I saw Blake at a funeral I was attending this morning, and introduced myself. He's a very personable guy--didn't seem to mind at all that I approached him. It probably helped that I mentioned I've had kids go through Bishop Carroll. Anyway, the first thing I told him was not to go to LSU. He just laughed and said he's not going anywhere "right now." We chatted about that a bit more, and I really think (reading between the lines) that when he says "right now" he's talking about the uncertainty surrounding an impending coaching change. But for that, I don't think he would be going anywhere.
We talked about the AD situation. No surprise here, but he said Currie and Snyder didn't speak to one another, and he confirmed everything regarding Currie's micro-management. He made the point that it was ridiculous that a guy who had never played the game was trying to dictate to and micro-manage a guy like Bill Snyder. He likes both Weiberg and Veatch as possible successors, although something he said made me think he likes the fact that Weiberg isn't tied to Currie. But to be clear, he's fine with either.
We chatted about the team. He really likes his group, mentioning Wood, Walker, Ball and someone else whose name I didn't catch. He specifically mentioned Ball as a kid he likes. I asked him about Xavier Davis, and he basically said it's good that he has three years--that with his later arrival, and "issues" that Juco kids have (Blake said he'd have to kick him in the butt, and laughed), it may take him awhile to contribute. He did acknowledge that Xavier has some talent.
I asked him about Elijah Lee's departure, and he said that was a "shock," but then he quickly said that Daquan Patton is really a player, and that it's huge that he is there for spring ball.
We talked about the offense, and he raved about the good group of RB's we have. He said we should be feeding Barnes the ball 30 times a game. He didn't seem to agree with the way we used him last year, which I found interesting. But then he went on to compliment Warmack, Silmon, Burns and McCoy, and said we ought to use Barnes and McCoy just to pound defenses until they're worn out. He said he thinks Jesse has a very good arm, when healthy. I asked him about Strickland, and to my surprise, he was a little circumspect in his comments about him--he didn't seem to be as sold on him as what we've heard. But then again, it was a fairly short conversation and I might have misread any or all of what he said--LOL.
I know none of this is particularly newsworthy; my biggest takeaway is that he seems like a really good dude.
Edit: He also said Snyder was going to beat the cancer, and that he's doing really well.
We talked about the AD situation. No surprise here, but he said Currie and Snyder didn't speak to one another, and he confirmed everything regarding Currie's micro-management. He made the point that it was ridiculous that a guy who had never played the game was trying to dictate to and micro-manage a guy like Bill Snyder. He likes both Weiberg and Veatch as possible successors, although something he said made me think he likes the fact that Weiberg isn't tied to Currie. But to be clear, he's fine with either.
We chatted about the team. He really likes his group, mentioning Wood, Walker, Ball and someone else whose name I didn't catch. He specifically mentioned Ball as a kid he likes. I asked him about Xavier Davis, and he basically said it's good that he has three years--that with his later arrival, and "issues" that Juco kids have (Blake said he'd have to kick him in the butt, and laughed), it may take him awhile to contribute. He did acknowledge that Xavier has some talent.
I asked him about Elijah Lee's departure, and he said that was a "shock," but then he quickly said that Daquan Patton is really a player, and that it's huge that he is there for spring ball.
We talked about the offense, and he raved about the good group of RB's we have. He said we should be feeding Barnes the ball 30 times a game. He didn't seem to agree with the way we used him last year, which I found interesting. But then he went on to compliment Warmack, Silmon, Burns and McCoy, and said we ought to use Barnes and McCoy just to pound defenses until they're worn out. He said he thinks Jesse has a very good arm, when healthy. I asked him about Strickland, and to my surprise, he was a little circumspect in his comments about him--he didn't seem to be as sold on him as what we've heard. But then again, it was a fairly short conversation and I might have misread any or all of what he said--LOL.
I know none of this is particularly newsworthy; my biggest takeaway is that he seems like a really good dude.
Edit: He also said Snyder was going to beat the cancer, and that he's doing really well.
