Tag: Ohio State

Press Conference: Brady Hoke

Mailbag: What will it take to get Bri’onte Dunn?

Bri’onte Dunn (#25 with ball)

Assuming Bri’onte Dunn is waiting to see what the sanctions are prior to decommitting from OSU, how lenient will the penalty have to be to keep Dunn in the fold at OSU?

Bri’onte Dunn, the heralded running back from Glenoak High School in Canton, OH, has given every indication that his commitment to Ohio State depends upon how badly the NCAA punishes the Buckeyes for their transgressions.  He and his family maintain that he’s committed to the program, but I think that’s generally because he’s leery of seeming wishy-washy, drawing the ire of Ohio State fans, etc.  After all, if he commits to another school right now and then the NCAA only gives OSU a slap on the wrist, he’ll not only anger people by decommitting in the first place, but he’ll infuriate another fan base who hope to see him wearing their jersey.  For now he’s playing it safe, and I think that’s the smart thing to do.

Dunn’s father has suggested that a multi-year bowl ban will weigh heaviest on the decision.  If the Buckeyes are prohibited from participating in the postseason for three years, that could be Dunn’s whole college career.  Who wants to go play football where you might not ever play during bowl season?  Even though Dunn has the size and talent to make it to the NFL, some guys’ best accomplishments and legacies are built in bowl game performances.  When I think of Tai Streets, I think about his 4 receptions, 127 yards, and 2 touchdowns against Washington State in the Rose Bowl.  When I think of Adrian Arrington, I think about his 9 receptions, 153 yards, and 2 touchdowns against Florida in the Capital One Bowl.  Streets went on to a nondescript NFL career, and Arrington has seven career catches for the New Orleans Saints.

Recent rumors on message boards and from “insiders” have suggested that Dunn’s more and more likely to stick with his Ohio State commitment, but I think that’s partly because the NCAA investigation keeps getting elongated due to the new information popping up here and there.  The longer it takes for the NCAA to punish Ohio State, the better chance Dunn has of sticking.  And despite some obvious shenanigans regarding Terrelle Pryor’s use of loaner cars, no wrongdoing has been found yet.

Pryor, the other accused players, and the university are still on the hook for the selling of merchandise, the free tattoos, and the alleged selling of autographs; Jim Tressel is still on the hook for lying and playing dumb.  There’s a chance that the NCAA will say, “Well, Pryor left the school, and Tressel resigned, so here’s a stern look and wagging of the finger and don’t do it again.”

I think it’s more likely, though, that Ohio State gets a couple years of holidays off and the loss of a few dozen scholarships over the next few years.  USC got two years of bowl bans and 30 scholarship losses, but USC’s issues mainly involved one player (Reggie Bush) and an assistant coach.  Ohio State’s issues probably involve less money, but they were pervasive and involved the most visible employee of the university.  And by “employee” I mean Tressel, but I guess Pryor counts, too.

To answer your question more concisely, I think two years of bowl bans keep Dunn in Columbus.  Three years sends him elsewhere.  That doesn’t mean Dunn would necessarily come to Michigan, because he’s also been looking at Penn State.  But if I had to guess, I would say Michigan is #2 on his list if Ohio State’s program does indeed get blasted by the NCAA.

Marcus Ray Talks About Football, U-M, Life

This photograph makes an excellent desktop background.

If you’re not familiar with former Michigan strong safety, Marcus Ray, then a cursory glance at his stats and awards will inform you that he was a hell of a player during his time in the Maize and Blue. Most significantly, Marcus started all 12 games for the National Championship-winning ’97 team, earning all-conference recognition. Since then, he’s played snaps in the NFL, spent years as a coach, and published a book on life. Below are his personal insights and entertaining memories from an enjoyable conversation.

TTB: Your book “Rays of Light: Let there be Light” touches on many elements of the human experience. It has been described as entertaining, intellectual and one-of-a-kind. Can you tell us more about it?

Programming note: Memorial Day

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

It’s a little bit late here on Monday night, but first I want to extend a warm thanks to all those who have served the United States Armed Forces throughout the history of our country.  As the son of a veteran, I grew up aware of those who contributed to our freedom and lost their lives for our country’s cause.  However, I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to put my life on the line day after day.  Thanks to you and your families.

In honor of those who have put themselves in danger, I will be donating 50% of this week’s ad revenue to the Fisher House Foundation.  The program provides housing and support for the families of sick or injured veterans.

I will also be making a blood donation to the Red Cross later this week.  I encourage you to donate blood sometime if you are able.  The needle doesn’t hurt much, it takes about 30 minutes from check-in to completion, and they give you cookies afterward.  Plus you can help save up to three lives with every pint of blood you donate.

Lastly (and unrelated to any of the above), I would like to convey some information regarding upcoming programming for the site.  With all the news about Ohio State, I’ve had a couple people comment or e-mail asking for my thoughts on the topic.  I generally try to limit my coverage to Michigan and its recruiting.  After all, I’m only one guy, a guy with a full-time job, a regular workout regimen, coaching commitments, and other interests and hobbies outside of Michigan football.  Therefore, I don’t really consider my site to be a “news outlet” in any way, shape, or form.  I’m more of an analysis/editorial type of guy.  So while I appreciate the fact that some people respect my opinion enough to inquire – and by no means am I discouraging it – I just don’t want people to be disappointed if I’m a little slow to report or weigh in on events around college football.  I do intend to have a piece up about Ohio State soon, but it won’t be immediate.

Recruiting ratings and the 2011 Season Countdown will be commencing later this week, so there’s a lot on tap.  It should be fun for me, and hopefully you enjoy it, too.  Maybe you can read the posts on your smart phone with one hand while your other arm is busy pumping out blood at the Red Cross.

Go (Red, White, and) Blue!

Thoughts on Tressel-gate



I refuse to put up a picture of Ohio State, so here’s a stormy diarama created by Matthew Albanese.  It’s made of parchment paper, thread, ostrich feathers, chocolate, wire, raffia, masking tape, coffee, synthetic moss, and cotton.  Click on it if you don’t believe me.

 For the most part, I try to concentrate on Michigan football here at Touch the Banner.  With a full-time job and a strong dedication to Wolverines athletics, I really don’t have time to keep up with all the goings on in college football around the country.  So when scandals happen at USC and even Ohio State, I typically keep my nose to the maize-and-blue grindstone.

With all that being said, Jim Tressel is an idiot.

The e-mails that came out recently are damning to the nth degree.  I have always had a begrudging respect for Tressel, who is a polished, well spoken man with a squeaky clean personal record.  He’s never been in trouble for drunk driving, hiring prostitutes, choking his players, cussing out reporters, etc.  I guess that’s why they call him Senator.

And the Senator is a good nickname, because it turns out that the image of moral superiority is just a facade.  Just like any of hundreds of politicians in recent history, the dirty secrets are starting to leak.  I will be the first to admit that I don’t have huge qualms with every single one of the Ohio State football program’s transgressions during Tressel’s decade as a coach.  When a coach has 100+ players on his team, many of whom come from meager backgrounds, it’s difficult to follow what each of those 100+ players does on a daily basis.  And as much as a coach would like to believe that his players will follow team, university, and NCAA rules on a daily basis, we all know that college kids will be college kids.

But the pattern under Tressel is becoming more and more daunting for him to overcome.  He has had several star players face disciplinary action for taking improper benefits – A.J. Hawk, Nick Mangold, Maurice Clarett, Terrelle Pryor, Troy Smith – and the punishments from above have been fairly light.  Of course, Ohio State’s athletic director Gene Smith came out and essentially said, “Come Hell or high water, Jim Tressel is our coach.”  And why not?  Tressel wins a bunch of games, often wins the Big Ten championship, and even pulled in a national championship eight years ago.  Gene Smith and university president Gordon Gee want to True Grit this horse until it dies.

But at some point, each dynasty fails.  Look at Alabama in the early ’90’s.  Look at the University of Michigan under Rich Rodriguez.  Look at USC prior to Pete Carroll.  Tennessee.  Florida.  Texas in 2010.  Ohio State hasn’t had a truly bad year since 1999, when John Cooper went 6-6.

And the key point here with Tressel is that he had options.  Punishments are far less severe when evildoers (I figured that if Tressel can quote George W. Bush, then so can I) admit their evildoings.  Tressel could have taken the e-mails he received directly to the Buckeyes’ compliance director when Tressel received them in April 2010.  Instead, he chose to keep it quiet, and that’s why Ohio State is in this miss right now.  ESPN writer and author of Meat Market Bruce Feldman pointed out yesterday that the NCAA basically ended Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant’s career for lying about improper benefits he received through contact with Deion Sanders.  And keep in mind that it wasn’t the benefits that Bryant was banned for – it was because of the lies.  He stated that he had provided accurate information to the NCAA.  Tressel also signed the same type of affidavit, stating that he had given the appropriate information to the NCAA investigators.

So if a 20-year-old kid like Bryant loses his amateur status for lying to the governing organization, how can anyone justify a 58-year-old coach doing the same thing?

Tressel was presumably concerned that the offenses would get his players suspended or cause them to be permanently ineligible, the latter of which would be a preposterous punishment.  College kids should not lose their chance to play football just for giving out some autographs and memorabilia in exchange for free tattoos and a few hunder dollars.  Suspended?  Yes.  Forced to repay the money?  Absolutely.  Banned permanently?  Let’s not be ridiculous. 

A quick bit of critical thinking should have told Tressel that Pryor and company would have received a slap on the wrist.  What would that have meant for Ohio State’s football team in 2010?  Let’s take a look.  If those five players received the same punishment for the 2010 season as they now must face for 2011, they would have missed:

• Marshall, whom they beat 45-7.  Still a likely victory.
• Miami, whom they beat 36-24.  Miami was ranked #12, so OSU would have been in a dogfight.
• Ohio, whom they beat 43-7.  Win.
• Eastern Michigan, whom they beat 73-20.  Slaughter.
• Illinois, whom they beat 24-13.  Again, this was a somewhat close score, but OSU still would have been favored.

That’s a likely 4-1 record after that five-game stretch, which would have essentially removed the Buckeyes from national title contention, but still would have allowed them to be in the race for the Big Ten and a BCS bowl game.  And it’s not like Pryor would have actually led them to a national title, because that kid’s a bigger moron than his coach.

So Tressel risked his job and program based on the difference between a 12-1 season and, at worst, a 10-3 year (if you grant Illinois a victory).  Get out the hypothetical pitchforks!

If the NCAA were fair, it would suspend Tressel for the entire 2011 season.  If Ohio State had standards, it would fire Tressel.  In my opinion, all twelve victories from Ohio State’s 2010 season should be vacated.  And if we’re talking about Practicegate vs. Tressel-gate, then the Buckeyes ought to be put on several years’ probation.  And if we’re talking about Reggie Bush-gate (in which USC’s coaches denied knowledge of improper benefits) vs. Tressel-gate, Ohio State ought to lose some scholarships in the coming years.  The program in Columbus has a long history of these things happening, and at some point, the NCAA needs to stop slapping Ohio State’s wrist and come up with some sort of viable punishment.