Head Shots from 5/20/08

Big Ten Coaches Want a Break: Coaches are proposing a 2 week quiet period in the summer where recruits would be off limits from the dirty old men stalking them, also known as coaches and recruiters. The story was posted on ESPN and within minutes, comments popped up with suck gems as "This is why the Big Ten sucks" and "Sure, give Carroll, Meyer and Stoops 2 weeks alone with the Midwest’s blue chip recruits".

Mark May busy at work again, I see. His cohorts in comments were ‘McSheezyThaDraftMan’ and ‘MelKiperMustDie’. No idea who THAT could be, Todd.

Perrilloux Finds a Home: Ryan Perrilloux has signed his scholarship papers in AL-A-BA-MA! No, not the Crimson Tide, but Jacksonville State. RP can now play next season without riding the pine as he would transferring to a D1A school, which was important since he had already burned his redshirt season (along with the bridges behind him). Was that the season he was in a FBI counterfeiting investigation or and incident with a fake ID and a riverboat casino?

Sports Illustrated has commentary on the situation, with nothing but praise towards Perrilloux, explaining how well he played against Middle Tennessee State and Tennessee. In that case, he’s already shown he can be successful against D1-AA caliber defenses.

JSU currently has no quarterback on the team, which was also a positive in Perrilloux’s eyes. Was Jacksonville State without a QB because of graduation or injury? No, and we can’t make this up, he was kicked off the team. Funny how the world works.

Julio Jones for President: You know your school loves football when a football player gets third place in the Student Council President race. You know your school REALLY loves football when that player is a write in candidate who has yet to step on campus. Really tall Bama recruit and one member of Nick Saban’s 110 man recruiting class, Julio Jones is already a fan favorite.

Look out, we might have Terrelle Pryor elected as Governor of Ohio if this keeps up.

"I’m Terrelle Pryor, and I approve this message."

Jim Tressel Invades Florida: Open spots on the 2009 Ohio State football team are disappearing faster than small children at an elementary school when Charlie Weis got wrong directions to the all-you-can-eat buffet. (Note: Poe is implying Charlie Weis eats small children and house pets. Everyone is dogging on Charlie. 3-9, 3-9). JT has been quite the jet-setter, keeping tabs on recruits in Florida, Maryland, Tennessee (third time I had to type that word) and California.

Ohio State is currently on the short list for so many Florida kids, you’d think we replaced Florida State in the Big Three (we have). Two running backs, several defensive backs, and several wide receivers are getting the JT love, to the point where they might not have enough spots for everyone.

Two of the kids are amongst the fastest in the Speed State (hey, it was Microsoft that had me capitalize it). It’s just a shame that they might move north and play in the Big Ten and steal all the speed from the ACC. Yes, the ACC. Not surprisingly, many of the kids are also on Urban Meyer’s radar. No, he really has a radar. Unless you have the speed of a twin engine Cessna, he will not recruit you. Thus the call into Michigan’s tight end (non-existent in any Ohio State-Michigan game), who blew past the entire Florida defense on a screen.

Terrelle Pryor is Selfish...

Selfishly in love with Jim Tressel, that is.

"Why I chose Ohio State is because of Jim Tressel. That's it," Pryor stated emphatically. "I could have went to a lot of great places, but I want to play for coach Tressel. There were a lot of other reasons, like the friends I have here, the distance from home and a few other things, but the main reason is coach Tressel. I want to come here and win a championship for him."

I won't steal BuckeyePlanet's mojo on this, so here's the link to the whole post. It's the final part of a 3 piece series by scout.com's Bill Greene on the recruitment and signing of Terrelle Pryor.

I'm not sure, but I think that kind of comment that makes you an honorary Ohioan. But I thought Pryor was a self-centered, egotistical super recruit that would demand playing time and be a bigger burden than he's worth. Oh well it seems like Pryor is a well rounded, exceptionally thoughtful human being. Is that possible?

Don't look now, but you just got Tresselized.

I'm glad Coach Tressel can lead and inspire. Hell, it's been said many a time that if he were to run for Governor of Ohio, he'd win in a land slide. But you know what happens when you become a politician. You become power hungry.

I can see it now, Tressel mobilizes the Ohio National Guard to initiate takeover attempts on the states of Florida and Louisiana followed by the beheadings of Urban Meyer and Les Miles, thus ending the evil rule of the SEC and proclaiming the areas as "The Ohio Territories" and southern speed would now be known as "Ohio Speed".

And you know what? I think most of us would be okay with that.

All Aboard!

Another Monday, another Ohio State recruit commitment. Corey Lindsey, big Ohio offensive lineman, decided to pull the trigger on OSU because that’s who he grew up rooting for and that’s where his mama wanted him to go (good lady). Lindsey was also considering Notre Dame and, gasp, Stanford. It means that Jim Tressel and his staff feel like you can never have enough offensive lineman, and Poe agrees.

So that makes 13 commitments.

Of course, if Ohio State was a member of the SEC or ACC, they would still have 18-20 more recruits to sign (here’s lookin’ at you Miami (Fl) and Alabama). But, alas, they are not and it looks like the 2009 class could top out with 8ish more kids. Me thinks a Glenville kid or two, a running back or two, and a WR or two (especially a 6’5" Randy Moss-Calvin Johnson-freak), and then the staff can call it a recruiting season.

UPDATE: Make it 14, as Zach Boren did what we all thought he would and picked the Buckeyes. These boys sure are ‘Ohio State Men’.

Which offer is the most prestigious?

It’s the age-old question. What school do players consider is the most prestigious offer? It’s the offer that puts a kid on the map and makes people stop and talk about it. No matter where you are in this country, you get the offer from this school and people just assume it’s where you are going…

#1) USC: Hate to say it, fellow Buckeyes, but it’s hard to beat the USC offer. Players from Ohio and Michigan get the USC offer and even the obsessed recruiting followers just assume it will be hard to beat. It’s more than just Pete Carroll and the school. Sure I bet Petey makes it fun and you can all laugh together, but I think the biggest draw is the fact it’s Southern California and the rest are just perks. Columbus, Norman, South Bend, and Gainesville just aren’t LA. There’s no other explanation for the stockpile of running backs than that.

#2) Ohio State: Who Ohio State offers, Ohio State gets (usually). While OSU has predominantly stuck with Ohio boys, more and more athletes from around the country are flocking to Columbus. Example A) Etienne Sabino was a FLA boys and had is USC offer. Sabino, the #1 rated inside linebacker, picks the Buckeyes. Tressel and his staff don’t waste your time or theirs, signing 20 of the 24 kids that officially visited for 2008 (that’s like 80% conversion rate). More and more Florida kids are visiting along with PA kids, Maryland kids, but call me when Tressel starts invading California.

#3) Florida: Urban Meyer must have some positives (though Poe sees none of them, as the Southern boys stay Southern boys and play for Florida. Who else would they play for? Florida State? Miami? Meyer is as lucky as he is good. A lot of kids want to play in Florida, but would rather not play in the ACC. Around 60% of kids in the Rivals100 have Florida listed as a school they are interested in, and I’m sure Urban calls everyone.

Which offer is the least prestigious?

Know what it takes to rebuild? Offers to everybody and their brothers and their brothers’ friends. The next 3 teams are not necessary bad teams, but face an uphill battle in terms of being all that relevant again.

#1) Alabama: Roll Tide. Roll Nick Saban. Roll 50 recruits a season. Saban needs them and he doesn’t want you to worry about the numbers. There’s something I’ve never liked about Saban.

#2) Miami (Fl): Going from having teams stacked with NFL players to QBs who complete 1 of 15 passes, The U might have to change its name to The O for offer after the size of the class they brought in. Bad News is that you now have to put the (Fl) so people know who you are talking about. Good news for Miami is that all those years in the beginning of the millennium help in recruiting.

#3) Illinois: I sent in video of myself sitting at my desk. A week later, I got an in home visit from his staff telling me about how I could get a lot of playing time for the Illini. Oh Zooker. He can sell Rose Bowl appearances, beating Ohio State at home, and playing time, but we still know that 200 kids have been offered for the 25 slots.

Damn you, SEC

I blame this on you.

I hate Michigan. Always have. I cringe when I see a baby wearing Maize and Blue.

But as I sit here in Toledo (who, thanks to Buckeye Cable, gives me the Big 10 Network), I get an uneasy happiness watching Michigan terrorize Urban Meyer's mind. What's so confusing is that its the SEC's fault (compounded by ESPN bowl victory count) that makes me want to cheer for my fellow Big 10 teams in out of conference games and bowl games.

Damn your smarmy attitude, Mr. Meyer. Damn you.

Maurice Jones-Drew Gives Troy Smith a Shout Out

Well sort of…

If you count “Well they got that kid from your school, don’t they?” then he got one.

Ok, a little out of context. The NFL Live guys were all discussing the AFC East and the teams’ strength and which team they think will win it. ESPN heads predict Pittsburgh and Cleveland, while Jones-Drew goes with the wild card and takes the Ravens, enough to raise the ire of the Trey Wingo and the crew (not to mention ESPN execs). Someone chimes in “How about that quarterback position, they got that figured out yet?” and Jones-Drew looks over to THE Cris Carter and says “Well they got that kid from your school, don’t they?” (promptly inciting a commercial break so quick you would have expected it to be CBS).

Cris Carter -> Ohio State -> Troy Smith -> Ravens -> That Guy from Your School

Sure, he doesn’t know Troy’s name, but it’s the thought that counts.

Then again, it could be retribution for Chris Fowler calling Cris Carter “a former Gator” during ESPN’s televised broadcast of Florida’s spring game (that’s right, national televised on a major network, spring game). Really Fowler? Ohio State has a couple guys you might have heard of…Glenn, Galloway, (dare I say Boston), or Holmes? Quality reporting does not equal the ESPN.

Also, expect Lee Corso to be so over the top this year that he makes Joe Paterno look sane. Why not start off 2008 predicting the South Carolina Gamecocks (at 6-6 in 2007) would win the SEC East. Let’s put it this way, the far-from-the-real-USC is so bad, even Ohio State could beat them in a bowl game…someday.

Behind Enemy Lines

Ann Arbor, MI

Word out of the Michigan spring scrimmage is that Rich Rodriguez is "encouraged with the play of his defense". Sounds like the Associated Press way of saying "well there’s nothing positive on the offensive side of things". In what was a glorified practice at a local Ann Arbor high school (as a result of the Big House being morphed into the Second Biggest House), the defense forced, or were given (depending on who you talk to), 6 turnovers including a fumble recovery and FIVE interceptions.

"The defense came along about how I expected," [Rich Rodriguez] said. "The defense should dominate. If they don’t, were going to have some issues."

Interesting statement coach, please elaborate. To be fair to the, uh, evolution occurring in Michigan, everybody except a select majority of UM fans feels that it will be a few years to incorporate the system and have everything firing all cylinders.

It’s sort of like a startup business, you take losses in the beginning to win in the end. The problem with Michigan is that they are not a startup, far from it, having been in business for 100 years. West Virginia? Startup in the beginning. A lot of other small schools adapting a spread type offense? Startups. The only thing similar in business would be if Ford dropped its F-Series pickup trucks (the real breadwinners) to focus on convertible sports cars. Michigan produced dropback passers by the NFL load, and to win 1-2 games more per year, are changing the entire offense. Tom Brady might have fun going to watch Michigan games from now on, but he sure as hell wouldn’t play for them.

We all saw what Michigan was capable of in 2006 against Ohio State and in 2007 against the Florida defense. I would be more scared of those Michigan teams than probably many future Michigan teams. But I guess when a team goes 1-6 against a certain school and head coach, its time to change something, but should it really have been the whole image of the school? I’m sure I’ll get MGoBloggers freaking out and telling me how Buckeye Nation is scared and the tables have turned.

A completely able bodied and functional pro style offense is 10x scarier than a spread option offense.

And Speaking of that SEC SPEED@#$%^&*()_!…

Gainesville, FL

I’ll get this out of the way. I hate Urban Meyer. I hate Michigan, but I was downright giddy watching the Wolverines drive up and down the field on the Gators. If the Big 10 is slow, UM has to be classified as the slow of the slow. Yet I watched a Wolverine TE outrace the FLA defense on a screen.

Anyways, good ol boy Urban Meyer feels that his savior at running back, Emmanuel Moody "will not play football for the Gators if there’s a chance he’ll put the ball on the ground" or along those lines.

Ouch, and this after Moody was the leading rusher during the ESPN televised Gators’ spring game. But he’s not small and fast like the incumbent back and we all know that Urban will sacrifice actual football talent for SEC speed. And all this after Meyer spent the offseason telling Moody everyday how he "better be really good".

Nothing is below Urban Meyer, even if it means taking shots at the kid you lured from So Cal (I hear North Carolina and Oklahoma State are nice this time of year). I understand that they are comments probably meant to inspire and motivate Moody rather than degrade and belittle…

But still, you can’t help to think that Moody has to be asking himself if he made the right decision transferring to Florida.

Fullbacks, Calling All Fullbacks!

From the ‘Forty Times are All That Matter’ department:

Looks like Urban Meyer is willing to give a full scholarship for any UF student that can beat Percy Harvin, Deonte Thompson, Louis Murphy and Chris Rainey in the 40-yard dash. They call it a “speed challenge” and ESPN busted a nut in anticipation of showing it along with the Florida spring game. [The Ohio State spring game is broadcasted on the Ohio News Network, Florida gets ESPN.]

While full details have yet to be worked out, Meyer said that on Thursdays of spring practices, which begin March 19, strength coaches will be out on the practice fields and students will be invited to come out and train. The entrants will be whittled down to one lucky contestant who will face Harvin, Thompson, Murphy and Rainey in front of a packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Independent Florida Alligator

So Florida is willing to throw a student on the team if he is faster than the 3 figures of SEC speed. Didn’t the Tampa Bay Buccaneers try that? How does this relate to Ohio State? Not at all, actually.

Jim Tressel’s Head is proposing the opposite. Let’s have a contest at the Scarlet and Gray game, and name it the Fullback Challenge. They want speed, we want guys that can knock over the trees they are as slow as. You could argue that Tressel has gone away from the traditional I-back sets to a more wide open scheme, especially since he has no fullback currently on scholarship to play the position. Aram Olson is out for the year on a Medical RS and Jemil Martin is only a Buckeye on a piece of paper.

The contest: Any student can earn a scholarship by participating in the Scarlet and Gray strong man competition. Have a bunch of 6’-6’ 3” 250-27lb guys (or girls, no prejudice here) come into Ohio Stadium and take turns trying to push over cars and throwing boulders 10 meters. Or we could just put Beanie and Saine back there and try that.

As for the Florida try out, unfortunately Morgan Trent is currently on scholarship at Michigan. Yes, that slow, prodding Michigan team who Ohio State handles year in and year out. And if you think Trent had the angle on him, please go back to 6th Grade and study trigonometry.