[PAmedic]

a lot of talk in this old thread from our other board about Tyler Tipton. Hmmmm...

http://libertysports.proboards29.com/in ... 1135130931

This is givemethemic, computer wont' let me sign in.
Well, I have been quiet about this subject for about the last week. I want to correct a few things in this subject about Tyler Tipton, great player first of all and all of this about Pitt giving him a roster spot just to get Rashad is a load of crap. Tyler played in 8 games this past year and was moved from FB to LB in the offseason, just give him some time, but he not have any more time, I am hearing that he might be coming to LU. As far as Rashad, I will not disclose which family member I talked to on Saturday night, but I know that Rashad recently met with Coach Wannstedt to talk about the up coming year and that's when it was brought up to him that they wanted to move him to FB and that did not go over well. Rashad had lost between 25-30 and gotten his speed down to a 4.4 40. I will hopefully talk to him tomorrow and get a word, but I do know that he is not registered for the Spring of 06 semester at Pitt. That's the truth not just givemethemic

[A.G.]

Classes start Wednesday, so something had better happen quickly.

[Libertine]

Classes start Wednesday, so something had better happen quickly.

Add/drop doesn't end until next Tuesday.

[nickrichard]

Doesn't it matter when classes start at his original school? If he enrolls at whatever school, and classes start, is he still able to transfer that same academic year?

[bigsmooth]

As a fan of both LU and UVA, i feel like eddie quit on UVA after learning he would not start. the season starts in two weeks!! it seems as if he had designs on transferring, but would not confirm it till a redshirt freshman beat him out. is that the type of player LU wants? a guy who when pushed and does not produce quits? i just have a problem with that. eddie is a talented player, and i really hope he will do well at liberty, but the way he did this to me is not good. he should have left UVA after the end of the season..sounds like sour grapes to me. as i said in an earlier post, i hope he can play to all the hype he had coming out of high school. here is the read from the roanoke fishwrap.

Pinigis bolts Cavs for hometown Flames
Eddie Pinigis, second on the depth chart at right offensive tackle at Virginia, was looking for additional playing time.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

Virginia offensive tackle Eddie Pinigis has transferred to Division I-AA Liberty University after being demoted to the second team at UVa, his mother said Monday.

"When he got to Liberty, the coaches acted like he was a superstar," Amy Pinigis said Monday. "Coach [Danny] Rocco pulled his car over on the grass and said, 'Here, have my spot.' "

Eddie Pinigis was not available for comment, but his mother said he learned of his demotion when a new UVa depth chart was posted Friday. He practiced Friday, then met with Cavaliers' coach Al Groh on Saturday morning.

"He was looking for more playing time," said Groh, who had elevated Will Barker, a 6-foot-7, 306-pound redshirt freshman, to the No. 1 spot at right offensive tackle.

Pinigis, a 2003 graduate of Jefferson Forest High School, started three games at right tackle last season and was considered the heir apparent when Brad Butler completed his eligibility.

Pinigis started two games in 2005 after Butler moved to left tackle to replace an injured D'Brickashaw Ferguson, then started a third game after Butler was suspended following a low blow against Boston College's Mattias Kiwanuka.

"Eddie's not a quitter; Eddie's a starter," his mother said. "Coach Groh never liked him from Day 1. This thing with Will Barker has been set up for two years and we've got that from the horse's mouth.

"When Eddie went in to see him, Coach Groh didn't beg him to stay. It was basically, '[Route] 29 south.' Thirty minutes after the meeting, he went down to his locker and it was already cleared out."

The departure of senior starters Ferguson, Butler and Brian Barthelmes left the Cavaliers noticeably thin on the offensive line even before Pinigis' departure. Groh said that sophomore Zak Stair (6-6, 298) has begun to assert himself in recent practices and likely would be the top backup at both tackle spots.

Davon Robb, a 6-8, 294-pound1 fifth-year senior, will be the fourth tackle. Robb, who missed the 2005 season while on academic probation, began his career as a walk-on but subsequently was awarded a scholarship.

Pinigis had been the subject of transfer rumors early in the summer and Groh said he was not surprised by Saturday's development.

"Body language always tells you a lot of things," Groh said.

At Liberty, Pinigis will rejoin former Jefferson Forest teammates Stevie Ray Lloyd and Rashad Jennings, transfers from Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, respectively. Rocco is a former UVa assistant and was the Cavaliers' lead recruiter on Pinigis.

[Sly Fox]

From what I have gathered form the UVa boards, there had been sometension between Eddie & Groh for some time. So when it got down to the deadline for making his decision to transfer, Groh let him know that the younger player was ahead of him. I wouldn't necessarily take that as a quitting mentality. There very likely could've been other circumstances that we don't know about that were contributing to his decision to come home.

[PAmedic]

a way out for all parties concerned- so to speak.

[TIMSCAR20]

Smoothie, I think you may be being a bit hard on the young man. You have 5 years to play 4 in college and it goes very, very, very fast. Ask Larry Blair. Doesn't it seem like he just got here and was a freshman sensation? Well he is the senior leader now. When you have such a small window, and you have a chance to go somewhere and play right away, you have to take that chance I think. Plus there are so many other factors in stories like this that we will never know about. It is easy to say a kid quit without us knowing all the facts. I am sure every school that loses players to transfer's feel like they quit on their team. I am sure there are folks in Pittsburgh saying the same things about Jennings but I think we have to give these guys the benefit of the doubt.

[TallyW]

They didn't need him... they basically told him so. Welcome to Rocco Ball Eddie!

[Ed Dantes]

Are these guys transferring from I-A eligible this year? How does that work?

[4everfsu]

Yes they are eligible since they are coming to a 1 double A program.

[Libertine]

If it's a lateral transfer (I-A to I-A, D2 to D2, etc.,) you have to sit out a year. If you're transferring down a level, as in Pinigis'/Rashad's/Stevie Ray's/Zack Davis' case, you can play right away.

[bigsmooth]

i knew i would be in the minority on this. it is just my opinion that he quit on his team, and that is not harsh at all. he had ideas of transferring after spring practice and when he found out he was not starting during training camp, he bolted...that is sour grapes to me. i understand college athletes want to start, but sometimes that does not happen. that should make you strive harder to get that starting job back. im sure there was tension with coach groh, but if it was that bad, leave after spring practice or even after last season was over. i do wish eddie well here at LU, and hope he can help our team win many games this year.

[Chris Lang]

I will say this: they're killing Eddie over on The Sabre's message board, and if you read the comments from both his mother and his uncle, they have valid gripes. When we talked to him Monday, he didn't want to comment on his relationship with Groh, and IMHO, that was pretty smart on his part.

Clearly, something went on under the surface between he and Groh that neither want to talk about. Does that make what Eddie did right? I'm not going to get into that or interject my opinion there. That's not my place to do so. But I completely understand the feeling of the UVa. fan base after reading those comments from family members trashing Groh on the way out. And I completely understand the feeling of the Liberty fan base wanting to get behind their new guy right away.

[TIMSCAR20]

It sounds like a sticky situation and one where personal feelings got involved on both sides. I have not read the comments but I will say that if this was a personal thing between the kid and the coach, no amount of hard work was going to get him on the field. If that is the case, you as the kid need to get out. It is like Marcus Allen and Al Davis out in Oakland back in the day. Al Davis wouldn't trade Allen nor would he allow the coaches to play him a lot during his last couple of years with the Raiders. Unfortunately for Allen, he couldn't transfer and it almost cost him a spot in the hall of fame. I understand both sides but if it gets this emotional, someone has got to go or it can be a detriment to the overall moral of the team IMO.

[4everfsu]

Doesn't Coach Groh have a reputation of being hard to deal with? Not just players, but also coaches? Let me know what you think. Has he not lost a lot of players and coaches over the years?

[Libertine]

I can't speak for over the years but, last year, he lost a lot of coaches to head coaching jobs. Read into that what you will.

[A.G.]

Sounds to me, that if he is losing coaches to HC positions, then he is doing a great job in developing his Assistants.

[LUconn]

sure does. At least it's not like they're jumping ship and settling for HC jobs at Temple or some other train wreck school.

[Chris Lang]

sure does. At least it's not like they're jumping ship and settling for HC jobs at Temple or some other train wreck school.

I assume you fully realize that Liberty is perceived by many as "a train wreck school."

[A.G.]

Yup--and Karcher was CASEY JONES.

[givemethemic]

Well it looks like the other "one" player is not coming... would have been nice to have my good buddy back, but I don't see it happen...

[bigsmooth]

al groh is a micro manager, most people know that. he does not let his assistants talk to the media. however, his OC Ron Prince is the new head coach at kansas state and his DC al golden is the head coach at temple. i think you could read into both ways. the other assistants who left went with the new head coaches.

[Chris Lang]

I have a source that I'm holding in confidence on this one, but I'll just say that said "other player" wasn't anywhere near practice Tuesday in Amherst. Draw a conclusion from that.

[bigsmooth]

amherst? are we practing on amherst co. high school's turf?