Good morning and welcome to your Friday Skull Session.
It's not every day that Ohio State picks up a transfer from another big school that is willing to pay his own way, but that's exactly what happened yesterday when Jeff Greene, Georgia Tech's leading receiver, agreed to walk on at Ohio State.
Earning comparisons to former Yellow Jacket and current New York Jet Stephen Hill, Greene is a physically impressive wideout (6-4/210) and two seasons of Big Five conference football under his belt.
Greene had grown frustrated with life as a receiver in Paul Johnson's flexbone option and his coaches were equally frustrated with his attitude. It wasn't that Greene didn't know what he was signing up for – the Yellow Jackets under Johnson regularly lead the nation in rushing attempts – but Tech's campus in Atlanta is just 24 miles from Greene's hometown of Fayetteville and on National Signing Day 2011, it seemed like the right choice.
Shortly after leaving Georgia Tech in December, Greene briefly considered Arkansas and Cincinnati as potential destinations. Ohio State entered the race because his father currently lives in Columbus. Following a trip to visit the school and coaches this week, Greene agreed to walk on for the Buckeyes Wednesday. He'll enroll for the summer term, which begins June 10, and take part in team activities.
Per NCAA transfer rules, Greene must sit out the 2013 season. He'll be eligible to play for Ohio State in 2014 and has two years of eligibility remaining.
THE OFFSEASON: WHERE WE INVENT THINGS TO ARGUE ABOUT. Thursday was a slow day for college sports news, so Bob Stoops, Nick Saban, and Will Muschamp's little hissy fit about the SEC's dominance is essentially your front page news.
If you missed it, on Wednesday, Stoops said SEC dominance is nothing more than propaganda. You know what Ramzy thinks about SEC dominance and what Ohio State is chasing, but what about what Nick Saban and Will Muschamp think?
Basically, Nick Saban ain't got time for that you-know-what:
“I didn’t even know he said it, so you’re going to have to tell me what he said,” Saban said. “I’ve got more important things to do than sit around and read what Bob Stoops has to say about anything. But I like Bob Stoops, and I respect him as a coach, but I’m really trying to manage our business.”
YOU ARE NOW WATCHIN THE THRONE
Then Evil Saban snaps back to reality and channels some diplomacy, saying that he "likes and respects him as a coach." Yeah, okay.
Here's what he was actually thinking: "I've got more important things to do (like recruit far better than you, Bob) to sit around and read (literally anything – I pay other people for that) what Bob Stoops has to say about anything (just keep watching the throne, Bob).
It's funny to contrast Saban's response with Muschamp's: “I’d be saying the same thing if I were in the Big 12,” he joked. “I said it for three years.”
Not to be overlooked, Saban also had interesting things to say about the Big Ten's new scheduling philosophy.
When asked about the league moving to end the practice of scheduling FBS schools, Saban was all for it. “I'm for five conferences – everybody playing everybody in those five conferences," he said. "That's what I'm for, so it might be 70 teams, and everybody's got to play 'em...”
PAY THEM ALL. We've discussed the O'Bannon case around here before - you know, the one about players' likenesses and traits in the NCAA football video games?
Jeremy Strauser, a former EA Sports employee, testified that the video games did in fact try to replicate actual players' traits and likenesses:
“We generally tried to make the players perform as their real life counterparts, short of their name and likeness,” Strauser testified.
Well, um, yeah. That was pretty obvious. So what does the NCAA say? Do they agree and blame EA Sports? Plug their ears and yell to drown out the noise?
Regardless of your opinions about paying players, it's hard to imagine that the NCAA can make it through this case and still maintain the status quo.
CONFIDENT BO'B. Can you believe that Penn State is weathering the transfer storm? Can you imagine playing for a historical program and never having the opportunity to play in a bowl game?
The Nittany Lions have been largely unscathed by players transferring out, even though they can still leave without penalty.
"I don't see the mass exodus coming,'' O'Brien said before speaking to a banquet hall full of Penn State supporters in midtown Manhattan. "We're going to coach who shows up July 31st for training camp. I think we're way past that. I think our kids are committed.''
At first look it's kind of puzzling that Penn State was able to sign the recruiting class it did while keeping the current player base intact.
However, I can imagine that such adversity has instead bound the team together. So we'd expect the bulk of players that might transfer to have already transferred out long ago. Basically, anyone who made it through the first round of transfers was likely to stay. Even the latest PSU transfer - Steven Bench - left the program because of the depth chart at quarterback rather than the NCAA sanctions.
The same logic should apply to Bill O'Brien. After resisting offers to leave last season, I can certainly see him staying in State College for the long haul.
GO ON BRUSH YOUR LINKS OFF. Jay-Z's got 99 problems, but Geno Smith ain't one (yet)... Not bad, Wisconsin, not bad... The definitive Tim Brando piece... Strong work by the Beamer to amp up OOC scheduling... Wes Lunt (OKSt QB) enters the QB free agency... Who's paid most in your state?... Isn't this already in the Big House?... The Redskins say they will never ever change.
