Rashard Mendenhall is like everyone else: He detests Ron Zook

July 21st, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

Ron Zook has a long and storied history of intensity. What happens when a star running back can’t match it? He gets paid (the Steelers are the perfect place for him, by the way) and then complains retroactively. Which is the best way to complain, I think. You don’t hvae to take responsibility for anything that went wrong, but you get to tell people they suck all the same. Like, for example, yesterday: R and I were going to Pitchfork, and R thought it would be a smart idea to get off the train at Merchandise Mart and walk to the Clinton stop instead of just transferring at Clark and Lake, which, dude, of course that was a terrible idea, but also of course I held my tongue until the thing actually failed and he felt bad about it and we were all sweaty walking through the West Loop. I win!

Anyway. Rashard Mendenhall is pissed at Ron Zook:

The Big Ten’s most valuable player a year ago, Rashard Mendenhall remains unhappy with how coach Ron Zook treated him, he says, though he declines to give specifics. “It’s just how things were run overall,” he said. “I’m not mad. There’s no hard feelings. That’s just how it was.”

How very vague. It may have something to do with Rashard’s brother, Walter, who was recently asked to transfer by Zook. Walter did transfer when it became clear he had no chance to play in 2008. Still, Rashard won’t be more specific:

Still, wounds remain. In a June interview with the Champaign News-Gazette, Rashard Mendenhall said, “As long as Ron Zook is there, it will be hard for me to support the University of Illinois football team.”Mendenhall said Sunday he doesn’t feel that way because of his brother’s situation or because he didn’t start until his junior year, but he offered no specifics.

I joked about Zook’s noted intensity in that stupid opening paragraph, but what else can it be? The Illini were surprisingly successful last year. They went to the Rose Bowl. If you can’t get along during a season like that, either someone’s pushing too hard (Zook) or, well, let’s just blame this on Zook. It’s way more fun that way.