That the question is even out there about rule 3-2-5-e is refreshing to me. If you follow the link, it will take you to the 2007 questionnaire sent out by the NCAA to all it’s 1-A coaches asking for their feedback. And that is a step in the right direction. However, I just have to ask you the reader, do you put the most important topics at the top or the bottom of your agenda? Yeah, me too. But apparently, the NCAA likes to give you a little fore play before they go stampeding towards the… (editors note, I promised to tone down the use of some of the language that I had used previously at my old site. But if you were thinking Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, you’re where you need to be.) Yeah, they like to warm the coaches up by asking if they wish to change rule 1-4-3-a so that visiting teams would not be required to wear their white uniforms. Heady stuff! Followed by rule 3-1-1, asking if the coin toss should not begin before the team captains leave the nine yard marks and end when the captains cross the nine yard mark. And exactly what that achieves, I don’t know.

But one thing I do know is coaches. They do small things differently, but they all have a very short fuse. And after they read question two and ask, “what the hell is going on around here,” their mind drifts to chalk boards filled with x’s and o’s. So they choose “no opinion” the rest of the way down the list. Problem solved. A conspiracy by the NCAA to get the coaches to play along? You decide.

One thing I know is that rule 3-2-5-e is suktasitc. And yes, I cheer for a team that likes to run the ball a lot. So 3-2-5-e is not my friend. But what should be more important to us the fans of college football is that they took time away from the game and tried to make it more like the NFL. We already have a NFL. We don’t need another. We like being in the stands, really! We like the fact that we have closer to four hours to tell our significant other, “I’ll do it when the game is over, ” and totally get away with it without any questions asked. In short, it’s a beautiful thing. We pay way too much for tickets and parking and concessions and all that stuff. All we ask is that you throw us a bone every once in a while. N’kay?

If you could pick one down point in the whole 2006 season you would have to fingerpoint the FIU-Miami brawl. I know you’ve seen it many times on ESPN, but in today’s You Tubesday I give you the footage with the Miami Hurricane play by play and colorman in the background. Listen how now fired Lamar Thomas makes a complete fool of himself.

Ross retires after 3 years at Army

70-year old Bobby Ross, the head coach of the Army football program, retired today. As with most things Bobby Ross-related, the move was done quietly, with little fanfare. Ross was hired three seasons ago to rebuild Army’s program, but he struggled with a 9-25 record with the Black Knights losing their final six games of the 2006 season.

Ross is one of the more underrated football coaches of the past 30-years. He is the rare breed of head football coach that saw success in both the NFL and the NCAA. His finest coaching achievement was in 1990, when he lead Georgia Tech to a share of the national championship. He left Georgia Tech in 1991 to become the head coach of the San Diego Chargers. And in 1995, he did what many “big-time” college coaches dream of doing (I’m looking at you, Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban), as he lead the Chargers to a Super Bowl Appearance. In all, Coach Ross was the head man at The Citadel (1973-77), Maryland (1982-86), Georgia Tech (1987-91), San Diego Chargers (1992-96), Detroit Lions (1997-00), and Army (2004-06). Overall, he held a career record of 180-169-2.

Ross had a distinguished career. My only commentary on him, is in regards to his most recent job at Army. Hiring a 67-year old coach, that had retired four years before due to poor health, was a pretty poor decision at the time, and in hindsight looks even worse. College football coaching and, in particular, program building is a young man’s game. If you look at the older men that are still coaching successfully, they are the coaches that built their programs from scratch and have maintained success–think Penn State, Florida State, or Virginia Tech, OR they took over programs that were already functioning at a pretty high level and just needed some fine-tuning–think Oklahoma, Texas, USC, Florida, or Ohio State (and look for Miami and Alabama to get back in this category soon). And, if you think about the programs that have truly elevated themselves in the past few season, they have done it through the long hours of their young head coaches–think California, West Virginia, Rutgers, Utah, or Boise State. I will stop short of saying that the evidence is there (since I have not done a long-term study), but the conventional wisdom appears to be that, if you want to rebuild (or even just “build”) a program, you should go with a younger coach, rather than an experienced, older one.

The Senior Bowl wrapped up on Saturday as the North Squad shut out the South Squad 27-0. But not everything was peachy for the North Bowl Squad. Troy Smith struggled by completing only 5 of 15 passes for a little over 50 yards, right now the word is that with that performance Smith worked his way out of the first round. Most think that Smith will be a 2nd day pick. Check out Draft Daddy for some more coverage on Troy Smith.

A person on the North Squad that did help himself out was MVP Tony Hunt. There was really no marquee backs in this game but Hunt showed power and the ability to block in this game. He ran for 38 yards and a touchdown, and he also showed the ability to catch the ball. A skill that NFL running backs need.

Chris Leak had a rough day, but it can’t take away the fact that he has a National Title on his resume. Leak measured in a little shorter than what he was listed and also fumbled the ball away which led to a quick North touchdown. A guy that is really starting to make waves on the draft board is LSU’s Dwayne Bowe. Bowe is listed in some draft boards as the best senior wide receiver.

The 19 year old Amobi Okoye from Louisville has opened the most eyes at the Senior Bowl. Okoye still has room to grow and mature yet he has the skill and strength to compete in the NFL right now. He is going to make some NFL GM very happy come draft day. Hopefully I will be able to do another post tomorrow outlining some more people.

Big Ten officials and coaches might be glad to see Carr leave

In Lloyd Carr’s 12 seasons at Michigan he has gone 113-36 overall and 75-21 in the Big Ten with 5 Big Ten titles. Yet there are still a few of the Michigan faithful that want to see Carr off the sidelines. Well they might get their wish.The Ann Arbor News is reporting that the language in his contract was altered, making it easier for him to retire after the 2007 season.

Signed by Carr on Dec. 21 of last year, the addendum calls for the school to set up a deferred compensation account worth $300,000 within 15 days of July 1, 2007. Carr will collect his money approximately a year later if he remains employed by Michigan “in any capacity, until July 1, 2008.”

There have been rumors flying around for a few years that Carr was thinking about retiring, but this is the most definitive proof to date. Carr has done a great job at Michigan during the regular season, but lately he has been struggling against his rival Ohio State and in bowl games. He has won only once against Jim Tressel and has lost his last 3 bowl games. Personally I am not a huge Lloyd Carr fan, mostly due to the fact that he kicks Penn State’s butt each year, but I think it is a big mistake if the University is some how forcing him out. He does well on the recruiting front and won 9 or more games in all but 3 of his seasons at Michigan.

In the silly season that is the off season of college football I find it a little helpful to let my eyes wonder a bit around the rest of the sports world if just to keep everything fresh. I’m not a huge recruiting hawk because I don’t believe in anything until I see it in a set of pads. And with little to no drama boiling up I though I would pass along a story that I wouldn’t believe in a million yearsif it wasn’t true! (ht: deadspin)

If you’re too lazy to click on the link, and I’m kind of hoping you are so you’ll see what I have to say about it, a promising high school athlete and general decent kid was sent to jail for ten years for receiving oral. His name is Genarlow Wilson, and he was seventeen at the time one of his 15 year old classmates gave said pleasure. He’s now 20 years old in the second year of a ten year sentence. Due to an obscure Georgia law that punishes any teen-aged recipient to 10 years with no hope of parole, one of the most unbelievable stories I have ever come across is taking place as we speak. And in an even bigger Roger Foxtrot, the law was changed after he was incarcerated, but anyone convicted before the law change would have to finish their sentence as it was delivered. And on top of that, the classmate of Genarlow freely admitted that she instigated the contact. If I had any hair I would be pulling it out! NOW!

It’s very important for us as a society to protect our children, and to steer them away from being adults before they are ready. But this is just crazy! Would any of you allow your teen-aged child to serve a ten year sentence for something, admit it, we all hope for every day? If you agree with me, head over to the online petition to have Genarlow released from prison. He has more than paid for his “crime” and deserves to get on with the rest of his life.

In Mid-2006 a bunch of reports came out citing that Reggie Bush took money while playing at USC. Well finally after a federal investigation those reports came true. Nearly $280,000 in cash, rent and gifts was allegedly given to Bush and his family by a group New Era Sports & Entertainment who was trying to make Bush their first client. Honestly this really comes of no surprise at all to me. No, I don’t think Pete Carrol and USC runs a dirty program, but usually when reports like this one comes out, they tend to be true. Next question is, what will the NCAA do about this?

I am torn on the punishment part of this matter. If the NCAA does anything the will most likely strip Bush of his 2005 Heisman Trophy and strip USC of their 2004 BCS Championship, but will that really deter athletes from doing this again? I don’t think so. USC will pay the penalty for something that Reggie Bush did, and to my best knowledge they did not know anything about it. That doesn’t make it any better, but it is what it is. If the NCAA gets any harsher they will end up penalizing players who did not even play with Bush, but in my opinion that needs done.

There is too much uncertainty going on now with recruiting and athletes receiving special benefits while being an amateur athlete. Recruiting is a huge business and schools know that; 17 and 18 year old kids are becoming superstars overnight because of sites like Rivals.com and Scout.com. They expect the red carpet rolled out for them when they take official visits to schools they are considering. And for the most part all the schools do bring out all the stops. USC has taken recruits to hang out with Snoop Dogg, other schools such as Penn State will bring in former athletes like Larry Johnson or Tamba Hali to pitch their schools. As long as it is within the rules this is fine, but when these kids read about situations like this they have to wonder how they can get their hands on some money.

Who can blame the kid? They know even if they do get caught they won’t get in any real trouble. Look at Rhett Bomar, he took a lot more money for a job that should’ve been given to him, but he’s still playing football in the NCAA. Yeah it is for a lower level school, but he still has his NFL dreams alive. The NCAA needs to look at situations like this and set a precedent. Take away scholarships from the school in question, that way next time maybe they will police their players a little better. Rules were broken and there needs to be a punishment handed out because if the NCAA sits on their hands this will happen again and again.

If USC did know about this, they could have turned him in and therefore saving themselves from a penalty. Just like Stoops did with Bomar. There is nothing we can do as fans but sit and wait. But we all know what will happen, they will get a slap on the wrist. This is USC, not TCU. If it were a school will a small national following we would see a harsh punishment, but we all know the NCAA doesn’t have the guts to do anything to one of the most beloved schools in the country. Most of us believe that they don’t have it right by not having a playoff, but hopefully they can get this right by putting out this little flame before it becomes a full blown forest fire.

per Rotoworld/USA Today:

A federal investigation has revealed taped conversations that may confirm Reggie Bush took cash and gifts while at USC.
According to an investigation by Yahoo.com, nearly $280,000 in cash, rent and gifts was allegedly given to Bush and his family. If the taped conversations ever become public, USC could face stiff penalties from the NCAA. The Houston Texans reportedly passed on Bush in part because they felt he was lying about his involvement with this scandal.

Not according to ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach, who breaks it down here.

Schlabach likes USC, Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma in his top five, but missing from his top 25, and I’ve triple checked this, is Notre Dame. Hmm.

Okay, dear reader, tell us your top five for next year, in the comments below. We’ll take one at random and give you a $10 Amazon gift card for the effort.

Show us your stuff.

Draft Daddy is running a week long commentary on the Senior Bowl, from the practices all the way up to the game. You can also see coverage on the NFL Network, as they hold the exclusive rights to the game. I did catch some of the North’s practice so I can comment on some of the blurbs on Draft Daddy.

Smith at Monday’s practice (Draft Daddy)

Troy Smith still does not look comfortable. He looks nervous, just like in the Championship Game. One has to wonder if the pressure of being the Heisman winner is getting to him. I also did not realize how short he was until you get to see him on field level with the other guys. Smith measured in at an even 6 ft and some think that could hurt his draft status. Two other quarterbacks measured in smaller than listed on their media guide. Pittsburgh QB Tyler Palko was 2 inches shorter than listed and Florida QB Chris Leak was measure at less than 6 feet tall.

Below are some others that have seen their stock fall a little according to Draft Daddy:

West Virginia center Dan Mozes measured 1 inch short but 10 pounds heavy.
Florida State linebacker Buster Davis just looked small compared to the others.
Texas offensive tackle Justin Blaylock measured short for a OT and was doughy.

Kolby Smith is really helping his draft status. He looked good running the ball, getting north and south and showing some impressive speed. Also on the North Squad two Pennsylvania linebackers are showing that they could be high picks. HB Blades always had the knock against him that he got all his tackles 4 or 5 yards down the field. Blades showed that he can stuff the run at the line, it’s amazing how good some players can be with quality players around.

Penn State LB Paul Posluszny is helping his draft stock. Poz probably will not test that great at the combine, but it can be seen that he is a really good football player at these practices. He has excellent lateral movement and is a sure tackler.

Here are some other players helping their stock according to Draft Daddy:

LSU. wide receiver Dwayne Bowe appeared very cut/built and measured tall.
Michigan corner back Leon Hall impressed scouts with his muscular, cut “V” frame.
Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton measured tall enough and looked tight.
Boston College offensive tackle James Marten measured 2 inches taller than listed.
Rutgers running back Brian Leonard slimmed down to better project as a running back.
Ole Miss linebacker Patrick Willis looked jacked up and menacing, despite 1 inch short.

I’ll have more updates as the week goes on but keep an eye on Draft Daddy for more updates.