The Week in News- Pirate TV, Recruiting Flips and Bed Linens
by whiskey OFD on Jan 21, 2012 12:50 PM EST
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PrintWelcome to what we like to call "TWIN." For those of you that haven't been with us in previous football off-seasons this is the post where we discuss any interesting college football related news that we didn't get to during the week. We start with a national scope then finish finish it up with any additional tidbits related to the Fighting Irish. If there is anything else that the commentariat thinks is worthy of discussion here please don't hesitate to link it in the comments.
And away we go.
Peter Berg apparently wants to shoot a "Hard Knocks" type series on Mike Leach and Wazzu. I personally couldn't be happier that the Pirate is back in the game as he is one of the most entertaining coaches of the modern era. The guy is just flat out fascinating. I don't watch many TV shows but I would absolutely watch this. If Berg can make it happen, I'm all over it. Hat tip to our friends at Barking Carnival.
More after the jump.
Master oversigner Nick Saban is back at it again. Despite being committed to the Crimson Tide for nearly a year Georgia Running Back Justin Taylor was told that the Tide doesn't have enough spots for him in this class but that they will help him find a job and pick him back up next year. How do they get these kids to agree to this stuff?
A total of 65 players have declared early for the NFL Draft. Every year I look at this list and in at least 50% of the cases wonder who is advising these kids. You will have to peruse the list yourselves but there are bunch of guys on here that I just don't get. Remember Bryce Brown?
Below is a list of those leaving programs on the 2012 Notre Dame Schedule.
Purdue- G Ken Plue
Michigan State- RB Edwin Baker, DT Jerel Worthy
Miami- DT Marcus Forston, WR Adarius Johnson, WR Tommy Streeter, DE Vernon Vernon, T Brandon Washington
Stanford- G David DeCastro, QB Andrew Luck, T Jonathan Martin
Boston College- DE Max Holloway, LB Luke Kuechley
Wake Forest- WR Chris Givens
USC- T Matt Kalil, DE Nick Perry
Steve Spurrier tossed out a few lovable quotes this week when talking about what he looks for in assistant coaches. The Ol' Ball Coach wants "Non-smoker" and no "fat,sloppy guys." Like Leach, Spurrier remains a character if nothing else. Hat tip to Dr. Saturday.
A second Joe Montana offspring is leaving a major program in search of playing time at quarterback. Former Notre Dame walk-on Nate Montana departed South Bend in search of more playing time in Montana and now little brother Nick Montana is leaving Washington most likely destined for a JUCO stop. There was a similar story in the news this week about Michael Jordan's son Jeff leaving the UCF Basketball program. I think if I were those kids I would pick another sport. Talk about big shadows....
Andy Staples put together a list of the 73 Rivals 100 recruits that have flipped their commitments since 2007. Notre Dame ended up on the wrong end of these flips with Omar Hunter, Chris Martin and Justice Hayes. On the plus side the Fighting Irish ended up with Gary Gray, Trevor Robinson, Jonas Gray, and Louis Nix. The Irish also had Stephon Tuitt and Aaron Lynch flip then flip back. All things considered I'll take that track record.
I don't think we ever took a minute to say thanks to Sean Cwynar and wish him the best next year. Cwynar elected not to return for a 5th year next fall to pursue non-football interests. Great kid.
Eric Hansen wrote an interesting article earlier this week about Notre Dame and the merits of Early Enrollment for football players. I am so thankful that Notre Dame got on board with this back in 2006. It is also interesting to look back at the list of Notre Dame EE's since this started in 2006.
2006
RB James Aldridge; OL Chris Stewart; WR George West
2007
RB Armando Allen; QB Jimmy Clausen; CB Gary Gray
2008
DL Sean Cwynar; OL Trevor Robinson
2009
CB E.J. Banks; SS Zeke Motta; DL Tyler Stockton
2010
SS: Chris Badger; CB Spencer Boyd; WR T.J. Jones; QB Tommy Rees; CB Lo Wood
2011
K/P Kyle Brindza; DE Brad Carrico; QB Everett Golson; DE Aaron Lynch; OLB Ishaq Williams
2012
DL Sheldon Day; QB Gunner Kiel; CB Tee Shepard
Four Notre Dame Football players have been invited to play in All Star Games. Harrison Smith will participate in the Senior Bowl. Robert Blanton and Gary Gray will participate in the East West Shrine Game and Trevor Robinson will participate in the NFLPA collegiate bowl. We wish them all the best in getting to the next level.
We will wrap this edition of TWIN up with the OFD comment of the week brought to you by smcilhen. It is his first and only comment on OFD but he came out of the gate strong by instantly going green in the discussion under Murtaugh's post on Everett Golson.
"My mom got me some ND bed linens for Xmas with EG featured prominently on them..... but I told her to send that sh#@ back because I WILL NOT SLEEP ON EG!"
Have a great weekend, and as always thanks for being part of the conversation.
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I would puke
if there was another Mike Leach TV show. He’s already been on 60 Minutes and showcased by so many outfits (and blogs, especially) that do nothing but kiss his ass. I don’t understand why people treat this guy like he’s a god.
Because he's a colorful character and runs an exciting offense
I’d rather listen to him speak than hear Nick Saban or Urban Meyer give a lot of empty answers and non-information in their flat, monotone voices.
One Foot Down
On teh Twitterz
I don't think Leach is treated like a God he's just an extremely interesting personality.
As such he gets a lot of press.
He also takes the "profile" of a college football coach and turns it on its head. He didn’t play football when he went to BYU, and followed that up getting a Law Degree from Pepperdine. Then instead of becoming a lawyer he decides that he wants to coach football. He catches on at Cal Poly, then spends a few years bouncing around other tiny programs before landing at Valdosta State with Hal Mumme. They then develop the "Air Raid" offense and take it to Kentucky. The next thing you know Leach takes a swing through Norman as Stoops’ OC then lands the Texas Tech HC job.
Toss in the bizarre pirate fascination and you have a pretty interesting college football coach.
His popularity definitely jumped 10 fold after getting fired by Tech for the whole Adam James scandal. He’s still battling tWWL and Craig James which makes him a full blown cult hero for college football fans.
While I would never want to see Leach at ND, I don’t want to see him coaching anyone that we play regularly either. I’m really curious to see how he does at Wazzu. Whatever happens it will be entertaining.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
I don't think he's funny.
I think he’s weird and a head case.
Toss in the bizarre pirate fascination and you have a pretty interesting college football coach.
Or a weirdo who gets press for being weird.
By the way, I’m aware of Leach’s “fascinations,” so no need to spell them all out. I also don’t think of him as a “hero.” With regards to the James case, I think Adam James is a whiny bitch and his dad is an egomaniac. That said, I also think Leach abused his power as head coach and deliberately mistreated a kid who had a concussion. If what Leach says is true, and Adam James was a problem from day one, then why didn’t Leach just kick him off the team? Simply state the reason as “he doesn’t meet our standards for discipline.” Coaches do this all the time. Instead, Leach locks the kid in a shed. Yeah, that’s pretty heroic.
Leach also would have had less problems if he simply apologized. The AD basically gave him an ultimatum: apologize or face suspension. Leach, who has a massive ego himself, thought he couldn’t be touched or fired and said no. Almost every coach has to eat their words at some point. Leach was foolish for being stubborn.
With such blatant insubordination, I was surprised Leach was hired anywhere. I told my friends “No AD worth his salt will hire a coach that toxic,” and they said, “Dude, people who read his book join his cult.” Well, turns out they were right.
On one hand, I’m glad Leach got a coaching job because now people can finally shut up about him. The main reason why so many people wanted this guy was because he didn’t have a losing season at TTU, though most of his seasons were mediocre. I can’t wait to hear what Leach’s fans say when he has a losing season at Wazzu. Though I’m with you: I would not want this nutjob coaching Notre Dame.
Why I disagree with the Leach sympathizers is primarily for the reason that coaches should be allowed to get away with murder as long as they win. Texas Tech fans were sad to see Leach go because he was a “winner.” (You see the same defense of Joe Paterno from Penn State fans, and of Jim Tressel from Ohio State fans. They don’t see a coach who looked the other way; they see a heroic head coach because of his long tenure and winning record.) As I said, Adam James is a whiny little bitch, but he’s also a stupid kid. Leach is a stupid adult. That’s worse.
by Meager Reader on Jan 21, 2012 4:56 PM EST up reply actions
Easy, Meager easy!
Relax, no one is trying to convince you to be a Leach Fan. Your distaste for him is noted. This was your original question.
I don’t understand why people treat this guy like he’s a god.
My response was simply illustrating why I, and other people think he’s interesting, and would watch the show.
I also think that any comparisons of Leach to Paterno specifically are a little over the top. Their respective “offenses” aren’t even remotely close to being comparable.
We are all familiar with Leach’s firing at TTU so no need to recount the details, but there was significantly more to his firing than his refusal to apologize.
Regardless, here’s a question for you. If they do the show will you watch it?
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
You're right
Their respective "offenses" aren’t even remotely close to being comparable.
Totally. Leach’s offenses can put up points. Hey-O!
by The Guys Get Shirts! on Jan 22, 2012 9:01 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Jeez, did Leach run over your dog?
Leach gets a lot of press because he’s the opposite of a traditional college football coach running the opposite of a traditional college football offense, and he’s had success doing it. TTU is not set up for success. It’s in the middle of nowhere in the state, and has to survive on the recruiting scraps left by UT, TAMU, OK, etc, and yet he pulled out some pretty good seasons and brought some attention to the program (and how any times have you heard anything about TTU’s team after Leach left?).
Even the Pope hates the Trojans
by Publius2010 on Jan 22, 2012 10:12 AM EST up reply actions
James was never locked in a shed
I see people are still repeating the myth that Adam James was locked in a shed. Adam admitted in his deposition under oath that he was never locked anywhere, and that he thought the whole incident was funny.
Exactly.
The whole “incident” is ridiculous. Texas Tech couldn’t have handled that whole situation any worse. In the end they sided with a famous helicopter dad and an entitled kid over the best coach they ever had. Genius.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
True this.
Wasn’t Tech looking for a reason to get rid of him for a while?
by Mouth of the South on Jan 22, 2012 1:24 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
James was never locked in a shed
Actually he was. I saw the cell phone video of him inside the shed, and Leach admitted that he locked James in a shed (which he refers to as “someplace dark”) but wasn’t sorry for it. James did say the whole thing was funny, but that was after Leach was fired.
In the end they sided with a famous helicopter dad and an entitled kid over the best coach they ever had. Genius.
I don’t side with the James family, although it might appear that I am. I see Leach’s actions as pure ego-driven insubordination. His superiors told him to apologize and he said no. If I was the AD, I would have fired him too.
I don’t think the James family approached this the right way either. Adam James could have done what any other college football player would have done and simply transferred. Leach also could have simply kicked him off the team.
I’ve already said that my opinion of the James family isn’t very high: “Adam James is a whiny bitch and his dad is an egomaniac.” However, I also think that Leach has a massive ego himself and thought he was untouchable.
Wasn’t Tech looking for a reason to get rid of him for a while?
I’ve looked into this, and it’s total B.S.
Leach was bringing in more revenue and more fan support than Texas Tech had seen in decades. Despite Leach’s claims that they were looking to fire him just to get out of a little bonus money, this is not true: TTU was not actively looking to get rid of Leach. What happened was they found themselves in a bad press situation with a coach who refused to play ball.
Everybody takes Leach’s side because he was a winning football coach and winning is the only thing that matters. The TTU administration showed, however, that when a coach leads you into a bad situation, it’s time to let that coach go.
Regardless, here’s a question for you. If they do the show will you watch it?
No. As I said, I would puke if there was another Mike Leach TV show. The guy gets so much undeserved adulation and unwarranted attention already.
by Meager Reader on Jan 22, 2012 2:32 PM EST up reply actions
The opinions are strong with you Meager.
Your loathing of all things Leach is noted. I was just curious if the show might have a “Howard Stern” effect on someone like you where you would tune in anyway.
I suspect that in many cases it will, which will ultimately make it that much more successful if it comes to fruition.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
Are we sure he was "locked" in the shed? I thought that everyone admitted that the shed wasn't actually locked.
by Mouth of the South on Jan 23, 2012 12:45 AM EST up reply actions
Correct. He wasn't ever locked in there.
The whole scenario was ridiculous. If I remember correctly the shed incident was something like this.
Adam James is hurt, and Leach used to have all hurt players out on the practice field riding stationary bikes. James was supposedly sensitive to light for some reason and was complaining about having to be outside. When one of the trainers mentioned it to Leach he said something like- Fine go put him in the shed. Meaning move his bike in there so he’s out of the sunlight.
Next thing you know James is in there making a video in the dark back room of what is actually a decent sized building with lights, an ice machine etc.
Then Craig James hires a PR firm to leak the video and starts his earnest campaign to fire Leach.
That’s my straight from the hip version, two years after the fact. Memory test….
Here’s tWWL basics.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
EE's
What’s most interesting to me is the success you see in that list. Other than a couple transfers almost all were multi-year starters. A few were very highly rated but not all. That extra spring must make a big difference in development.
by milford blanchester on Jan 21, 2012 5:59 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
It definitely makes a big difference in development.
I think that more and more top prospects are going to push to graduate from HS a semester early so that they can take advantage of this.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
I was fascinated to find out that ND along with Stanford, Washington, and North Carolina
wore special mouth gurads last fall equipped with nano technolgy to record impacts of hits. The average hit was 15 to 20 G’s and a major hit was up to 100G’s. Like the article said …thankfully these G’s are for but a millisecond, for if they werent the individual would be reduced to a pile of jelly.
No sweat--glad to see you're paying attention.
by Mouth of the South on Jan 22, 2012 1:26 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Not that you don't already.
by Mouth of the South on Jan 22, 2012 1:26 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
“Every year I look at this list and in at least 50% of the cases wonder who is advising these kids.”
Couldn’t agree more. When I saw Edwin Baker was leaving early, I laughed. That guy sucked. Well, maybe “sucked” isn’t the right word, but he was certainly unimpressive. LeVeon Bell is talented; Baker, not so much.
I love how Miami goes 6-6 and yet five of their players leave early. I cannot believe how far that program has fallen. I can remember ten years ago thinking they’d dominate college football for 30 years. Instead it only lasted about three. The 2001 team was practically an NFL team, and to this day is the best college football team I’ve seen. I know Larry Coker won a championship, and almost won another, but that guy did a horrific job with that program. I’d be curious to see what would have happened had Butch Davis stayed on.
On early enrollees, where do you suppose Tommy Rees would be at if he hadn’t enrolled early? I’m thinking that was a big reason he got placed higher on the depth chart than Andrew Hendrix in the first place. If Rees had enrolled at the same time as Hendrix, is he still ahead of him? I don’t know. But I’m certain it didn’t hurt.
I forgot to say it earlier but yeah, that NFL early entry list is a head scratcher.
I really don’t get it. When I see guys like that it always makes me think of Darius Walker.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
OT...or maybe next week in the news
Oregon coach Kelly to the TB Bucs? Makes that Darron Thomas early entry slightly less mystifying, maybe?
Well hello there hangover. Fancy meeting you here this bright Thursday morning.
by Cranked_Irish on Jan 22, 2012 11:28 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
Concur on Thomas. Much less of a head scratcher now.
Burger started a thread for this with a FanShot so that we can delve into it a little bit. I was really surprised by this.
whiskey
www.onefootdown.com
by whiskey OFD on Jan 22, 2012 11:33 PM EST up reply actions
sorry on the phone and didn't see the fan post.
Well hello there hangover. Fancy meeting you here this bright Thursday morning.
by Cranked_Irish on Jan 22, 2012 11:38 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
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