This and that
1. Want some insight about how things went during FSU’s academic fraud hearing last Saturday? Check out this response from FSU AD Randy Spetman: "I will tell you that it was a very interesting day . . . When we walked out we really had no indication of which direction it was going to go. "We all kind of looked at each other and said, 'What do you do now?' "
2. I have heard the following things:
a. Bert Reed has been suspended for Saturday’s game – apparently he has failed a test (not the kind you take online).
b. Randy Shannon has told his staff that they have 6 games to start coaching or they will all be fired. Word is that Randy has at least 1 more year to screw things up. If you haven’t heard the interview with Omar Kelly (former Hurricane beat writer) where he absolutely blasts Randy Shannon here is the link.
c. Texas A&M will become a player if Tommy Tuberville is no longer the coach at Auburn. Clemson thinks Tuberville will be theirs at the end of the year (assuming they don’t hire Bobby Johnson), but if Tuberville is available look for A&M to admit that they made a mistake hiring Mike Sherman. Remember that the pockets of A&M boosters run plenty deep, so buying out Sherman and paying Tuberville $3m/year should be no problem.
d. Despite what we see on TV the Big 12 has not become part of the Arena Football League. This week Texas will play a team that actually has a defense. Should be interesting to see how they handle that after weeks of playing against teams with life-sized cardboard cutouts on the defensive side of the ball.
3. For those of you that haven’t heard Mon Williams, who earlier in the year moved from RB to LB, is transferring. Apparently the transfer will be on good terms for everyone involved.
4. The ESPN 150 was recently updated and the Gators are players for 33 of those listed. Considering we have anywhere from 18-22 scholarships available our recruiting class this year should be alright.
5. The wider splits used by the Gators’ offensive line the last couple of games was apparently borrowed from Texas Tech. This year Mike Leach has his best running game since he took over in Lubbock.
6. Finally the crown jewel of the Gator Basketball Recruiting Class for 2009 is visiting this weekend. Kenny Boynton, from Plantation American Heritage, will be town this weekend. Word is that Billy D feels Kenny is the biggest recruit to visit Gainesville in quite some time.
Mentioned in Austin Murphy's book 
8 comments:
Gee ... I thought Randy Shannon was going to get a ton of recruits next year because Meyer let his team kick a field goal late in the Gator-Cane game. Apparently those 33 recruits didn't get Shannon's public memo about how classless Meyer is (I've always thought there was nothing classier than calling someone ELSE classless in the media).
Urban will definitely get the recruits he wants, so no worries there!
Jesse W.
http://www.churchofcowherd.com
Still a touch bitter about Bert decommitting from UF? For what its worth, the penalty for missing class at FSU is now a one-game penalty. This was instituted in August after the aforementioned "scandal". Noteworthy but missing from your post... FSU has been asked by the NCAA not to comment on the hearing.
I'm sure it sounds really ominous to phrase it the way you did, but I wouldn't get your hopes up for additional sanctions. The NCAA has already concluded no additional infractions took place.
Besides... aren't you Gator fans going to be pointing to the FSU game at the end of the season to bolster your case for an at-large BCS bid?
Regarding the splits, this isn't the first time the Gators have gone wide. They had a very similar look on a couple of plays against LSU in 2006. Rich Rodriguez and OL coach Rick Trickett (ironically now at FSU) really made the wide splits pay off in the spread option at WVU and Clemson. A bunch of people have done it, but no one has stuck to it the way that WVU has. I don't know if that means that it works, but you have to stick to it, or that it is (generally) just a band-aid. Time will tell, I suppose.
"Besides... aren't you Gator fans going to be pointing to the FSU game at the end of the season to bolster your case for an at-large BCS bid?"
Kevin...
let me 'splains to jou:
---The winners of the football powerhouse conferences...and the ACC's least pathetic team...receive AUTOMATIC bids to a BCS game. Hence, the Gators concern is that the game v. FreeShoes may lower our S-o-S enough to keep us out of the BcS CHAMPIONSHIP Game, NOT a BCS game.
You're welcome.
yankeegator
I am aware of the fact that the NCAA requested that no one discuss what happened during the hearing. That is a standard request. It is also why I prefaced my comment with “want to get some insight”. However the only way someone could state that there were no new violations found by the NCAA is if you read the Notice and the Response while wearing Ketchup and Mustard colored glasses. There are multiple new accusations including but not limited to the charge of "failure to monitor" and the fact that Hilliard Goldsmith was involved in the academic fraud and it wasn't "one rogue tutor". I can forward the 266 pages of documents if you want, since I have them on my desktop. That way you can have some first-hand knowledge about the subject. In addition, the sanctions that were "self-imposed" were absurd. If you look at the New Mexico case, which was recently resolved by the NCAA, you will see that the NCAA doesn't take academic fraud lightly. Also don’t you find it interesting that the NCAA didn’t release its report in the Indiana matter prior to the hearing? I mean it has been due for a couple of weeks. Maybe they didn’t want FSU to have handle on the failure to monitor charge, which was also levied against Indiana. That’s just a theory of course.
End of the season - if we are hoping that playing FSU will bolster our resume of receiving an at-large BCS bid, we have big problems. I mean how could playing a 7-5 team that finished middle of its division in a weak conference help our cause?
Line splits – I appreciate the fact that you brought up Zook, Rodriguez (yes it was his offense not Trickett’s) and SOB, but I was referring to the fact that our current coaches changed their scheme and philosophy and they said that the change was influenced by Texas Tech’s offense, which just so happens to have a great running attack to go along with a passing game. Have both is something none of Zook, Rodriguez and SOB can or could claim.
Bert Reed - they are now saying that Mr. Reed missed the same class 3 times and thus is suspended for this game. Either way not a smart move to miss a huge conference game.
"I'm sure it sounds really ominous to phrase it the way you did, but I wouldn't get your hopes up for additional sanctions. The NCAA has already concluded no additional infractions took place."
Oh, really? Obviously you didn't read the whole article - it's not a cut-and-dried case just yet and fsu isn't out of the woods. The NCAA could impose further penalties; even the most die-hard nole fan would realize that.
Don't come onto a Gator blog and start talking smack just yet. If the NCAA imposes sanctions (and I hope they do), let's see what you'll be saying then.
"Besides... aren't you Gator fans going to be pointing to the FSU game at the end of the season to bolster your case for an at-large BCS bid?"
Yankee and Scully are right, so what's your point? The ACC is a weak conference, so it really doesn't bolster our stength of schedule as far as the BCS is concerned - besides, we could get to the SECCG game in Atlanta and possibly get a BCS bid by winning out our conference, and a win in Atlanta would give us a bid to go to the Sugar Bowl representing the SEC.
Go toot your horn about our losing Bert Reed all you want, nolie - lest you forget the POUNCEY brothers came to UF over your beloved clown college in Tallahassee, and we're glad we've got them!
And FWIW I'm pulling for Virginia Tech this weekend along with my Gators, LSU and Wisconsin!
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