Quentin Castille Dismissed: Nebraska RBs Going Every Direction, One Even to Jail

Give Bo Pelini credit: He won't bend his rules for talented players. That was the message sent more emphatically than ever with the dismissal of Quentin Castille, a talented if somewhat oft-troubled running back who was going to be option 1b at the tailback position this year behind Roy Helu.

Castille, who showed his true potential in spectacular fashion in last year's Gator Bowl victory over Clemson, sat out his last three practices in street clothes before Pelini made it official on Saturday.

When I found out, I was camping with some friends, but the announcement put a cloud of disappointment over the rest of the day for my brother and me. We, like many Husker fans, were excited to see what Castille could do this year in a season where the running game was seemingly going to become the featured part of the offense.

Reactions from most of the fans, and the media community, have been pretty supportive of Pelini's decision. In an era when many teams would simply handle a non-legal issue internally, Pelini made a stand and showed that every player, no matter how talented, must abide by his rules, or he'll be shown the door.

Said Pelini on Jim Rome's radio show yesterday:

“When you’re setting up a program and you’re forming a culture, in my world it’s pretty black and white. There’s not a lot of gray. You’re going do what’s asked of you. There’s going to be repercussions when you screw up.

"Unfortunately for ‘Q,’ he made some mistakes and he made one too many…one thing our kids understand here is it’s not about any one person, it’s about the 'N' on the side of your helmet…our players understand why the decision was made.”

When I talked to my dad (the man most responsible for my Husker brainwashing), he seemed pretty disappointed with the move.

The way he saw it, if Johnny Rogers was allowed to stay on the team after robbing a gas station back in '72, or Lawrence Phillips after that whole situation in '95, then why should Quentin be booted?

While I understand that argument, I think he fails to see the difference between Osborne and Pelini.

Osborne believed that by keeping them in the program, he could continue to help them change their ways and give them a chance to rehabilitate themselves, whereas if they were let go, they could continue a downward spiral. Osborne, in his 1996 book On Solid Ground:

"Permanently dismissing Lawrence from the football team wouldn't have helped any of my family members or anyone else's family. If anything, it might have made things worse. By not getting the needed treatment, something similar may have happened in the future.

"At least if he were on the team, I could make sure he would get the help he needed...I hope people understand that we tried to do what was best for Lawrence as a human being and not simply to win football games."

Pelini, on the other hand, has his own opinions on player discipline. Since he's taken over the program, over a dozen players have left the program, and while not all of them are for player discipline, you have to wonder how many of them knew they would not be able to tolerate the elevated expectations that came with Pelini's hiring.

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