Mr. B gets snippy about other recruiting services and brings you some inside dish as well as a QB review and recruiting changes!
Signing, early signing, over-signing and re-signing and signs of the times…all in one overflowing Bucket!
First, let’s talk “early signing period” for football. Like the NCAA has sanctioned for years in Division I basketball, for instance. Why do we need the early signing modifications for football? Let me count the ways:
1) It will end the dance of coaches staying for one day after Signing Day just to punk the players. Florida played the most games with this in 2009/2010. Others were almost as unethical. 2) Most of the players decide early anyway, and then the “games’ begin. Let’s take the gamesmanship out of it. In an article entitled, “College Football’s Broken Rule”, SI talks about Alabama (see the additional “over-signing” bullet to come) taking their traditional 28 players but that 20 of them had committed prior to Dec 15. Three/fourths of the Rivals top 200 had made their commitments in early December and didn’t change them. 3) It would flush out the “absolutely-committeds” (think LaMarcus Joyner). When they DON’T sign early, you know you are being played. 4) Coaches could actually focus more on, well…coaching; and not so much on being kindergarten cop. 5) And it would emphasize signing with programs or schools rather than with coaches.
They say little schools wouldn’t like it? I disagree, as the little schools would then know which fish was left in the pond, and know it a lot sooner.
And for Ohio State? As a traditionally fast starter and slow finisher, this rule would be great.
Plus, the top 20 players in the nation wouldn’t be affected as they will go wherever they want whenever they want. But for the rest of them – hell, for the rest of US! – we get some relief to the derring-do that goes on behind the scenes and under the table.
Look – as to that point of the best still getting to salve their egos and play their games - for the last three years (!), the #1 recruit in the country (Terrelle Pryor, Bryce Brown, and Seantrel Henderson) all waited until well after signing day. It’s almost become a rite of passage.
SI saw it similarly and concluded their own op-ed piece by cutting to the chase. And the chase is usually about $$$ and/or about making the athletic directors’ lives easier:
“In January 2009, the American Football Coaches Association forwarded a proposal to the Conference Commissioners Association which administers the National Letters of Intent program, asking for a short signing period beginning on the third Wednesday in December. The proposal had the support of 73% of Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and 82% of Football Championship Subdivision head coaches. But the proposal was quickly quashed, thanks to the opposition of athletic directors who envision the December signing period clashing with the December coach-firing period. Canning a coach just before signing day might mean losing recruits. Undaunted, in May coaches and athletic directors from the ACC forwarded to the commissioners association a proposal similar to the AFCA’s. That one too was quickly dismissed”
OK, if we have to wait on playoffs because they make too much sense, let’s at least get the early signing period started. For the same reason…
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Get thee behind me, Saban…We stumbled upon a fabulous cult recruiting site called oversigning.com the other day and they have a treasure trove of insights, facts, and nearly-unbelievable conclusions. Click here to take in the whole sordid experience.
The oversigning.com motto is “Where 30 + 29 + 28 + 32 = 85” and that should tell you that they think the SEC – specifically - and the college recruiting hypocrites, in general, have made a mockery out of the recruiting rules. Rules that only seem to apply to SOME schools.
An interesting tidbit on which to ruminate - since the 2002 recruiting classes were signed, here’s how many schollies were issued by certain schools by way of example of the insanity:
Ole Miss: 237 Auburn: 253 Alabama: 235 (with 113 in the last four years!) Florida: 210 Ohio State 180
Hey – here’s a good one: Troy, 74 in last two years!
In light of this and other preposterous-ities, the site has created something they are monitoring and first started calling “The Saban Cup”. Here’s what it is and why:
The Saban Cup
One idea we are kicking around here is the creation of The Saban Cup.
An award for the team who overspends on their recruiting budget the most. We'll be collecting the raw data needed to determine what each school's pre-signing day budget is, and then we'll create a scoreboard. [But want fans to appreciate the Saban-isms as we go]
When asked about his over-signing:
Nick Saban:"It's none of your business. Aiight? And don't give me this stuff about the fans need to know, because they don't need to know."
When asked if he is worried about his numbers:
Nick Saban: "I'm not worried about them. It'll all work out. I mean, the whole thing has a solution to every issue. You don't put yourself in a position where you don't know what's coming, then have to take it in the chops”
We will keep a close watch for you recruitniks (and Saban haters) out there…
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Signings of the times…From the guys that put together the kinky over-signing site idea, we have mined further factoids that should be of interest to Buckeye fans. A big one is this: Since 2002, only four BCS schools in the entire country havesigned fewer players than Ohio State (180 players). Those schools are Stanford, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Northwestern and I am speculating that they had more stringent academic issues than did the Buckeyes.
Oversigning.com said it this way: “No one in the country is doing a better job at developing talent than Jim Tressel and his staff (despite the issues at OL)...granted, he's getting 180 really good players to work with, but when you consider someone like Les Miles has signed 222 in the same period of time...or Nick Saban with 193 players despite missing 2005 and 2006….Let that sink in for a minute. Saban signed 193 players from 2002 - 2010 and he wasn't even in the college game for two of those years. Tressel signed 180 and was there for all 9 years.
Now for something that will really blow your mind...of the 180 scholarships signed, 30 of them went to walk-ons. They went to walk-ons because JT didn't want to go over the 85 limit so he takes fewer new recruits and gives the balance to walk-ons who usually only play on special teams (or get burnt at DB while majoring in engineering). So in reality, Tressel has really had 150 top-notch recruits to work with out of his 180.”
Out of Saban's 193 signees in just seven years how many of those do think went to walk-ons? Probably not many because if a scholarship did go to a walk-on it cost someone else (a new recruit or a player that isn't living up to potential that is already on scholarship) a slot.
Tressel runs things his own way – and it gets unique results, too!
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You want to know why you miss Ohio State football?...In last year’s favorite summer reader, “Rammer Jammer”, they described it eloquently like this:
“I always feel a mixture of misery and relief at the end of football season. Like a boozer thrown into the tank for a forced dry-out, I miss the elixir even as I know that it does me good to go without. There is, after all, the not insignificant matter of having a life, of earning enough money to buy food and shelter, of doing all the things necessary, in other words, to keep myself alive until next season. Pro teams continue to play for a few weeks after the college season ends, which helps ease the craving; but to mix addiction metaphors, the NFL for me serves as a kind of methadone; it’s football even though I don’t exactly care who wins – the drug without the high”
You need your football drugs, you say? You need the high? Well, the dealers at Bucknuts are here for you:
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The Boarding House…here we come again with warning labels and explanations!
Where five stories are blowing up and rumors are flying!
The Bucknuts beat boys bring you what they hear and see and are loathe to write about as facts. The House is a place for rumors and gossip and innuendo. We don’t treat it is if it’s “inside information”, like some people do. Yet – you guys love to hear the good stuff. To do that, we have to:
1) Disclaim that we don’t know if any of it is true 2) Not attribute it to any particular source 3) Not attribute it to any particular reporter!
We hope it’s interesting and it’s all fairly entertaining and some of it might even turn out to be actually, well…true! So, forewarned is forearmed. Don’t write me and tell me that we shouldn’t publish rumors. We already know that!
* Where have you gone, John McCallister?...A Buckeye nation turns its knowing eyes to you!
To explain for those under eighty years old, John McCallister is the once-reverentially-referenced recruiting guru that made a living from selling videos and recruiting advice to colleges about potential Ohio high school football talent. Now that he has been passed (lapped?) – by other sources and services, he has been getting crotchety about these new high-tech youngsters that took over “his” scene, John passed the credibility baton long ago to guys like Mark Porter of ScoutingOhio.com and it seems to be just starting to sink in. The college coaches know it – and they tell us (in a bittersweet sort of way…). After John got pissy with Bucknuts a few months back, we sent him a note suggesting simply “Can’t we all just get along?” He declined the offer. In all fairness, it was an e-mail and we don’t know if he has the ability to get e-mails yet.
Among other things that he doesn’t seem to “get” are the little niceties of not calling out your colleagues and rivals in public. Or even using Coach Tressel to establish some badly needed street cred. John combined both faux pas in one scatter-shot blog last week when he blithered the following (the mis-spellings, poor syntax and bad grammar are all his in the original…):
“Recently, at the Ohio High School Football Coaches Clinic I was joking around with Coach Tressel. I told him that I would know longer being sharing recruiting opinions with him. As Coach Tressel often does, he gave me the raised eyebrow look. I told him since Rivals and Scout and some of the "self-annointed experts only rated O-State 17th that I could no longer learn anything from the O-State staff. But doesn't that make sense? They are the experts and know exactly what Ohio State needs.
Obviously, there are some that can evaluate, but some collect information. Never look at video, never go to camps, and never are on the sidelines. A few years ago there was a guy here in Ohio that would evaluate prospects. In fact, I heard that he still has a cult. The sad thing was that he NEVER attended a game or a camp. Another guy with a lot of clout was a former mailman. Tremendous at taking pictures and collecting information. But he collected his information from colleges in exchange for lists of names. More recently, a guy was laid off from his factory work. Wrote a couple of articles and now he is guru. Of the course, my friend the Frito Bandito, has convinced his cult that understands evaluating prospects.
“Frito Bandito”? Ouch. Even as boorish behavior goes, that’s uber-boorish. Now – far be it from me to defend my referenced Scout brethren like Bill Green or Nevada (mark the date, fans…), but for the man-once-known-as-John-McCallister to demean others in order to make himself look good (even picking on poor old Tom Lemming – the Mailman – as well), just screams of frustration. Of desperation. Look, when a sports business model dies, its better to simply avert your eyes as the end is never pretty….
* Working Berry hard?...We are big fans of Jaamal Berry and think that greatness lies before him. But, as with many kids loaded with elite talent, he is going to have to work hard to harvest the potential. As one of our insiders in the program put it during the season last year: “Lots of behind the scenes chatter ever since Berry got here. Veterans once voted him most likely to be kicked out of the program. Spends more time looking for his “entertainment” than he does rehabbing and preparing himself to be a player here next year. Players think he will get outworked. They say he will never be a player here. The consensus is he will be out of here by this time next year and could even leave before the season starts.”
That’s one view. He is also dogged by rumors that his entrance scores are still being questioned. On the flip side of the news, we are hearing that Jaamal is getting serious and we are rooting for him and want him to know that we are eager to see what he can do when he finally gets a chance on the field!
* Combines are a bad business…and highly over-rated.
If you remember a few years back the NCAA outlawed college coaches attending combines. So that meant Nike, Rivals, and Scout.com were dealt a big blow. Their combines had been thriving because dozens of coaches showed up. Now they are basically combines for just press.
Players don't realize that the only one's basically benefitting from a combine now are the people holding it. Why work out for Nike? They don't give scholarships! Why pay rivals to time you? And realistically, the only players that get covered at those combines are the top 5-10 kids; everyone else is mince meat for the meat market.
College coaches have reacted to this ruling from the NCAA by holding their own summer camps and combines. Most college coaches tell prospects they must attend their summer camps to get a scholarship. Right now, nearly every college assistant coach is out trying to get kids to their camp so that they can be evaluated by staff, and to show those kids their campus and facilities. Assistant coaches are often judged by their head coaches on how many kids they can get to camp from their recruiting area.
If I was advising a high school player, he would only attend camps where college coaches are in attendance. If you work out well, you get a scholarship. If you work out well for Nike, you get a pat on the back.
* When you see that Fork Union in the road – take it…That is, if you really want to be a Buckeye. Word is out that Buckeye lust-er (and two-time Mr. Ohio Football) Erick Howard likely won’t qualify for his Akron scholly and he could take a year in prep school and put his hat back in the ring. I have said for months that a quality football player like Howard simply needs what a place like Fork Union offers: time to work on his academics and refine character. To me, the same logic applies for peripatetic Latwan Anderson; if he is really serious about Buckeye leanings and longings. JT took a chance on Ray Small (uh, ouch…) and doesn’t seem to want to repeat that drill with Latwan. But you really want to be a Buckeye, man? Prove it La-Twee and spend a year at The Union. It worked for Jamel Turner and Carlos Hyde. Do it the old fashion way: earn it!
* Sentenced to death… Well, small sentences, at least…
Recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach Brennan Carroll (Pete's son) is leaving USC. He was instrumental in keeping together USC's highly touted recruiting class. Not fair, I say, to the recruits; if they weren’t informed prior to committing.
Centerville’s Michael Bennett was offered in the last week by Northwestern, Alabama, Michigan and Nebraska. Safe to say he is a HUGE get at DT
Gambrell is a DB offered by the Bucks. He comes from Toledo Rogers and is coached by Bucknuts “friend”, Rick Rios. Many will remember that name as he was the one who also coached and posted on our message boards about Fred Davis during that saga. I think this will turn out much better than the Fred Davis project. Rogers is also the school from which star-crossed Drushawn Humphreys hailed…
* Its official: Ohio State drew more spectators to see their games than any other team in the nation in 2009. That includes both home and away games. In 13 games, the Buckeyes drew 1,225,379 fans. And they say Tressel Ball won’t attract a fan base!
We couldn’t fit all the items into one building this week! So we are building on more stories for the Wednesday Boarding House. Check it out!
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One old creaky door closes…and a new door swings wide open. We talked above about the good old days of the pre-technology services; now outdated systems and methodologies. And it’s not just the John McCallisters of the world. There are others like Collegiate Sports Data or the Forbes Report that are still mired in archaic methods, as well. It makes you nostalgic for 900 numbers, mailed updates, and Jonathan Cornwell’s Top 100!
Back in the good old days, the guru/spies kept little "black books" as they roamed the high school sidelines, jotting down names of potential prospects that looked promising. Then they feverishly collated a "top prospects" list and sold them to colleges. Those double-secret lists were typically just players from the most popular high schools and listed the no-brainer talent that you didn’t have to see in person to recognize.
The college coaches would then have to dig deeper to make up a “true” Top 100 list and set out to find hidden gems scattered across Ohio where no one else had looked. Back then, early offers and combines were unheard of. But then again, so were iPhones and Blackberrys and twittering and, yes, even texting!
Well, recruiting fans – the only constant is change. And while some guys really do have 25 years experience (and have changed with the times) others just have one year’s experience – 25 times. For contrast, fast forward to this current time period – let’s call it late February 2010; almost three weeks after signing day. And there are already 74 juniors with a Division 1 offers and even 3 verbals (Steve Miller, Kenny Hayes and Greg Brown).
The era of hyper recruiting is here and there is no rest for the old and weary. The guys with the black notebooks are sinking into the dust bins of history, carping about the new technology and videos and the stuff they don’t fully appreciate. Services like ScoutingOhio.com forever changed the landscape of recruiting in Ohio, with their ability to promote high school prospects overnight. High school coaches once mailed hundreds of DVD's to colleges; now it’s just one DVD to ScoutingOhio.com and their recruiting needs are met. Nearly sixty D-1 colleges subscribe to ScoutingOhio.com and that includes the entire Big 10, Big East, MAC, and assorted others. That doesn’t even touch on the hundreds of D-2 and D-3 colleges that lurk on the site checking out the prospects.
Some services once trumpeted the fact that they “sold” 100 prospects to the colleges. This year, just for contrast, ScoutingOhio.com has over 2,000 prospect videos available 24/7 and many other hidden gems for college coaches, like game films and evaluations.
Here’s more for the numb and numbers: On ScoutingOhio.com right now, for the Class of 2011, there are 546 prospects that have posted a video. That’s five times more than Brand X (OK, John McCallister…). John puts out 100-125 videos and with infinitely inferior video quality
And for the Class of 2012, ScoutingOhio already has up 124 players with video. A once-competitive site (OK, it’s McCallister again) has – what? – none! And yes, there are 194 players already registered with ScoutingOhio for the class of 2013.
Maybe the race doesn’t always go to the swift or the test to the strongest, but that’s the way to bet ‘em (Damon Runyan this time). Hey – some old-timers can still be fun…
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Stacked at quarterback…No, this isn’t another of my thinly veiled hottie segments. Sorry. It’s the first in a series of thinly veiled attempts to assess which positions the 2010 Buckeye football team is locked and loaded – and which positions seem to be firing blanks.
Today, let’s talk quarterbacks. The quarterback spot is finally developing some depth after “depth-defying” scrapes with exposure last season. Last season? We had Terrelle and prayer. And the wing of our prayer (Joe Bauserman’s) evoked even more passionate prayer!
This year, TP is back – of course – and seemingly on the mend. Bauserman is back as well and manning the sideline clipboard as it was intended. Behind that duo? There’s suddenly redshirted Kenny Guiton, who has skills that have never been properly paraded. And instead of a walk-on stretch for times of true desperation, we have incoming oft-injured freshman quarterback legacy, Taylor Graham. We can’t comment on Taylor until we seem him play the position for most of a season, something that has avoided him for the past three years. And there’s also super-athlete Verlon Reed, who might be slotted for any number of alternative positions but could play QB in a pinch.
The future seems so bright that the QB’s might have to wear shaded helmets. We are bubbling about the two most promising quarterbacks we have seen since, well…Justin Zwick and Troy Smith! Hopefully, more along the lines of the latter – with whom Braxton Miller (#1 in our hearts and #1 in the pecking order) seems to compare nicely. Then there’s the trumpeted Cardale Jones who LOOKS like Terrelle; not as good on his feet but seems to have a better arm.
The sequence, according to me: Terrelle plays this year at a Heisman-level quality and the staff determines if Graham and/or Guiton can be a better replacement than Bauserman. Next year? Terrelle returns because he will make more money that way (!). Bauserman stays steady on the sideline, the next #2 is determined and Verlon Reed can focus on a position of need. Either Cardale or Braxton redshirts with the other getting real time so that he might start – or vie for a start – the following season.
All is well in the quarterback stacks once again…
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Sir Links-A-Lot…As spectators and fans we are fooled-a-lot. We are fooled into thinking that our sports heroes, as seen on TV, must have some peculiar enlightenment about life. Like maybe a Tiger Woods? Or a Jose Canseco? Or a Darryl Strawberry or Barry Bonds? As Doc Rivers, basketball coach, when asked how long a player would be out after an injury remarked: “You do know that “Doc” is a nickname, right?”
