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devildeac
07-28-2018, 08:07 AM
A wonderful article in the Raleigh N&O this AM from DBR's newest member/contributor, Steve Wiseman:

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article215448820.html

Thanks, Steve!!

weezie
07-28-2018, 09:10 AM
Great read. Very poignant. Young Parker showed real courage and humility. Wish him deep blue skies.

chrishoke
07-28-2018, 09:25 AM
Great article. Thank you Steve. Very happy to see how coach, players and professor handled this tough situation. Giles-Harris is a helluva friend.

OldPhiKap
07-28-2018, 12:01 PM
Great story, well-written. Thanks!

budwom
07-28-2018, 12:42 PM
fine story indeed, but the fact that Parker won't be placekicking for the first two weeks of practice seems like an ironic postscript...maybe Wareham is a better choice at this point, but it seems disappointingly illogical.

sagegrouse
07-28-2018, 12:49 PM
fine story indeed, but the fact that Parker won't be placekicking for the first two weeks of practice seems like an ironic postscript...maybe Wareham is a better choice at this point, but it seems disappointingly illogical.

I am scratching my head trying to remember a college or pro team that had the same player both punting and kicking. Surely there are some examples, but it seems like a rare occurrence to me.

swiseman
07-28-2018, 01:03 PM
Thanks for reading and for the kind words, everyone. Austin's candor and willingness to accept his mistake make this story possible. So h/t to him.

Couple of things on the kicking and punting:

My understanding is that Collin's work in the offseason with Jackson Hubbard holding and Ben Wyatt snapping has them in a good rhythm. That's important. Cut values this.

That said, Cut and staff will closely monitor the kickers during August camp. He won't hesitate to get Austin back in the mix if he sees a need. Of course Austin has to earn his starting job(s) back. Nothing was promised when he returned from an absence of his own making. He's more than willing to earn it back. When I asked him what he'd learned from this experience, he said "I learned that hard work is the key to success." He'll get the chance to put those words into action.

budwom
07-28-2018, 01:07 PM
^ hopefully it all works out...but with the first game less than five weeks away, one might think Parker could use some FG kicking work as well (now). We'll see how it turns out.
Meanwhile, the punting debacle we witnessed last year has to improve...punting was mediocre at best, punt returning was disastrously bad.

Bob Green
07-28-2018, 01:23 PM
...punt returning was disastrously bad.

We cannot go through another season of T.J. Rahming allowing the ball to hit the ground and roll 15 or 20 more yards. If he can't, or will not, catch the ball, someone else has to be given an opportunity. Josh Blackwell? He demonstrated good hands during the Spring Showcase.

swiseman
07-28-2018, 01:33 PM
We cannot go through another season of T.J. Rahming allowing the ball to hit the ground and roll 15 or 20 more yards. If he can't, or will not, catch the ball, someone else has to be given an opportunity. Josh Blackwell? He demonstrated good hands during the Spring Showcase.

Keyston Fuller will get opportunities to be a difference maker at PR, too. He's often been a spring practice standout but it has yet to carry over to games. Staff would like nothing more than for Keyston to make it impossible to ignore him.

budwom
07-28-2018, 02:09 PM
Keyston Fuller will get opportunities to be a difference maker at PR, too. He's often been a spring practice standout but it has yet to carry over to games. Staff would like nothing more than for Keyston to make it impossible to ignore him.

That would be great...and as Bob mentioned, just fair catching the ball would be a huge improvement over much of last year...

HereBeforeCoachK
07-28-2018, 10:12 PM
we cannot go through another season of t.j. Rahming allowing the ball to hit the ground and roll 15 or 20 more yards. If he can't, or will not, catch the ball, someone else has to be given an opportunity.

amen amen amen amen ^^^

OldPhiKap
07-28-2018, 10:19 PM
We cannot go through another season of T.J. Rahming allowing the ball to hit the ground and roll 15 or 20 more yards. If he can't, or will not, catch the ball, someone else has to be given an opportunity.


amen amen amen amen ^^^

I know it is a heck of a lot harder than it looks. So I am loathe to be critical.

But damn if this ain’t the truth.

jv001
07-28-2018, 10:30 PM
I know it is a heck of a lot harder than it looks. So I am loathe to be critical.

But damn if this ain’t the truth.

I returned punts and kickoffs in high school. It's not that hard if you have good hands and it seems TJ has good hands. I think TJ is "hearing footsteps" and is tentative. That is why he let's some of those kicks roll away from him. He just doesn't seem fearless like Crowder. I know that's asking a lot because Jamison was great in all aspects of the game. GoDuke!

gep
07-29-2018, 12:19 AM
But why would “footsteps” matter if calling for a fair catch?

sagegrouse
07-29-2018, 08:08 AM
But why would “footsteps” matter if calling for a fair catch?

Uhhh... It can't be a fumble if you don't touch the ball???

jv001
07-29-2018, 03:29 PM
But why would “footsteps” matter if calling for a fair catch?

There's a split second where you have to make the decision do I catch the ball in traffic or do I "fair-catch" the dang ball. That's where the footsteps come into play. I never had that problem because I was mentored by an All Conference running back/returner as a freshman & sophomore. Yes, I had rather see TJ fair catch them all rather than let them roll 20 yards down field.. But that's not the job of a good punt returner. GoDuke!

gep
07-29-2018, 04:23 PM
I returned punts and kickoffs in high school. It's not that hard if you have good hands and it seems TJ has good hands. I think TJ is "hearing footsteps" and is tentative. That is why he let's some of those kicks roll away from him. He just doesn't seem fearless like Crowder. I know that's asking a lot because Jamison was great in all aspects of the game. GoDuke!


There's a split second where you have to make the decision do I catch the ball in traffic or do I "fair-catch" the dang ball. That's where the footsteps come into play. I never had that problem because I was mentored by an All Conference running back/returner as a freshman & sophomore. Yes, I had rather see TJ fair catch them all rather than let them roll 20 yards down field.. But that's not the job of a good punt returner. GoDuke!

Thanks... I never even tried playing football... just a spectator fan. Not intending to be critical or sarcastic, but just looking for insights :cool: