SBNation's Voodoo Five reports that Tyler Moore is transferring to South Florida, per Tampa Bay Times reporter John Cotey. Cotey has since backed off that tweet slightly, saying that it's not confirmed, but it's what he thinks is happening.
Folks, I didn't intend to state so emphatically that Tyler Moore is transferring to USF. I don't know if he is.
— John C. Cotey (@JohnnyHometeam) August 12, 2012
More specifically...
Was having a convo with someone with some knowledge, and we were joshing about how college girlfriends always win out. Hence, the tweet.
— John C. Cotey (@JohnnyHometeam) August 12, 2012
Yesterday, Bo Pelini address the media on this topic, and mentioned that Moore's father, Brian, told Pelini that the internet rumors are false. Moore is from Clearwater, FL, which is about 20 miles from the South Florida campus in the Tampa area.
So what's the truth? Is Moore mad at Barney Cotton, or is Moore trying to get back with a girlfriend, as Cotey insinuates. (One variant of the internet rumors on Friday was that Moore had a girlfriend at South Florida, and, in fact, was already in Tampa on Friday.) Or is he just homesick?Obviously, Pelini is giving Moore some slack here while he decides what to do. Maybe Moore already has made a decision, but Pelini is hoping to change his mind. We simply don't know what the case is.
Many Husker fans dislike Barney Cotton, and are using this as yet another reason to call for him to be out of the football program. Their objections aren't without merit; offensive line play has been inconsistent throughout the last four years. Sometimes very good, and sometimes, very bad. (See Northwestern, 2011.) But is Cotton the problem in this situation? Without anything specific coming from Moore (except through the rumor mill), it's impossible to say for sure. Fans point to the transfer of Ryan Klachko's transfer as another reason:
This wasn’t about being "lazy" or not fitting a mold. Im a lot of things and lazy is not one of them.
— Ryan Klachko (@Ryanklachko) August 7, 2012
What does this mean? It seems to be a response to Bo Pelini's comments about Klachko's transfer:
"We have a culture around here,’’ Pelini told the Omaha World-Herald. "And if somebody doesn’t feel they fit into that culture — for whatever reason — he decided to take his talents someplace else. I wish him well.’’
It's pretty easy to put 2+2 together, whether they actually go together or not. Two highly rated offensive line recruits from the 2011 incoming class disappear within a week of the first practice and people assume the worst. Add in the departures of Aaron Green and Bubba Starling, and suddenly people start panicking.
So what is going to happen? For starters, Barney Cotton is not going anywhere anytime soon. Bo Pelini is steadfastly loyal to his assistants; look how he handled the Ted Gilmore and Shawn Watson situations. Barring some sort of emergency, Cotton will be coaching the offensive line this season. Could Pelini make a change on the line after the season? Certainly. It could actually be a situation like with Corey Raymond, where Raymond ends up taking another job, with Pelini seemingly already having the position backfilled.
That is, assuming that Pelini doesn't want Cotton around anymore. Pelini has previously said he likes and respects Cotton; he named him "associate head coach" for a reason. Pelini also can't let players dictate his coaching staff either. The "inmates running the asylum" situation doomed Danny Nee in 1996.
So what's the truth here? Nobody knows, except the people inside the program. We get some inside leaks, but those aren't always the most accurate. (Taylor Martinez is still in Lincoln, folks!) In the meantime we wait.
And hope that Tyler Moore makes the right decision for himself. Husker fans all hope that also means Moore stays in Lincoln.