STrib on non-Gopher in-state signees: No second thoughts about leaving the state


Will Ratelle: "...really didn't think it was that productive for me. I just didn't have much interest in the U. They haven't been that successful the past couple years."

Translation: "I'm so awesome I don't even have a profile on Rivals, Scout or ESPN. I was getting absolutely zero attention from any DI-A programs. At all. I'll make it seem like I didn't have any interest in Minnesota, when in fact the opposite was true. Yeah, that's the ticket. Despite implying that I wanted to play for a winner, I went to a school that was 3-8 in a lower division and probably would have lost to a bad Gophers team by 5 TDs. What do you want me to say - I jumped all over the first DI-AA offer I got. Hell, I would've crawled to Grand Forks using only my teeth and tongue if I had to."
 

dpo, I kind of chuckled when I read his comment as well. It's hard for these kids not to be a little bit fresher than I was in the 1960s (although I was never recruited for anything), but you'd think that a little light would go on in their head and tell them "Whoa there big fella!"
 

Will Ratelle: "...really didn't think it was that productive for me. I just didn't have much interest in the U. They haven't been that successful the past couple years."

Translation: "I'm so awesome I don't even have a profile on Rivals, Scout or ESPN. I was getting absolutely zero attention from any DI-A programs. At all. I'll make it seem like I didn't have any interest in Minnesota, when in fact the opposite was true. Yeah, that's the ticket. Despite implying that I wanted to play for a winner, I went to a school that was 3-8 in a lower division and probably would have lost to a bad Gophers team by 5 TDs. What do you want me to say - I jumped all over the first DI-AA offer I got. Hell, I would've crawled to Grand Forks using only my teeth and tongue if I had to."

It does have the look of sour grapes. Sagarin lists NDSU at #94, SDSU at #123, USD at #171 and UND at #190. If he doesn't want to play for a 3-9 Big Ten team, why be so eager to play for a 3-win team ranked #190 in the nation? But my real gripe is with the story itself, a pretty cheap swipe at the U.
 

I think Ratelle is a very good baseball player and probably would not have gotten the chance to do both here. I have no problems with his comments. I've seen him play and he would have helped the Gophers.

Kill mentioned on KFAN yesterday that he wanted Marz and Hayes, but repsected their decisions to stick with their commitments.
 


I thought Ratelle's quote was a definite cheap shot a the U given that, as stated above, UND was abysmal last year. I don't understand interviewing a kid about not signing with the U when he wasn't even on the U's radar. Whatever. Enjoy Grand Forks.
 

Okay, what kid is going to sign their LOI and on the same day, say that they regret leaving the state? Ridiculous title, ridiculous story.

And if Ratelle is so well-regarded, then (as Dpod pointed out), why didn't WI or IA (two schools that recruit MN a ton) or Stanford (they must have seen a lot of film on him, having recruited Hayes) offer him? He's probably right where he belongs, which is best for everyone.
 

"One metro coach called Ratelle the best player in class 4A" Dang, why didn't we offer him and take the scholarship away from Tommy Olson??? We could have had this prolific LB instead of some big, dopey offensive lineman...

For anyone that doesn't have a sense of humor, I am joking!
 

dpo hit it on the head.

And the whole article was *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!#.
 



Talk about sour grapes...

Why not just let the high school kid go on his way without trying to take a shot at him? This seems rather boorish on the part of the so-called fans who want to rip high school players.

Don't bother to brag up some high school kid who comes to the U when you are ripping some high school kid who unfortunately gave some reporter an interview about the process that kid just went through in deciding to go somewhere else.

Leave the high school kids alone. Don't try to be a kangaroo court with your little gang with too few scruples and too much judgementalism and no sense of sportsmanship. High school kids are just high school kids. Good luck to all of them.
 

Sorry, Wayne - when you insult my school to the media (and thus by extension, the entire world), you're going to hear from me. I don't appreciate my world-class institution's name being soiled in favor of a podunk glorified HS in the middle of nowhere. If you actually went here instead of the Winona Institute for the Insane you would understand where I'm coming from.
 

Nope dopodoll...

You aren't worth communicating with.
 

I only act that way toward insufferable d*ckheads, crazy people, and those out of touch with reality. You fit all 3, so you're right at the top of the list.

You'll have to forgive me when I summarily dismiss and disregard the opinion of a lunatic who has been banned from this board multiple times, is quite clearly not wanted here, and still hangs around in spite of both of those things. It's pathetic.
 



For the record, I have little doubt in my mind that Ratelle, Hayes and McManus would all eventually see field time for UMN had they chose to go there. Ratelle was a physical, active guy and probably their best player. The only question I'd have is if he can bulk up another 15 lbs. to play LB in the Big Ten.
 

Will Ratelle: "...really didn't think it was that productive for me. I just didn't have much interest in the U. They haven't been that successful the past couple years."

Translation: "I'm so awesome I don't even have a profile on Rivals, Scout or ESPN. I was getting absolutely zero attention from any DI-A programs. At all. I'll make it seem like I didn't have any interest in Minnesota, when in fact the opposite was true. Yeah, that's the ticket. Despite implying that I wanted to play for a winner, I went to a school that was 3-8 in a lower division and probably would have lost to a bad Gophers team by 5 TDs. What do you want me to say - I jumped all over the first DI-AA offer I got. Hell, I would've crawled to Grand Forks using only my teeth and tongue if I had to."

I agree with everything you wrote except the, "and probably would have lost to a bad Gophers team by 5 TDs." part. No Gopher team in the last four years could blow-out another team by that much.:(
 

If anyone wants to go to that crap School UND in that crap city Grand Forks and play for that crap football program be my guest.
 

Why not just let the high school kid go on his way without trying to take a shot at him? This seems rather boorish on the part of the so-called fans who want to rip high school players.

Don't bother to brag up some high school kid who comes to the U when you are ripping some high school kid who unfortunately gave some reporter an interview about the process that kid just went through in deciding to go somewhere else.

Leave the high school kids alone. Don't try to be a kangaroo court with your little gang with too few scruples and too much judgementalism and no sense of sportsmanship. High school kids are just high school kids. Good luck to all of them.

You missed the point.

But, go ahead and troll more.
 



Why not just let the high school kid go on his way without trying to take a shot at him? This seems rather boorish on the part of the so-called fans who want to rip high school players.

Don't bother to brag up some high school kid who comes to the U when you are ripping some high school kid who unfortunately gave some reporter an interview about the process that kid just went through in deciding to go somewhere else.

Leave the high school kids alone. Don't try to be a kangaroo court with your little gang with too few scruples and too much judgementalism and no sense of sportsmanship. High school kids are just high school kids. Good luck to all of them.


Dpo didn't really take a shot at any kid that didn't take a shot at the U. In fact, I would imagine that Dpo probably wouldn't have had any comment on this kid had he just said the truth about his recruiting process and said something like "i'm happy to be getting a scholarship at UND". It's not like this thread is calling out every single kid on this thread who chose to go elsewhere, it is merely calling out how irrational this one kid's comments were.

PS: Big 10 Wins!!!!!!!
 

Why not just let the high school kid go on his way without trying to take a shot at him? This seems rather boorish on the part of the so-called fans who want to rip high school players.

Don't bother to brag up some high school kid who comes to the U when you are ripping some high school kid who unfortunately gave some reporter an interview about the process that kid just went through in deciding to go somewhere else.

Leave the high school kids alone. Don't try to be a kangaroo court with your little gang with too few scruples and too much judgementalism and no sense of sportsmanship. High school kids are just high school kids. Good luck to all of them.

Well said. There's nothing wrong with UND, they only have about two or three times more wins than the U in the last 30 years, and they're in the middle of a move up from D2 to D1.

Sorry, Wayne - when you insult my school to the media (and thus by extension, the entire world), you're going to hear from me. I don't appreciate my world-class institution's name being soiled in favor of a podunk glorified HS in the middle of nowhere. If you actually went here instead of the Winona Institute for the Insane you would understand where I'm coming from.

B.S. That's an awful excuse for acting like a jerk.
 

Well said. There's nothing wrong with UND, they only have about two or three times more wins than the U in the last 30 years, and they're in the middle of a move up from D2 to D1.



B.S. That's an awful excuse for acting like a jerk.


Why is that a bad excuse? It's not like he attacked his character or anything that wasn't relevant.

The kid said that he didn't even consider the U because they have a bad program.
Dpo said that the U was obviously not interested in him and pointed out that he went to a school that did worse in a lower division.

I don't see how that's a cheap shot.
 

Why is that a bad excuse? It's not like he attacked his character or anything that wasn't relevant.

The kid said that he didn't even consider the U because they have a bad program.
Dpo said that the U was obviously not interested in him and pointed out that he went to a school that did worse in a lower division.

I don't see how that's a cheap shot.

A kid who a lot of people think could have contributed at the U says he's happy going to a different school that usually wins more football games than the Gophers. dpodoll thinks that's an insult and a good enough excuse to mock and insult a teenaged boy. I think a grownup ought to know better.
 

There's two magic words you can use if you don't want people responding to things you might say: "No comment".
 

A kid who a lot of people think could have contributed at the U says he's happy going to a different school that usually wins more football games than the Gophers.

Nice try, but that's not even approximating what he actually said.
 

A kid who a lot of people think could have contributed at the U says he's happy going to a different school that usually wins more football games than the Gophers. dpodoll thinks that's an insult and a good enough excuse to mock and insult a teenaged boy. I think a grownup ought to know better.


No offense, but who are all of these people? They surely aren't any other Big 10 coaches or even MAC coaches or for that matter any coach in the FBS.

I'm not ripping on the kid, he has and will accomplish way more in football than I ever did and I always root for MN kids (including him) when they go to other schools (except against the Gophers).

If you don't think a kid who got absolutely no FBS looks and then says "I had no interest in the U" deserves some ribbing, then I don't know what to tell you. He made it sound like he chose going to UND rather than going to the U because UND is such a proud program. That statement is laughable on almost every single front. It would be like me saying, I am choosing to hang out with my friends tonight instead of Megan Fox.
 

Can't fool me, Megan's going to be at my place giving me a spongebath. And then another one.
 

Why is that a bad excuse? It's not like he attacked his character or anything that wasn't relevant.

The kid said that he didn't even consider the U because they have a bad program.
Dpo said that the U was obviously not interested in him and pointed out that he went to a school that did worse in a lower division.

I don't see how that's a cheap shot.

Loblaw speaks the truth. No cheap shot.

For further reading by this poster, I highly suggest Bob Loblaw's Law Blog.
 




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