Today is national signing day and it closed on a sour note as the top offensive lineman recruit, Seantrel Henderson, chose to sign with USC over Ohio State and others. The O-Zone had pretty much given up on getting him last week even though all the pundits were saying he was a lock for the Buckeyes. Even with all the negativity, I was hoping we'd get him because we only recruited one other offensive lineman.
The O-Line being the key to any successful team. You want to know the real reason for John Cooper's success in the early 90s? It was Orlando Pace, Leshun Daniels, Korey Stringer, among others. The reason for his fall? Not replacing them with quality successors. I'd even go so far as to say that Steve Bellisari might be honored as an alltime great if he had a decent line in front of him (I watched enough of his games to see that he was a totally different quarterback when given time).
Next years line has the potential to be the best since the Stringer/Pace days but I worry for the future. It takes 2-3 years for a player to develop into a good lineman and we will need a few 5* recruits to fill the hole from this year's class.
On a related topic, I wonder about a kid that sign's with USC. I know he was a heavy lean there before Pete Carroll left for the NFL and that time would lessen the shock so he'd reconsider USC. Still, I can't help but wonder why a kid would goto a school that has a hearing with the NCAA in a few weeks and more than likely is facing sanctions because of the booster monies that were paid to Reggie Bush,etc. That is on top of the fact that he is signing to play for a coach that is the epitome of two-faced. I remember actually feeling sorry for Lane Kiffin after his firing from the Oakland Raiders. I was happy that Tennessee took a risk in hiring him and Lane's did little to impress other than show he was willing to bend any rule to win. That soured my view of him but the people of Tennessee and his players stood behind him when the rest of the country was starting to tire of his act. Then he jumped ship for Southern California on a moments notice. He actually had the gall to have an assistant coach call players that he had gotten to commit to Tennessee to change their minds WHILE HE WAS GIVING HIS PRESS CONFERENCE ANOUNCING HE WAS LEAVING TENNESSEE. In other words, he pretty much abandoned the people that supported them and then stabbed them in the back to boot.
I'm not sure why any recruit would sign with Kiffin/USC but Seantrel decided it was in his best interest. I hope it is because he is 18 and Minneapolis is cold while LA is warm and has some of the most beautiful girls in the world. Honestly when I was 18, I certainly would have been tempted to go to a California school despite my love of the Buckeyes. If that is the case then he made the right choice. For his sake I hope he doesn't regret his choice if Lane Kiffin doesn't stand by him if/when the USC program is put on an extended probation.
No comments:
Post a Comment