Alabama history, Linnie Patrick and recruiting hype

[bamaga]

We got into a small discussion on the BJ thread, the biggest bust in Alabama history. Not really a term I like, how about not meeting expectations or hype.
The biggest I can remember was LP. Who, as a 5'10, 175 lb HS running back averaged 10.25 yards/carry over his 3 year HS career, even had a small article in sports illustrated about him, something few HS athletes had in those days.
Linnie was a Parade all American. probably the highest HS accolade ,a two time Orlando sentinel All southern, and 3 time BN all state , 1st team, and BN Super all state

His most highly publicized problem child, of course, is Linnie Patrick, the 5-10, 175-pound junior from Jasper. One of the most fabled high school running backs in the history of the state, Patrick has been in and out of Bryant's doghouse with alarming regularity ever since he moved down Highway 69 to Tuscaloosa. One week he's on suspension, the next week he's performing remarkable feats, as he did on two dazzling runs against Auburn last November.

an excerpt from a coach Bryant interview in the HUNTSVILLE TIMES, CIRCA 1982

It is hard for a guy that averaged 7+ yards a carry and had several 100 yard games a bust, but the fanfare surrounding his recruitment and signing at UA, his prediction at signing of winning three Heismans, etc, and the discipline problems, many believe he was Bama's biggest bust. Anyone want to add to this, or nominate anyone else ( please, no current players)

 

[BradtheImpaler]

I remember a quarterback named Billy Ray back in the 1980s who was going to do great things, but he never could break into the starting line up and wound up transferring to Duke, if memory serves. As I recall, he was unable to move past David Smith on the depth chart.

 

[JDCrimson]

I remember a quarterback named Billy Ray back in the 1980s who was going to do great things, but he never could break into the starting line up and wound up transferring to Duke, if memory serves. As I recall, he was unable to move past David Smith on the depth chart.

Yeah, but Ray was pretty successful at Duke under Spurrier. I dont think LP was the biggest bust at all.

 

[Alasippi]

Linnie did pretty well I thought. I know when Coach Bryant absolutely needed a big run he made sure Linnie got the ball.

Honestly, Linnie would have been better served from a personal standpoint to have gone to a school that featured him in the I Formation.

His big talent was picking a hole and blazing through it. Catching a pitch out on the corner in the Wishbone limits your ability to make quick cuts which was Linnie's biggest asset cause he wasn't big at all.

But anyone who can run like the guy in video below is a long long way from being a bust. But notice on the first play how short and little Linnie is compared to the other backs.

YouTube - 1981 Alabama vs. Auburn 4th Quarter Last Touchdown drive

 

[Dallas4Bama]

Sorry but I reject the whole premise of this thread. Its ridiculous that we as adults put so much expectation of an athlete coming out of high school. I'm not directing this at you OP, but its a discussion that comes up way too much. Even the guys that embrace the hype are only listening to what adults around them are telling them.

BJ nor any other guy that decides to transfer because of a lack of playing time deserves to be mentioned in a conversation about bust. If we must call someone a bust then let's call a guy that threw his potential away by his own choice a bust. Even then I have a hard time putting that label on them because I believe everyone should get a second chance. Notice I didn't say deserves a second chance, but I do like to see folks get a second chance.

So if we must pass out that label let's define it as "they didn't live up to the expectations others put on them of their football career at The University of Alabama because of the bad choices they made".

 

[WMack4Bama]

In recent memory, the most glaring example of an Alabama player that didn't live up to the expectations others put on him of his football career at The University of Alabama because of the bad choices he made is Jimmy Johns.

Many of us (especially those of us who were on campus at the time) had great expectations of him. Either he'd be a Heisman worthy QB or a Butkus worthy LB. I reject any argument that he didn't have the ability to do either one. For whatever reason(s), it just didn't work out.

 

[Dallas4Bama]

In recent memory, the most glaring example of an Alabama player that didn't live up to the expectations others put on him of his football career at The University of Alabama because of the bad choices he made is Jimmy Johns.

Many of us (especially those of us who were on campus at the time) had great expectations of him. Either he'd be a Heisman worthy QB or a Butkus worthy LB. I reject any argument that he didn't have the ability to do either one. For whatever reason(s), it just didn't work out.

I knew this was coming when I read the original post. Let me just say that JJ is an example of a young man that cried out and practically begged for help, but the ones that should have been there and promised they would be there for him weren't. The only thing he could have done different would have been to wear a sign that said "I'm headed down the wrong road. Please help me!". JJ made the bad choices, but the people around him let him down.

 

[WMack4Bama]

Can't say I disagree with you at all.

I knew this was coming when I read the original post. Let me just say that JJ is an example of a young man that cried out and practically begged for help, but the ones that should have been there and promised they would be there for him weren't. The only thing he could have done different would have been to wear a sign that said "I'm headed down the wrong road. Please help me!". JJ made the bad choices, but the people around him let him down.

 

[skipster63]

I remember a quarterback named Billy Ray back in the 1980s who was going to do great things, but he never could break into the starting line up and wound up transferring to Duke, if memory serves. As I recall, he was unable to move past David Smith on the depth chart.

Well, as I recall, Billy Ray was #1 on a local recruiter's ranking for the southeast. So that was a bust that year. Jeff Dunn was likewise a 5* QB that I think came in with Billy Ray. All he ever did was throw one pass to Pierre Goode in a TN game. There was one other 5* QB I think that came in that class and David Smith, a walk on from Gadsden, beat them all out. So having three 5* QB's get beat out at QB by a walk on would be a big bust to me.

Linnie Patrick to me was a big bust only when you look against his expectations. I was at the game where he made his debut. The Legion Field crowd went absolutely nuts. But obviously his attitude was a major problem. He was the fastest scutterbug back I had ever seen. But he did not live up to anywhere near the hype he got.

 

[RamJamHam]

I knew this was coming when I read the original post. Let me just say that JJ is an example of a young man that cried out and practically begged for help, but the ones that should have been there and promised they would be there for him weren't. The only thing he could have done different would have been to wear a sign that said "I'm headed down the wrong road. Please help me!". JJ made the bad choices, but the people around him let him down.

How do you know the people around him let him down? I'm pretty sure he knew he should not be dealing cocaine, but he did it anyway and on a large enough scale to attract the attention of local law enforcement. Every time I heard CNS asked about him I could tell that he knew something bad was going to happen, but he wasn't going to give up on JJ until he was forced to, which he was by the cocaine bust.

 

[TidefaninOS]

Well, as I recall, Billy Ray was #1 on a local recruiter's ranking for the southeast. So that was a bust that year. Jeff Dunn was likewise a 5* QB that I think came in with Billy Ray. All he ever did was throw one pass to Pierre Goode in a TN game. There was one other 5* QB I think that came in that class and David Smith, a walk on from Gadsden, beat them all out. So having three 5* QB's get beat out at QB by a walk on would be a big bust to me.

Was this about the same time that Gene Newberry came in? IIRC, he was a highly touted QB when he came in, but never broke into the line-up. He later converted to TE, I believe, and got a little playing time.

 

[rhunter]

I remember Vince Sutton out of LaGrange GA, although he did have that amazing comeback win in 88? against UK up there.
I think as a whole Bama has fewer "busts" than alot of schools- especially UGA

 

[Alasippi]

I really don't like the term "busts". That word just seems a bit overboard to me.

 

[bamamoss2]

I hate to even talk/write about the busts over the years. The recruiting hoopla leading into the 2000 season broke me from paying much attention to recruiting ratings, expectations, etc. I prefer to wait until they get on the field and trust in the coaching to put the best on the field.

 

[skipster63]

Was this about the same time that Gene Newberry came in? IIRC, he was a highly touted QB when he came in, but never broke into the line-up. He later converted to TE, I believe, and got a little playing time.

We had Vince Sutton, Billy Ray and Jeff Dunn.......all highly rated QBs coming out of high school. And they all got beat out by David Smith. David was an accurate QB from 0 to 20 yards but I don't think he could throw the ball further than about 25 yards and was a very heady QB. Anyway, David beat all three HS All Americans coming out of HS. That's when I started discounting the ratings.

 

[RJ YellowHammer]

I hate to even talk/write about the busts over the years. The recruiting hoopla leading into the 2000 season broke me from paying much attention to recruiting ratings, expectations, etc. I prefer to wait until they get on the field and trust in the coaching to put the best on the field.

There is a thread on the board about our defensive "scheme" and it's effects on the talent coming in. I'll say the same thing here that I said there - player evaluation is an inexact science. Sometimes, it's impossible for 17 and 18 year old kids to meet the expectations we place on them. Other times, supremely talented athletes, like Jimmy Johns, fall into some of the same traps as other immature college kids, away from home for the first time, do. I agree with Bamamoss. None of that means they're "busts;" I would've been considered a bust at life when I was 19. Glad I'm not under the microscope like some Alabama players.

 

[NationalTitles18]

Linnie Patrick was anything but a bust. Were his character flaws that eventually got him kicked off the team a disappointment? Sure. LP could have won a stiff-arm trophy if his head were screwed on straight.

 

[Dallas4Bama]

How do you know the people around him let him down? I'm pretty sure he knew he should not be dealing cocaine, but he did it anyway and on a large enough scale to attract the attention of local law enforcement. Every time I heard CNS asked about him I could tell that he knew something bad was going to happen, but he wasn't going to give up on JJ until he was forced to, which he was by the cocaine bust.

If you read my post I plainly said that JJ was the one who made the bad decisions. I will also stand by my statement that the people who went into his home and promised they would take watch over, mentor, lead, discipline and all around help him to become a responsible young man didn't follow through on their promises. That's what coaches tell people when they recruit you know. They don't just talk to the families and high school coaches about what position a kid might play and how fast they are. They go in and promise to do their best to watch over and help that kid get an education, grow up and play football to the best of their ability. Some don't even come from real homes and families and those are the ones that are in the most danger of falling into the traps. Those are the ones who the coaches better mean it when they make those promises. That did not happen in JJ's case and he paid a price for it. Could JJ have made different choices on his own? Yes. Could he have had all the help in the world and still ended up in trouble? Yes. Would he have? We will never know.



By the time CNS got involved in his life JJ was down that road past a point of no return. You are right he never gave up on him, but he just couldn't reach him. CNS made a decision when he arrived not to clean the house partly in hopes of reaching a few like that. It probably slowed down his rebuilding process, but he didn't care.

 

[formersoldier71]

Who, as a 5'10, 175 lb HS running back averaged 10.25 yards/carry over his 3 year HS career, even had a small article in sports illustrated about him, something few HS athletes had in those days.

Faces In The Crowd - 12.10.79 - SI Vault

Patrick, 18, the top college prospect among Alabama running backs, gained 5,380 yards on 525 carries and scored 66 TDs during his three-year career at Walker High. This season the 5'10", 175-pounder averaged 206.3 yards per game.

It is hard for a guy that averaged 7+ yards a carry and had several 100 yard games a bust, but the fanfare surrounding his recruitment and signing at UA, his prediction at signing of winning three Heismans, etc, and the discipline problems, many believe he was Bama's biggest bust.

Players, coaches from the Ray Perkins era gather at Alabama for a first reunion | al.com

"They're great," Patrick said. "The only thing I could say is, Mark took my trophy. ... I should've been the first."

And the second. And the third.

"I came out of (Walker) high school and stated I would win three," Patrick recalled. "People took that the wrong way. They said I was cocky. If you don't have confidence in yourself. ... All I had to have was the opportunity. I got the ball five or 10 times a game, and I gained 100 yards. If I would've gotten it 20 or 30 times, who knows?"

I don't know if Linnie ever had his head screwed on straight.

 

[Alasippi]

Linnie Patrick was anything but a bust. Were his character flaws that eventually got him kicked off the team a disappointment? Sure. LP could have won a stiff-arm trophy if his head were screwed on straight.

I know Linnie got suspended but he never got kicked off the team. And one thing Keith Jackson brought out in the video I posted earlier--Linnie led Bama in rushing his freshman year.

Think about that "Bust".

How many freshman have ever led Bama in rushing? I think Linnie lol

So he was far far far from being a bust. The problem with Linnie was this...With the hype he had coming out of high school(And yes he was that good)...he would have had to have rushed for 4,000 yards a year to fulfill the hype!!!

He was the one kid who ever signed with Bama who maybe never had a chance no matter what he accomplished.

sip