Talking points: woo for Gerald Jones edition

by Joel Hollingsworth on Feb 11, 2008 7:36 AM EST in Rocky Top Talking Points

Mmm. Links:

Bloggers, voting for the 2007 College Football Blogger Awards (that link will become active later today) opens today and will remain open through next Sunday night. Orson will be posting the voting link later this morning, and once he does, I'll post it here as well. In keeping with that whole southern speed thing, Kyle's already disclosed a portion of his ballot. Nominees, expect an email from me in the next day or two with code for a nominee badge for your site. If you don't get something by Wednesday, it probably means you're one of the six nominees for which I couldn't locate an email address. Ping me with your email address and I'll get the code to you.
Readers, the winner of the People's Champ Award will be decided by a poll that will be posted over on Orson's site sometime soon.
Saturday's Tennessee-LSU game? I was confused. Coach Pearl was not happy. Gate 21 used the opportunity to compliment the chemistry of the team.
Ghost of Neyland comments on a Chavis-to-Atlanta rumor. This is the first I've heard of this. My friend Ghost and I have differing opinions about Chief. What's yours?
Huge game tonight for the 2nd-ranked (perhaps first in the next poll) Lady Vols, as they host 7th-ranked Rutgers in a rematch of last year's National Championship. Rutgers just beat No. 1-ranked Connecticut.
Huh. I like this. Wide receiver Gerald Jones apparently wanted to transfer from Tennessee to . . . anywhere else . . . after recently being charged with possession of marijuana. His Baptist minister stepfather told him that "a real man faces his obstacles" and told him to pray about it and "hold [his] head up and keep on moving." Jones then decided to stay and to instead write the following letter:

Dear Coach Fulmer, Teammates, Volunteer Fans and Parents:
I am sending this letter to each of you in order to express my sincere regret for embarrassing the University of Tennessee and the football program because of a most unfortunate, well-publicized situation last week. Even more importantly, I have let my parents, coaches, teammates, fans and myself down. Please accept my apology for my lack of judgment. There are no excuses.
I have been abundantly blessed in my life with a wonderful family and the unbelievable opportunity not only to play football, but also to get an education at one of the premier universities in America, the University of Tennessee.
Finally, I want to thank Coach Fulmer for the opportunity he has given me. Please know I have learned a hard life lesson, and I am committed to making sure it never happens again. I accept the responsibilities for my actions and will now move forward.
Respectfully,
Gerald Jones

[Stands and cheers from the stands.] Good for you, Gerald. And your stepfather is right: that is becoming a man.

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Comments

Jones

Agreed -- wonderful gesture by G. Jones, but at this point that's all it is; a gesture. All we can do as fans is to accept his sincerity and to continue to support him. It's up to him to take those written words and to transform them into actions (or inactions, depending on the situation). A real man lives up to his word.

by Aerobab on Feb 11, 2008 8:29 AM EST reply actions

Ghost of Neyland

Joel, I think the Gerald Jones letter was fantastic. It showed a lot of maturity on his part, and I think that's a step in the right direction. I'm a little concerned his stepfather was a preacher and they didn't get along, but what do I know? Hopefully, Gerald will use this trouble as a steppingstone to being the kind of player all the fans know he can be.

But I agree with Aerobab. Actions speak louder ... well, you know the cliche.

As for Chavis, well, I caught wind of this last night, and I didn't think anything of it until I jumped on Volquest before I went to bed and heard Doug Matthews had "confirmed" it. So, I hope it has legs. I don't just completely despise Chavis. He did a good job at the end of last year, but he's not stopped the Urban Spread yet, and whether we want to admit it or not, that's what we're inevitably going to have to defend to ever have another shot at national prominence.

Sure, the Alabama game was sickening this year, but Bama runs a pretty bland offense (or it did under Applewhite...) Also, we've had success against Georgia and its pro-style offense. That's just it: Line up against basic offenses and Chavis usually does fairly well. Line up against any multiple attack, and we're struggling. I just wish the guy would learn to adapt on the fly.

I just think about what the SECCG may have looked like if we wouldn't have injured Perrilloux early in that game. He was getting to the edge pretty frequently.

That, and we're at a distinct disadvantage with Chavis's inability to recruit. We'd get a significant upgrade there under Steele, and he can coach, too. All in all, I think (IMO) it's time for Chavis and UT to part ways.

Thanks for the link.

by ghostofneyland on Feb 11, 2008 10:37 AM EST reply actions

I concur

I've tried responding earlier and have rewritten my response several times, never being satisfied with the results. So I'll condense a lot of feelings down to one general one.

A part of life that is often neglected in this country is the rehab of individuals who have made a mistake that hurts others. Jones knows that his actions have affected his team, teammates, a recruit, the fans, coaches, etc., and that there are a lot of people who are very angry about the incident. Where we tend to fail is in trying to reconcile with someone like him and to try to bring everybody past the incident. Jones has shown that he wants to move above and beyond this, and that he's willing to try. I just hope he finds that the rest of us are willing to move with him, and are willing to work to get to the point where all of us are beyond this. If so, he'll be a better person for it and we'll all be better people for it.

Well, I think I worded all that rather poorly, but I hope the idea gets across. As somebody who's made many, many mistakes, I'd much rather be able to forgive than to condemn.

by David Hooper on Feb 11, 2008 6:18 PM EST reply actions