Wednesday night, Urban Meyer openly discussed that senior Jordan Hall would be eligible for a medical redshirt after noting the injury-stricken Hall had once again suffered a setback in his recovery from a torn PCL suffered in East Lansing.
Clearly it sounded as if Urban was planting a seed and during yesterday's weekly radio call-in show, he sprinkled a little Miracle-Gro on the notion opining:
"I think it's a message from above that this isn’t his year."
Later, Meyer went on to mention Hall would not have graduated if he left after this season, meaning coming back for another year would allow him to earn his degree. Meyer also surmised a return would give Hall the chance to be a two-time captain.
Typically calculated with the media, it seems fairly obvious Meyer is paving the way for Hall's return which speaks to how Urban feels about the kid. With the NFL a major longshot even with a healthy 2012, Meyer knows a return to Columbus is what's best for Hall's future.
That said, the ripple effect of his return, should it happen, is the most compelling part of this story.
Meyer has already lined up his succession plan at running back with Hyde's emergence, Rod Smith showing some power and shakes in between fumbles, Bri'onte Dunn and to a lesser extent Warren Ball looming in the shadows and incoming blue chips Ezekiel Elliott and Jalin Marshall expected to bid for touches as early as next fall.
Since Hall's return has grown more realistic, I've seen some chirping that Hall would use up a scholly Meyer could otherwise spend on the next great thing on the recruiting trail. I see that side of things but at the same time, Hall, when healthy, has proven to be a serviceable, versatile player.
No longer having to fret if a player might get more touches than deserved on the strength of seniority over talent, Hall can only help the Buckeyes either by regaining form, allowing him to accentuate his versatility or as an insurance policy should injuries and/or ineffectiveness take a toll on an admittedly deep, if largely unproven (outside of Hyde) crop of backs.
WE ARE...FAIR WEATHER. Much is being made about the unruly crowd expected to be on hand at Beaver Stadium and there's no question the PSU faithful have earned a reputation of being a smidge off the chain.
Interestingly though, despite a five-game winning streak earning Bill O'Brien waves of love nationally, the Lions have yet to sell out Beaver, failing to draw even 100k in each of their first four home games.
With Nittanyville busting at the seams and tickets being scooped up for decent cheddar, the first capacity crowd of the season looms.
If by any chance paying customers don't move the needle to full, there's a high probability the flood of recruits in attendance will as O'Brien said he's expecting a ridiculous 80-100 kids on hand for the game including his top commit, QB Christian Hackenberg.
With only 15 schollies available for each of the next four years and 11 currently in the fold for 2013, O'Brien and his top recruit appear focused on building a foundation for the 2014 class. Here's Hackenberg:
“I think it’s something that we’re gonna be able to use to our advantage. People will really get to see what Penn State football is all about. We’ll have those guys that have already given their pledge, along with the guys who are on the line, so we’ll get in their ear a little bit.”
No doubt Penn State has a tough mountain to climb but I do have to give O'Brien some credit for what he's been able to do with the program thus far. With that out of the way, it would be oh so nice to see Meyer go into Happy Valley and douse Penn State's early attempt at a renaissance in convincing fashion.
Hyde steamrolling wordy PSU linebacker Mike Mauti in the process would be the icing on such a Penn State chill cake.
ONE POSSESSION, ONE QUARTERBACK. BTN's Tom Dienhart and Brent Yarina kicked around which B1G quarterback they'd take if their team was in need of a game-winning scoring drive and their answers were not only interesting but yet another example of why the B1G remains mired mediocrity.
Dienhart took Taylor Martinez as his no-brainer choice and Nebraska's dual threat is the highest ranked B1G signal caller at 15th in Passing Efficiency and 22nd in Total Offense, nationally. At the same time, Martinez has also fizzled in big game losses at UCLA and Ohio State. He did complete a combined 57% of this throws in the pair of defeats but he also posted a one touchdown, four interception statline while also being held to just 40 yards rushing against the Buckeyes.
Meanwhile, O'Brien picked McGloin up off the scrapheap – albeit a moxie-laced scrapheap – after completing just 54% of his passes over two seasons, and the kid has caught fire posting an impressive TD/INT ratio of 14/2 and a 63% completion percentage. Even with McGloin's resurgence, he's ranked just 53rd nationally Passing Efficiency and 45th in Total Offense.
In case you're interested, Braxton currently sits 50th in Passing Efficiency, 22nd in Total Offense and 15th in Rushing with a TD/INT ratio of 11/5.
Like a boss.THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME. Speaking of QBs, Brady Hoke was talking about his own yesterday but did so when discussing the topic of special teams.
A week after Denard appeared as a kickoff return man twice during the win over Michigan State, though he didn't register a return, Hoke told the assembled media it's a possibility Robinson will get more chances back deep:
"You got a pretty good athlete in a guy who, if he can find a seam, he's hard to catch. You might as well use your players. The objective is, when you're in championship-game mode every week, to win the game. So how can you prepare your team and your players to win the football game?"
It makes sense for Hoke to insinuate Robinson could see more time down the road, if for no other reason than to give opposing coaches something to think about but if I were cursed enough to be a Wolverine fan, I have a hard time believing I could get on board with such a strategy.
There's no question Denard is a dynamic runner but the thought of risking injury to your oft-dinged starting QB on special teams – knowing how few kicks are actually returned for huge yardage even by the most tested return men – just doesn't seem worth the risk.
Moreover, what's that say, if anything, about the rest of the skill guys at Michigan? Would you be in favor of Braxton returning kick offs?
I'm interested in where our commentariat from both sides of the border stand on these topics.
WILD BILL HICKOK APPROVES. A host of media outlets jumped on what could evolve into a story with far reaching tentacles after 25 people were indicted for their respective roles in a national illegal sports gambling operation.
The indictment includes 225 charges ranging from money laundering to conspiracy to enterprise corruption and comes after an 18 month investigation allegedly uncovered a gambling ring encompassing five states, off-shore betting houses, Vegas and organized crime.
Of particular interest is the role played Michael Colbert, a Vegas heavyweight serving as the sports book director for a group known as Cantor Gaming as well as the sports book manager at M Resort and potential ties to the mafia.
The scale of the investigation is so deep that two sources told the four-letter:
"The ramifications of this are huge. The guys involved had to be handling millions of dollars a week. I know that people in the islands are crapping their pants right now. The money involved in this is what moved point spreads."
Colbert's employer, Cantor Gaming, has not been implicated but the affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald which oversees six different sports books in Vegas has drawn the attention of Nevada Gaming regulators.
Even with the 25 indictments already on the table, it looks like a good bet this thing could swallow up more names and further complicate the BS that is the government keeping Americans from being able to easily wager some coin on games to make them even more fun to watch.
LINK MARTINDALE'S HAIR WAS DOMINANT. The Ultimate Nutshots Collection... Area Codes in Which Ludacris Claims to Have Hoes... Illegal pick... Mama don't mess... Calhoun's UCONN program loved to get their learn on... Don't tell me what to do.
