Bridgewater Didn’t Want To Be J12 : The Remix

An interesting article on former Miami Northwestern quarterback, almost-Miami Hurricane and current Louisville star Teddy Bridgewater on ESPN.com today, penned by local writer Andrea Adelson, who grew up a Canes and knows the UM program well.

Bridgewater verbally committed to Miami during the 2010 season, but would decommitt that December, which many at the time blamed on the firing of then-head coach Randy Shannon.

Many felt Shannon and Bridgewater’s close relationship was keeping the local prospect home and with his decision to not attend UM — coupled with his recent rise at Louisville — fans felt a good one that didn’t need to get away, got away.

According to this recent piece, Bridgewater decided to decommitt before Shannon was actually fired.

In a word, friends and family didn’t want Bridgewater in the shadow of Jacory Harris, who he played behind at Northwestern and who he’d have followed at Miami. Harris took a beating from the UM fan base, and while that wasn’t mentioned in the piece, it’s an obvious sub-plot to the story.

Why draw unnecessary comparisons to a guy who failed, as opposed to starting fresh elsewhere and making a name for oneself?

The article is worth the read and while Miami fans forever felt Bridgewater was a casualty of coaching turnover, in reality it’s just a story about a local product who wanted a fresh start, as opposed to the pressure of living in a predecessor’s shadow and responsibility of helping the hometown team rise from the ashes.

Comments

comments