Gholston Picks a Number and Other Catchup Bits
NY Daily News PhotoApologies for the lack of updates, but the real world comes knocking every now and then. These are just a few of the items that caught my eye last week.
The Gun Show has taken part in his first practice as a Jet, but settled on a new number before doing so. 56 is now officially the new scary. The New York press were quick to make an LT connection, which Gholston deflected:
“He played for the Giants, a whole different team. For me, it’s a good number. There are only so many numbers you get to choose from as a linebacker.”
The New York Daily News article linked above also pointed out that the last Jet to wear 56 was former “third round bust” Anthony Schegel. Ouch.
Excellent blog, but definite Buckeye haters The Big Lead are playing up a dinner between Terrelle Pryor and Cris Carter the night before the spring game at Eddie George’s joint on campus. Pryor was already signed by this time and we’re sure he paid for the dinner, right? Right? So, nothing to see here. Move along.
Scout updated their 2009 recruit rankings and six Buckeye commits are featured in the top 100, more than any other school. What’s most amazing, though is the fact that all six are defenders.
| Rank | Pos | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | LB | Dorian Bell |
| 29 | DT | Johnny Simon |
| 56 | CB | Darrell Givens |
| 59 | CB | C.J. Barnett |
| 74 | DE | Melvin Fellows |
| 81 | S | Jamie Wood |
I’m pretty sure the 2011 defensive two-deep is going to earn an MA rating.
Georgia and Texas each have five recruits in the top 100, while USC and LSU have for a piece.
Michigan and Michigan State each have two members of the top 100 and Illinois has one. I realize it’s way early, but at the pace Tressel is roping in top flight players relative to the lack of activity from conference brethren leads me to wonder if the Buckeyes wouldn’t be better off seceding from the Big Ten and trying to play full-time in the SEC. At this pace, the team’s only legitimate challenge will be once a year in January unless something is done. (Woo-hoo bitches Buckeye fan is nearly back and after September 13th will once again be shitting in coolers nationwide.)
Zook’s interloping into the fertile Ohio recruiting grounds is getting more notice and the Zooker is obviously pretty proud of his work. Good thing the Vest delivered that Melvin Fellows smack-down, to keep the upstart in check.
I’d advise against secession. The last time my family tried to peacably secede, all hell broke loose, and we lost our house and a fair piece of our land. (I spent this weekend in Rising Sun, Indiana - a hellhole, to be sure - reenacting that whole secession episode. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.)
The Vest’s recruiting is getting a good boost from m*ch*g*n’s turmoil and transition period, and the uncertainty surrounding Paterno’s contract situation. The coaches made a specific effort to seal off Ohio this year and make sure Zook-on-Skis didn’t pilfer anyone OSU wanted, and it’s paying off. He surprised them a bit last year, but not so much this year - save for Cordale Scott, who they’d have liked to get. Can’t win them all, though.
Of all the players on that list, I’m most excited to watch Simon play and progress through his career. I think he can be a real beast on this level, if he gets stronger and improves his technique. He’s certainly got the heart and drive to succeed (not secede).
Looking ahead, it’ll be interesting to see how the Ohio State/m*ch*g*n recruiting battles play out. DickRod will look for players that fit his offensive system, while OSU looks for players that fit their more flexible, pro-preparatory offensive system. I wonder how often their recruting targets coincide in the years to come? I don’t think you’ll see much dichotomy on the defensive side of the ball, though, and they should be competing hard for the same players.
Jason, I almost spit my coffee out when I read this:
“(Woo-hoo bitches Buckeye fan is nearly back and after September 13th will once again be shitting in coolers nationwide.)”
Freaking hilarious!
Agreed.
And as the quality of Big 10 play declines, so will the quality of our play as teams tend to play up or down to the level of play in which they compete.
I seriously think the “decline” in Big Ten play has bottomed out. We are seeing a shift in power with the coaching changes. Over the next four to five seasons we will see the slight decline of PSU and scUM continue (unless PSU hits a home run with a Paterno replacement). Ohio State is firmly entrenched as the conference Alpha Male. Wisconsin should remain solid as a consistent number two. Illinois and MSU will continue a consistent rise.
I seriously think that D’Antonio is going to benefit most in the whole RichRod thing. He’ll be more apt to pull Michigan kids to MSU as well as continue his improving recruiting. There could be some real wars in the future with Sparty.
There’s a lot to be proven, but the coaching change at Purdue should provide a boost to their program as well. I also see Northwestern returning to their pesky/quirky spoiler roll.
There’s still too many unanswered questions about Iowa and Minnesota. Indiana without Hoeppner will slowly slide back to being, well, Indiana.
Good points. I think that the difference between the SEC and the Big Ten is coaching. Top to bottom, the coaching is better right now in the SEC.
DickRod should help the Wolverines in the near future, while I’m not convinced Wisconsin has the right guy for the job.
Tiller and JoePa’s replacements will be huge.
BrotherBuck, Wow! You really think Michigan is going to continue to slide for the next 4 to 5 years? I would say the next 2 years and then we will start to see RichRod’s system being ran successfully and the program move back up to the #2 in the conference.
What’s going on with Penn State is huge….Paterno is not only hurting PSU by sticking around….he is also hurting the Big 10 as a whole.
Phil makes a good point. Coaching stability is a big part of it. Remember the Big 10 has had two coaches DIE in the last few seasons. Meanwhile, SEC “schools” are willing to pay $4-$5 million a year for a ‘ball coach regardless of the state of the library, physics department, etc.
not exactly related the conversation here, but did Rich Rodriguez just predict a victory in Columbus? Context here is necessary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bC9MhnC7qM
Wil - I don’t see major declines in Ann Arbor under Rodriguez, but I don’t see major strides forward either. RichRod’s system is all about spacing. He does great against the teams he out-talents, but when facing a defense that plays assignment football and matches up in talent he is mediocre. Just look at the South Florida and Pitt losses last year. OSU, Wisky, and Penn State won’t be fooled by his “system.”
In addition, His recruiting competition is much more fierce in the state of Michigan now. It is strictly my opinion, but the team most likely to compete consistently with Ohio State in the forseeable future is Michigan State. D’Antonio can recruit and coach. He has less academic restrictions and just winning games late in the year last year was enough to show he has already begun to change the attitude in East Lansing.
Sure, I’m biased because he’s a “Tressel Guy.” That’s just all the more reason to keep an eye on the happenings at MSU. Just ask Brian Kelly what kind of a coach MD is. He stepped into a gold mine MD left him at Cincinnati.
In all fairness, Brian Kelly is a pretty good coach no matter what situation he is walking into. As for RichRod, for the most part he dominated the Big East…..but always remember, not only has his competition gone up, so has the quality of recruits he will be getting. Don’t fall into the trap of looking past Michigan….if you are stuck on recruiting then go to rivals.com and compare Michigan’s class with the rest of the Big 10…sure we dominated them, but that’s because we are the Buckeyes…..there is also a pretty big gap between Michigan and the rest of the Big 10, in 2-3 years we’ll see what RichRod can do with that talent.
I had dinner at Eddie George’s Grille the night before the Spring Game. Didn’t see Pryor or Carter, though. But who knows… the place was packed.