• The gap is wide. The top 10 teams averaged around 410-520 career snaps per player. The teams at the bottom are around 270-300. Iowa, at 222.4, is more than 50 snaps per player lower than the second-least experienced team.
• Naturally, there’s going to be a small bias on this list against teams that can recruit at an elite level and heavily invest in incoming freshmen — and their ability to retain them. Three of the bottom 13 teams — Alabama, Georgia and USC — all signed top-10 classes, with the Trojans at No. 1. Michigan ranked in the top 15. Clemson famously takes few transfers and added a freshman class of 23 players. North Carolina, in Bill Belichick’s second season, also added 40 freshmen to its roster, as well as some transfers who weren’t as experienced.
To me there is a huge glaring problem with this whole analysis. Just like so many other aspects of human experience you can’t use some simple cut and dried number as I truly meaningful yardstick pardon the expression. I mean somebody could have a billion snaps into their belt but if they just weren’t in the thick of the action if they were just sick way over on the side random blocking guy number two it’s basically useless as far as true play experience. It has to dig a lot harder than this to come up with anything that has substance or meaning. You know the kind of thing like how many sacks how many tackles how many assisted tackles those coming to play a lot more. But I guarantee you whoever did this analysis didn’t bother digging into it that hard that would be too much work in this world of very lazy people using AI for everything
This is not a good look. Seems mostly an indictment of Whittingham, but also the Utah medical and training staff. Surprised they did not talk to Rising.
I remember us talking about some of these concerns in the past here but it was mostly rejected or attacked as negging on Kyle. But I will always remember how we rode several QB (Think Jordan Wynn) and running backs into the dirt when we could all see they were playing hurt.
Sadly this is not a surprise and while I’m disappointed in Kyle for this I also think it’s a historically very very common issue across football where winning is more important thank the players health. Known too many ex players to believe otherwise.
While I agree about Whittingham, it sounds like the medical staff had failings as well. Delaying an MRI when someone has a torn Achilles is inexcusable. They have a responsibility to act in the best interests of the athlete.
But what people remember and relate when telling someone about something is often not accurate.
The old adage of “there’s two sides to every story” is really not correct.
There are 3 sides, because somewhere in the middle is actually what happened.
Everyone is influenced by biases, and, just the sheer way the brain works. You don’t remember things exactly as they happen. Your brain remembers bits and pieces and fills in the rest
the 1990s Science Fiction series BABYLON 5 was dreamed up and about 75 % written by one man.. In the 4th season he finally paid off a clue he dropped in season 1: “Understanding is a 3-edged sword”. Serason 4, Episdoe 6 has one of the protagonists point out he finally reasoned out what was really going on between the two millions year old ancient civilizations and it involved seeing that NEITHER side was tellling the truth at all.
“Your side, their side, and the truth”. I saw that in like 1997 and it permanently altered my world outlook paradigm.
I read this today with a wider angle lense based on what an old work friend’s son experienced as a walk on a couple of years back. In his case he walked on as a D lineman, was asked to switch to TE after a year, and got himself to a point where he was dressing for games. One Saturday he shows up at the locker room and the locker wasn’t his. Nobody had bothered to tell him he wasn’t dressing. He busted his ■■■ still, played in the spring game, and the week after they told him he was on scholarship. He’s on Cloud Nine. A couple of days later they call him in and say, “Oops we miscounted. You’re not on scholarship after all.” The kid’s smart, a computer science major, and things are getting hard as an upper classman. He had the wisdom to call it good at that point. His quality of life, and grades, immediately improved. He graduated last spring.
My point is it’s clear to me that life wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops under Whitt. Between this and the news of Freddie Whittingham ignoring the terms of his contract, I’m pretty much very disillusioned with how things have really been at Utah behind the scenes. I was one ready to name the field after Kyle. Now I see him as just another self-serving ■■■■■■■.
It’s interesting to see all the things Kyle is suddenly doing in Michigan, anttending booster events, going to UM sporting events with his coaches and even showing up to places in suits.
Makes me often wonder just how hard it was for the athletic department to do what has to be done with a coach who seemingly refused to participate at all.
It was such a stylistic transition from Urban to Kyle. Urban was such a promoter and seemed willing to do whatever it took to make the program a success on campus and in the community. Kyle seemed much more introverted in that regard. Fortunately the heavy lifting for program promotion had been done and he was able to ride the wave.
It seems strange to hear he is being more outgoing and proactive at Michigan. I think Scalley will be different and take on a more visible role. Keeping my fingers crossed that success on the field will follow