OaktownBear said:

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packawana said:

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OaktownBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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socaliganbear said:

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It's clearly poor form, but who cares. We've got a solid season ahead of us, let him move on however he feels he needs to.

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I care. Not a whole lot, to be clear, but enough to write this short post. Tre Watson was a good Golden Bear who graduated and I wish him well, but he could have worded that differently. If he doesn't crack the RB rotation as a Longhorn, I'm not gonna gloat, but I won't feel bad either.

Reading the tea leaves, I'm guessing he and the current staff didn't totally "click". Or, it could just be accepted at face value: He saw a chance to have his BA from Cal and begin some free grad work at a "major" football school and thought that would be cool. Maybe he wasn't going to get into a grad program here and also didn't see an NFL future.

Am I sort of contradicting myself here? Oh well...

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He graduated.
He told the truth.
If you don't like what he said, do something about it - start winning.

It's kinda like when teams whine about someone pouring it on at the end of a lopsided game. If you don't like it, do something about it. It isn't the better team's problem, it is the crappy team's problem.

In essence, I have no problem with what he said because he was right. I prefer the honest, frank approach.

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If we like the honest, frank approach, I'm fine with that. I have no ill will. But the flip side is the honest approach isn't one way and it isn't only to our detriment. The honest truth is he got injured and while injured he lost his job to our walk on third string running back, and that most likely also factored into his decision to leave. I would have liked to keep him as a backup, but he was a backup at this point, so it wasn't a loss we couldn't bear. If a big program like Texas wants to sign our backups, good for them. If he doesn't like me saying that, he should have beat out the walk on.

I do have to say, I think if somebody here had responded when he announced his transfer with something like "Good. It opens up a schollie. He was a backup that got beat out by a walk on. We don't need him". That person would have been called a jerk by a lot of people here for telling the truth.

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I mean that would be factually incorrect. He wasn't a backup, and not having him makes our depth far more questionable in that position. What he said was factual.

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Laird is the starter. He is the backup. How is that incorrect?

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71Bear said:

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OaktownBear said:

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packawana said:

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OaktownBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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socaliganbear said:

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It's clearly poor form, but who cares. We've got a solid season ahead of us, let him move on however he feels he needs to.

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I care. Not a whole lot, to be clear, but enough to write this short post. Tre Watson was a good Golden Bear who graduated and I wish him well, but he could have worded that differently. If he doesn't crack the RB rotation as a Longhorn, I'm not gonna gloat, but I won't feel bad either.

Reading the tea leaves, I'm guessing he and the current staff didn't totally "click". Or, it could just be accepted at face value: He saw a chance to have his BA from Cal and begin some free grad work at a "major" football school and thought that would be cool. Maybe he wasn't going to get into a grad program here and also didn't see an NFL future.

Am I sort of contradicting myself here? Oh well...

---

He graduated.
He told the truth.
If you don't like what he said, do something about it - start winning.

It's kinda like when teams whine about someone pouring it on at the end of a lopsided game. If you don't like it, do something about it. It isn't the better team's problem, it is the crappy team's problem.

In essence, I have no problem with what he said because he was right. I prefer the honest, frank approach.

---

If we like the honest, frank approach, I'm fine with that. I have no ill will. But the flip side is the honest approach isn't one way and it isn't only to our detriment. The honest truth is he got injured and while injured he lost his job to our walk on third string running back, and that most likely also factored into his decision to leave. I would have liked to keep him as a backup, but he was a backup at this point, so it wasn't a loss we couldn't bear. If a big program like Texas wants to sign our backups, good for them. If he doesn't like me saying that, he should have beat out the walk on.

I do have to say, I think if somebody here had responded when he announced his transfer with something like "Good. It opens up a schollie. He was a backup that got beat out by a walk on. We don't need him". That person would have been called a jerk by a lot of people here for telling the truth.

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I mean that would be factually incorrect. He wasn't a backup, and not having him makes our depth far more questionable in that position. What he said was factual.

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Laird is the starter. He is the backup. How is that incorrect?

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Watson was the starter at the time that he tore his ACL and was sidelined as the result of that injury. What you are suggesting is that Laird had already surpassed him on the depth chart prior to Watson's injury. Based on my understanding, Laird benefitted from Watson's injury. Following his rehab, would Watson have reclaimed his starting position this fall? We will never know..... To state unequivocally that Laird was the "starter" coming in to the 2018 season without consideration for what Watson may have done in August is an unsupported supposition.

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71Bear said:

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To state unequivocally that Laird was the "starter" coming in to the 2018 season without consideration for what Watson may have done in August is an unsupported supposition.

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CalBarn said:

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People forget it's just human nature to "spin" a little in situations like this. I'm sure Tre knows full well it would be an uphill battle for him to start this year.....however, his ego won't allow him to come out and say that. So, he naturally has to make a comment that makes this sound all good ("I'm going to a bigger program") rather than cast some doubt on his own ability. This is not the first time (nor will it be the last) an athlete speaks in such terms. I remember a QB by the name of Vince Ferragamo (for those of you who don't remember he was quite good and ended up leading the Rams to a Super Bowl) who played for us a couple years in the early 1970s.
He transferred to Nebraska and said basically the same thing Watson did----he wanted to play for a major program. However, Vince left out one important detail. Before his last season at Cal ended, Steve Bartkowski rejuvenated his football career (Steve was also a great baseball player) and beat out Vince by the end of the season. Bartkowski then totally dedicated himself to football and became terrific. There was no way Ferragamo, as good as he was, was going to beat out Bartkowski. Bart went on to a stellar senior season and became the number 1 pick in the NFL draft. Now, how many kids (or adults for that matter) would depart with the following statement: "You know, to be honest, the guy they have there now is really a bit better than me, so I saw the handwriting on the wall and transferred so I wouldn't have to be a backup next season." Many of you state your agreement to Watson's words in frustration, but in all honesty, I think he stated his reasons to protect and not further bruise his own ego......totally understandable. And for you frustrated ones, don't give up----Cal can become a real player with the right people involved in the program. The jury is still out on Wilcox, but I am hoping he might be the guy. I was born in 1955 and literally had to wait decades before my teams had significant success (Giants, 49ers, Warriors). If it can happen for them, it can happen for Cal football. Keep the faith!
And Go Bears!!!

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CalBarn said:

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People forget it's just human nature to "spin" a little in situations like this. I'm sure Tre knows full well it would be an uphill battle for him to start this year.....however, his ego won't allow him to come out and say that. So, he naturally has to make a comment that makes this sound all good ("I'm going to a bigger program") rather than cast some doubt on his own ability. This is not the first time (nor will it be the last) an athlete speaks in such terms. I remember a QB by the name of Vince Ferragamo (for those of you who don't remember he was quite good and ended up leading the Rams to a Super Bowl) who played for us a couple years in the early 1970s.
He transferred to Nebraska and said basically the same thing Watson did----he wanted to play for a major program. However, Vince left out one important detail. Before his last season at Cal ended, Steve Bartkowski rejuvenated his football career (Steve was also a great baseball player) and beat out Vince by the end of the season. Bartkowski then totally dedicated himself to football and became terrific. There was no way Ferragamo, as good as he was, was going to beat out Bartkowski. Bart went on to a stellar senior season and became the number 1 pick in the NFL draft. Now, how many kids (or adults for that matter) would depart with the following statement: "You know, to be honest, the guy they have there now is really a bit better than me, so I saw the handwriting on the wall and transferred so I wouldn't have to be a backup next season." Many of you state your agreement to Watson's words in frustration, but in all honesty, I think he stated his reasons to protect and not further bruise his own ego......totally understandable. And for you frustrated ones, don't give up----Cal can become a real player with the right people involved in the program. The jury is still out on Wilcox, but I am hoping he might be the guy. I was born in 1955 and literally had to wait decades before my teams had significant success (Giants, 49ers, Warriors). If it can happen for them, it can happen for Cal football. Keep the faith!
And Go Bears!!!

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OaktownBear said:

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71Bear said:

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OaktownBear said:

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packawana said:

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OaktownBear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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socaliganbear said:

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It's clearly poor form, but who cares. We've got a solid season ahead of us, let him move on however he feels he needs to.

---

I care. Not a whole lot, to be clear, but enough to write this short post. Tre Watson was a good Golden Bear who graduated and I wish him well, but he could have worded that differently. If he doesn't crack the RB rotation as a Longhorn, I'm not gonna gloat, but I won't feel bad either.

Reading the tea leaves, I'm guessing he and the current staff didn't totally "click". Or, it could just be accepted at face value: He saw a chance to have his BA from Cal and begin some free grad work at a "major" football school and thought that would be cool. Maybe he wasn't going to get into a grad program here and also didn't see an NFL future.

Am I sort of contradicting myself here? Oh well...

---

He graduated.
He told the truth.
If you don't like what he said, do something about it - start winning.

It's kinda like when teams whine about someone pouring it on at the end of a lopsided game. If you don't like it, do something about it. It isn't the better team's problem, it is the crappy team's problem.

In essence, I have no problem with what he said because he was right. I prefer the honest, frank approach.

---

If we like the honest, frank approach, I'm fine with that. I have no ill will. But the flip side is the honest approach isn't one way and it isn't only to our detriment. The honest truth is he got injured and while injured he lost his job to our walk on third string running back, and that most likely also factored into his decision to leave. I would have liked to keep him as a backup, but he was a backup at this point, so it wasn't a loss we couldn't bear. If a big program like Texas wants to sign our backups, good for them. If he doesn't like me saying that, he should have beat out the walk on.

I do have to say, I think if somebody here had responded when he announced his transfer with something like "Good. It opens up a schollie. He was a backup that got beat out by a walk on. We don't need him". That person would have been called a jerk by a lot of people here for telling the truth.

---

I mean that would be factually incorrect. He wasn't a backup, and not having him makes our depth far more questionable in that position. What he said was factual.

---

Laird is the starter. He is the backup. How is that incorrect?

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Watson was the starter at the time that he tore his ACL and was sidelined as the result of that injury. What you are suggesting is that Laird had already surpassed him on the depth chart prior to Watson's injury. Based on my understanding, Laird benefitted from Watson's injury. Following his rehab, would Watson have reclaimed his starting position this fall? We will never know..... To state unequivocally that Laird was the "starter" coming in to the 2018 season without consideration for what Watson may have done in August is an unsupported supposition.

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I said he got injured and lost his job while injured.

Technically we won't know until next year whether Steph Curry will start next season and one could call it unsupported supposition to say he will start. If you want to go with that theory, fine but then technically Watson's statement about Cal is opinion, not fact or truth.

It is quite obvious that some of you want to make a tough love point about Cal so you are engaging in a double standard about when fact is fact and when truth is obnoxious or just telling it like it is. Texas is a more prestigious program than Cal. Watson lost his starting job at Cal. Those are equally correct statements and equally subject to some theoretical basically bullshyte arguments that they aren't true.

Just telling it like it is, so I don't know why anyone who commends Watson would take issue with any of this.

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going4roses said:

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so he couldnt / do that here? ... he didnt feel he could be an x factor here ?

as for the 91k ... umm i got nothing on that one

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calumnus said:

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going4roses said:

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so he couldnt / do that here? ... he didnt feel he could be an x factor here ?

as for the 91k ... umm i got nothing on that one

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Texas is a great opportunitya chance to start at a storied program plus pick up a grad degree at a from a good school. Could have shown Cal more respect on the way out, but I get it

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Bear19 said:

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calumnus said:

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going4roses said:

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so he couldnt / do that here? ... he didnt feel he could be an x factor here ?

as for the 91k ... umm i got nothing on that one

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Texas is a great opportunitya chance to start at a storied program plus pick up a grad degree at a from a good school. Could have shown Cal more respect on the way out, but I get it

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Especially since Watson would have been riding the pine at Cal this season. The academics play virtually no part in this imo.

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calumnus said:

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He is a RB, not a QB. Even if he remained as our #2 he would he would get carries. However, Texas offers a change of scene (even if lateral) and the chance to get a grad degree from a good school, which, for a guy that is coming off a major injury, seems to be a pretty damn good insurance policy. I wouldnt discount it completely.

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