Today, in irony is dead

I truly have no words for this.

Urban Meyer says he plans to stay connected to the Ohio State University after coaching the Buckeyes for the final time in the Rose Bowl on Jan 1.

In a one-on-one interview with 10TV’s Dom Tiberi, Meyer said he will be co-teaching a character and leadership course at Fisher College of Business at Ohio State.

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Mr. Conventional Wisdom, on signing day

Here's a radical thought after NSD. Could it be that the SEC is successful in football not because of weak scheduling or media bias, but because it has a lot of really good players?https://t.co/bh4kcADM85

— Tony Barnhart (@MrCFB) December 20, 2018

Same as it ever was…

He came, he saw, he wanted to conquer.

I guess Geoff Collins is over calculus as a recruiting problem.

When Jatavis Sanders spoke with new Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins last week, the Norcross High assistant coach and recruiting coordinator heard a ball of energy.

“You can feel it through the phone,” Sanders said.

It was one of a number of conversations that Collins has had with high-school coaches in the state since taking the job Dec. 7. Perhaps the more memorable thing that Collins impressed upon Sanders was this – he had come from Temple to compete with Georgia for the state’s top recruits.

“‘I’ve got to take it away from Georgia,’” Sanders said Collins told him. “That’s his plan to win the state back, as far as recruiting.”

As Mike Tyson famously said, everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Ultimately, somebody’s gonna be very disappointed.

A few random early signing day observations

I’m kind of intrigued by how the ACC’s day went.

Consensus @ACCFootball Recruiting Rankings
1-Clemson (top 10 nationally)
2-FSU (top 20)
3-NC State (top 30)
4-Virginia Tech (top 30)
5-Virginia
6-UNC
7-Miami
8-Duke
9-Pitt
10-Wake Forest
11-Georgia Tech
12-Boston College
13-Syracuse
14-Louisville@ACCSports#NationalSigningDay

— David Glenn Show (@DavidGlennShow) December 20, 2018

Let’s see… Clemson is still recruiting at another level compared to the rest of the conference, FSU isn’t gaining ground, Mack Brown outperformed Mark Richt and there are actually three teams who signed lower rated classes than Georgia Tech.  Yep, those guys will be back any day now.

I’m being a little flippant there, of course.  I’m impressed with the job Mack Brown did, to be honest.  He’s had a good first month, having hired good coordinators and doing a decent job salvaging a recruiting class at a program that was a dumpster fire in Fedora’s last season.  He’s a first rate program promoter when it comes to fund raising, so it won’t surprise me in the least at this point to see North Carolina on more solid footing in three years or so.

Other thoughts:

• Les, you are in Kansas anymore.
• Oregon is fifth in the 247Sports Composite.  Looks like the Process translates nicely to the west coast.
• Speaking of the Pac-12, USC ranks outside the top twenty and UCLA outside the top fifty.  No doubt Larry Scott remains cool about that.
• Ohio State is outside the top ten, but that’s because of class size, not the uncertainty recruits may have about no longer playing for a borderline sociopath.
• Losers.

“Probably have to hire another recruiting service and office just for portal recruiting.”

The state of current college football recruiting, in a nutshell:  “OSU coach Mike Gundy has been critical of the modern state of transferring throughout the year but said Wednesday the Cowboys are using the new transfer portal to seek potential players.”

Life’s a bitch when those oxen are gored, right, Mike?

“I can’t be annoyed, the kid is doing what he thinks is best for him.”

Sounds like Kirby’s as much in the dark about Justin Fields’ future as the rest of us.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said Justin Fields says he wants to play in the Sugar Bowl, even while he’s looking at another school to play at.

“He decided he wanted to play in the Sugar Bowl, and I told him ‘absolutely, we want you there,’ ” Smart said Wednesday night. “Justin is working extremely hard, he’s in the meeting rooms, he’s still rolling with our twos. I’m pleased with his work and demeanor, he has had good reps.”

Smart said Georgia would like for Fields to stay, but there’s a reality to him entering his name into the NCAA portal, which enables him to have contact with other schools.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do (to convince him to stay),” Smart said. “We’ve been very open and honest that we would like him to stay. He’s worked really hard. He competed his tail off throughout the year and played a team role throughout the year.”

I don’t see how Fields stays, but then again, I’ve never seen a kid put his name out there like that, still stay with his team and practice hard for a bowl game.  Maybe he really is doing nothing more than exploring his options with an open mind.

One thing’s for sure.  Kirby’s done his best to cover all the bases.

National signing day, SEC edition

In a word, dominant.

2019 Early Signing Day Top 20 Classes by conference:

SEC 10

Big 10 3
Pac-12 2
ACC 2
Big 12 2

— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) December 19, 2018

The top three, all SEC.  (Four of the top four, according to the 247Sports Composite.) Four of the top ten.  Ten of the top twenty classes.  Thirteen in the top forty.

Of course, that cuts both ways.  Florida is sixteenth over all, but eighth in the conference.

A few specific notes:

• Alabama.  It appears those who were crowing about Alabama’s relatively down class of 2018 being an indication that Saban was slipping were a wee bit premature in their assessment.  Saban did what Saban does — restructure the staff and get after it.  I don’t know if you can say Alabama and Georgia have a full-blown rivalry, but there’s certainly a recruiting rivalry between the two, as Aaron Suttles ($$) describes:  “Saban holding off Smart again Wednesday meant more than some people might realize. The difference between the class Alabama has and the No. 2 class Georgia has is small and inconsequential in the grand scheme of how a college football team is constructed. But from a perception standpoint, how Alabama and Georgia fans, college football analysts and recruits view it is that Saban is not done yet, not willing to step aside and allow Georgia to ascend to the top of the conference.”
• Arkansas.  This may have been the most impressive work of the day for any SEC team.  The Hogs stunk on ice this season, yet here they are with a class inside the top twenty.  Sure, you can say some of that is due to the class size, but last time I looked, Arkansas is in dire need of both quality and quantity.
• Ole Miss.  If you think Georgia fans are spoiled, check out this guy’s bitch.
• Tennessee.  Pruitt signed as many kids from Georgia as Smart did.

“Hey, you kids! Get offa my press conference!”

This is hilarious.

"Hey guys! I'm having a press conference!"

Twice Wednesday night #LSU Coach O had to shut some people up. pic.twitter.com/yvt2u42i1Q

— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) December 20, 2018

Better not make him say it a third time.

Horns down, MFers.

A Texas A&M fan kindly takes to the pages of Good Bull Hunting with some advice on how to approach the Sugar Bowl game with Texas.

College football rivalries, no matter how much the powers that be screw with them, are the best.

They’re in a weird place, man.

Is Auburn’s AD talking about program management or couples therapy with this?

Listening to AD Allen Greene on Auburn's signing show, he says he's gonna put people around Gus Malzahn to help/develop program as Gus is "in the weeds" of coaching. "I want to be engaged but not involved," Greene says.

— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) December 19, 2018

“I want to be engaged but not involved” sounds like a kinky relationship.  Of course, we’re talking about Auburn here, so, yeah.

Seriously, you’re paying a head coach close to $7 million a year and he needs help managing his program?

Things are shaping up for another banner year on the Plains, it seems.