Wide Receiver Booted off team

[CameronBornAndBred]

Luckily it's not Conner Vernon. Goodbye Tyree.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/3 ... lue-devils

[TillyGalore]

I'm not trying to defend the guy, but, is it really fair to kick him of the team when he's only been charged and not found guilty?

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm not trying to defend the guy, but, is it really fair to kick him of the team when he's only been charged and not found guilty?

I agree Tilly...there is lots of time between now and the season start. That being said...it looks bad and my guess is there were witnesses. I also bet that Cutcliffe spoke to Watkins personally and heard him out before the dismissal.

DURHAM — Duke wide receiver Tyree Watkins was kicked off the football team Wednesday, three days after a woman he was in a relationship with claims he violently attacked her.

The 20-year-old Watkins, a junior from Camden, N.J., faces a charge of assault on a female and is free on $500 bond.

According to the arrest report, Watkins and the woman had an altercation on Morgan Street on Sunday. The unidentified woman told police Watkins pulled her out of a car, grabbed her by her neck and choked her, causing her to hit her head against a wall.

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_stor ... ter-arrest
Makes you think back to Michael Brown, who is now Michael Tauilililililili. He was also arrested, but not booted. And his charges involved a gun.

[The Football Fan]

Sad...just sad. However, I love coach Cut's response.

Impact...
I think it depends on how good Holliday, Hill, McCaffery, and Nash turn out to be.

Cutcliffe said that if Nash wasn't a 5 star talent he'd like to see who was better and compared his talent to Randy Moss. That's really high praise. He could've stopped with the usual "he's awesome" complements. Coach lauded Holliday's spring practice improvements as a player. Mix that in with Conner V and Jamison Crowder and we should be fine. Coach also mentioned moving Snead over to the slot for a few plays to see if they could get him loose in the open field.

When we lost John Drew, a 4 star DT, and Brandon Putnam, a 3 star DE that we never got to see, I thought those were huge losses that on some level we're still feeling. We replaced them with 2 star guys in Steve Ingram and Will Bryant. John was a starter as a freshman and looked really good. Not saying Steve and Will won't make an impact later, but they still haven't duplicated John production of one season.

So, in my mind, this sucks, but it isn't devastating. On a scale of 1-5, I give it a 2.

Hope the best for the young man going forward and that it's not as bad as it sounds.

[Bob Green]

Impact...
I think it depends on how good Holliday, Hill, McCaffery, and Nash turn out to be.

We also have Redshirt Junior Corey Gattis who has mostly seen action on special teams. Watkins' dismissal could open the door for Gattis to see some meaningful reps at WR. However, a more likely scenario is more plays run from a two TE set, which could help the offense throw the ball down the field 10-12 yards instead of running 15 bubble screens out of every 20 plays.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

As to the question of why this player was booted before a hearing in a court of law, it may be that he admitted to Coach Cutcliffe that he was involved in a public altercation out on the street.... that detail was part of the report.

[devildeac]

Dumass.
Maybe if he stays in school, pays his legal "dues" and "rehabs," then Cut will give him another chance and will have him back on the team.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Dumass.
Maybe if he stays in school, pays his legal "dues" and "rehabs," then Cut will give him another chance and will have him back on the team.

His status as a Duke student seems undetermined at the moment, likely will be decided after the case is adjudicated.

[captmojo]

And I thought I was the only guy that was guilty before proving innocence.

I trust Coach's judgement. I don't think he would act on a poll from faculty and administration. ;) (see 'Gang of...')

[ArkieDukie]

I would like to add to all this that I'm glad OUR coach has the fortitude to kick someone off the team for cause. If he admitted his guilt, Coach Cutcliffe did the right thing. Given similar circumstances, I bet lots of other coaches wouldn't have done the same.

[TillyGalore]

As to the question of why this player was booted before a hearing in a court of law, it may be that he admitted to Coach Cutcliffe that he was involved in a public altercation out on the street.... that detail was part of the report.

If he admitted he did it, won't Coach Cut then be called by the prosecution? I would think if the kid did anything, he'd keep his mouth shut to anyone but his lawyer.

[lawgrad91]

As to the question of why this player was booted before a hearing in a court of law, it may be that he admitted to Coach Cutcliffe that he was involved in a public altercation out on the street.... that detail was part of the report.

If he admitted he did it, won't Coach Cut then be called by the prosecution? I would think if the kid did anything, he'd keep his mouth shut to anyone but his lawyer.

Certainly, if I knew a defendant had confessed to a disinterested party, I would call that person as a witness.