UCLA blocks potential Clark transfer to UM

Submitted by Bambam on
Title says it all. Jim Mora and UCLA block Chris Clark from potentially transferring to Michigan. Edit: link is paywalled and wont let me post it on my phone, but was on UCLA Rivals board and confirmed by Brandon Brown.
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1464

September 23rd, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^

Pure speculation by us denizens of the internet, but this sounds like a good thing for Michigan.  Personalities are important, and this kid doesn't seem interested in the nose-to-the-grindstone mentality that Harbaugh fosters.  If he doesn't like Mora, then why would he like Harbaugh?

The deeper issue if LITERALLY* fuck the NCAA for allowing a school to dictate where a player can transfer.  I'm so torn between wishing the NCAA would die a slow, painful death (but quick like) and realizing that something that means way more than it should to me would likely be changed for good.

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marti221

September 23rd, 2015 at 12:33 PM ^

"If he doesn't like Mora, then why would he like Harbaugh?"

Uuuuhh, because they're two different people. Are they known to have two strikingly similar personalities or something? It's really weird how people always seem to know the character of a kid they've never met when it comes to transferring.



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Mr. Yost

September 23rd, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^

They are NOTHING alike...Mora publically demeans players and on the sideline he's a lot more Brian Kelly than Harbaugh. Harbaugh coaches guys up after mistakes, he goes crazy on refs after horrible calls/noncalls. Mora gets all redfaced like Kelly and Jim McElwain. Big difference.

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Danwillhor

September 23rd, 2015 at 3:25 PM ^

I said this in the last thread about Clark. JMJ is a lunatic. A good coach? Yes. Yet, he's still a complete asshole. He's far closer to the "Saban stepping over a dying player" and "purple faced Kelly" than Harbaugh. Jim will let a ref have it if the calls are completely terrible, etc. Recruits know who Harbaugh is when they meet him - period. Recruits that go visit UCLA always talk of how "chill" JMJ is but he's not. During a recruiting visit he may be but that's not the real guy. There is years of proof to back it up, too. He Honeydicks these kids and then they met the real him. Harbaugh is who he is all the time. Honestly, that can backfire if a recruit doesn't like his intensity, not promising anything or bring honest about what positions he'd like them to try but I don't think any kids will realize he was tricked by him come Freshman enrollment. It's been a few years at UCLA and I've heard multiple horror stories directly involving JMJ.

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Ronnie Kaye

September 23rd, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^

This is why I thought the people who were so against Northwestern's union idea weren't doing enough reading. Rules like this one are draconian at best and tyrannical at worst. It's easy to say don't sign the NLI but that is exactly what these kids are pressured to do. If a MSM source picks up on this or Clark merely tweets about it, it won't be good for Mora. Rival recruiters will use it against him, as they should.

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Maizen

September 23rd, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^

A union would create way more problems than it would solve. I've done enough reading on the subject to thoroughly understand this.

The easiest solution is just change the transfer rule. Problem solved.

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ChiCityWolverine

September 23rd, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^

If an 18 year old doesn't like one coach/school, why would he like another? Cause like, it's just his opinion man. Just because a kid isn't happy with his situation and transfers, it doesn't mean he would hate Jim Harbaugh. Frankly, nobody knows how the situation could/would play out. I'm neither holding my breath hoping for him to end up in Ann Arbor nor hoping he doesn't come for his incompatible "mentality". It's unfair to assume you know everything about a kid from the internet speculation that is all you know about him. 

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BornSinner

September 23rd, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^

I mean... I don't think it's a personality issue if Mora promised him to include TEs in their offense. 

And whaddya know coaches lie during recruitment. Maybe that explains the unhappiness. 

Either way, tough luck kid. Could have been the next Fleener or Ertz in the NFL. 

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elhead

September 23rd, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^

If Mora has a hard on to keep him from Michigan then part of what's going on is that the guy must have some interest in coming to Ann Arbor, which he obviously did before he committed to UCLA. Then there's "push" factors at that end that have nothing to do with us. See how this plays out, but maybe he'll be joining the Harbaugh big TE crew in the coming years. Exciting thought.

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Nobody Likes a…

September 23rd, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^

Ya I'm not a fan of making judgement calls on a kids character based on flimsy and one sided evidence. Think about everyone you knew at that age who didn't make it back for winter semester. Everyone has their own reasons, lets stop pretending that talent and a scholarship make him immune from the same issues everyone else his age has

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Wolverine 73

September 23rd, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^

Our coaches are better able than we are to assess whether they would want Clark, or whether he is a head case.  If Harbaugh wanted him, I would be comfortable assuming he knew better than we do what kind of kid Clark really is.  It is outrageous that a school like UCLA would block a kid who was there for a few weeks from transferring wherever he wanted to, assuming there was no tampering with him by another school.

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canzior

September 23rd, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^

a jump to a conclusion.  He's still a kid, who may do or say things that as adults we understand to have biiger implications than what he comprehends.  Keep in mind, Snoop's son quit, and Puffy went ape shit on a coach there, and now they lose a 5 star TE.  My friend who regularly talks to national recruits and coaches on both the HS and college level says there have been hints that something is going on over there that a lot of kids don't like. 

 

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Canadian

September 24th, 2015 at 7:28 AM ^

Well Clark could transfer to a FCS team and play next year (iirc) and then could transfer to any FBS team next season (right?) so instead of sitting out a season here he could play a full season at a good FCS school and theoretically (if both parties wanted it) transfer to Michigan to play two years from now (which would've been the case even if he transferred to Michigan now)

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WolvinLA2

September 23rd, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^

I really don't understand why a coach can control to where a kid can transfer.  If he sits out, he's wide open, right?  I can understand a rule prohibiting a kid from transferring within the conference (although I wouldn't be in favor of it) by why this?  

And I want to know why more recruits' parents don't bring this up to the coaches.  "Why were you a dick to Chris Clark, Coach Mora?"  

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Bambi

September 23rd, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^

I mean pretty much every coach does this. If a recruit's parents asked that to Mora, they'd end up asking it to every coach. Which is fine, but you'll probably get the same answer from every coach and just waste your time.

Also no kid is going to ask about a situation that ends with them transferring. No kid thinks about that and brings it up to their potential coach.

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WolvinLA2

September 23rd, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^

I don't know that that's true.  It's typical for coaches to block a team they play in the near future, but that's not applicable here (and certainly not applicable for MSU who he also blocked).  

And the parent doesn't need to bring it up in regards to their son, although they could.  They could ask the question just to get an idea of Mora's character and I think his answer to that question would be telling.  

And as a parent, I would absolutely ask about that.  Not that you anticipate your child transferring, but you want to prepare for all circumstances.  Some kids get homesick.  "Coach Mora, if my son gets homesick or has trouble adjusting to UCLA, will you be a total dick when he wants to transfer?"  I don't see how that is an unreasonable question (reworded, of course).

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