Each week during the off-season we will be doing this feature that will simply be called “This Week In College Football”. We will cover the biggest news and stories of the past week and give some opinions and analysis. In addition to covering the weekly happenings we also have started our Pre-Season Previews and we have several up already. This week we previewed Army, Clemson, Louisville, Minnesota, UAB, UCF and Western Kentucky, . Next week Baylor, Boston College and Miami (Fl) will be among the teams that we preview. A lot of stuff went down this week so let’s get to talking about college football:
JIM TRESSEL AND THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PART WAYS
On Monday, Jim Tressel finally resigned his position as Head Football Coach at the Ohio State University. I say finally because this is something that should have happened weeks ago. The only reason it didn’t is because Tressel was so successful in winning football games and the Ohio State Administration did not want to part ways with a coach who played winning football. It’s obvious that this was not Tressel simply resigning but a mutual decision that was made between him and the University. Tressel has lied, he’s covered up and he’s generally acted with very little integrity during this entire investigation since it came out that he knowingly played players who should have been ineligible based on NCAA rules. Now it’s time for tOSU to move on and they will do so this year with Assistant Coach Luke Fickell. Fickell should be able to keep this years recruiting class in tact but it will remain to be seen if he can keep the team on the field together. In addition to the five players who are currently suspended for the first five games of the year, a Sports Illustrated article this week named nine additional players that they say received benefits they should not have. As it stands right now I think Fickell can be successful this year at tOSU but if they lose more players then all bets are off.
THE SEC ADDRESSES OVERSIGNING, TRANSFERS
The big wigs for the SEC met this week in Destin to discuss several topics. The SEC decided to cap incoming signees at 25. Of course, two years ago the SEC put in a 28 signee limit and that didn’t stop Ole Miss from signing 37 players. The 25-player limit will be in force this coming year but players can still be counted towards the previous year. The SEC also voted against the Jeremiah Masoli rule, or the graduate student exception. That rule doesn’t go into effect until October so Russell Wilson is still in play if Gene Chizik wants to bring him on board.
An interesting topic that was brought up this week was Steve Spurrier saying that coaches should pay players $300 out of pocket for game expense. While the notion of getting players a little extra cash isn’t out of reason, the fact that he is saying that coaches should pay out of pocket is pretty crazy. But don’t fool yourself this is just a recruiting ploy. How do you think Spurrier looks now that he’s come out in favor of paying players? Probably pretty good to the average High School student.
WASHUAN EALEY LANDS AT JACKSONVILLE STATE
Ever since Washaun Ealey parted ways with the Georgia Bulldogs I’ve been wondering where he was going to land. Ealey was granted an unconditional release by Mark Richt so I was kind of expecting him to land at a spot that was a bit more prestigious. Nothing against Jacksonville State as they are one of the top teams in the FCS but one would have thought there would be teams out there that would give Ealey a shot. I guess he’s got his shot not to be a feature back.
WEST VIRGINIA AND ALCOHOL
WVU’s Board of Governers voted 10-5 in favor of allowing beer sales for on campus sporting events. This will start with the football season this year. West Virginia is not the first to do this as there are around 20 other schools who currently sale beer during their games. The Mountaineers should be swimming in money this fall with all of the sales they will get as a result of this.
In other alcohol related news at West Virginia, Dana Holgerson has found himself in some hot water before his first season as the “coach in waiting” has even started. Holgerson apparently got tossed from a casino one early morning back in May. He had to be escorted out by security but was not arrested. West Virginia could find themselves in a quandary if Holgerson can’t stay out of the negative limelight. I love Holgerson’s hire at WVU, but know he’s got to get himself under control so he can take the reigns in Morgantown.
QUICK HITS:
– Russell Wilson visited Auburn last week (or maybe he didn’t as some will tell you) and this week it looks like he’s off to Wisconsin. There are 12 schools that are supposedly recruiting him and it will be very interesting to see where he lands.
– A Quarterback of the Montana Grizzlies, Nate Montana, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was also busted last year for drinking when he was at Notre Dame.
– Tate Forcier has had a wild ride since leaving Michigan. Most recently he visited San Jose State this weekend. That might be the best spot for him as it’s close to home and it’s out of the spotlight.
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