Monday Afternoon Long Snapper (8/11/08)
Looking at the calendar, we are now 17 days away from the start of the 2008 season. For those of you slow on the uptake, that’s less than 3 weeks. That gives you just enough time to prepare your family for your upcoming disappearance, update your apparel collection to include the latest and greatest shirts, hats, and foam fingers, and play another season of NCAA Football 2009 (or in my case, a few more seasons).
I got a full dose of college football this weekend as I attended the Bulls’ annual Fan Fest at Raymond James Stadium. Put aside the nearly unbearable heat and the overwhelming number of kids, and it was a fun experience getting able to meet and talk with the coaches and players. Here are a few notes:
• Jim Leavitt mentioned the 2009 recruiting class was already 17 strong and the Bulls almost had everyone they want. Interesting to hear it from the coach’s mouth considering most recruiting sites have the Bulls with 11 commits at this point.
• Every time I saw him, Mike Ford had a huge smile on his face. I have to say he was one of the nicest and most appreciative athletes I’ve ever met. He said he could barely contain his excitement for the upcoming season.
• I had a conversation with wide receiver Taurus Johnson about the Florida heat. He seemed to be extremely happy the first game is at night.
• Cedric Hill – who should be a bigger part of the offense this year – joked with fans about other players signing over his picture on the team poster.
• All-American George Selvie really does love honey buns. While signing autographs, he had a pen in one hand and a honey bun in the other.
• It was quite obvious Under Armour is the new uniform supplier for the Bulls. Every player was dressed from head to toe in gear. A word of warning to Under Armour though, you may want to check the green jerseys before the season starts. By the end of the day the dye had bled through the white numbers and they looked green as well.
All-in-all, it was a great event and good for any type of football fan, from the casual to the obsessive. The players were all very nice and never pushed any fan quickly through the line. They all genuinely seemed like they were having a good time and in many cases were eager to answer any questions.
Around college football…
• Although the NCAA doesn’t necessarily support college football being thrust into the fantasy sports world, they have admitted they can’t really do anything to prevent it. CBS has announced that its fantasy football programs will now involve individual player names and not just schools. Because the NCAA groups names with images and likenesses in its bylaws, there is nothing they can do at the moment to prevent the network from moving forward due to the fact CBS is not technically doing so for commercial profit.
However, in a situation like video games, player names are not allowed to be used. I’ve always thought there has to be a better way for the NCAA to handle this. For instance, allow a company to use the names IF a sizeable donation is made to some sort of scholarship fund.
• Is Matthew Stafford overhyped? Or will he take a leap to greatness in 2008? As many of you know, I’m a stat hound and I’m not – and never have been – sold on Stafford, so this may reek of a heavy bias, but here goes.
Georgia is widely regarded as one of the favorites to win it all this year and many say they will do so in part because of their great quarterback. A number of sites even have Stafford ranked as one of the top passers in the nation. But why?
The Bulldogs were very good last year and all signs point to them being very good again this year. But in 2 years, Stafford has been little more than a marginally efficient, above average passer. Not the All-American he’s made out to be. He ranked 56th in the nation in QB rating, 53rd in yards, and tied for 43rd in touchdowns in 2007. This isn’t to say Stafford isn’t good and won’t guide Georgia to a successful 2008, but he isn’t great and isn’t the main reason the Bulldogs should be considered a national title contender. Stafford could make the jump to greatness, but he’s not there yet. He’s a player that has definitely benefitted from the great team around him. Although there have been some questionable quarterbacks taken #1 overall in the NFL Draft in the past, none of them had as mediocre a career as Stafford has had thus far. Just something to think about when next April comes around.
• UCLA has no luck whatsoever with its quarterbacks. First it was Patrick Cowan, who is out for the year after injuring his knee during spring practice. Then it was Ben Olsen, who hurt his foot. The Bruins thought all was well as Olsen was able to come back. Well now it appears Olson has reinjured the foot and will be out for at least 8 weeks. Not a good year to be a Bruins’ fan.
• Be happy you aren’t a quarterback at any school in Los Angeles. Southern Cal QB Mark Sanchez dislocated a kneecap during practice on Friday (actually it was while jumping to catch a pass during pre-practice warm-ups) and might not make it back for the season opener. If I were Mitch Mustain, I’m not sure I’d want to be named the starter at either school.
• FSU running back Antone Smith left practice on Saturday after suffering from dehydration. Seminole or not, you never like to hear stories like this. Although Smith will be alright and should return to practice this week, I’m sure it was a scary moment. There have been a number of tragic stories in recent years about players and dehydration and heat exhaustion.
• A few teams I’m getting sick of: BYU, Missouri, and of course Illinois. And a few I’m really starting to like: Utah, Oklahoma, and of course Wisconsin.
• Football on the Web: Need even more college football, visit Fanblogs.com.