Devin Hester Career Highlights Miami (2003-05)

Blame it on coaching/development. Hester changed positions about 4 different times (CB in HS, WR as a freshman, CB as a sophomore and Junior, and then WR in the NFL) so it was just unfortunate. Also I’ve heard many stories about Hester having a bad relationship with Cutler and how he was pretty much selfish and a horrible leader only working with Brandon marshall. Crazy to think Hester is still a future HOF’er with all this

Meh. I feel like switching back and forth between CB and WR should come relatively easy and is pretty natural, kinda like DE/TE. I think he was just a phenomenal athlete but had trouble finding a home.
 
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That's true.... But he would have been a difference maker on offense in college.

Yeah I can't disagree with that in special packages. He didn't have great hands but on screens or sweeps, etc he could have been devastating.

I was at Miami during the Hester years and my friends and I were always calling for him to drop 30 yards behind the LOS and just pass straight back to him. Simulated punt return.
 
That's true.... But he would have been a difference maker on offense in college.
With today's rules, he'd have been a real problem on offense.

But count me with the folks who don't blame his lack of success at WR or CB on his coaches. He was an incredibly gifted guy with the ball in his hands. His vision and ability to 3D process the whole field was unparalleled, IMO. But he wasn't a CB and he wasn't a great WR. Just is what it is.
 
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Not to knock on Hester, but he wasn't exactly a superstar at another position in the NFL either. Showed plenty of promise as a WR but couldn't really stay consistent.
How many players are just avg or journeyman in NFL but were superstars in college.. I know we are "NFLU" but that is a completely misguided thought.. Guys like Ted Ginn were avg at best journeyman type in NFL and he was atleast on the field to be a SUPERSTAR in college, dude carried OSU.. We had DH4 on SIDELINES WITH COKER while we were losing games..

College is a different game, you cant compare a harder level and say because he didnt ball their it wouldnt help us and so it didnt matter if he was on sidelines.. Not a superstar in NFL, cant help us at miami in college, Lol wut?!
 
How many players are just avg or journeyman in NFL but were superstars in college.. I know we are "NFLU" but that is a completely misguided thought.. Guys like Ted Ginn were avg at best journeyman type in NFL and he was atleast on the field to be a SUPERSTAR in college, dude carried OSU.. We had DH4 on SIDELINES WITH COKER while we were losing games..

College is a different game, you cant compare a harder level and say because he didnt ball their it wouldnt help us and so it didnt matter if he was on sidelines.. Not a superstar in NFL, cant help us at miami in college, Lol wut?!
If you're point is that Urban Meyer would have schemed to get Hester the ball in space, then you're 100% correct. He could have had a much more impactful college career -- on offense. Trying to make him into a DB was a dumb idea, IMO. But Coker didn't scheme much for anyone. Coker's epitaph should be the 10-6 Tennessee game.
 
If you're point is that Urban Meyer would have schemed to get Hester the ball in space, then you're 100% correct. He could have had a much more impactful college career -- on offense. Trying to make him into a DB was a dumb idea, IMO. But Coker didn't scheme much for anyone. Coker's epitaph should be the 10-6 Tennessee game.
Yea I have laughed for yearsss about the bro style offense, but even just having hester on the field would have put some juice in our offense.. It made no sense to have that type of talent on sideline while the programed burned to the ground
 
If you're point is that Urban Meyer would have schemed to get Hester the ball in space, then you're 100% correct. He could have had a much more impactful college career -- on offense. Trying to make him into a DB was a dumb idea, IMO. But Coker didn't scheme much for anyone. Coker's epitaph should be the 10-6 Tennessee game.

bears played him at CB, too. Equally dumb.

remember coker’s famed “Hester package”? Lulz
 
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bears played him at CB, too. Equally dumb.

remember coker’s famed “Hester package”? Lulz
Agreed. He had no instinct for CB. He was all about what he could process and do with the ball in his hands. People got so lured by his physical ability they projected him incorrectly. Yes, he was fast. But he was 100% a genius at processing what other players would do in reaction to him.
 
If Hester was a HS recruit today, he would likely sign with Bama and win a Heisman without a doubt.

Coker absolutely underutilized him.
You think he would be a better WR than Jeudy or D. Smith at Alabama? I don't.

And other than D. Smith, WRs don't win Heismans. The last WR before Smith was Desmond Howard, IIRC.

We'll see what the NFL thinks.

Also, no HS kid with Hester's academics signs anywhere today until they qualify. The change in IC rules makes it too expensive to sign kids who may not get admitted.
 
You think he would be a better WR than Jeudy or D. Smith at Alabama? I don't.

And other than D. Smith, WRs don't win Heismans. The last WR before Smith was Desmond Howard, IIRC.

We'll see what the NFL thinks.

Also, no HS kid with Hester's academics signs anywhere today until they qualify. The change in IC rules makes it too expensive to sign kids who may not get admitted.
I do think Hester could've had a better career at WR than Smith and won a Heisman. Smith highly benefited stats wise from Waddle going down.

He wouldn't have been as polished as Smith, but Smith can't do the things that Hester could with the ball in his hands. Not even close.

Academics aside, not interested in that aspect of the convo lol.
 
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How many players are just avg or journeyman in NFL but were superstars in college.. I know we are "NFLU" but that is a completely misguided thought.. Guys like Ted Ginn were avg at best journeyman type in NFL and he was atleast on the field to be a SUPERSTAR in college, dude carried OSU.. We had DH4 on SIDELINES WITH COKER while we were losing games..

College is a different game, you cant compare a harder level and say because he didnt ball their it wouldnt help us and so it didnt matter if he was on sidelines.. Not a superstar in NFL, cant help us at miami in college, Lol wut?!

Jesus. Maybe read what the comment was in response to? All I said was that not finding a position under Coker wasn't necessarily an indictment on Coker because he couldn't find a position in the NFL either.

Also... this post is borderline incomprehensible.
 
We can all celebrate Hester as the GOAT punt returner at both the college & NFL levels. What a weapon he was as a Punt Returner. Had the ability to change the complexion of any game in less than 10 seconds (and deflate the opponent in the process).

I do think Devin struggled though to master the playbook & that likely limited his touches on O. More plays should have been devised for him where he was either handed, tossed or snapped the ball. They should have just gotten the ball in his hands in some space and let him do his thing in the open field (cause he was devastatingly good at that).
 
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You think he would be a better WR than Jeudy or D. Smith at Alabama? I don't.

And other than D. Smith, WRs don't win Heismans. The last WR before Smith was Desmond Howard, IIRC.

We'll see what the NFL thinks.

Also, no HS kid with Hester's academics signs anywhere today until they qualify. The change in IC rules makes it too expensive to sign kids who may not get admitted.
I hope I’m remembering it correctly, but he did qualify. He had a qualified test score under review. He wasn’t a good student. He did meet the minimum requirements for college admittance. 🤔
 
If you're point is that Urban Meyer would have schemed to get Hester the ball in space, then you're 100% correct. He could have had a much more impactful college career -- on offense. Trying to make him into a DB was a dumb idea, IMO. But Coker didn't scheme much for anyone. Coker's epitaph should be the 10-6 Tennessee game.
This
 
Blame it on coaching/development. Hester changed positions about 4 different times (CB in HS, WR as a freshman, CB as a sophomore and Junior, and then WR in the NFL) so it was just unfortunate. Also I’ve heard many stories about Hester having a bad relationship with Cutler and how he was pretty much selfish and a horrible leader only working with Brandon marshall. Crazy to think Hester is still a future HOF’er with all this
The "Cutler" stuff is quite factual...
 
Catching punts and playing wr are nothing alike. Hester was what he was , a hof returner. He should’ve been used more as a gimmick in college on o but that’s all that could’ve changed. Chicago did everything they could to make him more than he was. I know somebody who played with him for years, I’ve heard stories.

He was what he was and that’s fine.
 
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