Weekly update from Coach Fickell’s press conference as well as notes from around the world of college football.
Buckeye 411
- Injury Update: No news today on Philly Brown or Nathan Williams; it’s speculated that Brown may be back sooner of the two. Coach made no comments on some of the other guys dinged up- (Melvin Fellows, etc.)
- Fickell Speaks: In preparing for Michigan State, coach Fickell will be facing one of his mentors in former colleague and current Spartan Mark Dantonio. When asked about this, he said-
Just the three years Coach Dantonio was here with him, probably the one guy that I stay most in contact with since he’s been gone. Just probably because we’re more similar people in general, family oriented guys, a lot of those kind of things. That’s very important for him, how you handle these situations, what’s really important, don’t forget about those kinds of things. We have a good relationship. If there’s one person I’ve talked to as much as anybody, it would be him.
I’ve said before, if I was playing my brother, I’d want to beat him as bad as I want to beat anybody. I don’t think that changes or factors into it.
- Captain, My Captain: This weeks’ “Leader-go-round” lands on Nate Ebner (his second tour of duty), Nate Oliver, and Jordan Hall. First time in Buckeye History that there’ve been two “Nates” as captains.
- What The Hall? When asked about the decision to name Jordan a captain after being suspended for the first two games of the season, Coach Fickell seemed to shrug it off,
It means that Jordan is a part of our team, he’s a big leader in the locker room. He does a great job. He does everything we’ve asked him to handle with class and dignity. He has not batted an eye at it with all the situations.
We understand we learn from our mistakes, but we’re not going to throw guys away. That’s kind of the reason we wanted to have the game captains the whole season, so we could make sure we could bring everybody to be part of this team no matter what their situation. They learn from it, grow from it, have the right attitude, they continue to get better. This team loves them. They’ll always be able to be in a position they can get better.
In some situations like this, hey, we’re excited to have him. The past is the past and we learned from it.
- Self Inflicted Injury Update: Speaking of suspensions, word is that Adams/Posey/Herron/Thomas are still a part of the plan for the team, and that they’ve been great at responding to what’s been asked of them during their time off of the sidelines.
- Can’t Win Without Ohio: As we’ve talked about a bit before, both conference teams from TSUN have found success when they’ve been able to recruit Ohio (including coaches). This year’s Spartan squad is no different- twenty five Ohioans are on the MSU roster.
- One Game At A Time: Coach Fickell said that he was unaware that Wisconsin was hosting Nebraska this week, that he was more concerned about getting his team ready to play. Riiiiiiiiight.
- Just Hanging Out: Jordan Hall said that he watched the games that he was suspended for with Corey Brown, and that he couldn’t remember what he ate. Hard hitting journalism from the mainstream media there.
- On A Serious Note: Rumors out of Cleveland are that Coach Ted Ginn Sr. is battling cancer. While these are merely rumors at this point, it is known that he’s taken a leave of absence for family reasons. Prayers and thoughts to Coach Ginn and his family, as well as the Glenville Schools/Academy staff and students.
This Week In Scandal
- The Gift That Keeps On Giving: In case you missed it, Texas “Scouting Expert” Will Lyles has alleged that a former member of Lane Kiffin’s staff at both Tennessee and Southern Cal paid for Lache Seastrunk to visit Knoxville on an unofficial visit. And this time, there’s a paper trail. As usual, Yahoo! broke the story.
- Uh Oh: One of the interesting aspects of this story is the following quote-
Lyles said he only agreed to speak to NCAA investigators if they guaranteed Seastrunk immunity from any penalties associated with this incident. Lyles said immunity was granted on the condition that both he and Seastrunk were completely honest and forthcoming (Lyles said Seastrunk has already spoken to the NCAA). He said the NCAA was already investigating Tennessee’s recruiting practices.
- Which Explains This: Dennis Dodds says that this is the tip of the iceberg, and that this conversation with the NCAA will impact several schools. For those of you keeping track at home, Lyles has been tied to Oregon, LSU, Tennessee, Cal, with speculation that Texas A&M and Southern Cal may also be involved.
- Not So Fast: Friend of tBBC Paragon over at Conquest Chronicles points out the connections between Kiffin and Lyles via former Vol/Trojan coach Garza, and reminds us that –
“Kiffin has denied knowing anything about the relationship or the payment. Believe me, if Lyles had the goods on Kiffin I would bet just about anything that Yahoo! would have printed that ASAP.”
- Meanwhile, In The SEC: I’ve got a love-hate with Brooks from SBB fame. It seems like he’s more interested in “muckraking” than in actual sports coverage, although you can’t fault his business model- the dude gets hits. So, it’s easy for me to disregard his “evidence” when it looks bad for the scarlet and gray, but I do get excited when it involves other schools. We all have our bias, right? With that in mind, he’s been all over the Alabama Suit Booster scandal, and now brings his attention to the rides of current Tide runningback Trent Richardson. Clay Travis has been following this as well, and has received some interesting feedback.
- Can’t Spell BCS without BS: Our friend Jay Christensen pointed us to the Arizona Republic’s examination of the BCS, including money spent for political influence and so forth. Great read…
- Unless you’re a college football player, that is. Well, not all of them have literacy problems- although recent data indicates that fewer male football players graduate than regular male undergraduates.
- Which is why it’s great to see that institutions of higher education continue to cut academic programs while growing their athletic department. With public money.
- And You Know Who’s At Fault: ESPN, although they wouldn’t admit it or even cover their influence on the biggest story (and attempted cash grab) of the past few months.
Elsewheres
- Do Me A Solid: Read great stuff from our pals Michael (OHD) and Bacon (MotSaG). Hilarious, pithy, timely, and so forth.
- This Week In Upsets: Check out the final seconds of this game from D3 Minnesota, where perennial power St. John’s is upset at homecoming. There’s a banana involved. Seriously.
- Do Yourself A Solid: If you haven’t already subscribed to ThuJone’s newsletter, after all I’ve told you, I don’t know what else to say to convince you. Unless it’s a perspective on Oklahoma heading over to the PAC-12 + ?
- You Follow? If you’re on the twitters, I’m sure you’re already following your favorite band of mirth-makers. You should also check out the great work of Roy Hall, former Buckeye/ current Omaha Nighthawk, and snappy dresser.
- When You’re A Man, you’re comfortable with yourself no matter the circumstances. Comfortable enough, even, to dance:
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
