Friday July 13, 2007

Friday E-Mail Bag

Friday E-Mail Bag
Each Friday I publish your comments and answer your questions. To submit a comment or questions please e-mail me at mickeyplyler@hotmail.com.

Mickey,

Go Tigers!
Bubba

Bubba,
It does not look good does it? Players are the key but Jack has been in this position before and he keeps coming back. This one may be a little tougher because he also loses Kevin O’Sullivan’s experience. I do not see it taking too long to rebuild though. Remember Widmann, Chalk and Harbin came in and played as true freshmen and made a big impact so it can get done with young players. Unfortunately, I don’t see a lot of great young players here now. This can only be fixed through another great class of guys that do not go pro.

There are plans to upgrade the stadium but I have not seen them. The latest I have heard deals with bleachers behind the left field fence. They are in a quiet fund raising mode for the project right now.

Mickey,

Wes

Wes,

Thanks for the kind words. Special teams have been a problem in recent years but it seems to be a different area each year. One year it may be kick coverage. The next year it was kick returns. Last year it was PAT and field goals. I am not sure the schemes were the problem but I believe it is usually more personnel. It hurts the numbers when scholarship kids are not as good as your walk-ons but at this time I think Jimmy Manners and Mark Bucholz may be the best options. I think the return games will be better. I hope the punting and field goals will be at least average.

The one thing I have learned is special teams cannot be predicted. We have seen great special teams players have pitiful seasons after having spectacular ones the year before.

Mickey,
On Xbox, I played NCAA Football 2006 as Clemson, and I had no problem beating Virginia Tech and BC. So why couldn’t Tommy Bowden beat them in real life?

RazzMaTazz

RazzMaTazz,
Maybe his fingers were not as fast. However I think the main reason is the feature in the game where the player can ask the great coaching mind Lee Corso what play to run. If Bowden could consult Corso every play then he may go 14-0.

I have no problem admitting that this 39-year old man has already reserved his copy of NCAA 08 for Playstation 3. Sad but true.

Hi Mickey,

Alex

Alex,
The recent trend is for guys to commit earlier each year but still take unofficial and official visits to other schools. I look at it like an insurance policy in that the kids guarantee their scholarships but still get to enjoy the positive sides of recruiting. The good news is most of the kids stick with their original commitment.

I think we will have an early signing period in football soon but I hope it is in August and not December. This would cure a lot of problems in recruiting.

Dear Mickey,

Brutus The Buckeye (aka Chris)

Chris,
This was my second trip to Columbus and I have to admit I am impressed. The campus is huge but pretty clean. One thing I like about it that some other schools in big cities do not have is I can get a feel of when I am at Ohio State and when I am just in Columbus. The campus just feels different that the city. Some urban schools don’t offer that. The athletic facilities are nice. The Horseshoe is very good. Jessie Owens Track is impressive. Woody Hayes Center is nice. The new basketball arena was closed but it looked impressive from the outside. My favorite part of Ohio State was the Jack Nicklaus Museum. I spent over two hours there and it was the best ten bucks I have ever spent.

I liked it there but I cannot put myself in the Buckeye fan category just yet.

Mickey,

Ed

Ed,

It would be easy to say Korn is overrated because he was rated so high but that is not the case. Korn is every bit what the staff thought he would be and more. Dabo Swinney told me he is even better than his build up. Now please remember how hard it is for a true freshman quarterback to be successful but eventually he will win the job and he will be ultra-successful at Clemson.

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