NCAA football, 2013-14

[grumbler]

The top video here http://mgovideo.com/ is a kind of interesting video of a Michigan spring practice line drill.  It doesn't say anything about Michigan per se, but I thought it was interesting for two reasons:
(1) You never saw stuff like this out of Fort Schembechler under Carr or Roderiguez (even Tressel was more open with practice than those guys, and he wasn't exactly a poster child for media access), and
(2) I always think it is interesting to see what the guys in the trenches really have to go through.  That's not where the glory is, but that's where games are won and lost.  Note that Michigan's head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator all have line position coaching duties.  Hoke takes that shit seriously.

Unfortunately for Michigan fans, Jake Ryan (known throughout the MGoBlogiverse for two years now as "JMFR" with the MF not actually being his initials) is out indefinitely with a torn ACL.  He's probably gone for the year, and marks the third year in a row Michigan has lost their best defensive player for the season.  Last year he had 105 tackles, 14.5 TFL, and 4.5 sacks. 

That almost exactly counterbalances the return of Taylor Lewan (All-American tackle and sure first round pick) for his senior season.  With both guys unhurt, I'd have to say Michigan was the favorite for the conference title this year.  Without JMFR to spark the defense, I'm not so sure.

[Berkut]

Well, Arizona has a 5* recruit on their football team. Sort of.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9155423/ex-notre-dame-fighting-irish-returner-davonte-neal-transfer-arizona

I don't know what to think about this.

For one, the way his recruitment and announcement went, he strikes me as a potential mess to have in the locker room - one of those prima-donna types.

For another, what is Arizona gonna do with a 5* recruit anyway? We don't even get 4* recruits. RR is going to have to talk to Miller about how to handle such a strange creature.

On the other hand, our offense is freaking loaded...except at QB.

[grumbler]

For one, the way his recruitment and announcement went, he strikes me as a potential mess to have in the locker room - one of those prima-donna types.

He gave up a Notre Dame playing career to be a better father to his kid.  That's not really prima-donna-ish.  Good luck to the kid.  I hope he and 'Zona do well, except when playing Michigan.

[Valmy]

This is a make-or-break year for Mack Brown's rebuilding effort.  I sure hope it goes well, after enduring the horrible shape of UT's basketball and baseball teams I could use some good news for awhile.  Maybe UT will get within 20 of OU this year, that would be cool.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I'm sort of at a point with NCAA football like I was with MLB right after the strike, so disgusted with the culture that I've lost a lot of interest in the game. For me it's been gradually building since Auburn bought a national championship in one of the most blatant examples ever of the corruption in college sports, and has just built every year since as the most corrupt conference in college athletics has won championship after championship.

I think the near-slave labor aspect for the players combined with the professional coaches has really made for a lot of ugliness. I won't go into a long rant about it, but I just find college sports disgusting. Everyone knows it's always been dirty, but knowing is different from having your nose rubbed in it on a regular basis. I almost wish we could pass some rule changes where college have the right to hire essentially "minor league" professional football teams to "represent the university." So instead of the Crimson Tide or the Nittany Lions being such a charade we can just admit we're talking about professional athletes in the developmental league of the NFL.

[CountDeMoney]

The Daily Show did a great kick-in-the-nuts piece on the NCAA last night, should check it out.

[Valmy]

I almost wish we could pass some rule changes where college have the right to hire essentially "minor league" professional football teams to "represent the university." So instead of the Crimson Tide or the Nittany Lions being such a charade we can just admit we're talking about professional athletes in the developmental league of the NFL.

Yeah that is what I have been thinking about as well.  It also removes the absurdity of some of these athletes getting admitted to major universities when they are barely literate. 

[Berkut]

For one, the way his recruitment and announcement went, he strikes me as a potential mess to have in the locker room - one of those prima-donna types.

He gave up a Notre Dame playing career to be a better father to his kid.  That's not really prima-donna-ish.  Good luck to the kid.  I hope he and 'Zona do well, except when playing Michigan.

I hope you are right. I really, really hope you are right.

If that is the reason, then that is great, and I think he will do well at Arizona.

If he was just not happy at Notre Dame because they didn't kiss his ass enough or something...

I guess after his recruiting fiasco I am innately skeptical. I hope I am wrong, of course.

[Berkut]

I'm sort of at a point with NCAA football like I was with MLB right after the strike, so disgusted with the culture that I've lost a lot of interest in the game. For me it's been gradually building since Auburn bought a national championship in one of the most blatant examples ever of the corruption in college sports, and has just built every year since as the most corrupt conference in college athletics has won championship after championship.

I think the near-slave labor aspect for the players combined with the professional coaches has really made for a lot of ugliness. I won't go into a long rant about it, but I just find college sports disgusting. Everyone knows it's always been dirty, but knowing is different from having your nose rubbed in it on a regular basis. I almost wish we could pass some rule changes where college have the right to hire essentially "minor league" professional football teams to "represent the university." So instead of the Crimson Tide or the Nittany Lions being such a charade we can just admit we're talking about professional athletes in the developmental league of the NFL.

I get what you are saying, but a couple points:

1. Don't lump everyone in together. There are some corrupt programs, and certainly the SEC has "figured out" the meta game to a level that kind of sucks for college football as a whole. But most programs are doing the right thing as best they can.

2. The problem with all the proposals to "quit pretending college athletes are amateurs" is that if you did so, college athletics would lose the appeal that is actually has - perhaps you can argue that that appeal is based on a false perception, but that doesn't really matter. I would not care one bit about following the Arizona O'Reilly Wildcats Minor League football team. That ideal that my schools team is made up of a bunch of students who go to the school just like I did may be a bunch of bullshit, but so what? It still matters - college athletics are about emotions, not reason.

3. While there are certianly plenty of examples of college athletes who it is pretty hard to pretend like they are actual students, there are many, many, MANY who it is not hard at all, even at the highest levels. The one and done 5* basketball players are out there, but so are the great college athletes who play four years, get a degree, and are actually around on campus. I played basketball at the rec center at Arizona against Mike Bibby and Miles Simon. Guys like Solomon Hill or Kevin Parrom are what college sports are about, and they are not the exception. There are more of them than there are of the prima donna one and done guys who you cannot possibly imagine are actual students - not to mention the run of the mill athletes that make up most teams,even at the highest levels (outside the SEC) who will never ever play a day in the NFL, and they know it.

[grumbler]

I think the near-slave labor aspect for the players combined with the professional coaches has really made for a lot of ugliness.

I've always enjoyed this whine.  A "slave labor" system that people are desperate to join?  Sounds more like bullshit rhetoric to me.

I almost wish we could pass some rule changes where college have the right to hire essentially "minor league" professional football teams to "represent the university."So instead of the Crimson Tide or the Nittany Lions being such a charade we can just admit we're talking about professional athletes in the developmental league of the NFL.

I don't see any benefit to such a rules change.  If college athletes "make the university millions," as is so often claimed, then why hasn't anyone founded a football minor league to make those millions for themselves (and, of course, the players)?  The NFL could do that themselves, if there really are millions to be made.  I suspect the reason no one has decided to make those millions is because those millions aren't really there; that the popularity of the sport comes from the universities, not just the players.

To many of the players, the game is a sport, not just the path to a profession.  Some will never play pro ball, as Berkut points out.  Others will play pro ball but know that they will never again get a chance to play for, as Bo Schembechler put it, "the Team, the Team, the Team."  See Tayler Lewan, a sure top-ten draft pick who came back for his senior year because he couldn't stand the idea of leaving a college football season unplayed.  Others do value the degree, like Denard Robinson, who puts in 16-hour days getting ready for the draft while still attending school, because he is determined that he will be the first one in his family to get a college degree, and he knows that this point in his life is when he can do it.

Sure, there's a lot of corruption in the game.  There is in anything where this much money is involved.  There is in pro football, and would be in some non-university-affiliated development league (if there are, as claimed, millions in it to be earned by the players).  But there are also a lot of upright figures in it as well, just as there are in pro football and would be in this development league.  No system is going to be perfect.  NCAA football would be a lot more perfect if players got compensated for all their college costs, as pretty much every major program (and the director of the NCAA) want.  But what we have is pretty damned good, popular, and supported by the major stakeholders, athletes included.  Those who don't like it are welcome to ignore it.

[grumbler]

I must admit, I find this thing to be pretty funny, and pretty indicative of how college recruiting punditry relly goes:

April 13, 2013 ESPN:

Drake Harris (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) wanted to be wowed by Ohio State on his unofficial visit on Friday.

Judging from his texts and tweets, the Buckeyes knocked it out of the park.

April 14, 2113 Drake Harris:

Just officially committed to The University Of Michigan!

I don't blame Brad Bournival at ESPN; all he can report on is what the recruit says.  But drawing conclusions from what 17-year-olds say at any given moment is a mug's game.  In the end, following recruiting should only be done as an amusement.  Anyone who takes it seriously is going to go crazy.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I get what you are saying, but a couple points:

1. Don't lump everyone in together. There are some corrupt programs, and certainly the SEC has "figured out" the meta game to a level that kind of sucks for college football as a whole. But most programs are doing the right thing as best they can.

I think there are certainly degrees of corruption, and programs that at least seriously try not to be corrupt. But I don't really know that any program in FBS can be said to be uncorrupt completely. When even small time programs like UAB and Troy State feel the need to engage in cheating I find it unlikely any of the majors are totally clean. Big money sports breed a lot of competitiveness and reward winning. College football is big money sports just like most pro sports, except the players can't be paid directly. That creates a situation where you have a talent pool that wants things that schools can give them by skirting the rules. It's not even a moral issue, I don't think there's anything immoral about cheating at college football it's just a really dumb system that perpetuates a myth about the two big money sports being anything but developmental leagues.

2. The problem with all the proposals to "quit pretending college athletes are amateurs" is that if you did so, college athletics would lose the appeal that is actually has - perhaps you can argue that that appeal is based on a false perception, but that doesn't really matter. I would not care one bit about following the Arizona O'Reilly Wildcats Minor League football team. That ideal that my schools team is made up of a bunch of students who go to the school just like I did may be a bunch of bullshit, but so what? It still matters - college athletics are about emotions, not reason.

I love minor league baseball, but your mileage may vary.

3. While there are certianly plenty of examples of college athletes who it is pretty hard to pretend like they are actual students, there are many, many, MANY who it is not hard at all, even at the highest levels. The one and done 5* basketball players are out there, but so are the great college athletes who play four years, get a degree, and are actually around on campus. I played basketball at the rec center at Arizona against Mike Bibby and Miles Simon. Guys like Solomon Hill or Kevin Parrom are what college sports are about, and they are not the exception. There are more of them than there are of the prima donna one and done guys who you cannot possibly imagine are actual students - not to mention the run of the mill athletes that make up most teams,even at the highest levels (outside the SEC) who will never ever play a day in the NFL, and they know it.

In general most football and basketball players are very stupid and would not have gone to the college they're going to if not for sports. A few buck the trend sure, but by and large if not for sports these kids aren't college material, they're truck driver or factory worker material.

[Valmy]

I much prefer college baseball to minor league baseball but I am sure glad minor league baseball exists.  Everybody who wants to get paid and not get a degree and play for old state U has an option.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I've always enjoyed this whine.  A "slave labor" system that people are desperate to join?  Sounds more like bullshit rhetoric to me.

So people can't be desperate to join employment situations akin to slave labor?

I don't see any benefit to such a rules change.  If college athletes "make the university millions," as is so often claimed, then why hasn't anyone founded a football minor league to make those millions for themselves (and, of course, the players)?  The NFL could do that themselves, if there really are millions to be made.  I suspect the reason no one has decided to make those millions is because those millions aren't really there; that the popularity of the sport comes from the universities, not just the players.

Who is claiming that the players generate millions of dollars in revenue? Collectively yes, football programs generate typically tens of millions of dollars in revenue for an athletic department (at least talking about the BCS-level schools) but I don't think anyone is saying the players would or should earn millions. There are millions made off of minor league baseball, millions isn't that big of a number in the world of professional sports. And I imagine the NFL would have a development league just like minor league baseball if the college system did not exist.

To many of the players, the game is a sport, not just the path to a profession.  Some will never play pro ball, as Berkut points out.  Others will play pro ball but know that they will never again get a chance to play for, as Bo Schembechler put it, "the Team, the Team, the Team."  See Tayler Lewan, a sure top-ten draft pick who came back for his senior year because he couldn't stand the idea of leaving a college football season unplayed.  Others do value the degree, like Denard Robinson, who puts in 16-hour days getting ready for the draft while still attending school, because he is determined that he will be the first one in his family to get a college degree, and he knows that this point in his life is when he can do it.

Wow, are you from the 1950s? I think Leave it to Beaver is coming on later or maybe you can catch a quick Honeymooners rerun. College kids today are mostly thugs that none of us would want at our dinner table, not this wholesome team-focused do-gooder picture you've painted here.

Sure, there's a lot of corruption in the game.  There is in anything where this much money is involved.  There is in pro football, and would be in some non-university-affiliated development league (if there are, as claimed, millions in it to be earned by the players).  But there are also a lot of upright figures in it as well, just as there are in pro football and would be in this development league.  No system is going to be perfect.  NCAA football would be a lot more perfect if players got compensated for all their college costs, as pretty much every major program (and the director of the NCAA) want.  But what we have is pretty damned good, popular, and supported by the major stakeholders, athletes included.  Those who don't like it are welcome to ignore it.

Who is claiming millions to be earned by the players? The way a development league would work is the players would sign with the professional club. The very top prospects might get a very nice signing bonus, in the millions. Most players would not, they would just be offered a spot on the team and could work their way to the professional club where they would probably earn a small amount of money for a few years and then sign for a lot in free agency if they're any good (basically how baseball works.) While in the development league they'd earn about what a minor league baseball player makes, which is damn good money for playing a sport but certainly not millions.

Like minor league teams, the development leagues would be able to make money through concession sales and ticket revenue. They would also, being affiliated with universities, probably do a large trade in merchandise that most minor league teams don't really do (not many people buy Minor League team merchandise.) Some of the development teams, like some minor league teams, would probably operate at a loss and would be subsidized by the parent team.

[OttoVonBismarck]

I much prefer college baseball to minor league baseball but I am sure glad minor league baseball exists.  Everybody who wants to get paid and not get a degree and play for old state U has an option.

The college world series is fun, I actually played college baseball so I agree that it's a good thing and enjoyable. But in baseball generally the best non-MLB baseball is seen in the minors, and also in my experience minor league ball games are a lot more fun to attend than college ones. Minor league ball games usually have cheap beer whereas many college stadiums don't allow alcohol sales at all, and watching baseball without a beer is like a man whose had his dick cut off trying to fuck.