Sam Jones thread mysteriously disappears from Pack Pride forum

A member of the Pack Pride message board community posted a thread on the website’s free board this morning proclaiming that he/she had a personal relationship with the family of Wolfpack signee, Sam Jones and that Jones had failed to take an Algebra II class that is a requirement for admission at NC State.

The poster on Pack Pride claimed that Jones was therefore not going to be allowed to enroll at NC State and that the family had already contacted Chuck Amato at Florida State since FSU does not have the same admission requirements for the math class as NC State.

Jones is a 4-star offensive lineman who played at Hargrave last year after finishing his high school career at Fuqua-Varina. He committed to NC State in both 2006 as well as 2007. He is a candidate for immediate playing time in the 2008 season due to his extra year of maturity over the average college freshman.

The conversation on the thread quickly turned to the typical argument between the usual parties as some wondered allowed how NC State’s administration was not more proactive with Jones’ admission in light of (1) Jones’ five year high school plan and (2) the inexcusable missteps made by the NC State Athletics Department that wreaked havoc with Tramain Hall’s matriculation to Raleigh a years ago.

Other posters, like kpm, immediately took the opportunity to infer that any student should have taken that course by now. (But, of course, those of us on SFN are ‘negative’ for expecting the people who get paid a salary to strive for excellence. We should just criticize the kids more often and then we would fit in better with all of the apologists who evidently aren’t ‘negative’.)

The moderators at Pack Pride typically just lock threads and move on; but this thread was mysteriously deleted from the entire board. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal or raise any eyebrows if such behavior was not such a unique move for them.

Until we learn more on this topic we obviously hope that the impetus behind the atypical deletion of the thread was because the information was disingenious and floated by an internet troll looking to raise the blood-pressure of Wolfpackers. (If only Pack Pride would do us all the favor of deleting all of the threads started by trolls!) As RAWFS stated in our comments section, “it is too early to say the sky is falling” so we definitely don’t want to give you the impression that there is any validity to the rumor.

The only other reasons outside of gross inaccuracy of why the thread would be deleted from the board would be stretches of the imagination like:

(1) The information contained in the post was factually correct – or close enough to factually correct – and the people at Pack Pride that get paid to release “Premium” information don’t like providing a free forum for others to scoop them and share information for which the average reader ‘should’ be paying.

(2) The information contained in the post was factually correct – or close enough to factually correct – and the speculative criticism of the deficiencies within NC State’s Athletics Department was too close to accurate for the website, who rarely offers any criticism of the status quo, to stomach.

We don’t have a clue if there is any validity to this rumor…so, if any of you out there have any scoop we’d be interested to read your thoughts in the comments section.

So, we all have our fingers crossed that this was just a hoax brought about by an internet poster with no credibility. I just wish that Pack Pride would moderate more consistently so that these items wouldn’t hit our radar in this fashion.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

Football Recruiting General NCS Football

28 Responses to Sam Jones thread mysteriously disappears from Pack Pride forum

  1. choppack1 06/24/2008 at 2:33 PM #

    In theory, couldn’t Jones take this in a summer school class? It sounds like he’s already passed the clearinghouse – and I would think that he could possibly take this class elsewhere to obtain the requirement.

    Something like this could be troubleshot by asking the following questions:
    1) Is Algebra 2 actually required at all public North Carolina colleges or NC State specifically?
    2) If so, is it too late to enroll him in summer school for the class?
    *There have to be other students who don’t meet this requirement – what options do those students have if they fall in this category?

  2. RAWFS 06/24/2008 at 2:34 PM #

    I’m going to bet that they pulled this information either because it is incorrect or it is unconfirmed. I doubt it is because they wish to retain the info on the Premium Forums, because there really isn’t much “secret” information there other than the recruiting news.

    I would be VERY interested, however, in hearing what FV-Packman says. Sam Jones is from Fuquay-Varina and I assume FV is too, and he’s as connected as anyone.

    Bottom line is that it is too early to say the sky is falling. Later, maybe.

  3. packpigskinfan23 06/24/2008 at 3:35 PM #

    if this is true, he should be able to enroll in Summer class AS OF NOW… but their is only a week or so before the last day to enroll.

    As far as I know, ECU does not require Alg 2 if you are coming straight out of HS. If you are transferring in, all the major schools do.

    I am not betting on anything- With the likes of Jed Clampett at AD, ANYTHING is possible… except a National Championship.

  4. SaccoV 06/24/2008 at 3:35 PM #

    As an teacher at a public high school in North Carolina, I can tell you that Algebra II is NOT required for graduation in the state of North Carolina. The only “required” math credit is for Algebra I. However, the student must complete two additional credits in math, which Geometry and Algebra II is one collection of two possible options for any student. It is NC State’s requirement, and it could be taken in a summer school or community college environment in order for a student to meet the requirement. So this scenario is plausible on the surface. I can’t help but think that if Jones spent last season at Hargrave, knowing that he was heading to State upon completion of this credit, that he wouldn’t have taken the course there. You can check the NC Graduation requirements here. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/curriculum/gradreqaug2006.pdf
    Hopefully my link works.
    As for Pack Pride, regardless of the legitimacy of the post, they obviously can’t or won’t moderate their site with any competence or any common sense. If the post is ungenuine, keep the post up so that OTHER BLOGGERS can refute it. It’s very simple. In this case, when the other bloggers find that the info isn’t credible, then they will tell everyone with more posts. This is another excellent reason I refuse to subscribe.

  5. Pack92 06/24/2008 at 3:38 PM #

    Easy now, you can’t expect PP to do a good job just because they get paid. Look at our AD.

    Good heavens I hope this was from a troll.

  6. Noah 06/24/2008 at 3:42 PM #

    I have absolutely no idea if it’s true or not. However, there have been a number of goofs made in this area.

    Tramain Hall and Terrance Chapman are the two that got the most publicity.

  7. packbackr04 06/24/2008 at 3:51 PM #

    Chuck was in Raleigh just yesterday too. at the gym, decked out in FSU gear… but that doesnt mean he was here for this, just that he was in town recently

  8. packwolf90 06/24/2008 at 3:51 PM #

    It’s not true. From what I heard he just found out he needs the Alg 2 and is takin it in summer school. He almost got screwed over. Thankfully he’ll still be a part of the pack.

    SFN: So, it is actually close to true? The issue about NC State potentially screwing up could still be a legitimate criticism but the good news could be that Sam can be in Raleigh?

  9. WV Wolf 06/24/2008 at 3:52 PM #

    There was a thread on the Pack Pride premium football board on the subject but it was quickly dismissed as a rumor and locked.

  10. packbackr04 06/24/2008 at 3:53 PM #

    good lord, who is this poor kids academic advisor? someone should have noticed this. i thought it was down to us and Clemson. could he get into Clemson w/o Alg II?

  11. choppack1 06/24/2008 at 4:00 PM #

    I don’t know if I’d blame academic advisor’s or the university on this one. We have a legacy recruit here. If he was prepping at Hargrave, there’s a good chance he was reworking some of his core courses in order to pull up his GPA.

    I don’t think this is an NCAA issue – as the Tramain Hall was. (I don’t know about Chapman’s issues.)

    I’ll give our current football staff – and those in charge of supporting our players and monitoring our incoming recruits a pass on this one. I mean, when you are dealing w/ almost 60 returning lettermen and 25 incoming recruits, you have a huge potential for problems.

  12. Noah 06/24/2008 at 4:08 PM #

    Tramain Hall’s case was NCAA-related because he actually enrolled and took part in classes when he wasn’t eligible.

    In Terrance Chapman’s case, the advisors told him to take one set of classes and he’d be fine. And that information…uh…was not correct.

    Did we ever hire a replacement for Jon Fagg?

  13. whitefang 06/24/2008 at 4:22 PM #

    If this is true you would blame the high school academic advisor and the university (not to mention the kids parents).
    Checking with my wife who works in admissions in a smaller private school she had these observations –
    Unfortunately it is not unheard of that a high school advising dept would not catch this. Last year she had an early admission kid ranked in the top 10% of their HS class who was not even going to graduate because the lack of an English credit, and they did not know this.
    Her school (not in the UNC system) would not consider admitting a student without Algebra II even though technically you could get around it and graduate with enough other “math” – athlete or not.
    SURELY our football/athletic dept would be on top of this. Working with NC State admissions dept as they have to be, this should have been caught a long time ago if it is true.

  14. StateFans 06/24/2008 at 5:41 PM #

    ^ Totally disagree when it comes to athletes…especially in light of our department’s history of screwing this up (see Noah’s comments).

    These aren’t kids in normal situations. The Athletics Departments have responsibility here to make sure that the correct information get to the advisors, kids, families, etc.

  15. b 06/24/2008 at 7:22 PM #

    People make mistakes, the Hall situation was sad but a single incident could be chalked up to humanity. When the SAME error recurs at least once and maybe twice more, then it is negligence on someone’s part. Fool me once…..

  16. Primewolf 06/24/2008 at 7:25 PM #

    I suspect they took it off because someone from our Ath Dept/Football program requested they do it because the thread was inaccurate.

  17. Sw0rdf1sh 06/24/2008 at 8:47 PM #

    I have to say whatever the owners/operators of the PP site might say or not say against the administration, there are PLENTY of people on the boards that will say what they like to the contrary. Maybe not as opinionated (or realized) as here at SFN, but I wouldn’t make the PP site as clean as that.

    This must be bogus.

    (at least I can keep my fingers crossed it is)

    I apprecitate the article on this as well, since I was a bit thrown off from the Premium board locking.

  18. choppack1 06/24/2008 at 9:03 PM #

    Thanks for the info on Chapman – wasn’t aware of that – and it’s certainly inexcusable. As far as Hall, I remember a lot of the facts and my impression was basically that Amato was taking a chance on a kid that he could get in the fold where maybe others wouldn’t take the chance. (That’s just my gut feel on that whole fiasco.)

    As for this case – I’m giving the current football staff the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully, they’ll take at as a learning lesson and demand changes if someone dropped the ball here.

  19. gopack968 06/24/2008 at 9:04 PM #

    The bottom line that concerns me in this issue is this extra math credit requirement for NC public universities. It is going to hurt us in recruiting. Algebra I is a stumbling block for many students (the most failed course in high schools by a mile), but the second math credit is usually geometry, and this is often conceptually easier for struggling students to grasp. But when you add that third math credit requirement, then the going gets tough. Algebra II is a bear for many students. You can just imagine coaches texting juniors doing homework in the evening, “Come to [Clemson, Mississippi, Florida State, etc., etc.] and you can stop doing that Algebra II homework right now.”

    Now, if you consider the question from the other side, the requirement is obvious and should be NCAA-wide. No regular student would get in to State or UNC with only two math credits. In reality, the real requirement for admission is four if you want to be competetive for admission. Asking athletes to at least have three is reasonable. Except from a recruiting standpoint.

  20. noidea 06/24/2008 at 9:26 PM #

    Isn’t the point of going to Hargrave to get your grades/admission requirements in order? If this was truly just discovered then I think there are more then just a high school and athletics department employees at fault.

    Also, I thought the extra math credit was going to become an NCAA requirement but the NC system adapted it early. If that is the case then I’d think non-acc NC schools also have this requirement.

  21. wolfpack95 06/25/2008 at 12:39 AM #

    I spoke with Sam a couple of weeks ago.
    At that time, Sam mentioned that he would be working out with our fball team during the second summer session and taking classes. Having completed Hargrave, he was looking forward to being at State and did not indicate that he would not be at NCSU this fall.

    I did not see the PP thread, but I hope that what Sam told me has not changed. He has always been forthright with me, and I hope that the PP thread was pulled because it was false.

  22. burnbarn 06/25/2008 at 8:17 AM #

    “Did we ever hire a replacement for Jon Fagg?”

    On ‘the coach’s’ show on Sunday, he mentioned that had promoted from within for that job…I do not recall her name.

    Coach said he likes to promote from within if possible as it motivates the junior staff.

  23. StateFans 06/25/2008 at 8:24 AM #

    Ah yes…the good old ‘internal candidate’ – much cheaper and already indoctrine with the ‘way we do things’. It would be totally against our DNA to go outside and find someone who may have other ways of doing things.

  24. SaccoV 06/25/2008 at 8:36 AM #

    Did we just pull a Pack Pride and get rid of the Sherman story? I saw it earlier this morning.

  25. StateFans 06/25/2008 at 8:42 AM #

    ^ Sherman story is my responsibility to update and I keep forgetting to do so. But, it keeps getting posted at 5am each morning due to its time stamp.

Leave a Reply