Razorback wide receiver Isaac Tesla and his father, Mark, are naturally big Razorback fans, but they are also devoted to the Detroit Lions and Hillsdale College Chargers. Hillsdale, a Division II college in south-central Michigan, is where Tesla thrived before joining the Hogs through the transfer portal last offseason.
Considering Mark was also a Hillsdale football player, it's no wonder they'd be particularly interested in the fellow former Charger making it on the national stage.
That's exactly what happened with Jack Goelke, a standout player on the Hillsdale basketball team for several seasons before transferring to Division I Oakland before the 2023-24 season. He won America's heart with his brilliant shooting performance, which again led to him being eliminated in the first round. John Calipari's Kentucky basketball program. This time, the No. 14 seed defeated the No. 3 seed Wildcats.
Here's Bret Bielema's star defensive lineman at the University of Wisconsin, JJ Watt, giving his compatriot a lot of love.
Isaac Tesla and his father watched the stunning second-half upset on TV, Mark Tesla said in a message to Best of Arkansas Sports. He added that his son is “very proud of the representation of a former Hillsdale baseball player.”
Isaac decided to transfer to Arkansas in part because he wanted to test himself against the best team in SEC football. Meanwhile, Gokle put the most prestigious program in SEC basketball, and the winningest program in college basketball, on high alert by staging Calipari's latest embarrassing moment.
John Calipari really falls down
“He went four years without winning an SEC title, but this year he led the No. 1 recruiting class and the best 3-point shooting team in program history, the second-best 3-point shooting team this blue blood has ever had. “It turned into a humiliating NCAA Tournament loss,” wrote Kyle Tucker of The Athletic. On top of that, John Calipari's record against ranked players in his last four seasons is 11-18. In the decade before that, the Wildcats were 63-33 against ranked opponents.
Excluding losses from the COVID-19 season, Kentucky has missed out on the Sweet 16 for the fourth year in a row, tying the longest such drought in school history. The last streak was from 2006 to 2009, when Tubby Smith resigned and Billy Gillispie was fired.
Despite the $33 million buyout, there have been a lot of calls for Calipari's head from the Kentucky basketball team lately.
Much of the blame for recent failures has been magnified thanks to the transfer portal, and Calipari's insistence on giving the majority of playing time to ultra-talented true freshmen while playing against aging competition. This is due to commitment.
CBS Sports Analyst Jay Wright said, “The University of Kentucky players will be much better pros than the players in Oakland and the players in the tournament, but they won't be as good as the college basketball players.'' ” he said. “At this point in their careers, they're not as disciplined as the players from Oakland. They're not. [Calipari’s] breakdown. That means they're 18 years old and in an age where everyone is saying how great they are and saying, “If you come to college, you'll win.'' That won't happen. And the longer players stay in college because of the NIL, the harder it will be for young teams like this to succeed. ”
Jack Gaulke and Tesla share more than a courtroom
Sixth-year player Jack Gaulke is 24 years old and perfectly represents the anti-youth movement that Calipari has struggled to adapt to.
Unlike Tesla, it took him several years at Hillsdale to break out. Even in his second year with the program, as a redshirt freshman, Goelke could barely get on the floor.
But persistence and hard work eventually paid off, and Goelke earned first-team all-conference honors in the 2022-23 season as a fifth-year student.
Although TeSlaa and Jack Gohlke didn't know each other very well while on the same campus, Mark TeSlaa said they shared the same tenacious work ethic and dedication to their craft. that's right. As an example, Gohlke put on about 20 pounds of muscle during college, while TeSlaa says he added 30 pounds. For TeSlaa, part of that journey also meant that during his years there he developed a 40-inch vertical jump.
Early on, he visited the same courts at Hillsdale where Goelke honed his now-famous outside shot and performed some impressive hops.
Tesla and Goelke aren't the only Hillsdale standouts to reach the big stage in their respective sports. TeSlaa is one of four Hillsdale football players to transfer to Division I schools in recent years. On the basketball side, Colorado State's Patrick Cartier was a two-time conference player of the year at Hillsdale. He scored 12 points in the play-in game against Virginia and added four points in Thursday's loss to Texas.
“Hillsdale is a place where you can come in and shine, even if you are good and overlooked, and where other programs that may have initially overlooked you will see you. I feel it,'' Tesla said on the Great Lakes Football Podcast.
Don't expect the DII to DI pipeline to slow down anytime soon either.Arkansas basketball coach I connected with Taelon Peter of Arkansas Tech University, a local DII star..
Last season, Isaac Tesla started every game and played a total of 662 offensive snaps. He was also the Razorbacks' second-best wide receiver, but finished the year with just 34 receptions, 351 yards, and two touchdowns.
But based on the first few practices this spring, taking the field as a super senior will be a challenge for TeSlaa.
Fellow super seniors and second-year transfers Andrew Armstrong and Tyron Broden have clearly emerged as the top two receivers. They seem to have great chemistry with Boise State transfer Taylen Green, regularly making big plays in practice.
Receivers typically rotate more than other positions, so while Tesla has gotten a fair share of first-team snaps, he's also done a fair amount of second-team work, and as an outside receiver He seems to be second only to Armstrong and Broden.
TeSlaa made some very tough catches, but still struggled to create separation, which was probably the area he struggled with the most last season.
However, it is still too early to completely abandon him. After all, the Razorbacks brought in new wide receivers coach Ronnie Fauci and, of course, offensive genius Bobby Petrino, which sealed the year. If anyone can think of a way to harness Tesla's athleticism, it's him.
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