Russell Wilson can’t make a decision

'11 Football Tom O'Brien57

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“It’s a significant portion he would have to return,” said Marc Gustafson, the Rockies’ senior director of player development.

Gustafson also said it would be difficult for Wilson, who is struggling offensively with the Tourists, to return to baseball if he played football this fall.

“It would be hard for him to come back to baseball because he would miss a lot of games and have had so much time away,” Gustafson said.

“It’s an interesting scenario,” Gustafson said. “He’s a premium athlete who doesn’t know what he wants to do. Until we know something different, we consider him to be a baseball player only.

“Would we be disappointed if he chose to play football? Yes, we would.”

Hopefully the people who can’t seem to understand why Tom O’Brien made the decision to not allow star quarterback Russell Wilson’s return in 2011 are starting to get it. Russell has reached the point in his career where playing both sports severely hurts his chances of advancing professionally in either sport and at the same time puts the organizations that have supported him up until this point in limbo.

Russell wanting to play football this Fall is perfectly acceptable. However, why didn’t Russell just delay signing a pro baseball contract to remain enrolled in school, play baseball for NC State with part-time participation in Spring football so that Tom O’Brien and Mike Glennon, who graduated and could have left NC State play immediately this season, would know exactly where Russell stands on playing college football this Fall? What was the hurry to sign a pro baseball contract especially when his baseball career up until that point was a struggle while he had flourished on the grid iron?

Even if his size would eventually keep him out of the NFL, then he could have made more money playing football in the Canadian Football League in the long-term than being a minor leaguer that never makes the Major League.

I hope he plays football this Fall. I will pull for his success at Auburn or Wisconsin or wherever he ends up. However, Russell’s continued indecisiveness shows exactly why Tom O’Brien made the right choice in this situation.

'11 Football Tom O'Brien

57 Responses to Russell Wilson can’t make a decision

  1. choppack1 05/25/2011 at 6:20 PM #

    Folks – cowdog is spot on (and he brings pretty a legit perspective on playing 2 sports.)

    The sound decision – from a financial perspective – is to finish the baseball contract, THEN try to play football…it will probably be in the CFL at first – but this way, he keeps his $$$…I guarantee you that the CFL will take a flyer on him w/out another year of college football.

    OTOH, if plays this year, he definitely loses his contract AND exposes himself to a career-ending injury.

  2. Wulfpack 05/25/2011 at 8:17 PM #

    It was a tough decision but one that had to be made. RW is STILL waffling. I wish him the best in his future endeavors, whatever they hold, but it is time for us all to move forward. The best of luck, RW. Go Wolpfack!

  3. ryebread 05/25/2011 at 9:05 PM #

    bradley: Sorry, but I don’t agree with this statement at all.

    ————————————
    Russell would not commit to returning, or by any particular date. He wanted to be allowed to just waltz back in at his leisure and “compete for the job”. If TOB left that door open, we WOULD have lost Glennon (and who could blame Glennon for transferring if he did?) So for TOB to keep Russell, he would have ONLY Russell. And he may not even have that. And if he did, it may not be until sometime in September.

    Best case, we’d have Russell (but who knows WHEN?) and no Glennon. Worst case, Glennon transfers, Russell decides to stay with baseball, and we’re left with NOTHING.
    ———————————————-

    If this is indeed how the scenario went down — with TOB facing a lose Wilson or lose Glennon scenario — then the problem isn’t with Wilson. If Glennon couldn’t handle the direct competition and threatened to transfer, then HE is the problem. If Glennon is a stud, then he should be able to beat out Wilson in an offense tailored directly for him.

    From where I’ve been standing — which is admittedly on the outside watching this unfold over the past 3 years — TOB has given MG every chance possible to beat out RW. He’s yet to be able to do it. He couldn’t do it year one and redshirted. He couldn’t do it the last two years — including one where Wilson missed all of Spring ball. Frankly, I’m not sure he could do it again this season.

    I’m in the minority on this board and that’s fine. I appreciate all that RW has done for NC State and would love to see him suit up for the red and white again. I think TOB made a mistake telling him to hit the road and I’ll stand by that.

    At the same time, I love NC State. I hope MG tears it up and goes down in our record books as well. That’s really the only scenario where this works out for TOB. If Glennon gets hurt, or Glennon puts up mediocre numbers or……………….. Well, we know how that ends.

  4. mak4dpak 05/25/2011 at 11:02 PM #

    I have questioned the coach on several occasions, but firmly agree that MG, has the right to the job, since he has practiced with the team, and busted his but, while RW enjoyed playing baseball. That was his choice, so he has to live with it. MG deserves his chance to show us what he has got, before he is gone. He will not be a RW, but he does have talents at the position that RW, does not. So we have to get over RW, and support TOB, and MG, and show the ACC we are still a winner without RW. I am ready for another bowl game. But still grateful for what RW brought to the program, and wish him well. Go Wolfpack!

  5. PackerInRussia 05/26/2011 at 1:19 AM #

    ““Why he’s not being allowed to come back to play here for his senior season does not and will not ever make sense to me.”

    tvp1, where did that come from? He was more than welcome to come back, but TOB told him it would be as the back-up to MG. Wilson decided he didn’t like that arrangement and asked for his release.”

    Wilson came out later and said that he wanted to come back, but was asked to leave if I am not mistaken.

  6. PackerInRussia 05/26/2011 at 1:28 AM #

    To those who suggest that the team will be the same no matter what and it’s just a matter of plugging in QB A or QB B and if A>B, then A should play…these things don’t happen in a vacuum. You can’t assume that the team is not affected by these kinds of decisions. There have been enough stories on this site about player conflicts and preferential treatment in basketball lost the team. I’m not expert, but it seems that, on the offense at least, the team to QB relationship is an important one. The OL, RB, and TE protect for him, the receivers catch what he throws. By August, this will be Mike Glennon’s offense. I would guess the bond with the receivers will be even stronger since many of RW’s targets have moved on and these guys who will be starting now have probably spent a lot of time catching Glennon’s stuff. It’s one thing if Wilson is there all along competing. It’s another when he wants to possibly show up in the fall and compete when things are pretty settled. I could see how that could upset people on the team and any positives that Wilson brings in terms of skill could easily be negated.

  7. TLeo 05/26/2011 at 10:46 AM #

    If he keeps screwing around with the Colorado organization,he will really have screwed the pooch. It is reasonable to assume they expect him to stick by his contract and play for a full season and if he insists on leaving early again…I think they will very likely cut him loose and there goes his baseball. I am not convinced that a major college will take him and let him come in 4 or 5 weeks into the season after having missed all of fall practice and not knowing their system. If they do, he certainly has no right to come in and expect to be the starter that people seem to be suggesting he automatically will be.

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