4th and 1: Chris Rainey, the 2005 Heisman, Weslye Saunders…
In the spirit of the formerly spectacular Morning Reading comes 4th and 1. College football snapshots. Morning? Maybe. Afternoon? Could be. Missing for days at a time? Highly likely.
1st. Chris Rainey. Sigh. It remains to be seen what will come out of this, but one thing is certain, the Florida wide receiver did send the notorious text message. He admitted as much to the Gainesville Police. There are already Tennessee shirts available with the saying. This is where I’d normally throw in something sarcastic like “stay classy Vols,” but considering the circumstances all I can do is sigh, again.
Where we’re at: the woman who was on the receiving end of the now famous text message has asked that Rainey not be formally charged. How nice of her. Not sure it’s completely her decision anymore. In fact, the state attorney’s office will conduct an investigation to determine if they want Rainey to be charged.
Should I bring up the overall arrest problem? Sure. If the Orlando Sentinel is right, Rainey’s arrest is number 30 for the Gators under Urban Meyer. That’s not a small issue. It’s a large problem. I’ve always been a believer that the staff can’t control everything all of the time. You have a large group of kids from all different backgrounds getting into who knows what kind of situations when they aren’t in class or on the field. It’s impossible for anyone to keep track of everyone. But at this point something needs to change.
The big three in the state of Florida have a lot more in common than just a history of winning. I’m not happy that the Gators seem to have taken control of the trouble crown at the moment.
2nd. On the field doesn’t exist for Rainey right now and no one is sure when it will. Meyer and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio have yet to say Rainey is no longer with the team, but they have said he’s “not part of the team right now.” That means he needs to be replaced.
Initial thoughts would be either Robert Clark or Andre Debose, but the slot receiver position now belongs to Omarius Hines. Hines has impressed when on the field and is, of course, a TBG favorite. He’ll bring a different dynamic to the slot position than what Rainey offered, but should be able to perform admirably. Hines has five catches, 55 yards, and one touchdown on the season.
Stepping in for Hines at tight end (if you can really call it that, the Gators use it in a variety of ways) is Jordan Reed. Reed saw action against USF, but will now see more as the team’s number on TE.
3rd. For months there has been debate on whether or not Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy should be stripped from the former USC star. Along with that debate, there was discussion of where the Heisman should go if it was taken from him. Vince Young – who finished second in the voting in 2005 – was the name mentioned the most as the individual who deserves the award.
None of those things will happen now. Without being asked to return the trophy (yet), Bush made the decision to give it up. The Heisman Trust had their decision made for them and no longer has to pursue the issue further. They did however make a decision on where the trophy would go. Nowhere. The 2005 Heisman Trophy will not be awarded to anyone and will remain vacant.
Good decision here by the trust. Bush was technically ineligible for that season, but five years later, the trophy shouldn’t be given to someone else. What’s the point? By passing it along to Young, too many assumptions of what could have happened are being made. This isn’t Miss America.
4th. Goodbye Weslye Saunders. The South Carolina tight end has gone from suspended to dismissed. On Wednesday, the Gamecocks announced Saunders was no longer part of the program.
Saunders was expected to be one of the vital parts of South Carolina’s offense in 2010, but hadn’t appeared in either of the Gamecocks’ victories. South Carolina appears fine without him on the field, but the season is hardly over. It is for Saunders though. As is his college career.
And 1. Thoughts go out to Minnesota wide receiver Connor Cosgrove and his family. Cosgrove – the son of Gophers’ defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove – has been diagnosed with leukemia and is beginning chemotherapy. As someone who has been affected by this horrible disease, I wish only the best for the Cosgrove family during this difficult time.