Quarterback Situation

[usedcarguy]

GMac was actually a great hire. His downfall was that the waters were poisoned by some of the players he inherited and he was never able to recover. Morgan ran a loose ship and some of the players weren't taking well to GMac's discipline. They didn't respect him and his tenure was doomed because he could never get rid of the cancer. But fortunately, it all worked out.

Pollard has been the ultimate homerun hire. He ruffled a lot of feathers by raising parking from $5 to $20, and requiring athletic department employees to be both productive and profitable, but both were things which needed to be done. He's had a vision, and has been able to stretch a dollar farther than any other AD I know. We are incredibly lucky to have him.

As for the football situation, I expect big things. This by far is the best overall staff we've EVER had. The last time we had one close to this good we won 9 games. We are really in a good situation. Some may want to jump on Rhoads, but the way I see it, he had a problem, and he took corrective action to fix it. And they were moves which needed to be made, and not a matter of making scapegoats. That's all for which we can ask.

And the QB race? Think about it. If Lanning is truly in the mix, that means we have three guys who are capable. THREE. And with one of the most solid offensive minds in the country running things, we should at least be able to hold our own. We've got some depth now, although we've got some holes on defense. We certainly are suffering from the brutal schedule which comes with 9 conference games, but regardless our situation is on the upswing. It's a matter of two steps forward, one step back. Now it's time to move forward again.

 

[CYKOFAN]

CYKOFAN, all that matters is this:

2013: 55,361
2012: 55,274
2011: 53,647
2010: 45,395
2009: 46,242
2008: 47,429
2007: 49,462
2006: 46,171
2005: 46,705 (JP's first year)


New videoboard, new SEZ, JP was a leader in the Big 12 during realignment, new facilities in a lot of sports I don't really care about, but it's good anyway I guess.

He's a top level AD.

One of the biggest things a lot of people don't think about is how he has changed ISU's presence in social media and dealing with the media. It's the biggest difference between ISU and Iowa and how they handle things IMO.

Things like that movie night at JTS are great and will pay off in the future and our fanbase will keep expanding rapidly.

Some good points and I won't disagree things were getting a little stale under Mac, and his tenure had run it's course. Part of an increase in attendance usually comes with a new coach, and we've had two of them in the last 9 years to spike attendance. And JP has done a good job in upgrading our facilities, something that was overdue and has to be done in order for us to compete. That is an a.d.'s job, and we've been fortunate that tv money has exploded the last decade and the Big 12 has taken full advantage of that. I would expect attendance to increase due to those factors, and JP has also done some good innovative things to help attendance. I just don't agree with those that throw around words like "phenomenol a.d.", has "balls of steel" and some of the other lofty descritpions. Then if you disagree with anything JP's done you're accused of being nuts, having a head injury, etc, so imo they're basically JP cool aid drinkers. I've said in posts over the years when I thought JP did something I thought was good for ISU, like can McCarney and the good football facility upgrades. I also strongly supported him on here when he hired Fred and I was screaming on here to hire Fred even before he was hired. But I'm also going to voice my opinion when he does stuff that hurt ISU imo, like fire Morgan and the way it was done, pour money into big raises for losing coaches like Chiz and GMac and programs like cross country and track instead of Cael and wrestling, and help Leath tie Fred's hands by making it clear they didn't want him to play a scholarship player. I'm sure Fred appreciated having a very capable player he could have used to help win games except he couldn't play him without defying his bosses. Imo JP didn't exactly show balls of steel there siding with Leath and handicapping Fred. Actually they handicapped Fred when they didn't give BuBu a decision in time for him to transfer, then kicked him off the team anyway before the judge re-instated him. There are legitimate things to debate in the way some things have been handled by JP, just expect to be called names like crazy, nuts, etc by JP's warriors if you do.

 

[CYKOFAN]

Here I've been ignoring this thread and come to find out it's an AD thread. Who knew?

I don't expect you to understand, but only BVD himself would think that his tenure was more successful than Pollard's.

Some of that was out of BVD's control, but that's the way these things go.

I know that the popular opinion these days on message boards is that Rhoads is not a good coach and I won't get into all of that. But the fact remains that Rhoads has energized the fan base unlike McCareny ever did. And that has lead to YEARS of home football crowds over 50,000 per game and finishing of the south end zone. And I maintain that Rhoads is a good coach

The one thing that Jamie has done is acted like Iowa State shouldn't have to take a back seat to anyone. He's realistic about Iowa State, but he's made us believe. Bruce never did.

I wouldn't even say BVD's tenure was more successful than JP's all things considered, but for an unbiased observer just looking at the football and basketball records and accomplishments while the two have been here, there were clearly better records and more on the field accomplishments under BVD, even though JP has had an extra year. You can give blame or credit to whoever you want, I'm just looking at the records which is what one of the posters asked me to do. And I'm fully behind CPR, I think last year went bad because of injuries to Sam and the o-line, and you can ready that in one of my posts in this thread. And I for one have never felt ISU needed to take a back seat to anyone, no matter who the a.d has been. If you saw BVD ream out the Big 12 refs in Iowa City during halftime of the Seneca comeback game against the hawks Orange Bowl team, you wouldn't say he did either. Anybody that saw that happen could see that those refs were actually scared of him. BVD earned a lot of respect from me that day and I imagine any other ISU fans that saw him fighting for the team.

 

[CarolinaCy]

Maybe you know more than the local media, but it was reported around DM-Ames that Kelly was waiting for the call from JP that never came. Just where did you read that Kelly turned down the ISU job because all the local media was reporting that Kelly would be offered the job and was going to be the next ISU coach right up to the day JP announced Chiz would be our next coach. But some figured JP liked to fool the media and just led them to believe that he wanted Kelly while he really wanted Chizik. I've never heard Kelly was offered the job first, and where did you read that? And I was in Iowa City when BVD reamed out the Big 12 refs at halftime as they came down to the southeast tunnel, and we got a differently refereed 2nd half and came back from a 24-10 deficit to win with Seneca putting on a show. We were holding out our hands showing 5 in a row to the hawk fans as we left the stadium, and I thought all 5 were under BVD, what was it, 4? I was responding to the guy who said compare BVD's 6 years to JP's, and I was pointing out that the 6 years under BVD were actually better in football than the JP era has been, and that's the truth. BVD didn't get the chance to hire anybody in football, we went to 5 bowl games during his 6 years. We were also having a lot of success in basketball and his only chance to hire a basketball coach was Morgan after the LE scandal. Blame the handling of that on BVD if you want, but opinions were all over the place on what should be done, and most of it was to get rid of LE. BVD's only chance to hire a football or basketball coach was Morgan, and I'll compare BVD's first basketball hire to JP's first hire all day long if you want to. And I promise I won't call you nuts, accuse you of having a head injury, or any of the other things I've been called by JP's internet warriors.

Our 5 wins in a row over Iowa were 98-02. Bruce was AD from 00-05. That would make 3 wins in a row under BVD (00-02), though I'm not sure why that's even relevant. How can you attribute wins in football (or basketball) to an AD that didn't hire those coaches? It's a dumb argument.

BVD cut the baseball team, even though, according to a former player who posts here, the funds to save the program were pledged by alums, and this information was made known to Bruce.

On the LE debacle, BVD knew about the photos and the situation long before they hit the DMR. He was scared to death of LE, and LE had zero respect for Bruce, and no doubt BVD saw this as his way to dump LE. The fact that LE wasn't winning didn't hurt BVD's case. So instead of being proactive and doing something like suspending LE for a season while he got treatment, he sat back and let the media crucify him. Then he could throw up his hands and say "what choice did I have?"

Regarding the Brian Kelly situation, I'm pretty sure I read about that here, from a few people close to the situation. I guess you can choose to not believe it, I mean, when has the local media ever been wrong?

If you want to actually use some facts to support BVDs tenure, then point to the fact that he raised ISU's budget from $19mil to $29mil. He was also responsible for the indoor practice facility for football. Very good things.

I don't know the numbers for JP's tenure, but I'm guessing he's increased our budget by at least the same % that BVD did. He also has pushed through numerous improvements to JTS and Hilton, got the BB practice facility and the all-sports complex.

 

[Cycsk]

Now I know what BVD's new CF username is. Was cy1225 (confirmed) and now he's created a new profile.

Welcome back!

I was thinking the same thing. Or BVD's lover.

He also has the tone of twotroll, but with actual knowledge about ISU.

 

[CYKOFAN]

Our 5 wins in a row over Iowa were 98-02. Bruce was AD from 00-05. That would make 3 wins in a row under BVD (00-02), though I'm not sure why that's even relevant. How can you attribute wins in football (or basketball) to an AD that didn't hire those coaches? It's a dumb argument.

BVD cut the baseball team, even though, according to a former player who posts here, the funds to save the program were pledged by alums, and this information was made known to Bruce.

On the LE debacle, BVD knew about the photos and the situation long before they hit the DMR. He was scared to death of LE, and LE had zero respect for Bruce, and no doubt BVD saw this as his way to dump LE. The fact that LE wasn't winning didn't hurt BVD's case. So instead of being proactive and doing something like suspending LE for a season while he got treatment, he sat back and let the media crucify him. Then he could throw up his hands and say "what choice did I have?"

Regarding the Brian Kelly situation, I'm pretty sure I read about that here, from a few people close to the situation. I guess you can choose to not believe it, I mean, when has the local media ever been wrong?

If you want to actually use some facts to support BVDs tenure, then point to the fact that he raised ISU's budget from $19mil to $29mil. He was also responsible for the indoor practice facility for football. Very good things.

I don't know the numbers for JP's tenure, but I'm guessing he's increased our budget by at least the same % that BVD did. He also has pushed through numerous improvements to JTS and Hilton, got the BB practice facility and the all-sports complex.

Thanks for the info and I agree the a.d shouldn't get much credit for the accomplishments or failures of the coaches he didn't hire, but again I had been asked to compare the 6 years under BVD to those under JP as if the JP years were much better, and in football and basketball they weren't. I even agree that BVD didn't handle the LE situation well as I too would like to have seen him given a year's leave to get his act together. But in retrospect I'm pretty sure LE has said the best thing for his sobriety was to get out of Ames. I'm starting to think that the only people that really know what happened in the Kelly situation are JP and Kelly. As you pointed out, BVD also did some good things and I've pointed out that JP has also done some good things. But imo he's also made some fairly large blunders, and I just don't view him as the superhero a.d some on here seem to think he is. That's their opinion, and that's fine, it's just kind of amusing how hostile some react to anything that isn't JP praise all of the time.

 

[CYKOFAN]

Now I know what BVD's new CF username is. Was cy1225 (confirmed) and now he's created a new profile.

Welcome back!

Is that you JP? See two can play that game, but what does that add to anything?

 

[khardbored]

No matter how you want to look at it, this year and next year will decide Rhoads' fate. At this point Pollard doesn't need him anymore if he can't perform. I think we will be fine, but the seat will start to heat up if this year is a flop.

[video=youtube;iOP3L_XaPd0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOP3L_XaPd0[/video]

 

[CYKOFAN]

I was thinking the same thing. Or BVD's lover.

He also has the tone of twotroll, but with actual knowledge about ISU.

Maybe I should accuse you of being JP's lover, but I won't. And actually I should know a lot about ISU since myself, my wife and two sons all went there, and I've been going to almost all of the home games and many road games for over 40 years. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[GMan]

Maybe I should accuse you of being JP's lover, but I won't. And actually I should know a lot about ISU since myself, my wife and two sons all went there, and I've been going to almost all of the home games and many road games for over 40 years. Thanks for the compliment.

You say bad things about ISU. You are a traitor. This will not stand.

 

[Me State]

Is that you JP? See two can play that game, but what does that add to anything?

 

[CYKOFAN]

You say bad things about ISU. You are a traitor. This will not stand.

I assume you're being sarchastic but if not I'll end my part of this by just saying that BVD was not the boob some want to make him out to be. He made some mistakes but some good things happened too, such as 5 bowl games during his 6 years and our highest football ranking ever at #9. We also went to some NCAA basketball tournaments and had only one losing basketball season, so pardon me if I have some good memories of the BVD years. But if admiring some things about BVD (like the way he fought for the team in Iowa City) and not thinking JP is the superhero a.d some do makes me a traitor to some, they have a right to their opinion, but it certainly doesn't make them any more clone to the bone than I am and have been for the last 44 years since I enrolled at ISU.

 

[Stormin]

I assume you're being sarchastic but if not I'll end my part of this by just saying that BVD was not the boob some want to make him out to be. He made some mistakes but some good things happened too, such as 5 bowl games during his 6 years and our highest football ranking ever at #9. We also went to some NCAA basketball tournaments and had only one losing basketball season, so pardon me if I have some good memories of the BVD years. But if admiring some things about BVD (like the way he fought for the team in Iowa City) and not thinking JP is the superhero a.d some do makes me a traitor to some, they have a right to their opinion, but it certainly doesn't make them any more clone to the bone than I am and have been for the last 44 years since I enrolled at ISU.

BVD sure was a boob when it came to Louisiana Tech and their Bowl game. Make that their NON-Bowl game.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...-game-sonny-*****-bruce-van-de-velde/1741769/

 

[ISUFan22]

I assume you're being sarchastic but if not I'll end my part of this by just saying that BVD was not the boob some want to make him out to be.

But....he was. Completely mishandled the LE situation. I don't fault him for the end result but the journey there was a cluster. Then, gives Morgan the job because no one else wants it. He's a smug ****.

Biggest issue with him - was always a status quo guy and complete bean counter. No real big picture into the future - didn't attempt to grow the fanbase or facilities.

You deepthroat him for the bowl games - he didn't hire those people - so stop.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

BVD was AD while I was in school. The whole parking lot situation definitely did not give me a good start with him, and it always seemed like anything he could do to kill the game day experience was priority. Though the specifics of most of the situations may be petty in retrospect, as a college student they were not.

 

[CYKOFAN]

But....he was. Completely mishandled the LE situation. I don't fault him for the end result but the journey there was a cluster. Then, gives Morgan the job because no one else wants it. He's a smug ****.

Biggest issue with him - was always a status quo guy and complete bean counter. No real big picture into the future - didn't attempt to grow the fanbase or facilities.

You deepthroat him for the bowl games - he didn't hire those people - so stop.

LE would be the best person to say whether BVD did the right thing or not. I'd say the indoor practice building and Johnnny Majors complex was one of the biggest facility upgrades in the last 40 years. And sometimes not making a move is the right move that brings success like bowl games and NCAA trips. When BVD came he was smart enough not to come in and fire the football and basketball coaches that were here and immediately go out and hire coaches that did much worse. Couldn't resist.

 

[SCarolinaCy]

For anyone who may care, I have heard from multiple people inside of the football program that the quarterback depth chart going into fall looks like:
1. Rohach
2. Lanning
3. Richardson

Rohach is pretty far ahead at this point, and will most likely wrap up the starting job within the first few weeks of fall camp.

I am betting that ALL 3 above QB's will play in the opening game-maybe in the first half. Manj is not going to allow the starting QB to lose the game for him, without seeing what the others can do.

 

[CycloneErik]

I am betting that ALL 3 above QB's will play in the opening game-maybe in the first half. Manj is not going to allow the starting QB to lose the game for him, without seeing what the others can do.

You mean that he'll choose to lose it on his own?
That's a recipe for a disastrous continuity, and probably going to shred the confidence of at least one guy.

 

[VeloClone]

BVDV was definitely a boob from a PR standpoint. He was terrible with donors and fans, showing them no personality whatsoever. As an AD you don't always have to be the life of the party but you need to be able and willing to talk coherently about a vision at donor events and be able to carry on a one on one conversation with fans and season ticket holders when approached. Money doesn't just fall out of donor's pockets. Sometimes you have to coax it out. Showing the fans you care about them and their donations and purchases and articulating a vision for their hard earned dollars goes a long way.

All the evidence I have seen says that he failed on each of these.

 

[CYKOFAN]

BVDV was definitely a boob from a PR standpoint. He was terrible with donors and fans, showing them no personality whatsoever. As an AD you don't always have to be the life of the party but you need to be able and willing to talk coherently about a vision at donor events and be able to carry on a one on one conversation with fans and season ticket holders when approached. Money doesn't just fall out of donor's pockets. Sometimes you have to coax it out. Showing the fans you care about them and their donations and purchases and articulating a vision for their hard earned dollars goes a long way.

All the evidence I have seen says that he failed on each of these.

I appreciate your response without calling me crazy, brain damaged, etc. BVD wasn't real polished and I would agree p.r wasn't his strong suit, but I wouldn't go so far as to call him bad in that area at all. I talked to him and was around him quite a few times, and he was a very friendly and down to earth guy to me. And like I said, anybody that saw him tear into the Big 12 officials in Iowa City that may well have helped inspire the team to one of our biggest comeback wins ever would never doubt his love for ISU. He's an ISU alum and his extensive football background probably didn't hurt either as it was a former ISU player's big donation that made the Johnny Majors indoor/outdoor football complex possible, which was a monster facility upgrade at the time and still is. That major upgrade alone was a huge step forward for our football program, and he really wasn't here long enough to do much more. Football attendance also increased substantially while he was here. I'm not on here claiming that BVD was a great a.d., but he also won some kind of award for outstanding athletic director in 2005, so he was far from a boob imo.