On an earlier post, Forever Red inquired about a new Nebraska assistant coach who is out there recruiting on behalf of our beloved University. His name is John Papuchis and he has quite the history.
Adjacent to the KU party in the back of the room will be John Papuchis, a former football graduate assistant at Kansas who possibly is involved in perhaps the most serious allegation of the bunch. An unnamed GA is accused of academic fraud for helping prospective junior-college transfers gain eligibility for the 2003 season. Papuchis will be accompanied by legal counsel and a representative from his school.
via KU Sports
With all the Academic All-Americans we have and the pride we take in graduating our student athletes, I cannot begin to believe we would hire someone to coach and mentor our young men who has done something so unthinkable at Kansas. All I can think of is maybe he was just following orders and did what he was told to do. Either way, I think it is not necessarily a black eye on the University for hiring such an individual.
Speaking of Forever Red, here is a Logo for a shirt he designed. I think it is pretty cool.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Hey that’s a nice pic!
Ok, so I got the name wrong. Has this guy been at LSU the last few years?
I have to beleive that Bo has complete faith in this guy to bring him on his first year as HC.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Yes, he left Kansas and went straight to LSU in 2004. I’m split on this one.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:54 am
I say lets take the TO approach on this…wait to see what comes of it. He may be a victim of circumstance. We cannot just go firing people every time an allegation pops up. We would never have a coach longer than 2 years.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:23 am
@Husker V
I did state in my post maybe he was following orders, but this is not an allegation. It is actual, factual, and Kansas is losing scholarships because of it.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Bo Pelini taught me everything I know.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:34 am
Sorry I did not realize it was no longer an allegation. I have faith that Bo knows what he is doing. I also have faith in the fact that he can ask TO if the situation proves to be a difficult one…
December 7th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
I give Bo the benefit of the doubt on this. He has been with Bo for a while and Bo knows him.
How many people make a stupid mistake when they were younger? …Lots…
December 7th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
we need to let this one go….you guys dont know the truth here….let it go. trust me.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
by the way, he was absolved of everything he was accused of…that was well documented. P.S. Remove the picture — it is copyright to LSU and i doubt you have the copyright permissions to repost it.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
@Huskerfan
Are you really a “Husker Fan”?
December 7th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I don’t want to let it go. Please, why don’t you enlighten me with the truth since you obviously know what it is.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
by the way, I don’t trust anyone.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
[Via KU Sports.com]
* The former graduate assistant football coach who committed academic fraud (former graduate assistant football coach A) has been given a three-year “show cause” order. This means any NCAA college or university seeking to hire him over the next three years (until October 11, 2009) must appear before the Committee on Infractions to “show cause” why he should be allowed to work in intercollegiate athletics.
Maybe he is not Grad Assistant A. I have not heard anything about Nebraska having to go before the Committee on Infractions when bringing him in. Sometimes where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Sometimes not. Who knows what happened, I was just giving information on the history of this new coach.
@Huskerfan….you say he was “absolved” of everything he did and it is well documented. Where is it documented at? I will gladly post it on there as well.
December 8th, 2007 at 8:47 am
first off yes, I am a Husker fan. And the trail took place two summers ago in Baltimore — it was all over the news then. I am not sure why no articles online have the story, but it was all over the news then.
The reason I am getting irritated is because this is a brand new coaching staff and they havent even been given a chance in Lincoln and people are already roasting them.
December 8th, 2007 at 9:46 am
@ Husker Fan
First off, no one is roasting the coaching staff. We have every right to question an Assistant’s qualifications. That is all that is going on here. From everything I’ve seen Papuchis is a good soldid choice, but I would like to know more about the KU situation before I accept it completely.
December 8th, 2007 at 10:15 am
@Brad
I too wonder if he is not Grad Assistant A. I can’t find anything that confirms that he was.
December 8th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Before Chuck Norris goes to bed, he checks his closet for Bo Pelini!
December 8th, 2007 at 10:39 am
From the Kansas City Star:
Former KU graduate assistant John Papuchis has declined repeated interview requests by The Star during the last year. Now a graduate assistant at Louisiana State, Papuchis and his legal counsel were present during Sunday’s meeting.
It is not clear which violations directly involved Papuchis. One person familiar with Papuchis’ situation at Kansas said Papuchis is being “hung out to dry” and that he’s “the kind of kid who will fall on the sword for someone.”
Asked Sunday if he and Papuchis were on the same page regarding the events that occurred in the summer of 2003, Mangino said: “I can’t say anything. The committee told us not to talk publicly.”
December 8th, 2007 at 11:45 am
@HuskerFan
As Husker fans, we sat idle as our beloved program was run into the ground. We were seperated from our program and disconnected from the tradition that makes us what we are. Questioning what is going on is not considered a bad thing, in my opinion.
December 8th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I don’t think I was bash’n on him either, I was pretty much saying that if Bo has faith in him, I’m good with that. Now if the NCAA investigates NU in the next year, then I might have a problem with it. I gotta beleive that he has been doing a good job at LSU, I would also think that as much as Tom want’s to stay out of it, I’m guessing he might question the hire if he thought it was going to hurt the program in any way.
December 8th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Omaha World Herald has more info on him, but nothing negative. In fact, LSU’s assistant athletic director for football says Mike Ekeler and John Papuchis are, “about as sharp a pair of young guys as we’ve ever had here. I’m an old guy, and one of the things I’ve noticed over the years is that people who are really good at something are people who love it. I think both these guys have that attribute, too.”
December 13th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
…so, there is not any resolution on this topic?
December 13th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
No
December 13th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
My resolution is that I’m gonna try and not bag on any of the staff until the end of next season. Until then, they all look like great hires.
How long until the spring game? When do tickets go on sale? I’d like to get mine soon so I can at least sit here and look at it.
December 15th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Pelini has defended Papuchis in a recemt article in the Omaha World-Herald:
“They’re going to be stars,” Pelini said. “They’re excellent football coaches. They’re guys that I’ve trained. I’ve seen them relate to players. Obviously I think the world of them.
“No matter where I went, they were coming.”
December 15th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Like I said earlier, I really don’t thing Bo would chance having a bad seed on the staff his first year as HC. He is smarter then that, if he trust and beleives in the guy, that’s good enough for me.
December 15th, 2007 at 9:32 am
According to the World Herald Papuchis is not grad assistant A, it was someone else. So there, now we have it. At least we asked. I stated I was iffy about this, but now my thoughts have been put at ease. I think the rest of the staff will all be excellent to learn under. With the combination of young energetic go getters and wise and polished veterans, it should be very, very interesting!
@Husker Fan
Nothing personal, we just had to ask and I thank you for your input.
December 15th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
no worries — the entire staff is taking shape nicely!