Thursday, February 5, 2009
Video: Coach with the Roll
Another great production by LSUfreek. As college football fans were consumed with National Signing Day yesterday, this guy puts it into perspective. (Tip of the cap to EDSBS and Longhorns' fan Mark Schram).
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
No podcast? No problem
It's another podcast off week for Phil and Tom. So instead of talking, we tackle a few questions and give your our thoughts. Here we go:
As most of the nation's top recruits signed on the dotted line as part of National Signing Day today, how did West Virginia (Tom) and Ohio State (Phil) fare?
Tom: This may well be WVU's best recruiting class in decades. So a big tip of the cap to Doc Holliday and the rest of the coaching staff. However, the Mountaineers did lose one blue chipper when Pompano Beach (Fla.) Blanche Ely HS cornerback Michael Carter spurned the Mountaineers for Minnesota. I don't totally get this one, but it's a big loss. I believe Carter could have been the best signing of the day if WVU had snagged him. I'm still pleased with the class, though. There is no question that Chesapeake, Va., receiver Logan Heastie, Miramar, Fla., quarterback Eugene Smith and Baltimore running back Tavon Austin are the keys to this class. But WVU fans shouldn't overlook Smith's teammate and receiver Stedman Bailey, who could be a real star.
Phil: I've seen Ohio State's class ranked anywhere from No. 1 to No. 6 for whatever that's worth. The Buckeyes signed 25 and four are already enrolled in school. There was one big defection when CB/WR Justin Green changed his mind to sign with Illinois. That was a loss because Green was apparently a top-notch athlete, but other than that some very good players will become Buckeyes, including the top two players in Pennsylvania. I particularly like the offensive line class with Marcus Hall of Cleveland Glenville, Jack Mewhort of Toledo Central Catholic, Sam Longo of Bellbrook and Cory Linsley of Youngstown Boardman. Combine that with two other signees who could play up front in TE Reid Fragel of Grosse Pointe, Mich., and DT Adam Bellamy of Aurora and it's a more athletic group than what OSU has featured in recent years.
Staying in the Big 10, Penn State signed another strong class despite Joe Paterno not visiting a single high school this year. Yes, Paterno is a living legend and known everywhere, but at some point isn't this lack of mobility or maybe willingness to leave State College going to hurt the Nits?
Phil: It's not a killer, but it doesn't help. PSU isn't really a recruiting power and hasn't been since the mid-90s. Not to say they don't sign good players. But if you notice the inroads Pitt and now Ohio State have made in Western Pa., I think Paterno's lack of interest in recruiting, as well as his age, have made a difference.
Tom: He's fortunate to have the reputation around the northeast and assistant coaches who can recruit. But I have to think that his inability to fulfill a basic coaching duty will hurt if he coaches much longer. Since he's like a 115 now, JoPa only has a year or two left in him.
On last week's podcast we discussed the game we'd like to see WVU and Ohio State play on a regular basis. That was actually pretty easy for both of us to answer. But who on the schedule would we replace? Is it the Division I-AA opponent or someone else and why?
Tom: This is a tough call. I like WVU's non-conference slate for the most part. In 2009 the Mountaineers get home games with Colorado and Marshall, and a road contest with Auburn. So the Liberty game is an easy call from my perspective to drop. However, this is the type of game you schedule to work out the kinks, and WVU could use that next year with a lot of new faces on the field. So it would most likely have to be Auburn or Colorado in the future since those agreements are usually two-year deals and then they go off the books.
Phil: Realistically, Ohio State's schedule is never going to be more difficult than next year's out of conference slate with Navy, USC and New Mexico State. Personally, I'd prefer never seeing a I-AA team in Ohio Stadium again, even if those Youngstown State teams were better than some I-A teams. I guess I'd like to NOT see anymore Ohio MAC teams on the schedule. Those games mean everything to those schools and nothing to OSU. It's a lose-lose for the Buckeyes. And I'm paying $63 a ticket next year.
With today being signing day, of course there must be a recruiting champ. Depending on who the expert is doing the ranking, a number of school's can claim to be No. 1 in recruiting. Do these rankings really mean anything?
Phil: They do, but in a very vague, overarching way. Let's put it this way - it's better to be on or near the top than at the bottom. There is some semblance of truth to these rankings. Is there a big difference between being No. 1 and No. 10? Not really.
Tom: I would argue there's not much difference between being No. 1 and No. 30. It's too early to measure desire and heart of these 17 and 18-year-olds. I would much rather be the top class, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over being the 30th class if you feel you filled needs.
As most of the nation's top recruits signed on the dotted line as part of National Signing Day today, how did West Virginia (Tom) and Ohio State (Phil) fare?
Tom: This may well be WVU's best recruiting class in decades. So a big tip of the cap to Doc Holliday and the rest of the coaching staff. However, the Mountaineers did lose one blue chipper when Pompano Beach (Fla.) Blanche Ely HS cornerback Michael Carter spurned the Mountaineers for Minnesota. I don't totally get this one, but it's a big loss. I believe Carter could have been the best signing of the day if WVU had snagged him. I'm still pleased with the class, though. There is no question that Chesapeake, Va., receiver Logan Heastie, Miramar, Fla., quarterback Eugene Smith and Baltimore running back Tavon Austin are the keys to this class. But WVU fans shouldn't overlook Smith's teammate and receiver Stedman Bailey, who could be a real star.
Phil: I've seen Ohio State's class ranked anywhere from No. 1 to No. 6 for whatever that's worth. The Buckeyes signed 25 and four are already enrolled in school. There was one big defection when CB/WR Justin Green changed his mind to sign with Illinois. That was a loss because Green was apparently a top-notch athlete, but other than that some very good players will become Buckeyes, including the top two players in Pennsylvania. I particularly like the offensive line class with Marcus Hall of Cleveland Glenville, Jack Mewhort of Toledo Central Catholic, Sam Longo of Bellbrook and Cory Linsley of Youngstown Boardman. Combine that with two other signees who could play up front in TE Reid Fragel of Grosse Pointe, Mich., and DT Adam Bellamy of Aurora and it's a more athletic group than what OSU has featured in recent years.
Staying in the Big 10, Penn State signed another strong class despite Joe Paterno not visiting a single high school this year. Yes, Paterno is a living legend and known everywhere, but at some point isn't this lack of mobility or maybe willingness to leave State College going to hurt the Nits?
Phil: It's not a killer, but it doesn't help. PSU isn't really a recruiting power and hasn't been since the mid-90s. Not to say they don't sign good players. But if you notice the inroads Pitt and now Ohio State have made in Western Pa., I think Paterno's lack of interest in recruiting, as well as his age, have made a difference.
Tom: He's fortunate to have the reputation around the northeast and assistant coaches who can recruit. But I have to think that his inability to fulfill a basic coaching duty will hurt if he coaches much longer. Since he's like a 115 now, JoPa only has a year or two left in him.
On last week's podcast we discussed the game we'd like to see WVU and Ohio State play on a regular basis. That was actually pretty easy for both of us to answer. But who on the schedule would we replace? Is it the Division I-AA opponent or someone else and why?
Tom: This is a tough call. I like WVU's non-conference slate for the most part. In 2009 the Mountaineers get home games with Colorado and Marshall, and a road contest with Auburn. So the Liberty game is an easy call from my perspective to drop. However, this is the type of game you schedule to work out the kinks, and WVU could use that next year with a lot of new faces on the field. So it would most likely have to be Auburn or Colorado in the future since those agreements are usually two-year deals and then they go off the books.
Phil: Realistically, Ohio State's schedule is never going to be more difficult than next year's out of conference slate with Navy, USC and New Mexico State. Personally, I'd prefer never seeing a I-AA team in Ohio Stadium again, even if those Youngstown State teams were better than some I-A teams. I guess I'd like to NOT see anymore Ohio MAC teams on the schedule. Those games mean everything to those schools and nothing to OSU. It's a lose-lose for the Buckeyes. And I'm paying $63 a ticket next year.
With today being signing day, of course there must be a recruiting champ. Depending on who the expert is doing the ranking, a number of school's can claim to be No. 1 in recruiting. Do these rankings really mean anything?
Phil: They do, but in a very vague, overarching way. Let's put it this way - it's better to be on or near the top than at the bottom. There is some semblance of truth to these rankings. Is there a big difference between being No. 1 and No. 10? Not really.
Tom: I would argue there's not much difference between being No. 1 and No. 30. It's too early to measure desire and heart of these 17 and 18-year-olds. I would much rather be the top class, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over being the 30th class if you feel you filled needs.
National Signing Day hoopla
This is just more proof of how overblown and theatrical the National Signing Day has become. Can we just stop the madness? I found this obscene display at The Birmingham News. I'm sure the folks in Alabama thought it was great.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Protecting the house
While eating lunch and scanning for anything about college football that isn't recruiting related I stumbled across this interesting post at Zombie Nation, the kind of college football blog that I prefer. Humorous, but not stupid. It also offers interesting posts. Only negative for me is it's all about Penn State. But still a great resource.Great research and interesting to see that Phil and Tom's interests, Ohio State and West Virginia, made the cut. The Buckeyes are 25-3 at home since 2005, while the Mountaineers are 22-4. Also interesting, but not surprising, is that Boise State tops the list at 25-0.
Here are the home schedules for OSU and WVU in 2009.
Ohio State
Sept. 5
Navy
Sept. 12
USC
Sept. 26
Illinois
Oct. 10
Wisconsin
Oct. 24
Minnesota
Oct. 31
New Mexico State
Nov. 14
Iowa
West Virginia
Sept. 5
Liberty
Sept. 26
Colorado
Oct. 3
Marshall
TBA
East Carolina
Louisville
Connecticut
Pittsburgh
Monday, February 2, 2009
Even FSU has standards
Even though it involved notorious rules-breaker Florida State, and the very lenient Bobby Bowden (damn he's getting tougher in his old age), it comes as no surprise that Seminoles wide receiver Preston Parker was dismissed from the team.Parker was arrested Saturday morning and charged with DUI after police found him passed out behind the wheel of his car at a McDonald's, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
Even FSU couldn't let Parker stick around any longer. This had to be a tough decision since the Seminoles are thin at receiver. In 2008, Parker led all wide receivers with 40 catches.
One day break from College Football
We won't do this too often at An 'Eye and an 'Eer, but someone both Phil and Tom know won $1 million from Doritos in the Frito-Lay product's third annual "Crash the Super Bowl" commercial contest. We both know Dave Herbert from his baseball playing days at Marietta College. Dave teamed up with his older brother, Joe, and their commercial, which included a crystal ball (actually a snow globe) that was thrown at a vending machine and a boss, was aired for the first time nationally during Super Bowl XLIII Sunday.
Now you can watch it.
Now you can watch it.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Economists take on recruiting
National Signing Day is almost here, and a buddy of mine at work were chatting about it recently. He referred me to an interesting site maintained by three economists at Stetson University.The College Football Recruiting Prediction Model contains information about an econometric model that has been developed by three economists (Mike DuMond, Allen Lynch and Jennifer Platania) to predict the collegiate choices of high school football players.
Their success rate is pretty impressive, but luckily for WVU fans they were wrong on two -- Michael Carter (predicted to go to Florida) and Eugene Smith (predicted to go to Alabama). The Mountaineers did lose one on their model -- Jerod Askew to Tennessee.
Tuesday will find out how accurate.
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