Richardson Leaving Ensworth

[9aafan]

There does seem to be a pattern developing with some of the star players at EHS you mentioned having difficulty in the college recruiting process due to academic concerns. You don't see Vandy offering any of them and they're in its back yard.

 

Probably why Vandy can't win.

[randymc]

So let me summarize this post:

 

State that you really don't care

Insult the kid

Make vague accusation that the school and/or the player did something wrong

 

Did I miss anything?

I never said I didn't care, not having a dog in the fight means I have an opinion, but could care less about the outcome. I am not sure if stating my opinion on the kids work ethic the two nights I saw him is an insult, but I will stand by my statement that he was very lazy. I would expect an all american to be DOMINANT at his position, and he was out manned by our line on every single snap, often times standing straight up after never getting down in a proper stance. Simple thing like this point out a lot about a kids work ethic. Too bad most people don't focus on these things as a casual fan during a football game. Nothing vague about my accusations. Numerous 2.0 students from many public schools qualify for the NCAA clearing house every year, it's a fact, look at the rosters at most every division 1 school and you'll find them. So the tauting of the academics at Ensworth would make one believe that an A at Ensworth is superior to an A at say, Oakland High School, and therefore a C at Ensworth would be far superior to a C at Oakland High School. When in reality I know it's not the A or the C because those are all pretty arbitrary, it's the amount of work that goes into that grade...and here we are back at work ethic.....see a common theme? And so, the work ethic that is the key, with work ethic will come academic and athletic success. Nowhere did I say the school did something wrong, BUT the fact that Ensworth tauts their academics so highly to their, lets call them potential student athletes, something, or somebody failed in this case, and I think that's rather obvious.

Edited October 27, 2010 by randymc

[randymc]

I'm a public school parent and I think you are way out of line on this. Nobody has any idea how far this student may have come since his arrival to EHS. I sure don't. For all any of us know, he could have made miraculous headway towards his education.

Would you say Ensworth would not infer to "potential student athletes" that an A at Ensworth is better than an A at a public school? Or that even a C at Ensworth is better than an A at a public school? I know that this is the message they send out. And, in this case, that doesn't seem like it's necessarily true. Of course I do not know how much headway he made towards his education, but I know one thing, there is no was Ensworth sold his parents that he would be in this position his senior season.

[cornerback10]

Anyways.... Is the kid going to Tennessee or Alabama? TIA

[big red big blue]

I never said I didn't care, not having a dog in the fight means I have an opinion, but could care less about the outcome. I am not sure if stating my opinion on the kids work ethic the two nights I saw him is an insult, but I will stand by my statement that he was very lazy. I would expect an all american to be DOMINANT at his position, and he was out manned by our line on every single snap, often times standing straight up after never getting down in a proper stance. Simple thing like this point out a lot about a kids work ethic. Too bad most people don't focus on these things as a casual fan during a football game. Nothing vague about my accusations. Numerous 2.0 students from many public schools qualify for the NCAA clearing house every year, it's a fact, look at the rosters at most every division 1 school and you'll find them. So the tauting of the academics at Ensworth would make one believe that an A at Ensworth is superior to an A at say, Oakland High School, and therefore a C at Ensworth would be far superior to a C at Oakland High School. When in reality I know it's not the A or the C because those are all pretty arbitrary, it's the amount of work that goes into that grade...and here we are back at work ethic.....see a common theme? And so, the work ethic that is the key, with work ethic will come academic and athletic success. Nowhere did I say the school did something wrong, BUT the fact that Ensworth tauts their academics so highly to their, lets call them potential student athletes, something, or somebody failed in this case, and I think that's rather obvious.

 

Plenty of good points here...

 

I agree with your assessment. I guess he's a five-star prospect, but I wouldn't compare him with the last bona fide 5-star prospect I saw play at that position, and watched closely--Richard Land at BA (who signed with Texas). He was dominant on every snap, and seemingly looked as fresh in the 4th quarter as he did at the beginning of the game. Not saying he won't be hugely successful at the next level, but I don't see it right now...plus he's had trouble finishing games.

 

You're right about the sliding scale. We're not talking Harvard admissions here. The NCAA is giving the kids two different opportunities--GPA and SAT/ACT--to demonstrate their ability to handle college work. IF you are in an easy grading environment, then an inflated GPA will be "brought to earth" by the standardized test score. And vice-versa...anyone who argues that "my 2.0 is better than your 2.0" gets the opportunity to prove that with standardized testing. Truthfully though, I think that's more relevant in college when an Aerospace Engineering major has his GPA measured against a sociology major.

[Perfection11]

Only the family and a few at Ensworth will know the whole story behind this. What is truly unfortunate is that a high profile 18 year old, is having a traumatic experience played out in the newpaper, radio, television and internet sites. While I haven't looked on any college recruiting websites, I am sure this will be a topic.

The young man will be called lazy and the school and family will have accusations thrown at them. In the meantime, a young man must feel divestated. For it to happen at this point in the season, it has to be a very significant event. Whether or not Antontio has fault in the matter, it is truly a shame that it has to be played out before the public, but then America loves a good scandal.

My hope is that whatever path he takes will lead to growth, that he will reach the potential he has and in 5 or 10 years, this will be a distant memory that he can look back on as a time when painful progress took place.

 

 

There are so many things wrong with your statement, if true. How can a school, that claims to be a top college prep school in the state, "know know" one of their kids, especially one of their "high profile" kids, is not doing well before his last semester of his senior year? haha c'mon this is embarrassing for anyone to try and argue that this poor kid was used for his athletic ability and thrown away. I would be mad as He** at EHS if I were this kid and his folks. This goes to show exactly what the priorities are over on highway 100... The argument that the school let him go during season is a joke. They used him for three and a half years, got notability with the kid having his Army All American invite at the school, and failed to actually care for this kid as a person. Also, I know for a fact schools like MUS and MBA and BA and Baylor keep up with all their kids' grades and at every mid quarter (about 6 weeks) if the kid is struggling, he cannot play until his grades are back to passing. Again, I'm embarrassed for EHS and its supporters, but most of all I feel sorry for this kid, I hope he gets his academics in order and surrounds himself with better people in the future!

[moonwink]

I would agree with 3yardsandacloud. He should have been suspended from athletics at EHS until his academic standing improved. These high profile football players at Ensworth (Jefferson/Darkwa/Richardson) have sure had interesting tenures with the school: Jefferson was certainly athletic enough to play football in the Big 12/ACC/SEC but he signs with MTSU, Darkwa is one of the most prolific backs in recent DII history and ends up at Tulane (a fine school, but bound by C-USA restraints...aka not many), and Richardson is apparently not even a qualifier yet (kind of unreal if you think about it). Thank goodness for the sliding scale the NCAA introduced as a means of determining who is eligible to play DI football...because the GPA factor isn't incredibly important if you score high enough on the SAT or ACT. If you only have a 2.000 Core Sum GPA in HS, you only need a 1010 on the SAT math and reading sections or a 86 sum score on the ACT. Anyone got a link to EHS's list of core classes?

why should they have suspended him. he obviously made good enough grades to stay eligible for high school. i would think if you did that, you would have big trouble on your hands.

[moonwink]

No, it was simply spiteful. How did Mt. Pleasant or the young man benefit from that act? The family, who probably know better than you, seems to think he's better off for his time at EHS.

mt. pleasent benefits by the fact that next time a school wants one of their players the school may not bother because they know the player will have to sit a year because he will not be released.

[my2cents]

If Ensworth costs $17,000.00 a year and he was there for 2 1/2 years that is $42,500.00. Can you imagine how much tutoring he could have gotten in Mt. Pleasant for that.

[shakinthefat]

If Ensworth costs $17,000.00 a year and he was there for 2 1/2 years that is $42,500.00. Can you imagine how much tutoring he could have gotten in Mt. Pleasant for that.

Who said that he would have needed tutoring at Mt. Pleasant?

[KWoodroof]

mt. pleasent benefits by the fact that next time a school wants one of their players the school may not bother because they know the player will have to sit a year because he will not be released.

That rule has been in effect for over 40 years that I can recall. Is the word just reaching y'all?

 

And when the principal refused to sign, he could have simply stayed at MPHS. He chose to go to EHS knowing he'd have to sit out a year. He seemed to feel that was an accpetable cost.

 

A lot of posts that relate to issues of this sort carry a hint that the public school administration seems to believe a child belongs to them, since that child's parents reside in their school district. The child actually belongs to his/her parents, who have not only the right, but the responsibility to make decisions based on what will provide the best outcome for the child, regardless of how it affects the Mt. Pleasant HS offensive line.

 

The young man spent 2 1/4 years in a very highly regarded prep school. He practiced/played 2 3/4 football seasons for one of the best coaching staffs in the state. I hate to seem thick, but I'm having a hard time seeing where the lad's been shafted on this one.

[sportshooter]

That rule has been in effect for over 40 years that I can recall. Is the word just reaching y'all?

 

And when the principal refused to sign, he could have simply stayed at MPHS. He chose to go to EHS knowing he'd have to sit out a year. He seemed to feel that was an accpetable cost.

 

A lot of posts that relate to issues of this sort carry a hint that the public school administration seems to believe a child belongs to them, since that child's parents reside in their school district. The child actually belongs to his/her parents, who have not only the right, but the responsibility to make decisions based on what will provide the best outcome for the child, regardless of how it affects the Mt. Pleasant HS offensive line.

 

The young man spent 2 1/4 years in a very highly regarded prep school. He practiced/played 2 3/4 football seasons for one of the best coaching staffs in the state. I hate to seem thick, but I'm having a hard time seeing where the lad's been shafted on this one.

Why does a very highly regarded prep school admit this kid in the first place? Very highly regarded educational institutions typically don't admit students simply so they can help win championships.