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Post by nuclearbeaver on Mar 9, 2023 13:06:55 GMT -8
Reading interviews BG is either the greatest liar of all time or has to be in the conversation for greatest team player of all time. Welcoming in QBs that are more physically gifted, organizing throwing sessions so QBs and receivers can get on the same page, enthusiastically answering questions from the new guys, organizing sessions with Jon Boyer for QB's to understand defenses better. Sounds like a guy who is willing to go the extra mile for a team win whether he's running the offense or sweeping up the locker room. Impressive person. I spoke with BG after the civil war game on the field, congratulated both him and the team for all of their hard work - and the "come from behind" victory, of course. Ran into him again in Vegas after the bowl game at the Cosmo Hotel. We talked a bit, and I said I thought JS would be bringing in a couple of big time QB's during the offseason (this was before the DJ announcement) - how do you feel about that? His response? I am not concerned about it at all, if JS brings in additional QB's, I am just going to keep grinding and getting better, I am OK with it. Your are right Nuclear - pretty rare attitude in today's CFB world, especially with the portal. That is what sticks out in my mind, along with the fact that he looks about 12 years old to me - damn it sucks getting old! On a side note, it was great to talk with Ryan Cooper's mom at the Eugene airport, the Monday after Thanksgiving, and get her take on the team, JS and the atmosphere. She had nothing but positive to say. She said that she remembers texting Ryan during the season, and she didn't hear back for a couple of days. She instantly got worried when he didn't answer right away, when he did answer, he said "mom, I am so busy with my tutor, practice, film, classes, etc that I have literally no time" - it made her smile. What she appreciates about Corvallis is it is not near a major metropolitan area, and there are less distractions, less opportunity to get into trouble. So much for "you can't recruit to Corvallis" - at least for the parents!
Great tid bits man! Always cool to hear some inside insight from players and famlies on the team.
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Post by Mike84 on Mar 9, 2023 15:49:27 GMT -8
Based on his ever-composed and almost reserved gameday sideline demeanor, I have often wondered how JS manages to fire up his teams as much as he seems to. However, watching him address the team in one of the videos above, things seem clearer: with the team in "private," he is animated and effective. And having taught at OSU for more than three decades, I can tell you that he knows how to talk to students. Jonathan Smith was a great and insightful hire. We are very lucky to have snagged him. 'Hope we can keep him here for many seasons to come. Grackle, back in 2017 when Barnes was looking to hire a new football coach and again in 2019 when he was looking to hire a new baseball coach, you were very, very dubious that Barnes could or would hire the right candidate(s). In fact, you made it pretty clear that the searches were probably poorly done and that the only real qualification either candidate had, in anybody's mind, was that they were alums...which was a poor qualification indeed.
I certainly had my own doubts about the Smith hire when it was being discussed as a possibility. I didn't see him as having the experience, nor (I thought) the personality. But, it only took until his first press conference for me to be all in on JS.
It seemed to me like you were much harder to convince. That you stuck to your concerns and doubts about both Barnes and the hires for longer. I'm curious: When did you first decide that JS, at least, was a "great and insightful hire" and that we were lucky to have snagged him? I was dubious but turned around quickly. What did it for you?
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Post by grackle on Mar 10, 2023 8:11:24 GMT -8
Based on his ever-composed and almost reserved gameday sideline demeanor, I have often wondered how JS manages to fire up his teams as much as he seems to. However, watching him address the team in one of the videos above, things seem clearer: with the team in "private," he is animated and effective. And having taught at OSU for more than three decades, I can tell you that he knows how to talk to students. Jonathan Smith was a great and insightful hire. We are very lucky to have snagged him. 'Hope we can keep him here for many seasons to come. Grackle, back in 2017 when Barnes was looking to hire a new football coach and again in 2019 when he was looking to hire a new baseball coach, you were very, very dubious that Barnes could or would hire the right candidate(s). In fact, you made it pretty clear that the searches were probably poorly done and that the only real qualification either candidate had, in anybody's mind, was that they were alums...which was a poor qualification indeed.
I certainly had my own doubts about the Smith hire when it was being discussed as a possibility. I didn't see him as having the experience, nor (I thought) the personality. But, it only took until his first press conference for me to be all in on JS.
It seemed to me like you were much harder to convince. That you stuck to your concerns and doubts about both Barnes and the hires for longer. I'm curious: When did you first decide that JS, at least, was a "great and insightful hire" and that we were lucky to have snagged him? I was dubious but turned around quickly. What did it for you?
Mike, as you say, I was initially very pessimistic about the JS hire. He was football-savvy, and an effective O coordinator, but I didn't think he had the personality or demeanor to be head coach at a major program. However, l began to rethink things after his initial press conference when he was hired: his ability to speak publicly, his passion and his self-confidence really surprised me at the time. Nevertheless, I remained skeptical that his always calm, almost "aw shucks" public "face" would make him an effective recruiter or that he might be a consistently a good motivator for 18-21 yr old boys (and they ARE still pretty much boys at that age!). However, by now it's become clear that I was initially wrong about JS on almost every count: He did/does know how to recruit effectively and how to talk to and motivate his players. The mistake I made initially was to assume that what you saw with Jonathan Smith was what you got...that is, there's clearly a lot more to his personality and head-coaching acumen than you might perceive based only on his interactions with fans or the press. Finally, I also give a lot of credit to AD Barnes for recognizing JS potential as a head man....there were a number of other, apparently more flashy and charismatic candidates at the time, but Barnes knew quality when he saw it.
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Post by ochobeavo on Mar 10, 2023 8:38:03 GMT -8
Grackle, back in 2017 when Barnes was looking to hire a new football coach and again in 2019 when he was looking to hire a new baseball coach, you were very, very dubious that Barnes could or would hire the right candidate(s). In fact, you made it pretty clear that the searches were probably poorly done and that the only real qualification either candidate had, in anybody's mind, was that they were alums...which was a poor qualification indeed.
I certainly had my own doubts about the Smith hire when it was being discussed as a possibility. I didn't see him as having the experience, nor (I thought) the personality. But, it only took until his first press conference for me to be all in on JS.
It seemed to me like you were much harder to convince. That you stuck to your concerns and doubts about both Barnes and the hires for longer. I'm curious: When did you first decide that JS, at least, was a "great and insightful hire" and that we were lucky to have snagged him? I was dubious but turned around quickly. What did it for you?
Mike, as you say, I was initially very pessimistic about the JS hire. He was football-savvy, and an effective O coordinator, but I didn't think he had the personality or demeanor to be head coach at a major program. However, l began to rethink things after his initial press conference when he was hired: his ability to speak publicly, his passion and his self-confidence really surprised me at the time. Nevertheless, I remained skeptical that his always calm, almost "aw shucks" public "face" would make him an effective recruiter or that he might be a consistently a good motivator for 18-21 yr old boys (and they ARE still pretty much boys at that age!). However, by now it's become clear that I was initially wrong about JS on almost every count: He did/does know how to recruit effectively and how to talk to and motivate his players. The mistake I made initially was to assume that what you saw with Jonathan Smith was what you got...that is, there's clearly a lot more to his personality and head-coaching acumen than you might perceive based only on his interactions with fans or the press. Finally, I also give a lot of credit to AD Barnes for recognizing JS potential as a head man....there were a number of other, apparently more flashy and charismatic candidates at the time, but Barnes knew quality when he saw it. Well said. And hey, it's rare that someone ever admits they were wrong. Especially on the internet. If it makes you feel better, I remember thinking that the freshman year version of Steven Kwan was a wasted scholarship. I'm an idiot.
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Post by orangeattack on Mar 10, 2023 17:57:24 GMT -8
Heck I WAS a fan of the move to hire Smith, and I'm STILL surprised by the level of recruiting.
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