Blades apparently gone for good

[inWV]

Thought it would be easier to qualify. Could have been a partial.
www.omaha.com/huskers/blogs/reports-nebraska-cornerback-signee-elijah-blades-not-joining-team/article_8b33182e-6b6f-11e7-8e5a-c3266ff2814c.html

 

[chicolby]

Yes. Seems very bitter too. Best of luck to him.

 

[suhnami]

So how did Nebraska supposedly mislead him?

 

[Toms Wife]

After Florida we were just the rebound chick. Guys never stay with the rebound chick.

 

[jlb321]

So how did Nebraska supposedly mislead him?

by suggesting there was ever more than a snow ball's chance in hell that he would qualify and get on campus - something I strongly maintain other programs we more straightforward about - and thus the decommit from Florida and absence of visits to his other top schools

 

[NikkiSixx]

Well gee.. go read the thread on how many freshman ppl think are going to play this year, and it is easy to see why recruits think this way too.

 

[jedihusker]

by suggesting there was ever more than a snow ball's chance in hell that he would qualify and get on campus - something I strongly maintain other programs we more straightforward about - and thus the decommit from Florida and absence of visits to his other top schools

Except it says right in his little article he shared on Twitter that he could have have come here as a partial qualifier or academic redshirt or whatever you want to call it, which, if I'm not mistaken, allows him to come to campus and even practice, but just not play; he just chose not to do that. So they weren't "misleading" him saying he could make it to campus, he was just going to have put in a little more work to be able to play. Also, he says he "some what" feels like he was "tricked" into believing he would qualify at Nebraska and thinks he might have qualified at other schools, which I call BS on. Unless I'm missing something, he didn't qualify because he didn't make the NCAA requirements for qualifying, meaning regardless of where he chose to go, his options would have been the same.

 

[headcard]

It's an NCAA issue, if he would have qualified with the NCAA, he would have been accepted.

 

[jlb321]

Except it says right in his little article he shared on Twitter that he could have have come here as a partial qualifier or academic redshirt or whatever you want to call it, which, if I'm not mistaken, allows him to come to campus and even practice, but just not play; he just chose not to do that. So they weren't "misleading" him saying he could make it to campus, he was just going to have put in a little more work to be able to play. Also, he says he "some what" feels like he was "tricked" into believing he would qualify at Nebraska and thinks he might have qualified at other schools, which I call BS on. Unless I'm missing something, he didn't qualify because he didn't make the NCAA requirements for qualifying, meaning regardless of where he chose to go, his options would have been the same.

It was highly, highly unlikely he could have even been a partial qualifier. Just because the kid says I could have been a partial qualifier at Neb but decided not to doesn't make it true. Kind of like people who say that they could have been a D1 athlete but decided to focus on studies instead or how they could have gone to med school if they wanted

 

[PAOK]

I have a feeling that we dodged a bullet on this one. From what I am reading, he didn't qualify and is placing the blame on NU. Am I reading that wrong? Not sure how NU is responsible for poor test results and low high school grades. His "I thought it would be easier" line is alarming. Did he give up at the end thinking it was in the bag?

 

[TFrazier]

I must have missed the part in the interview/article where he took ownership for his actions in the classroom that put him in this position in the first place.

Best of luck to him.

 

[timnsun]

It was highly, highly unlikely he could have even been a partial qualifier. Just because the kid says I could have been a partial qualifier at Neb but decided not to doesn't make it true. Kind of like people who say that they could have been a D1 athlete but decided to focus on studies instead or how they could have gone to med school if they wanted

So what higher learning institution did he qualify for again?

What's that you say? None? Hmmm... yep, Nebraska totally fleeced him. And I'm sure it was just to make the recruiting ranking look better, right? I have absolutely no doubt in my mind you are thinking this and just waiting to say it.

What's so hard to get that it's the NCAA that told him no, and not Nebraska? Nebraska told him he would qualify if be qualified by NCAA standards. How is that misleading the kid? I'm curious to see how you have arrived at this.

 

[jlb321]

To be clear it is not Nebraska's fault that the kid didn't qualify - it is Nebraska's fault that they decided to take a commitment at a position of need in a small class from a kid who was never going to qualify

 

[jedihusker]

It was highly, highly unlikely he could have even been a partial qualifier. Just because the kid says I could have been a partial qualifier at Neb but decided not to doesn't make it true. Kind of like people who say that they could have been a D1 athlete but decided to focus on studies instead or how they could have gone to med school if they wanted

I'm just going by what he said, so if he's lying about that then so be it. I still stand by what I said, he feels like he was mislead and that he might have qualified elsewhere, which is total BS, because this was an NCAA issue. Sounds to me like he was going have to put in more work than he realized, and didn't want to do it, so decided to blame the coaches, rather than himself, for not getting the required work done.

 

[jlb321]

So what higher learning institution did he qualify for again?

What's that you say? None? Hmmm... yep, Nebraska totally fleeced him. And I'm sure it was just to make the recruiting ranking look better, right? I have absolutely no doubt in my mind you are thinking this and just waiting to say it.

What's so hard to get that it's the NCAA that told him no, and not Nebraska? Nebraska told him he would qualify if be qualified by NCAA standards. How is that misleading the kid? I'm curious to see how you have arrived at this.

We told him he might qualify when the other schools said he wouldn't to get him to commit to us so all the star gazers following recruiting rankings could go ga-ga about a 4* recruit and top 20 class between February and July when reAlity finally hit

 

[timnsun]

To be clear it is not Nebraska's fault that the kid didn't qualify - it is Nebraska's fault that they decided to take a commitment at a position of need in a small class from a kid who was never going to qualify

Get off your high horse... Nebraska took a flyer on a top 50 player nationally... sometimes you roll the dice and they come up snake eyes. And this happened right after word was out that Calvin wasn't gonna commit. He was a last resort plan, and it didn't work. Nice try, next time just tell the kid no and go after a middle of the road 3 star?

They chose to roll the dice. If he makes the score he needed, he would be in Nebraska now. He didn't. Somehow, Nebraska is the villain for "misleading" him.

Got it.

 

[TruHusker]

I have seen this with kids many times. He doesn't have a solid grasp of what the system requires and all along people were telling him and he was believing that things would be all right. Well, he didn't get good advice and he didn't work hard enough so now he has to blame someone. Looking at the big picture now I wish we would have steered clear of this situation as there was not going to be a good ending. The college can only do so much, there is no misleading, it is what it is thanks to his efforts. We prob have not heard the last if him or about him.

 

[timnsun]

We told him he might qualify when the other schools said he wouldn't to get him to commit to us so all the star gazers following recruiting rankings could go ga-ga about a 4* recruit and top 20 class between February and July when reAlity finally hit

Lol, even after I called it, that you would say this was calculated for recruiting ranking purposes, you admit it!

Too much!

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

You take risks on talented players.

Florida can back off this guy because they were in on other guys equal to this guy. We weren't even in on this guy until late January. That tells me that there wasn't a better option that we knew we could get.

 

[jlb321]

Get off your high horse... Nebraska took a flyer on a top 50 player nationally... sometimes you roll the dice and they come up snake eyes. And this happened right after word was out that Calvin wasn't gonna commit. He was a last resort plan, and it didn't work. Nice try, next time just tell the kid no and go after a middle of the road 3 star?

They chose to roll the dice. If he makes the score he needed, he would be in Nebraska now. He didn't. Somehow, Nebraska is the villain for "misleading" him.

Got it.

No one else was willing to roll the dice ..
He was told by multiple schools that once he qualified they would see if they had a schollie to offer. We were the ONLY school willing to take a commit from him

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

As always making decisions with 20/20 hindsight is always easier. Of course, with what you know now, it would have been wise to pass on him and Watts.

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

No one else was willing to roll the dice ..
He was told by multiple schools that once he qualified they would see if they had a schollie to offer. We were the ONLY school willing to take a commit from him

He was committed in late January to Florida. It isn't like he was an uncommitted guy that all schools not named Nebraska were steering clear of.

If Florida backed off, I would summize that their risk tolerance is just different than Nebraska's. They have a lot of top rated DBs on the roster, we have some.

 

[jedihusker]

To be clear it is not Nebraska's fault that the kid didn't qualify - it is Nebraska's fault that they decided to take a commitment at a position of need in a small class from a kid who was never going to qualify

Except how do we know he was "never going to qualify"? He was obviously at risk, but I highly doubt the coaches would have pursued it if they thought there was no chance of him qualifying.

This is reading between the lines a little, obviously, since I have no inside info on what the exact situation was; but based on his comment about how he could have been a partial qualifier and he decided against it. Regardless of whether or not that is true, or him just talking it up, the fact that he would even say he decided against it, makes me think that he simply didn't want to put in the work required to become a full qualifier and be able to play. It makes me think the coaches looked at his ability, and his qualifying situation, and thought if he put in to some work in the classroom, he would be able to qualify, so they decided it was worth the risk. If they are guilty of something, maybe it's overestimating his desire to put in the extra work required for qualifying.

The fact that in that little article he shared, he essentially tries to place all the blame for his situation on everyone else, and takes none on himself for not making the qualifying grade, makes me think he thought he was going to be able to coast and not do any extra work, and was upset when that didn't happen. Him being upset because he was mislead and thinking he could have qualified elsewhere, when this an NCAA thing and not a Nebraska thing, is just the icing on the cake for me. That's proof to me he didn't want to do the work and decided he would blame everyone else for his problems.

Clearly, in hindsight, the coaches should have passed on him, but again, I highly doubt they would have pursued it if they thought there was no chance of him qualifying, just to be able to get a highly ranked player in the class. By the same token, however, if the coaches had decided to pass on him, and he committed elsewhere, and did do the work and make the grade and get on campus; I have a feeling a lot of the same people being critical of the coaches for ever taking him, would turn around and have been critical of them for not taking him. I'm sure we would have heard stuff like "Even if he is a risk to qualify, if you think there is a small chance he would, you have to take someone that talented".

 

[inWV]

Let's say you are recruiting a smallish class and your next class is even smaller. In this scenario, taking a risk on a really talented guy may make sense, as that slot can then be used to add the the even smaller class if the kid doesn't make it.

 

[Metalfan]

Kids are making high school a lot harder than it is

 

[inWV]

And given how things have played out recently with Blades, maybe it's better he won't be joining the team. Maturity <<<<<<< Talent with him.

 

[TheBeav815]

Yeah, sour grapes dude. Sorry the right people didn't make it clear enough to you that being great at football only matters if you can manage to do just ok in the classroom. Had his chances and couldn't get it done. He might clear JUCO and become the next great thing. Odds are he doesn't and as I've mentioned previously, when these dudes don't qualify, they're gone. I can't think of anyone who committed, didn't qualify, got placed, and then came back to play for NU.

 

[TruHusker]

We told him he might qualify when the other schools said he wouldn't to get him to commit to us so all the star gazers following recruiting rankings could go ga-ga about a 4* recruit and top 20 class between February and July when reAlity finally hit

Can you provide some proof of this or is this just another wild opinion? When you say schools say this and promise that, I question it. Evidence?

 

[DukeOfSorrow]

Best of luck to Blades. It's an unfortunate situation, and he is missing an opportunity to get a lot of playing time because he didn't stay on the books. I feel sorry for him, hopefully he gets things straightened out while in Arizona.

We took a shot and missed. It was a calculated risk. 1 DB graduated (Gerry), meaning they could take some chances. The cycle didn't go as planned, and that's probably part of the reason D. Williams was brought in. There was no mid-range talent left at that point that they felt they could work with, so they took the shot at a guy whom, if he qualified, would likely be an impact player down the road. You guys are making a bigger deal of this than it really is.

 

[Archie Graham]

What a clown.

 

[nebcountry]

Darn it. I had heard he was coming. I don't know the details. He could've come here as a partial qualifier, but he is choosing JUCO and immediate playing opportunity. And now, supposed adults that call themselves fans are acting pretty darn small.

 

[timnsun]

To be clear it is not Nebraska's fault that the kid didn't qualify - it is Nebraska's fault that they decided to take a commitment at a position of need in a small class from a kid who was never going to qualify

If only we would have offered a Nebraska kid... may have been just a 2 star or a low 3 star kid, but his heart would have more than made up for it!

 

[jlb321]

Can you provide some proof of this or is this just another wild opinion? When you say schools say this and promise that, I question it. Evidence?

sure I will ask both the academic counselor and the person in the athletic department if they would kindly pen a letter and get it notarized. Should I have them send it to me and then post or should I tell them to post it directly?

Florida was led to believe he was making progress toward qualifying - when it became clear there was no way he was going to qualify they essentially pulled his offer - saying they couldn't take his commitment until he was qualified and that they wouldn't hold a scholarship for him. He then decommits from Florida and names his top schools. He gets the same response from the other schools so much so that they wouldn't even bring him in for a visit until he was qualified.

Following decommiting from Florida he did not have another commitable offer on the table from a power 5 school other than Nebraska. Think about that ... there are schools that specialize in oversigning and an entire conference (SEC) and no one was willing take a commitment from a top 50 player - that is how remote the chances of him qualifying (partial or otherwise) were. And with regards to the partial qualifier claim ... forgive me as I don't know all the fine details of this path ..... don't you think there would be schools lined up to take him as a partial qualifier if his claim that he has partially qualified but just doesn't want to go to Neb? - again maybe you can only enroll as a partial at the school you signed a LOI - if that is the case then that scenario is not valid.


Look... I will assume positive intent from the staff here that they didn't follow the chapter titled "Bubba Starling" in the recruiting handbook and accepted the kids commitment hoping it would ultimately prove to be of some benefit to the kid down the line in life knowing full well there was no way he was going to get on campus. Perhaps they whiffed on every other DB target and rather than take a serious reach they decided to try to help a kid get on the right path by lifting his self esteem - kudos to the staff if that is the case. It is too bad the kid didn't seem appreciative after every other school cut him lose. There is just no way the staff could have thought there was even a remote chance he was going to qualify.

I understand that occasionally you have to take an academic risk but when taking a risk there has to be some chance of a reward. There wasn't here. If there was a chance there would have been some other schools also willing to take that risk on such a talented kid.

People can say we rolled the dice .... and I guess that is accurate .. and had we rolled double 7s we may have had one heck of a DB

 

[inWV]

Two time WV player of the year (2014-15) was so weak on the academics that he was never recruited seriously by D1 teams. Ended up at a JC in PA.

 

[spinner4]

As always making decisions with 20/20 hindsight is always easier. Of course, with what you know now, it would have been wise to pass on him and Watts.

And that's why they get paid the big bucks. The staff went for a home run and ended up striking out. A bad decision none the less. But it was one that the staff could live with none the less. Can't keep doing that, however.

 

[inWV]

 

[timnsun]

sure I will ask both the academic counselor and the person in the athletic department if they would kindly pen a letter and get it notarized. Should I have them send it to me and then post or should I tell them to post it directly?

Florida was led to believe he was making progress toward qualifying - when it became clear there was no way he was going to qualify they essentially pulled his offer - saying they couldn't take his commitment until he was qualified and that they wouldn't hold a scholarship for him. He then decommits from Florida and names his top schools. He gets the same response from the other schools so much so that they wouldn't even bring him in for a visit until he was qualified.

Following decommiting from Florida he did not have another commitable offer on the table from a power 5 school other than Nebraska. Think about that ... there are schools that specialize in oversigning and an entire conference (SEC) and no one was willing take a commitment from a top 50 player - that is how remote the chances of him qualifying (partial or otherwise) were. And with regards to the partial qualifier claim ... forgive me as I don't know all the fine details of this path ..... don't you think there would be schools lined up to take him as a partial qualifier if his claim that he has partially qualified but just doesn't want to go to Neb? - again maybe you can only enroll as a partial at the school you signed a LOI - if that is the case then that scenario is not valid.


Look... I will assume positive intent from the staff here that they didn't follow the chapter titled "Bubba Starling" in the recruiting handbook and accepted the kids commitment hoping it would ultimately prove to be of some benefit to the kid down the line in life knowing full well there was no way he was going to get on campus. Perhaps they whiffed on every other DB target and rather than take a serious reach they decided to try to help a kid get on the right path by lifting his self esteem - kudos to the staff if that is the case. It is too bad the kid didn't seem appreciative after every other school cut him lose. There is just no way the staff could have thought there was even a remote chance he was going to qualify.

I understand that occasionally you have to take an academic risk but when taking a risk there has to be some chance of a reward. There wasn't here. If there was a chance there would have been some other schools also willing to take that risk on such a talented kid.

People can say we rolled the dice .... and I guess that is accurate .. and had we rolled double 7s we may have had one heck of a DB

I still don't follow how you know all of this... are you an admissions counselor at Florida? Is that how you know he led Florida to believe he was making progress? And when he wasn't, they pulled the offer? How do you know all of this?

Maybe you read it somewhere, and if so, great. Then you have proof. Otherwise, it is just conjecture. I am assuming you read this somewhere though...

 

[Tuco Salamanca]

And that's why they get paid the big bucks. The staff went for a home run and ended up striking out. A bad decision none the less. But it was one that the staff could live with none the less. Can't keep doing that, however.

I don't buy that line of thinking. There will always be risks.

There is a chance the local kid from York won't ever contribute at Nebraska. He is a 3 star with limited football experience and doesn't get challenged by elite players on a weekly basis in high school. Nebraska is taking a risk that he will develop into a productive member of the team.

So in 3 years it's easy to say it was a mistake if he doesn't work out. That doesn't make it a bad decision to sign him.

 

[jflores]

by suggesting there was ever more than a snow ball's chance in hell that he would qualify and get on campus - something I strongly maintain other programs we more straightforward about - and thus the decommit from Florida and absence of visits to his other top schools

To tie in all your other posts. The kid was not misled. He knows what he's doing. This was not a kid that the staff knew had no chance of playing at NU (and to the contrary Blades said they wanted him to take the partial). He wants to play now, he knows he could have played a year from now here but *opted not to take the partial qualifier*.

He also said that he was doubting the fit with NU, but DW and fan support a plus.

 

[jlb321]

I still don't follow how you know all of this... are you an admissions counselor at Florida? Is that how you know he led Florida to believe he was making progress? And when he wasn't, they pulled the offer? How do you know all of this?

Maybe you read it somewhere, and if so, great. Then you have proof. Otherwise, it is just conjecture. I am assuming you read this somewhere though...

Look I fully understand why you aren't going to take some random internet dude's word as to what transpired - that's ok and like I said expected. I can't provide any more proof. Like I said above I will assume some positive intent from the staff through all of this.

I also support this staff and Riley. Just not in this particular instance.

Looking forward to a great season.

Best