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State of your U -- Summer '06 (By: Since 1948)
Welcome once again to the State of you U. This version will focus on several different areas. They include but are not limited to Academics, Jim Heacock, Jim Tressel, Night Games, Allan Johnson, and Jack Nicklaus. Thanks Junior for "hijacking" the State of your U for this annual review of the Spring Game. The Mysterious One has a way with words and his dedication is appreciated.
I must also say thank you to Jim Keckler. He has been the President of the Tampa Bay Alumni Association for 14 years. It is an unselfish and often a thankless position which doesn't pay well and consumes a great bit of time. His right hand man Jeff is off to Ohio for good, so Jim will only have more work ahead. Thanks Jim for all that you do.
I was fortunate to go to one of the most recent Alumni functions here in Tampa last Saturday. Jim Keckler had somehow corralled a very busy Jim Heacock, Defensive Coordinator for The Ohio State University Football Team, to speak to the group who gathered at Steinbrenners' Radisson Hotel. Coach Heacock is a terribly nice person and very engaging. He walked right up to me and said, "Hello Sean how are you?" shaking my hand and looking me in the eye. I said, "I was well and thanked him profusely for his taking time out for us.
Coach then talked for 15 minutes or so discussing recruiting and the football team. He praised Tory Smith as he spoke generally about the team. He expressed minor disdain as to the trend of Senior High School Football players graduating early in time to enroll for Spring Football. That stated, Coach Heacock praised 3 individuals who graduated early in Ross Homan, Kurt Coleman and Chris "beanie" Wells. Coach specifically mentioned Beanie Wells again at little later. When your position Coach (Dick Tressel) tells the media Beanie reminds him of Jim Brown, uh err, well the kid is special. Coach Heacock also commented on the schedule for '06 and the Tejas game was a major concern for him as he joked about losing sleep at the though of taking 9 new defensive starters into Austin He then mentioned Michigan State. He felt they would be very good. Coach mentioned Iowa as well. Since that is a night game, I feel it will be a loss. You heard it here first. I hate to be negative but coming off Penn State, the Bucks will likely be flat heading in to one of the toughest venues in the country. I hope I am wrong.
Coach Heacock also referenced the 2005 Penn State game as the most intense environment he had ever seen in his time at OSU. HE alluded to the unfortunate vie some have for OSU fans ad he was clearly holding back his contempt for the treatment the Buckeyes received in Crappy Valley. Coach was basically hinting OSU fans are tame compared to PSU fans, at least during the evening. Coach mentioned there were no fences guarding the coaches and players as they entered the field of play. He seemed to allude to safety concerns and verbal abuse without using it as an excuse for the loss. One could interpret he will have his boys extra focused for the PSU game in September when the kittens visit Chick Harley Field*.
Coach then field some question. Most were good, some were just bad, but he rolled with them all. I asked Coach Heacock if he still had contact with Dick Vermeil and who were some other coaches from whom he learned recently. He stated he had not talked with coach Vermeil recently and, "we steal from everyone and anyone". At this moment I realized he and I had plenty in common as I steams from nearly 100 College Football websites and magazines to bring you this attempt at journalism.
Coach Heacock went on to mention Lovey Smith as one of the coaches who recently provided some information and ideas. "Lovey coached at Ohio State for 5 minutes or so", said Coach Heacock to some chuckles.
And lastly a question was posed to Coach Heacock regarding who his starters would be were there to be a game tomorrow. This is from memory, but I'm pretty sure it is spot on.
Defensive Line: Gholston and Wilson on end; Patterson and Pitcock at DT. He also mentioned the tremendous depth with several who will rotate in, including but not limited to Jay Richardson and Todd Denlinger.
Linebacker will be a surprise to some. Laruinaitis and Freeman might not be a surprise, but Ross Homan is. Coach Heacock beamed about Homan and anyone who saw the SPring Game understands why.
The secondary seemed to be the main concern for Coach Heacock. he said Smith and Jenkins will man the corners and O'Neal and Patterson were at Safety. Mitchell would be the Nickel and Coach mentioned Coleman and Amos possibly unseating Smith (In fact, Coach expressed doubt as to 5th year senior Antonio Smith holding either one off)
Keep in mind, all of the above is not set in stone as there are 29 practices in the fall where all this could change.
In the previous State of your U, I referenced some players individually and as a whole and their academic excellence. I must say Heacock praised Tressel for hiring former Principals of High Schools to check in on the football players to make sure they were not only in class, but are on time, don't leave early and are excelling. As I understand it, Coach Tressel pays them himself. It is obviously working.
The following is a link to the Ohio State University regarding it as an outstanding Academic Institution. I am sure some of youwill appreciate the rare accolades from the Cleveland Pain Dealer.
There is no doubt Jim Tressel is an outstanding Football Coach and person. As most of you know, Coach Tressel has been rewarded with a new/extended contract making him one of the highest paid Coaches in America. In fact, only Tejas Coach Mack Brown and USC Coach Pete Carroll are more highly compensated. Clearly Tressel's contract renewal is a reward for going 50-13 with a 4-1 bowl record (3 BCS Bowl Wins), 4-1 vs. Michigan, 2 Big 11 Championships and a National Championship which capped a season with the most wins by a Div 1A team in history. But the incentive/reward is also for Tressel's continued pursuit of Academic prowess, not JUST victories. Here are some details provided by the Ozone.
No doubt Coach Tressel will be earning some of those dollars while he searches for a replacement for Allan Johnson. I would personal like to hank Coach Johnson for his input and subsequent success at The Ohio State University. I can only hope his successor will be as good.
Shifting gears now, I wan to point out one of the jewels in Columbus (actually Upper Arlington). This place got all of my Pell Grant monies for several springs, summers, and falls. At the time it was ONLY $18 for a student to play. We must give credit to T-Bird for allowing me to skip recitation WAY TOO often without failing me for TOO many absences. Thanks Kris-T!
While the $18 fee for students has increased, it is worth it to pay for the greatest golfer of all time redesigning her and subsequently bringing her back to where she belongs; the finest Collegiate golf Course in the world. She was one of the Top 100 courses in America, and I'm certain she is again. The following is and article about Jack Nicklaus redesigning the Scarlet Course. I was very happy to see the greatest Athletic Director of all time included in the 1st foursome to play her post redesign.
In closing I am including a funny speech I found a while back. It is a little dated, has a little cursing and would scare Karen Holbrook to death, but it got me fired up in this, the slowest time waiting for College Football to begin. Enjoy and look forward to the next installment of The State of the U/The State of your U where I will discuss what may be one of the best Offensive Lines in American and the continuity/benefit having all the Coaches (Johnson excluded) back for the '06 season.
*Chic Harley Field is a creation by yours truly. We all know the Stadium is the Horseshoe, but it would likely not exist were it not for Chick Harley. Therefore I am starting a movement to name the Field, not the Stadium, Chick Harley Field. Chick would have bee a 4 time all American if he did not serve is country in 1918.
State of your U -- Summer '06 (By: Since 1948)
I must also say thank you to Jim Keckler. He has been the President of the Tampa Bay Alumni Association for 14 years. It is an unselfish and often a thankless position which doesn't pay well and consumes a great bit of time. His right hand man Jeff is off to Ohio for good, so Jim will only have more work ahead. Thanks Jim for all that you do.
I was fortunate to go to one of the most recent Alumni functions here in Tampa last Saturday. Jim Keckler had somehow corralled a very busy Jim Heacock, Defensive Coordinator for The Ohio State University Football Team, to speak to the group who gathered at Steinbrenners' Radisson Hotel. Coach Heacock is a terribly nice person and very engaging. He walked right up to me and said, "Hello Sean how are you?" shaking my hand and looking me in the eye. I said, "I was well and thanked him profusely for his taking time out for us.
Coach then talked for 15 minutes or so discussing recruiting and the football team. He praised Tory Smith as he spoke generally about the team. He expressed minor disdain as to the trend of Senior High School Football players graduating early in time to enroll for Spring Football. That stated, Coach Heacock praised 3 individuals who graduated early in Ross Homan, Kurt Coleman and Chris "beanie" Wells. Coach specifically mentioned Beanie Wells again at little later. When your position Coach (Dick Tressel) tells the media Beanie reminds him of Jim Brown, uh err, well the kid is special. Coach Heacock also commented on the schedule for '06 and the Tejas game was a major concern for him as he joked about losing sleep at the though of taking 9 new defensive starters into Austin He then mentioned Michigan State. He felt they would be very good. Coach mentioned Iowa as well. Since that is a night game, I feel it will be a loss. You heard it here first. I hate to be negative but coming off Penn State, the Bucks will likely be flat heading in to one of the toughest venues in the country. I hope I am wrong.
Coach Heacock also referenced the 2005 Penn State game as the most intense environment he had ever seen in his time at OSU. HE alluded to the unfortunate vie some have for OSU fans ad he was clearly holding back his contempt for the treatment the Buckeyes received in Crappy Valley. Coach was basically hinting OSU fans are tame compared to PSU fans, at least during the evening. Coach mentioned there were no fences guarding the coaches and players as they entered the field of play. He seemed to allude to safety concerns and verbal abuse without using it as an excuse for the loss. One could interpret he will have his boys extra focused for the PSU game in September when the kittens visit Chick Harley Field*.
Coach then field some question. Most were good, some were just bad, but he rolled with them all. I asked Coach Heacock if he still had contact with Dick Vermeil and who were some other coaches from whom he learned recently. He stated he had not talked with coach Vermeil recently and, "we steal from everyone and anyone". At this moment I realized he and I had plenty in common as I steams from nearly 100 College Football websites and magazines to bring you this attempt at journalism.
Coach Heacock went on to mention Lovey Smith as one of the coaches who recently provided some information and ideas. "Lovey coached at Ohio State for 5 minutes or so", said Coach Heacock to some chuckles.
And lastly a question was posed to Coach Heacock regarding who his starters would be were there to be a game tomorrow. This is from memory, but I'm pretty sure it is spot on.
Linebacker will be a surprise to some. Laruinaitis and Freeman might not be a surprise, but Ross Homan is. Coach Heacock beamed about Homan and anyone who saw the SPring Game understands why.
The secondary seemed to be the main concern for Coach Heacock. he said Smith and Jenkins will man the corners and O'Neal and Patterson were at Safety. Mitchell would be the Nickel and Coach mentioned Coleman and Amos possibly unseating Smith (In fact, Coach expressed doubt as to 5th year senior Antonio Smith holding either one off)
Keep in mind, all of the above is not set in stone as there are 29 practices in the fall where all this could change.
In the previous State of your U, I referenced some players individually and as a whole and their academic excellence. I must say Heacock praised Tressel for hiring former Principals of High Schools to check in on the football players to make sure they were not only in class, but are on time, don't leave early and are excelling. As I understand it, Coach Tressel pays them himself. It is obviously working.
The following is a link to the Ohio State University regarding it as an outstanding Academic Institution. I am sure some of youwill appreciate the rare accolades from the Cleveland Pain Dealer.
There is no doubt Jim Tressel is an outstanding Football Coach and person. As most of you know, Coach Tressel has been rewarded with a new/extended contract making him one of the highest paid Coaches in America. In fact, only Tejas Coach Mack Brown and USC Coach Pete Carroll are more highly compensated. Clearly Tressel's contract renewal is a reward for going 50-13 with a 4-1 bowl record (3 BCS Bowl Wins), 4-1 vs. Michigan, 2 Big 11 Championships and a National Championship which capped a season with the most wins by a Div 1A team in history. But the incentive/reward is also for Tressel's continued pursuit of Academic prowess, not JUST victories. Here are some details provided by the Ozone.
Shifting gears now, I wan to point out one of the jewels in Columbus (actually Upper Arlington). This place got all of my Pell Grant monies for several springs, summers, and falls. At the time it was ONLY $18 for a student to play. We must give credit to T-Bird for allowing me to skip recitation WAY TOO often without failing me for TOO many absences. Thanks Kris-T!
While the $18 fee for students has increased, it is worth it to pay for the greatest golfer of all time redesigning her and subsequently bringing her back to where she belongs; the finest Collegiate golf Course in the world. She was one of the Top 100 courses in America, and I'm certain she is again. The following is and article about Jack Nicklaus redesigning the Scarlet Course. I was very happy to see the greatest Athletic Director of all time included in the 1st foursome to play her post redesign.
In closing I am including a funny speech I found a while back. It is a little dated, has a little cursing and would scare Karen Holbrook to death, but it got me fired up in this, the slowest time waiting for College Football to begin. Enjoy and look forward to the next installment of The State of the U/The State of your U where I will discuss what may be one of the best Offensive Lines in American and the continuity/benefit having all the Coaches (Johnson excluded) back for the '06 season.
*Chic Harley Field is a creation by yours truly. We all know the Stadium is the Horseshoe, but it would likely not exist were it not for Chick Harley. Therefore I am starting a movement to name the Field, not the Stadium, Chick Harley Field. Chick would have bee a 4 time all American if he did not serve is country in 1918.