The Seantrel Henderson Sweepstakes - the drama continues for the USC Trojans
by GopherNation on Jun 30, 2010 4:02 PM CDT
in Gopher Football
6 comments
Reportedly, Seantrel Henderson wants out of his Letter of Intent to play football for Lane Kiffin and his USC Trojans. Last week Kiffin, the elder Kiffin, recruiting whiz Ed Orgeron, offensive line coach James Cregg and maybe even Will Farrell and Snoop (though that is unconfirmed and highly unlikely) took a jet to the Twin Cities when Seantrel failed to show up for USC orientation. The damage control committee returned this week to make a second pitch to the nation's #1 incoming offensive lineman.
Those are facts, now comes the speculation.
I think it is safe to assume that the Henderson's are upset about the NCAA sanctions and it appears as though they feel duped by the Kiffin regime when told that the NCAA sanctions would not be too severe. Now Henderson wants out and desires to play football for a school that will be allowed to play in a bowl game. To do that he'll need to be released from his letter of intent. Supposedly, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.
Making matters more difficult is that sources say the USC coaches planned to tell Henderson that they wouldn’t release him from his Letter of Intent. That could prove to be an issue for both sides; a person close to the situation summed things up perfectly: if Seantrel were really interested in playing for USC then he would already be in LA instead of spending his summer playing basketball around the Twin Cities.
It seems fiarly obvious that Henderson will not be a Trojan this fall. The USC staff can prevent him from playing somewhere else this fall but that doesn't mean he'll be in uniform. The relationship seems to have soured. Where he will end up and when he'll be able to actually play are the next obvious questions that will need to be answered.
What is very interesting is that the Kiffin-Orgeron dynamo has landed the nation's #1 recruit two years in a row and it looks like they'll be 0-2 when it comes to getting that player on the field.
When it comes to Henderson's next destination, I don't think Gopher fans shouldn't get their hopes up. It seemed pretty clear that Minnesota was not Henderson's second choice and it is also not clear if the Gophers can even accept Henderson after self-reporting minor recruiting violations surrounding his recruitment.
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Bryant McKinne
Is a thug. All he does is hang out at the clubs during his discretionary time. In fact, Seantel’s father had to meet McKinnie at a club during the recruiting trip to Miami.
Beyond 'Where He'll Play'
As much as I would like to see him playing for the Gophers, it’s likely not going to happen. I’m going to try and stay away from ripping on Brewster for not getting him to MN in the first place.
What I really want to say here is that Seantrel HAD to know that there were going to be NCAA sanctions at USC. Everyone else knew something big was coming, so he had to know. Therefore, I wouldn’t blame USC for not letting him out of his commitment. He knew what he was getting into, so he should deal with the situation.
That said, he’s a kid. Kids make mistakes. USC should consider, in the spirit of being an educational institution whose mission statement talks about “moral discernment,” and “an extraordinary closeness and willingness to help one another,” let the kid go where he wants to go. The real issue here, I believe, is the whole letter of commitment situation that college teams are allowed to get away with. College players don’t get payed, so there shouldn’t be any sort of pseudo-contract like a signing commitment. College football players are supposedly student-athletes. If a regular college student applies and gets accepted to USC, and then decides to go to Ohio State in July, there’s no issues whatsoever. That student isn’t barred from intramural athletics or from using the school’s tutoring program (or something of that nature) like a football player is barred from playing for one season. College football teams shouldn’t be allowed to make millions off of these players, not pay them a salary, and also treat them like they have contracts that they must honor.
What I really want to say here is that Seantrel HAD to know that there were going to be NCAA sanctions at USC. Everyone else knew something big was coming, so he had to know. Therefore, I wouldn’t blame USC for not letting him out of his commitment. He knew what he was getting into, so he should deal with the situation.
Everyone knew something was coming, but I don’t think anybody expected it to be that bad. He is banned from a bowl his first two seasons and by then the loss of 20 scholarships over two years will catch up with the program and playing at a national title level is going to be nearly impossible.
I strongly feel that the USC coaches led him to believe it wouldn’t be as bad as it was. Whether they believed it themselves or not, I don’t have any idea.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
and
the letter of intent thing is not a two-way street, which is unfortunate. Did you see that Marquette just dumped an incoming freshman because they were getting a better transfer? If that kid wanted to go to a better school, they wouldn’t have let him out of that LOI.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
"College players don’t get payed, so there shouldn’t be any sort of pseudo-contract like a signing commitment."
I left the U with over $25,000 in debt. Don’t tell me scholarship football players don’t get paid. We want to pay them? Fine. Give them $8 an hour like every other job on campus and let them pay for their own tuition and housing like a normal student.
Good riddance!
Seriously. If Seantrell doesn’t see the upside and benefit from playin football and earning a degree from USC then LET HIM GO! There is a possible BIG problem here. I hear tell that Mr. Henderson is a BLOCK HEAD in the classroom and that his High School grades may have been, well…..uh…“helped out” a bit. Furthermore can anyone else see ANY concerns with his DAD? Gee, if you think that Reggis Bush’s step dad was a mess then Sentrell’s dad is that TIMES TWO! Miami is a PERFECT fit for Seantrell! After all the head if the NCAA committee who hammered USC is from………MIAMI. And, under that bone head’s watch Miami committed some of if not the most serious infractions since the SMU days! HOW FITTING!
Although, it would be funny if USC denied Sentrell’s request to be let out of his LOI which would make him ineligable this year and mean that he’d have to sit! Then Miami could have him next year with only (4) years left to get (4) in.
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