http://www.roanoke.com/sports/colleges/uva/uva-rising-sophomore-lineback...
Landan Word, who played in 11 games and started twice for Virginia this past season, has received a release UVa and plans to transfer to another school.
"The program just wasn't a good fit for him," said Word's father, Barry, who played tailback for Virginia and was the 1985 ACC Player of the Year. "He is in good academic standing."
Not great for Bronco when a player who played a lot of games as a true freshmen and a legacy decides LOLUVA isn't a "good fit". His roommate according to tweet from reporter another linebacker is also leaving. Matt Terrell who also played a freshmen is also gone.
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I feel just a bit saddened due to the fact that this makes me happy.
Hm. Nope. Sorry. Not me.
LOLuva schadenfreude never gets old. Let the suffering continue. I'll allow it.
I thought them firing London was the worst thing ever but this is much better. Bronco can't coach just like London. But unlike London, he can't actually get good players. It got better!
I think it's going to be the opposite. Bronco is a good coach, but I think he'll have a lot more trouble recruiting with UVA than he did with BYU. He'll make UVA respectable, but never elite.
And if I were UVA I wouldn't hold last season against him, the cupboard was pretty bare.
The problem is that even if Bronco can produce better than Timecop I think it will take too long. The way things are going right now I think he will need at least 4-5 years to bring them back to even mediocrity and with the way the college football landscape is right now coaches rarely get that long. Honestly I would compare UVA right now to a school like Duke when Cut got to town. Even if Bronco can get it done UVA's AD needs to be realistic with expectations and timelines.
And they're likely to have a new AD pretty soon. Nothing like coming into a department where the money maker is on a streak of losing seasons and the coach is a holdover from the previous regime.
LOLUVA will hire from within and keep up there Olympic sports goals.
I feel sorry for these guys. Their college careers will now be fractured as they try to find somewhere to land that's not a black hole of football suck. You just wish they could have made a better decision from the get go.
You cannot beat this statement. Point on!
I wasn't sure if it was possible for it to get worse for UVA football next season, but I think they just might pull it off.
If you look at their recruiting classes and attrition you can tell it sure isn't getting better any time soon.
Just you wait and see, Bronco has a plan. Once those 6th years come back from their mission trips, we will all be screwed...
LMAO! So my kid was a freshman at Longwood (barely 18) and they go to some wrestling tournament and draw Sounthern U (mormon) and the the first guy he has to wrestle is 27 year old guy who has his wife and 4 kids with him. He got smoked!
Guy had experience wrestling toddlers. That shit ain't fair.
Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, aka Buenee to many folks. Trying to become the BYU of the east since the Latter-day Saints took it over in 1996.
Their recruiting is terrible and their only talent is leaving
They're entering no man's territory where it becomes excruciatingly difficult to climb out of. No fan support, bad recruiting, and a lack of talent on the roster. They're 5 years, minimum, away from being even a somewhat competent program again, and I'm guessing it might be even further away than that.
I think it is only fitting that LOLUVA has become the new Duke of the ACC. Afterall, Duke has been playing better football for at least 5 years now.
I think they're very close to the John Bunting era UNC kinda of bad. Their problem is that their administration has too much of a conscience to allow the behind the scenes shadiness on campus that allowed UNC to rise out of it.
I wonder how much it would cost to install an "abandon ship" klaxon in the LOLuva locker room and replace the Transfer Office signs with ones that read "Escape Pods".
Chance to sign more QBs!
5 QB rotation?
well, the good news is everywhere, anywhere else is a step up
If they're lucky they might even end up somewhere like... Richmond
Or W&M.
If this continues, there will be more fans at their spring game than players
It's a festival.
UVA has linebackers? I remember watching them last year, but I have no recollection of these alleged "linebackers." Did they make any tackles last season?
Dunno about tackles, but Word recovered one of our multiples of fumbles in this year's game with them. His dad was a good football player, but with a "sniff" of scandal, if I recall correctly.
You do recall correctly.
wait so we couldve scored even more points than we did on UVA? jesus that game was fun
What are they doing??!! Didn't they hear Zima is coming back????
This isn't a good look for LOLUVA. This kid was a legacy player, his dad was Barry Word, from back in the wahoo glory days (if there were such a thing).
Hey they were ranked #1 for that one week 27 seasons ago
was that the one season they had 10 wins?
Hmm good question, need to look it up
hmmm...
Nope, their only 10 win season was in 1989 and they were ranked #1 in 1990 before losing 4 of their last 5, including a 38-13 loss to VT. And yes, I did mean their only 10 win season, as 1989 was the only time in their 129 year history that they've ever won more than 9 games.
Why do we still call this a rivalry?
via GIPHY
Off Topic: Still think they should have gone after Texas Tech's coach. He looks like the LOLUVA breed.
Because otherwise, no one would televise our annual beatdown of a Div-2 team.
But I thought they were ranked #1 for week in a pole during the '98 season....
This will always be ranked #1 in my pole
On the plus side, I got to see the Goodyear blimp fly over on the way to the GT game that year....you remember, the one they lost?
I check in on Le Sabre from time to time for the comedic relief when reveling in their misery. Found this gem from Word's dad, allegedly. I haven't fact-checked.
"Once he reports, we will not talk about football. I think it is important for him to deal with the ups and downs. I will not helicopter parent. I will not talk to coaches about him. He will own his journey. He will not quit. He will not transfer."
Le Boo Hoo
Seems a bit contradictory to me
Isn't some level of attrition perfectly normal after a coaching change? As an example, I remember the blood bath of transfers after Buzz came in. The difference I suppose was Buzz was bringing in good recruits and culture change.
Both these kids were lightly recruited by most P5 schools I think these were Bronco recruited kids.
Word and Terrel signed letters of intent while Timecop was still coach. LOL has now lost 7 of the 24 players who signed 2016 letters of intent.
LOLUVA fans:
"Carruthers, order an extra case of Zima if you please. I know it is just the third day of the week but I'm feeling terribly distressed about this first year transferring and will require the extra Zima for my croquet game on the lawn Saturday."
I'll get this out of the way
so's I can reminisce...
Completely forgot that Barry Word was a Wahoo. Anyone else remember him and Christian Okoye as The Least Fun To Tackle Running Back Tandem In The NFL?
Oh, and did I mention? FUCK UVa.
UVA football is in serious jeopardy of losing at life.
It's going to be awfully difficult to prop up Bronco Mendenhall as the UVA head coach for very long.
Welp, at least we had a lot of good years with Mike London, even if he cost us some good recruits.
I am confident their next hire will be as fruitful for VT as the last three.