Parkinson's typically takes years to wear down someone of his age. So I thought Red must be referring to something else. If this is a typical case, its probable the odds are in his favor that he'll be physically able to keep coaching if thats his passion. Long term, the outlook is grim, but there are experimental drugs in various trial phases from multiple pharmas. More importantly, the biological sciences are progressing at an absolutely astonishing rate. Within the decade we'll see some remarkable advances in medicine.
A man has to put his health before his career. I expect Kragthorp to retire early. But it doesn't mean that he won't play several more years.
Pay due respect to Les Miles. This situation could have taken a turn for the worst. I immediately thought, well our season is shot, how will we replace Krags so late in preseason with any decent OC. Miles shows great faith and loyalty keeping Krags on the staff, then promotes Stud. One of the reasons Miles is so successful is because his players love him. They love to play for him. That speaks volumes about Miles. Kids that age are so fickle. The fact that generally, across the board with kids from so many different locations and socio economic background speak very highly of him should show us all something. Miles stood by Krags and did what a lot of coaches may not have. He took the risk of keeping him on the staff. You never know with these type of diseases when they could take a turn for the worst. There is no doubt Miles did the honest and respectful thing and made a brave call. You could tell in Krags interview shortly afterward the kind of positive emotion he displayed about remaining on the staff for years to come. It was respect paid towards Miles, and obviously this decision paid dividends. It could have been awkward, God knows Saban would have let him go, and pressed him to say he resigned(not trying to disrespect Saban, but he is a cold business man at heart) Whether Stud is really in charge or Krags, or both, it clearly worked. I have no doubt Krags is a major part of the turn around here, and I am very happy he stayed.
You don't land a recruit like Kiel from the Midwest by putting him on a redshirt. MIles doesn't really do the redshirt thing unless someone needs physical development. GK doesn't fit the profile. He'll be #2b behind Mett and Randall coming out of the Spring.
Like I said, he will give Kiel every opportunity to play. But if he doesn't prove himself "capable" in the spring, it would be silly not to redshirt him.
Disagreed, Kiel doesnt need a redshirt year to grow physically. It will add a very important year of learning, balancing school work and learning time management in a new place. He is a student athlete. This is a guy moving fourteen hours away with no family to also go to school. You forget, not all of these guys desire immediate playing time, in many cases it proves to be self-sabotage. For QB's in the SEC it is paramount that you get some quality growth before ever stepping foot on the field. That redshirt year on the sidelines does much for a studious young man. He seems to have a great family serving as a support system. I doubt his family reinforces delusions of coming in immediately for major playing time in the toughest league in the country. Barkley and Gilbert both told R. Shepard they thought they had to take the reigns too early, and wished they were in better situations so that they had more time to learn. Those were two amazing high school QBs' Ones career seems to have taken off, the other has suffered. We want to give Gunner every chance to succeed, which includes breathing room to both learn and acclimate without premeditated expectations. Nothing wrong with him getting some mop up duty time his redshirt freshmen year. In fact, that would be preferable in the SEC atmosphere
I wouldnt overlook River's potential. There is no downside to redshirting. It protects his ability to start for 3-4 years at LSU if he turns out to be good, but not NFL great. For most QBs, college is the end of the road for their football careers--so why risk losing a year by not redshirting. If he turns out to be NFL great, then he can still go pro early. I hope its a long time before we see another freshman QB start a LSU game.
