This is Coach Paul Chryst’s entire statement.
“Rushel and I met on Tuesday morning and he informed me of his final decision to transfer. I wish him only the best moving forward. Out of respect for Rushel, his family and his privacy, this will be my final comment on the matter.”
Just a little editing and he probably could have gotten that out in a single tweet.
Shell is supposed to meet with Pitt coaches and members of the athletic department to discuss his potential transfer destinations. All the noise is that Shell wants to go out West to the Pac-12.
My guess is that the extent of the restrictions on Shell’s transfer by Pitt will be limited to Arizona State and the ACC (including Notre Dame). Otherwise I see no reason to limit his choices.
I don’t exactly wish him well, but I’m not going to hate him. He’s made his choice. He will likely say some more stupid stuff in the next year — I mean beyond foolishly getting into it on Twitter with Mark Madden. Otherwise, I will not have much to say on the kid after he chooses his destination.
Shell’s burned a lot of bridges locally with this drama. He’s now put himself in a position where he has no choice but to work harder than ever to build a life for himself (and hopefully his children). There’s going to be a lot less support around him, and plenty waiting to see him fail. Who knows if he can meet that challenge.
The bottom line with Shell is that he actually starting burning his bridges after the 2012 season ended and thus alienated those around him. Both inside the football program and outside of it within the university. This has been discussed and hashed over for days now and it was inevitable that it was going to end up this way… and no one is that broken up about it at all. More like “Rushel, meet Door, Let’s get back to practice team.”
Voytik, Chapman and Anderson are all with an inch of each other’s height. They all look like kids out there surrounded by the OL and WRs.
I suspect HS coaches will feel much the same way:no work, no respect.
In the long run the worst thing that could have happened was PC playing favorites. Not even the worst HS coach would refer a kid to Pitt if they believed favorites were being played.
This team lost a player with as yet unfulfilled potential.
It also got out of the soap opera business.
That is addition by subtraction!
I would love nothing more than a team of average players willing to fight claw and scratch for one another!
If that is the PC way, then nothing could be better!
“Pitt football took the biggest blow when star running back Rushel Shell made the decision Monday night that he is transferring after just one season. Pitt sold Shell’s recruitment out of Hopewell High School as a major victory for its program, which has been mostly irrelevant for more than 30 years. To say that his departure isn’t crippling to Pitt is disingenuous and inaccurate.”
Bwwaahhhhhhaaa.
My bet is that Pitt will not restrict Shell from going to ASU if that’s his choice, which apparently it is.
If it turns out this way, it would be due to Chryst more than anything else… a real standup guy who doesn’t make decisions based on fear or insecurity.