Josh Quezada's "Collie" moment
by danbyu1 on Apr 23, 2010 9:39 AM PDT
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PrintHarvey Unga, BYU's all-time leading rusher will not be coming back. He had requested to be reinstated, after admitting to an honor-code violation. At any other school this wouldn't even be a topic of discussion, but at BYU it's all the buzz. As much as I love the guy and all he did at BYU, sorry to say but his career is over. The LDS Church is all about keeping their good name, and letting Harvey play again is will not happen after making national news.
That being said let's take a look at Josh Quezada. In my mind he is in the same position that Austin Collie found himself in last year. A guy with a lot of talent, and a shot at making it big. To be quite honest I didn't have super high expectations for Austin Collie. I knew he was good, but the NFL is a different game. I was pleasantly surprised at his breakout rookie season, and somewhat upset I took Terrell Owens instead of Austin Collie as a receiver on my fantasy team.
Josh Quezada has landed in the right place at the right time. I did not get to see him play at the blue and white game, but everything I heard about the kid matched up with his highlight videos from high school. So the only real difference with Austin Collie's situation last year and Josh Quezada's situation this year would be expectations. I can say that I do have expectations for Quezada, as I should. If he can not preform from the get-go he will be put into the rotation rather than a mainstay. While I think that Quezada is the best combination back with a mix of speed, power and shiftiness, BYU has speed backs, power backs and shifty guys, they would just have to rotate.
Of course the game will speak for itself, and come September 4th when the now infamous PAC-10 rolls into town all the talk is just speculation, and Quezada has a chance to prove himself. Do I think he will be the starter as a freshman? Yes. Will he be the running back that we all hope he is? Depends. A lot of that will have to do with the quarterback position. If Reilly Nelson is the QB, I don't think Quezada will have the same impact he would if Lark, or Heaps were taking snaps. That being said, from what I hear I think Quezada will have a huge impact as he brings a new dynamic to the BYU running game. If he is as good in the flats as Harvey was then watch out. It will be time to rise and shout!
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Nice post, but...
I do think Harvey Unga will be back. Here’s why. There was no Honor Code investigation started because he withdrew before being turned in, making the Honor Code board powerless in any possible future enrollment decision. All he would really need is the academic board approving him based on academic records, and, of course, the biggie: a bishop’s “yes” endorsement.
Also, every quote from Bronco so far would lead one to think the coach is willing to give Unga every chance to be back on the field in September, if he’s reinstated. We can hold out hope, but no one really knows what will happen until after summer term in August.
About Quezada, I hope you’re right. Performance in spring practice is so hard to gauge, but if it’s any indication of potential Quezada will be very, very good.
Vanquish the Foe, a BYU Cougars blog at SB Nation
For reinstatement
Carri Jenkins, BYU spokesperson, responded to questions about Harvey’s potential return by saying,
“[When] A student makes the decision to withdraw, a review by the honor code office is not needed and the dean of students makes the decision regarding re-entry. Any student applying for admission or readmission into BYU must first get an “ecclesiastical endorsement” from his or her church leader. If Unga gets that OK from his bishop, the next step is approval from BYU’s administrative leaders."
The dean of students will have several good reasons to let Unga be re-admitted.
1. Unga is about to enter his senior year after three already with BYU. He, to the public’s knowledge, has had no serious run-ins with the school’s honor code or the law in the past.
2. Unga, if allowed to come back, and ultimately to graduate, will be the first in his family to receive a college degree.
3. If it comes to the dean, then it must be that Unga’s church leaders feel he has sufficiently repented from whatever he did.
4. Coach Mendenhall is sure to give him a strong endorsement and Bronco is in pretty good standing with the university.
5. (Shouldn’t be a factor, but I will acknowledge it anyway) He is an outstanding athlete and will be entering his final year of eligibility after investing a lot of time and effort into competing for BYU.
Interesting take
First, I totally disagree with your “The LDS Church is all about keeping their good name, and letting Harvey play again is will not happen after making national news.” BYU is so much bigger than that. They are so much more about the souls of men and standards then they are about football. They do not care about the national media. They care about standards and sticking to them. Not about football!!!
Harvey Unga broke the honor code. He will be treated like any other student in his situation. If Harvey is allowed back at BYU it will not be because he is Harvey and BYU needs his football skills. It will be because he, just like many others in his situation, did what was required of him in order to return. If Harvey does not return, it will be because his actions, just like others in his situation, required a period of dismissal. In which Harvey decides it would be better off for him to pursue the NFL. It really just depends on BYU protocol for students who violate the honor code the way Harvey did.
That being said I give props to Harvey for withdrawing from BYU. It likely took courage to be open about his violation of the honor code and not try and conceal it from his team and BYU.
BYU should let Unga return
He wasn’t found out, he came forward willingly. He made a mistake and admitted it. He’s repentant and wants a second chance. Isn’t that the heart of Chritianity? Isn’t it about forgiveness? Isn’t it why Jesus died because we all make mistakes and we all need to be forgiven? I really hope BYU does the right thing here. Of course, BYU is run by humans who can make mistakes just like Unga. I just get the feeling they’re going to do the wrong thing with Unga.
Don't trust this guy. He lies.
All TIme Leader
Harvey made a big sacrifice when he took his name out the draft and committed to BYU for his senior year. He would of gone 5-7th round if he had come out. And for BYU to not give him a chance is just wrong. He willingly turned himself in and is doing the necessary things to to try and get reinstated. BYU ows him more than this. Lets all hope Unga can come back cus we all know he will be the bright spot on this team come next year
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