View From Bennett Avenue

The recent death of coach Emory Bellard, who died at 83 on February 10 after a battle with Lou Gehrig's disease, brought back memories of my childhood as a college football fan in the 1970s when the Wishbone was all the rage. Bellard is considered the founding father of the offense, although similar option attacks had existed for almost as long as the sport. Still, with the T dominating football in that era, Bellard's option attack certainly mixed things up while allowing him to became a successful head coach at Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

What is funny to think about is that the attack, created in the late 1960s while Bellard was an offensive assistant to head coach Darrell Royal (pictured with QB James Street) at Texas, was launched to take advantage of the Longhorns' depth at running back while helping to negate their disadvantage in size at the line. It is hard to think of Texas, or other powers to benefit from the use of the Wishbone soon after like Oklahoma and Alabama, to turn to the offense as a way to overcome a deficiency, but Texas then, like the service academies now, had plenty of tough, hard-nosed football players but little size. Just take a look at the roster of the 1969 national champion Longhorns, who road the new offense to an undefeated season. Only one player had a solid NFL career and that was back Jim Bertelsen. The Wishbone was a great equalizer on the national level for a team whose size resembles a good rugby or lacrosse program today. And that Texas title was just the beginning. Over an 11-year period teams operating some variation of the bone (Nebraska, Alabama, Oklahoma) won full national titles or shares of one seven times. That is heady stuff. And with that success and an eventual acceptance by these programs of black athletes (does UT change anything if Texas athletes like Bubba Smith were allowed to stay home?), plus the equalizing boost earned by PEDs, the athletes recruited by these programs were as big as anything recruited by the Big Ten or any other program from areas of the country that traditionally produced bigger athletes.

But that speaks to the great irony about the Wishbone. Except for Oklahoma and Houston, this offense was embraced by all-white teams as a way to compete nationally with teams that were more talented, like Michigan State, USC and Ohio State, thanks to having a few black players. And then when they were forced to integrate their programs, these teams remained good thanks to the success black players had with this offense. Thus the Wishbone, which began at first as a way for small all-white teams to compete for national titles, became a showcase for the black skill player. And so players like Johnny Rodgers and Joe Washington became superstars and the bigger backs they replaced, like Steve Owens, were no longer needed. But the one position that was finally integrated on a national level thanks to this offense was quarterback, where blacks rarely were allowed to play prior to the 1970s. Even in the beginning of the use of the wishbone, once everyone was integrated, the one skill position saved for white players was QB. This was done both for image issues, as programs with racist overtones felt they could not allow a black to play the premium position in all of sports (yes that's you Alabama!) and because many coaches did not believe that blacks could handle the decision-making needed to become effective at the position. But by the mid 1970s players like Thomas Lott of Oklahoma and Danny Davis of Houston proved that black QBs could lead teams with Southern players to double digit victories. And so an offense designed by a coach at an all-white school helped launch more equality in the locker room. Funny how things work.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

Art Schlichter is being investigated for ripping off Anita Barney, the widow of former Wendy's CEO Robert Barney.

There were rumors about the Tennessee Titans discussing their since-filled opening with Nick Saban.

View From Bennett Avenue

Recruiting was the hot topic of this week so I will continue to look deeper into all of the fuss. With some of the teams that do the best at recruiting having off years in 2010--Texas, of course, but even USC and Florida (off for their level of success)--I thought it would be good to look back at older classes to see what went wrong. Being that USC has been off a bit for two straight years, and did not have the excuse of replacing a future College Hall of Fame QB like the Longhorns and Gators, I thought I would focus on their recruiting efforts. I paid a visit to their 2006 haul, ranked no. 1 overall by Scout and no. 2 by ESPN (behind the great Florida class featuring Tebow, Harvin, etc). I thought it was also worthwhile discussing the Trojans since the man in charge of their recruiting efforts in 2006 was none other than current head coach Lane Kiffin, who was then their OC.
The 2006 class was rounded up when the Trojans were the kings of college football. USC had won 36 of their previous 38 games over a three-year period that featured a shared national title in 2003, perfect season and unanimous national title in 2004 and romp through regular season before narrow loss to Texas in title game in 2005. Having high school players interested in playing for the program would not be difficult. Choosing the right ones would prove problematic.
Head coach Pete Carroll and Kiffin, with help from a great staff of recruiters, pulled in 27 players with 13 earning ESPN 150 honors.
And this is what they ended up with, in order of their ESPN rank:
1) WR Vidal Hazleton: For USC's high-powered offense to continue to run up big numbers they would need a steady influx of playmakers. Hazelton was gifted, but had to wait his turn as a frosh in 2006 behind vets. As a soph he did catch 50 passes, but then a high ankle sprain set him back at the same time that Damian Williams and Ronald Johnson emerged and facing a less heralded role, Hazleton transferred. As disappointing as it was to lose the highest-ranked recruit from this class, the wide receiver position was a position of strength for the team. Hazleton ended up at Cincinnati, but was forced to miss 2009 for transfering and then was injured for most of 2010.
2) S Taylor Mays: The most acclaimed member of the class on the college level, Mays started for most of his time at USC and became an All American. But even he was not able to escape the finger pointing after the 2009 season ended up 9-4 as the USC defense was torched through the air. Mays went from Jim Thorpe Award finalist to being considered over-rated by many in a very short amount of time. Still, Mays's career was very successful.
3) S Antwine Perez: As an early enrollee, Perez was expected to make an immediate impact with the 2006 Trojans. While he did help on special teams, Perez never became a starter and transferred before his soph year. He did help the resurgent Maryland program last year as a starting safety and unit's fifth leading tackler.
4) RB Stafon Johnson: Needing to replace the dynamic backfield pairing of Reggie Bush and LenDale White, the USC regime decided to collect as many good backs as possible. Tops on the list was Johnson--according to the recruiting gurus--but he fell behind other classmates in the race for playing time at TB. After doing zip as a frosh, Johnson worked his way up the crowded backfield picture to rush for 673y as a soph and 705y as a junior. Then as he was preparing for the 2009 season, Johnson had a barbell fall on his throat. He did return to the game to play at Titans camp last fall but is now suing USC and its strength coach.
5) RB Allen Bradford: Bradford was a very good defensive player in high school, but was recruited to be the replacement for big back White. But between the crowd at the position and a hip injury, Bradford did not do much until 2009 when he rushed for 668y. Then in 2010 he had an odd year, rushing for 794y but 223y of that total came against Washington and another 212y were earned versus UCLA. The rest of the time was spent in Kiffin's doghouse for fumbling issues.
6) RB Emmanuel Moody: Although he did rush for 458y as a frosh, Moody was buried on the depth chart entering 2007 thanks to multiple injuries and the talent of other players including class of 2007 RB Joe McKnight. Seeing the writing on the wall Moody transferred to Florida, who was in the midst of an annual recruiting war with the Trojans. Moody was not a great fit for the Spread and also could not hold on to the ball. In three years at Gainseville he never reached the rushing yardage total from his freshman year and disappointed two programs as a collegian.
7) WR David Ausberry: Ausberry was the 6th-ranked WR in the nation but never fulfilled that potential at Southern Cal. He did finish with 64 career receptions and started on and off at both WR and TE but never became a difference maker.
8) RB C.J. Gable: Of their top eight recruits, according to ESPN, Gable is the sixth to play either RB or WR. He had a very mixed career, with his highlight coming early as he was the first freshman to start a season opener at TB for USC in the school's illustrious history. Gable did finish with a solid 1,549y rushing, but fumbling problems kept him in Carroll's doghouse for long stretches of time.
9) LB Michael Morgan: One cannot blame Morgan for not cracking the starting linebacker unit for a USC team loaded with future NFL stars, but once he did become a first unit player in 2009, he did nothing with it. A solid final two years, but USC LBswho played over the past two seasons will soon be forgotten.
10) WR Jamere Holland: Some guys just do not get it. Blessed with sprinter speed, Holland unfortunately had a mouth that talked just as fast. He redshirted for one year and then transferred to Oregon where he became more famous for being dumped by that program after his critical remarks about head coach Chip Kelly from his own facebook page went viral. The Ducks did not miss him.
11) LB Joshua Tatum: A combination of injuries and poor grades derailed Tatum's career. He ended up at Missouri where he played in seven games in 2010 and had three tackles.
12) CB Vincent Joseph: After two seasons as a backup Joseph flunked out and has not resurfaced on the national level.
13) OT Butch Lewis: The final member of this recruiting class to make the ESPN 150, Lewis started 24 games over the past three years on the USC offensive line. He was a solid contributor.
Of the top 13 only one became a star (Mays) while five others did not even stick around for long. The remaining seven had moment or two but not many, especially when factoring in the expectations from national signing day that year. Of the remaining recruits, TE Anthony McCoy became the starting TE his final year but ended his college days with just 46 career receptions, OL Zack Heberer had five career starts, CB Shareece Wright needed four years to overcome poor grades and off-the-field problems to start as a fifth-year CB, Alex Parsons started for two years on the offensive line, and FB Stanley Havili had an inconsistent career but was a captain as a senior in 2010 and always ran and practiced hard. No stars in that group but some usable parts. The remaining seven players just contributed depth or on special teams or did not stay.
Now USC's slip from best program in the nation to also ran can not be laid at the feet of this one class. Still, it is important to reflect on player groups like this to learn some lessons. For one thing, the "gurus" are often wrong especially when evaluating thousands of kids. For another, most players, no matter how good they were in high school need to be developed in college. Due to the success of USC in the middle part of the last decade, coaches like Kiffin moved on to head coaching jobs elsewhere. All of these recruits on the offensive side of the ball went from Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian calling the shot on offense to Jeremy Bates, with Carroll pulling strings, through the 2009 season. Then for those still playing in 2010, Kiffin was back in charge with Kennedy Pola as the new OC. That is a lot of turnover. And, finally, the Trojans attracted some kids who wanted all of the off-the-field excitement generated by the success of previous groups. They needed to recruit more lunch pail types of players.
But recruiting has become a contest to men like Kiffin who are looking to win the recruiting rankings as much as win games. They need to do a better job of evaluation before national signing day.

National Signing Day

Well ESPN is really trying to make National Signing Day an event and for the thousands of people who follow high school recruits way too much, it is a big day. Programs are instantly changed with this influx of talent, although it is becoming harder and harder to see how important this one day is when some programs that do not load up on four and five star recruits--like Boise State, TCU and even Oregon--seem to be doing fine and a school like Auburn can do okay on signing day but win a national title thanks to a transfer student.
Unfortunately, to make the day when 17 and 18-year-olds fax in their letters of intent a bit more exciting for television, ESPN has some of the kids announce their selection live on television. This is absolutely dreadful. Not only are many of the kids not particularly savvy in front of a mic, but the whole notion of drawing attention to someone for just their school selection re-enforces a me-first attitude that goes against the core values of the sport.

Sanctions? What Sanctions?

USC is hoping to sign 28 high school football players tomorrow. 28. Not the 15 we were led to believe that they were limited to by their penalty, but almost twice that number. Why? Well, because they are appealing the verdict handed down by the NCAA last summer they are going about their business as if all is okay. Now they certainly need bodies, due to a lower number of recruits last winter (14) and to replace the guys who jumped ship since the summer (many of whom were pushed). Plus, they want to have a full load of bodies to weather the eventual storm of smaller classes.
The Trojans are taking advantage of a rule that if a recruit can early enroll in January, he can count toward the previous winter's haul of players. And so nine guys are already enrolled at Southern Cal (I hope they stay clear of Everson Griffen) and can partake in spring practice. That's all well and good, and I understand why Lane Kiffin wants to go this route. After all, he is still proving himself as a head coach and can ill afford rebuilding years. And Kiffin and recruiting coordinator/assistant head coach Ed Orgeron are recruiters masquerading as coaches. They cannot stop themselves even if they wanted to.
But what confuses me in this matter is the USC high command. Sure they feel that the NCAA was too harsh. Fine, but having Orgeron and Kiffin--whose work at Tennessee attracted NCAA investigators--solicit a huge class may raise red flags. But more importantly, why postpone the inevitable? At some point this penalty, even if it is lightened, will hurt and why not have it hurt now when fans are expecting it to? Lose for a couple of years but develop some young talent and then can Kiffin and hire a legitimate coach. As I mentioned here last summer, the model for this is Miami in the late 1990s. They took some lumps, but played a bunch of talented kids who stuck it out and eventually won a national championship once larger classes came in for depth.
What USC is doing reminds me of professional teams who refuse to rebuild but continue to make runs every year even if their squad has no real chance of winning a title--like, let's say, the New York Mets.