Scholarship table
The brother of one of my best friends was Holtz's first recruit to Minnesota. Holtz stood up in the locker room and told the entire team the ND talk was untrue, he would never leave Minnesota. The next day he was in South Bend being introduced as coach. The brother held a grudge against Holtz until the day he died. A true weasel if there ever was one (not name Buzz Williams, or course).
Oh, you didn't say Clemson was overhyped? Hmm.How'd Penn State do against Minnesota?
RIP Hayden Fry. As important to Iowa football as Al was to Marquette basketball. Took at team that hadn't won in a couple decades and turned them into Big Ten Champions, breaking a 13 year stranglehold on the conference title by either Michigan or Ohio State.Oh and he desegregated the SWC while at Baylor.
Actually he was never a head coach at Baylor. He helped to desegregate the SWC while head coach at SMU by signing a black QB who led SMU to the conference title. Jerry LeVias was the player.
When you think of Iowa football, I'm not sure how you can't think of Hayden Fry.
He also commissioned the iconic logo for Iowa athletics as part of the rebranding of the program. That was considered so effective in changing the image of Iowa football, that two of his coaching proteges, Bill Snyder at Kansas State and Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin, did the same thing when they took over their programs.
I don't whine about there being too many bowl games. I simply don't watch them. Aside from the 3 postseason games that help decide a champion, I will not watch one second of one bowl game this year -- just as I haven't for well over a decade.As for athletes making their choices ...Christian McCaffrey skipped Stanford's meaningless bowl game, was healthy on draft day, went 8th overall, and has gone on to be a well-paid superstar. His next contract will be a monster.Jake Butt played in Michigan's meaningless bowl game, got hurt, and went from being a top-50 pick to not getting taken until Round 5, costing him millions of dollars. Butt reinjured his knee early in the 2018 season and has not yet been able to return. He was a "good team player" -- compared to McCaffrey, whom some considered selfish. Sadly, it's impossible to spend "good team player" compared to actual money.I wouldn't call anybody who plays in a meaningless bowl game "stupid," just as I wouldn't say that about any player who decides to return to school for an extra year. Folks should do whatever they feel is right, knowing all the risks involved. But I certainly wouldn't call a player "selfish" for sitting out one of those exhibitions. It's exactly what I would have advised my son to do if there were tens of millions of dollars at stake.
I get what you are saying, but once a college team loses it's second (or maybe its third) game, aren't all the games then "meaningless"? Does a bowl game have less meaning than a Wake Forest - Boston College game in November? I wouldn't judge a guy one way or another for his decision (well, if I were being honest I'd think less of the player who chose not to play), but why bowl games vs regular season games? What exactly are you agreeing to when you accept the scholarship?
His coaching tree is INCREDIBLE. Not all high level assistants, but a lot of former players turned GAs and low assistants before blossoming. Alvarez, Bill Snyder, all 3 Stoops brothers, Bo Pelini, Jim Leavitt, and obviously Kirk Ferentz.Also crazy that at a big program in a power conference like Iowa, and in the modern era of impatience and immediate results, they have had 2 HC in 40 years.
Yes! You are correct. Played at Baylor - coached at SMU.
It wouldn't bother me if a random BC player who was planning to go pro decided to shut down in October.
And I get what you are saying, CTW, but it's so unlikely to happen right now that I haven't given that kind of unrealistic speculation a lot of thought.
I'm not speculating that a player would do this, but rather making the point that I think a bowl game is not an exhibition or meaningless game any more than the last several games of the regular season are for most teams, so why single it out as the game to miss?
Iowa knows, and MU should know, stuck with coaches through thick and thin. Have to have patience because if you start playing around here at those types of schools, you can quickly find yourself in a tough spot.
It is after the semester is over. Skipping it allows you to be home for the Holidays. For most P5 schools there is nearly a month in between games so it seems like a natural break.
Yep. And the mentality factors in even if its not a potential top 20 pick. When I was at Miami, bowl or not, most players with NFL prospects "dropped out" the minute first semester ended. They took spring semester to completely focus on workouts, prep, and the draft process. Most were close enough to walk and finished a few courses in the summer, but the point remains. My best friend in college was a DB and he flat out said the only reason most of the team cared about the bowl was if it was a cool warm destination and the swag bag. Nobody was psyched to win an Independence Bowl. Especially at the expense of the holidays.
And BTW ... I hope both McCaffrey and Kuechly find reasons to skip the Pro Bowl, too.Talk about a dumb exhibition game ... even worse than a bowl game.