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John Raridon retiring from football

So, help me understand why you would say this if you really don't know? How do you how much work he put into it and how do you determine if it was enough?
Because I've watched him play in spring games and I thought that he had very good feet and quickness. He's obviously smart enough. The only explanation I can offer for him getting beat out by a walk on who I don't think is as naturally talented is how hard they worked. That's all. Not everybody has enough fire in the belly to do what it takes to win a P5 O line job. It's a grind.
 
I'm not sure he ever had the body type for success in college football. He was sort of undersized coming out of HS and in college he added weight (a lot it appears) but I don't know if his body really supported it very well. He might be one of those guys who stops playing college football and drops down to 200 lbs. As long as he doesn't go full "Refrigerator" Perry in retirement.
 
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I'm not sure he ever had the body type for success in college football. He was sort of undersized coming out of HS and in college he added weight (a lot it appears) but I don't know if his body really supported it very well. He might be one of those guys who stops playing college football and drops down to 200 lbs. As long as he doesn't go full "Refrigerator" Perry in retirement.
I pictured him as a center but you're right, he's not as tall as the O linemen Frost is recruiting now. Frost want's them massive. I had high hopes for him.
 
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Only the fans glamorize college athletics. It is a full time grind, then full load of classes. Those that cash an NFL check hit the Powerball, those that get a degree and come out fairly healthy are like scratch off winners, most others just get burned out .

This is very true.

I have had a few former players play D1 football, most of the Huskers...they ****ing love/hate it. One is on the team right now and basically can't wait to be done and if it was not for the fact that his dad won't let him quit and that him staying on the team will = a sweet gig with his degree, he would quit.
 
You have to love the game and the process, or have a great shot at the league, or want to coach. Or it is just like any job that any of us have hated. Your heart isn't in it and you just want it over.

Now maybe more success will change some of it, but the last 4 years have been a hell of a lot of work and pain for a whole lot of nothing.
 
People are so quick to judge these kids man. They’re figuring out their life. I’m best friends with one of Andrew Rodgroguez’s former O-Line teammates from High School, met him and talked to him. Andrew was highly touted but he is way more dedicated to his faith than he ever was to football.

Bottom line, If you don’t know these kids then you really don’t know shit about the situation. Really tired of the ignorant people on here determining that certain kids are worthless if they don’t want to play football. The overbearing dads on this forum need to let these kids live.
 
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that time in your life when you realize.. "I've been doing this because my Dad got me started in it X number of years ago.. do I even like this?"
 
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My oldest daughter had a class or 2 with Jefferson. Said he was very smart and a good student. My guess is he figured out early on that he wasn’t going to play but stuck it out and got his degree paid for then moved on. Good for him. I hope he goes and does something important with his life.
 
Very surprised that his career in college turned into one big dud given his 4-star rating coming out of high school.
Raridon is a product of an era where Pelini, Riley, and Frost (his 1st class) brought in a number of 1 or 2 star players who were somehow given a couple extra stars. There's usually a reason why a kid is still available late or has a high rating and shows a lot of offers, but very few teams are actually still recruiting him.
 
I could not wait for my senior year of basketball to be over. Injuries and the grind.

I didn't love basketball and it caught up to me my senior year in college.
 
Raridon is a product of an era where Pelini, Riley, and Frost (his 1st class) brought in a number of 1 or 2 star players who were somehow given a couple extra stars. There's usually a reason why a kid is still available late or has a high rating and shows a lot of offers, but very few teams are actually still recruiting him.

But this wasn’t the case with Raridon. He committed to Nebraska long before he signed the dotted line.
 
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But this wasn’t the case with Raridon. He committed to Nebraska long before he signed the dotted line.
True, he wasn't a late commit so he doesn't fit that profile. But he does fit a different type of overrated profile that he, Peyton Newell and others fall into: 4 star guys who matured early in high school, earned attention based on playing well as 10th/11th graders, but they are short, squatty guys who weren't going to get much better. We've had a few of those guys-- 4 star rated, but they get here and don't look any different than the walk-ons. Jay Guy was another one.
 
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Only the fans glamorize college athletics. It is a full time grind, then full load of classes. Those that cash an NFL check hit the Powerball, those that get a degree and come out fairly healthy are like scratch off winners, most others just get burned out .
I just remember all of the gorgeous women stopping by to see my frat brother who was an O lineman for NU back in the day. Granted he looked like a greek god and might have had them hanging on him without football. Most of us remember high school sports where you worked out some in the summer but the winter was basketball and the spring was track and you didn't have the year long grind in the weight room. Our seasons weren't as long as the college season either. You always got a break to refresh. Not so much for a college lineman IF they really want to compete.
People are so quick to judge these kids man. They’re figuring out their life. I’m best friends with one of Andrew Rodgroguez’s former O-Line teammates from High School, met him and talked to him. Andrew was highly touted but he is way more dedicated to his faith than he ever was to football.

Bottom line, If you don’t know these kids then you really don’t know shit about the situation. Really tired of the ignorant people on here determining that certain kids are worthless if they don’t want to play football. The overbearing dads on this forum need to let these kids live.
I don't think anybody is judging him as a person. It is a fact though that a good percentage of your success in college football if you have the prerequisite natural athletic ability is how bad you want it. Some get derailed by injuries. IF he really wanted to play football, there's other options out there for his last year of eligibility. He's obviously come to the realization that he doesn't want to play badly enough to try to continue to play somewhere else. That's fine.
 
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One of my college roommates was on the team. He was a walk on, practiced as part of the scout team. You can't only count the miniscule amount of time a player is in a game on Saturdays. Raridon IS retiring from football.
 
Good to hear we're getting rid of some of the dead weight. That's 2 wasted scholarships opening up.
 
Dude there is alway going to be someone on scholarship not playing or beaten out by a walk on. Dead weight is harsh.

They were both going into their redshirt senior year in '20 without being in the top 2 at their position. Complete dead weight.
 
Raridon is a product of an era where Pelini, Riley, and Frost (his 1st class) brought in a number of 1 or 2 star players who were somehow given a couple extra stars. There's usually a reason why a kid is still available late or has a high rating and shows a lot of offers, but very few teams are actually still recruiting him.
What a crock. His dad was an all-conference Husker and he was rated a four star. Teams surely knew he wanted to be a Husker and didn’t waste much time recruiting him. Any Husker coach past or present would have offered him. Was his four star rating too high? Who knows. It is just as possible he was rated correctly but simply didn’t develop due to desire on his part and/or poor coaching.
 
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Raridon was on the two deep for the Iowa game. But I thought Bando got the first look off the bench snaps at guard this season. Competition at guard will be more steep this season if Farniok moves inside. Raridon would be behind Boe, Hixson, Farniok, Bando and the transfer from CSU. He helped to clear a scholarship spot, hope he has success in his future.
 
I wonder if Frost pushed him out. Waiting four years to decide you don't really want to play seems like a long time. After year one you should know whether you are into it or not. If it was just a matter of not having the talent and realizing it, that's another thing.
 
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