Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Glasper vs. TOB goes national

Ryan Glasper has been railing about TOB to anyone who’ll listen for the past few weeks. Well now ESPN has taken notice. In the most damning and detailed version of the story yet, ESPN’s Alan Grant sheds light on how TOB broke his word about Glasper’s redshirt and pressured him back on the field before Glasper was fully healed. Former BC defensive backs coach Kevin Lempa even breaks the coaching fraternity silence by explaining it was a "head coach's decision."

I feel for Glasper and hope he can get on an NFL roster. Regardless of the sour note that ended his career at BC, he’ll always have his experience and education and the welcoming BC alumni network.

As for TOB…where to start? College coaching is a tough business. You can’t be everyone’s friend (just ask Jim Turner and Ross Applegate) and winning trumps nearly everything. However, there is something to be said for doing it the right way. At BC we pride ourselves on it. Treating these kids with respect and discipline is one thing. Breaking your word and risking harm to a player’s body and career is another. Glasper was a likely Captain (as evidence by his selection as our representative at the ACC media days). He busted his ass for three years and held up his end of the deal off the field. Forcing him back did what for last season? Got us into another Charlotte Bowl. It pisses me off that TOB exploited a guy like Glasper for a shot at something big, yet still couldn’t come up with a gameplan to beat the likes of a lame duck Miami team. It also disappoints me that he continues to portray himself as the tried and true Marine and molder of men.

In the end, both Glasper and TOB are gone. Yet this can serve as a reminder that we needed new direction, things were not always what they appeared to be on the surface, and that Glasper was a “BC guy.”

5 comments:

flutie22phelan20 said...

Man does that story make me sick. To be honest, I know that sort of stuff goes on all the time in college football. I justify my love for BC, in part, because I don't believe we're that type of school, or that type of program. I have never liked O'Brien, but I never thought he was that type of guy. He clearly is. I hope the story follows him around for his entire career. He is an absolute scumbag, and I could not be happier that he is gone. September 8th is circled on my calendar.

I absolutely loved how Ryan Glasper played here at BC, and I hope that we'll be seeing him again in the future as a coach. I hope that GDF takes the initiative to ensure that he is in the fold of the football program, and taken care of by BC's alumni structure. That said, I think it's sort of fitting that Glasper had two blown assignments--in the Wake and Miami games--that had as big of a role in those outcomes as anything. Those games still sting, but you know what? F Tom O'Brien. Seriously, f-him. I'm glad those plays ended up like that; he didn't deserve one ounce of glory that winning the ACC would have brought. Not when he treats young men like meat.

BCDisco said...

I think the key here is that BC is a school with a reputation of winning clean. Yeah there are alot of ass-hole coaches out there, but BC is not one of the places where those coaches should be. The think that burns me up is how TOB always presented himself in public as straight-as-an-arrow clean-cut kind of guy. On the surface, it seems like the perfect fit for a place like BC. But in truth, the guy was a scumbag. He didn't belong.

BBBC08 said...

Here here! Glasper is definitely a BC guy and I'm sure everybody would love to see him as a grad assistant or involved in the program in some other way. Great post.

ClassO10 said...

I don't want him as a grad assistant, I want him to make it in the pros. This is such a sad story and just shows what goes on behind the scenes. Lempa's words made it clear that this wasn't just Glasper being upset at himself. I hope that guy for the Sporting News or whatever reads this.

Bravesbill said...

TOB is one big douche. And he wonders why nobody liked him from BC. I kinda feel bad about NCST now. Hiring that ass without knowing the true character of TOB. Now the truth comes out and they're pretty screwed.