Rashard Soft?

Personally, it sounds like even if the claim was at one time accurate, it's not any more due to maturity. But red flags are red flags.

5 months ago kwoog Comment 15 comments 0 recs |

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i saw this too

And didn’t know what to think of it, other than my first thought, which was that Ron Zook is out of control. He can recruit, but he’s clearly a shady guy.

by Blitzburgh on Jun 18, 2008 5:43 PM EDT 0 recs

but regardless, isn’t pretty much any kid out of high school “soft” compared to college. i wouldn’t read too much into it, he definitely was not running soft this past year. he’ll have to make an adjustment for the NFL too because everyone will hit harder and be faster.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Jun 18, 2008 7:14 PM EDT up 0 recs

Pay site

Can’t read it b/c of the pay thing, anyone want to give me a synopsis?

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Jun 18, 2008 10:17 PM EDT 0 recs

Me too

What was the comment? Did Zook call him soft? Apparently, it paid off, but also probably made Mendenhall more likely to leave early.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Jun 19, 2008 11:16 AM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, it’s from Chris Mortenson, so take from it what you will… but I’ve heard him talk about this issue before, and cite it as part of the reason Felix Jones was higher on a lot of boards.

The title is “Mendenhall resents ‘soft’ label”, and there’s a quote by him: Mendenhall stunned Illini fans when he was recently quoted as saying, “To tell you the truth, as long as Ron Zook is there, it will be hard for me to support the University of Illinois football team.”

Then Mort writes, “[Mendenhall’s fall] was one of the surprises of the draft for the public. It wasn’t a shocker in some circles.”

It says he wanted to transfer before his breakout 07 season (apparently the first two years are where the friction accumulated)... But the article finishes with, “Is this cause for concern for Steelers fans? Probably not. The 5-foot-10, 224-pound back is very young. He turns 21 Thursday.”

by kwoog on Jun 19, 2008 12:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

so

Was Zook calling him soft during his first two years, once he declared or what? Or was the point of the article that Mendy is young and a bit immature?

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Jun 19, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sounded like they were hard on him his first two years, to the point of him wanting to transfer, then his brother (who was also on the team) convinced him to stay and he had his big 07 year. But he still holds a grudge, and maybe they were still too hard on him in 07. Zook says something about trying to make him the best he could be… while Rashard talks about not being soft and that he doesn’t care if “somebody’s yelling at me.”

by kwoog on Jun 19, 2008 1:02 PM EDT up 0 recs

I think the point of the article was that he had this rep in inner circles, he now publicly resents it, and whether or not it was ever true, he’s young enough to put it past him (ie, just turned 21 for cryin out loud).

by kwoog on Jun 19, 2008 1:05 PM EDT up 0 recs

Red flags, kwoog?

Aren’t they the things that you wave in front of a young bull to make him angry?

Whatever else Zook may have done for Mendenhall, none of it will be as beneficial to the Steelers as the chip he planted on his shoulder.

by robert ethan on Jun 19, 2008 12:10 AM EDT 0 recs

heres the article - i dont usually do this, but here it is.

Did cold, hard honesty about the dreaded “soft” tag kill the relationship between Steelers top draft pick Rashard Mendenhall and Ron Zook, his former coach at the University of Illinois?

Mendenhall stunned Illini fans when he was recently quoted as saying, “To tell you the truth, as long as Ron Zook is there, it will be hard for me to support the University of Illinois football team.”

The Steelers got a gift when the talented Mendenhall fell into their laps with the No. 23 pick of this year’s draft. It was one of the surprises of the draft for the public. It wasn’t a shocker in some circles.

Leading up to the draft, there were a handful of personnel men and coaches who privately said Mendenhall’s one-year flash as a junior raised questions as to why it took so long for the highly rated recruit to fulfill his promise at Illinois, where he had less than 1,000 yards rushing combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Those questions indicate Zook told more than one NFL evaluator that Mendenhall was soft until his junior year. Mendenhall did get plenty of praise from Zook, but “soft” can be a red flag for any football player, especially a running back.

Mendenhall wanted to transfer before the 2007 season but his brother, Walter, also a member of the team, persuaded him to stay. Good thing for Mendenhall and Zook. Mendenhall rushed for a school-record 1,681 yards and Illinois had its first winning season (9-4) under Zook to garner a coveted Rose Bowl berth.

In his recent interview, it’s clear Mendenhall resents the soft label that pushed his near-departure from Illinois after the 2006 season.

“I sat down and I was like, ‘If this is what football is, I don’t know if I want to do that anymore,’ ” Mendenhall said. “I’m not soft at all. I’m not scared of adversity. I don’t care if somebody’s yelling at me. That’s not what it was about, at all.”

Zook, who generally has gotten strong reviews from former players, was disappointed Mendenhall aired his feelings, but his words suggest tough love motivated the Steelers’ top pick to realize his potential.

“We were obviously fair with Rashard and we tried to make him the best player he could possibly be,” said Zook. “To me, he was a pretty good player and it paid off that he’s going to have an opportunity to be a heckuva pro football player as well.”

Is this cause for concern for Steelers fans? Probably not. The 5-foot-10, 224-pound back is very young. He turns 21 Thursday.

by Blitzburgh on Jun 19, 2008 2:56 PM EDT 0 recs

Sounds like Zook might be trying to be diplomatic now, but the last line says it all. Mendy’s still really young and it’s not unlikely that he might say something immature early on in his pro career.

Revenge of the Birds

by cgolden on Jun 19, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

my take

i dunno about soft, we’ll see in the 4th quarters and late(hopefully) playoff runs in the near future, but it also sounds like mendenhall is willing to say what he believes, a good thing by me.

by tkired on Jun 20, 2008 6:33 PM EDT 0 recs

Strange

Its strange to me that Zook would make comments about a guy that ran his ass off, on his way to a school record in rushing yards. I didnt see anything soft about his running style. I always wondered why Mendenhall didnt play until his junior year. This friction between player and coach explains alot. Maybe Mendenhall did need a little tough love to get motivated, who knows. but to make comments like that when your player is trying to get drafted could cost him alot of money, so that really makes me think that Zook really did have it out for him. Hey maybe some teams passed on him because of it so to Zook, i thank you.

by SteelerDomination on Jun 20, 2008 9:36 PM EDT 0 recs