Quotes both camps.
Harsin is a dedicated coach who knows how to win
He also:
Refuses to communicate at all with underperformers, much less coach them
Doesnt relate to poor kids from the South , single parents, etc or empathize with their struggles
Doesnt want players taking NIL money because it's a distraction
Multiple sources said Harsin would not speak to players he didn’t like when he wanted them out of the program. He would cut off correspondence with the player and family members.
Position coaches were tasked with telling players Harsin wanted out that they should leave the program.
"He's going to send somebody else to do the dirty work," one source said.
Another source recalled one instance of a player texting Harsin to apologize for a poor performance in a game. The player asked for guidance on how he could improve. Harsin did not reply to the text message. Instead, he had the player’s position coach call the player to tell him he needed to leave the program.
A source said Harsin made efforts to relate to players like the ones he had at Boise State – often from a working-class white demographic – but did not always make the same effort to connect with others – often Black players from urban areas in the South. However, the source said they never heard Harsin use racist remarks or language.
When leading wide receiver Kobe Hudson entered the transfer portal in January, he tweeted, "He from the north I understood him, I’m from the south he didn’t understand me," without naming Harsin. He transferred to UCF to play for former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
"There are sometimes players that are going through personal things that (Harsin) knows about, and he doesn't have empathy for those situations," one source said. "Whether it be a kid from a single-parent family, or a kid who's going through struggles in life. I don't think he has true empathy for kids."
"How do you expect a young man to grow when you don't even talk to them," another source said, "or if you talk down to them, or if you tell them to get out of your office?"
A source also said Harsin hated the concept of name, image and likeness and made that clear to players. Harsin was particularly critical of players from low-income families who received money from NIL deals because he thought they lost their focus on football, one source added.
Harsin is a dedicated coach who knows how to win
He also:
Refuses to communicate at all with underperformers, much less coach them
Doesnt relate to poor kids from the South , single parents, etc or empathize with their struggles
Doesnt want players taking NIL money because it's a distraction
Multiple sources said Harsin would not speak to players he didn’t like when he wanted them out of the program. He would cut off correspondence with the player and family members.
Position coaches were tasked with telling players Harsin wanted out that they should leave the program.
"He's going to send somebody else to do the dirty work," one source said.
Another source recalled one instance of a player texting Harsin to apologize for a poor performance in a game. The player asked for guidance on how he could improve. Harsin did not reply to the text message. Instead, he had the player’s position coach call the player to tell him he needed to leave the program.
A source said Harsin made efforts to relate to players like the ones he had at Boise State – often from a working-class white demographic – but did not always make the same effort to connect with others – often Black players from urban areas in the South. However, the source said they never heard Harsin use racist remarks or language.
When leading wide receiver Kobe Hudson entered the transfer portal in January, he tweeted, "He from the north I understood him, I’m from the south he didn’t understand me," without naming Harsin. He transferred to UCF to play for former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
"There are sometimes players that are going through personal things that (Harsin) knows about, and he doesn't have empathy for those situations," one source said. "Whether it be a kid from a single-parent family, or a kid who's going through struggles in life. I don't think he has true empathy for kids."
"How do you expect a young man to grow when you don't even talk to them," another source said, "or if you talk down to them, or if you tell them to get out of your office?"
A source also said Harsin hated the concept of name, image and likeness and made that clear to players. Harsin was particularly critical of players from low-income families who received money from NIL deals because he thought they lost their focus on football, one source added.
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