Scott Garrard: Aggie Fans Respond To Nelson's Transfer
KFAN Game Night With Scott Garrard - Evenings from 6-7
While I was standing over the barbeque yesterday enjoying the day off, my Blackberry suddenly exploded.
First, the news: Riley Nelson was transferring to BYU.
Second, the response from Aggie fans: "How could he?"
Apparently being the only USU alum on staff at 1320 KFAN meant that I was the sounding board for angry Aggie fans who felt as if John Wayne had defected to the Soviet Union.
Here’s an example from Kerry:
“Shame on Riley. He took the easy way out. He could have gone down in Aggie history as the man who turned around a program. He could have been remembered forever. Now, he’ll just be one of a thousand nameless Zoobies.”
Let’s get another one from Greg:
“Someone should really get the NCAA to investigate BYU. Let’s be honest here, they are using the mission field as their recruiting grounds. So they miss out on a player, big deal. They’ll just wait til he goes on a mission and then prey on the poor twenty year old with all of their religious mumbo jumbo. The kid really doesn’t have a chance. I blame BYU more then I blame Riley."
That’s just the tip of the iceberg folks. So in hopes of keeping my Blackberry from spontaneously combusting, here are my thoughts on Riley situation:
I am not surprised Riley is transferring. I had heard rumblings from his family for over a year that he was going to leave USU.
I am surprised that he is going to BYU. To be honest, I thought he would end up at Utah. Riley had developed a good relationship with several members of the Ute staff during the recruiting process, so I naturally assumed he would end up there.
Honestly though, it doesn’t matter where the kid ended up. Riley wanted to be in a better situation (i.e. a team that wins more then twice a year) and BYU can give that to him. Can you honestly blame him for wanting to leave the death trap known as USU football?
Utah State’s issues are larger then Riley Nelson. Talent (or lack thereof) has only been part of the problem in Logan. This is an athletic department that has been woeful in quality leadership and sufficient fundraising. Even if recently hired Scott Barnes can get the program back on track, you’re still looking at a three to five year plan to even reach consistent mediocrity. USU is so far behind the eight ball when it comes to money and scheduling that they are going to be a bad football team with or without Riley Nelson.
Riley knows this. Despite their ties to USU, his family knows this as well. Come on, if it was your son, wouldn’t you want him to be a part of team that has a chance to win conference championships every year instead of being a tackling dummy for Louisiana Tech?
I’m not afraid to show my bias here; I would love to see Riley stay at USU. But you can’t be upset at the kid for wanting something more then Utah State can offer at this point.
So instead of holding a grudge against guys like Riley Nelson, Kelly Poppinga, and Steve Tate, perhaps you need to take a long look at the program who can’t seem to hold on to these quality players. This is not a Riley Nelson issue. This is Utah State issue. And until USU can reach some level of respectability, this is a trend that won’t end with Riley Nelson.
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