Williamsburg, Va. — Following Saturday’s win at William & Mary, coach Mickey Matthews held junior quarterback Rodney Landers from speaking to the media for a third straight week.
Matthews was quickly questioned by Paul Woody of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Woody: “It would be nice to have him in here, is that your decision that he’s not?”
Matthews: “Correct.”
Woody: “Why’s that?”
Matthews: “Just my decision.”
Woody: “Look at the game he had. He had 171 yards rushing. That’s the second time he’s broken a school record. He really ought to be in here speaking for himself. Why is he not?”
Matthews: “He’s just not in here. My decision.”
Matthews’ frank nature in response to the recent questioning of Landers’ silence didn’t raise eyebrows at first.
Landers was first held from the post-game conferences after a lackluster performance in a 17-16 loss to Richmond on Homecoming. The first-year starting quarterback that had established himself as a dual-threat with his arm and legs played his arguably worst game of the season.
He connected on only 8 of 22 pass attempts, throwing one touchdown and a costly interception late in the fourth, and rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries.
Considering it was JMU’s first loss of the season to a Football Championship Subdivision (formally Division I-AA) team and the first real adversity Landers faced as the leader of the Dukes’ offense, it wasn’t that hard to understand Matthews’ decision to hold him from commenting.
He is the offensive leader, and usually a player with that impact talks to the media.
The following week Landers continued his silence and after the loss to Delaware was once again absent from the post-game interview session.
Landers had another poor performance against Delaware, throwing an interception and passing for only 39 yards, all of which came in the first half. He contributed 66 yards to a 403 yard rushing total that included 172 and 171 yard efforts from Antoinne Bolton and Griff Yancey, respectively.
Saturday was a different story. Landers was back in form, at least with his legs. He reset his own school single-game rushing record for a quarterback with 171 yards. He previously set the record with 166 yards against Rhode Island in a 44-27 win preceding the bye week and the game against Richmond.
Landers gladly took questions following the first time he set the record, giving insight on the game and constructively criticizing himself about a fumble.
“It was just a lack of focus and relaxing before I actually broke the plain in the end zone,” Landers said. “In practice I’m just gonna have to work on keeping it high and tight.”
There was no lack of focus against the Tribe and no turnovers. Landers looked flawless at times, as he seemed to make all the right reads in the Dukes’ option offense. When he elected to keep the ball he bulled his way to first downs and lowered his 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame into opponents.
But Landers was again held from talking to the press, baffling Woody, myself and the other reporters.
Why, after a career performance, a record-setting performance, could Matthews possibly have any reason to keep his star player away from the media?
If you are accustomed to reading the game stories on Mondays, you know that Landers is almost always quoted. Before the Richmond game he was always available following practices, often assuming his quote was needed and walking straight to reporters.
For a first-year starter, he always shows poise when interviewed. But his silence makes one wonder whether Landers is really benefiting from not being able to speak for himself when he’s proven he’s more than able to give a good interview.
This is not a situation like the one at Oklahoma State when head coach Mike Gundy vehemently defended and felt the need to protect his sophomore quarterback Bobby Reid. Reid was fighting for his job on a weekly basis. Landers is the cut-and-clear starter and the bona fide leader and face of the program — a face that has disappeared.
He’s in his fourth year of college like Reid and despite what Gundy might think, Landers is a ‘man’ and should be speaking for himself.
It’s tough to look at the situation and formulate some type of logical reasoning for Landers’ silence. The only thing that can be inferred from Matthews avoidance of the topic is that it transcends football. Beyond that though, your guess is as good as mine.
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