Say one thing for Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini. Well, there are many things you can say but none the least of which are his willingness to make a tough decision.
Running back Quentin Castille has been dismissed from the football team for what Pelini said Saturday was a clear violation of team policies according to the Lincoln Journal Star.
"We have guidelines, we have policies that we have set up here, we have a culture we have set up here," Pelini said. "It's pretty black and white my expectations and what we lay out as a staff, and if somebody doesn't follow those policies or guidelines, they're no longer going to be with the program. That's the case with Quentin. I wish him luck. He's a good kid. He's just not going to be with our program anymore. I wish him luck in the future. The book is closed on that."
Pelini addressed the matter following Saturday's practice. It marked the third day Castille was not with the team.
"It's black and white," Pelini said. "It's not tough the way I go about running this football program."
What stands out the most (to me anyhow) about the decision was that it did not involve the Unity Council, which Pelini reinstituted after becoming the head coach.
The Unity Council, which was in place from 1991-2003, is a group consisting of players selected by their fellow teammates on the football roster of that specific year. At least one player comes from each position on the football team so the voice of other players in that position can be heard. The idea enjoyed great on-field success initially, as Nebraska rolled off three national championships within the next 10 years.
The council dealt with internal discipline. It worked under a point system for troubled players -- those who got into trouble received points for infractions such as missing classes or practices, as well as criminal charges. The more points a player received, the harsher the discipline.
“If there's a violation and people go against the rules and the guidelines that we've set up, it's black and white,” Pelini said. “We'll show you the door. No one is above the football team. I got a program to run, both short term and long term. Like I said, end of story.”
So what does this mean for the running back position? Keep in mind; Castille and Roy Helu were slated to be Nebraska’s running back tandem in 2009 much like the ’08 season with Marlon Lucky.
Pelini added that true freshman Rex Burkhead has emerged as the No. 2 back behind Helu but don’t rule out Collins Okafor, Lester Ward, and Austin Jones. For that matter, don’t rule out Marcus Mendoza. Keep in mind, Okafor is a big back like Castille at 6-1, 225-pounds. Although I think Burkhead would have seen the field at some point this season anyhow despite Pelini’s tendency to redshirt freshman players.
Castille’s dismissal is a tough blow but Pelini is right to stick to his standards, which is what happened. I trust the reasons (unknown at this point) were legit. Pelini is proving he can make the though choices. Again, I am very curious about the reason for the dismissal. Was it drugs? Drinking? Breaking the law? Or heaven forbid violating the NCAA rules?
We'll never know unless either Castille discusses it, or the NCAA comes sniffing around and we hear about it on ESPN. Since it was for a “clear violation of team rules,” I seriously doubt it's an NCAA violation. Also, if Nebraska even suspected Castille violated NCAA rules he would have been suspended immediately (a couple days ago). About the only streak we've got left besides the sell-out streak is no major NCAA violations in the football program and I'm quite sure Nebraska wants to keep it that way. Also, I doubt it was the law. If it was, we would have heard about it because the police can't keep arrest reports from reporters for long. Defensive tackle Kevin Dixon's issues we knew about within hours of his arrests. Pelini dismissed Dixon before the start of last season and linebacker Cody Glenn late in the season. The speculation is already out there as to the reason for it but I doubt we ever get it confirmed. Pelini isn't going to throw a player or a former player under the bus under any circumstances. He referred to Castille as a “good kid.” Keep in mind, he never talked in specifics about what Dixon and Glenn did, and he's not going to talk about this one either.
It is a sad day for Castille but he is the only one who should be sad. The pattern of consistency in the area of discipline has been established. The only way to maintain the respect of the players in your program is to apply the consequences for the breaking of rules fairly and consistently regardless of who you are or how good you are.
Castille made mistakes and it cost him and for that you hope that he can overcome these hardships but for the good of the whole Pelini represents what is best in sports, character and principles, which someday will influence others choices to come to Nebraska for the right reasons.
Not that I need to know every time someone violates team rules but Pelini and his staff have demonstrated that they are completely fair with their players, and have their best interests at heart. So when he says someone can no longer be on the team, that's good enough for me. I also think that he deserves praise for keeping these things “In House,” letting the young men keep their dignity to whatever extent that is possible.
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