LOL @ Ronnie Wilson.

"Ronnie Wilson, whose football career was interrupted during the spring when he fired a semi-automatic weapon into the air, will get no more chances to redeem himself at the University of Florida. Gator Country has learned through two credible sources that Wilson failed a drug test Thursday as part of a routine beginning of semester physical that would have allowed him to begin workouts. Wilson has been permanently dismissed from the Florida football team."

What a moron, guy has NFL abilities...

lots of doughnut deliveries.

There are no negatives for the school. The negative is for the kid, like not graduating with the rest of his class, not going on a senior trip, not having that last semester in HS with his friends. Haven't you seen Grease? Seriously, college coaches are definitely pressuring the kids to enroll early. There's no doubt about that. It's a big advantage to have them there and coaches tend to like those big advantages. Like I said, I'm not knocking Meyer because I'd be doing the same thing. I just almost think there should be a rule against it.

That's pretty standard for this program, so no, not new.

4* OL(Center) Ricky Barnum commits to UF.

Vance Bedford(former Michigan DB coach) could be the next UF Secondary coach.

lolz

If we took all the starters from that game (excluding special teams, I guess), I'd guess that more LSU starters get drafted. No one will track this though. And a better way to do it would be some type of weighted average I think. I have a lot of respect for OSU, I will admit that I am a huge B10 hater though. OSU has the O lineman which will help them, but when it comes to skill players (excluding Wells), they were outclassed. LSU's DBs owned.

Fwiw MT2R, I don't consider you a B10 homer, you're an Illinois homer, but everyone is biased towards their team.

Apparently Alabama will have to hire a new DC and OC after Applewhite goes to Texas and Steele goes to S. Alabama.

I really disagree, there are certaintly kids who want to EE.

Don Soldinger is expected to become the new UF RB Coach. HUGE get, from the So. Florida pipeline, probably can be a better recruiter than Holliday was down there.

This would be the OSU who had 2 WRs drafted in the first round last year, yes?

CB Jenkins will be a 1st round pick if he comes out from this year, and both starting WRs from this year will be first day picks when they leave. OSU is one of the best universities at producing WRs/DBs.

some Ohio St draft info

more


2007 Draft
First Round
#9 WR Ted Ginn Jr
#32 WR Anthony Gonzalez
Third Round
#98 DT Quinton Pitcock
Fourth Round
#107 RB Antonio Pittman
Fifth Round
#138 DE Jay Richardson
#169 WR Roy Hall
#174 QB Troy Smith
Sixth Round
#198 C Doug Datish





Please don't question the talent of tOSU, even at the speed/skill positions
If they are producing NFL caliber WRs, RBs, OLBs, Safeties, CBs, DEs year after year, I struggle to think of them not having enough speed.

Yeah there are. I just think it's something a lot of them would regret, except QBs. I like it if you're a QB. There is such a learning curve and it's such an important position that it makes sense. Auburn has a QB enrolling early and I can't deny that I'm glad to see that.

MT2R,

If OSU always has such great talent, and always loses to the SEC, what gives? Is it time for Tressel to find a new job?

FlyWf and MT2R,

Thanks for breaking out the history books, as a Bama fan you know I love to talk about the past . I was specifically talking about the 2007 OSU team. I am very aware that a lot of great NFL players have come from OSU. But on this specific team the LSU skill players are better. Hartline is garbage, he couldn't start for my team. I guess Robiskie is pretty good, but he's not going first round like Ginn and Gonzales. You'd have to be on drugs to pick Robiskie over Doucet too.

I never mentioned speed either. LSU's guys are just better. It's like the only people in the country who think OSU didn't get dominated are B10 people. LSU was clearly the better team and clearly has better players. The B10 is down right now fellas, as much as you don't want it to be, it is. Like the guy who gave the SEC an A- for it's bowl performance, haha.

McFadden is off to the NFL.

Thank you Jesus!!!!

I tend to think that for the NC game, the gap in coaching between LSU and tOSU was greater than the talent gap. And it went exactly the opposite people thought it would. Lesticles >> sweatervest. I'm as surprised as anyone.

We always play our best football when we have lots of time to prepare. Look at our performance at the start of the year. We beat what turned out to be a solid MS State 40 something - 0. Then we smoke VA Tech. Then it went downhill (plus injuries). We are undefeated in bowl games under Miles -- small sample I know, but we have won convincingly every time in two blowouts (Miami, Notre Dame) and one convincing (non blowout) win against a much better opponent (tOSU).

FlyWf: congrats on a good season for yr Buckeyes. Big 10 champs -- yes that does mean something. The great thing about college football: you don't have to win it all for your season to mean something.

I know I'm not a top D1 talent or anything but if I could go back in time to my senior year there isn't a doubt in my mind what I would have done. I would have enrolled early without question. It is such a huge advantage over other freshman just coming in. That first practice against college level kids is literal shock. The game is twice as fast as it was in high school and only the real special kids can get out of summer camp with a shot at making the team freshman year, the rest are redshirted.

Not to mention College life >>> High School life. Though maybe when I'm 50 I'll be happy I didnt enroll early.

Edit to add: Just wanted to say that Austiger is 100% right on the QB comment too. That extra semester is invaluable for them. Though I believe it really is for any position but QB's probably benefit more than others.

I was actually on my way to 2p2 to post something on that very topic

it occured to me over a discussion I was having this morning on Memphis bball

now, Memphis has a great bball team that smokes its conference, but has underperformed come playoff time

my hypothesis as to why is that Memphis players go so long without being tested week-in and week-out that they aren't ready for the big stage... well, that and their coach uses a very flexible 'pro'-style offense that throws its talent out their and hopes to overwhelm opponents which doesn't work so well verse equally talented teams

Perhaps, the Big11Ten's down years of late have led to the same phenomena

I was vociferous about what a joke it was for the Big11Ten to have 3 top 5 teams so late into the season last year when there basically were only 4 big11ten teams worth thinking about

however, I'm not sure if that is a good theory or not

by any measure, tOSU's schedule was back-loaded this year in a way that should've built upto the game
@ Penn St
v Wisky
v Illinois
@ Michigan
to finish is a pretty decent trek for any team to be prepared

unlike the v Minny, @ Illinois, @ NW, v Mich of last year which was one real game

so, the theory I'm proposing applies much more to last year than this year

combined with the inter-squad fighting, it explains how the Buckeyes pooped their pants last year

sometimes, a team just loses
it's funny, because the 4 bowl games before this showed Tressel as a genius prepping his team
02 Fiesta +11.5 Ohio State 31 Miami 24 (+18.5 from expectation)
03 Fiesta +7 Ohio State 35 K St 28 (+14 from expectation)
04 Alamo +3.5 Ohio State 33 Oklahoma St 7 (+29.5 from expectation)
05 Fiesta -4.5 Ohio State 34 Notre Dame 20 (+9.5 from expectation)

program went from a huge outperformer to back-to-back underperforms, but is still slightly over the whole way through


so, in the end, I have no idea really

And that 04 Alamo bowl was against Les Miles.

ZOMG sometimes things can't be explained with a neat little specific story that is part of a general trend.

Which is more fun, Fat Fulmer jokes or Fat Weis jokes?

So when we're talking about football playoffs, it's ZOMG variance ruins everything luckbox wins.

But when we're talking about basketball, and moreover ONE PARTICULAR TEAM (lol samplesizeaments) it's obviously some sort of technical problem.

Memphis has made the elite 8 the last two years. They can't be underperforming too much.

BTW, if no one noticed, the NCAA upheld their ban on text messaging in regards to recruiting. ******s.

Earl Bennett from Vandy is going pro.
No big surprise, as he now holds the SEC receptions record, and was only an outside shot to break any other significant ones. Thought maybe having a QB who likes to throw and now has a season's experience coming back might keep him around, but I guess he figured only a monster year would improve his draft position much and it wasn't worth the risk of injury.

He will likely make a solid possession receiver in the NFL, but not a gamebreaker. Definitely a go-to guy on 3rd down with good hands who can be counted on over the middle.

It is possible he ran into teams that had tremendous winter practices. Where does Ohio State practice during winter practices? And the teams they play against, are they practicing in warm weather throughout the whole winter session?

The break between the end of the season to the bowl game could lead to a few players becoming better or emerging and film you have on them is completely different and that kills coaches, absolutely kills them, especially in college where 90% of coaches have a game plan and it doesn't change to drastically unlike in the NFL where a team can change a whole part of a gameplan in a timeout.

Edit: Oh and Mallet to Arkansas looks to be a done deal. I can't find out if he gets cleared to play next year or not.