Former Michigan lineman Steve Hutchinson made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Two of my Cool Story, Bro moments:
Steve Hutchinson came to one of my high school games (not to see me, but still).
I randomly saw Steve Hutchinson on Key West one time.
Congratulations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020: Safety Steve Atwater Receiver Isaac Bruce Offensive guard Steve Hutchinson Tailback Edgerrin James Safety Troy Polamalu
People are throwing out some solutions for the targeting rule, so I might as well throw my hat into the ring as a rule maker.
A lot of people – I would venture to say most – don’t understand “targeting.” The problem, in my opinion, is the word “targeting.” It seems to imply that there has to be something intentional about it. If you go out for target practice, you’re intentionally trying to shoot at a precise spot (a hay bale, a bullseye, etc.). If a missile hits its target, yes, it was intentional.
“Targeting” in football doesn’t have anything to do with intent. You either do it or you don’t. You can’t:
Lower your head to make contact with the crown of the helmet.
Create forcible contact to the head/neck area.
So change the terminology. Call #1 “spearing” and call #2 “targeting” or “head-hunting” or “flibbergibbing” or whatever you want. But I’ve discovered that a lack of education on a topic causes a lot of outrage. The “powers that be” of NCAA football need to show up on a national, widely watched broadcast and explain “targeting” or “spearing” or whatever the call ends up being. They need to show examples. And those examples can be provided on Youtube, Twitter, websites, etc. anytime there’s a question about “targeting.”
I’m glad LSU and Clemson are the two representatives in the national championship game. I’ll be rooting for LSU.
I don’t ever link these types of things, but here are some NFL helmet designs with local college colors (a.k.a. a Lions helmet with U of M colors). Here’s the link (LINK).
Here’s an SI article on Clemson’s religious culture (LINK).
Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press talks about how parents are dragging down high school sports (LINK).
Allen Trieu has a piece on 2020 linebacker commit Kalel Mullings (LINK).
Defensive tackle Jess Speight and offensive guard Andrew Vastardis were both given scholarships for the 2019 season. That’s because Michigan is under the scholarship limit after some guys transferred (LINK).
