Marijuana Quarterback Has Coach Blowing Smoke: Scott Soshnick
Desperation makes people do things they wouldn’t ordinarily do, especially football coaches in the Southeastern Conference, where the sport is a near-religious experience.
Take the University of Mississippi, where the football coach had no interest in a particular player with a checkered past until that same football coach was suddenly and unexpectedly faced with a dearth of depth at quarterback. Then, just like that, he was interested.
Here we go again. It’s no wonder athletes are filled with a sense of entitlement. When, pray tell, is someone, say a coach, athletic director or university president going to scream: “Stop. No more. Not again. Not here. Not on my watch.”
The Ole Miss coach, Houston Nutt, about a week ago said the Rebels had no interest in pursuing former University of Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli, who was dumped by the Ducks because of run-ins with the police. Seems Masoli could find trouble almost as well as holes in the defense.
A onetime Heisman candidate who led the Ducks to last season’s Rose Bowl, Masoli in March pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor burglary charge and was tossed from the team after a marijuana possession charge ended with a guilty plea.
Yes, college kids deserve second chances. Masoli had his. And blew it.
“He knew what he had at stake,” Oregon coach Chip Kelly said at the time. “He failed to do the things that he needed to do.”
Masoli gave his side of the story to Sports Illustrated.
Hard Nutt
What makes this story so pathetic is that Nutt, according to ESPN, which cited a source that it didn’t identify, is about to replace a failed second-chance experiment with another failed second-chance experiment. After all, there was a reason his initial reaction was to say, in nice terms, that Masoli wasn’t welcome. And still, the lure of talent, coupled with the need for a quarterback, neutralizes common sense.
“Rarely are there any talented players still available in the summertime,” Nutt said on the university’s athletic website.
Uh, coach, now would be a good time to stop and ask why such a talented player is available in the summertime.
Nutt’s stance on crime, punishment and this particular passer surely changed after his main backup at quarterback, Raymond Cotton, quit the team because he didn’t win the starting job.
The departure leaves Ole Miss with just two quarterbacks, starter Nathan Stanley, who played in five games last season, and a junior college transfer who wasn’t around for spring practice.
Smart Men
Enter Masoli, who during the 2009 season with Oregon completed 58 percent of his passes for 2,147 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions.
What is it they say about a smart man and his own mistakes? Don’t bother asking Masoli or Nutt, who clearly don’t know the answer.
Here’s a coach who last year took a chance on former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby, who was jettisoned by the Gators after his arrest for making charges on the credit card of a Florida student who had died six months earlier in a motorcycle accident.
About a month after his arrival at Ole Miss Hornsby was booted from the team after he was indicted on a felony assault charge.
Scanning the “Mission & Goals” section of Mississippi’s website, it’s hard to believe that winning football games, that beating Alabama, isn’t mentioned anywhere.
School’s Out
Why, then, would an institution of higher learning allow its coach to demonstrate publicly that he hasn’t learned a thing.
Can’t answer that one because Mississippi Chancellor Daniel W. Jones didn’t return calls or an e-mail. Ole Miss Athletic Director Pete Boone in an e-mail said the school can’t comment on a prospective student athlete.
Regular readers know that I consider it long past due that university presidents, theoretically the bosses, reclaim control of athletic programs, too many of which operate without regard for rules and regulations. See Southern Cal.
Just Win, Baby, works just fine for the Raiders, not the Rebels.
Masoli, according to the Oregonian newspaper, completed his undergraduate requirements at Oregon. In order to transfer to another school and play football, he’d have to enroll in a graduate program that Oregon doesn’t offer.
If Masoli wishes to pursue an advanced degree at Ole Miss, so be it. He should not, though, be allowed to represent the university by donning a football jersey. National Collegiate Athletic Association rules permit Masoli to play at Ole Miss immediately.
What we have here is a big-time football coach who shares the same job description as most politicians: Keep your job. Even if that requires a public and pathetic flip-flop that gives an undeserving athlete his second second chance.
(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Greiff at jgreiff@bloomberg.net
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