Damon Benning on Alex Lewis
- Thread starter St. Anger
- Start date
Today, it'll be "handled"on social media and videos of Reilly the frog riding his bike singing "somewhere over the rainbow" being played in the player's lounge.
When my brother was a walk on at nebraska he said things like this would be taken care of at practice. Basically the problem player had to watch players coming at him every play. Nothing cheap. That is the value of walk on players from Nebraska, they at times handled people like said player.
A mediocre team with weak leadership is going to lose games. Please turn this around in a hurry, Riley. We know it's no easy task.
We need the unity council back...period. This stuff would be dealt with before it got out of hand.
He already turned things around in a hurry. Nebraska went from a team that could get 9 wins a year to a team that doesn't look like it will make a bowl game. That is a pretty quick turnaround.
Shouldn't be a problem then, considering 30% of the squad are walk ons......
Been awhile since I heard that name. It was around during TO era. Not sure how long it lasted after that.
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Very true, however, RSFr Nick Gates is giving me some hope. Can his attitude be contagious? Devine? Morgan, Jr? Can Lee and Anderson take over for the Browns?
The kicker in the 90s could've beat the piss out of a putz like Alex Lewis - just like every player he has faced has done so far this year.
I would agree that in the past this would have been taken care of internally and at practice or in the locker room. However, he was voted a captain for a reason. Someone apparently looked up to him but for the life of me I can't figure out why. How do you pick on a captain? Unfortunately this needs to be handled on the staff but I don't see anything getting done. I know one thing-- I will not cheer his name when lineups are announced, or during senior day. Respect is earned. He hasn't earned it.
Sounds like gangland mentality. Serious question: how many players from that era were suspected or charged with murder? I can think of 3 off the top of my head, 5 players when you go from 94-01ish.
Having gone to Omaha North and been coached in part by Clinton Childs and Abdul Muhammed I remember vividly the stories I over heard them telling on bus trips and during meals that involved major thuggery. As a 34 year old adult now, I would rather have a clean, well behaved program and suffer disappointing losses than have a return to rampant violence that peppered our championship years. (p.s. Abdul made Lawrence Phillips sound like the Terminator)
As far as Alex Lewis is concerned its plain that no matter what his issue is its a detriment to him holding a leadership role and being a model for other players to rally behind. I look for courage, determination, and humility in my leaders. Someone who is more selfless than selfish, has a positive outlook, a workman like approach to problems, and has an enthusiasm about bring people together. If adversity causes you to act out childishly time and again, you just don't have the substance it takes to be an effective leader of men. Plain and simple.
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For a team to pick a captain like him should be a glaring obvious issue with this team as a whole. Until that mind set is gone this team will never be good. NO I in team, this team as way to many I's
I understand what your saying but it will take players like Clinton and Abdul to get where we want to go.
That doesnt mean you allow them to continue the violence but they have to have a killer instinct about them.
You can't do that with Riley. He will call you out by name in the press and espouse niceness.
Nick Gates has a prime opportunity to become a legend, his redshirt freshmen year.
I'd take a return to the 90's in a New York minute. As Al Davis used to say: Just Win Baby!!!
Problem is he isn't the only player/captain that still has a I miss Bo poster hanging in his locker.
Your kidding I hope. Damon knows exactly what it takes to be a great football team. Hes lived it.
Nick Povendo being the last one I know of. Was in the class of 2000 recruiting class, played in 01, graduated in 04. Technically he is in that time frame.
Damon Benning may have been on a great team but it is hilarious to listen to him critique the current coaching staff that has former NFL coaches on it. He was a gifted high school player, so so college player, terrible high school coach. He is on local yokel radio for a reason and it's not because of his coaching acumen. I cringe every time he starts talking about a scheme of some sort.
He was not a "so so" college football player...lighten up a little bit. He is every bit as good as the running backs that have carried the ball this year.
DB has earned his stripes IMO, he also cares about the program, often times the truth hurts . ask the ex players when billy c was around, give MR time and I think he fixes the situation. As far as Alex lewis is concerned kick his ass off he is a cancer!!
I think this is a good opportunity for Riley to serve Lewis some humble pie. I'd bench him unless he stood up in front of his team and apologized while explaining in detail why he was wrong and then if he ever does it again, boot him.
What I really want is for our other leaders on the team to beat the crap out of him but that may cause more bad than good at this point.
What I really want is for our other leaders on the team to beat the crap out of him but that may cause more bad than good at this point.
I'm not sure if that would work. remember, this isn't his first choice of bad behavior. Granted, this doesn't compare with his incident in Colo. but a pattern of non-accountability is happening here.
Its been 17 years since I was in high school so a lot of the details escape me. I do remember one day before a game, at right around noon so we had 8 hours before kickoff, Abdul brought in some old high school film from his days in Compton. There were probably 6-8 players sitting around watching, listening, mostly upper classmen who didn't have many classes left to graduate. He would point out on the film different players and what college they ended up going to. We knew he was the third best receiver on the field because he made it a point to say so. He then went on to talk about which gang the guys were in and there was nary a player he didn't address. It was just something you had to do in Compton in the late 80's early 90's, he said. Drugs, guns, fighting, players getting shot, it was all part of living. However, football seemed to be secular from all that. They got along on the field.
Slowly, he starts to talk about his days in Lincoln and what I remember most is how serious he got when he talked about Lawrence Phillips. Said a lot of guys got in to fights, but with Lawrence he witnessed " lots and lots of one-hit quitters" and that Lawrence's punching power was awe inspiring. Thats all it took. One hit. It was then when I understood how 6'3" 220lbs Scott Frost stood idley by while Phillips scaled his balcony, entered his home, and dragged a female out by her head down a couple flight of stairs without so much as moving a finger. Other players were genuinely scared of him because they knew what he was capable of. Abdul, who grew up in Compton( with murderers, gangsters,drug dealers, and even still had a bullet in his body) spoke with such a grave respect for Lawrence Phillips that we silently huddled around him as if he was telling a ghost story. Had he screamed unexpectedly we would have all jumped out of our seats.
Thats all I really remember, unfortunately, other than to just say that elements of that culture were pretty prevalent at my school as well. After I graduated I heard that our starting running back and our starting cornerback we shot in a car about a block away from the school. They survived with non-lifethreatening injuries. A third party didn't make it. The running back went to federal prison a few years later for bank robbery. And when I heard that LP and Abdul were in serious trouble for violent crimes I wasn't surprised. It seems no matter how many opportunities you get, or abilities you have, if you can't transcend your culture you'll find yourself gravitating back to it. How does one do it? I just don't know.
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