The Silver LIning of the Unga Situation

[BerliNY]

Ok, I'm not going to spin this in a "yay! now Quezada and Phillips get more playing time" love fest.

Unga leaving hurts the team plain and simple, there is no way around that, when arguably the RB in school history misses his senior season the same year you have to replace your quarterback, it is just plain going to hurt.

For me though the good news comes from BYU showing in a very real way what Bronco has been saying for years: football is not the top priority. Unga will finish his degree, he'll get a shot in the NFL, maybe not a first-round shot, but a shot. Unga will be ok. BYU on the other hand has made a serious statement about how seriously it takes the honor code. I'm not saying that the HC office was extra hard on him in making him wait until January AND I'm also not saying that the HC office would have been extra lenient if they had let him come back in time for the season. What I AM SAYING is that SINCE Unga was not allowed back for his senior season, NO ONE CAN COMPLAIN THAT BRONCO OR BYU IS HYPOCRITICAL OR DISINGENUOUS about the claimed priorities.

I'm going to miss Unga, a lot, I loved the way he played, I loved his energy, and I loved that he was going to have a killer senior season. If by missing his senior season he shuts the mouth of a couple of yewt fans who were just waiting for BYU to give him the star athlete treatment so they can "told you so," then I have my silver lining in a situation where I wish we didn't find ourselves.

Good Luck Harvey, all the best.

[Ddawg]

Unga not playing his Senior year ....... really painful - for all involved. Harvey, his family, his friends, his team, his fan base ...... uggghhh!!!! The Yewt derelicts are giving high fives & daining double margueritas over Harvey's personal troubles. Screw those low dogs!!!! I hope Harvey is standing w/ the team during the BYU vs. Yewtah game this Fall. I hope Harvey can inspire & cheer his teammates on as we beat them again. Screw the Yewts!!!!

[snoscythe]

FWIW, the decision to refuse him re-enrollment was not made by the Honor Code office. They had no part in the decision. It was made by the Dean of Students.

[Y12]

I hope Harvey is standing w/ the team during the BYU vs. Yewtah game this Fall. I hope Harvey can inspire & cheer his teammates on as we beat them again. Screw the Yewts!!!!

That will be the cherry on top. Beat Utah in RES, run for 150+ yards, and win, again.

To state the obvious, no one on the team can replace Harvey, but he was going to run out of eligibility sometime. The team identity will be different, but we were beating Utah and having 10 win seasons before Unga came a long, so there is no reason to get pessimistic. This is a great coaching staff with a team loaded with great players.

[BerliNY]

FWIW, the decision to refuse him re-enrollment was not made by the Honor Code office. They had no part in the decision. It was made by the Dean of Students.

Good to know. Thanks. I assume the decision was made based on input from the HC office and Harvey's BP?

[Ddawg]

FWIW, the decision to refuse him re-enrollment was not made by the Honor Code office. They had no part in the decision. It was made by the Dean of Students.

That's fine. There was open communication at the top amongst all the key decision makers - back & forth. The Dean of Students made the announcement & is publicly putting himself out there. But, I have no doubt the decision was discussed at great length behind closed doors by all the key principals. I still think it was a little tough. I believe they did not want to appear to be giving Harvey any preferential treatment - so they nixed him till after the season. These decisions have more latitude & flexibility than they let on.

[Lawboy]

So which is a tougher loss for BYU--Unga or Lloyd? having 2 very good players have to leave school over HC related issues in the top 2 sports in the same year is not good at all. I do think it hurts football recruiting more than hoops though.

[BerliNY]

So which is a tougher loss for BYU--Unga or Lloyd? having 2 very good players have to leave school over HC related issues in the top 2 sports in the same year is not good at all. I do think it hurts football recruiting more than hoops though.

Lloyd showed a lot of potential and had flashes of brilliance, Unga showed lots of production and had whole seasons of brilliance. I think Unga averaged more points/game than Lloyd did and Unga was playing football. Lloyd could'abeen a contendah, Unga was the contendah. Lloyd's departure stings, Unga's departure hurts deep.

Recruiting-wise, I don't know that it hurts much at all. If Bronco is giving recruits the same impression he sends at press conferences (that of a sincere, no-nonsense head coach that expects - and gets - a lot from his players) then I think this drives the point home that you don't choose BYU unless you mean it.

[Lawboy]

[quote="Lawboy"
Recruiting-wise, I don't know that it hurts much at all. If Bronco is giving recruits the same impression he sends at press conferences (that of a sincere, no-nonsense head coach that expects - and gets - a lot from his players) then I think this drives the point home that you don't choose BYU unless you mean it.

And that is my point. BYU will lose some fence sitters who would help the program get better. Has happened in the past, as recent as last year. Kids get villified for it too, but if they do not think they can handle the HC, they should go elsewhere. The HC does cost BYU recruits. And if you are serious about winning at the top level, that is a concern.

[taekwondave]

When you say the decision to keep Unga out was not made by the honor code office, but by the dean of students, what are you getting at? The dean of students presides over the honor code office. He always makes the final decision on these matters. When you say the dean of students made the call and not the honor code office that doesn't absolve the system that is in place at BYU. The honor code SYSTEM is keeping Unga out of BYU, the honor code OFFICE never makes that call. The fact is that the Dean of Students is keeping him out FOR HONOR CODE REASONS, and THAT is what's going on here. My only issue with BYU is the honor code SYSTEM. There is an office, there is a dean of students, etc, but the whole system is set up so that it gets to know what's going on in your personal life. I don't like it. Some of you do, some of you don't. But saying, "Oh it was the dean of students, not the honor code office" doesn't really mean anything.