Ryan Kessman leaves BYU
Rhiannon Potkey of the Salt Lake Tribune reported today that freshman wide receiver Ryan Kessman requested and received a release from his scholarship today. Kessman was one of six freshmen that were suspended yesterday for undisclosed team rules violations. Potkey’s report states that while BYU did not disclose the nature of Kessman’s violations, Ryan’s father, Steven, told her that his son was suspended for drinking a vanilla cappuccino, breaking curfew and missing a team lifting session.
Despite Kessman being a four-star recruit out of high school, this is not a back-breaking loss for the program. He never really lived up to the hype and, in light of his decision, doesn’t appear to be the type of player to own up to his mistakes anyway.
Click here to read the full story in the Tribune.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Best of Luck to Ryan wherever he ends up. BYU holds students to a much higher standard and Ryan chose not to be a part of it. It’s not for everyone and best for all parties if they split ways. Just a note as I’ve seen some confusion on this: Coach Mendenhall only suspended the players from practice, not from the team or from school. The rest of the players (the 5 other freshmen) all have the opportunity to return to practice and the team, as did Ryan. Also, remember that the news is being filtered through a father, not through official or legal means. The whole story isn’t being told and likely never will be (or needs to be), which is best for the 5 other young men and for the program.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
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September 28th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
Peter makes a good point about the other players. We don’t know what the others did and we don’t have all the facts, nor did I intend for either of those things to be implied. I just stated what was reported and then posted my take on it. Thanks for clarifying that point, Peter!
September 28th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Good riddance Ryan Kessman. He didn’t last 1 month of school here and will most likely flake at the next school (unless he puts some serious effort into improving his skills). I will consider the program fortunate to free up this scholarship that likely would have been wasted on the bench for four years.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Isn’t Kessman the one that showed up “chubby”? So he’s both lazy and, now, a quitter. Regardless…
When one side gives a slanted view, Bronco is then able and really needed to give the full truth (concerning that 1 player only, not the other 5). Mendenhall won’t choose to do so, but he would be fully justified and furthermore he should.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:29 am
BYU will survive the loss of Kessman. There have been a number of athletes that have left BYU in the past, and none of them have succeeded elsewhere, with any great significance. It’s a win-win for Kessman and BYU. Other players, with bigger hearts, will step up and fill the void, like Ben Criddle. Coach Mendenhall has said from the beginning that he wanted players who wanted to be here. Its just a hunch, but I’ll bet Coach Mendenhall was happy to give Kessman his release.
September 29th, 2007 at 10:47 am
Blueintheface, thanks for throwing in some bigotry to add some flavor to the sour grapes. If Kessman doesn’t want to be here I’m gald he has other options and that we do too. Do you know any other ethnic ‘vernacular’ that you’d like to throw out there in the hopes of offending other players on the team past present or future?
September 29th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
It amazes me how emotional people get about football players. People who a year ago were foaming-at-the-mouth thrilled that Ryan Kessman chose to commit early are now calling him chubby and a flake. Of course, most of them wouldn’t recognize him if they bumped into him on the street and know absolutely nothing about him, his character or his skills. But as they say, hell hath no fury like a woman (or some BYU fans) scorned.
September 29th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Oh no, some out-of-shape loser quit the team! I feel so scorned!!
September 29th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
We sure are going to miss that blazing 5.2 forty speed!!! Nooooo!
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:23 am
as a former LDS, I can say that you guys there at BYU are no different from the world and how they treat people… sad times
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:03 am
Sweeping generalizations aren’t becoming of anyone, Bobby. It’s not fair to lump everyone at BYU together and slap a label on them.
It’s not unfair to criticize Kessman for just bailing on the team instead of owning up to his mistakes, whatever they were, and doing what he has to do to get back into practice. The real issue has little to do with religion and everything to do with Kessman’s belief that he is above the contract he signed that holds him to a standard equal with every other player on the team.
Most people here believe that Kessman will be better off at another school if he is unhappy at BYU, and ultimately BYU will be much better off without a disgruntled player bringing everybody else down. It’s just a downer to have a guy not pan out when you had hopes pinned on his success.