The Silver LIning of the Unga Situation

[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.

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

Because Harvey withdrew before his ecclesiastical endorsement was revoked, the HC office doesn't have anything to say in the matter. They were cut out of the loop before any action was taken that could have brought them into the mix. All the Honor Code office has to do with the situation is verifying whether he has his endorsement or not.

As far as the bishop, his ONLY interaction with BYU is submitted or rescinding an ecclesiastical endorsement. That's it. He cannot tell them anything beyond that unless Harvey lets him.

Now, I'm sure that the Dean of Students is well aware of the whole situation, and he would be foolish not to take into consideration the fact that to many it looked like Harvey was trying to manipulate the system to avoid the Honor Code Office and get back in time for football despite his shennanigans. I think this was a don't mess with us decision.

[snoscythe]

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.

Again, this was not an honor code issue for BYU--Harvey withdrew from school expressly to prevent that. The Dean of Students is involved here because Harvey discontinued from the Winter semester. When you discontinue from Fall/Winter Semester, you have to reapply to BYU, which puts the application on the Dean of Student's desk. If Harvey reapplied with an ecclesiastical endorsement in hand at this point, the Honor Code would have absolutely nothing to report--Harvey withdrew before anything was reported and before his endorsement was rescinded. I know you hate the Honor Code and the idea of holding people to the consequences of their exercise of agency because it hurts football occaisionally, but what screwed Harvey here was Harvey. He (a) broke his promise, and (b) made a pretty public show of trying to make an end-run around the consequences. I think BYU made a smart decision, and yes, it was a decision that was made in large part because of the Honor Code, but only because Harvey made it an issue in the first place.

The reason Harvey won't play next year is simple--he made a promise agreeing to certain fallout if he broke it, and he broke it, and the agreed upon fallout must happen. He made an ignoble attempt at avoiding those consequences, but I'm glad they didn't let him get away with it.

[Florwood]

If Harvey, for whatever reason, wanted to come back for a senior season in 2011, could he? Or does the clock on his eligibility run out this year, play or not?

[Mars]

I think this helps recruiting.

That being said, our recruiting class looks to be only 13 players this year, and mostly linemen, so our national ranking will look terrible.

[BerliNY]

If Harvey, for whatever reason, wanted to come back for a senior season in 2011, could he? Or does the clock on his eligibility run out this year, play or not?

He redshirted in 2006, so he's done unless there's a loophole I'm not aware of.

[bball]

I loved Harvey, he was a great kid, a great player, had some great runs. But I've said since the day the story broke about him, that this is good news for the football team, because I think we have better backs, more speed, more upside than Harvey had. Of course that remains to be seen, but I believe it.

Kariya was impressive against Oklahoma, no less. He would have had an exceptional year if Harvey could not have played. And Quesada seems to be the real deal, as does Phillips, and maybe some kids who's beneath the radar right now.

I think it's always silly to talk about "replacing" someone, a player, a coach, a CEO... Every player has his own upside. Heaps may force to all to forget Max Hall by the second game. Quesada or Kariya or Phillips may cause us all to forget Unga real soon too. None of these guys is Unga, but they may do things Harvey couldn't do.

One of the things that always bothered me a bit about Unga was his seemingly inability to see the opening, the lane, once he got past the line of scrimmage. Or maybe he just liked to take on linebackers, I don't know; but there was often more running room where he didn't go, than where he did.

I think we all wish Harvey the best, but I think BYU will be better this year--even without him in the backfield.

[Mars]

One of the things that always bothered me a bit about Unga was his seemingly inability to see the opening, the lane, once he got past the line of scrimmage. Or maybe he just liked to take on linebackers, I don't know; but there was often more running room where he didn't go, than where he did.

It's funny, because I thought that was Harvey's #1 strength. He would take a play that should have gone for no gain due to the pocket collapsing, and somehow bounce it out a defender or two for a 7 yard gain. I've never seen a BYU player better at that.

Also, I just can't envision Kariya as a starter. He's not a great runner. His yards/carry against OU weren't very good, and neither were his season stats. DiLuigi, on the other hand, has "star" written all over him in my book.

[Ddawg]

One of the things that always bothered me a bit about Unga was his seemingly inability to see the opening, the lane, once he got past the line of scrimmage. Or maybe he just liked to take on linebackers, I don't know; but there was often more running room where he didn't go, than where he did.

It's funny, because I thought that was Harvey's #1 strength. He would take a play that should have gone for no gain due to the pocket collapsing, and somehow bounce it out a defender or two for a 7 yard gain. I've never seen a BYU player better at that.

Also, I just can't envision Kariya as a starter. He's not a great runner. His yards/carry against OU weren't very good, and neither were his season stats. DiLuigi, on the other hand, has "star" written all over him in my book.

I'm a big fan of J.J. DiLuigi. If you ever get a chance to watch the video of J.J. during his Senior year playing in the Calif. State football CIF Championships. He was quick, fast, deceptive, slippery & just sensational. We have seen glimpses of his skill - making people miss & bursts of speed. If he can hang onto the ball - which he has worked diligently on & is vastly improved. I see J.J. having a break-out year 4 months from now. I have my fingers crossed for J.J. this Fall!!

[ABYUFAN]

One of the things that always bothered me a bit about Unga was his seemingly inability to see the opening, the lane, once he got past the line of scrimmage. Or maybe he just liked to take on linebackers, I don't know; but there was often more running room where he didn't go, than where he did.

It's funny, because I thought that was Harvey's #1 strength. He would take a play that should have gone for no gain due to the pocket collapsing, and somehow bounce it out a defender or two for a 7 yard gain. I've never seen a BYU player better at that.

Mars, I agree with you, I thought Unga was exceptional at making the right read - especially at the line of scrimage, and when he wasn't in, I'd see lanes that the other backs should be taking, that Harvey would have taken, but they didn't take and it resulted in no yards.

[jonnylingo]

They had no part in the decision.

Do you really believe that?