DALLAS, Texas — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy waffled Monday on the status of four-star freshman running back Devon Thomas, who’s accused of brandishing a gun during a home burglary and firing at a victim as he drove away.
Dana Holgorsen has his own pending dilemma involving an incarcerated running back, Wendell Smallwood, and West Virginia’s coach is taking a Gundy-like wait-and-see approach.
Both coaches know more about the situations than does the public. Both players are linked to crimes that were life-threatening or, in Smallwood’s case, life-ending. Both coaches are inviting external criticism by not moving to suspend or dismiss the players.
In case you missed Holgorsen’s say-nothing statement from Sunday:
“We are fully aware of all proceedings involving Wendell Smallwood and will continue to monitor the situation. To protect the integrity of the criminal proceedings in Delaware, including the state’s case against the unrelated defendant, we cannot comment further at this time. Additional information will be available at the conclusion of all proceedings. As a team, we will continue to prepare for the 2014 football season and look forward to the start of camp on July 31.”
Holgorsen’s school-issued release seemingly indicates there’s a chance he thinks Smallwood might wriggle out of serious trouble, might somehow continue his career as a Mountaineer despite being charged with asking a witness to lie about a homicide.
Gundy was flat-out contradictory in his statements from Big 12 media days, where Thomas was missing from the media guide and the online roster.
“The roster that we handed out today are the players that will report next week,” Gundy said during Monday morning’s podium appearance. “If there’s a player that’s not on that roster, then he’s not a part of our team.”
Once teams reported to their breakout session, however, Gundy muddle the situation by saying Thomas has not been dismissed from the team.
“You look at it like if it was your own child,” Gundy said. “He was accused of something, and then all of a sudden none of it ever happened and his slate was wiped clean. I would hate to go out on a limb and say, ‘That’s going to happen.’ I don’t know either way. We all know funnier things have happened. But with the information I have, he’s certainly not part of the team at this time.”
Stay tuned for resolutions to both cases … and for coaches’ explanations.
BAYLOR’S NEW HOME
The bricks-and-mortar manifestation of Baylor’s recent success is 45,000-seat McLane Stadium, which will debut when SMU visits Aug. 31.
Bears coach Art Briles, who reportedly declined an offer from Texas last offseason, will see the stadium open under his watch—potentially cementing his status as one of the school’s preeminent sports figures.
“What can I say? Get on the Internet and look,” Briles said. “Drive down I-35 and look. Get in a boat and go down the Brazos River and look. Show me something better.”
GILL RECRUITING
Charlie Weis’ two-year record of 4-20 dosen’t seem like an improvement over Turner Gill’s 5-19 record, but Kansas linebacker Ben Heeney disagrees.
“(Gill) recruited some guys that were good … but at the same time he recruited a bunch of guys where you were like, ‘What? What is this guy doing on our team?'” Heeney said.
“Coach Weis, when he came in, he got rid of guys who weren’t good guys or weren’t really Big 12 players. He had to rebuild the program from the bottom up.”
Despite being the Jayhawks’ lone preseason All-Big 12 selection, the bearded Heeney said he would happily forgo the honors for a taste of the postseason.
“I would rather not win any awards and have our team win a bowl game.”