Howdy, Skull-erinos! Is that what you all are? I kind of phoned out of 11W's Freshman Convocation so I'm not sure if you all have a diminutive, or demonym, to distinguish those of you that read the Skull Sessions vis-a-vis those that also frequent other parts of Eleven Warriors.
I'm Vico, or at least that's my nom de guerre, and I'm the new guy. On the first Saturday Skull Session of 2013, I hope to give you guys a bit of a rundown of the doin's a-transpirin' across college athletics. If you had guessed that the first Saturday session of the year would include a discussion of Tommy Tuberville, well, collect your prize at the gate.
SCUMBAG TOMMY MIGHT BE THE NEW COLLEGE FOOTBALL MEME. I've been following this story since Tuesday, but, suffice to say, new Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville is having a fairly rough start to his tenure in the Queen City.
His arrival in Cincinnati didn't come without controversy either. Remember, a report soon followed Tuberville's surprising departure for Cincinnati, from Lubbock, that Tuberville walked out of a home visit in the middle of a recruiting pitch. It was also the middle of dinner, no less, which is a special kind of rudeness. I highly doubt Mr. Tuberville paid his compliments to the chef, either.
Now, Tuberville is engaging in a particularly crude practice of pulling scholarship offers to recruits already committed to Cincinnati. So far, three recruits have been identified as having their scholarships yanked by Tuberville and told to look elsewhere.
Demetrius Monday, a three-star cornerback from Fairburn, Georgia, was told his scholarship offer will not be honored by Tuberville, despite being in good standing and being committed to Cincinnati since the summer.
Jaleel Canty, another three star from Lansing, Michigan, was also committed to Cincinnati since the summer and was also advised to go away by Tuberville.
Finally, Kyle Kempt, a quarterback and 4.4 GPA student from the famous Washington program in Massillon, had his scholarship offer yanked under ignominious circumstances. The result? Washington High School's head coach is freezing Tuberville and his staff from the high school until Kempt graduates.
This was a faux pas I feared Urban Meyer would make when he arrived at Ohio State in November 2011. Fortunately, he was smart enough to not make this mistake. There is a very simple policy to which one should adhere when taking over a program and thinking of not honoring verbal commitments that are grandfathered into the current recruiting class: no. It is never okay as long as the recruits are in good standing.
To be clear, every coach who walks into a program sees the commits in the current recruiting class and thinks, "I wouldn't have offered that kid." However, those kids were committed to the program in question before the new coach was. Now, Demetrius Monday, Jaleel Canty, and Kyle Kempt have one month before signing day to find a new home at a program that may have long forgotten about them and are near completion of their respective recruiting classes. I understand college football is a business that "is what it is", but that's an awfully crass thing to do.
While normatively inappropriate, it may also not serve Tuberville's self-interest. Cincinnati really thrives on getting some three stars from places like Lansing, Detroit, and Indianapolis that may have flown well under the radar of the B1G TEN programs.
Further, the heart and soul of Cincinnati's roster will always be city kids from places like Columbus (e.g. Isaiah Pead), as well as recruits from some of the recruiting hinterlands of Ohio (e.g. Zach Collaros), who get the opportunity to thrive in Cincinnati.
Whereas the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association are a mobilized bunch from Cleveland to Cincinnati, and Lucas County to Washington County, to protect and promote their student athletes, an affront to one becomes an affront to all. Other coaches may be less receptive to his overtures in his first few years in Cincinnati.
Sonny Dykes eyes his surroundings at Memorial StadiumCAL WATCH. It may be worth taking a gander on what's happening with the California Golden Bears right now. After all, Cal, one of our toughest wins from 2012, is our "marquee" opponent in a very weak 2013 schedule for the Buckeyes. We will play at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley in Week 3. I don't doubt for a second that'll be a night game too.
Cal did just finalize its schedule for 2013. The Golden Bears play three non-conference games to begin the season, hosting Northwestern, Portland State, and our venerable Buckeyes.
The Pac-12 schedule is a nine-game schedule for every team. The Bears play USC, UCLA, Arizona, and Colorado from the Pac-12 South. Of those four games, it will host USC and Arizona. Within its division, it travels to Oregon, Washington, and Stanford. That's about as rough as it gets in the Pac-12 North.
Elsewhere, California may get a recruiting dividend from the coaching transitions at Wisconsin and California. Tyler Foreman, one of the big names in Wisconsin's recruiting class, seems likely to decommit from the Badgers. The safety prospect from the Crespi program in Encino, California, was recruited by Andy Buh, then linebackers coach for Bert at Wisconsin. With Buh hired by Dykes as defensive coordinator, I have to imagine Foreman may be en route to Berkeley when it's all said and done.
Finally, Steve Williams, one of California's starting cornerbacks from the 2012 team, opted to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft. He joins teammate Keenan Allen among the ranks of those declaring early for the league. With Williams gone, California will return none of its starting cornerbacks from last year's team. Devin Smith believes they will be missed.
It's worth at least checking in on the Bears as the offseason continues. Again, they are our "marquee" opponent and they will be going Airraid in 2013. Given our secondary play as a whole in 2012, especially at safety, this may get a little more interesting.
SIZING UP THE EARLY ENROLLEES. While Ohio State looks to finalize the 2013 recruiting class, six of the signees got a head start on their careers. Those five: Eli Apple, J.T. Barrett, Cam Burrows, Tyquan Lewis, and Tracy Sprinkle. Ohio State also added William Houston and Devin Hill as walk-ons at fullback. Houston, another Buckeye football legacy, is a preferred walk-on from Dublin Scioto High School. Devin Hill is a fullback transfer from Purdue.
Of those five previously mentioned, Apple and Burrows might be the most important to get on campus. Bradley Roby's return to Columbus for another year gives Ohio State something rock solid at the cornerback position. However, Travis Howard needs to be replaced. Having Apple and Burrows (who may ultimately become a safety at some point in his career) on campus now affords the coaching staff more options for the two deep. As it is, the two familiar names from last year's two-deep at corner are Doran Grant and Adam Griffin.
Tyquan Lewis and Tracy Sprinkle might be the most intriguing to have on campus right now. With Urban Meyer's arrival in Columbus, even the casual Buckeye fan can tell he wanted to rethink Ohio State's defense and take it to the next level. Call it the proverbial "juice" or not, but Ohio State's recruiting efforts on defense have pushed them in new directions.
Enter a guy like Tyquan Lewis, who Buckeye fans hope will compensate for Nathan Williams' graduation and may help Noah Spence on the two-deep at weakside defensive end. Further, Tracy Sprinkle, on whom I'm kind of keen as a competitor, coming to campus in January allows him time to compete in winter conditioning and spring drills.
All told, both Lewis and Sprinkle coming on campus early only helps us compensate for the attrition at defensive line, the strength of last year's team that has seen a lot of players leave for the NFL.
J.T. Barrett, the quarterback from Wichita Falls, Texas, had always planned to enroll in January at Ohio State. However, he had not planned for the ACL/MCL and meniscus tear that sidelined him late into his senior campaign at Rider High School. Ohio State seems mostly set at quarterback in 2013, so Barrett's rehabilitation gets to be micromanaged by Ohio State's staff while he learns the playbook in earnest. That's definitely a plus, given the circumstances. The hope is the film room is particularly helpful for him as he makes the transition to college football.
MISCELANEA. If you follow me on Twitter, you know I was particularly enamored with TBDBITL's Fantasia show and have been pleading for TBDBITL to make the intro to that show, "Pines of the Appian Way", a semi-regular addition to the catalog. Here's that same song, done by an orchestra in Stuttgart with a composer who is totally tripping BALLS... Czech politicians are different... This Week in Boulder, Colorado... Reminder: Ravens at Broncos (CBS, 4:30pm ET) and Packers at 49ers (FOX, 8:00pm ET).
