Another big wave of commitments means it's time to fix what needs fixing. And what goes up must come down: Jeff White also breaks the news of a number of departures for the year - some permanent, others not - that also necessitates an update to the depth chart as well as the recruiting board. Let's have at it:
- Surprising amount of attrition sees five players leave the team: WR Quintin Hunter, WR Javaris Brown, OT Lamar Milstead, DE Tory Allen-Ford, and CB Javanti Sparrow. The explanation for Sparrow involves privacy laws and the possibility of return for 2011, which decrypts as "academic issues." So Sparrow may end up returning as did, for example, Chris Cook and Jameel Sewell. And he has a redshirt year to use, courtesy of Al Groh's "slashing and burning of our future," as some like to call it. The rest are out.
- On the flip side, scholarships are given to WR Matt Snyder and K Robert Randolph.
- I've also updated, by the way, the spaces for the '11 commits. The latest, Kevin Green, probably isn't going to a quarterback at all, but what the hell, he goes there for now. I don't think he's on board for his quarterbacking so much as for his overall athleticism.
Impact? First, by my count, 82 scholarships spoken for; we'll be a few shy this year. Second, a little extra space, but not a lot, opens up in the recruiting class of 2011. Sparrow's scholarship hopefully won't be open, but the shuffling basically adds two free spaces. There's a bare, absolute minimum now of 16 members of the class; 14 are spoken for, 15 if you count Clifton Richardson as a commit, which I don't, yet. 20 was the old target; I'm thinking 22 now. This is the silver lining, and it's a big one, because spaces are quickly coming off the board and there are some primo targets left.
Second, depth at cornerback just went from a big issue to a big big issue. I know Mike London wants speed at linebacker but can we really be carrying 11 linebackers and five cornerbacks? Five scholarship players is not a cornerback depth chart, it's a cornerback kiddie pool. Depth is suddenly a problem at receiver too, with just seven scholarship players there. Wide receiver just became a priority for this class.
Speaking of this class, let's have a look at the new, updated recruiting board:
- Moved TE Darius Redman, LB Caleb Taylor, and S Kameron Mack to orange, and added ATH Kevin Green there too.
- Removed a few players with whom our chances have fallen from near zero to actually zero: ATH Lafonte Thourogood, WR Quinta Funderburk, and OT Cyrus Kouandjio.
- Removed a couple more players who it doesn't look like we'll get involved with: LB Myles Jackson and WR Melvin Robinson.
- Removed ATH Chris Hall, who's now a Hokie.
- Moved DE Norkeithus Otis from yellow to red.
- Moved QB Kevin Hogan and OT Jay Whitmire from yellow to blue.
- Also, notably, moved LB Curtis Grant from yellow to blue. This isn't because Grant has narrowed down his list or anything. D-I schools can still be divided into two groups: those who've offered Grant, and those who figure they wouldn't have a chance. But the fact is, Grant has been to UVA a lot this spring. Charlottesville is something of a weekend hangout. This is a recruitment UVA fans will be glued to the same way we were for Morgan Moses. Might as well act like it.
Showing posts with label sparrow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sparrow. Show all posts
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
housekeeping
I need to update both the recruiting board and the depth chart, so that's exactly what we're doing today. Recruiting board first:
- Dropped the following players: OT Evan Mulrooney (Maryland commit - we never offered), TE Brian Miller (Boston College commit), CB Jeremiah Hendy (Maryland commit), OT Conor Hanratty (Notre Dame commit, and that was pretty much a foregone conclusion), and DE Giorgio Newberry (has never really talked UVA.)
- Moved CB Demetrious Nicholson from blue to yellow. Bummer. UVA seems to be dropping here.
- Moved DE Corey Marshall and DE Norkeithus Otis from red to yellow. UVA's chances with Marshall still look slim, with VT and Michigan both pursuing him very hard, but we are in a top-four group and he didn't commit to Tech at the VT spring game. So either Tech is slow-playing him and telling him to be patient with committing, or he's serious about checking out the other schools on his list. Michigan is coming hard and I bet he goes to their barbecue on May 22nd - another "great news if he doesn't commit" date.
- Added OT Jake Goins to yellow. He'd be blue, but then he'd probably already be a Hokie if they actually wanted him this year. His offer there is for a grayshirt.
You'll notice some of the names are now highlighted in orange - these are the top-of-the-wishlist guys. The guys you need to really put a stamp of approval on a recruiting class. I'd be ecstatic, frankly, to get half of them, but if we can't get at least two it'll be a disappointment. Nobody in red is highlighted because frankly that's while-we're-at-it-I'd-like-a-pony territory, and orange doesn't show up too good on red anyway.
A little feedback on that would be appreciated, by the way, because I can't decide if it's better to have the wishlist guys in orange at the top of the color section or just at the top of their positions. I went with the latter for now because it's less work.
Also, I said I'd update the depth chart, and I did. Last year's seniors have now disappeared and the depth chart reflects the ground truth heading into fall camp. Thoughts on that because that's why this blog is here:
- Marc Verica, as mentioned, is the clear starter, and the race is behind him. That designation has an expiration date of mid-October, and you can bet the staff will be scrutinizing Verica in the season's early going to make sure it's worth it to keep sending him out there.
- Red flags should be going up in your head when you look at the running backs. Perry Jones topping the chart at RB is a surprise. It's not a good sign that the two-deep at RB comprises 1) the football Muggsy Bogues and 2) a guy who's made a long career out of getting passed up on the depth chart. I dunno, maybe Jones blew away the coaches with his moves and football IQ and Keith Payne is finally living up to the Chuck Norris-like status he was assigned as a recruit, but one thing we definitely didn't hear out of spring camp is how the running backs were really stealing the show. Reading between the lines here, I'd hazard a guess that this is more about what the competition (Torrey Mack, mainly) didn't show in spring camp. Expect this battle to start totally anew in the fall with all-new horses in Dominique Wallace, Kevin Parks, and Khalek Shepherd.
- Wide receiver will be a position of strength if Tim Smith is as good as advertised. Kris Burd is a good receiver but not the kind you game-plan for; Smith is the only such player in that group.
- Don't be fooled by the apparent lack of depth at guard; I'm pretty much only going by what they say, and they don't list a whole lot of guards. A lot of guys are just listed as OL and they basically end up at tackle until we learn otherwise, because tackle is what they were recruited as. They have to go somewhere, and the byproduct of that is, tackle looks really heavy and guard looks really thin, when that's not the case.
- On the other hand, I've been telling you we're really heavy at linebacker and really thin in the secondary: a side effect of London's decision to move a lot of players a slot closer to the line of scrimmage. This illustrates it pretty nicely. Four linebackers, including incoming guy Chris Brathwaite because I think DE is where he'll end up, got moved down to the D-line, so there really isn't a major glut of linebackers, but we can't even go three deep in the secondary until the freshmen show up, and then only just barely, and also only because Javanti Sparrow got shifted to the defensive side of the ball. It's no accident that three of our first seven commitments for 2011 (counting Kyrrel Latimer) are defensive backs.
- London omitted the kickers from the depth chart; it's clearly still open season on that competition as well.
- Dropped the following players: OT Evan Mulrooney (Maryland commit - we never offered), TE Brian Miller (Boston College commit), CB Jeremiah Hendy (Maryland commit), OT Conor Hanratty (Notre Dame commit, and that was pretty much a foregone conclusion), and DE Giorgio Newberry (has never really talked UVA.)
- Moved CB Demetrious Nicholson from blue to yellow. Bummer. UVA seems to be dropping here.
- Moved DE Corey Marshall and DE Norkeithus Otis from red to yellow. UVA's chances with Marshall still look slim, with VT and Michigan both pursuing him very hard, but we are in a top-four group and he didn't commit to Tech at the VT spring game. So either Tech is slow-playing him and telling him to be patient with committing, or he's serious about checking out the other schools on his list. Michigan is coming hard and I bet he goes to their barbecue on May 22nd - another "great news if he doesn't commit" date.
- Added OT Jake Goins to yellow. He'd be blue, but then he'd probably already be a Hokie if they actually wanted him this year. His offer there is for a grayshirt.
You'll notice some of the names are now highlighted in orange - these are the top-of-the-wishlist guys. The guys you need to really put a stamp of approval on a recruiting class. I'd be ecstatic, frankly, to get half of them, but if we can't get at least two it'll be a disappointment. Nobody in red is highlighted because frankly that's while-we're-at-it-I'd-like-a-pony territory, and orange doesn't show up too good on red anyway.
A little feedback on that would be appreciated, by the way, because I can't decide if it's better to have the wishlist guys in orange at the top of the color section or just at the top of their positions. I went with the latter for now because it's less work.
Also, I said I'd update the depth chart, and I did. Last year's seniors have now disappeared and the depth chart reflects the ground truth heading into fall camp. Thoughts on that because that's why this blog is here:
- Marc Verica, as mentioned, is the clear starter, and the race is behind him. That designation has an expiration date of mid-October, and you can bet the staff will be scrutinizing Verica in the season's early going to make sure it's worth it to keep sending him out there.
- Red flags should be going up in your head when you look at the running backs. Perry Jones topping the chart at RB is a surprise. It's not a good sign that the two-deep at RB comprises 1) the football Muggsy Bogues and 2) a guy who's made a long career out of getting passed up on the depth chart. I dunno, maybe Jones blew away the coaches with his moves and football IQ and Keith Payne is finally living up to the Chuck Norris-like status he was assigned as a recruit, but one thing we definitely didn't hear out of spring camp is how the running backs were really stealing the show. Reading between the lines here, I'd hazard a guess that this is more about what the competition (Torrey Mack, mainly) didn't show in spring camp. Expect this battle to start totally anew in the fall with all-new horses in Dominique Wallace, Kevin Parks, and Khalek Shepherd.
- Wide receiver will be a position of strength if Tim Smith is as good as advertised. Kris Burd is a good receiver but not the kind you game-plan for; Smith is the only such player in that group.
- Don't be fooled by the apparent lack of depth at guard; I'm pretty much only going by what they say, and they don't list a whole lot of guards. A lot of guys are just listed as OL and they basically end up at tackle until we learn otherwise, because tackle is what they were recruited as. They have to go somewhere, and the byproduct of that is, tackle looks really heavy and guard looks really thin, when that's not the case.
- On the other hand, I've been telling you we're really heavy at linebacker and really thin in the secondary: a side effect of London's decision to move a lot of players a slot closer to the line of scrimmage. This illustrates it pretty nicely. Four linebackers, including incoming guy Chris Brathwaite because I think DE is where he'll end up, got moved down to the D-line, so there really isn't a major glut of linebackers, but we can't even go three deep in the secondary until the freshmen show up, and then only just barely, and also only because Javanti Sparrow got shifted to the defensive side of the ball. It's no accident that three of our first seven commitments for 2011 (counting Kyrrel Latimer) are defensive backs.
- London omitted the kickers from the depth chart; it's clearly still open season on that competition as well.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
redshirting
In my self-appointed role as Al Groh apologist, even I have to raise my eyebrows at a couple of Al's decisions this year regarding true freshmen. Most people do more than that, of course - a couple folks going all the way to the extent of pointing to the 14 true freshmen used this year as proof positive that Al does in fact hate the University - for why else would he so irreversibly damage our future?
Last week, Jeff White presented the breakdown of true freshmen on the field. Who played, and how much. Al's always liked to use them, this year more so than just about ever. 14 is a big, big number, and one of the usual tacks when criticizing Groh is that it's way too many. Often, people point to just the number as evidence. I thought I'd break this down a little further, though. A lot of these are justifiable - you'd have to be just not even thinking about it to claim all 14 shouldn't have played. Let's see who should and shouldn't have been out there.
Not Only Justifiable, But Would Have Been Criminal Not To Use Them:
- Tim Smith. Third-most productive receiver, and could easily be remembered as the best of this bunch when all's said and done. With the unit absolutely desperate for talent, I don't think I ever saw anyone argue that he shouldn't have played, and nobody should.
- Tucker Windle. Don't look at me like that. Another common criticism of Al is that he didn't develop enough playable depth. Actually kind of a problem for the linebackers this year - the previous group was so solid that they played all the time, and now we have seniors and juniors stepping up that really haven't seen much action. Well, here's your playable depth. Granted, our need for ILB's just got cut in half, but Groh can't be assuming that. Windle looked solid enough in his time out there, and he needs his share of reps.
- Oday Aboushi. Left tackle has been a punching bag of mine all season. Not 100% sure how fair that is in the end, but I can't say I was pleased at all by Landon Bradley's play this year. This should be an open competition next year, and Aboushi not only deserves his reps, the team needed him to get them.
- Will Hill. Before the season, DE depth was one of the major concerns. We always really knew we'd need to dip into the true freshman pool at DE, and Hill enrolled early, giving him a leg up. Not only that, though: having Hill on the field is useful proof for the admissions people, should the coaches ever want to make the case (they better), that early enrollment is a big benefit to the program.
Not Essential, But Perfectly Justifiable
- Dominique Wallace. It looked like he was headed for quite a bit of use until he got hurt. And we ended up with not a lot of usable depth at running back. Mikell Simpson is an injury magnet, Torrey Mack proved himself unable to pass-block, and Perry Jones is itty-bitty and not your first choice when the offensive line is average at best at run-blocking. We didn't really need Wallace out there, but I personally was wanting to see more. And we get that year back anyway thanks to a likely medical redshirt.
- Perry Jones. Again with the need for a little rotation at running back. Plus, Jones averaged 16 special teams plays a game - that's basically most of them. Might as well use the best we got, if he's it.
Would Have Preferred Not To See Them, But You Can Still Make An Argument
- Laroy Reynolds. Got some special teams action - about 10 plays a game - but not really enough to say we were using him because he was clearly the best at it. What I'd like to have seen is the breakdown of which special teams plays he was in on. If he was a kickoff/punt coverage regular but maybe not in for the returns, you could waffle him back and forth between here and the above column.
- Connor McCartin. Ended the season on the two-deep. Playable depth would again be a workable argument if he'd gotten more than four plays on defense. Still, when you're on the two-deep, you're on the two-deep - it seems disingenuous to list a guy there and then not play him in situations where you'd play the backup.
- Drew Jarrett. People forget: The guy's a walk-on. Redshirting him is the same thing as telling him he'll need to pay his way through a fifth year of college - and grad school at that, which is much more expensive. I don't think you ask that of a guy, unless you're prepared to offer him that fifth year gratis.
- Paul Freedman. Our tight ends - that is, Torchia and Phillips - were not too spectacular this year, either. Drops were a problem. I can see where you'd want to fire a shot across their bow by putting the third-string in there.
Put The Redshirt And The Matches Down, Coach
- Quintin Hunter. We had enough wide receivers out there. Hunter had one catch all year despite participating in 89 offensive plays. That's not justification to play him.
- LoVante' Battle. The contribution from him just wasn't worth it. Battle is probably not destined for stardom, but you might as well be patient and see what happens.
- Javanti Sparrow. See Battle.
- Corey Lillard. See Battle and Sparrow, times ten, and maybe minus the part about stardom. Lillard was a well-though-of recruit we had to beat a lot of good teams for. Ten plays? If you're going to get angry about redshirt-burning, this is the one to hang your hat on.
There's the possibility, by the way, of a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that we fans aren't privy to. Maybe one of the freshmen told Groh, "hey, I don't want to play a fifth year, I want to get my degree on schedule and get moving with my life - play me if I deserve it." Maybe we have a highly motivated freshman class that wanted to get out their and prove their special teams chops - Groh always said that special teams were your gateway to the field.
Still, from a purely analytical standpoint here, I think there are at least four and possibly eight that shouldn't have played, and six that definitely should have. But you have to remember: this isn't irreversible. What's irreversible is the redshirts. If Mike London wants to, he can put the shirt back on these fourteen players.
In particular, I think the following players would be excellent candidates: McCartin, Freedman, Hunter, and one or two of the defensive backs. There's not enough depth at defensive back to redshirt them all again plus the incoming class too. But two tight ends for the year are plenty, and we get back Torchia and Phillips. The 4-3 gives us lots of depth at ILB - we shouldn't need McCartin. We don't graduate any receivers but Hall, and we're never going to see another four- or five-receiver set, so Hunter can sit. And Robert Randolph is certainly capable of kicking extra points if we really want a fifth year out of Jarrett.
Bottom line here: Groh could certainly have run this year without using so many true freshman, but anybody who complains about using 14 without a look at who actually played and how much isn't thinking it through enough. And it's not as if any damage is irreversible. Redshirts aren't only for the freshman year. Myself I am only complaining about four. That's not program-killing stuff.
Last week, Jeff White presented the breakdown of true freshmen on the field. Who played, and how much. Al's always liked to use them, this year more so than just about ever. 14 is a big, big number, and one of the usual tacks when criticizing Groh is that it's way too many. Often, people point to just the number as evidence. I thought I'd break this down a little further, though. A lot of these are justifiable - you'd have to be just not even thinking about it to claim all 14 shouldn't have played. Let's see who should and shouldn't have been out there.
Not Only Justifiable, But Would Have Been Criminal Not To Use Them:
- Tim Smith. Third-most productive receiver, and could easily be remembered as the best of this bunch when all's said and done. With the unit absolutely desperate for talent, I don't think I ever saw anyone argue that he shouldn't have played, and nobody should.
- Tucker Windle. Don't look at me like that. Another common criticism of Al is that he didn't develop enough playable depth. Actually kind of a problem for the linebackers this year - the previous group was so solid that they played all the time, and now we have seniors and juniors stepping up that really haven't seen much action. Well, here's your playable depth. Granted, our need for ILB's just got cut in half, but Groh can't be assuming that. Windle looked solid enough in his time out there, and he needs his share of reps.
- Oday Aboushi. Left tackle has been a punching bag of mine all season. Not 100% sure how fair that is in the end, but I can't say I was pleased at all by Landon Bradley's play this year. This should be an open competition next year, and Aboushi not only deserves his reps, the team needed him to get them.
- Will Hill. Before the season, DE depth was one of the major concerns. We always really knew we'd need to dip into the true freshman pool at DE, and Hill enrolled early, giving him a leg up. Not only that, though: having Hill on the field is useful proof for the admissions people, should the coaches ever want to make the case (they better), that early enrollment is a big benefit to the program.
Not Essential, But Perfectly Justifiable
- Dominique Wallace. It looked like he was headed for quite a bit of use until he got hurt. And we ended up with not a lot of usable depth at running back. Mikell Simpson is an injury magnet, Torrey Mack proved himself unable to pass-block, and Perry Jones is itty-bitty and not your first choice when the offensive line is average at best at run-blocking. We didn't really need Wallace out there, but I personally was wanting to see more. And we get that year back anyway thanks to a likely medical redshirt.
- Perry Jones. Again with the need for a little rotation at running back. Plus, Jones averaged 16 special teams plays a game - that's basically most of them. Might as well use the best we got, if he's it.
Would Have Preferred Not To See Them, But You Can Still Make An Argument
- Laroy Reynolds. Got some special teams action - about 10 plays a game - but not really enough to say we were using him because he was clearly the best at it. What I'd like to have seen is the breakdown of which special teams plays he was in on. If he was a kickoff/punt coverage regular but maybe not in for the returns, you could waffle him back and forth between here and the above column.
- Connor McCartin. Ended the season on the two-deep. Playable depth would again be a workable argument if he'd gotten more than four plays on defense. Still, when you're on the two-deep, you're on the two-deep - it seems disingenuous to list a guy there and then not play him in situations where you'd play the backup.
- Drew Jarrett. People forget: The guy's a walk-on. Redshirting him is the same thing as telling him he'll need to pay his way through a fifth year of college - and grad school at that, which is much more expensive. I don't think you ask that of a guy, unless you're prepared to offer him that fifth year gratis.
- Paul Freedman. Our tight ends - that is, Torchia and Phillips - were not too spectacular this year, either. Drops were a problem. I can see where you'd want to fire a shot across their bow by putting the third-string in there.
Put The Redshirt And The Matches Down, Coach
- Quintin Hunter. We had enough wide receivers out there. Hunter had one catch all year despite participating in 89 offensive plays. That's not justification to play him.
- LoVante' Battle. The contribution from him just wasn't worth it. Battle is probably not destined for stardom, but you might as well be patient and see what happens.
- Javanti Sparrow. See Battle.
- Corey Lillard. See Battle and Sparrow, times ten, and maybe minus the part about stardom. Lillard was a well-though-of recruit we had to beat a lot of good teams for. Ten plays? If you're going to get angry about redshirt-burning, this is the one to hang your hat on.
There's the possibility, by the way, of a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that we fans aren't privy to. Maybe one of the freshmen told Groh, "hey, I don't want to play a fifth year, I want to get my degree on schedule and get moving with my life - play me if I deserve it." Maybe we have a highly motivated freshman class that wanted to get out their and prove their special teams chops - Groh always said that special teams were your gateway to the field.
Still, from a purely analytical standpoint here, I think there are at least four and possibly eight that shouldn't have played, and six that definitely should have. But you have to remember: this isn't irreversible. What's irreversible is the redshirts. If Mike London wants to, he can put the shirt back on these fourteen players.
In particular, I think the following players would be excellent candidates: McCartin, Freedman, Hunter, and one or two of the defensive backs. There's not enough depth at defensive back to redshirt them all again plus the incoming class too. But two tight ends for the year are plenty, and we get back Torchia and Phillips. The 4-3 gives us lots of depth at ILB - we shouldn't need McCartin. We don't graduate any receivers but Hall, and we're never going to see another four- or five-receiver set, so Hunter can sit. And Robert Randolph is certainly capable of kicking extra points if we really want a fifth year out of Jarrett.
Bottom line here: Groh could certainly have run this year without using so many true freshman, but anybody who complains about using 14 without a look at who actually played and how much isn't thinking it through enough. And it's not as if any damage is irreversible. Redshirts aren't only for the freshman year. Myself I am only complaining about four. That's not program-killing stuff.
Friday, July 31, 2009
preseason balloting
Well, I'm not back from vacation, not exactly. But I promised I'd try and roll out a little somethin' somethin', so. As you're probably aware, the ACC had its media week this week, and I don't really find a lot of value in obsessing over every question-and-answer session, but the voting that results, you know, the projected standings and the preseason all-conference team, those things are worth a look. And the Real Serious Media guys aren't the only ones who get to have all the fun. Gobbler Country hosted a blogger vote as well, with everything the media does minus a full-out all-conference team. So: Media results are here, blogger results are here.
They're not surprising, really, as far as the UVa representation. Fifth in the division, ahead of Duke, both times. The writers tossed us a bone and named Ras-I Dowling to the preseason team. If Vic Hall were still a cornerback, we might have swept that position: UNC's Kendric Burney, the other CB, had the fewest votes of any selection. By the sounds of it, though, Hall is the likely starter at quarterback come September 4.
You're probably wondering what my own ballot looked like when Gobbler Country came calling for inputs. Even if you're not, here you go:
Atlantic:
1. FSU
2. NC State
3. Clemson
4. Wake
5. Maryland
6. BC
Coastal
1. GT
2. VT
3. UNC
4. UVA
5. Miami
6. Duke
Conference champ: Georgia Tech
Offensive POY: Jonathan Dwyer
Defensive POY: Dekoda Watson
ROY: Tajh Boyd
For whatever reason, I'm really bullish on Georgia Tech this year. I was actually about to vote for Morgan Burnett for DPOY, too, but I thought of those votes as a prediction, basically, and if there's a comparable front seven player in the running the media tends to go that route over selecting a safety. GT returns basically all their key players. VT seems to be the more or less consensus pick to win the conference no matter what subset of pundits you ask, but they have plenty of warts and question marks of their own and I think the reasoning tends to go "well I can't figure out how it could be anyone else." Fair enough, I suppose. Last year Clemson was supposed to have their year, and they didn't, and this year, what have you got? Same as last year, basically: eight or nine teams that would all be third or fourth best in any other major conference in the land. So you pick the team with a defense that probably won't fold too often and at least has a proven coach. Unless you're me, then you go with the team whose performance last year surprised everyone but you because you sort of predicted they'd do that.
Anyway, all this comes without having yet done any of my season previews, which are as much to educate me as they are you, so I reserve the right to change my mind.
A couple other tidbits:
Getting cautiously optimistic that Jeff White's move into the athletic department is going to work out nicely after all. His stories are good stuff. For example:
- Might have mentioned it already, but DE Kevin Crawford is off the team now as well as previously-noted TE Rod Wheeler. The scholarship crunch is coming to an end. My depth chart file isn't on this computer, so I'll count later, but I think that brings us to 86.
- The freshmen are way behind on their conditioning - that's to be expected, of course - but S&C coach Brandon Hourigan noted a few that are in good shape: Tim Smith, Perry Jones, Quintin Hunter, Javanti Sparrow. Those are the guys you'd want to watch out for in fall camp, especially Smith (obviously) and Sparrow, who play a position where suddenly we can't have enough depth. With the tremendous trop in DE depth we've taken this offseason, it's too bad a DE wasn't on that list somewhere.
Also, the 2011 recruiting class already has its first member: WR Adrian Gamble. No, I have no intention of starting the 2011 recruiting board. And no, I have no idea if this guy's any good. He's fast, they say. Great. Actually, what it tells me is that we're probably going to sign a full 25 in 2011, if Groh's already got that class cranking up. We didn't have our first '09 commitment til December '07 (that was Owah, who decommitted eventually) and we didn't have a '10 commit until February this year. Gamble's way ahead of the curve. Guys who do that usually fall into two categories: either they're committing to their dream school and getting it done early, or they have no idea of the attention they're going to get just for playing football, and decommit once they see some offer letters. It'll be interesting to see what kind of schools will try and pry Gamble out of our clutches.
They're not surprising, really, as far as the UVa representation. Fifth in the division, ahead of Duke, both times. The writers tossed us a bone and named Ras-I Dowling to the preseason team. If Vic Hall were still a cornerback, we might have swept that position: UNC's Kendric Burney, the other CB, had the fewest votes of any selection. By the sounds of it, though, Hall is the likely starter at quarterback come September 4.
You're probably wondering what my own ballot looked like when Gobbler Country came calling for inputs. Even if you're not, here you go:
Atlantic:
1. FSU
2. NC State
3. Clemson
4. Wake
5. Maryland
6. BC
Coastal
1. GT
2. VT
3. UNC
4. UVA
5. Miami
6. Duke
Conference champ: Georgia Tech
Offensive POY: Jonathan Dwyer
Defensive POY: Dekoda Watson
ROY: Tajh Boyd
For whatever reason, I'm really bullish on Georgia Tech this year. I was actually about to vote for Morgan Burnett for DPOY, too, but I thought of those votes as a prediction, basically, and if there's a comparable front seven player in the running the media tends to go that route over selecting a safety. GT returns basically all their key players. VT seems to be the more or less consensus pick to win the conference no matter what subset of pundits you ask, but they have plenty of warts and question marks of their own and I think the reasoning tends to go "well I can't figure out how it could be anyone else." Fair enough, I suppose. Last year Clemson was supposed to have their year, and they didn't, and this year, what have you got? Same as last year, basically: eight or nine teams that would all be third or fourth best in any other major conference in the land. So you pick the team with a defense that probably won't fold too often and at least has a proven coach. Unless you're me, then you go with the team whose performance last year surprised everyone but you because you sort of predicted they'd do that.
Anyway, all this comes without having yet done any of my season previews, which are as much to educate me as they are you, so I reserve the right to change my mind.
A couple other tidbits:
Getting cautiously optimistic that Jeff White's move into the athletic department is going to work out nicely after all. His stories are good stuff. For example:
- Might have mentioned it already, but DE Kevin Crawford is off the team now as well as previously-noted TE Rod Wheeler. The scholarship crunch is coming to an end. My depth chart file isn't on this computer, so I'll count later, but I think that brings us to 86.
- The freshmen are way behind on their conditioning - that's to be expected, of course - but S&C coach Brandon Hourigan noted a few that are in good shape: Tim Smith, Perry Jones, Quintin Hunter, Javanti Sparrow. Those are the guys you'd want to watch out for in fall camp, especially Smith (obviously) and Sparrow, who play a position where suddenly we can't have enough depth. With the tremendous trop in DE depth we've taken this offseason, it's too bad a DE wasn't on that list somewhere.
Also, the 2011 recruiting class already has its first member: WR Adrian Gamble. No, I have no intention of starting the 2011 recruiting board. And no, I have no idea if this guy's any good. He's fast, they say. Great. Actually, what it tells me is that we're probably going to sign a full 25 in 2011, if Groh's already got that class cranking up. We didn't have our first '09 commitment til December '07 (that was Owah, who decommitted eventually) and we didn't have a '10 commit until February this year. Gamble's way ahead of the curve. Guys who do that usually fall into two categories: either they're committing to their dream school and getting it done early, or they have no idea of the attention they're going to get just for playing football, and decommit once they see some offer letters. It'll be interesting to see what kind of schools will try and pry Gamble out of our clutches.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
numerology
The incoming freshmen were added to the official roster today, and I like to think you can learn stuff by looking at the numbers they were assigned. Let's take a look, shall we? Here are the numbers:
Oday Aboushi - 72
Lovante' Battle - 37
Luke Bowanko - 74
Sean Cascarano - 79
Paul Freedman - 88
Will Hill - 93 (he was already there as an early enrollee)
Quintin Hunter - 15
Perry Jones - 33
Corey Lillard - 29
Jeremiah Mathis - 58
Connor McCartin - 51
Ross Metheny - 13
Justin Renfrow - 54
Laroy Reynolds - 26
Kevin Royal - 82
Bobby Smith - 85
Tim Smith - 14
Jake Snyder - 90
Javanti Sparrow - 16
Hunter Steward - 76
Brent Urban - 99
Cody Wallace - 78
Dominique Wallace - 21
Tucker Windle - 39
Observations, speculations, etc.:
- Conspicuously absent is Morgan Moses. Prep school now seems a near certainty. No truth to any rumors that Moses is so dominantly massive that the delay is due to the school petitioning to allow him to wear #100.
- Dominique Wallace has been given a running back's number. Some say he would make an excellent linebacker and might eventually be slotted there, but guys with #21 don't practice with the linebackers. This pleases me. Dominant linebackers are fun, and there's a school of thought that says Wallace would make a terrific linebacker, but personally, running back is my favorite position. There's no substitute for an unstoppable force at running back behind a line that's at least respectable. It's how you control the game on offense, and it's spectacular to watch. And Wallace has a chance to be an unstoppable force at running back. I can't wait.
- Either Luke Bowanko is a guaran-damn-teed redshirt, or the presence of Patrick Slebonick is a mistake. Slebonick, as you might recall, was not asked back for a fifth year, or that was the report in January. But there he is. Slebonick, were he to play this year, would exist on the fringes of the depth chart, but he would be on the depth chart nonetheless, and the two have the same number (74.) You can give two guys the same number, they just can't be on the field at the same time.
- The other same-number clash on the O-line between two scholarship players involves #78, shared by Cody Wallace and Isaac Cain. Wallace is listed as "Unk" instead of "Fr." - either he should be worried, or he should kick the ass of the intern assigned to fat-finger the roster in. Wallace is also a guaranteed redshirt, though you don't need the number on the jersey to tell you that, just look at the number in the weight column.
- Speaking of weight, look at Sean Cascarano. 255?? Is that for real? His recruiting profiles all listed him as 270.
- Nobody gets #7. Interesting. I thought Metheny might get it, but he's #13.
- #39 is a really weird number for a linebacker, but that's what Tucker Windle got. There's just no room in the 40's and 50's.
- Tim Smith with #14. I know WR's often get numbers in the teens, but that sticks out a little bit. Looking forward to seeing that kind of impact on the field.
- Laroy Reynolds and Javanti Sparrow still haven't been officially slotted on offense or defense. They both have WR/DB by their names. Sparrow has a number (#16) that's more a WR's number than a DB's (but there are exceptions) and Reynolds is the opposite at #26. Doesn't mean anything official, but I think it's at least a hint toward which way they're leaning.
- Observations on the pictures: Maybe it's the lighting, but Oday Aboushi looks a lot less chubby in the face than before. (Before, After.) Like he's lost some baby fat. Still listed as 300 pounds though. Dominique Wallace has some 300-pound dreads, which are excellent. Can't decide whether Metheny, Reynolds, or Bobby Smith is the goofiest-looking. Tim Smith and Brent Urban are going to be carded at establishments for the next twenty years, although Urban being 6'7 might eventually dissuade a few would-be bouncers. Sean Cascarano is the only one with hair to match the orange on his uniform, which makes it all the bigger shame that he has no profile linked. As a rule, the entire team seems to have been told to pose for the pictures as if they just buried their dog.
Anyway, I've updated the depth chart accordingly. Last year's senior class is now gone, and replaced with next year's recruiting class. The scholarship count, as best I can tell, stands at 87. I took Moses off and put him with next year's class, and I took out Kyle Long, too, the chances of him coming now look dim. Also gone: TE Rod Wheeler. Slebonick returns for now, and for whatever reason I didn't have Isaac Cain on there, my bad. So that's what brings us to 87. That means two more people have to leave the team, but the rumblings are there about who that might be (Jameel Sewell? Uh-oh?), and meeting the 85 limit doesn't look like it'll be so hard any more.
Last, but not least - in fact, probably "most": a new UVA blog has arrived on the scene. Go check it out, you must do this. It is called The Great Blog of Virginia, and if the scenery is any indication it looks promising indeed, though it breaks with not-long-at-all-established tradition of pulling the blog name from the Good Ol' Song. There are entirely too few Virginia blogs inhabiting the blogowebz at the moment, so go check it out.
Oday Aboushi - 72
Lovante' Battle - 37
Luke Bowanko - 74
Sean Cascarano - 79
Paul Freedman - 88
Will Hill - 93 (he was already there as an early enrollee)
Quintin Hunter - 15
Perry Jones - 33
Corey Lillard - 29
Jeremiah Mathis - 58
Connor McCartin - 51
Ross Metheny - 13
Justin Renfrow - 54
Laroy Reynolds - 26
Kevin Royal - 82
Bobby Smith - 85
Tim Smith - 14
Jake Snyder - 90
Javanti Sparrow - 16
Hunter Steward - 76
Brent Urban - 99
Cody Wallace - 78
Dominique Wallace - 21
Tucker Windle - 39
Observations, speculations, etc.:
- Conspicuously absent is Morgan Moses. Prep school now seems a near certainty. No truth to any rumors that Moses is so dominantly massive that the delay is due to the school petitioning to allow him to wear #100.
- Dominique Wallace has been given a running back's number. Some say he would make an excellent linebacker and might eventually be slotted there, but guys with #21 don't practice with the linebackers. This pleases me. Dominant linebackers are fun, and there's a school of thought that says Wallace would make a terrific linebacker, but personally, running back is my favorite position. There's no substitute for an unstoppable force at running back behind a line that's at least respectable. It's how you control the game on offense, and it's spectacular to watch. And Wallace has a chance to be an unstoppable force at running back. I can't wait.
- Either Luke Bowanko is a guaran-damn-teed redshirt, or the presence of Patrick Slebonick is a mistake. Slebonick, as you might recall, was not asked back for a fifth year, or that was the report in January. But there he is. Slebonick, were he to play this year, would exist on the fringes of the depth chart, but he would be on the depth chart nonetheless, and the two have the same number (74.) You can give two guys the same number, they just can't be on the field at the same time.
- The other same-number clash on the O-line between two scholarship players involves #78, shared by Cody Wallace and Isaac Cain. Wallace is listed as "Unk" instead of "Fr." - either he should be worried, or he should kick the ass of the intern assigned to fat-finger the roster in. Wallace is also a guaranteed redshirt, though you don't need the number on the jersey to tell you that, just look at the number in the weight column.
- Speaking of weight, look at Sean Cascarano. 255?? Is that for real? His recruiting profiles all listed him as 270.
- Nobody gets #7. Interesting. I thought Metheny might get it, but he's #13.
- #39 is a really weird number for a linebacker, but that's what Tucker Windle got. There's just no room in the 40's and 50's.
- Tim Smith with #14. I know WR's often get numbers in the teens, but that sticks out a little bit. Looking forward to seeing that kind of impact on the field.
- Laroy Reynolds and Javanti Sparrow still haven't been officially slotted on offense or defense. They both have WR/DB by their names. Sparrow has a number (#16) that's more a WR's number than a DB's (but there are exceptions) and Reynolds is the opposite at #26. Doesn't mean anything official, but I think it's at least a hint toward which way they're leaning.
- Observations on the pictures: Maybe it's the lighting, but Oday Aboushi looks a lot less chubby in the face than before. (Before, After.) Like he's lost some baby fat. Still listed as 300 pounds though. Dominique Wallace has some 300-pound dreads, which are excellent. Can't decide whether Metheny, Reynolds, or Bobby Smith is the goofiest-looking. Tim Smith and Brent Urban are going to be carded at establishments for the next twenty years, although Urban being 6'7 might eventually dissuade a few would-be bouncers. Sean Cascarano is the only one with hair to match the orange on his uniform, which makes it all the bigger shame that he has no profile linked. As a rule, the entire team seems to have been told to pose for the pictures as if they just buried their dog.
Anyway, I've updated the depth chart accordingly. Last year's senior class is now gone, and replaced with next year's recruiting class. The scholarship count, as best I can tell, stands at 87. I took Moses off and put him with next year's class, and I took out Kyle Long, too, the chances of him coming now look dim. Also gone: TE Rod Wheeler. Slebonick returns for now, and for whatever reason I didn't have Isaac Cain on there, my bad. So that's what brings us to 87. That means two more people have to leave the team, but the rumblings are there about who that might be (Jameel Sewell? Uh-oh?), and meeting the 85 limit doesn't look like it'll be so hard any more.
Last, but not least - in fact, probably "most": a new UVA blog has arrived on the scene. Go check it out, you must do this. It is called The Great Blog of Virginia, and if the scenery is any indication it looks promising indeed, though it breaks with not-long-at-all-established tradition of pulling the blog name from the Good Ol' Song. There are entirely too few Virginia blogs inhabiting the blogowebz at the moment, so go check it out.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
the recruit: Javanti Sparrow
Long weekend for me this weekend. So no post until probably Monday night, unless maybe the Saturday basketball game makes me either angry enough or happy enough to fire off a quick one.
Name: Javanti Sparrow
Position: WR/S
Hometown: Chesapeake
School: Western Branch
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190
ESPN: 78, #43 safety
Rivals: 5.3, two stars
Scout: three stars, #72 CB
I've been dreading writing this entry in the series. First off nobody really knows if Sparrow will be able to join the class, because his SAT score is not yet good enough to qualify and the latest score isn't out yet.
Second, holy moly do the scouting services not agree on whether he's any good. ESPN has him at a 78, which is roughly the equivalent of a low four-star on Rivals, only Rivals thinks he's a two-star, apparently disagreeing with ESPN's assessment of "a boatload of natural talent." When that happens, you check the offers, and literally every article lists a different set of offers both verbal and written. Rivals, normally what I consider the most reliable of scouting services, never updated the actual list even though they have all these articles talking about who'd offered him, and so you'd think UVA was Sparrow's only scholarship choice. Scout's list is equally unreliable: everybody offered. Florida included. Frankly, you'd think if a guy's offer list included Florida, Penn State, VT, and Clemson, he'd be more than a low three-star in their mind.
So I don't know what's what. Here's what's undeniable: Sparrow is an excellent athlete and very fast. He's got the speed of a track champion, and I can say that because he is one. The UVA coaches apparently told Sparrow he could have his pick of wide receiver or defensive back (Sparrow seems to prefer receiver), and that kind of uncertainty puts him right there in the same category with Laroy Reynolds, right down to the likelihood of playing on special teams, only Sparrow is probably more likely to get a shot returning kicks rather than covering them. Here's an article that says Sparrow is "very likely to play wide receiver" and in the same breath claims "it'll be interesting to see where Sparrow actually winds up on the field", which goes to show how much anyone really knows on that subject. I really doubt both he and Reynolds would end up at the same spot given the competition at both positions.
On video, Sparrow is a player who's tough to bring down in the open field, and always required (on highlights, anyway) multiple tacklers. He's got some elusiveness, but also a maddening overconfidence in that elusiveness, and in a couple of highlights appeared to give up what looked like a pretty favorable angle in favor of an attempt to juke a DB out of his shorts. This resulted in a gang-tackle when the rest of the defense caught up to him as he worked on deciding which way to go. Pet peeve of mine, really.
Ordinarily I'd suggest that the depth at Sparrow's positions means automatic redshirt, but it's no secret that we need someone dynamic to return kicks. Our kick return average was a really lame 71st in the country and the punt returning was positively awful. Ogletree handled a lot of the kick returns, and he's gone, so there's an opening, because Chase Minnifield did nothing to seize the job. If Sparrow can put some of that athleticism on display he could find a niche right away as a kick returner, and thus get his foot in the door for some early playing time elsewhere too.
Name: Javanti Sparrow
Position: WR/S
Hometown: Chesapeake
School: Western Branch
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190
ESPN: 78, #43 safety
Rivals: 5.3, two stars
Scout: three stars, #72 CB
I've been dreading writing this entry in the series. First off nobody really knows if Sparrow will be able to join the class, because his SAT score is not yet good enough to qualify and the latest score isn't out yet.
Second, holy moly do the scouting services not agree on whether he's any good. ESPN has him at a 78, which is roughly the equivalent of a low four-star on Rivals, only Rivals thinks he's a two-star, apparently disagreeing with ESPN's assessment of "a boatload of natural talent." When that happens, you check the offers, and literally every article lists a different set of offers both verbal and written. Rivals, normally what I consider the most reliable of scouting services, never updated the actual list even though they have all these articles talking about who'd offered him, and so you'd think UVA was Sparrow's only scholarship choice. Scout's list is equally unreliable: everybody offered. Florida included. Frankly, you'd think if a guy's offer list included Florida, Penn State, VT, and Clemson, he'd be more than a low three-star in their mind.
So I don't know what's what. Here's what's undeniable: Sparrow is an excellent athlete and very fast. He's got the speed of a track champion, and I can say that because he is one. The UVA coaches apparently told Sparrow he could have his pick of wide receiver or defensive back (Sparrow seems to prefer receiver), and that kind of uncertainty puts him right there in the same category with Laroy Reynolds, right down to the likelihood of playing on special teams, only Sparrow is probably more likely to get a shot returning kicks rather than covering them. Here's an article that says Sparrow is "very likely to play wide receiver" and in the same breath claims "it'll be interesting to see where Sparrow actually winds up on the field", which goes to show how much anyone really knows on that subject. I really doubt both he and Reynolds would end up at the same spot given the competition at both positions.
On video, Sparrow is a player who's tough to bring down in the open field, and always required (on highlights, anyway) multiple tacklers. He's got some elusiveness, but also a maddening overconfidence in that elusiveness, and in a couple of highlights appeared to give up what looked like a pretty favorable angle in favor of an attempt to juke a DB out of his shorts. This resulted in a gang-tackle when the rest of the defense caught up to him as he worked on deciding which way to go. Pet peeve of mine, really.
Ordinarily I'd suggest that the depth at Sparrow's positions means automatic redshirt, but it's no secret that we need someone dynamic to return kicks. Our kick return average was a really lame 71st in the country and the punt returning was positively awful. Ogletree handled a lot of the kick returns, and he's gone, so there's an opening, because Chase Minnifield did nothing to seize the job. If Sparrow can put some of that athleticism on display he could find a niche right away as a kick returner, and thus get his foot in the door for some early playing time elsewhere too.
Monday, October 13, 2008
weekend review
The game's the thing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, so here as usual we take a Monday drive to see what we missed.
We start with the first news of this type since July: the 20th verbal commitment. Javanti Sparrow is your man. This comes as no surprise: Sparrow had just one actual written offer - ours - and claimed few other verbal ones. He mentioned that UNC, for example, had verbally offered, but a verbal offer is not really an offer. Sparrow is, at the moment, projected as a safety. The recruiting board and depth chart are updated accordingly.
Speaking of UNC, they got awful news this weekend with the loss of Brandon Tate for the season. It is a brutal knee injury. It's always a shame when a guy's senior season is lost to something like this. I feel bad for Tate. I'll start feeling bad for the rest of the Heels after Saturday's game; til then, it's naught but a change to the scouting report. And I'd be lying if I pretended this didn't improve our chances to keep the streak alive.
Clemson also lost a key member of the team, but on purpose. The Age of Bowden is no more in Death Valley. This simultaneously takes care of any speculation as to whether Al Groh or Tommy Bowden would be the first ACC coach fired, and shelves ESPN's plans for BOWDEN BOWL X! - THE WAR-IDA IN FLORIDA!! Seriously, thank you thank you thank you Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips for doing this before the annual tangle with Florida State, and sparing us the Bowden Bowl hype that ESPN foisted on us each and every time the two met. Cullen Harper wasted no time hilariously throwing his now ex-coach under the bus: "It's what he deserved," and "I'd call it karma. I thought it needed to be done," and such. Wow. Think somebody was pissed about being benched? You know, the Tommy Bowden catapult was cocked and ready for some time now, but then again Tommy Bowden hasn't been throwing poorly timed interceptions deep in his own territory in the biggest divisional game of the year, Cullen. Fired coach, fired quarterback - the stage is now set for Clemson to have completed a spectacular meltdown by November 22, which happens to be when we play them. Isn't it funny how two teams can be 3-3 and feeling entirely different about themselves?
ESPNU will be bringing you the Georgia Tech game at 3:30 on the 25th. Hooray for 3:30 starts, and hooray for ESPNU not bringing us Student-Section-O-Vision for the Maryland game as they did against USC.
The soccer team has officially heated up. 4-0 in the ACC with a win over Clemson on Friday, outshooting the Tigers 15-2. Both the number 15 and the number 2 are excellent stats. The end of the regular season will be against Wake Forest on November 7, and both teams are 4-0 in ACC play. A terrific game is brewing if the two teams can remain undefeated.
Recruiting board update! Besides the aforementioned Sparrow commitment, we add Tajh Boyd, who decommitted from West Virginia. Chances rated as low right now; I have no idea if the coaches have even been in contact with Boyd since. He currently claims BC and Tennessee as his two schools of interest based on who's actually talked to him, but considers himself more or less wide open and waiting to see who he hears from. In other words, square one. The board is duly updated, as is the depth chart with Sparrow and the promotions of Austin Pasztor and Patrick Slebonick.
Now for the high schools. What has our freshman class of '09 been up to?
DOMINIQUE WALLACE: 97 yards and 2 TDs in Chancellor's 56-0 rout of Caroline.
ROSS METHENY: 7/15 passing for 130 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT as Sherando knocked off Skyline 44-20.
PERRY JONES: Have we mentioned that Oscar Smith is freaking good? Jones caught two TD passes and ran for another, and potential commit Tim Smith caught two more as OS beat King's Fork 55-0. Jones' play on defense was also highlighted.
Slow week this week. Tucker Windle's team won but with minimal contributions from him. Kevin Royal joined Alex Owah on the injured list last week with a broken arm. Paul Freedman's team lost as did Tyree Watkins'.
Aaaaaaaaand more ACC coverage....
Clemson laid a fat egg against Wake Forest, and Block C compares it to pissing oneself, which is probably apt. He also likes watching his running backs run smack dab into large piles of opposing defenders. Welcome to my world, circa September.
UNC beat Notre Dame 29-24, a nice win for the ACC. Tar Heel Fan has something like five separate posts railing on the referees and replay officials. TarEye or Buckheel? loves him some Butch Davis.
Georgia Tech escaped Gardner-Webb 10-7, and The LegacyX4 couldn't be unhappier with the offense. One sympathizes.
Finally, since I have this soapbox, I'm gonna bitch for a second about Michigan here. You don't have to read, it's cool. I'll just go off for a bit. We lost to Toledo, so....yeah....things are ugly. Any Michigan fan who:
- Wants to fire Rich Rodriguez after half a season and zero games against measuring-stick conference rivals....
- Thinks losing to Toledo is the worst loss ever....
- Is otherwise in a general state of panic, and raging against the "newfangled" spread we now run....
Can eat shit. We will be fine. I just have to come to terms with the end of the bowl streak.
That is all.
Cheers - that's your weekend review. Three weeks ago I was thanking my lucky stars I had Michigan football to make me forget about the horrendous losses we 'Hoos were destined to suffer week after week. Now the situation is reversed. Funny ol' world, innit?
We start with the first news of this type since July: the 20th verbal commitment. Javanti Sparrow is your man. This comes as no surprise: Sparrow had just one actual written offer - ours - and claimed few other verbal ones. He mentioned that UNC, for example, had verbally offered, but a verbal offer is not really an offer. Sparrow is, at the moment, projected as a safety. The recruiting board and depth chart are updated accordingly.
Speaking of UNC, they got awful news this weekend with the loss of Brandon Tate for the season. It is a brutal knee injury. It's always a shame when a guy's senior season is lost to something like this. I feel bad for Tate. I'll start feeling bad for the rest of the Heels after Saturday's game; til then, it's naught but a change to the scouting report. And I'd be lying if I pretended this didn't improve our chances to keep the streak alive.
Clemson also lost a key member of the team, but on purpose. The Age of Bowden is no more in Death Valley. This simultaneously takes care of any speculation as to whether Al Groh or Tommy Bowden would be the first ACC coach fired, and shelves ESPN's plans for BOWDEN BOWL X! - THE WAR-IDA IN FLORIDA!! Seriously, thank you thank you thank you Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips for doing this before the annual tangle with Florida State, and sparing us the Bowden Bowl hype that ESPN foisted on us each and every time the two met. Cullen Harper wasted no time hilariously throwing his now ex-coach under the bus: "It's what he deserved," and "I'd call it karma. I thought it needed to be done," and such. Wow. Think somebody was pissed about being benched? You know, the Tommy Bowden catapult was cocked and ready for some time now, but then again Tommy Bowden hasn't been throwing poorly timed interceptions deep in his own territory in the biggest divisional game of the year, Cullen. Fired coach, fired quarterback - the stage is now set for Clemson to have completed a spectacular meltdown by November 22, which happens to be when we play them. Isn't it funny how two teams can be 3-3 and feeling entirely different about themselves?
ESPNU will be bringing you the Georgia Tech game at 3:30 on the 25th. Hooray for 3:30 starts, and hooray for ESPNU not bringing us Student-Section-O-Vision for the Maryland game as they did against USC.
The soccer team has officially heated up. 4-0 in the ACC with a win over Clemson on Friday, outshooting the Tigers 15-2. Both the number 15 and the number 2 are excellent stats. The end of the regular season will be against Wake Forest on November 7, and both teams are 4-0 in ACC play. A terrific game is brewing if the two teams can remain undefeated.
Recruiting board update! Besides the aforementioned Sparrow commitment, we add Tajh Boyd, who decommitted from West Virginia. Chances rated as low right now; I have no idea if the coaches have even been in contact with Boyd since. He currently claims BC and Tennessee as his two schools of interest based on who's actually talked to him, but considers himself more or less wide open and waiting to see who he hears from. In other words, square one. The board is duly updated, as is the depth chart with Sparrow and the promotions of Austin Pasztor and Patrick Slebonick.
Now for the high schools. What has our freshman class of '09 been up to?
DOMINIQUE WALLACE: 97 yards and 2 TDs in Chancellor's 56-0 rout of Caroline.
ROSS METHENY: 7/15 passing for 130 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT as Sherando knocked off Skyline 44-20.
PERRY JONES: Have we mentioned that Oscar Smith is freaking good? Jones caught two TD passes and ran for another, and potential commit Tim Smith caught two more as OS beat King's Fork 55-0. Jones' play on defense was also highlighted.
Slow week this week. Tucker Windle's team won but with minimal contributions from him. Kevin Royal joined Alex Owah on the injured list last week with a broken arm. Paul Freedman's team lost as did Tyree Watkins'.
Aaaaaaaaand more ACC coverage....
Clemson laid a fat egg against Wake Forest, and Block C compares it to pissing oneself, which is probably apt. He also likes watching his running backs run smack dab into large piles of opposing defenders. Welcome to my world, circa September.
UNC beat Notre Dame 29-24, a nice win for the ACC. Tar Heel Fan has something like five separate posts railing on the referees and replay officials. TarEye or Buckheel? loves him some Butch Davis.
Georgia Tech escaped Gardner-Webb 10-7, and The LegacyX4 couldn't be unhappier with the offense. One sympathizes.
Finally, since I have this soapbox, I'm gonna bitch for a second about Michigan here. You don't have to read, it's cool. I'll just go off for a bit. We lost to Toledo, so....yeah....things are ugly. Any Michigan fan who:
- Wants to fire Rich Rodriguez after half a season and zero games against measuring-stick conference rivals....
- Thinks losing to Toledo is the worst loss ever....
- Is otherwise in a general state of panic, and raging against the "newfangled" spread we now run....
Can eat shit. We will be fine. I just have to come to terms with the end of the bowl streak.
That is all.
Cheers - that's your weekend review. Three weeks ago I was thanking my lucky stars I had Michigan football to make me forget about the horrendous losses we 'Hoos were destined to suffer week after week. Now the situation is reversed. Funny ol' world, innit?
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