Glasgow suspension partially explained

Submitted by Yo_Blue on

MLive has an article explaining that Glasgow's suspension is due to a "driving related offense within the last week".

LINK

Commence grumbling...

 

LordGrantham

March 21st, 2014 at 3:51 PM ^

So he's going to be arraigned on a driving-related offense.  Doesn't take a whole lot to figure out what it is.

jblaze

March 21st, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^

Is it Michigan (Hoke's) policy to suspend a player for a game & practice before arraginment? I didn't think so. Maybe the issue is that Glasgow has to be <21, so I believe there is zero tollerance while driving. 

LSAClassOf2000

March 21st, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^

I will admit that I actually thought if perhaps age was part of the reason the steps were taken in this order this time, so I fished around the old recruiting profiles, which give some idea of how old players might be (the date is not on his MGoBlue bio). If his still active player profile at 247 is accurate, Glasgow is actually on the late side of 21 years old and should be 22 in the next five months or so. 

StephenRKass

March 21st, 2014 at 4:46 PM ^

I wonder how Hoke's own well admitted track record in college affects how he deals with similar situations with Michigan players. That is to say, does he expect a lot more of him than he did of himself?

yzerman19

March 21st, 2014 at 4:48 PM ^

dude - that is what being a dad is all about.  if i held my kid to the standards i had of myself at the same age they would be having a waaaay better time.

Njia

March 21st, 2014 at 8:45 PM ^

I held myself to an impossibly high standard through high school. I had set my sights on an Aerospace Engineering degree from an early age and worked hard to earn it, and devoted whatever free time I had to playing the saxophone. However, the trade offs included an almost entire lack of a social life (and the associated skills one learns that help get dates on the weekends). 

It's taken a while, but I realize that my kids are on different paths than I chose for myself. My daughter is similar in many ways, but still different. My son, well, let's just say he is considerably less dedicated to his studies than I was at his age. On the other hand, he just formed his own company at age 14 to write software apps and has already published his first one. He'll probably be far richer than I ever will. 

At least I hope so, because I didn't plan so well for retirement and a secondary career as a "Walmart Greeter" is out of the question. 

StephenRKass

March 21st, 2014 at 5:00 PM ^

Actually, I go slightly the other way. My mom was a collegiate coach kind of like Bobby Knight. She avoided child education because she was such a fierce disciplinarian that she was better suited to working with college kids than elementary school kids. Then she got married around 30, and expected a ton from us kids. It was kind of harsh. I guess you could say my personal challenges are with someone who imposes very high expectations. So it is kind of my issue that clouds things for me. (having adopted twins with many issues, I have to try to be less of a disciplinarian and have more grace and unconditional love.)

The truth is, I really like Hoke, and I think he is doing what he can to help mold players. He's talked about this a lot. Being on some kind of Probation or restriction during Spring Ball (while still practicing with the team) and missing the home opener seems about right. He gives Glasgow another chance, but still imposes discipline.

I probably didn't word my post the right way:  I'm curious how his own background affects what he does as a coach.

DonAZ

March 21st, 2014 at 5:49 PM ^

>> I'm curious how his own background affects what he does as a coach.

I would imagine it has to have some effect.  But I doubt Hoke is overcompensating too much.

I don't know the details of this Glasgow case, but from the tea leaves it does look like this is a DUI incident.  That's a pretty bright line over which players should know not to cross.  My guess is Hoke turns a blind eye to normal college drinking and horseplay, but gets extra firm on anything that involves an arrest.  And DUI is a particularly serious offense.

SysMark

March 21st, 2014 at 6:29 PM ^

His background has to have some effect but I would think a bigger one would be his careful assessment of what is in keeping with university policy and precedent.  I don't think he's going to deviate much from those norms as a result of his personal experiences.  If anything I think he may err on the side of stronger punishment to uphold the Michigan image.

LKLIII

March 21st, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^

I want to preface this by saying that at this point I'm still a Hoke sympathizer and I'm hoping for a solid 2014 outing from him.  So what I'm about to say should not be construed as simply a "Hoke Hater" trying to foment more pitchforks against the man.

To what extent are these off the field incidents simply your average "horseplay" that 18-22 year old guys get into all the time, and to what extent might this be a systemic problem with the O-Line (if not the entire program)?  Lewan--whether he  should have been indicted or not--was involved in the vicinity of drunken brawls.  Now Glasgow.

We keep having these debates about how the raw talent doesn't seem to be translating into in-game production.  We speculate that it's the positioin coaches not coaching the right technique.  We speculate that it's the coordinators not calling the right schemes or over-complicating the playbook.  We speculate that it might be the S&C devlopment at the training tables and in the weight rooms.  I'm sure each & every one of those reasons might be contributors to the lack of performance in the O-Line.

But what if a lot of the problem is a lack of focus and professionalism from the kids?  What if there's a core group of 2-4 guys on that O-Line squad that are "bad influences" in terms of partying and off the field distractions?  How can guys execute in practice--let alone games--if they're hungover due to their evenings filled with beer pong & skirt-chasing?

Some of that goes back on the coach of course, for instilling discipline and focus even outside of Schembechler Hall.  It's important that he not be too much of a "player's coach" where he isn't busting chops where he needs to be.  He should find the one or two main instigators and cleave them from the herd--dump them from the program if necessary to scare the other kids straight.  But at some point, the blame needs to be placed squarely on the shoulders of the athletes themselves for not having the killer instinct & competitive drive that would prevent any behavior that would stray significantly from the normal "horse play" that one would expect from elite college football players.

Again, there are always some outliers where one guy screws up once.  And of course there's always some beer & women involved with high-testosterone D1 athletes.  I'm not talking about the occasional outing at Rick's American Cafe or The Brown Jug.  What I'm talking about is something beyond that--like on a nightly basis or something involving more than just two or three beers with a pizza on a Saturday night.  What if we're dealing with an infected O-Line to the point where it starts to impact their physical abilities to fully perform on the field when it really counts?  Like the incredibly talented smart kids in school who never had to study before an exam, what if these physically talented kids are coasting on their perceived talent? But similar to the smart kid, at some point everybody has limits.  At some point, even the smart kid has to study for the higher-level tests, just like talented D1 type athletic talent has to put in the focus & work to reach a truly elite level....

Don

March 21st, 2014 at 7:56 PM ^

I think your imagination might be getting the best of you.

Young men make dumb decisions, and they've been making dumb decisions locally going back forever. It's not like kids didn't screw up back while Bo was here; a much more pliant and cooperative media back then helped keep this kind of stuff completely hidden.

 

 

getsome

March 22nd, 2014 at 1:26 AM ^

majority of big time college athletes only party so many times per year.  and when they let loose after all the studying and working out and responsibilities etc they might get a little too aggressive.  its always happened and always will.  i know when i played football we only went out maybe 30 nights total over the entire year.  sure there were a couple who over did it and they paid the price and there were also walkons and bench warmers who mightve gone out little more.  but the majority of big time players dont party much compared to regular students or athletes playing some other sports.  and some 20 yr olds will always make poor decisions in college environment, i know i make a couple.  knuckleheads are not going away anytime soon.  and i highly doubt its a pattern or culture issue on this team.  1-2 stupid arrests over the teams entire year are probably on the low end of specrum across all big time programs.  theres been patterns of bad behavior at florida for example or georiga or ohio st, but i certainly would not include mich

WineAndSpirits

March 21st, 2014 at 11:36 PM ^

The kid clearly has made a mistake. I'm not condoning what allegedly happened. I asking you whether he was just unlucky?



Clearly he appears to have used poor judgement.

Mr. Elbel

March 22nd, 2014 at 8:32 AM ^

We do need a leader for this OL moving forward. Glasgow being the one who started all last year could have shaped up  into one, especially from the middle of the line. So while I know that this puts a damper on that happening, I hope that he learns enough discipline during his suspension to get to the point where he can truly lead and hold the line together.