Anyone Remember Sherrod Harris?

[Matthew328]

http://www.lakenlitman.com/LakenLitman.SherrodHarris.narrative.pdf

Interesting Story

[Ernest T Bass]

Sounds like a great story. His athletic ability provided an opportunity for him to escape his beginings, and while his football career didn't workout, he got a free education and a degree out of the deal. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? I know that the NCAA has become a farm league for the NFL, but it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be a way for talented kids to get an opportunity they may not have had otherwise and for them to make the most of it. So, he didn't get his fame and fortune, but he has a future because of it, and I doubt he would have had that otherwise. Great story, just too much whinning in it.

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by Ernest T Bass
Sounds like a great story. His athletic ability provided an opportunity for him to escape his beginings, and while his football career didn't workout, he got a free education and a degree out of the deal. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? I know that the NCAA has become a farm league for the NFL, but it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be a way for talented kids to get an opportunity they may not have had otherwise and for them to make the most of it. So, he didn't get his fame and fortune, but he has a future because of it, and I doubt he would have had that otherwise. Great story, just too much whinning in it.

I disagree. It appears that this was a kid that did everthing the program asked him, was a good solider and was promised an opportunity and was, at best mislead and at worst, completely lied to.

[Ernest T Bass]

That's part of athletics. You can only play 11 at a time and since the coach is the one who gets fired for losing, its up to his discretion. Harris was owed a free education for signing with Texas, and he got that and took advantage of it. That's how its supposed to work. He signed with UT, football didn't work out but he got a$ 30,000 education for free. Id say he came out ahead on the deal.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Macarthur
I disagree. It appears that this was a kid that did everthing the program asked him, was a good solider and was promised an opportunity and was, at best mislead and at worst, completely lied to.

If what he is saying is 100% true then maybe..but remember we are getting it from HIS perspective and not a full story..everything is his account with no verification

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by Ernest T Bass
That's part of athletics. You can only play 11 at a time and since the coach is the one who gets fired for losing, its up to his discretion. Harris was owed a free education for signing with Texas, and he got that and took advantage of it. That's how its supposed to work. He signed with UT, football didn't work out but he got a$ 30,000 education for free. Id say he came out ahead on the deal.

I agree that he got a great education. However, I don't think that just because you 'bribe' someone with a free education that you have a right to still lie to them.

It's true that we are only getting one side of the story, but this isn't the first time we've heard rumblings about Mac talking out of both sides of his mouth. Unfortunately, he appears to be in the majority of college coaches, not the minority.

A coach can tell a kid that he can come in get a great education, compete for a job and have a chance to be a great player. That's very different than how many schools, UT is one of the best, go through the recruiting process. There's several decent books out there on the recruiting process. I'm sure Mac doesn't like this game he 'thinks' he has to play. I say ' think' becuase I don't think Mac has to be that guy to get kids at UT.

I'm sure I've opened a can here now. :)

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Macarthur
I agree that he got a great education. However, I don't think that just because you 'bribe' someone with a free education that you have a right to still lie to them.

It's true that we are only getting one side of the story, but this isn't the first time we've heard rumblings about Mac talking out of both sides of his mouth. Unfortunately, he appears to be in the majority of college coaches, not the minority.

A coach can tell a kid that he can come in get a great education, compete for a job and have a chance to be a great player. That's very different than how many schools, UT is one of the best, go through the recruiting process. There's several decent books out there on the recruiting process. I'm sure Mac doesn't like this game he 'thinks' he has to play. I say ' think' becuase I don't think Mac has to be that guy to get kids at UT.

I'm sure I've opened a can here now. :)


I guess I just dont see the talking out both sides of his mouth UNLESS I can see proof HArris was so amazing in spring drills and practice that everyone was saying wow why is he not starting.

great discussion though..I do think ALL college coaches have that fine line of what they say when they recruit and cross it all the time( and sometimes not even knowing they have).

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
I guess I just dont see the talking out both sides of his mouth UNLESS I can see proof HArris was so amazing in spring drills and practice that everyone was saying wow why is he not starting.

great discussion though..I do think ALL college coaches have that fine line of what they say when they recruit and cross it all the time( and sometimes not even knowing they have).

If what he says in the article is accurate, Mac lied to him about getting to play. I do think there's some wiggle room for the fact that Mac may have 'changed his mind', but when you tell the kid he's got the 2nd half and then a few minutes later, tell him no, sorry, you're not going in, that would cause the kid to think he was lied to.

[WildTexan972]

talk about whining....when a school gets 3-4 TOP rb's a year and 2-3 TOP QBs every 2 years and several OL and LBs then anyone with ANY sense will know not all of them can play at once....if a kid is too stupid to figure that out then he gets what he deserves....

a coach's job during recruiting is to get the good ones....then the kid has to earn the spot on the field....if a kid thinks he is a TOP talent and wants to be sure he gets to play, he needs to go to a next step down school and assure his spot and his talent will get him drafted.....sitting the bench at a football factory rarely gets you even a second glance....

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
I guess I just dont see the talking out both sides of his mouth UNLESS I can see proof HArris was so amazing in spring drills and practice that everyone was saying wow why is he not starting.

great discussion though..I do think ALL college coaches have that fine line of what they say when they recruit and cross it all the time( and sometimes not even knowing they have). Nobody expected him to beat out Colt.


IMO he should have gotten a shot in the MNC game. Because of his experience in the offense/program.


The John Chiles experiment at QB completely screwed him too.

[trojandad]

correct me if im wrong, but isnt the point of the story that, except for telling the truth about giving him a scholarship, every other statement from the coaches were an untruth? even right through, and including, the championship game....

i saw it happen a zillion times in school, every kid on full ride heard somewhere "you will be our starter"....i was the only one i knew that intentionally went to a school knowing the coach's son would be coming in at my position, so i sacrificed starting 4 years for getting grad school paid for.....everybody else not starting sang the blues for coach's exagerations, fibs, however you'd like to phrase them....

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by WildTexan972
talk about whining....when a school gets 3-4 TOP rb's a year and 2-3 TOP QBs every 2 years and several OL and LBs then anyone with ANY sense will know not all of them can play at once....if a kid is too stupid to figure that out then he gets what he deserves....

a coach's job during recruiting is to get the good ones....then the kid has to earn the spot on the field....if a kid thinks he is a TOP talent and wants to be sure he gets to play, he needs to go to a next step down school and assure his spot and his talent will get him drafted.....sitting the bench at a football factory rarely gets you even a second glance....

But really, the point is that this kid did not whine. This kid was a good solider and worked his butt off for years and never got a shot to play even after he has been told he was getting a shot.

There no doubt that every kid that gets recruited can't play. The bottom line is about winning and the best kids are going to play.

My point is not to have a pity party for the kid. My point is that if you read enough of this stuff, this is a common theme in college sports. The snake-oil salesmen tell these kids they are going to be the next Reggie Bush or VY and the reality is they are telling the next kid on the phone or in the next room the exact same thing.

While it's not really illegal it is borderline unethical and without question, slimey.

[Macarthur]

And before you drop the everybody does it line, I will counter with no, not all coaches do this. They may be in the minority, but not all do it.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by Macarthur
And before you drop the everybody does it line, I will counter with no, not all coaches do this. They may be in the minority, but not all do it. The reason they are in the minority is they probably only last two or three years. In recruiting you have to sell your program and sell to the kids they have a chance to be a star. Hell UT is an NFL factory so if Mack is telling kids they have a chance to go pro he isnt lying. He played behind the winningest quarterback of all time its not like little Jimmy started over him who couldn't play. Sometimes when you suffer an injury like Sherrod did you get pushed to the end of the line and someone else gets a chance and in this case Colt ran with it and its sucks for Harris but that is the way it goes in sports.

Also, dont you think if they saw anything from Harris that he would of been the backup and they would of redshirted Gilbert. I don't think they wanted to waste Gilberts year of eligibility on being a backup they probably felt they had no choice. He could of always transfered and he didn't do it, so it must not of been that bad.

The part that shows the article is so bias is talking about Gilbert and being terrible in the game. Sure the numbers weren't that grade but he ended up leading them back and making it a game in the second half and I think leaving him out there was the right decision. Gilbert played a solid second half considering the circumstances.

[Rabid Cougar]

He is not the first athlete that this has happened to and he will not be the last. He made the best of it and it is time to move on.

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
The reason they are in the minority is they probably only last two or three years. In recruiting you have to sell your program and sell to the kids they have a chance to be a star. Hell UT is an NFL factory so if Mack is telling kids they have a chance to go pro he isnt lying. He played behind the winningest quarterback of all time its not like little Jimmy started over him who couldn't play. Sometimes when you suffer an injury like Sherrod did you get pushed to the end of the line and someone else gets a chance and in this case Colt ran with it and its sucks for Harris but that is the way it goes in sports.

But that didn't happen. Even after the injury he was listed as the backup QB. All the kid really was wanting was for them to be honest with him. I don't see how you can read that article and think the staff was up front with him.

Soundls like Sherrod was willing to be very realistic about his chances, but the staff kept telling him, "no, no stick with it, you're out backup. You're going to get your shot, etc, etc...."


Also, dont you think if they saw anything from Harris that he would of been the backup and they would of redshirted Gilbert. I don't think they wanted to waste Gilberts year of eligibility on being a backup they probably felt they had no choice. He could of always transfered and he didn't do it, so it must not of been that bad.

As I said, if the article is true (and based on the depth chart, what he is saying is true) they did think he was worthy.

As for transfering, isn't funny how folks talk out of both sides of their mouth? If the kid does complain and transfer, he's a bad kid and didn't have what it takes. This kid actually stuck it out and was a good solider, never rocked the boat, and now the UT fans are the first in line to throw him under the bus.

It looks like the only one being a stand up guy here is Sherrod.

And let's not forget, he didn't seek this kid out for this piece.


The part that shows the article is so bias is talking about Gilbert and being terrible in the game. Sure the numbers weren't that grade but he ended up leading them back and making it a game in the second half and I think leaving him out there was the right decision. Gilbert played a solid second half considering the circumstances.

But you're using hindsight. Gilbert was terrible up to that point and Mac would have been justified in going with Sherrod in that 2nd half.

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by Rabid Cougar
He is not the first athlete that this has happened to and he will not be the last. He made the best of it and it is time to move on.

I think this is exactly why this story is important.

Am I being too idealistic to think that it's not okay for coaches to manipulate and outright lie to kids?

Lots of things happen everyday, but we don't dismiss them as being okay.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by Macarthur
But that didn't happen. Even after the injury he was listed as the backup QB. All the kid really was wanting was for them to be honest with him. I don't see how you can read that article and think the staff was up front with him.

Soundls like Sherrod was willing to be very realistic about his chances, but the staff kept telling him, "no, no stick with it, you're out backup. You're going to get your shot, etc, etc...."



As I said, if the article is true (and based on the depth chart, what he is saying is true) they did think he was worthy.

As for transfering, isn't funny how folks talk out of both sides of their mouth? If the kid does complain and transfer, he's a bad kid and didn't have what it takes. This kid actually stuck it out and was a good solider, never rocked the boat, and now the UT fans are the first in line to throw him under the bus.

. He quit before his last year of eligibility how does he know he wouldn't of gotten a shot when Gilbert struggled this year.

How am I throwing him under the bus or doing anything of the sort. When have I ever got on here and bad mouthed a kid for transfering? I mean if your just going to outright quit why not transfer and try it somewhere else if you want to be a football superstar that bad? I didn't have anything bad to say about Dan Buckner for transfering or Jevan Sneed same with this kid. I'm not throwing Sherrod under the bus but this is the reality of college football plus the validity of this story isn't that strong its obviously written to have a negative prospective on the program.

[BaseballUmp]

But the kid did get an A+ on his paper

[sweetwater07]

Sorry he didn't play. At the end of the day though, he received a free education from the University of Texas, which is more than a dream for a lot of Texas' youth.

[Old LB]

Originally posted by sweetwater07
Sorry he didn't play. At the end of the day though, he received a free education from the University of Texas, which is more than a dream for a lot of Texas' youth.

And a valuable life lesson at a young age, you can't trust all those slick talking SOB's out there.

[Macarthur]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
He quit before his last year of eligibility how does he know he wouldn't of gotten a shot when Gilbert struggled this year.

Maybe, but after a certain point of being told time and time again that you are going to be the man, after a while, he didn't believe them.


How am I throwing him under the bus or doing anything of the sort. When have I ever got on here and bad mouthed a kid for transfering? I mean if your just going to outright quit why not transfer and try it somewhere else if you want to be a football superstar that bad? I didn't have anything bad to say about Dan Buckner for transfering or Jevan Sneed same with this kid. I'm not throwing Sherrod under the bus but this is the reality of college football plus the validity of this story isn't that strong its obviously written to have a negative prospective on the program.

Maybe I should have been more clear. I have no idea if you personally would or have done that. I should have been more generic with my statement.

However, I've seen the same story on two other sites and some folks have been very quick to throw him under the bus.

I don't think you can automatically question the validity of the story. What makes you think it was 'intended' to show the program in a negative light? Maybe it was just the truth? If that's negative, so be it?

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Macarthur

I don't think you can automatically question the validity of the story. ?

I think you can when a player says a coach outright lied to him..just like I would question it if Brown said something like Harris did not want to go into the national title game..I would question the truth of that until I heard Harris's side.

[Macarthur]

Well, we'll just have to disagree, I guess. I don't know how legit it is but I don't think it can automatically be minimized or dismissed.

And don't forget, Sherrod didn't seek this kid out to tell his story.

[RoyceTTU]

Originally posted by Macarthur

And don't forget, Sherrod didn't seek this kid out to tell his story.


Just for arguments sake, how do you know?

I can see both sides. I'm sure this is an intersting story with both sides involved.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by Macarthur
Well, we'll just have to disagree, I guess. I don't know how legit it is but I don't think it can automatically be minimized or dismissed.

And don't forget, Sherrod didn't seek this kid out to tell his story.

oh dont get me wrong..I am not minimizing what he said or dismissing it.I am taking it with a grain of salt is all .I am just not going to say it is 100% truth because he gave his side of his time at UT.