Re-hashing Devoe Torrence

[g-mann17]

Ohio.com SnippetSo, since he has been cleared of charges. Is he still not Zips material?

[Zips fan]

No! JD has been quoted many times talking about quality character athletes. He does not fit the mold that JD is trying to develop.

[Zipsrifle]

I bet he would fit the mold 5 years ago.

[TennesseeZippy]

As an aside, his brother, Devon, is spending his summer here in Greeneville, Tennessee (where I live) playing Rookie League ball for our Greeneville Astros in the Appy League. Not quite the stir through town about Devon as there was a couple of years ago when another minor league came her to Greeneville. The minor leaguer, Koby Clemens. Roiger would come into town here on days that he didn't pitch and hang out in Greeneville with Koby. No noticable syringes at Pioneer Park, home of the Astros.

[Z.I.P.]

As an aside, his brother, Devon, is spending his summer here in Greeneville, Tennessee (where I live) playing Rookie League ball for our Greeneville Astros in the Appy League. Not quite the stir through town about Devon as there was a couple of years ago when another minor league came her to Greeneville. The minor leaguer, Koby Clemens. Roiger would come into town here on days that he didn't pitch and hang out in Greeneville with Koby. No noticable syringes at Pioneer Park, home of the Astros.

When Koby played winter ball here in 06, his mom and sister would set up their lawn chairs about six inches behind the backstop (in the dirt), blocking everyone else's view!

[Sergeant Zip]

I bet he would fit the mold 5 years ago.

Razor says Devoe may be coming aboard. As many have said here, JD's job maybe in jeopardy. The decision to offer a scholarship is easier if he may be gone next year.Rasor on the Zips

[Zipsrifle]

I bet he would fit the mold 5 years ago.

Razor says Devoe may be coming aboard. As many have said here, JD's job maybe in jeopardy. The decision to offer a scholarship is easier if he may be gone next year.Rasor on the Zips

I don't know what to say....I'm not very happy about this. Was the guy acquitted? Yes. Would another team, possibly a MAC team, picked him up? Yes. I still am concerned as the guy was in this situation in the first place, which leads me to believe he doesn't have the best judgement. Assuming he is indeed with the Zips, he is going to be around the same group of friends that he got into this mess with in the first place, and we all know what this can lead to..... I'm glad to see that JD is working so hard to bring in quality players.....just like he was doing 3-4 years ago.

[#1 rowdy]

Or Devoe comes to Akron and becomes an impact player and keeps himself out of trouble. Honestly no matter what when a team like Akron has a chance to land someone as highly rated as Devoe you have to take the chance. The kid made a mistake when he was in High School and hopefully he will grow up real fast and live up to his potential.

[ZachTheZip]

I bet he would fit the mold 5 years ago.

Razor says Devoe may be coming aboard. As many have said here, JD's job maybe in jeopardy. The decision to offer a scholarship is easier if he may be gone next year.Rasor on the Zips

I don't know what to say....I'm not very happy about this. Was the guy acquitted? Yes. Would another team, possibly a MAC team, picked him up? Yes. I still am concerned as the guy was in this situation in the first place, which leads me to believe he doesn't have the best judgement. Assuming he is indeed with the Zips, he is going to be around the same group of friends that he got into this mess with in the first place, and we all know what this can lead to..... I'm glad to see that JD is working so hard to bring in quality players.....just like he was doing 3-4 years ago.

It's the sign of a desperate coach. Either He will com in and have an immediate impact (probably on defense) and JD keeps his job, or the whole thing blown up in JD's face and we're stuck cleaning up the mess. It's a huge gamble. We'll see how it plays out, and hope for the best.

[Zipsrifle]

I bet he would fit the mold 5 years ago.

Razor says Devoe may be coming aboard. As many have said here, JD's job maybe in jeopardy. The decision to offer a scholarship is easier if he may be gone next year.Rasor on the Zips

I don't know what to say....I'm not very happy about this. Was the guy acquitted? Yes. Would another team, possibly a MAC team, picked him up? Yes. I still am concerned as the guy was in this situation in the first place, which leads me to believe he doesn't have the best judgement. Assuming he is indeed with the Zips, he is going to be around the same group of friends that he got into this mess with in the first place, and we all know what this can lead to..... I'm glad to see that JD is working so hard to bring in quality players.....just like he was doing 3-4 years ago.

It's the sign of a desperate coach. Either He will com in and have an immediate impact (probably on defense) and JD keeps his job, or the whole thing blown up in JD's face and we're stuck cleaning up the mess. It's a huge gamble. We'll see how it plays out, and hope for the best.

And what is defined as "Paying off"? 6-6? And if it doesn't pan out, we're left cleaning up the mess. My concern is that the mess may be quite large and something that takes a decade to recover from. I agree, we've got a pretty desperate coaching staff on our hands. In the end, we don't have any say over what happens on the FB team, so all we can do is hope for the best.

[72 Roo]

Anyone know what Devoe's character and legal records were like before he was taken to trial? If the kid was clean, I'd be more attuned to giving him a chance. If he carries a spotty past with him, I'd say JD is making a bad decision. Does he care about Akron's reputation/character or getting the best players at any cost? I hear he's a good person, but good people make poor decisions when desperate.Any help from the nation?

[Big Zip]

I know plenty of people who made mistakes that landed them in juvenile detention when they were younger and it was enough for them to straighten out. I've also known people he ended up the othere way and are in jail now. The only differentiator was the person himself. I hope JD has made the right decision here. I'd like to be able to give this kid the benefit of the doubt, but he has to know up front he'll be on a short leash. I wish him luck and can only hope this was the wake up the kid needed.As for JD - I'm not sure he's on as short a leash as people think. After this year he'll have two more years on his contract and can't imagine we would have the ability to just let him walk away. Too costly to the school.

[Buckzip]

I know plenty of people who made mistakes that landed them in juvenile detention when they were younger and it was enough for them to straighten out. I've also known people he ended up the othere way and are in jail now. The only differentiator was the person himself. I hope JD has made the right decision here. I'd like to be able to give this kid the benefit of the doubt, but he has to know up front he'll be on a short leash. I wish him luck and can only hope this was the wake up the kid needed.As for JD - I'm not sure he's on as short a leash as people think. After this year he'll have two more years on his contract and can't imagine we would have the ability to just let him walk away. Too costly to the school.

Has it even been confirmed that the guy is here, or is it still a rumor?

[Captain Kangaroo]

If the kid was acquitted in court after a one-day trial, I think is is reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't get the "desperate" tag on JD for this one. If it shows he's desperate, then 85% of the coaches in college football are desperate too. There are only a handful of teams in the nation that wouldn't have found some way to get Torrence on their team, whether they'd made him go JUCO or a prep school first until the story died down, or took him up-front, they'd find a way.I remember when a Zips running back "roughed up" a woman up several summers ago. Several coaches on the Zips staff wanted to keep him on the team, despite his actions. The administration at the time stepped in and said "no," and he was removed from the team. I post this only for those Lee Owens lovers who would use Torrence's signing against JD. Owens would have taken Torrence in an Ashland Minute. Would Faust have given Torrence a chance? You know it.Toledo? Hey...they were salivating over Ray Williams despite his CONVICTION for manslaughter.Ken.t? They happily accepted Abe Elam into the fold a couple years ago, even though he was previously CONVICTED of sexual battery. And what was up with Cobrani Mixson?The list goes on. There will be some public heat if Torrence indeed signs with the Zips. But keep in mind the same people that make a big stink really don't care if the Zips sign a 3.0 student like Nolan Procter. They're quiet as a church mouse on that one. So they obviously have an agenda.The one-day, open-and-shut acquittal is sufficient for me to give Torrence a chance. Just because some 12 year old girl with a history of lying says you did something doesn't mean it is true. Or that you should write-off the life of a 17 year old kid because of it.

[GP1]

If the kid was acquitted in court after a one-day trial, I think is is reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't get the "desperate" tag on JD for this one. If it shows he's desperate, then 85% of the coaches in college football are desperate too. There are only a handful of teams in the nation that wouldn't have found some way to get Torrence on their team, whether they'd made him go JUCO or a prep school first until the story died down, or took him up-front, they'd find a way.I remember when a Zips running back "roughed up" a woman up several summers ago. Several coaches on the Zips staff wanted to keep him on the team, despite his actions. The administration at the time stepped in and said "no," and he was removed from the team. I post this only for those Lee Owens lovers who would use Torrence's signing against JD. Owens would have taken Torrence in an Ashland Minute. Would Faust have given Torrence a chance? You know it.Toledo? Hey...they were salivating over Ray Williams despite his CONVICTION for manslaughter.Ken.t? They happily accepted Abe Elam into the fold a couple years ago, even though he was previously CONVICTED of sexual battery. And what was up with Cobrani Mixson?The list goes on. There will be some public heat if Torrence indeed signs with the Zips. But keep in mind the same people that make a big stink really don't care if the Zips sign a 3.0 student like Nolan Procter. They're quiet as a church mouse on that one. So they obviously have an agenda.The one-day, open-and-shut acquittal is sufficient for me to give Torrence a chance. Just because some 12 year old girl with a history of lying says you did something doesn't mean it is true. Or that you should write-off the life of a 17 year old kid because of it.

Well said Captain Kangaroo!This team needs to start winning NOW. If that means taking chances, then let's take chances and let the AD figure out ways to put controls on the players (ie: 24 hour study table, 7day a week bed check, etc.). If any of you don't want to take chances, please don't come on the board and bitch when the team is losing. Please don't complain about the coaching either, because your mentality put hand cuffs on the guy. Here is a question I would love some on this board to answer. If we can't take JUCO players because they are a risk, if we can't take a kid who might have gotten into a problem of which he was found not guilty, if we can't take players because they are not from the mid west, if we can't take players because they may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, if we can't take players because they aren't smart enough to get on the Dean's List, if we can't take kids who transfered from a BCS school because they may not fit in, if we can't take a kid because he may enjoy a good party or God forbid smoking a joint every once in a while (you guys know you did in college and maybe beyond), who in the Hell do we take and how do we win with that group? It seems to me as if there would not be enough of the remaining "talent" to win anything. There is not a coach in the world who can win with a group of choir boys. You guys may think they can, but they can't and they never have.UofA is in freaking D-1A college football. The whole 1950s mentality I see on this board does not translate into winning (actually, college football was even more corrupt in the 1950s than it is now, but that is another discussion) in 2008. I can guarantee you guys one thing, fans at winning programs are not sitting around wringing their hands worrying about what players are doing when they are not winning. Winning has a way of baptizing away a lot of sins. We need to start thinking like winners and not our narrow minded grandparents.

[Zipsrifle]

If the kid was acquitted in court after a one-day trial, I think is is reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't get the "desperate" tag on JD for this one. If it shows he's desperate, then 85% of the coaches in college football are desperate too. There are only a handful of teams in the nation that wouldn't have found some way to get Torrence on their team, whether they'd made him go JUCO or a prep school first until the story died down, or took him up-front, they'd find a way.I remember when a Zips running back "roughed up" a woman up several summers ago. Several coaches on the Zips staff wanted to keep him on the team, despite his actions. The administration at the time stepped in and said "no," and he was removed from the team. I post this only for those Lee Owens lovers who would use Torrence's signing against JD. Owens would have taken Torrence in an Ashland Minute. Would Faust have given Torrence a chance? You know it.Toledo? Hey...they were salivating over Ray Williams despite his CONVICTION for manslaughter.Ken.t? They happily accepted Abe Elam into the fold a couple years ago, even though he was previously CONVICTED of sexual battery. And what was up with Cobrani Mixson?The list goes on. There will be some public heat if Torrence indeed signs with the Zips. But keep in mind the same people that make a big stink really don't care if the Zips sign a 3.0 student like Nolan Procter. They're quiet as a church mouse on that one. So they obviously have an agenda.The one-day, open-and-shut acquittal is sufficient for me to give Torrence a chance. Just because some 12 year old girl with a history of lying says you did something doesn't mean it is true. Or that you should write-off the life of a 17 year old kid because of it.

Well said Captain Kangaroo!This team needs to start winning NOW. If that means taking chances, then let's take chances and let the AD figure out ways to put controls on the players (ie: 24 hour study table, 7day a week bed check, etc.). If any of you don't want to take chances, please don't come on the board and bitch when the team is losing. Please don't complain about the coaching either, because your mentality put hand cuffs on the guy. Here is a question I would love some on this board to answer. If we can't take JUCO players because they are a risk, if we can't take a kid who might have gotten into a problem of which he was found not guilty, if we can't take players because they are not from the mid west, if we can't take players because they may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, if we can't take players because they aren't smart enough to get on the Dean's List, if we can't take kids who transfered from a BCS school because they may not fit in, if we can't take a kid because he may enjoy a good party or God forbid smoking a joint every once in a while (you guys know you did in college and maybe beyond), who in the Hell do we take and how do we win with that group? It seems to me as if there would not be enough of the remaining "talent" to win anything. There is not a coach in the world who can win with a group of choir boys. You guys may think they can, but they can't and they never have.UofA is in freaking D-1A college football. The whole 1950s mentality I see on this board does not translate into winning (actually, college football was even more corrupt in the 1950s than it is now, but that is another discussion) in 2008. I can guarantee you guys one thing, fans at winning programs are not sitting around wringing their hands worrying about what players are doing when they are not winning. Winning has a way of baptizing away a lot of sins. We need to start thinking like winners and not our narrow minded grandparents.

I do not view college athletics as a win at all costs endeavor. That's what professional sports are for. I view college athletics as a way to build pride, enthusiasm, and life long memories in the school you attend while preparing the STUDENTS for their future. What I want is to build a winning program while preparing as many of the athletes for professional careers in something OTHER than the sport in which they participate. After all, the vast majority of NCAA athletes don’t become professional athletes. If UA takes a scholarship and gives it to an outstanding player who does not finish school, then IMO that money could have been put to better use on a player who, though not as talented, would have worked hard in school and received their degree. I do not believe it is impossible to build a winning program with high quality individuals. I hope that the issues DT has had are indeed not true. I hope that he is an outstanding individual who is looking forward to working his hardest in school and on the field. I have only part of the story and have to draw a conclusion from what information is presented to me. Time will tell.

[Quickzips]

The legal issues have to be at least cause for concern. A couple of years ago I would have had no problem with this because I would have assumed that JD and his staff had thoroughly looked into it and that would have been good enough for me. Those days are long gone. Maybe the kid is clean and an upstanding citizen who was victimized by the vivid imagination/outright lies of an adolescent girl. I don't know. But we've been burnt too many times in the last couple of years for me to feel completely comfortable with this kid.The other question in my mind is just where does this kid play? From what I've read he can play RB or LB. I'm still suspicious of our defensive front six, so it would kind of be nice to see him get a shot at LB, but he's supposedly a better RB than a LB. Maybe it is better to play him at RB? Then again we have Allen, Williams and Kennedy already there. Is Torrence significantly better than all three of those time that he could get some playing time? I don't know. I'll be very interested to see how this plays out.

[Beanie 4 Heisman]

If the kid was acquitted in court after a one-day trial, I think is is reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't get the "desperate" tag on JD for this one. If it shows he's desperate, then 85% of the coaches in college football are desperate too. There are only a handful of teams in the nation that wouldn't have found some way to get Torrence on their team, whether they'd made him go JUCO or a prep school first until the story died down, or took him up-front, they'd find a way.I remember when a Zips running back "roughed up" a woman up several summers ago. Several coaches on the Zips staff wanted to keep him on the team, despite his actions. The administration at the time stepped in and said "no," and he was removed from the team. I post this only for those Lee Owens lovers who would use Torrence's signing against JD. Owens would have taken Torrence in an Ashland Minute. Would Faust have given Torrence a chance? You know it.Toledo? Hey...they were salivating over Ray Williams despite his CONVICTION for manslaughter.Ken.t? They happily accepted Abe Elam into the fold a couple years ago, even though he was previously CONVICTED of sexual battery. And what was up with Cobrani Mixson?The list goes on. There will be some public heat if Torrence indeed signs with the Zips. But keep in mind the same people that make a big stink really don't care if the Zips sign a 3.0 student like Nolan Procter. They're quiet as a church mouse on that one. So they obviously have an agenda.The one-day, open-and-shut acquittal is sufficient for me to give Torrence a chance. Just because some 12 year old girl with a history of lying says you did something doesn't mean it is true. Or that you should write-off the life of a 17 year old kid because of it.

Well said Captain Kangaroo!This team needs to start winning NOW. If that means taking chances, then let's take chances and let the AD figure out ways to put controls on the players (ie: 24 hour study table, 7day a week bed check, etc.). If any of you don't want to take chances, please don't come on the board and bitch when the team is losing. Please don't complain about the coaching either, because your mentality put hand cuffs on the guy. Here is a question I would love some on this board to answer. If we can't take JUCO players because they are a risk, if we can't take a kid who might have gotten into a problem of which he was found not guilty, if we can't take players because they are not from the mid west, if we can't take players because they may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, if we can't take players because they aren't smart enough to get on the Dean's List, if we can't take kids who transfered from a BCS school because they may not fit in, if we can't take a kid because he may enjoy a good party or God forbid smoking a joint every once in a while (you guys know you did in college and maybe beyond), who in the Hell do we take and how do we win with that group? It seems to me as if there would not be enough of the remaining "talent" to win anything. There is not a coach in the world who can win with a group of choir boys. You guys may think they can, but they can't and they never have.UofA is in freaking D-1A college football. The whole 1950s mentality I see on this board does not translate into winning (actually, college football was even more corrupt in the 1950s than it is now, but that is another discussion) in 2008. I can guarantee you guys one thing, fans at winning programs are not sitting around wringing their hands worrying about what players are doing when they are not winning. Winning has a way of baptizing away a lot of sins. We need to start thinking like winners and not our narrow minded grandparents.

Preach GP1!!! Well said. Torrence has reported to camp. We will see how he and the rest of the team looks on the field tomorrow.

[ZachTheZip]

Is he walking on or are we giving him a scholarship? Would we give him the one we're holding for Chaz Russell?

[g-mann17]

See and everyone wanted to give me shit for bringing it back up."he's not right for the team" blah, blah, blahI just hope this kid is as good as OSU thought he was. And I hope he doesn't even fart in his sleep. Because rest assured if he does, the Beacon, and all the JD haters will be saying he's just another bad recruit in a long list of troubled JD recruits.

[ZachTheZip]

I keep hearing lots of people from other schools that were looking into him saying that he will automatically become our starting runningback. That's just not something I can see happening, no matter how talented he might be. If he is set on playing that position, he would likely redshirt. Playing on the defense would allow him to see the field right away, and I'm sure one of our hybrid spots (Rover, Sam, or Bandit) would be a good fit for him.

[Blue & Gold]

I keep hearing lots of people from other schools that were looking into him saying that he will automatically become our starting runningback. That's just not something I can see happening, no matter how talented he might be. If he is set on playing that position, he would likely redshirt. Playing on the defense would allow him to see the field right away, and I'm sure one of our hybrid spots (Rover, Sam, or Bandit) would be a good fit for him.

I think you hit the nail on the head - I see him playing one of our hybid positions (Rover, Sam or Bandit - whatever the heck those things are.) At RB he's surely no better than Pinky Johnson, and if Pinky is 3rd string going into camp... well, you get the picture. I think DT would serve the team much better on the defensive side of the ball.

[Buckzip]

I keep hearing lots of people from other schools that were looking into him saying that he will automatically become our starting runningback. That's just not something I can see happening, no matter how talented he might be. If he is set on playing that position, he would likely redshirt. Playing on the defense would allow him to see the field right away, and I'm sure one of our hybrid spots (Rover, Sam, or Bandit) would be a good fit for him.

I think you hit the nail on the head - I see him playing one of our hybid positions (Rover, Sam or Bandit - whatever the heck those things are.) At RB he's surely no better than Pinky Johnson, and if Pinky is 3rd string going into camp... well, you get the picture. I think DT would serve the team much better on the defensive side of the ball.

IMHO, I think he is a better LB than running back anyway.

[ZachTheZip]

I keep hearing lots of people from other schools that were looking into him saying that he will automatically become our starting runningback. That's just not something I can see happening, no matter how talented he might be. If he is set on playing that position, he would likely redshirt. Playing on the defense would allow him to see the field right away, and I'm sure one of our hybrid spots (Rover, Sam, or Bandit) would be a good fit for him.

I think you hit the nail on the head - I see him playing one of our hybid positions (Rover, Sam or Bandit - whatever the heck those things are.) At RB he's surely no better than Pinky Johnson, and if Pinky is 3rd string going into camp... well, you get the picture. I think DT would serve the team much better on the defensive side of the ball.

IMHO, I think he is a better LB than running back anyway.

We sure could use his help chasing down scrambling QBs, which killed us last year.

[GP1]

If the kid was acquitted in court after a one-day trial, I think is is reasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't get the "desperate" tag on JD for this one. If it shows he's desperate, then 85% of the coaches in college football are desperate too. There are only a handful of teams in the nation that wouldn't have found some way to get Torrence on their team, whether they'd made him go JUCO or a prep school first until the story died down, or took him up-front, they'd find a way.I remember when a Zips running back "roughed up" a woman up several summers ago. Several coaches on the Zips staff wanted to keep him on the team, despite his actions. The administration at the time stepped in and said "no," and he was removed from the team. I post this only for those Lee Owens lovers who would use Torrence's signing against JD. Owens would have taken Torrence in an Ashland Minute. Would Faust have given Torrence a chance? You know it.Toledo? Hey...they were salivating over Ray Williams despite his CONVICTION for manslaughter.Ken.t? They happily accepted Abe Elam into the fold a couple years ago, even though he was previously CONVICTED of sexual battery. And what was up with Cobrani Mixson?The list goes on. There will be some public heat if Torrence indeed signs with the Zips. But keep in mind the same people that make a big stink really don't care if the Zips sign a 3.0 student like Nolan Procter. They're quiet as a church mouse on that one. So they obviously have an agenda.The one-day, open-and-shut acquittal is sufficient for me to give Torrence a chance. Just because some 12 year old girl with a history of lying says you did something doesn't mean it is true. Or that you should write-off the life of a 17 year old kid because of it.

Well said Captain Kangaroo!This team needs to start winning NOW. If that means taking chances, then let's take chances and let the AD figure out ways to put controls on the players (ie: 24 hour study table, 7day a week bed check, etc.). If any of you don't want to take chances, please don't come on the board and bitch when the team is losing. Please don't complain about the coaching either, because your mentality put hand cuffs on the guy. Here is a question I would love some on this board to answer. If we can't take JUCO players because they are a risk, if we can't take a kid who might have gotten into a problem of which he was found not guilty, if we can't take players because they are not from the mid west, if we can't take players because they may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, if we can't take players because they aren't smart enough to get on the Dean's List, if we can't take kids who transfered from a BCS school because they may not fit in, if we can't take a kid because he may enjoy a good party or God forbid smoking a joint every once in a while (you guys know you did in college and maybe beyond), who in the Hell do we take and how do we win with that group? It seems to me as if there would not be enough of the remaining "talent" to win anything. There is not a coach in the world who can win with a group of choir boys. You guys may think they can, but they can't and they never have.UofA is in freaking D-1A college football. The whole 1950s mentality I see on this board does not translate into winning (actually, college football was even more corrupt in the 1950s than it is now, but that is another discussion) in 2008. I can guarantee you guys one thing, fans at winning programs are not sitting around wringing their hands worrying about what players are doing when they are not winning. Winning has a way of baptizing away a lot of sins. We need to start thinking like winners and not our narrow minded grandparents.

I do not believe it is impossible to build a winning program with high quality individuals.

Name a winning D-1A football program that is not taking risks with players. It takes 85 players to make a football team. Not all of them are going to have perfect character.