girl but negotiated a plea to the lesser misdemeanor assault charge to which he pled guilty and spend a few weeks in juvenile detention for.
Leach defended his signing with the "give the kid a second chance" line. Normally I would call BS on a coach using that line, but I tend to believe Leach here. If this kid was a huge 5 star prospect considered among the best in the nation, I would question Leach's motives, but this kid isn't those things. He's an average RB at best that doesn't really fit the Tech offense and he has obvious character issues. On top of that, all his grades suck and few expect him to actually get in to Tech. I guess all that is why I wonder why Leach even bothered in the first place.
Tech's Leach defends signing
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texastech/stories/020706dnspotechlede.1a0d839.html
College coaches aren't tough on crime
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texastech/stories/020806dnspoblackistonecol.5e62f6d.html
I don't really know which side of the fence I am on this issue. On one hand, I believe everybody deserves a second chance and I applaud Leach for taking the flak that comes along with extending that second chance. On the other hand, I don't know if I view giving a kid a full ride scholarship to a good program a "second chance" or a reward. Let's be honest, there are hundreds of thousands of high school football players in this country that have done nothing worse than look at their father's Playboy. A free ride is a very special thing offered to a very select few. Should such rewards be offered to those that have done little to earn it?
BTW, let's try to keep this thread clean and civil. We could start bashing Leach and then the Tech guys will start talking about Benson and his TV or aggy and all their arrests, but all that will accomplish is the locking of another thread. This has the potential for a very interesting philosophical debate.
For those that don't know, Jocques Crawford is a 3 star RB out of Memphis Tennessee that signed with Tech earlier this month. Leach has taken a ton of criticism for that signing because of Crawford's criminal past. Crawford was initially charged with felony aggravated **** of a 15 year old girl but negotiated a plea to the lesser misdemeanor assault charge to which he pled guilty and spend a few weeks in juvenile detention for.
Leach defended his signing with the "give the kid a second chance" line. Normally I would call BS on a coach using that line, but I tend to believe Leach here. If this kid was a huge 5 star prospect considered among the best in the nation, I would question Leach's motives, but this kid isn't those things. He's an average RB at best that doesn't really fit the Tech offense and he has obvious character issues. On top of that, all his grades suck and few expect him to actually get in to Tech. I guess all that is why I wonder why Leach even bothered in the first place.
Tech's Leach defends signing
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texastech/stories/020706dnspotechlede.1a0d839.html
College coaches aren't tough on crime
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texastech/stories/020806dnspoblackistonecol.5e62f6d.html
I don't really know which side of the fence I am on this issue. On one hand, I believe everybody deserves a second chance and I applaud Leach for taking the flak that comes along with extending that second chance. On the other hand, I don't know if I view giving a kid a full ride scholarship to a good program a "second chance" or a reward. Let's be honest, there are hundreds of thousands of high school football players in this country that have done nothing worse than look at their father's Playboy. A free ride is a very special thing offered to a very select few. Should such rewards be offered to those that have done little to earn it?
BTW, let's try to keep this thread clean and civil. We could start bashing Leach and then the Tech guys will start talking about Benson and his TV or aggy and all their arrests, but all that will accomplish is the locking of another thread. This has the potential for a very interesting philosophical debate.