AD Jim Weaver: Cody Journell reinstatement decision won’t come until summer
Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver said a decision on suspended kicker Cody Journell’s status with the football team won’t be made until this summer.
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Journell was found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing Monday in relation to an incident from December. In a deal with the commonwealth’s attorney, he’ll be required to do 100 hours of community service and will be on probation for 12 months.
Originally, he was charged with breaking and entering, a felony that required him to be suspended under university policy until the charge was dismissed or otherwise resolved.
Weaver, who is in charge of the reinstatement process, met with Journell and his parents Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m going to wait and take a look at things,” Weaver said. “He will meet with me once a month and we’ll see how things progress in terms of his obligations for 100 hours of community service.”
Weaver anticipates making a decision “sometime during the summer.”
May 22, 2012 - 3:35 PM
If weaver brings back this Thug then he officially is NUTS. RETIRE weaver. Looks like the SEC wants VA Tech bad from reports from SEc bloggers, does anyone have inside info on this.
Ah, a slow news day, eh? Let me guess, somewhere in July, when nobody is thinking about any sports at all?
I’ll go ahead and put a billion dollars I don’t have down that Journell gets reinstated to the football team in time for Frankie to check him out on a possible late quarter FG against GaTech.
Also talked with Weaver about SEC rumors. Will have a post tomorrow, but he essentially said VT is happy where it is, has not talked with any other conference about realignment.
This is not shocking. If — and that’s a big if — any of these rumors of contact are true, they’d be down on the down low.
I think Cody deserves one more chance. If he messes up even once, no matter how minor it is, then he deserves to be kicked off of the team for good.
Andy, you spent time in the SEC. What are your thoughts about VT being a candidate for the SEC sometime in the future. Can we compete? Do we want to compete? If you were Dr. Steger, what would your recommeendation be?
HG, he deserves one more chance? Because he could win a game for us? Let’s not use the ‘he made a single mistake…’ excuse, because he’s done far more than that, and everyone who follows the team knows that.
He already messed up, on a felony level, even if it got pled down to misdemeanor so he could conveniently play again under Beamer’s ‘If you’re good enough, you’re never guilty enough’ policy.
Journell’s going back on the team, because he matters. If he was a 3rd string O-lineman who wasn’t as good as projected, He’d not be on the team. Unless he came from a 757 HS that had a pipeline of talent Beamer liked. Since Beamer needs special teams help, Journell is as good as gold to get back in. That’s the bottom line.
CR… still predicting the same thing that everyone else is I see. You get ‘em, Nostradamus!
I’m not sure how much faith I put in Weaver’s words lately. He also said that Greenberg’s job was safe when asked about that after the basketball season was over.
I was wondering what the NCAA’s policy is about student-athletes who run afoul of the laws and the coach’s involvement. In this case, I wonder if Beamer is able to sit down with Journell and have a long talk with him.
It seem in this case, Weaver is acting as an arbiter and has the power to doom or prolong Journell’s career.
This is just me talking now…I think Journell should put in a request for a transfer and start over somewhere. He’ll have this kind of cloud over his head, and could become an instant scapegoat for fans if he miss a game-deciding field goal.
Telvion Clark was no lower than 2nd string crooked road
hokie24, we all know you’re proud of being a diehard fan. We all know you only have perspective if it means something positive for the Hokies. We all know you have trouble accepting any objective viewpoints regarding the Hokies. That’s okay. Someday, you might grow out of it into maturity.
You can keep on cheering Beamer’s determination to include anyone on his team possible as long as it gets him to his sacred 10-11 wins in a season. We all now he’ll never go beyond that, partially because of how he sells out to merely get to that point. Keep hope alive, and good luck in that fantasy.
Crooked Road seems awfully self righteous. I wonder if he has ever done something stupid and not been caught. Journell was found guilty of trespassing. If he is to be punished like he was guilty of the original charge, why have the court system? There are pre-existing guidelines. If they are followed, Journell is back on the team. If not, why have the guidelines? Of Course his ability to contribute to the team should matter. Why would you put up with anything from a non contributor? If a decision is within my sphere of discretion, I am going to weigh it all – including ability. The court system was about justice. The football decision is about what is best for the team. That includes many factors.
As for SEC rumors, I will believe it when I see it.
Crooked, maybe you are right about Journell being in trouble before, but please explain your source and back up your claim about all these incidences. Otherwise you have no credibility.
Having said that, I’m not a fan of Journell returning – he can have his second chance elsewhere.
Based on a reading of crooked road’s posts over some time, he has little if any credibility (maybe there’s a reason for “crooked”), just a hatred of VT for some reason. Don’t waste your time replying. You can’t reason with these kind of people.
Whether the kid gets back on the team is neither here nor there as far as I’m concerned. Those with tickets will still go to the game and those without will watch it on TV, or channel surf, or go fishing, or whatever they do on Saturday afternoons. Real men will stand in court or in front of their wife or whoever they wronged and say, “I’m stupid, I screwed up and I promise I will make every effort not to screw up again.” Those who stand in front of the wronged and say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know, I was just along for the ride, it’s not my fault,” are working on becoming a lifelong A.H. if not there already. 23 years in law enforcement taught me that most aren’t sorry they did something wrong, they’re sorry they got caught.
I’m stunned that there could be anyone with the intelligence to read this blog that thinks Journell is not a lock to return. All the pontificating for or against is meaningless…he’ll be back. How many “chances” did Marcus Vick get?
CR,
Cody wasn’t the only one to plea bargain down to a misdemeanor. Plea bargains happen all the time. Honestly, while I think breaking and entering -could- have come back from a grand jury, I’m not as certain about the weapon charge considering it was an air gun – in other words, a paintball gun.
As for your comments about him having been in trouble before, bring proof of your claims that people can try to look into or your just going to be dismissed.
All that said, I don’t really care one way or the other if he’s brought back, but if Cody is allowed to come back on an unbelievably tight leash.
Thanks for the background check, xman. It really means a lot to me your opinion of my posts. I’m a Golden Hokie and season ticket holder for both VT football and basketball for nearly three decades. That’s a lot of time & money invested in something you think I hate.
What I do hate is setting aside principle to win games. I would be thrilled if that didn’t happen in this case. My knowledge of instances past leads me to the cynical conclusion that it will again happen. I’d love to be wrong on this for a change. I really would. We’ll find out in the coming weeks.
#17 You have nothing, other than this incident, is what you’re saying, right?
Andy,
Orangebloods.com (Texas website) has stated that Florida State, Clemson, Miami, and Virginia Tech have made “informal” inquiries about future Big 12 expansion, whether Weaver admits it or not.
The site says that the Big 12′s “dream expansion schools” would be 1) Notre Dame (surprise), 2) Florida State, 3) Clemson, and 4) Virginia Tech.
I understand that Weaver says that he has spoken to no one…SEC, Big 12, or wherever, but he has not been doing his do deligence under the circumstances if he (or someone from VT) hasn’t.
I have copy/pasted a little commentary on the whole ACC fiasco below:
How to save the ACC: if it wants to be saved [10]
Posted: May 23, 2012 7:57 AM Reply
tombstone.jpg(32.8 K)
Time is short, but I’m one who feels that even a flawed marriage can be saved….if both sides are open to change. And like most folks here, I like the proximity of road games, traditional rivalries and the nuances of a conference we helped establish decades ago.
That said, an abusive relationship, once recognized, cannot survive. And Clemson and FSU and tacitly VTech, have come to realize just what an abusive relationship this has become. It’s not just us becoming the conference’s Sugar Daddies, tossing baubles and new cars at the aging strumpets in North Carolina. It’s now more like we’re the only family members willing to go out and work, bringing our paychecks home to the aging mansion at the end of the road, only to have our relatives take the check, feed us moldy oatmeal and belittle us for our work ethic.
You want to fix the ACC? That’s where to start. Remove the structure that robs the hard-working. Give FSU, Clemson, VTech and any other football program that wants to help boost this wretched band of leeches into a more profitable position.
Here’s how to do that:
1. Assuming we’re not going to start tossing out the conference deadweight, the ACC will need to either create or enlist two more football schools, one for each division. Don’t care who, don’t care how. We must also get to the bottom of the reports that Miami is considering drawing away from the football table.
This conference needs at least a half-dozen reputable football powers that can compete on a national stage any given year if it wishes to remain in the big-boy football money.
2. Restructure allocation of the money brought in. Big football costs big bucks, and taking money away from the sport to boost our illustrious lacrosse programs won’t help. There must be a re-balancing to help the football teams compete.
The details can be worked out in the future. Just say you’re ready to make meaningful change, and odds are FSU, Clemson and VTech will listen.
3. Toss out the old walking bosses. There is no way any of this takes place with the current ACC overlord structure. And, alas, this is why I am most convinced none of this comes to pass. We cannot trust the men who spit in our face and at the same time picked our pockets.
IF the ACC was willing to do those three things it could be be saved. But I see little hope of that. My ultimate vision of the conference and an athletic Masada, with Swofford lobbing basketballs at the approaching armies below….until there’s nothing left to save.
A couple of things: First, I don’t know what the debate is, Journell will be reinstated this summer. Notice that Weaver is making the announcement and not Coach Beamer, but we all know who is making the decision. So mark it down, he will be kicking against GA Tech. Second, a few good points were made, if this was a walk-on right guard, then we wouldn’t be having this debate. You use those “non-ers” to make a point.
CR… I had already posted this on 3 or 4 other pages of AMac’s and Andy’s blogs here at least, but I’m NOT in favor of Journell being put back on the team.
You have no clue of my perspective on the Hokies, CR. No idea.
Crooked road, your Golden Hokie status and season tickets for thirty years does not mean you know the inner workings of anything in Beamer or Weaver’s offices. If you really knew somthing you would report it with facts that can be proven. Coach Beamer is an honest and honorable man. He does believe in giving people second chances as we all should. Learned that at Sunday School. People like to bring up the Vick brothers and it is getting old. They are gone. They were given second chances and one passed the test and one did not and that one was told goodby.
Get a grasp on reality. Do you read the papers and internet? The so called big boys in college football consider these types of offenses as a nuisance and never suspend or release the players from the team.
I am grateful to root for a VT team that makes me proud.
I’m with crooked road on this. Past history does side with him on how Beamer will act. Everyone saw the “Vick stomp” on national TV and there way no way to wave it away as “an accident” or “inadvertent” or anything innocent. Yet it took more time than it should have for Beamer to step up and admit that the thug was a thug and should be gone from the team. Even as Marcus continued to screw up, Frank defended him as still does to this day. At least his older brother finally saw the light and turned his life around but Marcus hasn’t really shown that he has deserved the support that Beamer gave him — and that is Beamer’s blind spot. He has done it with other members of his teams and will more than likely be true to form with Journell. Bad habits are hard to break. Granted, VT has a “cleaner” program than other schools but it is just tainted enough (unfortunately) that it is easy to make this call, sad as that is. If it weren’t so, Jimmy Turk would be making his big bucks swindling old ladies or on shady land deals, not on getting sweetheart plea bargains for athletes in trouble.
CR – Time and money are your excuse for being a critical negative cynic not only here but also on TSL. You are always entitled to your opinion but you act like yours is the only one that counts. And I have been following VT since I was a frosh in HS in 1956!! I guess by your standards that gives me the right to come down on you as you do on others??
Pat N. Hall – After kicking Marcus Vick off the team, what good would it do for Beamer to do anything other than wish Marcus Vick well in his future efforts? Would it be productive in any way for Beamer to run around bad-mouthing him?
Yep, you’re right, Beamer and everone else saw the “Marcus stomp”… and Beamer kicked Marcus off the team for good 4 days later. Every Hokie will tell you that Marcus’ dismissal was long overdue.
You mentioned Journell’s plea deal… don’t forget that the other non-athletes involved were offered the exact same plea deal.
Beamer didn’t kick Marcus off the team, Jim Weaver did, and Beamer was forced by Steger & Weaver to stand on the stage and accept the punishment. Anybody with cognizance could read Frank’s body languageand listen to his words and understand how much he still opposed the dismissal, despite all the evidence presented to him. Even in his comments, Beamer refused to lay the blame where it belonged, with Marcus.
Let’s not forget, Beamer issued the statement – ‘Nobody knows the Vick family as well as I do…’ while excusing Marcus’ actions. Then later, Marcus continued to be arrested for crimes involving drugs, weapons, and much else, and Michael even got convicted of his dog fighting junk. So yeah, Frank ‘knew them better’ than everyone else, but since they won him games, ethics didn’t matter. And I’m not even bringing Michael into the scenario other than to show how stupid Beamer’s statement proved.
Anyway, that’s all yesterday’s news. What proves my point will be what Beamer does with Journell, a player he evidently needs. I’ll keep saying this – I really, really hope I am wrong. I really really hope ethics matter more to Beamer than winning football games. History proves otherwise, but I can keep hoping…
Yeah, 4 days there, hokie24 — and in those 4 days Beamer started out trying to blow off the stomp and making nice about it, talking about how he and Marcus showed up outside the locker room door to apologize for it. Four days! The right thing would have been for Vick to have been put on a bus right at the end of the game with an “all bets are off, have a nice life, your things will be in a box outside the Merryman Center door when you get back” handoff. No, Beamer shouldn’t have bad-mouthed the kid, but he could have just walked away and refused any further comment about him one way or the other. To continue to defend him really didn’t help Beamer or the program in the long run.
As to the plea deal — yeah, real nice for all involved but what did it do for the citizens of Blacksburg? Showed us that money talks and athletes and students get away with a lot of things that should be punished. Still left out of all this is what happened to the drugs in the case? Or did all that get quietly covered up and the Roanoke Times is choosing not to pursue that angle, also, so it doesn’t get shut out of future scoops?
Since you’re questioning my credibility as a reporter with that last comment, I figure I’ll step in here:
Prosecutors said that the three went there to retrieve marijuana stolen from Dunton. But the police never mentioned the presence of any kind of drugs in any report that I’ve seen. And the actual presence of drugs has never been mentioned in any kind of court proceeding so far.
But sure, continue with your conspiracy theories about the newspaper covering things up to avoid being shut out of scoops.
Hey moron(hokie24), Beamer didn’t kick Vick off the team, it took the president of the school to get involved. It was clear to everyone that he needed to go, he went into his final season needing only one strike against him and he ended up getting three and Beamer always looked the other way (because he was needed to win) One of these strikes was getting into trouble with the law before their bowl game and Beamer informed no one at VT about this until after the bowl game. Beamer has a history of going light on players he needs to win but watch out if you’re not on the two deep roster!
Come on Robert… is “moron” really the best you can do when you have nothing informative to add to a discussion?
Remind us why you, as a UVA fan, are CHOOSING to read and post here instead of on a blog that supports your own team?
Good lord, Pat N. Hall. Marcus never played another down of football in a VT uniform after the Louisville game, and that’s still not fast enough of a dismissal for you. How tall of a ladder do you use to climb up on that high horse of yours?
And yes, all of the drug info is part of a giant coverup to keep the citizens of Blacksburg in the dark… get real. You mean to tell me that there are college students that smoke weed, and that nobody knows about it? No way!!
Why is it getting ignored by the folks jumping on my case that I’ve said over and over that I do NOT support Journell being brought back? I just don’t think it’s a question of ethics or rules. Following rules is ethical. The rules in the VT athletic department do not prevent a student athlete from participating unless he’s convicted of a felony. Journell doesn’t have a felony conviction, therefore the rules say he’s eligible. If Beamer doesn’t bring Journell back in (which I hope he doesn’t), it would only be because VT wants to save face. You tell me what’s more ethical… saving face or giving someone a second chance?
Also, why are so many pretending that he’s some kind of superstar for the Hokies? He’s a scholarship kicker who has in NO WAY lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he got his scholarship. He’s a scholarship kicker who has struggled just to earn the starting job over other walk-ons. This is not a case of a superstar football player being protected. Journell’s kicking motion is weird and jerky, and his power isn’t close to that of VT’s last several starting kickers.
CR, if you have actual knowledge of other shady things in Journell’s past, then speak up and provide some kind of proof. If not, quit making yourself look foolish by pretending that your Hokie Club status magically provides you with some hidden information that the rest of us aren’t aware of. Or do you believe that you’re the only golden Hokie around these boards too? And if you’re so against your perceived lack of “ethics” in Beamer and his program, then why do you continue to enable their efforts with your donations?
You do realize that all three charged in this incident were offered the plea deal, as evidenced by the fact that two of them accepted it – only one of which was a football player, correct?
As for the comment about Jimmy Turk, as someone whose family knows Jimmy well I do not appreciate the characterization you offered of him, Pat. The first amendment does not allow you to commit libel.
I see we have some people here that ignore what they want to because the truth doesn’t fit their fantasies. I repeat just this year Telvion Clark who might’ve been a starter was kicked off. GONE. Are you going to allow your brain to process that information without immediately forgetting it? Conversely what Michael Vick did AFTER he went to VT and what Marcus Vick did while at VT have been blown up in the haters minds because they want to believe VT has lax disciplinary practices. You will find similar situations at many other schools but again it comes back to what the haters WANT to believe. I know many people like that who don’t want to deal in the world of fact when it is unpleasant
Hokie24 – Thanks for adding some intelligent, thought through comments to this discussion…something that CR and PNH evidently have the inability to do. Opinions are great and everyone should be able to express them BUT to have the audacity to think they are so righteous that their opinions are the only right opinions and try to force them on everyone else just shows their inability to mature and grow up!!
Sorry, Andy, for questioning your journalistic integrity. I forgot you are new here. It’s just that the RT has this thing about starting vast projects but then doing a half-vast job of reporting on them, especially recently as those with a long history (and long memory) have been shown the door. Perhaps my comment was a little strong — but the story started out with lots of mentions of drugs, then they went away and it wasn’t until just now that you brought out that it was the police who didn’t pursue that angle. Again, I apologize for being a little too strong and perhaps a little too harsh.
As to the others, I’m just siding with and defending crooked road, who seems to be under attack for his stance about the state of football and Beamer. Hide under a rock if you wish, but it has been pretty apparent for years that Frank has a big set of blinders when it comes to certain aspects of his program. If you doubt that, Google “Fire Bryan Stinespring” for a start, or look for other sites that rake the guy over the coals for his decisions or lack of decisions about schedules, wins/losses, game-time playcalling, and on and on. Yeah, he’s done some good things for VT, but he doesn’t walk across the Duck Pond without getting wet.
I have a list of things that I’d like to see Beamer do differently and/or take a different approach to. All I’m saying is that on the this particular Journell issue, if Journell is brought back, I don’t see it as a reflection on rule bending or ethics, because if the rules are followed, then Journell is eligible to play. Even though I personally wouldn’t reinstate him, I would be more inclined to say that making a decision simply for the purpose of saving face is even less ethical. Decisions made just to save face usually come off as non-genuine in my opinion.
PNH – Birds of a feather stick together (like you and CR, who would be one of the last I would want to be tied to). You seem to attach yourself to whatever Google reference that meets your fancy and agrees with your point of view. They all seem to be, however, just opinionated individuals like yourself who thinks it’s either their way or the highway. Your opinion is just that – YOUR OPINION – which you are entitled to. However, you seem to feel you are some almighty whose only point of view is acceptable. You have no idea you are in the minority since you only comprehend what you want to. Hopefully once you get into high school you will be more able to join the real world.
Pat, not firing a coordinator or assistant coach because fans want him gone or because his coaching is substandard should not be compared to giving kids in trouble too many chances. Thats not to say I wouldn’t like to see a change there but you should not compare the two. I agree that Marcus Vick was held onto too long, I can’t speak for the others. A main thing Crooked has been criticized for is not his belief that FB is too lenient but his assertion that Journell has been in trouble 10-12-14 times. it may be true, but it needs to be backed up with some data. Because CR says it emphatically does not make it true. Claiming to have some special knowledge and never providing some proof leads to complete loss of credibility which is where CR is until he backs up his claims.
I may agree that there are much better options for an offensive coach than Stinespring… but I think that the Fire Brian Stinespring website would be one of the very last places that I’d ever go for any sort of reliable information.
Hokie24 – especially if you’re the coach. I would certainly not want a coach who consults fans about what decisions he makes.
Yep, exactly Steve. I’m not sure that there’s ever a time when a coach needs to worry about the opinion of us uninformed fans. We may think we know what’s going on, but it’s most always speculation or dumb-luck guessing.
Hokie 24 – You are no longer allowed to make any further posts! They resound of intelligent thought and reasoning which is neither understood or accepted by too many blog/board posters!! Thank you!!
I have my moments, George! I’m pretty good at spewing nonsense sometimes too! Hahaha.
I hear you, 24. Been there and done that a few times, especially on TSL. Don’t have near the patience I used to.