Some more random ramblings and incoherent thoughts from the Odds and Ends
Zone…
That which we’d like to admit…The old creepy days of President Gordon
Gee Whiz trying to drag Ohio State into the Ivy League of the Big Ten, well…those
days are gone. The question lately is: can we live through the Holbrook Era of
false academic elitism? This has been a period marked by athletes, though
cleared through the NCAA for admissions, being denied access to the state
university and ending up enrolling and playing at places like Michigan State,
Minnesota, all the SEC schools and, yes, Michigan.
That’s right, fans, there seems to be light at the end of this academic
tunnel and it’s not simply a reflection of Holbrook’s eyes glaring back at
us. In the past few seasons, OSU lost the talented Javon Ringer to MSU despite
the fact that he was eligible, he wanted to come to Ohio State and the staff
wanted him. More celebrated cases included Dajuan Morgan and Miles Williams. We
will never know all the admissions losses because some weren’t even eligible
to visit on an official recruiting trip! Think that’s not true? Take
the current case of Top 100 WR Greg Matthews, who was initially turned away by
the “screening committee” at OSU for a campus visit, but then was accepted
for admission at Michigan…
Back to my point. From circumstantial evidence, it seems that the pendulum
has swung a bit back to the side of common sense and away from the elitism. This
year, Ohio State is recruiting some academically tenuous athletes such as Mark Johnson, JUCO Larry Grant, Ray Small and Thaddeus Gibson, amongst others. (Some
of the others are in more dire straits such as Derrell Johnson and Jeff Cumberland). Does this make tOSU look bad? Emphatically not. They are a state
university, people! They should take the marginally eligible and help
them do something positive with their lives, not dump them onto the streets and
pretend to have a better “graduation rate”.
It’s easy to goose up the grad rate stats. Only let in the students who
will make it for sure. And should that be the mission of the largest state
school? Talk about your no-brainers…
* * * * *
Sorry Charlie, this tuna has no taste…Yes, it’s been more than two
weeks since I picked on Charlie Weis, the sun around which the college football
universe revolves. That is, according to Charlie Weis. We heard from coaches at
the Fiesta Bowl that Weis was arrogant and full of, well…himself. Tressel gave
a seven-minute pre-game overview to the writers. Charlie boiled down his
theories of the world (replete with examples…) to a concise in-your-face 32
minutes. Then it was on to the coaches’ convention. Our representatives there
said it got worse, with the Weis Guy talking down to the other coaches
specifically and to the community of coaches in general. Don’t look for him to
make it to elective office in that organization.
While Charlie (and doesn’t he look like a cartoon character from Mad
Magazine’s Don Martin?) was elevating college football, his former employer,
the New England Patriots lost in the playoffs, which will give CW a whole other
list of “why I am great and see that they can’t live without me”
aphorisms. We will see how the football world gets along with him in
2006. Because of the unrealistic hype that always accompanies Notre Dame (best
school, No. 1 recruiting class, best campus, easiest girls, etc.), the Fighting
Irish will be ranked too high to start the season. Hey – have they found a way
to inject some speed into all those lumbering players during the
off-season? Given their unjustifiable lofty rankings, Charlie will have to
perform next year. That means win more than three-fourths of his games. Even Ty
Willingham won his first eight games, remember? I say that ND will only split
their four games with Big Ten foes in 2006, facing Penn State, Michigan and
Purdue at home and Michigan State on the road. Then out of a combination of UCLA
(home) and Georgia Tech and USC (away), they will drop two of the three. That
gives them a record of 7-4, if they beat Navy, North Carolina, Stanford and Air Force. Hardly a record to keep the mythology machine pumping.
But, then again, Charlie has an entire year to prepare and look how well he
does with extra time!
In the next Bucket, we will be forced to discuss some of the new websites
that cover the building legend of the building block we know as Charlie Weis…
* * * * *
The jinx meets the facts, ma’am…Sports Illustrated has never been
overly kind to the Buckeyes, fanning the flames of some stores and creating
others just to smirk at the state of Ohio (from the people who brought you Andy
Katzenmoyer’s summer class schedule). So, it was with a bit of glee and
satisfaction that I noted in a recent issue, coverage of the whole college
playoff situation, articulated much better than the babblings from Yours Truly
over these past years.
In the same issue that they jumped all over the latest Maurice Clarett story
and they extolled both the football Bucks and the basketball Bucks, SI ran an
editorial saying, “A playoff system by any name would add thrills and drama to
the bloated bowl season”. They went on to point out that “getting it right”
this year with the nation’s only two undefeated teams underscored how
coincidental that pairing was and that “most of the bowl games were short
trips to nowhere, a lot of sound and fury signifying how much better December
would be if college football had a March Madness-style playoff. The non-BCS
games? They are something less than insignificant”.
It’s great fun to quote from this accumulation of logic: “Tradition, the
soul of college football has been abandoned. The rhythms of the new bowl season
don’t match the rhythms of fans’ lives. The BCS endures – and the idea of
a playoff languishes – because of another tradition: greed. The BCS is ruled
by the lords of the six major conferences…they control the sport and the $96
million the BCS is expected to generate this year. (They) are backed by the
college presidents, who lamely argue that a playoff would distract players from
their studies. That argument, which they manage to present with a straight face,
doesn’t seem to apply to hoops players who take most of March off from school.”
And how will it affect the regular season? “The thrilling sense of urgency
is what separates college football from every other major sport. It’s also
what is largely missing from the bowl season. Imagine if Ohio State’s victory
over Notre Dame earned the Buckeyes something more than a trophy. Like, say, a
rematch with Texas or a shot at USC? It may be an impossible dream, but it’s a
worthy one”.
Such a great argument and presentation makes it is also worthy of the
valuable Bucknuts real estate known as my Bucket. For once, I defer to the
wisdom of Sports Illustrated and persistent logic and wisdom of creating a
college football playoff…
* * * * *
All kinds of time…That’s what we say when a QB drops back to pass and
can survey the field at his leisure. But that’s not what we say when we talk
about a quarterback’s development. Mostly, college quarterbacks run out of
time before the light bulb goes off. Such was not the case with Terrific Troy
last year as the light bulb exploded and shards of glass were left all over
opponents’ uniforms.
My point? This one: Steve Bellisari got a baptism by fire because he never
got playing time sitting behind Joe Germaine. He and Austin Mocherman simply sat
for most of the year. Fast forward to the next generation of OSU field generals.
Krenzel and McMullen only got action when Bellisari had his late night
slip-and-fall. Then, Zwick and Smith sat on the pine behind Krenzel and
McMullen, not even getting mop-up duty as Ohio State squeaked out win after win
in vintage Tressel close-to-the-sweater-vest fashion. It took nearly a year of
on-the-field time for them to get a rhythm.
Skip to 2006. Now, nobody admires Justin Zwick more than Mr. Bucknuts. JZ has
been the good soldier and has minded both his manners and his mouth for the good
of the team. But if Ohio State gets a big lead (may my mouth be a prayer
book…), Justin will come in and take up the time that a Todd Boeckman or a Rob Schoenhoft so desperately needs. That means, in 2007, things will be back to
first-year Smith&Zwick or first year Bellisari&Mocherman or first year
Krenzel&McMullen territory. How do the Buckeyes get some meaningful
downs for the future QB’s? Antonio Henton wants to know…
* * * * *
He’s must have a gun for an arm…And speaking of quarterbacks with no
experience, Texas went from a stable-full of talent in Vince Young and
once-rising superstar Chance Mock, to a virtual unknown with a great name for a
Texas quarterback: Colt McCoy. Will he be the real McCoy? Colt’s only
chance to oil his gun before the Buckeyes arrive in Austin will be in the opener
against North Texas on September 2. The Horns thought they had big-time get Ryan Perrilloux in that stable a year ago but he is now a third-stringer at LSU…
* * * * *
Beyond the horizons…The WHAC renovations and Bucknuts want to thank
everyone for their participation in our “fundraiser” thus far. More than 200
of you purchased the terrific book, “Expanding Your Horizons”, Coach Tressel’s
mentoring book that details the careers of the 1942 national championship
Buckeye squad. We were able to donate all the funds from these sales to the
renovation campaign. I asked Steve Helwagen to run the promotion again, so look
for it on the front page and dive in! Not only is it a good cause but also the
book could change your, well…horizons.
* * * * *
Michigan taketh away and Michigan giveth…In past recruiting seasons,
us-here fanatics have taken to bemoaning the fact that Michigan beat us on at
least one Ohio recruit annually. Boo hoo, I say. You say – hey – what about
Mario Manningham and Prescott Burgess and Shawn Crable and Mark Bihl? Mark Bihl
– yeah, right. Well, the wheel keeps on turning and the Tressel Vessel is
picking up passengers. OSU has already landed five recruits this year that
Michigan wanted: Aaron Gant, Dexter Larimore, Connor Smith, Jake Ballard and
Chris Wells, with Gant having the added distinction of being from the state of
Michigan. They have – thus far – lost but three: Justin Boren, Cobrani Mixon
and Greg Matthews with Greg possibly still in play. Boren and Mixon, of course,
are from Ohio. Also still in play are Thaddeus Gibson and McKenzie Matthews.
While these lists are far from exhaustive (or even necessarily correct), it
points out that you get as good as you give in that exchange. Plus, I will trade
you one Craig Krenzel for one Mark Bihl any day of the week…
* * * * *
Finally…There are always last-minute wavers and defections from the
recruiting “commitment” ranks and we watch them every year, with either glee
or horror, depending on your perspective. But two OSU recruits that can’t
waver or change their minds this year are Ross Homan and Kurt Coleman. They have
already enrolled! They sign different paperwork since they are presently in
school. And being in school allows them to participate in workouts and
practices, which gives them a huge edge over the rest of the incoming class. I
predict that both of these kids will be in the two-deep and not red-shirt based
both on both their talent and the running head start they received. Oh, yeah,
the other player ready for spring practice (but not on campus yet…) is Chris
Wells. We talking spring? Yes, hope springs eternal…
If you have similar unique observations, or simply want to correct one of the
misnomers or misconceptions of this column, feel free to e-mail Mr. Bucknuts at MrBucknuts@yahoo.com