Or Top 5 or Top 1, whatever works. In your opinion, who are guys that you think got the short end of the stick the most from the past couple of coaching regimes? For me, I see the Top 3 looking like:
1.) Jeremiah Hatch - I thought this guy was a sure thing as a future NFLer. As a RS FR he plays LT and wasn't that bad, then moved to his more natural spot of playing center as a sophomore. He had the size and he had the strength, not to mention the ability. The his junior year rolls around under Gill's first year and was noticeably out of shape. Some of that fall's on Hatch's shoulders, but I blame S&C under KFC for turning a guy with NFL potential into one without it...
2.) Montell Cozart - I still think people get athletes that play QB and QBs that are athletic confused with Cozart. Yeah he can run, but he was primarily a passer in HS who used his athleticism more to keep the play alive than to just take off and run. So what do you do with a 180 lbs freshman QB who has never been a running type QB (for the most part)? Naturally you run a read-option offense with him, that you have never really called plays for before, and stick him in an awful situation that would be hard for anyone to succeed in (the ISU ice bowl game). I still think Cozart has some talent, but unfortunately I am not sure there is enough time to fix what was previously done to him...
3.) Josh Ford - One of those guys that everyone started saying he couldn't catch, which true he did have a couple of drops, but he had almost 60 catches his last year of JUCO - he could catch but suddenly at KU he couldn't. When Kiesau took over and there was an article discussing how he was re-teaching kids how to catch the ball, I couldn't help but think back to Ford. He had talent, we saw his aggressiveness on special teams...but I believe coaching really hurt the kid.
I give an honorable mention to Darrian Miller. I say honorable mention because I think he did this to himself more than the alternative, but the kid had a crap ton of talent. He could have replaced James Sims as the starting RB. He could have been a potential NFL guy...but his demons got the best of him. I am curious to see how he does his senior year at Northern Iowa...
1.) Jeremiah Hatch - I thought this guy was a sure thing as a future NFLer. As a RS FR he plays LT and wasn't that bad, then moved to his more natural spot of playing center as a sophomore. He had the size and he had the strength, not to mention the ability. The his junior year rolls around under Gill's first year and was noticeably out of shape. Some of that fall's on Hatch's shoulders, but I blame S&C under KFC for turning a guy with NFL potential into one without it...
2.) Montell Cozart - I still think people get athletes that play QB and QBs that are athletic confused with Cozart. Yeah he can run, but he was primarily a passer in HS who used his athleticism more to keep the play alive than to just take off and run. So what do you do with a 180 lbs freshman QB who has never been a running type QB (for the most part)? Naturally you run a read-option offense with him, that you have never really called plays for before, and stick him in an awful situation that would be hard for anyone to succeed in (the ISU ice bowl game). I still think Cozart has some talent, but unfortunately I am not sure there is enough time to fix what was previously done to him...
3.) Josh Ford - One of those guys that everyone started saying he couldn't catch, which true he did have a couple of drops, but he had almost 60 catches his last year of JUCO - he could catch but suddenly at KU he couldn't. When Kiesau took over and there was an article discussing how he was re-teaching kids how to catch the ball, I couldn't help but think back to Ford. He had talent, we saw his aggressiveness on special teams...but I believe coaching really hurt the kid.
I give an honorable mention to Darrian Miller. I say honorable mention because I think he did this to himself more than the alternative, but the kid had a crap ton of talent. He could have replaced James Sims as the starting RB. He could have been a potential NFL guy...but his demons got the best of him. I am curious to see how he does his senior year at Northern Iowa...
