Today's Skull Session is dedicated to Crabill's in Urbana.
ICYMI:
- Sam Hubbard, stand-up linebacker? He's practicing.
- Larry Johnson won't confirm a five-man defensive front but said such a package "is on the table."
- Defenders say the offense regularly busts big plays in practice.
- Help put a life-size statue of Woody Hayes in his hometown of Newcomerstown, Ohio.
Word of the Day: Mendicant.
HOW DO YOU DO, KIDS? Despite only making up a slice of the 100,000+ souls that pack the Shoe in the fall, the students are the lifeblood to the tradition we all love and know.
Though students can be fickle in their attendance (old-timers can say what they want; it wasn't possible to watch the game from a 75" HD TV at home in their day), but Meyer is re-doubling his efforts this year to makes sure the youngs get the message.
From Buckeye football beat G.O.A.T. Tim May of dispatch.com:
There is a gleam in Urban Meyer’s eye when he talks about the student appreciation day practice he stages each spring at Ohio State, which means the pressure is on Quinn Tempel.
“Coach Meyer loves this day, he wants it to be heavily attended, he wants it to be fun, and he wants there to be access,” said Tempel, the assistant operations manager in charge of coordinating the event. “He wants the students to know we’re thankful they support us, and to know that, while we play for a lot of reasons, first and foremost we play for the university, and the students obviously are one of the biggest factors in that.”
It's also "Sibs and Kids" weekend—which sounds horrifying, so we'll see how many students seek shelter in the Woody Hayes on a spring morning.
DRE'MONT DEVELOPING. Dre'Mont Jones moved inside last year and performed admirably. He'll stay inside in 2017 and will be a key chamber in the Silver Bullets' revolver. Improving his pass rush is the next step in his development, according to defensive line don dada Larry Johnson.
From scout.com:
Jones, who will be a third-year sophomore in the fall, played in all 13 games last season, recording 52 tackles with four of them being for a loss.
“First year playing football at our three-technique (meaning Jones lines up on the outside shoulder of one of the opposing offensive guards), great job, great acceleration,” Johnson said of Jones. “Now we’ve got to improve his pass rush as a three-tech. Our three-tech, they get a lot of single blocks so that guy – he’s got to be the guy inside and make our outside guys go. So it’s something we’ve talked about, something we’re working on improving. So far so good.”
I need to stop reading about the defensive line until after the Indiana game. At this rate, I'll be typing things like "The local team could get away with playing me at safety," by June.
COMPETENT EMPLOYEE GETS RAISE. There's a weird fringe of Ohio State fans who don't think Michael Drake is a good university president because he doesn't amble around campus taking pictures or turn up at campus-area beer pong games like his predecessor.
Dr. Drake is good, actually. And his paymasters will reward him later today.
From the indomitable Tom Knox of Columbus Business First:
President Michael Drake’s five-year contract, signed in 2014, will extend to June 2021, pending board of trustees approval Friday.
Drake will make a $832,320 base salary with a potential 25 percent annual bonus.
[...]
A compensation consultant said the new package is “in the range of reasonableness,” said Trustee Jerry Jurgensen, chairman of the talent and compensation committee.
Nobody else read this except Dr. Drake...
...
...
...
... Hello, Doctor. May I hold $20? I'll get you back next. Promise.
MAN SAYS DUBIOUS THING ON RADIO. Pop quiz: What do Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Insane Clown Posse, Adam Schefter, Dan Gilbert, Bill Simmons, and P.J. Fleck all have in common? They blocked me on Twitter.
Fleck, who is now a mortal enemy of mine, went on Jim Rome's radio show (which is apparently still a thing) yesterday and said a dubious thing.
P.J. Fleck just said on Jim Rome that he took a major pay cut for the Minnesota job vs. possible WMU contract. Which nobody knows."
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) April 6, 2017
This is about as transparent as me telling my boss I have a competing seven-figure offer to become a partner at the biggest law firm in town.
From thebiglead.com:
That seems more than a tad dubious. Fleck earned more than $800,000 with Western Michigan last season. That was the top salary in the MAC. He was the only MAC coach to top the Top 80 nationally. Fleck signed a five-year deal with Minnesota worth $3.5 million per year. He more than quadrupled his salary.
Western Michigan’s athletic department gets 74.5 percent of its revenue, nearly $26 million, from outside subsidies. The prospect of Western Michigan offering a “major” pay increase above what Minnesota offered seems absurd.
So yeah, not buying that Fleck took some big pay cut to come compete against Urban Meyer, James Franklin, Jim Harbaugh, Mark Dantonio, and reigning West champion Paul Chryst.
In other Fleck news, he's apparently on the brink of becoming a reality television star, which is 'bout right.
From startribune.com:
The Gophers are in discussions with a production company about a behind-the-scenes television show, featuring football coach P.J. Fleck, an athletics department source confirmed Thursday.
The deal has not yet been finalized, but the sides have discussed a four-part series that the production company could distribute to the ESPN networks or another station.
Fleck mentioned the TV series in a speech to Gophers corporate sponsors on Wednesday night. He was the subject of two Sports Illustrated profiles while coaching at Western Michigan. His pull also helped lure ESPN's "College GameDay" to Kalamazoo, Mich., last season.
Geno Auriemma tried the same and ended up giving HBO a front-row seat to his program taking a historic loss. Unfortunately, the final scene in the Gophers' season will likely come in the bowels of Ford Field after a 10-point Quick Lane Bowl loss to the runner-up of the MAC.
MOWINS TO THE LEAGUE? I know a lot of fans will be crestfallen to learn their favorite announcer, Beth Mowins, could be going to the League this fall.
From awfulannouncing.com:
Here is one to keep an eye on. There are whispers — although nothing we can confirm at this time — that ESPN’s Beth Mowins may get the nod to announce the late-night opening weekend Monday Night Football game. If so, she’d be the first female announcer to do play-by-play for a NFL game on national television.
Say what you want, talking sports live on national television ain't a cake walk.
THOSE WMDs. How to cook asparagus... Sitting is killing you—even if you go to the gym... Aaron Hernandez's final bid involves merciless mockery of former friend... Fred Rogers has been doing the same small good thing for a long time... Fiji's official iguana guardian protects 12,000 lizards... United States, Mexico, and Canada aiming to host 2026 World Cup together.
