Tell his story about his college decision...Kicks LSU in the nuts on the way out. http://recruiting.scout.com/2/844360.html “I really wanted to go to LSU,” he said. “I wanted to be one of the only Polynesian guys to go down South, but I felt the coaches wanted me to hurry up and commit just so they would have a center for spring ball. I felt like they just wanted a body and didn’t really care who it was.
That Polynesian/Mexican dude may be smoking too many Pineapples. Sounds like CLM may have cooled on his recruitment as scholarships became scarcer and scarcer as NSD approached and he maintained his indecision. You snooze you loose. I'm sure he did want to play for a team poised to win a third nat'l championship in the near future! er... fourth
FWIW, he's all Polynesian. His adopted dad is where John gets the Martinez from. A little stereotyping there? I am convinced that LSU and CLM would have accepted his LOI on Feb 4th if that's where he'd sent it. And Bandit is right, there's no kick at LSU, just a recruit's feeling about how the communication went.
Amazing contrast between he and 2010 Commit WR - Mike Davis: “I just felt comfortable talking to Les Miles,” Davis said. “I could just tell that he really wanted to know me. He wasn’t just trying to do what a lot of the other coaches do — trying to sell you real hard and get you to commit He didn’t try to force it. He acted like he loved me and wanted me to make the best decision.” http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/lsu/40517977.html?index=1&c=y
Kind of unexpected response from him based on the way his recruitment played out. He came to LSU for 2 games over a 2 year span and made a camp last summer. He was a big factor in having the TE Wilson from Utah and Filo interested in us. Seemed like the contact went down some when the coaches understood their chances of landing him but no negativity occurred the rest of the year. We still checked in with him till the end as well. Case of differing viewpoints I guess because most recruits would feel wanted by getting asked to commit. Or it is a case of accepting too many Olineman early in the year and targeting other OOS prospects which made him feel slighted. However, we have to cover our bases.
Don't mistake my comments as stereotyping. Interpret them for what they were... a humorous play on words dealing with his last name and his, unbeknownst to me, Polynesian ancestry. The words Polynesian and Mexican are not derogatory at all. I do, however, apologize to the entire pineapple growing, producing and distribution industry, for a complete and utter lack of sensitivity. I don't live in California so I may have strayed from Political Correctness with regards to the honorable pineapple profession. :lol:. Some of my best friends are Polynesians, Mexicans and Californians !! :hihi: Seriously, you make a good point about LSU accepting his LOI because there was one available on NSD after Kelly, Jackson, Benton, Richardson, and Dubose opted out.
I thought back to what Davis said about Miles too. I do feel as if it was a negative statement by Martinez although it could have been a lot worse. It sure wasn't positive. Although he didn't say these words it made me think of the saying, "They treated me like a piece of meat". I'm sure there are others that read it that conjured up the same sentiment. Therefore, I don't like it because he is casting LSU and our coaches in a bad light. I will not be pulling for John Martinez to do well in the future.
It doesn't bother me that he didn't want to go to LSU. He just really wanted to go to USC. His dad gave him great advice about making whatever decision was in his best interests. I just don't see Miles as coming across as being not interested in him as a person. If that was coach Miles' attitude towards his players, Ryan Perriloux would have never been given so many chances to straighten up and fly right. If Miles was only interested in winning games, Perriloux wouldn't have been kicked off the team, and Jarrett Lee would still be looked at as being groomed to play QB one day. His comments about Miles, though, are way off base. Good luck, JM ... unless LSU and USC ever meet... and watch out for the mind altering pineapples.
Crowton was in the front lines recruiting him and a fellow Mormon. They went to church together when he was in town, etc... I do not see how that equals not caring about him as a person when you tie that in with the elements of his recruitment.
