BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Gene Chizik and Brady Hoke have a few things in common.
They both run major college football programs.
They've both worked with Al Borges.
And they both faced serious questions about discipline the week before big-time opening games.
That's where they took different off-ramps on the same freeway.
Chizik didn't hesitate.
Hoke deliberated almost until the last possible moment.
Auburn's starting center, Reese Dismukes, was arrested on a charge of public intoxication early last Saturday morning. That afternoon,
Auburn announced that Dismukes had been suspended indefinitely and would miss at least the opener against Clemson.
Never mind that this is the most significant and most difficult opening game in Chizik's four-year tenure at Auburn. Never mind that Dismukes started all 13 games at center last year as a true freshman and that Auburn could use a little experience on the offensive line. Two freshmen are starting at tackle and a sophomore will open at one of the guard spots.
You can question the number of disciplinary decisions Chizik has had to make during the offseason, but you can't argue that he's made some tough decisions.
Contrast Chizik's quick trigger with Hoke, who's given new credence to the old saying that the wheels of justice grind slowly.
The day before tonight's mega-opening game here in the Cowboys Classic, Hoke announced that starting tailback Fitz Toussaint and backup defensive end Frank Clark would not make the trip and so would not play for Michigan against Alabama.
Toussaint was charged with DUI in July and pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser degree of that charge, driving while impaired. Clark was arrested in June on a charge of second-degree home invasion. He allegedly stole a laptop from a dorm room, and his court case is pending.
That's more than a month from arrest to suspension in Hoke's case. Chizik made the call on Dismukes in less than a day.
It's nothing new for a coach to wait to announce whether a player whose status is in doubt will play. Better to keep the opponent in the dark. Georgia's Mark Richt has changed his philosophy about announcing suspensions in that direction and apparently for that reason.
A suspension is a suspension - and sometimes we applaud coaches for sitting players when they have no choice - but coaches who mix discipline and gamesmanship are sending the wrong message.
Like Chizik with Dismukes, Hoke did the right thing with Toussaint and Clark. Hoke's message would've been even stronger if he'd been a lot quicker to send it.
Read More Here...
They both run major college football programs.
They've both worked with Al Borges.
And they both faced serious questions about discipline the week before big-time opening games.
That's where they took different off-ramps on the same freeway.
Chizik didn't hesitate.
Hoke deliberated almost until the last possible moment.
Auburn's starting center, Reese Dismukes, was arrested on a charge of public intoxication early last Saturday morning. That afternoon,
Auburn announced that Dismukes had been suspended indefinitely and would miss at least the opener against Clemson.
Never mind that this is the most significant and most difficult opening game in Chizik's four-year tenure at Auburn. Never mind that Dismukes started all 13 games at center last year as a true freshman and that Auburn could use a little experience on the offensive line. Two freshmen are starting at tackle and a sophomore will open at one of the guard spots.
You can question the number of disciplinary decisions Chizik has had to make during the offseason, but you can't argue that he's made some tough decisions.
Contrast Chizik's quick trigger with Hoke, who's given new credence to the old saying that the wheels of justice grind slowly.
The day before tonight's mega-opening game here in the Cowboys Classic, Hoke announced that starting tailback Fitz Toussaint and backup defensive end Frank Clark would not make the trip and so would not play for Michigan against Alabama.
Toussaint was charged with DUI in July and pleaded guilty Tuesday to a lesser degree of that charge, driving while impaired. Clark was arrested in June on a charge of second-degree home invasion. He allegedly stole a laptop from a dorm room, and his court case is pending.
That's more than a month from arrest to suspension in Hoke's case. Chizik made the call on Dismukes in less than a day.
It's nothing new for a coach to wait to announce whether a player whose status is in doubt will play. Better to keep the opponent in the dark. Georgia's Mark Richt has changed his philosophy about announcing suspensions in that direction and apparently for that reason.
A suspension is a suspension - and sometimes we applaud coaches for sitting players when they have no choice - but coaches who mix discipline and gamesmanship are sending the wrong message.
Like Chizik with Dismukes, Hoke did the right thing with Toussaint and Clark. Hoke's message would've been even stronger if he'd been a lot quicker to send it.
Read More Here...
