re: Ok, any inside scoop on Duke

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Now that we have the t.v. mounted, I have a boil on my penis. Not sure exactly what I need to do.

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Sorry bout the Dick AIDS... Only one thing to do, cut it off...

Mounting "TV's" is likely the cause, and effect behind the penis puss.

Stick with heterosexual sex,and watch the boils fade away.

*enters thread*


*reads the last two pages*


*leaves thread*

Per JGT

I didn't want to make this a content item or a story or a column.

It's something less formal. So I'll put it here.

Duke Williams is a problem. He just is. The guy also happens to be a fantastic football player, which puts coaches into an uncomfortable position. How much b.s. are they willing to accept? They want to do right by the kid and they want to do right by their employer/the program. Those two things generally go hand-in-hand, but situations like the one Duke has created puts Gus Malzahn in a position where he (potentially) has to pick one or the other.

As I've mentioned before, Duke doesn't really understand boundaries. He doesn't understand social protocol. He's ultra impulsive, he's angry, he doesn't yet understand how to rein in his emotions or, at the very least, understand that the raw emotion he's feeling at a given moment clouds his ability to understand what's actually happening. He's blinded, in a sense, by that inability to see the bigger picture.

Dameyune Craig has worked tirelessly, and I mean that, to help Duke understand that he can't just fly off the handle every time a pulse of emotion jolts through his body. Being a man means you learn to see yourself as part of the world, part of a much bigger theme, and you learn when to push your agenda and when to allow someone else to push theirs. He doesn't get that. And I'm not sure he's made progress in that direction.

You've heard the concept of a "player's coach." That's a guy who takes up for his players, assimilates with his players, spends extra time with his players, bends over backward to see things from his players' perspective. DC is a player's coach. He does all those things. As such, most of his receivers view him as a staunch ally. Duke doesn't. Duke likes DC, yes, but nobody can really build up "equity" in Duke's eyes. Duke either agrees or disagrees with someone and goes ALL IN with that agreement or disagreement. He's not willing to go along with something he doesn't like or doesn't want to do just because DC says he needs to do it. Most players trust DC and do what he says every single time without a single hiccup. Duke is living in the now, right now, this second.

Coaches cannot have players being disrespectful at practice. Insubordination erodes chemistry (or esprit de corps) like nothing else. Jermaine Whitehead threw a tantrum last season and he drew a suspension for it. Duke has done the same thing and it's also a serious situation from a team-management perspective.

What confounds me is that DC and Charlie Harbison are two completely different kinds of people with completely different approaches to coaching. I don't understand how a player can fail to connect or trust a guy like DC. He goes so far above and beyond in terms of being around these kids, explaining things to these kids. He's imminently trustworthy.

Gus has a lot of faith in these other receivers. They have made that a priority in recruiting and he feels like Auburn has enough talent to be really good there even without Duke. He believed that before all this went down, too.

So what will Gus do? He doesn't want a chemistry problem. He doesn't want the Duke Headache, but he also can't simply turn his back on a kid who needs something. Is it professional help? Is it just a (figurative) butt-whooping? It it just some space/time for reflection? I don't know. That's Gus' call.

All of this has been laid out to Duke already. That happened last week. They've had run-ins before, a few. Duke knows he's out of chances. From what I can gather, he doesn't really care. He acts like he's more valuable than the team and, well, that's unacceptable if true.

It's a conundrum. Is he acting like that because he actually believes he's bigger than the team? Or, again, is he just unable to manage his emotions, which creates appearances that aren't accurate representations of his beliefs?

Duke's had every chance to make this right and he keeps losing control.

Sounds like we just need to move on from Williams, if what JGT is saying is true.

Is JGT that much in the know to know that much detail behind the Duke saga?

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He acts like he's more valuable than the team and, well, that's unacceptable if true.

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Well, hate to say it but



Kid is a great receiver, but this shite needs to end.

Not good if true. JGT called the Dyer dismissal way before it happened. I thought this would all blow over somewhat quickly, but I didn't know Duke was that big of an idiot.