Some Thoughts On Vizza

KingDL1 · January 14, 2009

All great points and excellent questions about how we seem to accept transfers with open arms, yet when it is the other way around the guy is a quitter.

I think that is slightly misguided argument, most of the time a transfer was a back-up looking for playing time not a starter and he would have to sit either way. The school picking up a transfer takes quite a bit of risk also they pay for the year he sits if he is unrestricted. In that year a lot can happen. A quiting starter is even more of a risk if you ask me.

Done the way Gio did it he deserves what he gets.

The comparison should more to a real estate investor buying repo'ed houses, you look for bargains you can make a profit off of with as little risk as possible, but you never want to be the guy losing the house to the bank.

SilverEagle · January 14, 2009

From what the FW Star Telegram reported he was not barred from playing any where. His restriction was to SBC schools and schools on UNT's schedule the next 3 years...IE he can't play on a team NT plays during his elgibility of sitting out one year with 2 years playing at the school he transferred to. ...this is a very common restriction from what I have seen.
The only thing I have commented on his situation is that he told his postion coach at the end of the season he would return...then waited until approximately 10 days before signing day to request a transfer....preventing Nt from recruiting a JC QB transfer at mid-term. I think these actions were wrong but otherwise wish him the best where ever he goes.

Ok, this has been bothering me since the first statement appeared in the paper about GV telling either Coach Dodge (now it's coach Ford) that he was planning to come back next season. Here's my questions about this.

A. Do all of the position coaches have the same de-briefing (ending with the question "are you coming back?) with their players at the end of the season? If the answer is yes, then I have to agree that GV should have shown a bit more character and told the coach(s) that he would not be coming back......and why. But if the answer is NO, then.....

B. Why was this question posed to GV in the first place? The asking of the question (of any player on the team) implys that the coach suspects that all is not well with that player, and all is not well with how that player feels about being part of the program.

So call me suspicious or somewhat negative, but I don't think that the same Q&A goes on with all the players. So therefore asking GV "the question" tells me that the coaches knew that GV was not happy and/or satisfied. And that all was not well with his commitment to this team.

That might lead one to conclude that the coaching staff is either somewhat clueless, or less than honest with the fans and the administration regarding this situation.

The Fake Lonnie Finch · January 14, 2009

That might lead one to conclude that the coaching staff is either somewhat clueless, or less than honest with the fans and the administration regarding this situation.

Or, you can conclude what many of us already know - the is a communication problem between the coaches and players. Here, again (and again and again) is a microcosm of the problem of hiring so many coaches without experience at the collegiate level.

We ask, "How could they not know?" But, seriously, look at the whole picture over two years now. Look at the whole mess. There are so many things this staff seems to miss on the field and off the field. Serious miscalculations about the speed of D-I defenders. Oversigning skill players and undersigning linemen on both sides of the ball.

The real question is, given the vast inexperience of these guys is, "How could they possibly know?" The answer is, they don't know.

And, that is the frustrating thing. It's the essense of every argument here. The endless examples of start-up programs and other similarly situated programs getting off the ground - hiring bona fide coaches, getting money for new stadium, being invited to better conference (and, a BCS conference at that for South Florida!)

Yet, we, always, always, always are told that we have to endure a "learning curve" for the sake of this coaching staff. It's truly unbelievable. But, we have no choice but to believe it because we are fed the same crap year in and year out.

What this university needs is a Little Engine That Could at president, on the board, at athletic director, and head coach. Currently, all we get is, we can't, we can't, we can't...until some future this or that occurs.

Well, guess what President, Board, AD, and Head Coach...you are the ones who are supposed to be getting this thing off the ground! I can't magically make it go. Neither can anyone on this board or in the broader fan base. We're not the ones in position day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out to do it.

Many of us have given all we can give. Season tickets. Donations. Time. At some point, the other side has to give us something in return other than excuses and wait, wait, wait. We're not blind. We see it being done at other places.

South Florida from start-up to BCS conference member within 10 years? Are you kidding me? And, we can't even hire a college-level football coach? We can't even get that piece of the puzzle?

I've run out of adjectives to describe the condition of this program and the direction it's heading. I'm done with it. Yes, I've left that girl so many times before, as Glenn Campbell once sang. But, this time....

NT03 · January 14, 2009

Or, you can conclude what many of us already know - the is a communication problem between the coaches and players. Here, again (and again and again) is a microcosm of the problem of hiring so many coaches without experience at the collegiate level.
We ask, "How could they not know?" But, seriously, look at the whole picture over two years now. Look at the whole mess. There are so many things this staff seems to miss on the field and off the field. Serious miscalculations about the speed of D-I defenders. Oversigning skill players and undersigning linemen on both sides of the ball.
The real question is, given the vast inexperience of these guys is, "How could they possibly know?" The answer is, they don't know.
And, that is the frustrating thing. It's the essense of every argument here. The endless examples of start-up programs and other similarly situated programs getting off the ground - hiring bona fide coaches, getting money for new stadium, being invited to better conference (and, a BCS conference at that for South Florida!)
Yet, we, always, always, always are told that we have to endure a "learning curve" for the sake of this coaching staff. It's truly unbelievable. But, we have no choice but to believe it because we are fed the same crap year in and year out.
What this university needs is a Little Engine That Could at president, on the board, at athletic director, and head coach. Currently, all we get is, we can't, we can't, we can't...until some future this or that occurs.
Well, guess what President, Board, AD, and Head Coach...you are the ones who are supposed to be getting this thing off the ground! I can't magically make it go. Neither can anyone on this board or in the broader fan base. We're not the ones in position day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out to do it.
Many of us have given all we can give. Season tickets. Donations. Time. At some point, the other side has to give us something in return other than excuses and wait, wait, wait. We're not blind. We see it being done at other places.
South Florida from start-up to BCS conference member within 10 years? Are you kidding me? And, we can't even hire a college-level football coach? We can't even get that piece of the puzzle?
I've run out of adjectives to describe the condition of this program and the direction it's heading. I'm done with it. Yes, I've left that girl so many times before, as Glenn Campbell once sang. But, this time....

If I'm ever a AD at a university you will always be welcome on my staff. I could start building Texas Central State University right now and be ahead of UNT in less than 10 years. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before schools like Lamar & UTSA pass us up.

GoMeanGreen1999 · January 14, 2009

Ok, this has been bothering me since the first statement appeared in the paper about GV telling either Coach Dodge (now it's coach Ford) that he was planning to come back next season. Here's my questions about this.
A. Do all of the position coaches have the same de-briefing (ending with the question "are you coming back?) with their players at the end of the season? If the answer is yes, then I have to agree that GV should have shown a bit more character and told the coach(s) that he would not be coming back......and why. But if the answer is NO, then.....
B. Why was this question posed to GV in the first place? The asking of the question (of any player on the team) implys that the coach suspects that all is not well with that player, and all is not well with how that player feels about being part of the program.
So call me suspicious or somewhat negative, but I don't think that the same Q&A goes on with all the players. So therefore asking GV "the question" tells me that the coaches knew that GV was not happy and/or satisfied. And that all was not well with his commitment to this team.
That might lead one to conclude that the coaching staff is either somewhat clueless, or less than honest with the fans and the administration regarding this situation.

You have to actually be around your players and talk to them, get involved in their lives to actually have some clue to what is going on, and from what I am told most of the coaches from the head down, see and talk to the players at practice or at games and that is about it. It doesn't shock me at all nor does it surprise me that Dodge knew nothing of this. In fact I think our head coach is so plugged into our school and community, yet alone the players, that he lives 30 miles away.

Edited January 14, 2009 by GoMeanGreen1999

The Fake Lonnie Finch · January 14, 2009

I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before schools like Lamar & UTSA pass us up.

You know, unfortunately, this is a real fear for many of us. But, given what we have now and our history, would it really be all that surprising? I can see C-USA snapping up UTSA to get into another big Texas media market. Very easy to see that happening.

UNTLifer · January 14, 2009

I don't get it either. I don't get the hypocrisy of this board saying that Vizza wasn't all that great to begin with...then turning around and cheering RV making his transition to another school as rough as possible. I don't understand the elation we always express when a transfer comes in...then the utter and complete lack of understanding of the fact that scholarships are renewable year by year by BOTH parties. I don't get the bashing of Brett Vito when he posts his opinions in a BLOG which is where opinions should and do reside. Hell, I guess I should now expect Harry to make his every Mean Green Report fair, unbiased and down the middle. We sit back and applaud forcing a kid who did nothing but put his body on the line for this university to struggle to move on, and why? Because we think his dad handled it poorly? Because we are so accustomed to being lil' ol' North Texas that any chance we get to stick it to someone who we feel slighted by we jump on it? The kid wants to transfer, to break a "contract" that isn't binding for four years at all like so many want to hold it up to be. And do we look at it from a reasonable standpoint and demand that he be restricted from going to schools that we play (and who can therefore actually hurt us as we try to climb out of our tailspin)? No, we applaud his being told that he can't go anywhere. And why? Because it's acceptable to say "Well he can still go anywhere he wants as long as his dad pays for it. That's what he gets for leaving us in a bad position at the QB spot." Man, I sure hope nobody every takes our toys or refuses to share their juicy juice with us. Giovanni Vizza had his school paid for by this university for two years...and he put everything he had on the field for us for two years. For those scoring at home that means he upheld his end of an annually renewable contract the entire time he was here. But that's just not enough or fair to us...again, why?

First, someone, other than Mr. Matt Vizza, show me where Vizza is restricted from going anywhere. Restricting siging with a conference or future opponent is common practice, but that is far from anywhere.

Secondly, this goes on all the time with transfers and even, gasp, in the real world. No-compete clauses are very common in the real world of employment.

Last, you infer that Vizza is the only one that held up their end of an annually renewable contract. Really? Seems like the contract stated that in return for playing football at the University of North Texas Giovanni would receive room, board, tuition, books, etc... which UNT provided. Vizza decided to leave in the middle of the school year a couple of weeks prior to signing day, after telling his position coach he was returning, after showing up on the Rice sidelines during the Texas Bowl, etc.... I will ask you emmitt, who's not holding up their end of the deal?

Best of luck Matt, I mean Gio, I hope you find happiness and success at your next stop.

Edited January 14, 2009 by UNTLifer