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OT: Program Changing Athletes

CaneMutiny06 said:
The mention of Julio Jones for Bama reminded me For Clemson, Sammy Watkins was a huge get and major part of those first string of 10+ win teams they had under Dabo.
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Boyd changed Clemson. WR’s can’t be program changers unless you use them how Bama has. The first SFL WR that Bama turned into a pro was the key. Starting that pipeline changed that program.
 
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WaterburyCane said:
I think about what Vince Young, Andrew Luck and Cam Newton did. But TX Ana Auburn already had their place. Maybe Luck elevated Stanford as a program to a different level.
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Stanford won under Bill Walsh & Dennis Green, even Jack Elway had a good season at Stanford.

People give Harbaugh way too much credit for Stanford as a program, they were a college Football staple going all the way back to the 70’s.

And Texas is basically a Blueblood program, they were one of those best programs in the Nation in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, it really wasn’t until the late 90’s when they slumped & began to decline as a National contender.

Program changers are guys who took their teams from never have won at all, to becoming winning programs & destination schools as of now. Those guys are the modern day catalyst as Superstar players that may have revitalized their schools, but most of those programs were already well established long before they ever got there.

Someone who could really be considered a program changer, as funny as it sounds, is Joey Harrington.

Oregon never won jack sh*t til the Mike Bellotti/Harrington era, they were the precursor to the Chip Kelly/Mariota era.
 
ZuCrew said:
I’m still of the belief he got a raw deal on Washington. Remember he took the cluster**** formally known as the Redskins to 10-6 and a playoff birth.
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Shanahan completely mishandled him imo. Played him hurt and then he further ****ed up his knee due to that, he was never the same after.
 
Dwinstitles said:
Facts after they saw the real RG3 they was like...oh yea this guy is the brains of the operation. Program changers are dudes like Faulk or Dalvin Cook etc Julio Jones. Those are program changers imo.
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Faulk didn't change SDSU. He was great but the program wasn't any better with him than before him or after him.

Jones is just one of many cogs in the Bama machine. The Tide won a 14-0 NC his sophomore season. then fell to 10-3 his junior year, before he turned pro. He was elite but wasn't the reason for Bama's run. Ingram (team MVP, Heisman) was more important than Jones the NC season, and even he wasn't a program changer.

The Noles NC run was made by Jamies. right before Cook. FSU dropped off from 13-1 to a pair of 10-3 seasons after Winston left, despite still having Cook.
 
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NC_Canes_11 said:
He got them over the hump but Boyd was the guy who got them used to winning
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Clemson actually used to win a lot in the 80’s under Danny Ford.

They won their first National championship in 1981...
The year after UGA had just won their first National title under Vince Dooley.

Boyd brought them back to winning in the 2010’s, but they were already a winning program in the 80’s.
 
Liberty City El said:
Clemson actually used to win a lot in the 80’s under Danny Ford.

They won their first National championship in 1981, the year after UGA had just won their first National title under Vince Dooley.

Boyd brought them back to winning in the 2010’s, but they were already a winning program in the 80’s.
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Correct I was talking about under Dabo’s regime.
 
Liberty City El said:
Stanford won under Bill Walsh & Dennis Green, even Jack Elway had a good season at Stanford.

People give Harbaugh way too much credit for Stanford as a program, they were a college Football staple going all the way back to the 70’s.

And Texas is basically a Blueblood program, they were one of those best programs in the Nation in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, it really wasn’t until the late 90’s when they slumped & began to decline as a National contender.

Program changers are guys who took their teams from never have won at all, to becoming winning programs & destination schools as of now. Those guys are the modern day catalyst as Superstar players that may have revitalized their schools, but most of those programs were already well established long before they ever got there.

Someone who could really be considered a program changer, as funny as it sounds, is Joey Harrington.

Oregon never won jack sh*t til the Mike Bellotti/Harrington era, they were the precursor to the Chip Kelly/Mariota era.
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Jim Plunkett won the Hesiman and was the #1 pick out of Stanford in the early 70s and John Ralston as HC. Elway #1 pick in 1983. So, yeah, they've had some players and coaches.

But Stanford was 1-11 in 2006. the year before Harbaugh was hired, and hadn't had a winning season since 2001 (9-3 with Willingham). His first season Harbaugh beat Pete Carroll and USC as a 41-point underdog on the road. Year 4 the Cardinal finished 4th ranked at 12-1, the program's highest ranking since finished 9th in 1992.

Quite a coaching feat, IMO.

Not to crown him though, he was fortunate to recruit a generational QB Andrew Luck. He has been unable to find such a QB at Michigan, and IMO this is his greatest problem. You would think a former college QB, NFL QB, successful college HC, and NFL HC (5-10 yards from winning a SB) would be able to recruit elite QBs, but no.
 
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TemplarCane said:
Faulk didn't change SDSU. He was great but the program wasn't any better with him than before him or after him.

Jones is just one of many cogs in the Bama machine. The Tide won a 14-0 NC his sophomore season. then fell to 10-3 his junior year, before he turned pro. He was elite but wasn't the reason for Bama's run. Ingram (team MVP, Heisman) was more important than Jones the NC season, and even he wasn't a program changer.

The Noles NC run was made by Jamies. right before Cook. FSU dropped off from 13-1 to a pair of 10-3 seasons after Winston left, despite still having Cook.
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We had program changer but they were all on the same team lol, hope we use that formula again
 
Liberty City El said:
Stanford won under Bill Walsh & Dennis Green, even Jack Elway had a good season at Stanford.

People give Harbaugh way too much credit for Stanford as a program, they were a college Football staple going all the way back to the 70’s.

And Texas is basically a Blueblood program, they were one of those best programs in the Nation in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, it really wasn’t until the late 90’s when they slumped & began to decline as a National contender.

Program changers are guys who took their teams from never have won at all, to becoming winning programs & destination schools as of now. Those guys are the modern day catalyst as Superstar players that may have revitalized their schools, but most of those programs were already well established long before they ever got there.

Someone who could really be considered a program changer, as funny as it sounds, is Joey Harrington.

Oregon never won jack sh*t til the Mike Bellotti/Harrington era, they were the precursor to the Chip Kelly/Mariota era.
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Right on. I guess its how you would define a program changer. Texas and Auburn will always be brand names in CFB. Vince/Cam gave them historical seasons.

Personally though I think what Harbaugh (as much as I dont like the guy) and Luck did was fairly transformative. Walsh/Green did have some success sure. But even when Elway was there they werent great. Today's era of CFB has changed since then and its tough to win unless you are all in on that sport. All Im saying is that younger generations got a shot in the arm that Stanford actually had a football team in part because of Luck. No one gave a crap about them for a long while until Luck got there.

Let me throw another name at you. Would you consider McNabb a program changer for Cuse?
 
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LaDainian Tomlinson and Randy Moss would be 2 names that come to mind for me.

There's a lot of other period changing talent i can think of but at big name schools who’ve had talent during cycles throughout CFB history.
 
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JeddTheFisch said:
RGIII played on losing teams before Briles.

He's the best offensive mind and program builder of his generation.

It's not even close.
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I’d say the best offensive coaches in college all time:

Hal Mumme
Mike Leach
June Jones
Art Briles
Norm Chow
Chris Petersen
Tony Petersen (no relation)
Billy Joe
Dennis Erickson
Gary Crowton
Kliff Kingsbury
Gary Pinkel
Rich Rodriguez
Steve Spurrier
Urban Meyer
Bill Cubit
Mike Riley
Chip Kelly
Jeff Tedford
Dennis Franchione
Sonny Dykes
Lincoln Riley
Lane Kiffin
Bobby Petrino
Dino Babers
Marty Galbraith
Troy Calhoun
Paul Johnson
 
Liberty City El said:
Stanford won under Bill Walsh & Dennis Green, even Jack Elway had a good season at Stanford.

People give Harbaugh way too much credit for Stanford as a program, they were a college Football staple going all the way back to the 70’s.

And Texas is basically a Blueblood program, they were one of those best programs in the Nation in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, it really wasn’t until the late 90’s when they slumped & began to decline as a National contender.

Program changers are guys who took their teams from never have won at all, to becoming winning programs & destination schools as of now. Those guys are the modern day catalyst as Superstar players that may have revitalized their schools, but most of those programs were already well established long before they ever got there.

Someone who could really be considered a program changer, as funny as it sounds, is Joey Harrington.

Oregon never won jack sh*t til the Mike Bellotti/Harrington era, they were the precursor to the Chip Kelly/Mariota era.
Click to expand...
Ooooh, good one. Went in the bag for that one.
 
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