UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora publicly blasts QB

TideFan in AU

Hall of Fame
I'm kinda like Mack, I'm not sure how I feel about it. It looks bad on the surface for sure, and I'm sure there's a Mama out there ready to kill Mora. OTOH, if my boy was squandering his talent and the Coach had exhausted everything else, I'm not sure I'd have a big problem with it. Maybe it will get his attention. We don't know whether or not Mora has already had those private conversations, cussings, etc. I'd guess he has at this point, and maybe they haven't worked.

I'll ask this - is this worse than AJ getting spanked on national TV? CNS took a beating for that (way worse than AJ's), but it sure seemed to help AJ become our most successful QB ever.
 

B1GTide

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Wow! Recruits sometimes don't work out just like NFL draft choices don't work out. What the heck is this guy thinking?
 

KrAzY3

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Well, I guess one has to keep how hyped this kid is on context. He's not just a 5 star, there was even a front page ESPN article raising the possibility not just that he could start as a true freshman, but lead a playoff contender as a true freshman. That's really, really high expectations.

Now, that doesn't really justify Mora's behavior, but the kid is way overhyped, that's for sure.
 

bama579

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Sarkisian at Co at USCw got an early Christmas gift. Heck, since Californians make up so much of the rosters of all the Pac12 schools, they all did.

Who thinks this won't be used frequently until Februarys' signing day?
 

4Q Basket Case

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Challenging the player to step up is one thing. Telling him to go back home and play teams he can whup up on is crossing the line.

Worse than that, it's plain stupid. Think that video won't get played for every player UCLA is recruiting?

Of course, Mora did get fired from the Falcons, at least partially because he stated on radio that the University of Washington was his dream job, never mind that, at the time, he was the HC of the Falcons, and UDub still had a HC. He tried to say it was a joke, then after listening to a recording of the statement, admitted that it didn't sound that way.

As that great philosopher Forrest Gump said, stupid is as stupid does.
 
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Capt. Jack

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I watched the Elite 11 camp last year. The knock on Rosen was that he thinks he knows more than the coaches and had sort of a pompous attitude. Maybe Mora just doesn't like him.
 

RedStar

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I'm with Mack.

Mora doesn't exactly have a history of doing stuff like this. If this is the first time he's ever done something like this, there must be a reason we're not privy to.

Do I agree with it? Not at all. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it does seem so out of character & because I don't know the nuances of their relationship.
 

tidefanbeezer

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I'm a little confused by the article. The tweeted article reads like he was yelling at the kid in practice (which most coaches do) and the media overheard him. The only direct quot to the media was that he wasn't pleased and let it be known ("Tell your readers...."). And he's not quoted as saying either of these in the article: "You can’t hit an open receiver down field with no defense." "Go back to Bosco and beat some more [bad] teams." So where did the SB Nation author get those quotes?

If Mora is saying that stuff about the kid directly to the media in a press conference, that's inexcusable. If he's yelling at the kid during practice to motivate him and the media overheard him, that's not much different than what lots of other coaches do.
 

TideEngineer08

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I'm with Mack.

Mora doesn't exactly have a history of doing stuff like this. If this is the first time he's ever done something like this, there must be a reason we're not privy to.

Do I agree with it? Not at all. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it does seem so out of character & because I don't know the nuances of their relationship.
Oh yeah I get it that there is more to the story. I get it that the kid may be entitled and all that. I don't have a problem with strongly worded encouragement, if you will. My problem is just the statements about the kid's abilities. Well, he's the person that recruited the kid. He saw his high school competition. He's the one that thought he could come in and compete. So to me, Mora's statements are an indictment of his own stupidity more so than the kid's abilities. It shows me that he's not too bright of a coach, all things considered.
 

RTR91

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Everyone knows this happened in practice, right? The media just happened to be there. The original article is here.

A new element may have been introduced to the UCLA quarterback competition: method acting.

Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen, the darling of the recruiting analysts while at Bellflower St. John Bosco High, was having a good practice Wednesday morning. Then he got lackadaisical launching a Hail Mary pass during a drill at the end.

Cue Coach Jim Mora.

“You’re not at ... Bellflower St. John Bosco,” Mora screamed. “That’s why you have not been named the starter.”

Rosen threw another Hail Mary and Mora got colorfully descriptive:

--“You can’t hit an open receiver down field with no defense.”

--“The ‘Anointed One.’”

--“Go back to Bosco and beat some more [bad] teams.”

Finally, Mora looked at the members of the media present and yelled, “Tell your readers that is why has not been named the starter.”

And, scene.
More was asked about it yesterday. Here's what he said:

“That’s ridiculous to me,” he said. “This is football. I’m not going to change the way I coach just because there’s fans and media here. You’re trying to put these guys in stressful situations. You’re trying to test them. You’re setting things up to see hope they handle it. To me, this is where you do all of that.

“On game day, what you see me do is support those guys and be there for them. Out here, it’s about toughening them physically, mentally and emotionally to be able to go in that Rose Bowl in front of 85,000 fans and perform in stressful situation. If the music was up, no one would have even heard me. I do that stuff all the time. You can ask them. I got Jerry (Neuheisel) today, you saw it. It’s just part of the deal.

“Like I told them after practice, am I an a..hole? Yeah. Out here, I’m an a..hole, but I’m an a..hole because that’s my job, to make sure they get the most out of what God gave them and to protect all they’ve worked for and what they’re working toward. I’m not going to let anyone go through the motions at any time. That starts with me.”
 

Chukker Veteran

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“Like I told them after practice, am I an a..hole? Yeah. Out here, I’m an a..hole, but I’m an a..hole because that’s my job, to make sure they get the most out of what God gave them and to protect all they’ve worked for and what they’re working toward. I’m not going to let anyone go through the motions at any time. That starts with me.”
Doing God's work by being an a..hole

I've never heard of that approach, but ok.
 

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