Stu, JO'Co... I don't disagree fellas. I believe Herby to be a proud alum angered by the poor decisions made by these kids....I get that and I agree. I do think that as a result, Herby took some gratuitous shots at TP that were unnecessary but that may have been retaliatiory in nature.....he could have been just as effective in communicating his points without the shots, at least in my opinion.
Since Herbie and I both hail from the same neck of the woods you can assume we both make a lot of sense. 8) My gut feeling is that Tressel is a good, principled man in addition to being a great coach. I don't blame him personally for any of this any more than I blame Kelly for what is going on at ND, Meyer at Florida or most other big time coaches. The programs are huge and have layers of management. One man could not possibly micro-manage the whole thing. I blame uneducated, naieve ego-maniac 18-21 year olds, the hangers-on with them an predatory adults such as certain coaches, agents, alumni, fans and boosters who live out their fantasies through these kids. When is the last time anyone influential in these kids lives ever said "No, that's not right " to them? Ever. Some pro team will take a chance on Pryor which they will almost certainly live to regret so that kid will not look back. The others? We'll probably never know.
More insights into the story.....timeline of the situation is interesting. Ohio State initially self-reported the violations and suspended all six players for the Sugar Bowl....NCAA reinstates all 6 for the Sugar Bowl but sanctions them in 2011..... Rumors suggesting there is a difference of opinion between Smith and Tressel with Tress wanting to hold the kids out of the game while Smith is very clear in his public comments that he believes they should play.....possibly the source of some of the Tress leaving rumors? It's unusual to be certain, these guys typically are joined at the hip on all public matters and Smith almost always defers to JT on all matters football.....we'll see what happens in New Orleans. http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2010/SugarBowl/NCAAtimeline.htm
Re: No question someone taking a chance on TP, whether or not he develops to the point of making a meaningful contribution, only time will tell. The real issue is when will he go? He was almost certain to stay next year prior to this now?????? As for the others, there are some pretty good football players in the group.....Posey, Adams, and Herron all almost certain to find a spot on NFL rosters with Adams quite possibly a high first round choice if he had another year like this one...... Always sad when kids make bad decisions that hurt them.....life lessons can be tough. But that said, I believe these are all good kids, their actions were not criminal nor did they have criminal intent and there are whole lot of kids that will be playing in bowl games and next year on Saturdays who made decisions much more sinister/crimianal in nature.....hate to see these kids demonized in comparison....no doubt however that they screwed up and need to face the consequences of their actions....
Pryor is no NFL QB in my opinion. His athleticism hides his deficiencies now but not at the next level. Maybe a TE or some special role playing hybrid back but probably zip. Not too familiar with the other guys. Sounds like the Buckeyes need a new AD.... like yeserday. I also heard the Sugar Bowl has lobbied hard for the suspensions to be held off. On another note, the Fiesta Bowl is in big trouble as neither UConn nor Oklahoma is selling any tickets. OK is giving their tickets away to service personnel to try to at least salvage something out of it.
i don't disagree at this point Krebsie. I would say however that if he continues to progress as he has the last two years, that his upside potential is enough to get alot of attention from NFL GM's.....two years in the life of a young developing QB is not alot of investment given the potential return. Re: AD Smith.....certainly well regarded nationally and personally, I think he's outstanding, altho admittedly this is not his finest moment.As I'm looking at the athletic program under his direction and evaluating his performance, he's done very well, imho, especially considering the obstacle he's had to overcome given his education and early professional career...... :wink:
:wink: :wink: :wink: On Pryor I would agree that some NFL team will draft him in the late rounds, not much risk in do so. Were he to announce, like Matt Jones of Ark did, that he would willingly move to another position he'd be drafted higher. I believe Jones went in the 1st round as a WR after playing QB his whole career at Ark.
Interesting tidbits from JT's upon arrival in the Big Easy..... http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2010/SugarBowl/tressel_arrivalday.html Comments on the rumors of his pending "departure".... Sounds like he's gonna stick around and keep doing what we do.....
I liked the part where they went out to Archie Griffins house and saw (I assume) his Buckeye mementos collection. I'm sure Archie would have never sold his stuff, was too proud of earning it to sell it. Also I'll bet Archie didn't come from much different a background than those kids who sold their stuff.
I think that's right TOK....the Griffin's had a huge family - 8 kids - as I recall did not live in abject poverty, but as you can imagine, had to work very hard to just put food the table....obviously instilled a great value system and work ethic into their kids...3 boys played at Ohio State, 1 won a NC ring at Miami and 1 or 2 others might have played MAC level ball and 3 of them went on to play in the NFL....we face a different set of values and sense of entitlement from so many kids these days.... I admire JT's decision process for these young men, their meeting with Arch and of course, Archies guided tour....I hope they got the message that was intended....
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basket...Vanderbilt-forward-in-the-NC?urn=ncaab-301473 This has nothing to do with Ohio State, but this is the BS that is the NCAA. This kid at Vanderbilt has missed two basketball games with no end in sight. Unbelievable! :x
Pretty good analysis. They should have been suspended from the Bowl...right up front. Gonna be hard to recover from this no matter what we do...nothing to do but hem and haw and bumble around. Do the dumb asses really think these things won't see the light of day? Drive these cars all the time and "Oh, it's just a loaner..." Oh, well...we'll survive this...but not without somebody stepping up and admitting fault.