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A highly curious rumor - washingtonismoney - 08-02-2012

Dallas Lloyd transferring to Montana?

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/article_3f214d26-dcbc-11e1-a3c1-001a4bcf887a.html#.UBqnkZKtVHc.twitter

Given that there are comments from Lloyd's high school coach in the article speculating about how good a QB Lloyd would be in Montana, I'm guessing there are some legs.

Re: A highly curious rumor - yvonne - 08-02-2012

Doesn't seem to mesh with this:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=447478541941028&set=a.417262624962620.95748.100000366576313

Re: A highly curious rumor - StannyBoy - 08-02-2012

my guess is the Montana coach wants Lloyd to transfer and announced this even though Lloyd probably laughed and said no.



Re: A highly curious rumor - OutsiderFan - 08-02-2012

(08-02-2012, 11:06 AM)garvin link Wrote:The Robbie Picazo rumor lower in the story seems more sensible, not that I have any reason to believe it's true. And forget all the other many holes in this story, but wouldn't a quarterback as sought-after as Dallas Lloyd be able to do better than Montana if he decided to transfer?

Not if he wants to play right away, which he probably does given he's already gone on a two year mission.  It's actually pretty common for FBS QBs to transfer to FCS schools to play without having to sit out a year.  Lloyd may see the current QBs (Nunes and Nottingham), Ryan Burns coming in, and not want to compete for the job against such stiff competition.

Perhaps Stanford can convert him to a WR or Safety given what a great athlete he is, and how big a need Stanford has at those two positions. 

Re: A highly curious rumor - StannyBoy - 08-02-2012

(08-02-2012, 11:52 AM)garvin link Wrote:I don't think a guy who's just returned from a two-year LDS mission is going to play right away anywhere.

I agree, but it is Montana so their back-ups could be pretty mediocre. But going from Stanford to Montana is really slumming it from an academic AND a football perspective.

Re: A highly curious rumor - terry - 08-02-2012

(08-02-2012, 11:34 AM)OutsiderFan link Wrote:It's actually pretty common for FBS QBs to transfer to FCS schools to play without having to sit out a year. 

Yes, we do see transfers from FBS schools to FCS schools. But usually, that doesn't happen until the player takes a shot at competing on the FBS level and gets beat out. It is not that common to see a player "drop down" to the FCS level without even trying to compete at the higher level.

Re: A highly curious rumor - Extra Point - 08-02-2012

There are not a lot of news stories of any kind in Montana. Reporters scrape together anything they can find all the time. I know. I lived in Montana for 13 years. Only in Montana would reports from "numerous blogs" be a valid reason to write a column.

Re: A highly curious rumor - washingtonismoney - 08-02-2012

If it were just blogs, yeah, that'd be something. But it is weird that his high school coach is paraphrased about how good a quarterback Dallas Lloyd would be at Montana, don't you think? Maybe it's a deceptive paraphrase or something.

Re: A highly curious rumor - Hank 91 - 08-02-2012

I'm not sure if I'm remembering something about another recruit, but wasn't there a lot of speculation earlier about Lloyd landing at BYU after the mission? Of course, that might've been just the standard "mission then BYU" fears, but I'm not sure why he'd first turn down BYU only to go to Montana.

Of course, he might've gotten to camp and measured himself against Nottingham and the reports on Burns and realized he might never take a meaningful snap for the Cardinal. That might drive someone to Montana.

Re: A highly curious rumor - Extra Point - 08-02-2012

Look! If the coach knew anything about Lloyd transferring, he would of said have said so or declined to comment. No matter what, he would say something in in support of his former star. Something like, "I haven't heard anything about that, but Lloyd would be a good fit at Montana. He is ..." So when a reporter has zilch and the boss asks him, "have you got that story on UM football ready?", all it takes is a little creative editing. As for the phone calls to the Stanford Athletic Department, I highly doubt that they would refuse to return the call. If he phoned the parents a couple of times while they were at work, then this could be creatively interpreted as "did not return the call." This is how it works in Montana.

Re: A highly curious rumor - washingtonismoney - 08-02-2012

And, debunked: http://stanford.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1391777

Extra Point probably right about what happened.

Re: A highly curious rumor - Extra Point - 08-02-2012

Hey Garvin,

The point I was trying to make was there is very little news in Montana. The population of the state of Montana is just about half of the population of Santa Clara County. In order to put out a paper every day, reporters have to make much ado about nothing. In this case the reporter implied that reliable information existed when it didn't. And yes, he was creative. How many people here thought that the coach's statement was evidence? How many people thought that the phone calls that were not returned were evidence? How many people thought that there were so many blogs that their had to be some truth to it? The reporter also wrote this story such that if the information was false, he could not be held accountable. This is the stuff we saw in the paper all the time. Creative sensationalism.

What I did not say is that this is the state of journalism everywhere! I said Just the opposite. I am sure that in most places they take the time to check out stories. And, I did not intend to step on your toes.

I have some personal experiences with reporters in Montana. I used to volunteer a lot of time as an emergency medical technician. When I read a story about one of my first calls I could not believe it. A minor injury turned into a life threatening emergency where we had to feverishly stamp out a heliport pad in the snow. This is when I learned that Montanans read the news like it was a horoscope.

Re: A highly curious rumor - terry - 08-02-2012

It turns out that there really is a Stanford QB who is transferring to Montana. But it's not Dallas Lloyd or Robbie Picazo. It's Adam Brzeczek. He was a freshman walk-on from Arizona who was on last year's roster. He wasn't on the spring practice roster and isn't on the fall roster. He never would have set foot on the field at Stanford. I guess he wanted to have a chance to play. . . .

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/football/source-stanford-qb-brzeczek-headed-to-griz/article_ef1e20ca-dd14-11e1-b12f-0019bb2963f4.html

Re: A highly curious rumor - Kathy - 08-02-2012

[EDIT: Whoops, Terry, while I was busy ranting, you posted the Brzeczek transfer item, too]

According to the updated Missoulian website, there is a Stanford QB transferring to Montana: Adam Brzeczek, who apparently was a freshman walk-on last year. Brzeczek is not listed as one of the seven quarterbacks on the 2012 Stanford roster at GoStanford.com.

http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/football/source-stanford-qb-brzeczek-headed-to-griz/article_ef1e20ca-dd14-11e1-b12f-0019bb2963f4.html

It seems Montana is in the market for a new QB because the starting quarterback was suspended from the team after he was charged with rape.

Extra Point: I read news and feature stories very carefully every day. It's my job. As a general rule, reporters don't make up stories and keep their jobs, whether it's in Podunkville, USA, or some big metropolis (actually, most of the fabrication scandals have happened in news-rich places like New York and Washington ... but I digress). Regardless of whether Garvin would ever admit it or not, editors are pretty good at ferreting out the truth and spiking the crap. I spend nearly half my time checking what my reporters write, based on instinct, distrust or cynicism -- or just because something doesn't feel right.

In the story that pops up from the link at the top of this thread, it says:
Quote:Griz coach Mick Delaney declined to comment on Lloyd when contacted by the Missoulian on Wednesday. Calls to Lloyd’s parents and to the Stanford athletic department went unreturned.

That is standard reporting, not "creative editing." The Montana coach declined to comment and neither the Stanford AD nor Lloyd's parents got back to the reporter before deadline. Happens all the time. Nothing made up there. And as a reporter, I have personal experience with calling major college athletic departments (Big 12 & SEC) and not getting a reply immediately -- sometimes it's a day or two later and I have to keep bugging them.

I can't say that I'm as familiar with the Montana press as you seem to be. I spent a few years in Idaho, perhaps an equally news-starved state in your perception. But a look at the staff box of the Missoulian reveals it to be not overly sparse, considering the state of the newspaper industry these days. There are quite a few reporters and lots of editors. It's a college town -- there's always news happening. The way the news plays out each day is relative -- to other news and what is relevant to the local readers. It's not "much ado about nothing." Montana needs a new quarterback pretty quick -- that's important to readers in that town. I would not have run a story based purely on blog speculation and rumor. They should have gotten confirmation & clarification, which they apparently did later in the day. But rumor-mill reporting is common in sports journalism. I'm sure y'all remember the mass hysteria on this board when several media outlets claimed a few years ago that Jim Harbaugh to Kansas was a done deal ...




(Record after the beep) Beeep "Hi. This is Fred Goombah... - Redrum - 08-02-2012

of the Missoula Montana Missoulian.  I'm calling to confirm a rumor that freshman QB Dallas Lloyd will be leaving the Stanford program and transferring to the University of Montana..."

I can't think of one college sports information office that would return a call like that.  Not one.  Absolutely no upside, even if true.  Lots of downside even if true.  They might comment on things like discipline suspensions or kids "leaving the program" for things like academics,  but always on the school's timetable when all the ducks are in a row. 

More interesting-- precisely because it involves speculation-- is WHAT UP with the Montana football culture?  Their ex-coach Bobby Hauck,  wildly popular and very successful,  left under  a cloud after the football players put together a string of about a dozen incidents involving assaults and even a murder.  Hauck used his influence to hush up and try to make the incidents go away.  It blew up in his face when a newspaper put a spotlight on the program and the town/gown chasm that had opened.  Now, even with Hauck coaching in a more natural setting (Las Vegas),  more reports of violence (sexual assault) involving UM players.  Must be something in the water. 

Re: A highly curious rumor - Kathy - 08-02-2012

But apparently, someone DID return the call:
Quote:On Thursday, the Missoulian learned from a source inside the Stanford program that it’s Adam Brzeczek who will become a Griz. He was listed as a 6-foot, 195-pound freshman walk-on in Stanford’s 2011 football media guide.



That source might be the groundskeeper - Redrum - 08-02-2012

who knew a guy, who knew a guy, who heard....

I'm saying that college sports information professionals don't respond on the record to help break stories about athletes' personal decisions.  They might give information on background to the local media bods but never to respond to a rumor coming out of left field.  Well, to qualify that,  the ones who are still employed and/or want to remain employed don't.