| 06 October 2009
So a lot was made late last week about the possible reinstatement of LeGarrette Blount. Apparently Blount has gone out of his way with his parents and even involved a lawyer appealing the situation, trying to get back as an eligible member of the Oregon football program. And, for whatever it's worth, it appears that it might actually work for Blount, as Chip Kelly has now been quoted as saying it's a "human being" story now. Blount has some things he has to do to get back on the team, however, some believe he may return in early November.
Now hang on a minute. Blount punches out some loud-mouth Boise State player who popped off to him after the game, and then goes absolutely ballistic in the melee that ensued, all on national TV? It was sports-talk-radio fodder pretty much across the country for a few days, and Oregon suspends him for the year....and now he may come back? Mmm-kay. Whatever, I mean it's Oregon's program, and they are closer to the situation than anyone else. They are aware of the circumstances, they are the ones dealing with Blount. And they are the ones who will deal with any consequences/fallout. I guess the bottom line is that hey, if Blount has done the crime, but is also doing the time accordingly, well, then maybe he should get the sentence reduced for good behavior? It happens all the time in the real world, where prison sentences are sometimes cut in half due to good behavior. If Blount is playing by the rules set out by Oregon, and clearly he shows remourse for what happened, maybe they can work it all out.
But all this reinstatement talk got some Coug fans wondering what's up with Kevin Norrell? We all remember we lost Kevin for the season when he made a terrible mistake after the season-opener, where he did some things he shouldn't have done in the wee hours of the night. Here at this blog, we have lamented his loss on the field, and how things were really lining up for him to have a big impact on the wide receiver situation for this year. He had a great fall camp, and now when you look at Jeshua Anderson's decision to quit football, you start to understand what his loss has meant to that group of wideouts. Norrell was going to start coming into the year, and having him out there along with Jared Karstetter, Daniel Blackledge, Gino Simone and Jeffrey Solomon would have made for a nice, young, athletic core of WR's that sets up nicely for today AND tomorrow.
I don't think we can sit here and flat-out defend his actions. A DUI isn't anything to sneeze at. And we won't do that here. But he's young, an 18-year old sophomore right now. He made a mistake, and now he's paying the price, suspended by the team for the season. Per coach Wulff, at the time of the suspension, they declared Norrell's situation "would be re-evaluated at the end of the semester", which of course, is after the conclusion of the 2009 football season.
As to Kevin Norrell and what is going on right now, well, believe it or not we heard from Kevin Norrell senior. Mr Norrell was kind enough to contact us and give us an update on what Kevin is up to right now. Yes, that's a picture of Kevin above, in the WSU t-shirt. Can you figure out who the Pro Bowl WR's are hanging out with him? Think Cincinnati Bengals-Seattle Seahawks and you'll know who they are (psst- Ocho Cinco and TJ Housh). The other guy in the picture is a JC middle linebacker from California named Adrian Ferns, who according to Kevin's father, is currently being recruited by PAC-10 schools. Anyway, not only did we hear from Kevin's father, but we also heard from Kevin himself on where he is in this whole process. Read on for more.....
First, from Kevin's father, after we wrote about the wide receiver situation and how much they miss Kevin:
"Thanks for all the positive comments. Kevin will be back, he is going through a learning process. When it's all said and done he will be a better person because of the situation he is experiencing. He will work hard in the offseason, keep improving his game and come back next season as a big boost to the program. Thanks, Kevin Norrell (Kevin's Dad)."
After some back-and-forth e-mails, which were quite pleasant by the way, Mr. Norrell said he would get some direct comments from Kevin himself. Here's what Kevin Jr had to say:
"I would like to thank Coug Nation for their support. I wish the incident never had happened, and my heart is filled with regret. I have never been in trouble before in my life. I have apologized for the embarrassment this situation has caused. And I am thankful for the opportunity to attend WSU and look forward to rejoining the team next year. I miss my coaches and teammates and wish them the very best.
Sincerely,
Kevin Norrell Jr #4"
As to Kevin's whereabouts? He's still in Pullman, taking classes and working hard in the classroom.
We'll see what happens. I don't know if the whole LeGarrette Blount situation has made coach Wulff and the Unity Council rethink their decision to suspend Norrell for the entire season. There really hasn't been anything mentioned up until now on whether or not Norrell has an opportunity to return this year. But perhaps Kevin is showing the coaches that he has learned his lesson, a kid who really made a gigantic mistake but hasn't ever been in trouble before?
I heard Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio and his take on the Blount situation last week, and he painted a pretty good analogy on the whole thing. When Colin was a kid, he started a fire around the house playing with a lighter, and could have caused some major damage to the surrounding area before they put it out. He was immediately grounded for the summer by his mother. But four weeks later I believe, after he had done everything that was asked of him by serving his punishment, his mother lifted the grounding and let him go free. Why? Because he not only showed remourse for his actions, but he also showed that he understood what he did was wrong, and he played by the rules set forth in the punishment by those in charge. He knew he blew it, and served his "time" well. His mother saw that he knew what he did was wrong, it wouldn't happen again, and the punishment up until that point had served it's purpose. I guess at the end of the day, when you punish someone, you really aren't just trying to flat-out hurt them, but instead you want them to LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKE, show some remourse, and then move on with life?
Anyway, we'll see what happens. It's very encouraging to hear from Mr. Norrell, and that Kevin is doing well in all this and learning some valuable life lessons. Worst case scenario, he's back in the program in January, ready to go for spring ball, and back in the lineup next fall. Thanks again to Mr. Norrell for the update, as Coug Nation greatly appreciates it.
That's it for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and GO COUGS!
Now hang on a minute. Blount punches out some loud-mouth Boise State player who popped off to him after the game, and then goes absolutely ballistic in the melee that ensued, all on national TV? It was sports-talk-radio fodder pretty much across the country for a few days, and Oregon suspends him for the year....and now he may come back? Mmm-kay. Whatever, I mean it's Oregon's program, and they are closer to the situation than anyone else. They are aware of the circumstances, they are the ones dealing with Blount. And they are the ones who will deal with any consequences/fallout. I guess the bottom line is that hey, if Blount has done the crime, but is also doing the time accordingly, well, then maybe he should get the sentence reduced for good behavior? It happens all the time in the real world, where prison sentences are sometimes cut in half due to good behavior. If Blount is playing by the rules set out by Oregon, and clearly he shows remourse for what happened, maybe they can work it all out.
But all this reinstatement talk got some Coug fans wondering what's up with Kevin Norrell? We all remember we lost Kevin for the season when he made a terrible mistake after the season-opener, where he did some things he shouldn't have done in the wee hours of the night. Here at this blog, we have lamented his loss on the field, and how things were really lining up for him to have a big impact on the wide receiver situation for this year. He had a great fall camp, and now when you look at Jeshua Anderson's decision to quit football, you start to understand what his loss has meant to that group of wideouts. Norrell was going to start coming into the year, and having him out there along with Jared Karstetter, Daniel Blackledge, Gino Simone and Jeffrey Solomon would have made for a nice, young, athletic core of WR's that sets up nicely for today AND tomorrow.
I don't think we can sit here and flat-out defend his actions. A DUI isn't anything to sneeze at. And we won't do that here. But he's young, an 18-year old sophomore right now. He made a mistake, and now he's paying the price, suspended by the team for the season. Per coach Wulff, at the time of the suspension, they declared Norrell's situation "would be re-evaluated at the end of the semester", which of course, is after the conclusion of the 2009 football season.
As to Kevin Norrell and what is going on right now, well, believe it or not we heard from Kevin Norrell senior. Mr Norrell was kind enough to contact us and give us an update on what Kevin is up to right now. Yes, that's a picture of Kevin above, in the WSU t-shirt. Can you figure out who the Pro Bowl WR's are hanging out with him? Think Cincinnati Bengals-Seattle Seahawks and you'll know who they are (psst- Ocho Cinco and TJ Housh). The other guy in the picture is a JC middle linebacker from California named Adrian Ferns, who according to Kevin's father, is currently being recruited by PAC-10 schools. Anyway, not only did we hear from Kevin's father, but we also heard from Kevin himself on where he is in this whole process. Read on for more.....
First, from Kevin's father, after we wrote about the wide receiver situation and how much they miss Kevin:
"Thanks for all the positive comments. Kevin will be back, he is going through a learning process. When it's all said and done he will be a better person because of the situation he is experiencing. He will work hard in the offseason, keep improving his game and come back next season as a big boost to the program. Thanks, Kevin Norrell (Kevin's Dad)."
After some back-and-forth e-mails, which were quite pleasant by the way, Mr. Norrell said he would get some direct comments from Kevin himself. Here's what Kevin Jr had to say:
"I would like to thank Coug Nation for their support. I wish the incident never had happened, and my heart is filled with regret. I have never been in trouble before in my life. I have apologized for the embarrassment this situation has caused. And I am thankful for the opportunity to attend WSU and look forward to rejoining the team next year. I miss my coaches and teammates and wish them the very best.
Sincerely,
Kevin Norrell Jr #4"
As to Kevin's whereabouts? He's still in Pullman, taking classes and working hard in the classroom.
We'll see what happens. I don't know if the whole LeGarrette Blount situation has made coach Wulff and the Unity Council rethink their decision to suspend Norrell for the entire season. There really hasn't been anything mentioned up until now on whether or not Norrell has an opportunity to return this year. But perhaps Kevin is showing the coaches that he has learned his lesson, a kid who really made a gigantic mistake but hasn't ever been in trouble before?
I heard Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio and his take on the Blount situation last week, and he painted a pretty good analogy on the whole thing. When Colin was a kid, he started a fire around the house playing with a lighter, and could have caused some major damage to the surrounding area before they put it out. He was immediately grounded for the summer by his mother. But four weeks later I believe, after he had done everything that was asked of him by serving his punishment, his mother lifted the grounding and let him go free. Why? Because he not only showed remourse for his actions, but he also showed that he understood what he did was wrong, and he played by the rules set forth in the punishment by those in charge. He knew he blew it, and served his "time" well. His mother saw that he knew what he did was wrong, it wouldn't happen again, and the punishment up until that point had served it's purpose. I guess at the end of the day, when you punish someone, you really aren't just trying to flat-out hurt them, but instead you want them to LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKE, show some remourse, and then move on with life?
Anyway, we'll see what happens. It's very encouraging to hear from Mr. Norrell, and that Kevin is doing well in all this and learning some valuable life lessons. Worst case scenario, he's back in the program in January, ready to go for spring ball, and back in the lineup next fall. Thanks again to Mr. Norrell for the update, as Coug Nation greatly appreciates it.
That's it for now. Enjoy your Tuesday, and GO COUGS!
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