Latest news with #Redshirt
Gizmodo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
The Grimmest Ensign Deaths on ‘Star Trek'
Lots of people die in Star Trek, and do so pretty horrifically. Boldly going is deadly business, but there's always something particularly grim when tragedy strikes at the lowest rung on Starfleet's officer ladder: the lowly ensigns that keep any good starship or space station humming along as they try to survive long enough to eke it out to lieutenant junior grade and beyond. In last week's episode of Strange New Worlds, we got to sadly see poor Ensign Gamble pay the ultimate price in a particularly awful way, so to… celebrate? We're taking a look back at some of his fellow ensigns who've also met similarly grim fates. The original Star Trek may have the reputation that gave us 'redshirt' as a broad cultural term for an easily doomable support character, but really, the show didn't kill off a lot of ensigns. Instead, it much preferred killing off crewmen, the enlisted rank below ensigns, and did so with suitably reckless abandon, regardless of division. Anyway, that brings us to an actual TOS-era ensign death in the form of Mr. O'Herlihy, who got immediately vaporized by a Gorn disruptor as one of the first Starfleet casualties encountering the species (well, in years, given Strange New Worlds' Gorn adventures). Fun fact: O'Herlihy was played by Jerry Ayres, who would return to Star Trek—to be killed off again—as Ensign Rizzo a season later in 'Obsession.' Perhaps one of the most famous ensign deaths at all—to the point it became a pivotal emotional crux for Lower Decks, a show almost entirely about the plight of ensigns—and definitely grim. Sito Jaxa, from the famous TNG episode 'Lower Decks,' was an ensign assigned to an incredibly dangerous covert mission after being put through the wringer by the Enterprise-D senior staff. Assigned to assist a Cardassian defector re-enter Cardassian space, the young Bajoran was ultimately detected by Cardassian operatives and killed while attempting to return to Federation space in an escape pod. A conn officer aboard the Enterprise-D, Dern was found mauled to pieces during the episode 'Genesis,' in which the crew began to devolve into grotesque monsters through a viral outbreak. Not only does that mean that Dern was mauled at his station by a member of the crew, but Data confirmed, scanning his corpse, that Dern himself was in the early stages of the infection, to boot. Oof. Voyager found as many ways to kill Harry Kim and undo it as it did to stop promoting him beyond ensign, but those largely got undone for the most part… except for that time where Harry actually died and then was replaced by his own quantum duplicate during the events of 'Deadlock.' Voyager's encounter with a spatial scission resulted in two versions of the ship, both the 'original,' trying to exist in the same space but out of phase with each other. One Harry Kim dies, sucked into space by a hull breach, while the other, alongside the newborn Naomi Wildman, goes over to the 'other' Voyager while one of the ships self-destructs. Again, they're both technically the same Harry Kim, give or take a few hours of alternate recollections caused by the scission. But that means part of Harry still died, and he had to just… go about living on with that. Imagine getting stranded on a hostile planet, your ship stolen, and then you almost immediately get eaten by a giant eel creature. And then your skeletal remains go on to spark a religious crisis for an entirely different species of aliens! Not only is this poor ensign (we can tell by the single rank pip on his collar) unnamed, but he's also the only member of Voyager's bridge crew to not survive the ship trying to plow its way through a Mutara-class nebula, bombarding the ship with radiation. Everyone else just gets to wince in pain and have a headache; this dude's entire face gets burned off. Jetal's death was already pretty nasty—she was shot by an unknown alien while on an away mission with a devastating energy pulse that worked its way up through her spine and into her brain, causing massive synaptic damage along the way. But the reason she actually died was due to the fact that there was only time for Voyager's EMH to operate on one of the two injured crew in the attack… and the other was Harry Kim, whom the doctor picked because he knew better. Sure, it led to the Doctor himself having to explore some personal trauma in the aftermath, but still, dying because the operating medical officer didn't know you that well is rough. From the Enterprise episode 'Daedalus,' Burrows was killed after touching a spatial distortion that was eventually revealed to be a nascent transporter signal from a complex experiment. Encountering the distortion caused Burrows to undergo 'cellular disruption,' essentially his body imploding on a cellular level, leaving his face hideously warped upon death. Another entry on this list that's a victim of being spaced, Connor died during the Battle of the Binary Stars in Discovery's premiere. But what makes his death in particular grim is the fact that he kind of wasn't aware of what was going on: injured on the Shenzhou's bridge during the conflict, he was sent to sickbay for treatment only to, in a state of delirium, wander into the brig moments before it suffered a hull breach. Another Discovery ensign, another spacing. Ensign Cortez dies trying to stay too long to repair damage to the ship before emergency force fields kick in, preventing his escape in time, but aside from that layer of tragedy, he also gets sucked out into a subspace rift the ship was exploring into a void of nothingness that we'd already seen violently disintegrate a robotic probe. Technically one of these may not necessarily be a grim ensign death, if only because the ensign involved may never have actually been a real ensign at all. Two dating officers who were friends of Beckett Mariner aboard the USS Quito, Niko turned out to be a Harvongian shape-changer, who grotesquely transformed into his true form, seemingly triggered by Mariner joking that he might be a Harvongian shape-changer. Niko devoured his girlfriend, Angie, before being phasered into submission by the Quito crew. Alvarado's death is more existentially horrifying than anything else. A soldier fighting on the planet J'Gal during the Klingon-Federation war, he was mortally wounded during combat and, in an attempt to triage limited medical resources, held in a transporter pattern buffer by Dr. M'Benga and Nurse Chapel until a starship with a surgery bay could arrive. Unfortunately for poor Alvarado, a Klingon attack disrupted the medical base's power supply, necessitating a reboot of the transporter's systems to get them functioning at all… purging the backlog entirely, including his biological pattern. Death by having your computer's recycle bin emptied. Is it death if you technically never existed in the first place? That was the fate of poor Ensign Middleton aboard the Voyager-A during the Prodigy episode 'The Devourer of All Things, Part II.' Attacked by a transdimensional creature called a Loom, Middleton was eradicated from time and space entirely so that he was completely forgotten, never existing… and only remembered by people wearing temporal discriminators at the time of his death. And that brings us all the way up to date with Ensign Gamble. He's lucky enough to get a mix of both gruesome death and existential nightmares: the young medical officer, just months into his posting aboard the Enterprise, Gamble is instantly killed when a small orb containing a hostile spirit called a Vezda. This not only gorily explodes both his eyeballs but also leads to him being promptly possessed by the Vezda, killing him and shuffling his corpse around in an attempt to sabotage the Enterprise and gain control over its systems before Dr. M'Benga realizes that Gamble's no longer home. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
DeSean Bishop has 'grown tremendously' in pass protection ahead of 2025 season
Tennessee practiced for a tenth time during fall training camp on Tuesday. Redshirt sophomore DeSean Bishop enters his third season with the Vols in 2025. The 5-foot-10, 208-pound running back appeared in 10 contests during the 2024 campaign. Bishop totaled 455 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on 74 attempts in 2024. He also recorded one reception for 10 yards in the Vols' season opener against Chattanooga. Following Tuesday's practice, running backs coach De'Rail Sims discussed Bishop's improvement during the offseason. 'I think he's taken a step in terms of leadership, number one,' Sims said. 'He's been a dynamic guy in the room, in terms of holding guys accountable. If somebody is not living up to the standard, he's the first one to get on them, and that's including all factors. 'I think from the pass protection standpoint, he's taken the next step too. From a physicality standpoint, an eye discipline standpoint, he's done a really good job. Running the ball is natural to him, I mean, you're talking about a guy that was highly productive in high school and rushed for a ton of yards, so that came natural. The pass protection piece of it, he's grown tremendously in that and done a really good job this camp.' Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
06-08-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tennessee running backs named to Doak Walker Award watch list
Two Tennessee running backs have been named to the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list. Redshirt sophomore DeSean Bishop and senior transfer Star Thomas were on the list for the award, which is given to the best running back in college football. Tennessee is one of four schools to have multiple players nominated for the award, which is named in honor of All-American running back Doak Walker. Bishop, a graduate of Karns High School (Knoxville, Tennessee), played in nine games last season and finished third in the SEC in yards per carry (6.15). He totaled 455 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 74 attempts. Thomas, a native of Homer, Louisiana, previously played at Coffeyville Community College, Duke and New Mexico State. He has appeared in 40 FBS games with the Blue Devils and Aggies. Thomas has totaled 2,044 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 433 attempts. He also recorded 54 career receptions for 504 yards and six touchdowns. More: Tennessee running backs positional breakdown for 2025 football season The PwC SMU Athletic Forum Board of Directors will name 10 semifinalists in November. The recipient of the award will be determined in December. A winner will be announced Dec. 12 on the Home Depot College Football Awards show. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
34 DAYS TO 2025 KICKOFF: Weston Polk
Yes, I know today is actually 33 days until kickoff. Please bear with me this week as I work to catch back up. I had a medical emergency Friday night and have been out of commission for the past three days. In order for me to keep up with the Countdown, I will be taking an indefinite hiatus from the Protest Playoff posts until I'm feeling better. Position: Linebacker Previous College: None Projection: Redshirt Status: On Scholarship Weston Polk (b. Jan. 17, 2006) is a speedy young linebacker from Coppell (Texas) High School who plans on majoring in agribusiness. He is likely to redshirt and not play in 2025. Polk prepped under head coach Antonio Wiley at Coppell, where he was rated the 24th-best inside linebacker in the country for the Class of 2025 by ESPN. Named the district defensive player of the year as a senior, he also was a first-team all-district honoree as a junior and an honorable mention pick as a sophomore. Polk tallied 183 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, seven sacks, an interception, four passes defended, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in his career, which included an 86-tackle, 15-TFL effort as a senior, leading Coppell to the regional round of the state playoffs. He also competed in track and field in high school. Polk signed with K-State over offers from Arkansas State, California, Houston, Iowa State, Memphis, North Texas, Oregon State, TCU, Texas State, Tulsa and UTEP, as well as interest from Notre Dame. His lead recruiters were defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and his new position coach, Steve Stanard. Said Gabe Brooks of 247Sports, regarding Polk's athletic potential at the next level: Athletic second-level defender with experience at linebacker, safety, and even edge. Perhaps his most impressive trait is ability to suddenly redirect in pursuit. Combine testing data reflect that attribute as well. More of a space defender than man defender at this point, but owns the athletic makeup to succeed in both in the long term. Instincts. Simply put, Polk is a natural at his position. You don't rack up the statistics that he did at that level in Texas without having a true feel of the game. Physical between the tackles, Polk processes his angles quickly and times his blitzes well. Watching his game is incredibly fluid for a high school linebacker. Rarely makes the wrong read.
USA Today
07-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Notre Dame's potential replacement options for Charles Jagusah
Notre Dame announced that offensive lineman Charles Jagusah was injured in an ATV accident in Wyoming this past weekend. He underwent surgery to repair a fractured left humerus, which wasn't the best news. The team said Jagusah is scheduled to return to campus early this week for further evaluation and that his prognosis from the surgery is "favorable." While there is no timetable for Jagusah's recovery, it is possible that he could be sidelined between three and six months. Jagusah was projected to start at left tackle for Notre Dame entering the 2024 season but tore a pectoral muscle early in training camp. After missing the entire regular season, he returned for the Fighting Irish during their College Football Playoff run. He filled in for Rocco Spindler at right guard and then started the national title game against Ohio State at left tackle. Even if his recovery goes well, Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish need to look at other options at that starting RG spot. Here are some possibilities the coaching staff could consider. Redshirt sophomore Sullivan Absher Absher makes the most sense to step in for Jagusah. The 6-foot-8, 328-pounder has played both offensive tackle and guard for the Fighting Irish. His pass protection hasn't been excellent, which pushed him inside. But his run blocking is solid, making him a sound option to fill in for Jagusah. Redshirt freshman Guerby Lambert Lambert has been dealing with an offseason injury but is expected back for fall camp. We just don't know how available he will be when the Fighting Irish open at Miami on August 31. The 6-foot-7, 341-pounder is a natural offensive tackle, but it would be interesting to see him get reps at guard in camp. ND could also move Anthonie Knapp inside and let Lambert flourish at tackle. Redshirt sophomore Joe Otting Would the Irish move Otting over from center? Starting center Ashton Craig is also coming back from injury, so his health will have to be monitored. But the 6-foot-4, 312-pounder is big enough to play guard, and he's quick on his feet. Certainly he is an intriguing option. Sophomore Anthonie Knapp Jagusah took snaps almost exclusively at right guard in the spring, so Knapp is most likely slated to be the starting left tackle once again for the Irish. But the 6-foot-4, 294-pounder could slide inside. He had an up and down season in 2024 but improved as the year went on and seemingly has a bright future at tackle. He could be a quick fix inside, though. Knapp was one of the team's most dominant run blockers last fall. If Will Black can play right away as a true freshman, Knapp could shift inside. My choice? Absher. He has experience at the position and his run blocking is solid. And no other pieces along the unit would need to be moved. Jagusah may still be able to see the field in 2025, but the Irish need to explore other options. Thankfully there are plenty of them on coach Joe Rudolph's unit. Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Dave on X: Miller_Dave
