CSNbbs

So what was the message the coach was trying to send..... that he's a dumb*** and his players can't trust him??! Got it loud and clear coach!

Good for Birdsong.

It occurs to me that there may be more to this than it appears to be on the surface.

Someone on the JMU forum said that Birdsong had, at some point, stated that he wanted to play FBS.
The timing of the Birdsong request seems to roughly coincident with the finalization of the Sun Belt/JMU situation.

Suppose he was recruited with the assurance that JMU was moving up. It may be that his decision to transfer was made more for reasons of FBS than because of the addition of Vad Lee? Ironically, he may never have considered transferring to a CAA school in the first place.

Additionally, the Vad Lee situation has never made sense to me, unless he was assured that JMU was moving up. He then could leave GT, get with a coach with whom he had a past and was comfortable with, and not have to sit a year - yet still ultimately play FBS, full in his final year of eligibility.
This all makes sense if you consider that Withers seemed to be a (MAC compatible) FBS hire.
I suspect that JMU was strongly looking at the MAC (with UMass) and when that fell through, and the SBC was apparently deemed untenable by JMU, that things started to change.

All of the above is complete guesswork, but don't be surprised to see more turmoil, including within the coaching ranks.

Would Wilder take him, we have the coach that recruited him to JMU? Just thinking out loud, cause I know others are doing the same.

(04-23-2014 01:47 PM)DaBigBlue Wrote: [ -> ]Would Wilder take him, we have the coach that recruited him to JMU? Just thinking out loud, cause I know others are doing the same.

If our coaching staff sees value in adding Birdsong then I'm all for it. As someone stated earlier his presence could free up Washington to play other positions at which his abilities could pay big dividends. At any rate it could not hurt to carry another serviceable backup qb on the roster.

Being told Birdsong is a no go for us. He will transfer somewhere with a better opportunity to play. Charlotte is a distinct opportunity.

(04-23-2014 02:26 PM)Les Geaux Wrote: [ -> ]Being told Birdsong is a no go for us. He will transfer somewhere with a better opportunity to play. Charlotte is a distinct opportunity.

Charlotte is actually still being blocked presumably because they're on JMU's schedule next year.

(04-23-2014 02:31 PM)mturn017 Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-23-2014 02:26 PM)Les Geaux Wrote: [ -> ]Being told Birdsong is a no go for us. He will transfer somewhere with a better opportunity to play. Charlotte is a distinct opportunity.

Charlotte is actually still being blocked presumably because they're on JMU's schedule next year.

Just saw that. Pretty petty if you ask me. Birdsong will not be eligible for that matchup but yet they won't let him go there.

I hope ODU never handcuffs a kid like this. It is bush league.

Ulrick Edmonds was a pivotal recruiter for us and likely a big reason that Birdsong came to JMU initially.

I don't think Birdsong is better than what you guys have at the #1 or #2 spot on your depth chart. He does have a red shirt year to burn if he so chooses. Not sure if that would potentially put him in the spot to compete for the starting job at ODU in 2-3 seasons if you guys brought him on.

(04-23-2014 03:28 PM)JMU_Newbill Wrote: [ -> ]Ulrick Edmonds was a pivotal recruiter for us and likely a big reason that Birdsong came to JMU initially.

I don't think Birdsong is better than what you guys have at the #1 or #2 spot on your depth chart. He does have a red shirt year to burn if he so chooses. Not sure if that would potentially put him in the spot to compete for the starting job at ODU in 2-3 seasons if you guys brought him on.

I KNOW that Birdsong is NOT better than what we have in our #1 spot and am doubtful about the #2.

I wonder how much help Birdsong could be for Charlotte against JMU if he's sitting out that season? I guess he'd be able to provide insider-type information, but with a new coach and a new QB, how much could he provide? Having already played last season, you'd think most of what Birdsong could tell them would be stuff they saw on the tapes or in person themselves.

(04-23-2014 03:48 PM)Cyniclone Wrote: [ -> ]I wonder how much help Birdsong could be for Charlotte against JMU if he's sitting out that season? I guess he'd be able to provide insider-type information, but with a new coach and a new QB, how much could he provide? Having already played last season, you'd think most of what Birdsong could tell them would be stuff they saw on the tapes or in person themselves.

He spent the whole spring learning and executing the new playbook, so I think Withers has the right to be somewhat concerned about that. I wouldn't say the scenario would be "Charlotte knows exactly what JMU is going to do", but at the same time, I wouldn't say there is zero effect from potentially bringing Birdsong in.

From what we're hearing, Shuler Bentley may be better than Heinicke. If thats the case, Birdsong would have to be pretty darn good to beat him out. Though Bentley would be a rs freshman at that time. I would guess Birdsong winds up at App St or GaSo if he goes to an FBS team.

If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em

(04-23-2014 04:06 PM)monarx Wrote: [ -> ]From what we're hearing, Shuler Bentley may be better than Heinicke. If thats the case, Birdsong would have to be pretty darn good to beat him out. Though Bentley would be a rs freshman at that time. I would guess Birdsong winds up at App St or GaSo if he goes to an FBS team.

Mabey Birdsong is a really good punter.

Birdsong stated its either ODU or Marshall

(04-23-2014 05:09 PM)odu83alumni Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-23-2014 04:06 PM)monarx Wrote: [ -> ]From what we're hearing, Shuler Bentley may be better than Heinicke. If thats the case, Birdsong would have to be pretty darn good to beat him out. Though Bentley would be a rs freshman at that time. I would guess Birdsong winds up at App St or GaSo if he goes to an FBS team.

Mabey Birdsong is a really good punter.

Then sign him up quick!

(04-23-2014 06:06 PM)LuckyLion Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-23-2014 05:09 PM)odu83alumni Wrote: [ -> ]

(04-23-2014 04:06 PM)monarx Wrote: [ -> ]From what we're hearing, Shuler Bentley may be better than Heinicke. If thats the case, Birdsong would have to be pretty darn good to beat him out. Though Bentley would be a rs freshman at that time. I would guess Birdsong winds up at App St or GaSo if he goes to an FBS team.

Mabey Birdsong is a really good punter.

Then sign him up quick!

As of now that is a glaring weakness.

(04-23-2014 02:36 PM)Les Geaux Wrote: [ -> ]Just saw that. Pretty petty if you ask me. Birdsong will not be eligible for that matchup but yet they won't let him go there.

I hope ODU never handcuffs a kid like this. It is bush league.

Eh, I don't have much of a problem with Charlotte, since they play next year. JMU would have already started installing a new offensive package before Birdsong left.