Friday Skull Session

Though the excitement is palpable, the early reports out of spring practice produced little in the way of potential story bombs.

It's been nice to hear that Curtis Grant is making a case as the starting Mike, Big Hank and John Simon are running things in the trenches and UFM has installed an uptempo practice style that rewards winners but a curious development had yet to occur. 

Then last night happened. Or did it? 

While it's not particularly earth shattering, we were more than surprised to hear from a reliable source that Chris Fields had supposedly had an issue of some kind with a member of the staff and was potentially deciding whether or not he wished to remain a Buckeye. Dave Biddle and Marc Givler were hearing similar info while stopping short of calling it gospel but later in the evening Fields himself took to twitter advising he did not quit and will always be a Buckeye. 

We don't doubt Fields will "always be a Buckeye" but we also feel pretty secure in saying something went down yesterday that was out of the norm. Whether or not there will be fallout down the line remains a mystery. Fields has always seemed fairly reserved on the surface so if there's any truth to the info Alex and others received, it's easy to wonder if he has more going on outside of football that could've played a role in whatever happened. Stay tuned. 

RIDIN' DIRTY. After losing control of his motorcycle leading to cracked vertebrae, broken ribs and facial scrapes making it look like he tried to force himself on a porcupine, Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino was placed on administrative leave for failing to disclose that a buxom 25 year old female staffer by the name of Jessica Dorrell was on the back of his ride when lost control, leaving the road and sliding into a pile of debris. In the not helping department, Petrino hired Dorrell back on March 28th as his student-athlete development coordinator. 

Petrino, a married man, failed to notify the school that Dorrell, engaged to another Razorback athletics employee, was with him at the time of the crash and both he and the school issued statements that the leader of the Arkansas chapter of the Black Widows was indeed alone at the time of the accident. 

Unfortunately, Petrino must have suffered from selective amnesia when giving his version of events to his superiors because he did advise the police of Dorrell's presence. Now, not only does Petrino face the possibility of being canned, he's also got some troubles on the home front after being forced to admit to his wife of an inappropriate relationship with a woman almost half his age. 

And you think you've got problems. 

From a Buckeye slant, Taver Johnson takes over as the interim HC. 

CIRCLING THE WAGONS 101. The four letter got their hands on the prepared statement Joe Paterno wanted to make at a press conference that never came to fruition shortly before his firing in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. 

After opening with thoughts and prayers to the victims, Joe Pa went into a predictably sickening self preservation mode:

As the Grand Jury report notes, I was subpoenaed last January to testify regarding an incident in 2002. As my very brief testimony established, my role was limited to a single report made to me by an assistant coach in 2002. The coach in question came to my house on a Saturday morning and informed me that he witnessed former coach Jerry Sandusky in a shower with a young boy. The coach made it clear that he felt strongly that there was something inappropriate going on and that he was very upset by what he saw. The coach made no specific allegations of any identified sexual act, nor did he use any graphic terms – just the idea that what he saw was wrong and that he did not know what to do next.

 

At that time I told the coach that he had done the right thing and that I would take the appropriate next step. After consideration I determined that, given Sandusky’s status as a retired employee governed by a retirement package negotiated with the administration, I had no authority to act directly. The next day, in accordance with University policy, I contacted the head of my department and related what was told to me. That was the last time the matter was brought to my attention until this investigation and I assumed that the men I referred it to handled the matter appropriately.

Add this to the list of reasons why his legacy is nothing but a disgracefully hollow joke.

BOREN IDENTITY. While UFM is affording his players the luxury of a clean slate to begin his tenure, one Buckeye who doesn't need the benefit of a do-over is Zach Boren. The bruising soon to be four year starter at fullback has long been a fan favorite for his lunchpail mentality and versatile ability to lay out a middle linebacker or use his soft hands to haul in a worm burner in the flat for positive yardage. 

Clearly, his contributions aren't lost on Meyer. A day after virtually guranteeing that John Simon will be a captain, Meyer went to the mic to stump for Boren saying that while the players vote on captains, he has veto power. What does he like about the two big hitting seniors?

The first thing is that they’re not pop-off guys. I can’t stand the guy who just stands up there and talks. That’s not leadership. Leadership is by example and positive encouragement.

Both will make excellent captains on a team looking to regain its physical edge and beyond that, props to Meyer for realizing something Fickell didn't - that teams do benefit from having set captains for the duration of the season. I can't imagine we'll see guys rotating in and out of a captaincy role under Meyer's reign - just as it should be. 

FIVE MONTHS AND COUNTING. A rare breed in that I love the game of baseball enough that it slots 3rd on my sports list behind college football and college hoops, the gap in the Big Two seasons which began with Kentucky woodshedding Kansas doesn't really impact me much. That said, us MLB fans are clearly the minority so for the folks out there bidding on Rob and Big's time machine, the college football season can't get here fast enough. 

With that in mind, Campus Union's Holly Anderson takes a look at some opening weekend matchups that should get the season off to a fine start. Erroneously, the debut of UFM against Miami, OH doesn't make the cut but some other very watchable games dot the slate:

• South Carolina @ Vanderbilt - An early season tilt that allows you to ensure your brain is set to root for Meteor any time two SEC teams collide.
• Boise State @ Michigan State - An August test of your B1G loyalties after Dantonio wept openly about that meanie Urban Meyer being a meanie on the recruiting trail.
• Navy vs. Notre Dame - Just kidding.
• Alabama vs. Michigan - Will Denard still be upright when this one is over?

BACON BITS. Jimbo waffles... Claiborne has something for the haters of his Wonderlic prowess...No 2013 postseason for the Huskies... A tap dancing o-lineman... Rumblins has scoop that Tony Parker has stopped returning calls from Matta and staff.