Input: [Date] 3 years 25 weeks ago [Title] Could not agree more [Body]

Output: Ask yourself how many teams below us view our ranking as elite? All of them. Once you get in the top 5 to 10 classes, it's real close, a matter of opinion always. Our standing tells us our class has a great chance of turning out well. There are no guarantees. Don't get hung up on numbers 1 through 5, like it means we've come up short. Our class has huge talent, character and a lot of smart students. That defines elite.


Input: [Date] 3 years 25 weeks ago [Title] A little shout-out to Strobel [Body]

Output: This kid's statement about why he chose Michigan may be the most eloquent I've heard, and it captured so well the perspective of a smart kid who grew up in Ohio. I'm really excited to see a guy like that come to Michigan. He's also a monster on the field. You build teams around guys like Strobel.


Input: [Date] 3 years 25 weeks ago [Title] Norfleet is a dynamic playmaker [Body]

Output: Having watched how Sean Payton has used Darren Sproles, who also is 5-7, guys like Norfleet can be quite a weapon. He has unbelievable quickness and change of direction. With Stonum gone, he fills a need at kick returner, but I also can see Norfleet doing lots of damage out of the backfield or slot. With us going bigger in generally and bringing in big backs, Norfleet provides a different element. It's a shrewd move by the coaches.


Input: [Date] 3 years 25 weeks ago [Title] Really love his quickness [Body]

Output: Talk about a guy with upside. Here's a kid with great speed who has been splitting his time between two sports. Now that he'll be focused on football, and will be developed by three outstanding defensive line coaches, this is the kind of kid who can really become a player. He clearly is blessed with a lot of athleticism and a great frame. I love that he has the agility to play basketball and tight end in high school. These are the kinds of guys Hoke has developed throughout his career. An excellent pickup at a position where we need more talent and a deeper rotation. Welcome Willie!


Input: [Date] 3 years 27 weeks ago [Title] Losing 2 in a class is not unusual [Body]

Output: I don't think Hoke's first class had a surprising amount of attrition. Losing one-third of your class, as we seemed to average the previous three years, is bad. It's inevitable that some guys in each class will not stick. What you hope to avoid is guys not sticking because they get in trouble with the law, can't do the school work at Michigan, or weren't really vetted all that well in the first place.


Input: [Date] 3 years 28 weeks ago [Title] And Russell Bellomy [Body]

Output: His athleticism was one of the things Borges said stood out about him when Michigan was looking for a QB late in last year's recruiting period.


Input: [Date] 3 years 29 weeks ago [Title] Ground aided the catch [Body]

Output: The slow mo really shows how the ground aided the catch. He has the ball pinned between his forearms, but he has not caught it, and as the nose of the ball hit the ground it moves the ball noticeably into his chest. The ball even drags along the ground as he tries to control it. It is a great effort, but its an incomplete pass. I dont think its even that hard a call. I was in the Dome last night. In stadium we could see on replays the ground aided the catch. The replay ref got it correct.


Input: [Date] 3 years 32 weeks ago [Title] Hilarious [Body]

Output: Nice break in the middle of a work day to happen upon this. Very funny.


Input: [Date] 3 years 33 weeks ago [Title] Justice Hayes [Body]

Output: One thing I wonder about with Hayes is whether he will remain an RB or move to slot receiver. I imagine he'll want to play whatever position gets him on the field the soonest, but it would not surprise me to see him out there as a WR.


Input: [Date] 3 years 33 weeks ago [Title] Agreed on Morgan [Body]

Output: Perhaps lack of speed is an issue, but let's also remember Morgan played as a freshman. Obviously he's not going to make a dramatic improvement in speed, but this kid is a good ballplayer who will get on the field because he's got great instincts and he understands the game. I see him improving in his ability to diagnose plays more quickly, improving on his angles, and -- as the above poster speculates -- eventually moving to the inside. I think he'll play there and play well. That doesn't mean he'll be out there every play. One of Mattison's stated goals is to have 18-20 players who can rotate and not suffer any dropoff. But I like Morgan. He's a physical player and I would not overreact to how he looked against Braxton Miller in his freshman year.


Input: [Date] 3 years 33 weeks ago [Title] Ha! Well I stand by it. [Body]

Output: They are nervous and they are concerned that he's going to beat them regularly. Hardly hyperbole.


Input: [Date] 3 years 33 weeks ago [Title] Oversigning pays off again! [Body]

Output: Everybody keeps wondering why the LSU defense is so deep. The simple answer is oversigning. If your school got 1.3 recruiting classes for every 1 class other schools got -- and your outstanding coaches could spend a year evaluating the talent before they cut 5-6 of them -- you're going to have a pretty deep team in a few years. It's not magic, it's simple statistical probabilities. And it's not a small edge, it's a huge edge. If you don't think so, try playing five-card stud sometime in which you get five cards each hand and your opponents get seven. Now, you might get strong cards every now and again, and win the hand. But for the most part, they're going to take your money. That's essentially the rules SEC teams have been allowed to play by for years. Not saying Chavis did not do a great job, just pointing out that LSU exploited the rules to make it happen. Anytime you see the NCAA pass new rules in the middle of a season, as they did this year -- without even taking it to a convention first -- that tells you they think something is a big problem. And when you see the SEC adopt ANY rules, as they finally did with their soft 'cap' on oversigning, you can bet it is only because of heavy pressure from the NCAA. It is no coincidence that the four schools that have made the most meteoric rise in the SEC -- LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina -- are also the league's champion oversigners. It has subverted the competition and created the illusion that the excellence came solely from hard work, but it's really excellence built on a foundation of fraud.


Input: [Date] 3 years 33 weeks ago [Title] Great if land Dunn, but fine if we do not; I prefer Garmon [Body]

Output: Not only would RR have gotten fired even if Pryor had come to Michigan, more likely is that the firing would have come after we found ourselves in serious trouble for all the stuff Pryor would have pulled. Sleaze is sleaze, and we should not pretend it would not have happened to us just because of the change of scenery. This guy has been taking handouts his entire life. I've never been happier to see such a great athlete in an Ohio uniform; it matched his character. We'd be facing far more serious sanctions in addition to the silly ones Rodriguez brought our way, and because of that, he'd be fired anyway. He should've taken some of the time he spent on Pryor and given Hankins a call, and an offer. Pryor was never coming here. We got played the entire time. His mentor was being wined and dined by Tressel and his cronies the whole time, and believe me, they took care of the mentor. I think the Ohio coaches LOVED IT that RR put all his eggs in the Pryor basket, instead of having a Plan B, because they knew how it was going to go and knew RR would be screwed. He got fooled by a con man being recruited by a corrupt coaching staff. We had as much a chance of landing Pryor as we did Maurice Clarett, who hung out on the Ohio sideline during his official visit to Michigan for 'The Game.' Reprehensible. I think I hold the opposite view of most on here: I'd recruit Dunn, but I would not go overboard trying to land him, I don't think it's crucial that we get him, and I'd be recruiting another big back to take that slot. Hoke is smart enough to not heavily invest himself here if Dunn is not really open to switching. I believe Dunn is a huge Buckeyes fan, not a casual fan, and in his heart that's the place he wants to go and he might even look back with regret if he changes his mind. This is not like Hankins, who was a Michigan fan but did not hold an offer. Dunn has an offer and they want him badly. It's only natural that the kid will attach the most optimistic view to whatever Meyer tells him, and Meyer does not think twice about lying. He's been doing it for years. Look up some of his characterizations of the incidents his Florida players were involved in, in which he explained away arrest reports. He'll tell Dunn anything Dunn wants to hear, because by the time Dunn see what his role really will be in the 'spread and shit-the-bed-with-a-turnover,' he's stuck in Columbus. Here is what is interesting, and surprising so soon into Hoke's tenure: Landing Dunn means more to Meyer than it does to Hoke. Ohio fans are nervous and they know Hoke is an unstoppable force who is going to beat them regularly. They are looking for anything that gives them hope. My concern is if we devote too much energy into landing a guy who I believe has been headed to Ohio all along, we look no better than RR did in his first year, when it appeared he was practically begging Pryor to come to Ann Arbor. There are plenty of great running backs out there. We'd do quite nicely with Greg Garmon, who also is a big back, is rated almost exactly the same as Dunn, and also has better speed.


Input: [Date] 3 years 34 weeks ago [Title] Hoke did not need help [Body]

Output: He was offered; Miles was not.


Input: [Date] 3 years 34 weeks ago [Title] These are the guys in our backyard that we need [Body]

Output: Tough guys from all over the Midwest who play with a mean streak and the will to win. I'd like to see this kid in the winged helmet, blowing open holes and loving the contact. How big a monster would he be after a year or so being trained by Coach Wellman?


Input: [Date] 3 years 36 weeks ago [Title] Still not as good as Randy Newman on 'Rednecks' album [Body]

Output: He nailed it in just a few sentences: "LSU, LSU, Went in dumb, came out dumb, too."


Input: [Date] 3 years 43 weeks ago [Title] Minnesota may be better with the throwing QB [Body]

Output: Shortell is a much better passer. If Gray is out, it completely changes the Minnesota gameplan. The receivers are decent, Gray can't get them the ball. The backup will make them much more balanced offensively. If anything, I think it enhances their chances. Gray is a one-dimensional quarterback.


Input: [Date] 3 years 44 weeks ago [Title] Not so worried [Body]

Output: I don't think so much of San Diego State's defense. There's a good chance it can't stop the run or the pass. It's all about the Michigan run defense. Stop Hillman, or at least contain him, don't turn it over, and we win. Lindley is not going to win the game with the receivers he has. And I expect our team to keep improving. Can't overestimate the difficulty of putting in new schemes, particularly on defense, after three years of almost-constant chaos and confusion. It's obvious our defense is much better coached and we're seeing the light go on, player by player. It's not a unit with a huge amount of talent by Michigan's traditional standards, but it's just as true that it's not a unit with no talent. We have some ballplayers and we're seeing others emerge as they are coached up. We can't dominate, but we can compete and there's more improvement coming. Denard is still learning, but he is learning and I like the fact that we're trying to throw the ball downfield. I like going after teams vertically instead of the line-of-scrimmage passing attack we relied on so much under RR. It takes time, but Denard is a gifted athlete and I expect a breakout performance through the air soon, maybe in this game. Michigan 35-21.


Input: [Date] 3 years 47 weeks ago [Title] James knows Hoke, raves about him [Body]

Output: James did SDSU's bowl game last year and was very impressed with Hoke and his team. He even suggested that Hoke's offense and style should make Hoke a contender for the Michigan job came open.


Input: [Date] 3 years 48 weeks ago [Title] Maybe if we win by 50... [Body]

Output: ...people will say it doesn't matter. But I'll feel better. I'm more worried about Western. But I am FIRED up to start the season!


Input: [Date] 3 years 49 weeks ago [Title] Welcome ChicagoRed [Body]

Output: I like the Nebraska guy. Seems to have a brain and a sense of humor. Welcome. And we won't need to tell you about the differences between away games in Ann Arbor vs. Columbus, which some call a city but when you get there you realize it's just strip malls holding hands. You'll see for yourself. See you in November. If you've never been to Ann Arbor, that's an easy call. If you have been, then you're already planning to come. And the experts can say all they want that your big rival is going to be Iowa. Fine. But your big game is going to be us. As Bob Dole would say, "You know it, I know it, the American people know it."


Input: [Date] 3 years 49 weeks ago [Title] Agree [Body]

Output: I also think the preferred positions to pursue walkons for are both lines. Often a category where kids mature late and/or can be taught the position. I will be surprised if none of the offensive linemen you list see the field. It's an interesting group and for the most part they had other opportunities (don't know about what options there were for Yerden, the champion weightlifter, who has not even been playing football for long.) They're seeing what Brink is doing in camp and that will only motivate them. I think Brink is going to get a shot. When you hear them talking about his solid technique and how he knows how to use his hands, that's unusual talk about a walkon. He maybe could use a few more pounds, but 6-5, 263 is not small. And I like that Mattison is saying he's looking for the best group of 17-18 guys he can rotate out there, scholarship or walkon doesn't matter, and then he'll go from there. Great way to grow linemen. I like the way this staff thinks about the game and how best to play it, and they are trying to build the team accordingly.


Input: [Date] 3 years 49 weeks ago [Title] Diamond may be making the right decision [Body]

Output: His mom has been open in saying that the great OL class Michigan is bringing in gave them pause. She wants him to be a standout and perhaps feels he needs to go somewhere with a little less competition in his class for playing time, so that he gets on the field. Can't blame her for that. It is surprising that she'd go for Arkansas, simply because most kids don't make it in the NFL and an Arkansas degree allows you to check the box that you have one, but it doesn't do much more. Fayetteville is very nice. The school is not an academically competitive environment. But she's been pretty open about wanting the clearest path possible for her son, and that's fine. I would say there's little chance he ends up at Michigan. This class could use another lineman, and we'll probably get one if it's Diamond or someone else, but it's not fatal if we don't. If it came down to a squeeze for spots, since by most accounts we have four left, I'd take Yuri Wright over another O-lineman. Or Danny O'Brien at DT. And two receivers, or one receiver and an RB. The coaches obviously believe they have some D-linemen who can play inside, but O'Brien is a difference maker and I'd love to see him in Ann Arbor.


Input: [Date] 3 years 49 weeks ago [Title] Good story [Body]

Output: Don't really see how this qualifies as a 'media obsession' about to begin with the S&C coach, but that's probably just more childish ripping on anything a newspaper does, even though this site constantly links to the articles, proving it's just as big an obsession with the patrons of this site as it allegedly is with the media. I thought it was a pretty good piece in capturing Wellman's personality and how he, like Hoke and the rest of the staff, puts himself in the background and the players and team first. Worth reading despite the cynical intro that opens this thread.


Input: [Date] 3 years 50 weeks ago [Title] Let's hope it lasts several hours [Body]

Output: There will be no resolution today and the NCAA will say little to nothing. But these hearings can offer a hint as to whether the school's proposed penalties will be accepted by the NCAA or augmented. If a grueling, six-hour hearing unfolds, that's not good for Ohio. It can mean the NCAA is challenging the school's findings. I say the NCAA will apply an additional penalty, most likely loss of scholarships but unlikely to include a bowl ban. If there is a bowl ban, would only be one year. But loss of scholarships is quite a punishment and will have a major impact on the Buckeyes for 3-4 years. And it's what they deserve since Tressel was obviously cheating from the moment he arrived and all the talk in the early days that Maurice Clarett was crazy may have been true, but he wasn't lying about all the extra benefits he got. If the NCAA had been looking the whole time, the Buckeyes aleady would have been stripped of their ill-gotten national title and a number of players, including guys like Santonio Holmes, would have had their careers cut short because they were getting paid by agents and others. No matter how this goes, Ohio is getting off easy compared to what they did. They're getting punished for trading memorabilia for tattoos, and possibly some cash deals and favorable car arrangements. Compared to the blatant cheating that holier-than-thou Jimmy Swaggart Tressel condoned, and even participated in, over 10 years, most Ohio fans would tell you it was worth it for the wins.


Input: [Date] 3 years 50 weeks ago [Title] The same way the SEC follows all the other rules [Body]

Output: Make it look good. APR means schools need to be sure players graduate, it doesn't necessarily mean the players have to learn anything. Remember the old Randy Newman song, "LSU, LSU, went in dumb, came out dumb too."


Input: [Date] 3 years 50 weeks ago [Title] Language means timeframe is nothing to worry about [Body]

Output: If the NCCA board is asking a committee to develop a "timeline for phased in implementation" then it's definitely not something that will take effect immediately, but it's also probably not soon. These decisions usually come with plenty of lead time for schools to prepare.


Input: [Date] 3 years 50 weeks ago [Title] Relax [Body]

Output: The NCAA typically doesn't change a rule related to academics and immediately commence retroactive enforcement. Michigan traditionally has been fine in APR and should improve now that RR has departed. Rodriguez took more than his fair share of recruiting risks in terms of bringing in players who were destined to struggle academically and either fail out or leave, and that's what led to an APR this year that is lower than Michigan is accustomed to. But we're not in awful shape and should be able to rebound fairly easily with the new staff.


Input: [Date] 3 years 50 weeks ago [Title] If he's a superstar kicker, I predict we would take him [Body]

Output: Michigan has had solid field goal and unpredictable kickers and horrible kickers, also known as our current kickers. The one thing we have been is inconsistent. Feely would have to be a bonafide superstar to land a Michigan offer, but if he is Hoke will do it. Having a guy being a redshirt freshman when Wile is in his final season is not a bad idea (and we are assuming Wile is what we hope he is). Don't undervalue the points impact of a kicker who is a cut above the rest. Based on how we're doing in the kicking department, it wouldn't bother me to see a great kicker on the field and another waiting in the wings.


Input: [Date] 3 years 50 weeks ago [Title] And who else.... [Body]

Output: ...did you "run into" as you were getting autographs for your "son." (kidding, kidding).


Input: [Date] 3 years 51 weeks ago [Title] And Steve Dahl [Body]

Output: I remember. Those were the days when Detroit was known as the place for renegade disc jockeys.


Input: [Date] 3 years 51 weeks ago [Title] A reaction like that can only mean one thing [Body]

Output: Our plan is working. It's not really being an elitist if we are in fact much better people. Keep it up, Coach Hoke.


Input: [Date] 3 years 51 weeks ago [Title] Have had many dealings with Turley [Body]

Output: One of the biggest jerks you could ever meet in your life. A real loser and everyone on the Saints knew he was roided up. There is a video of him leaving the lockerroom after one game and purposely running into a sportswriter, like some childish playground bully, because he didn't like the absolute truths the writer printed about him. He's just a complete idiot and it's best to ignore anything he says. Irrelevant to the real world.


Input: [Date] 3 years 51 weeks ago [Title] Here, here [Body]

Output: Nothing wrong with pumping up the program. Hoke is anything but arrogant. This is really a story about jealousy, about how obvious it is that Hoke has relighted the enthusiasm of the Michigan faithful and how other programs can only wish they had that kind of support. The only thing worse than arrogance is false humility. But let us be humble in our return to arrogance.


Input: [Date] 3 years 51 weeks ago [Title] College ploys don't work in the pros [Body]

Output: Nick Saban tried stuff like that, twice, and promptly returned to the college sideline. Pros mock it.


Input: [Date] 3 years 52 weeks ago [Title] Monday Rant: I still say OSU will get drilled [Body]

Output: I say that mainly because I really want them to be drilled. I also happen to believe there are logical reasons to expect it. There is nothing that indicates that by escaping the 'failure to monitor' charge, that necessarily translates to a slap on the wrist. Maybe they won't get a bowl ban, but I didn't necessarily expect that and, honestly, I'd rather see them eligible for the Big Ten title and fail to win it because they received several beatdowns on the field than have them not be eligible and hear their whiny excuses. I'd much prefer humiliating losses. And I hope they keep Gene Smith as AD. We've got that moron right where we want him. It's quite clear the Tressel era of dominance was built on cheating from the time he signed Maurice Clarett and going forward -- cheating to recruit players and cheating by giving extra benefits to players after they got there, who would then entice more recruits by telling them about all the great cheating that goes on at the tattoo and bong parties, the readily available OSU sluts -- yes, that's redundant, I know -- and the great discounts on cars and car repairs. Getting paid by an agent while in school, Santonio Holmes? No problem. Just keep it quiet until the NCAA statute of limitations expires. I think what is happening now in Michigan's recruiting will happen every year if the playing field is level. We have the better school, the better campus, the better town. Columbus is nothing but strip malls holding hands and academically speaking, Ohio State may as well be a GED reunion. Get the players on our campus and let them see what we have to offer, we'll get plenty of talent. Hell, we got Ohio players when Woody Hayes was the coach and now that Lyin Jim is gone, we're immediately back in the game. I don't care if OSU goes the Music City Bowl. I want to see the NCAA hit them where it hurts -- loss of scholarships, recruiting restrictions on coaches and financial penalties. If that happens, the rest of it takes care of itself, starting this November. Ah, Monday. Rant concuded. Oh, welcome back Brian and congratulations on your marriage. The love of a good woman is a treasure. Happy wife, happy life. Don't ever forget it.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 days ago [Title] Another promising career... [Body]

Output: ..down the drain.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 days ago [Title] I think we end up with Richardson [Body]

Output: Maybe the kid has not been to other places. It's a chance to travel. But at the end of the day, he's a guy who wants to be at Michigan. At this point, he has a lot of friends in the class, he is comfortable, it's close to home, and Hoke knows how to handle these situations. The coach will no doubt cover his bases, but I still see T-Rich in Ann Arbor because that's where he wants to be.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 days ago [Title] Nice response -- zero logic [Body]

Output: Actually, with Feagin it would have been to look into the past. Same for Dorsey. With Cissoko, it is about evaluating character -- that's the point of the post. Hoke values it, RR didn't. Anyone who can't see the high failure rate he posted in keeping players in school is a fool. You have no facts, so you just make stupid sarcastic responses.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 days ago [Title] This analysis misses some major considerations [Body]

Output: RR had no qualms about recruiting players with criminal backgrounds who would not be accepted (Dorsey) or soon be gone (Cissoko, Feagin). Or guys who were so questionable academically they could not get into school or quickly failed out of school (too many to list). So by focusing only on the number of recruiting stars handed it out is only part of the story -- the part that ends up not mattering when 1/3 of the class can't even make it through one year. That's the problem with all these people who praise RR's recruiting. He was great at attracting talent, the kind that ends up not helping the team win because the talent can't stay on the team. I've been very impressed with Hoke's emphasis on recruiting highly rated players who also check out in terms of strong upbringing, high character and being serious students who think getting a degree matters in life. That increases the chances that these guys will be in the program for a full 4-5 years, which is what it takes to win. To me, the kind of analysis done here is exactly what's wrong with how fans rate recruiting classes. They only see the stars next to the names as the players come in, and they just gloss over the fact that four-star players who are no longer on the team don't help at all. RR excelled in recruiting those guys. And the one five-star guy he recruited (Will Campbell) has been wasted for two years as they switched him back and forth from their schizophrenic, laughable defense to being buried on the depth chart on the O-line. Sorry, not too impressed with RR's recruiting prowess.


Input: [Date] 4 years 6 days ago [Title] Don't sleep on Drew Dileo [Body]

Output: Saw him play in high school in Louisiana. He's just a battling, get-it-done ballplayer. Excellent hands, BCS speed, runs great routes, is a smart player who really works on understanding the offense and where he fits in. And he's tough. Michigan needs a Wes Welker clone. I am not at all surprised he is turning heads. He's fearless. I can see Borges and Hoke loving this guy.


Input: [Date] 4 years 6 days ago [Title] Agree on that one [Body]

Output: To me, that's the most questionable prediction in our division. It basically is saying the writers don't think much of Michigan and Northwestern if they think Iowa, with all the players they lost, will grab third. I think it is a down year for the Hawkeyes and have them just ahead of Minnesota, though they'll finish ahead of Northwestern if Persa goes down again. He's the entire Wildcat offense and it's not so easy coming back from an Achilles tear.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] delete, double posted [Body]

Output: site running slow.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] For all we know, Michigan backed off [Body]

Output: I realize Stanford is a jump ball-type receiver, but there are legitimate questions about whether he has the wheels to be a star at the next level. Not worried about this at all. Burbridge, Madaris or Payton are all better choices.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] Hoke already addressed this [Body]

Output: He was asked about this very issue, and addressed it directly. He said the Michigan coaches don't even talk about Ohio State's problems, they talk about what Michigan has to offer. This whole paranoia that Michigan's success in recruiting Ohio players depends on what happens to the Buckeyes is ridiculous. The fact is Michigan always did great in Ohio, but when Tressel came along and turned his head to all of the shenangigans, and let the players tell the recruits all the extra stuff they'll get when they get there, that is what changed things. RichRod then de-emphasized Ohio, and that made it worse. Hoke will do great in Ohio because he is a great recruiter. There's no need to negative recruit. He's a positive guy and he is a positive recruiter. What is really going on is captured in the comments of Tom Strobel: Kids are raised in Ohio to hate Michigan, but once he got up to Ann Arbor to see the place he realized how silly that is, and how Michigan is just a much better degree to hold than one from Ohio State. Hoke's strategy is to get Ohio kids to make the drive north and see what Michigan has to offer. Once that happens, we'll be fine going head-to-head with Ohio State on recruits, no matter who their coach is. And they won't be able to cheat anymore, or throw tattoo and bong parties, and Michigan will be back to attracting great Ohio players every year, as we always have -- because it's a better school with much more to offer, not because of the NCAA.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] All about depth [Body]

Output: The RB rating is fair when one considers the steep drop if Wood goes down. And he will go down at some point. Not wishing it on him, but it's a tough position to go all year without getting knocked out here and there. ND does not have experienced depth at RB, WR or TE, and the quarterbacks after Crist are nothing special at this point, because they lack game experience. Floyd is a superstar, so opponents will doubleteam him. He also gets hurt all the time. So it's a team that needs everything to go right and can't suffer any injuries at a few key spots. Teams are rarely that fortunate.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] No way [Body]

Output: In our case, the new system makes us better, not worse. Truth is, the offensive 'system' wasn't that great against Notre Dame, Denard Robinson was. People are putting too much emphasis on this. We'll be in the shotgun half the time and Notre Dame's 'great' defense was just a middle of the pack college defense. ND better hope they don't get to the BCS title game. They would get destroyed.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] Yeah, well the UMass QB also picked us apart last year... [Body]

Output: He went 22-for-29 and two touchdowns. The slow UMass running back -- the short, chubby guy -- rushed for more than 100 yards. The Indiana quarterback hit 45-of-64 for 480 yards and three touchdowns -- the best game of his career -- on a horrible team. We cannot make a judgment about Crist based on how he played against us. It was like running offensive plays against pylons, with a mannequin as our defensive coordinator.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] I like our team better [Body]

Output: I really don't see that Notre Dame has a big edge in this game. I'd take our returning team over what the Irish bring back. Their defensive rise came against some pretty weak teams that usually are better (a mediocre USC team, Utah after it lost its QB), so I don't see them shutting us down. And they have serious, serious depth issues, worse than ours. Their starting RB gets dinged and they've got youngsters in there. There is no Rudolph at TE, no second receiver. Double-team Floyd and things get tough for them. At home, at night, with the best player in the game on our side, I think we win it.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] And now for a sarcastic comment.. [Body]

Output: that completely misses the point.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] 'It is difficult to sustain excellence or ineptitude.' [Body]

Output: To me, this is the best line in the entire piece, which is an interesting examination overall. It's also my main reason for hopein 2011: What are the statistical odds that one head coach, in three seasons out of 131, would oversee the three worst defenses in school history? He not only sustained ineptitude, he was able to achieve greater ineptitude with each new season. One would think that, perhaps due to nothing more than statistical norms, that at least one of those three defenses would be superior to some other horrible defense in the other 128 seasons. But that was not the case. The message is that the evaluation, schemes, positioning of players and game-planning were so bad that RichRod and his staff were able to fail well below what could be expected statistically. And it is why I continue to believe the defense, now that it has proven defensive coaching, will revert to the norm and make a substantial improvement. And this gives us a reason to hope that the current players may have more talent than we've seen translate to the field, and the improvement this season may be greater than what could typically be expected, simply because the sustained ineptitude defied all norms.


Input: [Date] 4 years 1 week ago [Title] Carvin Johnson [Body]

Output: Can definitely play free safety. I like the fit there. He is a ballplayer.


Input: [Date] 4 years 2 weeks ago [Title] Maybe he's great... [Body]

Output: ...but anyone who has ever met Desmond Howard knows he's taller than 5-foot-8. Guy isn't huge, but he's not 5-8.


Input: [Date] 4 years 2 weeks ago [Title] Correct [Body]

Output: The year we went to the Rose Bowl with John Navarre starting against the USC defense, that Trojans team had more talent than we did. And I'd argue that some of the John Cooper Ohio State teams had more talent than Michigan did.


Input: [Date] 4 years 2 weeks ago [Title] I agree with that prediction for this year [Body]

Output: But what I am saying is pretty simple: The research presented here indicates that it's a statistical inevitability that the Michigan defense would naturally improve, due to more experience, to 99th or to 82nd or somewhere in between. I'm challenging that assumption if the same coaching staff had returned. I don't think more experienced players would have meant a thing and the defense would've been just as bad as the past three years, and might possibly only show a modest improvement in the rankings only because it could not drop lower. And there's a good chance it still could rank 110th or worse. And I think RichRod was just as bad at evaluating defensive players as GERG, who matches his lack of skill in that department but is even worse at coaching. To me, the past three years offer a better statistical trend of how the defense would have played than players gaining more experience playing for a staff that had no idea what it was doing.


Input: [Date] 4 years 2 weeks ago [Title] If RichRod and Robinson were still there.... [Body]

Output: ... does anyone think our defense would even have a chance of improving to 82nd? I'd say no way. Now, in their 3-year journey to producing the three worst defenses in Michigan history, they'd about bottomed out. Once you're ranked 110 or worse, there's not much room to get worse. But I think there is no way the team would've even improved to 82nd. 99? Probably more than Robinson would be capable of. I can still hear Chris Spielman doing the color commentary on one of our games and openly declaring the defensive schemes Michigan was running were not sound, and the coaches seemed to be making no adjustments. Let's be clear: Greg Robinson has proven himself as one of the worst coaches in the history of college football, a guy whose teams get worse, much worse, the longer he is there. A friend of mine who has covered Syracuse athletics for decades says Robinson was, by far, the worst head coach he's ever seen at the school, in any sport. Doug Marrone came in and ran off a bunch of players, had almost no time to recruit and the ragtag team he inherited still won more games -- immediately. So is there any data on how much a defense improves when it goes from being coached by a clown to being coached by football coaches? Is it really possible to make a prediction based on returning starters that has any degree of reliability in a circumstance in which the last staff produced three consecutive years of the worst defense in that team's history?


Input: [Date] 4 years 3 weeks ago [Title] Tough call [Body]

Output: But I will go with... 1. Pipkins -- We really need a top NT. Pipkins a dominant one. 2. Wilson - I think this kid is a difference maker in the secondary. He's also a class act and humble. Very high on him and I hope we land him today. 3. Kalis -- Continues the building of an excellent O-line.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] I stopped reading... [Body]

Output: as soon as the writer said, "The guy got a bum deal. Was undermined from the get-go." Both are false and the narrative supporting such assertions is just as false. Efforts to revise history by RichRod apologists don't change the facts. RR cannot win in the Big Ten and he proved it, and the "bum deal" was never true. It is a laughable claim to make for any coach who goes 6-18 in conference play. Did Bill Lynch get a bum deal at Indiana? Coaches who win don't get "undermined," coaches that prove they cannot win suddenly blame it on a "divided fan base. It's a complete joke. Here's a cure for underimining: Win some games in the conference in which your team plays. Or at least be competitive. RR screwed up the first team he had all on his own, he made the recruiting decisions to bring in players who could not stay in school, he established the one-man offense and the three worst defenses in school history, which may as well have been pylons on the field for the opposing offenses to run by. If he had gone 6-2 every year in Big Ten play instead of averaging 2-6, suddenly he's not undermined, he's still the coach. I'll buy the argument that yards of offense are a meaningful stat in a game or two in which other factors contributed to the team falling short. I don't buy it as a three-year statistical excuse. Judging a coach by wins, over time, is the right way to judge him. Especially when his teams didn't just lose -- his very best team from his last season was non-competitive against the best teams on the schedule, never even flirting with victory in those games. Hard to believe there are still people out there seeking out stats to defend him after what we just witnessed for the past three seasons. He was making Michigan mediocre for the next decade, and he just about had us there. A fourth year for him, and we would've been doing well to go. .500 in the Big Ten. Indeed, we would not have hit that mark.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] Too hot here [Body]

Output: Watched a movie, had a few cocktails, checked out the board, read the Pipkins update, immediately began wondering what a defensive line with Pipkins and Shittu would be like in a years.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] Disagree with the 'warm body' premise [Body]

Output: A lot of people, led by Rich Rodriguez, continue to claim the team would've been better this season no matter who was coaching, and as evidence they typically point to the three straight seasons of increased wins (suddenly, seven wins at Michigan somehow is viewed as setting the stage for huge success, but only because it came after seasons of five and three victories. RR was a master at lowering expectations). Yet, in looking at last year's team, it was in utter collapse the final third of the season, and it had digressed as the season went along, as it did the two previous seasons. That was the momentum heading into this season -- none. The team won seven games total after starting 5-0. The defense, on the heels of two previous defenses that were the worst in yet another hot start that turned out to be a mirage. It also established a new low as the worst defense in school history. Bringing back that coaching staff, with all those returning 'starters' on defense, would have again produced one of the worst defenses in school history. Rodriguez was a terrible evaluator and recruiter of defensive talent, and Greg Robinson was worse. Robinson didn't even like recruiting, probably because he's not any good at it. Here is my claim: The program was about to turn the corner into becoming annually mediocre, a Big East-like team with flashes of excitement on offense that would fail against quality teams and not produce wins against any team that can play defense. And a defense that would get pushed around by even middle-of-the-road Big Ten teams. There is literally no real evidence to suggest that a team in full collapse as the 2010 season ended going to be better in 2011. You can't keep pointing to the great, turnover-prone offense, which was not so great and was not even the problem. My guess is it would have more of the same and Michigan would not contend in the Big Ten. And my guess is it would have been another team that got worse as the season went along, not better, as the little guys RichRod loved continued to get injured and/or overpowered. It is an arrogant, passive/aggressive shot that RichRod takes at Brady Hoke by claiming the team was about to get better. He's trying to take credit in advance for any success Hoke has, when in fact much of what Hoke is doing is to completely renovate the fundamental craters RichRod left on this program in its defense and special teams. And his one-man offense certainly did not scare the quality teams on our schedule. There are three areas that you have to be fundamentally sound in to win. RichRod was terrible at two of them. And the rankings of his recruiting classes were false, because those lofty rankings were based on the inclusion of a handful of talent athletes who could not get through a month of school. He drove our graduation rate to the lowest in the history of Michigan football. Just what is it that convinces anyone we were about to get better in the two phases of the game in which we were one of the worst teams in the NCAA? It's a false narrative created by a former coach who wants to get hired again. If we have success this year, it will be because of the quick work Hoke, Mattison and the rest of the coaches do in patching up the defense enough to improve it substantially, at least to keep us in the games, and by somehow finding a kicking game that is not the laughingstock of college football. But I would expect we'll still see our defense get overwhelmed by the best teams we play. Hoke has arrived with a real defensive blueprint and long experience about what it takes to win in the Big Ten, and he brought in talented offensive and defensive coordinators -- and, hey, a special teams coach. If we succeed this year, those will be the major factors. It's not so simple a warm body could do it. We had one of those running the defense for two years.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] It's all about depth [Body]

Output: Simpson is an interesting prospect. While it would be great to sign another top quarterback, the coaches may be concerned about depth in case we suffer a series of injuries at the QB spot. So they may be looking at Simpson as a guy who can develop. Shane Morris isn't coming for two years. A lot can happen. Guys get hurt, leave. There is wisdom in signing a QB in each class. But we can be sure the coaches will not offer Simpson unless they are sure he's a Big Ten quarterback.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] Because it feels good, that's why [Body]

Output: It's not that we can't get the Notre Dame coach's name right, it's that we don't want to. I don't want to like the Irish coach, and the past two hires, they've made that an easy call. I don't dislike the players, those guys are competitors. But I don't like the chubby leprechaun. Coach Hoke has 'Ohio,' I've got this guy, Coach Bryan Kelley.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] I think your opinion is legitimate [Body]

Output: There are lots of ways to look at this, and I'm not reaching any conclusions about Kelley overall. I definitely sense he is a win-at-all-costs type and he exudes arrogance, whereas I tend to like coaches who are both humble and preach humility. But despite my view of Kelley and skepticism about the coach's motivation for keeping Floyd on the team, I'm trying to limit my view to what's fair to Floyd. And let me tell you, I wish he wasn't on Notre Dame's team at all, but that's not about the DUI, it's because I've had to watch him catch what seems like 50 passes against us the past two years. I'll buy the Michigan coaching staff a keg if they'll figure out a way to stop him. I do not think it's correct that any other student on a full-ride academic scholarship would lose that scholarship for similar drinking offenses. There are no hard rules on that. Those are all handled on a case-by-case basis, and that's how it should be. My view is simply that this was a first offense and that I consider the DUI a serious offense. I don't hold the view that tickets for underage drinking should mean all that much. Yes, it's illegal to drink a beer at age 20. Cops write up kids all the time for it. Who knows how many Michigan players currently on the team have the occasional beer or more? Our new head coach admits he spent his first two years as a player at Ball State drinking all the time, and he grew out of it and matured. OK, so Brady Hoke didn't get caught, but he did it and he talks openly about it. My only point in that regard is I don't think Floyd's two underage drinking offenses should have any bearing on what punishment Notre Dame hands down on him for the DUI. All I am saying is what I would do, and that would be to view this as a mistake by Floyd, and one that has required him to put in a lot of time to attend court-ordered courses on the perils of drunk driving, and the potential human costs of drunk driving. And I can definitely see suspending him for a game or two or three, but on that count I'd base a lot on the kid's attitude since the incident, his level of remorse and follow-through to prove he's learned from it. But I think to go beyond say, 25 percent of the season, that is something I just don't agree with. Sure, it's a privilege to play Division I football. No argument there. All I am saying is I would not revoke that privilege, for an entire season, because of this offense, particularly given how Floyd has conducted himself since it happened and that there is a tangible list of things ordered by the judge that provide a way to measure his progress and whether he really has learned from it. I don't think kicking him off the team for his final season increases that learning.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] Wormley will only like Michigan more... [Body]

Output: ...the longer his recruitment carries on. We shouldn't be so impatient. We don't have any reason to worry about the strength of this class. Top recruits often don't decide until during their senior seasons or after. It's really not a big deal. My view is that Chris Wormley probably wants to decide in his mind and then let it sit for a while, be sure he is making the choice he wants. That's a sign of maturity. Anyone suggesting otherwise is showing their own immaturity. Time to grow up and let this man chart his own course. He obviously likes Michigan a lot, likes the new coaching staff a lot, lives an hour away from campus. He sounds like the kind of guy who, once he commits, he's solid. I'd love to see him join our program, whenever he's ready. And I bet we'll have a spot for a dynamic player like him.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] To be fair, I wouldn't suspend him from games [Body]

Output: I know it's fashionable to criticize other schools for not bringing the hammer down on players who get in trouble, but I really can't see the point of suspending a guy from playing because he pleaded guilty to a DUI -- if he toes the line and understands the seriousness of what he did. Floyd took responsibility and the judge handed down a number of stipulations tied to the probation -- ignition-control device, mandatory community service, classroom time. It was not a blowoff sentence. And if Floyd screws up again, he's back in court and could see jail time. But he's satisfied the legal end of things and he has owned up to his poor judgment. His previous drinking issues were not driving related, they were for "underage" drinking, and the only difference between Floyd and any of us is he got caught. I mean, he was 19 when he got caught the first time, 20 the second time. Only in America can you go to war at age 18 and legally have a beer three years later. Driving while drunk is a different story and there's no reason or excuse for that. Our own Darryl Stonum is a different story. His driving while impaired was a second conviction. Hard to say whether Hoke will let him come back, but if Stonum is done, he's got no one to blame but himself. But if Floyd meets the requirements of the judge's ruling, he should play. I know he's a great receiver and we'd probably have a better chance of beating Notre Dame if he is not on the field. And I'd love to beat Notre Dame, which I hope we do even with Floyd out there.


Input: [Date] 4 years 4 weeks ago [Title] Don't know what he weighs, but.... [Body]

Output: ... if you look at photos of Braden from last season until now, he definitely has put on substantial muscle. He looks great. I really like Braden and Caleb Stacey, another guy with a nasty approach to the game who has been hitting the workouts hard since committing. One of the common threads in the Hoke recruiting evaluation is that he looks for guys who are highly self-motivated and do the work because they want to, not because they're supposed to. Particularly with high school linemen, that's an attribute that ends up meaning a lot as they transition to college. These two guys committed early and got the express rolling, and they clearly are not resting now that they've got a scholarship. They're working hard, trying to get better, reaching out to other members of the class. Great stuff. It's already a strong offensive line class and it can move to superior with a few more key commitments.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 weeks ago [Title] I'm going with the coaches [Body]

Output: Writing a prediction on Jeremy Clark is just about impossible after he just grew four inches and the recruiting sites have really had very little to look at, so it's premature to say he is a 2-star player because he is a late grower. The coaches are looking at speed, how his frame might fill out, fluidity and coachability. He's not even going to see the field in Ann Arbor for at least two years, because if he comes he surely will redshirt. This blog sets up well to offer reviews on physically mature kids because the blog relies heavily -- perhaps too heavily -- on recruiting service rankings for all of the players who commit. That's understandable in a sense: It is, on a broad statistical scale, predictive of success in college. Nothing wrong with using those rankings as a guide. But there are holes in the reliability of the rankings, and a major one pertains to players who are maturing late physically. And that's why we always see kids on BCS teams who turn out to be stars after being lightly recruited, and why we see NFL players coming from places like Bloomsburg University (Jahri Evans, overlooked by the big schools, Pro Bowl offensive lineman). The statistical norms make it easy to miss the anecdotal exceptions, but those exceptions exist across all levels of football. It's not that the rankings won't ever mean anything on Jeremy Clark, it's that it's simply too soon for them to mean anything because he is growing a lot as a junior in high school. It's the coaches' jobs to evaluate what these players can be, not what they are right now, and I have to think a guy like Greg Mattison knows what he's looking at when he sees a maturing 6-foot-4 safety with great speed, a strong work ethic and a desire to be coached. I'll take a guy like this over a Ray Vinopal who, no matter how coachable he is, was not gettng any bigger. It's pretty obvious Jeremy Clark is a dynamic athlete who probably has no idea at this point how good he can be. How anyone can look at this commitment and predict so emphatically what Clark will contribute as a junior and senior at Michigan -- four or five years from now -- is beyond me. Honestly, I don't pay much attention to those predictions, which are one person's opinion and not based on a comprehensive evaluation like the one the coaches have done. I'll trust that coaches with decades of player evaluations to their credit have some idea what they're looking at. I hope Jeremy sticks with Michigan and proves his upside.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 weeks ago [Title] Nothing wrong with it done in this fashion [Body]

Output: I only have a problem with it if the kid arrives on campus and then finds out he's getting a greyshirt, a la the SEC schools, but if the Michigan coaches they have told Clark up front, it's fine. It's the player's choice to take it or not. The threshold for judging this is honesty. If the coaches are honest about it and everyone is on board, it's just another technique to get a kid on the team who wants to be on the team. I also like kids like Jeremy Clark, who are growing late and often have upside that is just now becoming visible. I hope it works out for him. He's a big safety, that's for sure.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 weeks ago [Title] Not so surprising from Steele [Body]

Output: Phil Steele is purely a numbers guy. All of his projections are based off last year's stats vs. the norm. He just plugs in the numbers, using the formulas he has tended to favor, and whatever it spits out, that's what he goes with. Of course, it never really works out that way. I don't know where he had Auburn last year, but they were not picked to even win their division in the SEC. But it's hard to know which teams will achieve beyond the statistical norms. The other thing to remember about Steele is he lives in Akron. So not only is he an Ohio guy, that means he's probably seen a lot of the Michigan defense for the past three seasons and it was such a lowly rated unit, he can't see it rising up that much statistically in one season. Based on the trend that brought us to today -- the three worst defenses in school history for three consecutive years -- it is hard to argue with him at this point. Hopefully, what we see on the field this fall is a pleasant surprise.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 weeks ago [Title] People like the Elmers... [Body]

Output: ... are the kind of people we want at Michigan. Great sensibilities and a son who is a smart and talented athlete. We know Steven can play football -- and Michigan is about to return to being an NFL pipeline for O-linemen -- but what's wonderful about him being a high achiever in the classroom is that he'll be one of the athletes who takes full advantage of the great academic programs Michigan offers. I hope they hit it off with Coach Hoke and the rest of the coaches, because the Elmers are perfect for Michigan.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 weeks ago [Title] The NFL analysis on Michigan [Body]

Output: You're right. Definitely worth a read. The evaluation of Michigan's prospects will seem spot-on to anyone who has watched the team. A phrase the writer used a few times is to note players who don't stand out as "dynamic" in any part of their game (Shaw, Van Bergen). But at least these guys have another season to develop. I can see Martin improving this year, and Koger, too. Martin is one of those guys who will make it into the D-line rotation with an NFL team, he's just so relentless. It was interesting to note the number of flaws the writer saw in Martin on the film. Molk (6-2, 288) should set his goal as becoming the next Jeff Saturday (6-2, 295). He can definitely find a place in the league if he gets on the right team. With Mike Shaw, it is what it is. He's just not all that strong, especially in the lower body, and it's hard to imagine him making an NFL team when he isn't shifty enough to escape tacklers in college and not strong enough to run through them. Hopefully, the stock on our guys goes up with a strong 2011 season.


Input: [Date] 4 years 5 weeks ago [Title] He's a Big Ten back [Body]

Output: I like the way he runs hard and how he conducts himself on the field after he scores. A competitor who doesn't show any arrogance, that's what we're all about. Nothing wrong with big backs who know what to do with the ball -- no dancing around, just bust it up in there. Alden would look great in a winged helmet.


Input: [Date] 4 years 7 weeks ago [Title] Well, except this news came from the MSM [Body]

Output: Given that the thread starts with a report from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Just callin 'em like I see 'em. If it weren't for the MSM, the amount of news that blogs discuss would take a massive drop. I don't really understand all this 'hate the MSM' like it's something bad for democracy.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] I see nothing wrong with those headlines [Body]

Output: There is nothing wrong with a headline that says, "Terrelle Pryor's guardian: QB will stay at Ohio State" The use of the colon after "Terrelle Pryor's guardian: ..." is an accepted grammatical construction to convey that this is the opinion of the guardian (colon simply puts the attribution before the opinion instead of after.) It doesn't mean Pryor necessarily will stay at Ohio State, it means that's what the guardian believes. I don't see any foul there. If it lacked the opening construction attributed to the guardian, it would have perhaps been misleading. For example, if it just declared, "Pryor will stay at Ohio State" as an undisputed fact. But as written, offering one man's opinion, it's fine. It certainly is not inaccurate. The quotes from the guardian support the assertion of the headline. I don't see anything wrong with the Tressel headlines either. They represent themselves as offering Tressel's opinion, and that's what the stories are about. As for whether Tressel's comment are newsworthy, of course they are. The first time he speaks, and the next several times, it's going to get coverage and be put out there. Disgraced or not, there's nothing journalistically unsound about writing a story on what he said. There may be plenty of people who don't care what he thinks, but that's the beauty of a democracy. You don't have to read every story, skip it if you think it's not newsworthy. But I'm interested in hearing Tressel's first comments since the scandal broke and I think most people are. Now, is it silly for a coach to predict that a team will beat another team when the two teams play every year? Of course. But that's classic Tressel-speak.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] I'll acknowledge it... [Body]

Output: There is no rational reason to expect this staff to go 11-1 in its first year. If it happens, we can party in the streets. I'll drive to Ann Arbor and am good for a keg to get things started. But the 3-year reality check is staring right at us: 15-22 overall, 6-18 in the Big Ten. That's not just a lot of tough breaks, that's bad football. Until we start beating good teams again, it's foolhardy to just EXPECT VICTORY because we've got new coaches. Regardless of RR's post-firing revisionist spin, this team was not about to turn the corner -- the defense got worse every year the past three, dropping to a stunning level of poor play. This is a year to hopefully reverse the defensive slide and get the ship righted. Anything beyond that is gravy because the roster still needs help. It's easy to sit here and point to all these teams we COULD beat, but, you know, those teams are sitting there looking at us and thinking the same thing. I mean, San Diego State thinks they have a great shot at beating us. Not saying they will, but the team Hoke left behind is not bad.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] Agree with you on offense [Body]

Output: On defense, I think State had more talent than we did last year. Our secondary was pretty bad and the linebackers were nothing to get excited about.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] Notre Dame is always a tough call [Body]

Output: And I agree with you, that will be a very tough game. But I am not so convinced their defense is awesome, if only because it turned in some nice performances the latter half of 2010 against teams that had big names but were very disappointing (USC) or had seen their offense disappear due to injury (Utah). In the end, Notre Dame ranked 51st in total defense. Granted, we probably would've lost to the Irish last year if Crist had not gotten injured, since we had shown no signs of stopping them when he was in the game. I have to think we'll do a better job on Floyd this year. Could not do much worse. Yes, they will give us fits, but I just see us finding a way to win the game, especially since we have the best player on the field. Never mind the change in offense, I'm expecting to see Denard show the improvement one can expect from a great athlete in his second year of starting. If we throw it enough to keep them guessing, he's a talent that's hard to stop.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] Let's start by turning around 6-18 [Body]

Output: We've won six Big Ten games in three years. Top to bottom, the league is as tough as it has ever been, especially with Nebraska arriving. I can't see speculating on a BCS berth until we show we can finish .500 or better in our own conference. Michigan State was one of the weakest Big Ten champs the league has seen in 10 years (granted, they didn't play OSU, but they were unmasked by Alabama), and the Spartans dominated us. We couldn't get a hand on their running backs. Like everyone, I love what I'm seeing out of the new staff, but let's see who lines up at linebacker and in the secondary before we get carried away. On the D-line, is Will Campbell any good? Who backs up him and Martin, talent or just a couple of bodies? To me, suggesting that we could go to a BCS game this year, with this defense, when we lost to the six best teams we played last year, well, that's quite a reach. In Denard's senior season, I can see us making a run. If we even find ourselves even PLAYING for a berth in the first Big Ten title game this year, that would be a tremendous season. I do have one expectation I feel confident about: Hoke's team will get better as the season goes along and will end the collapses we've been suffering through.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] The Pulitzers and sports writers [Body]

Output: If you are only going by individual writers who have won the Pulitzer, then Dohrmann is the last sports writer to win one for a specific story. But Pulitzers are awarded to staffs if there are numerous bylines in the entry. In 2005, when New Orleans flooded after Katrina, the publisher of The Times-Picayune ordered the entire staff to evacuate, and they all did, to Baton Rouge. But the sports editor, who had lost his own house, refused to leave. Instead he commandeered a newspaper delivery truck, assembled a small team of reporters and stayed in the city amid the chaos, broke stories on wrongdoing by cops, got guns put to their heads by the NOPD, went into the water, basically ran what was left of the paper. They won two Pulitzer Prizes and the sports editor was given two crystal Pulitzers by Columbia University in New York. The sports editor also was invited to speak at Northwestern in 2006 and accept the Medill Medal of Courage. The ragtag team included two more sports writers, including the Saints beat writer. It's a pretty famous story in journalistic circles, certainly known among sports writers. Sports writers don't often get a lot of consideration for Pulitzers. And I realize Katrina wasn't a sports story, so I'm not correcting your point. But it's a tale worth knowing.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] The only thing Tressel was 'protecting' was... [Body]

Output: ...his shot at last season's BCS title. He knew he had a top 5 team returning. This had nothing to do with looking out for his players, it was just what it appears to be: Win at all costs. It's the same approach Tressel always has taken. He made a career of cheating because he knows fans will focus on the record and ignore the fact that he was, no matter how they spin it, fielding a team that was no longer comprised of amateur athletes. It was all about getting the players, and recruiting gets a lot easier when you offer them cars, housing deals, and the common knowledge that the coaches will look the other way as you flaunt your celebrity lifestyle and smoke some weed at a local tatto parlor hangout where they cater to your every need. For Musburger and Company to be accurate, they just need a slight revision: "Tressel was protecting his BEST players." Guys on the scout team would not have gotten the same treatment. This Eleven Warriors article trying to shift the narrative to a children's hospital is beyond pathetic and transparently desperate. Too many college teams to list make those visits. Tressel did not resign because of the pending SI article. He got out as an attempt to stop people from digging for more, because there is more to be found. Nailing him on tattoo-gate is like getting Al Capone on tax evasion. You do what you need to do to nail the corrupt, even though we all know there's more there. The Department of Justice trips up six players in an unrelated investigation and so that's all the school admitted to. But in a short time on campus, Sports Illustrated easily finds scores more involved. Do we really think that's it? Magazines don't even have subpoena power. Tressel knows that if they keep looking, they'll keep finding. And he knows of other stuff that's a lot worse, so he got out now hoping to end the need for more investigations. This is hardly a new play by a guy who is seeing it all unravel.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] Now that's hilarious [Body]

Output: Whenever I see my team trembling, it's usually because there's an angry punter coming down the field, determined to dive at their ankles.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] Let's hope we don't sign Dodson [Body]

Output: If his mother is that big of an idiot, it's cause for concern. Anyone who cannot see the Tressel era for what it was -- a completely fraudulent program quite possibly had ineligible players on the field every game he coached -- is simply delusional. The fact is Maurice Clarett, for all his criminal ways, was telling the truth. Terrelle Pryor has the zero integrity we thought he had, and so does his coach. If Kyle Dodson's mother is piping up about how it was all a witch hunt, what is she teaching her kids? There are plenty of great players we can sign. I'm happy we did not get Pryor and I don't want Dodson, either. Give me Magnuson and Diamond. Give me the high-character kids raised by parents who want to do it right.


Input: [Date] 4 years 8 weeks ago [Title] Well, he's wrong... [Body]

Output: ... if the NCAA cuts scholarships. It hurts with kids in-state and out-of-state if the school has fewer scholarships. So Mike Farrell has no idea what he's talking about. And I'd say if the sanctions are severe, it will hurt all recruiting because kids are drawn to winners and won't want to sacrifice their four years to participate in a down period. Moreover, we are learning that all of Tressel's dominant recruiting was essentially fraudulent, driven by extra benefits and a tolerance of anything they could get away with. Tressel's entire run is being revealed as him running a program with professional, paid athletes against everyone else playing by amateur rules. Let any bigtime school with a bigtime coaching staff play by Tressel rules, and they'll win. So it's a little too soon to say this won't matter to in-state kids.


Input: [Date] 4 years 9 weeks ago [Title] Win Win [Body]

Output: Excellent indie movie starring Paul Giamatti, one of my favorite actors, and a kid named Alex Shaffer, who is in his first movie and was cast because he was a champion prep wrestler. Great script, funny, great plot. Written and directed by rising star Tom McCarthy. Just saw it on Wednesday night at an indie theater in DC.


Input: [Date] 4 years 9 weeks ago [Title] Very impressive [Body]

Output: I had no idea that many Ohio State players had been arrested or how habitual it was for Tressel to just turn a blind eye to whatever his players do. And the whole Clarett saga always struck me as vicious on the part of Ohio State. I realize Clarett was no choir boy, but I doubted he was lying about what was going on in Columbus. So they trashed a guilty man, always a preferred option of the cheater. The summary at the end is beautiful. Ohio State knew exactly what it was getting in Tressel and did not care, and Tressel did exactly what he had always done at Youngstown. Nothing predicts future behavior better than past behavior. He didn't learn any lessons, he felt bulletproof after getting away with it at Youngstown. And to think of the number of people who talk about how much they look up to this guy, not only Dantonio but recently Pat Fitzgerald. "Nothing Ohio State has accomplished in the last ten years is valid anymore." That sums it up in a sentence, even though it doesn't really make me feel any better. Buckeyes fans will still tout their record against Michigan and it won't be tainted in their eyes. It makes me wonder if they have completed a single season under Tressel without players who should've been declared ineligible on the field. It's a damn shame to see this happen and cast dispersions on what should be a great rivalry played between two iconic and honorable programs. Addressing it may clean it up, but this hurts the Big Ten too.


Input: [Date] 4 years 9 weeks ago [Title] No, I don't mean something like this.... [Body]

Output: It's not having an academic center, it's the level of corruption inside the academic center. The SEC schools do not hold the view that it's important that football players learn. They hold the view that they must keep them eligible and nothing else matters. And the level of work at a typical SEC institution is more like high school than college. There's no comparison between those schools and Big Ten institutions.


Input: [Date] 4 years 9 weeks ago [Title] I wasn't mad... [Body]

Output: ...when Hoke got hired. I was elated. I've seen his teams play and I liked that he always called Michigan his dream job. I also liked that anyone who knew him in college football said two things about him: 1) A man of integrity who knows how to lead and 2) an unbelievable recruiter. Hoke was no more unknown when he was hired than Bo was unknown when he was plucked from Miami-OH. It didn't take much checking around to find out about Hoke. The people who didn't know who he was do not follow college football closely. And they'd never met Hoke. He makes a strong impression in his folksy, selfless way. Now, I also would've been pleased if Jim Harbaugh was hired, and Michigan would've hired him if he wanted the job. But he opted for the NFL -- and he and his brother recommended Hoke, by the way. I would've been dreading the future if Les Miles got the job, because I know how he's getting it done at LSU -- oversigning, backdating scholarships, holding summer tryouts and making cuts. It only takes a few players on a college team to make a difference. You change out even 3-4 each year of the players you recruited but clearly overrated, it translates to real wins. So to me, Miles is a cheater. And I don't even think he's a great coach. He's a decent coach on a great run. I've met him. He's not too sharp. Make everyone play by the same rules and he won't look so good. Michigan didn't think he was so great either -- that's why Miles was not offered. I wholeheartedly agree that Michigan teams, at least on offense, often have been completely predictable in bowl games -- any Rose Bowl against USC proved that -- and I agree with Brian that Borges seems to pride himself on not being that. But let's not separate RichRod from that crowd: He ran a completely predictable offense that always got his quarterbacks drilled. It is not true no one could stop it. The previous South Florida staff stopped it all the time when RichRod was at WVU, and Tressel and crew visited with that staff so they could learn how easy it was to stop. And stop it they did. Another year of RichRod would've proven more of the same and the defense, while it might not have been able to get worse, it certainly could have leveled off at horrendous. I only would've been mad if Brandon somehow talked himself into keeping that Big East midget offense around another year. I've never bought all this crap about a house divided. That had nothing to do with RichRod's failures. It was his giant ego, his unwavering belief that the Big Ten would have to change to meet his system, and the fact that he put himself before the team and exuded that arrogance in so many ways. And still, none of that got him fired. Losing, and losing big in the Big Ten, is why he is gone. Losing and looking completely overwhelmed will spawn factions against any coach. I supported him wholeheartedly when he was hired because he was the Michigan coach. But the Michigan coach should be an impressive person and nothing he did impressed me. His comments since getting fired have only made me happy he's commenting as the former coach. There were plenty of people who knew Hoke and thought he was a great hire. Even a few who read this blog regularly.


Input: [Date] 4 years 9 weeks ago [Title] These stats don't mean a whole lot... [Body]

Output: A houseplant could pass at Ohio State, if you could get it to go to class. And you could, if you'd give it a good deal on a car. A degree from Columbus is virtually worthless they're so easy to get. I meet more impressive graduates from Michigan State than I do from Ohio State, and that's saying something because MSU was the bottom-of-the-list safety school for everyone i knew if they could not get into any college they wanted to attend. Other than this proving what we already knew -- that RichRod's approach was not to worry too much about who stayed, who went to class and who left -- the only thing Hoke needs to do is keep the numbers high enough to placate the NCAA, which just wants to appear interested in athletes being students. Otherwise, who cares. The SEC schools have responded by building huge "academic centers" for athletes to go to so they can meet with the "tutors" who "help" write their papers. If you want a real eye-opener, check out some of the geniuses stopping in at the academic center at LSU -- which is probably the worst flagship state university in the United States (it is annually ranked 'third tier' by U.S. News). Many of LSU's players can barely speak, but they somehow are able to write surprisingly well after a visit to the center. Those tutors must be really good. In the real world, the only Big Ten graduates competing with Michigan grads are those from Northwestern and, to a slightly lesser degree, Wisconsin. Ask anyone who does hiring -- those are the three they pay attention to. The rest are just schools you go to if you can't go to a prestigious school.


Input: [Date] 4 years 10 weeks ago [Title] I tend to agree with Magnus on college receivers... [Body]

Output: ...however, it is just the opposite in the NFL, where coaches will tell you that wide receivers often have a difficult time making an early impact. Granted, the schemes are a lot more difficult to master than most college offenses, but I know Sean Payton is a guy who does not like to draft receivers high for that very reason. There's no quick payoff. He'd rather take Marques Colston in the seventh round than his predecessor, who took Dante Stallworth in the first. (I'm only using the Saints as an example because I spent a lot of time around that team.) And I also am on the Mike Cox bandwagon, and have been. I think he will play well if given a chance. He was a guy who did not fit the spread, but this offense should suit him much better. So I'm also hopeful that Stokes fits better in a pro-style, vertical passing game. I honestly don't think we've seen enough to make a call on him and, in his defense, receiver has been one of the positions where we've had a lot of depth so it's been tougher to get much time. I expect we have a lot of players who see the regime change as a new chance to prove themselves, so I'll stick with Stokes being a guy who is worth a look.


Input: [Date] 4 years 10 weeks ago [Title] You are correct, but... [Body]

Output: ... grade inflation is common in some high schools. That's why we have standardized tests. On the other hand, he could be a smart kid who doesn't do so well on standardized tests. It happens. He probably should be 25 or above on the ACT with the GPA he has, but it's hard to pinpoint unless he took the ACT again. But he doesn't need to, he's eligible. And he's big.


Input: [Date] 4 years 10 weeks ago [Title] Let's not write off Stokes just yet [Body]

Output: It is somewhat surprising that JeRon Stokes, who has a lot more promise than Williamson, is not being mentioned more often as a talent already in our pipeline. This kid was a bigtime, four-star recruit out of a top prep program in Philadelphia who changed at the last minute from Penn State to Michigan. I know we haven't seen a lot out of him yet, but really, should we have? Just because a guy doesn't come in and wow us as a freshman doesn't mean he's not going to be a good player. A system where guys come in and learn and then hit the field is better anyway. Let's see how Stokes comes along. Kid's a hard worker with a great pedigree.


Input: [Date] 4 years 10 weeks ago [Title] What I like... [Body]

Output: ...is the sense of competition Hoke is creating for players who want a scholarship to Michigan. Texas has been doing it that way for years and it's nice to see Michigan filling up its class and creating that natural pressure. And I really trust their talent evaluation. Hoke has a nice track record of identifying kids who have their best football ahead of them. That's something Hayden Fry used to say is the very hardest thing to do in coaching: Don't make the mistake of taking the guys who have played their best ball in high school -- identify the kids with the frame, growth potential, intelligence and overall motivation to get better every year. That's something Hoke was able to do at Ball State and San Diego State. Now that he has a chance to use his eye at a place such as Michigan, where he has a shot at more talented players, it bodes very well for the program. It is notable that he is seeking out players who have the smarts and the will to succeed. Smart players see what is happening with Michigan's recruiting and they want to get in on something good. Hoke comes off as folksy and all, but he's a shrewd man who knows he's got something great to offer in Ann Arbor. He's not overwhelmed by the job at Michigan, he is in full control.


Input: [Date] 4 years 10 weeks ago [Title] Where are the journalists? [Body]

Output: It would be nice if some reporters in the South would call up these players who were "granted" releases and try to interview them. I say that, fully realizing any journalist who did so and ran the story would immediately be in danger of physical harm. The fast majority of SEC fans have no idea what the term 'student-athlete' means, and they sure as hell don't know it's hyphenated.


Input: [Date] 4 years 11 weeks ago [Title] Only the details of the deal matter [Body]

Output: All that really matters here is whether the Ohio State player broke the law or violated NCAA rules, or both. And that has nothing to do with whether Gibson can show he paid for the car. What matters is how much he paid relative to the true retail value of the vehicle -- basically the NCAA will examine the deal he got vs. the deal that would be offered to a typical customer, and whether documents were falsified. Here's betting OSU is in trouble on both fronts: 1. If the player paid 13K for a car that any customer coming in off the street could not purchase for the same price, or thereabouts, it's a violation of NCAA rules. I am guessing that a 2007 Chrysler 300 with 14,000 miles on it, sold in 2007, was worth more than 13k. These cars, reasonably equipped, retailed for $40k MSRP when they were new. It matters not whether the dealership bought it at an auction, nor does it matter what the dealership paid for it. All that matters is whether Gibson got a special deal. If he got an extra benefit that saved him money, it's an NCAA violation, and a serious one. It saved him real cash. I'm willing to bet the 13k is either at dealer cost or just above it, a special gift from a fan to a player. 2. If, in addition to that, the player and the dealer cooperated in understating the purchase price on documents filed with the state, such as listing the price as $0, that is usually done to lower the sales tax and state registration fees the customer has to pay on the vehicle. It is a very common ploy done by thousands of consumers across the country, and most don't get caught. But if you do get caught, it's illegal and, depending on the amount, the guilty parties will at least face a hefty fine and could face jail time. States have run stings on this from time to time and it's amazing how many people get nailed and get themselves a criminal record to save less than $500. Cheating the state and federal government out of tax money is at least a misdemeanor -- if the amount is less than $1,000. If the false documents saved Gibson more than $1,000, it's a felony. For the dealership, it's a big problem no matter the amount because if they've cooperated in such a scam once, you can bet they've done it many times, probably with a number of OSU players. The state will start looking closely and they'll find out. And I really cannot stomach the defense of the Columbus Dispatch. There has been all kinds of talk about wrongdoing at OSU over the years and the Dispatch has steered clear, remaining the 'homers' they really are. They are getting busy now only because it went public, and I am willing to bet the real editors in news are forcing the 'fans' who work in the sports department to do their jobs. The paper has sucked for years and no matter what happens now, it still sucks. But I am pleased that this investigation will drag out for a while, which is the best possible scenario for Michigan with one of Ohio's best crop of recruits in 20 years. Just off of what the school has admitted so far with Tressel lying, OSU ends up with multi-years probation, a forfeited 2010 season, loss of scholarships and, ultimately, a new coach. And the last part is too bad, because I think we have a staff in place who will prove to be superior to Tressel, particularly if the head coach and his cheating staff can no longer offer extra benefits to bring in recruits. Does anyone really believe a guy with the questionable character of Terrelle Pryor didn't get paid? Tressel has been doing this since he was at Youngstown State, letting things happen and disavowing knowledge. Even his national championship is fraudulent, won with a running back who probably had committed his first felony before he ever suited up in Columbus. It's a sleazy operation.


Input: [Date] 4 years 20 weeks ago [Title] If it was ready, they'd run it [Body]

Output: People are forgetting a key factor: Reporters don't decide when a story is ready, editors do. And reporters typically think they have it nailed a good while before an editor signs off. Reporters write stories, editors make them live, but only after challenging the reporting and being certain (if it is a reputable outfit.) If it was ready, it would run. What the reporter likely means is he is developing some stories. But he can't know when they are going to run because it's not his call. The head of Yahoo news is Dave Morgan, formerly of the sports department LA Times. He knows what he's doing and that's why you have yet to see one of their investigations get successfully refuted. They take heat when they came out -- they got it from UConn basketball fans, they got it from Ohio State losers -- but they have yet to be wrong. That means the editors are satisfied with the sourcing, they have it confirmed in another way, and they turn it loose. But that is where the calls are made at Yahoo. Almost every one of their top people came from the best print sports sections. The reporter advertising future stories is keeping people interested, as he should. That doesn't mean a story is in the can, just waiting. They'd be too worried about getting beat. It only means it's not ready yet.


Input: [Date] 4 years 20 weeks ago [Title] The Usual Response From The Sin-ator [Body]

Output: Tressels actions here merit firing. He has cheated his entire career and he always has handled it in the same way -- trying to maintain he was ignorant of anything that was going on. That's what he tried to do here, but the Sin-ator got caught. And the truth is he also knew a lot more about all the past transgressions and he preferred to turn his head and portray himself as outraged when he learned of these things. It is amazing the NCAA can let this slide in comparison to the swooping in to Ann Arbor that occurred after the Free Press printed numerous factual errors to aggrandize some violations that, by comparison, seem hardly worth mentioning -- written by reporters who did not know the rules themselves. Granted, our previous coaching staff created an opening by failing to have players fill out simple, required forms on voluntary workouts, which, by the way, contributed to us being hit with violations more than any other single detail. That doesn't erase the fact that the Free Press report contained errors that were never corrected, a point Michigan made in its report to the NCAA, while in the case of Ohio State we have all of what we know to be true and much more. I've not seen one credible refutation of any of the allegations made against Ohio State over the past 10 years, particularly since most of the incriminating statements came from the Buckeyes players themselves, who have fully acknowledged they were given benefits that broke the rules. The NCAA simply does not enforce its rules across the board; it picks and chooses and it has purposely steered clear of Tressel. It can no longer do that, and his favored 'plausible deniability' defense has been blown up. He participated in a coverup and we can all know this to be true: If Jim Tressel is calling a press conference ONE DAY after a story runs that was built on an anonymous source, this is nothing more than a typical ploy be someone who has much more to hide -- make an effort to offer a quick mea culpa and hope to stop the investigation right here. That can only mean he is hoping no one takes a deeper look. The NCAA loses its last shreds of credibility if it accepts the Ohio State whitewash without a full investigation that ends with multi-year probation, a loss of scholarships and a new head coach. Because the truth is, the integrity of the football program matches the academic quality of the school.


Input: [Date] 4 years 22 weeks ago [Title] I say six Big Ten teams get in [Body]

Output: Most projections have the Big Ten getting six teams in. Even the SEC, which is not strong this year, is projected to get six teams in. Obviously, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin are in. And then three more out of these five: Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State. I don't think anything has changed for Michigan: Win two of the final three regular-season games and one Big Ten tourney game and the Wolverines are in. We have a great chance to help ourselves by beating two teams battling us for a spot -- Minnesota and Michigan State. There is a chance, even, that if Michigan beats Wisconsin, it could get in with that and one more regular-season win even if it dropped its first tourney game. But it's not a great situation to be in, because that would mean Michigan lost to a lower-rated conference opponent to open the tournament, and that's the last game the selection committee would see. But if Michigan wins two of three to finish 9-9 in the conference, and adds a first-round win in the Big Ten tourney, I think we're in. In that scenario, it won't matter who beat who in the conference in these final two weeks. I agree with the posters who say what's more important is to see the other nonconference teams we have beaten -- Oakland and Clemson, for example -- finish strong.


Input: [Date] 4 years 24 weeks ago [Title] My Tennessee brother, I hear ya [Body]

Output: What a great post. Right on the money on the South and how people think. I was born in the South, in Alabama, and my whole family is from Walker County, Alabama, a rural place between Birmingham and Memphis. But my grandparents were of the generation that aimed higher and they made something of themselves. They moved north for one reason and one reason only: To educate their children, to change their lives. So it was different for me. My grandfather was a major influence in my life and he would not hear of me going to a university in the South, where he had lived most of his life. To him, it was all about the long-term view and what would be best for me the rest of my life. And so he encouraged me to go to Michigan. We were living in Michigan and he said, "You can get in-state tuition at one of the best universities in the world. Why would you go anywhere else?" This was a man who grew up poor, he knew the value of a dollar. I looked around, got accepted at a number of places and even made visits to Dartmouth and Yale. For the difference in cost, I was simply not convinced the education I'd get at those places would be worth that much more than what I'd get at Michigan. I have often wondered how different I would be, how different my career would be, if I had gone to Alabama instead of Michigan. And I am grateful I had people in my life to steer me to the place that would mean the most to me down the line. And that's why I love Michigan. It's not the football team, though I enjoy football -- it's that Michigan changed my life. After graduation, I returned to Alabama, and I stayed in the South for many years. I had the ability to succeed in my chosen field, but the Michigan degree opened doors again and again. Even in places like Birmingham and New Orleans, a lot of people know about Michigan. And the ones that don't, the ones who see it as any other school like an Alabama, you'd never want to work for them anywhere because all they're really telling you is they don't have an evolved world-view. The number of people in my family who never left Alabama because they just didn't know any better, or were scared of what's out there, far outnumber those of us who went away and came back. It is a region of misplaced priorities and underachievers. It has great soul, but in general SEC universities do not serve their athletes well once the football ends and life begins. It just doesn't matter that much to them, it only matters that they give it lip-service a la SEC Commissioner Mike Silve. He perfectly represents the SEC rationalization brigade. The mindset the writer discusses here is sadly accurate. Most of the fans of the SEC cannot see beyond the football field. Worse, they don't even understand why anyone would care to. If I could talk to high school players in the South who have a chance to go to Michigan, that's what I'd tell them. They wouldn't all see the value, but many would, and later in life they'd be grateful just like I am.


Input: [Date] 4 years 24 weeks ago [Title] I pretty much agree.. [Body]

Output: that 18-year-old always think nothing will ever happen to them. However, I also think there really is not that much awareness among recruits that this goes on to the degree it does in the Sleazy Equals Championships conference. So I would argue that if more recruits had one-on-one talks with past recruits who were told all sorts of things that turned out to mean nothing when their scholarships were pulled, it would make a big difference. But the schools who engage in this certainly are not going to tell them, and the recruits who got cut from the team after annual tryouts are not around to tell them. It will take some work to get this more out in the open. These stories are starting to get out there but more tales need to emerge. We should not fixate on these Jones kids and argue over what did or did not happen. There are plenty more examples. A deeper look would reveal just what it has done to disrupt the lives of a lot of kids who did nothing wrong, all so that guys like Nick Saban can feel better about his depth and not be saddled with educating players he recruited and who signed with him in good faith, but just didn't turn out to be the players he thought they were.


Input: [Date] 4 years 24 weeks ago [Title] A good point [Body]

Output: That's a good question. There's a book waiting to be written. I have seen a number of players who got screwed quoted, mostly in the excellent takedown SI wrote on the subject (and they have continued to pound away.) But there's got to be more, and you wonder what they were told, how the schools broke it to them. I wonder how many guys learned then the sole power of the university to grant and revoke a football scholarship every year -- or move them to a fraudulent medical list so they still get school paid for, but the athletic dept doesn't have to count it against the 85 cap. There are no doubt some incredible stories about what these kids were told.


Input: [Date] 4 years 24 weeks ago [Title] A reprehensible practice -- and a huge competitive edge [Body]

Output: I'm glad to see this subject brought up on this board because it is so galling to see these schools subvert the rules to give themselves an advantage. To think that Michigan went on probation for not properly accounting for stretching, while these SEC schools skate even though they deny scholarships to kids after they've moved in on campus, well, that says it all about the NCAA's priorities. Paul Finebaum has been all over this in terms of it being the wrong way to treat student/athletes or, in the case of the SEC, football players who are registered for classes. But no newspaper in the South wants to touch this, which is why you see Sports Illustrated hitting it hard. Where are the newspapers in Jackson, Birmingham, Columbia and New Orleans? Not only is there no outrage, they think their schools are smart for finding ways to bend the rules. And it certainly is reprehensible. It also produces a huge competitive edge for the SEC. What you essentially have here is schools signing students and then basically requiring them to "tryout" for the team each year. And if a guy comes in who was less than advertised, or a better guy comes along at that position, they just kick the first player off the team. They try to come up with a reason, but the fact is no reason is needed. They can just do it if they want to, and they want to. Nothing fascinates an SEC coach like a new player who looks better than the one they signed last year. So imagine if everyone else lives with the 85-scholarship rule, but your school brings in 7-8 players each year beyond the standard 25-scholarship limit. Over a four-year period, that school has a pool of more than 30 extra players to evaluate and field a stronger team. It is a huge advantage: SEC teams don't have to live with their misses. They just oversign and cut the misses from previous years as needed, or force them to take medical exemptions even if they are not all that injured. Check how many medical exemptions Alabama has each year compared to any other school in the country. It's disgusting. You can see more here: www.oversigning.com Giving your team a pool of players to build out of that is more than 30 percent larger than other schools are able to use can make a real difference in winning games -- games in which even a few players can give a team a decided edge. The SEC builds in that edge, doesn't play by the same rules, and then boasts about how strong its teams are. The league's strength on the football field is not so surprising once one looks at how they go about it. They basically run them like NFL camps. Your grades don't matter. If a better player comes along, you're gone no matter how you're doing in school -- and it's not hard to do well at an SEC school. In the immortal words of former Auburn basketball coach Sonny Smith, who said this upon learning one of his players, Mike Jones, had failed out of Auburn. "How do you fail out of Auburn?" he asked. "We could pass a house plant at Auburn, if we could get it to go to class."