Updated Recruiting List, Post-Pryor Thoughts

Nothing changes, really. Ohio State gets a one spot jump for landing young Terrelle, hardly warrents a repost of the exact same list, but it is March so I'll take it.

The only thing that really hurts is being reminded that we are being dominated on the recruiting trail by schools like Pitt and and Illinois. And what the hell is NC State doing up there?

I think if we were able to learn anything from this whole Pryor thing it's that our staff, specifically the guy running our staff, is most definitely several steps behind even mediocre programs. When Paterno finally made it out of the house to visit Pryor three months after he already made up his mind all I could think about was what could have been had Paterno made, say, half of what some of these other guys are doing. I mean PSU was out, then Joe showed up, and all the sudden we were in the final two. Things, obviously, aren't always what they seem.

I didn't realize at the time, but Joe was actually holding us back. I was, of course, blinded by my homerizm. Remember this?

"I'm really interested," he said. "This isn't just being respectful of my father, this is thinking things through and making sure I have all the info I need before I make a big decision. I really like Coach Bradley at Penn State and they could end up being the right fit for me, I'm not sure."

Or this?

One of them was that I'd heard Reitz had told a few people off the record that, were PSU defensive coordinator Tom Bradley the head coach, Pryor would be a Nittany Lion now.

Ya, ouch. So while we thought Paterno was "saving" the day by getting on the recruiting trail, it turns out he was just giving Terrelle an excuse to both please his father and deflect any instate displeasure with an Ohio State commitment until after his basketball season ended.

So instead of leaving me wondering how many more recruits Paterno could have turned to our side, I'm wondering how many more recruits were driven away by the fact things are headed for train wreck in State College.

ESPN's Recruiting Update, Old People

Change of plan. Penn State will be given it's own post because, well, this is a Penn State blog. Part II, seriously, will be later today.

Penn State"Unfortunately, the stagnant class could stem from 81-year-old Joe Paterno still hanging in there and not offering the spark often needed to relate to the younger generation of prospects. However, tradition still sells and no one coach in college football represents more tradition than Joe Pa himself."

Big Eleventh says... This is really all a ploy to talk about JoePa's age and, separately, his marketability.

The MSM has reminded us, almost weekly during the season, that Joe is old. They do it again here. Reporters love to comment on how Joe can't "relate to the younger players these days" because it seems to make sense. Problem is, it just isn't true. This years class lacks flash, but just in the last 5 years, off the top of my head, Joe has been able to relate to Connor, Scott, Morelli, Williams and King. All very highly ranked and talked to by dozens of other younger coaches. All chose Penn State. It's not Joe's age that is the problem, it is his style. The problem with saying he's too old is that he has been doing things the same way for 30 years. Almost nothing has changed since his first winning season. His name alone can be enough to win over a recruit, but his style is no longer mainstream and some people just aren't interested. The prospect of waiting 2 or 3 years is becoming more and more of a problem when there are coaches who are willing to plug guys in right away.

As for the marketability comment, I think this guy is on line but his comment is a little misleading. Joe and Graham get along great. Joe likes to coach, and Graham lets him do this. Graham like to make money, and Joe makes this happen. It's never been about football for it's own sake inside Old Main. Each game is really just another fundraising event and if people keep donating regardless of the scoreboard then the scoreboard doesn't matter.

Oh, recruiting, right. We are loaded at linebacker, have a couple of decent RB's out of Ohio, and probably aren't getting Pryor. Ohio State has been to two MNC games in a row and Michigan just landed a very high profile coach...all while we finished our second very average finish in a row. These are our recruiting problems, not old age.

Not that any of you care, but there will be a Part II, I promise.

Snow and DC

Note: This is not football related, at all. Just want to point that out before you leave with unwarranted expectations that I did not meet. For today's football related post, click here.

A conversation that happened in DC today...



NOVA Suburbanite: AHHH!!! IT'S SNOWING IN DC!!! SNOW! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!
DC Cab Driver: QUICK, EVERYONE FREAK THE FUCK OUT!!!! NOW!!
NOVA Suburbanite: I AM!!! I AM!!! SHIT, SNOW, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!
Paterno Lives!: Will everyone please calm the fuck down, it's just snow.
NOVA Suburbanite: CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN?!?! WHY DON'T YOU CALM DOWN, IT'S SNOWING ASS HOLE, I'M FREAKING OUT...I'D BETTER SPEED UP OR THINGS COULD REALLY GET CRAZY!!!
DC Cab Driver: GREAT IDEA, ME TOO, I'M GOING TO ALSO DRIVE WAY TOO FAST BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO HANDLE THE SNOW, MAYBE IF WE ALL SPEED AROUND OUR TIRES WILL GET REAL HOT AND THE SNOW WILL ALL JUST MELT!
Paterno Lives!: Please don't, that isn't a good way to handle this. Why doesn't everyone just drive normal, like you did yesterday, only maybe put your cell phones away. And you, NOVA Suburbanite, stop trying to read that book and drive.
NOVA Suburbanite: BUT THERE IS TRAFFIC, I ALWAYS READ IN TRAFFIC, AND IT'S SNOWING, SO YOU BET YOUR ASS THERE WILL BE TRAFFIC!
Paterno Lives!: Please man, just drive like a normal person and put the book down before you slam into me. You're in a fucking Escalade and you'll crush me.

NOVA Suburbanite eventually goes too fast on the highway and slides onto the shoulder after almost hitting the back of my car. He honks his horn for no reason at all. He then rides along the shoulder because this is obviously some kind of emergency that would require that kind of action. He never puts his book down.

Georgetown Old Man: DAMN IS IT SNOWING OUT HERE, BIG, UM, WHAT ARE THEY CALLED, FLAKES? IS THAT RIGHT, YA, SNOW FLAKES...LOOK AT ALL THESE SNOW FLAKES, I'M REALLY FREAKING OUT.
Paterno Lives!: Please old man, don't freak out, its just snow. You are old and probably can't drive anyway, so just stay inside until the one snow plow in this city gets out here.
Georgetown Old Man: NO, MY CAR IS PARKED ON A VERY STEEP HILL RIGHT NEXT TO THE KEY BRIDGE, I'D BETTER GET IT OFF THAT HILL OR SOMETHING MIGHT HAPPEN. YA, I'M GETTING MY KEYS AND MOVING THIS CAR OFF THIS REALLY STEEP HILL.
Paterno Lives!: OLD MAN! Stop that shit, if you move that care you are going to really fuck things up and I'm going to end up sitting on the Key Bridge for an hour while the police come out here and clean up your mess.

The Georgetown Old Man moves his car anyway. He gets about three turns out of the wheels and then starts sliding down the hill on 35th street, crashing into polls and other cars. He eventually ends up at the bottom of the hill, right where the Key Bridge let's you into DC. Traffic totally stops, the Police show up and don't let anyone move. The Old Man's car is sitting in the middle of the street, he gets out of it and leaves it there. I sit for an hour and wait for the carnage to be cleaned up by the police, who are in no hurry by the way.

Paterno Lives!: Damn you Old Man, Damn you! Damn this city!