Bo, Mo, and The Bus
Recent threads touched on topics regarding recruiting. Who was the most disappoining decommit, etc.
Detroit Mackenzie's Jerome Bettis did not fit into any of those threads, but I wondered how the #6 yard gainer in NFL history, Hall of Famer, and Super Bowl champ slipped away from Ann Arbor.
I found this, which I thought was interesting:
http://notredame.247sports.com/Article/Jerome-Bettis-talks-about-his-re…
“Coach (Bo) Schembechler retired Christmas Eve of my senior year, and he was the guy recruiting me,” Bettis said. “That was another thing. Coach (Gary) Moeller came in but no one came to the house. Coach Holtz came to the house and met with my mother and my father and that was another big determining factor.”
No one came to the house... my how times have changed.
I had also completely forgotten what a prized recruit Ricky Powers was, and how strong the position was back then with Powers, Vaughn and Wheatly,
January 25th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
A healthy Jon Vaughn could've been our greatest back ever.
January 25th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 10:37 PM ^
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January 26th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^
Tony Boles, Jessie Johnson ....They could just plug a running back in and go! Hopefully we get back to that.
January 26th, 2017 at 5:52 PM ^
as well? The majority of the time, under Bo, we appeared to be stacked at the RB position, based soley on their demands. Many of them were sprinters who had no problem running through the hole provided by one of the many dominant OLs during that period. There were exceptions, like Wheatley and Butch, who were champion sprinters but also extremely talented backs.
However, I can recall watching this particular group and realizing it was probably the best collection of backs at any specific time during the Bo era, with each possessing unique traits that enabled the OC to give opponents as many possible concerns as possible. Hoard ran with that unique mix of power and speed, Vaughn hit the hole fast and just kept separating and Boles, of course, due to his style, a lot like Harmon's that is obvious when watching old film. Both ran in a style that kept the feet low to the ground but eating up huge chunks of yardage with neither appearing as fast as they truly were. Was a damn shame for the young man not to realize the rewards his skills provided at that time.
Was also an interesting read relative to the Bus. Although he may have still made the same decision had Bo not retired, he would have been given a lot more to think about. Bo had no problem making MI natives feel like traitors if they considered leaving the state. I recall Messner describing the power attached to Bo's words alone. After being chasized for his UCLA visit in the form of "Just get those silly ideas of playing anywhere but AA out of your mind." If there had been any doubt, he said "I knew it would have been impossible to say no to Bo."