Not Sure I Buy the Narratives

[Irishize]

This is a really good post, but it invites the slippery slope argument. For every Zorich, there is an Aaron Lynch cautionary tale. One of the things that is underrated about Sabam and Dabo is that they do an unbelievable job of managing egos and making sure that no one is bigger than the culture // program. Those that are headcases get straightened out or kicked to the curb (see: Antonio Alfano).

IIRC, Lynch’s mom wanted him at ND more than Aaron. This seemed to be due to his girlfriend whom I believe he ended up marrying once he returned to FL to play at USF.

Saban is in a league of his own. If a 5-star told the Bama staff that he wanted to be a member of their team, they may look at his measurables & politely tell him that he doesn’t fit the needs they have in the roles he may be suited for. 99.9% of the other schools take the kid on the spot and worry about the fit later.

 

[johnnycando]

I can handle a loss. What I can't handle is the annual ND beat down. The truly elite teams suffer losses, but how many times has Bama, Clemson, and OSU been blown out? I went back five years just to gauge my emotions on this question.

*"Blown out" is subjective, but I generally use three scores, where two of them are TDs, as broad definition (+17). I've seen others use 21 points. I've even seen it described as "half your score, minus 7."

Clemson, since 2015: Upset twice by bad teams. Worst loss against LSU in the championship last year (17 pts). Some may call this a blow out. Sooo, once? In five years. With multiple wins over great teams. and Two (possibly a third this year) Nat. Titles.

Bama: One blow out loss at the hands of Clemson in the championship by 28 points. (They did lose by 12 to Auburn, which might be consider a blowout by Bama's standards...but not this). Sooo, once. See Clemson above....with multiple blowout wins over good teams and two National Championships in this span, potentially their third this year.

OSU: 31 point loss to Clemson in semi finals, 15 point loss to #5 Oklahoma (not a blowout but not great), completely blown out in the upset against Iowa by 31 points, a 29 point upset loss to Purdue. A national title in 2014 and multiple bowl wins give the perception that OSU is in the same tier as Clemson and Bama the last five years. I disagree. Personally, I put them in their own tier. Nevertheless, three blow out losses in five years with two (probably three) CFP appearances.

Notre Dame: 16 point loss to #7 OSU in Fiesta Bowl, 2016 was a disaster, but even then, their worst loss was by 18 to #12 USC. A 33 point loss to #7 Miami, and 18 point loss to #21 Stanford. A 27 point loss to eventual champ Clemson in the semis. A 31 point loss to #19 Michigan last year. And then last night's 24 point loss to Clemson. That's 6 blowouts in the last five years.

I took a peak at Georgia's last 5 years just to find a comparison and while they have the head-to-head games against ND, cumulatively they have very similar seasonal outcomes.

Anyways, where am I going with this? I'm just sick of the annual ass kicking that is inevitable. Six damn times in the last 5 years. If you omit the awful 2016 season, it's still 5 F'ing times during which ND finished ranked 11, 11, 5, 12, and TBD. Why is a top 10 team getting blown out so much?

I agree with LAX that this isn't a "burn it down" situation. But ND needs to figure out why they consistently get steam rolled at least once every year. Why can't ND land one of these top NFL draft pick QBs? Why, this far into BK's tenure do we have giant holes at WR in our roster? I could go on, but I'll end my rant here.

The answer is simple:

We don’t recruit the elite. We recruit well given the parameters ND needs to be effective.

BUT, Alabama, Clemson, tOSU, (and LSU) recruit top level nearly year in and year out.

It eventually matters.

Edit 10 minutes later... I’m late to the party and the consensus is exactly what I wrote above. We’re all in agreement here. Nothing groundbreaking earth shattering or surprising other than to win it all, we’ll need world beaters and breaks. And a few perfect pieces to fall into place given the success of other programs recruiting what used to be Notre Dame’s guys previous empire.

 

[IrishTusker]

In my view the standard for admitting an athlete should be that the student is admitted unless admissions thinks that he will not be able to graduate from ND. I don't know what the actual standard is. I remain convinced, however, that ND can land top players (the reason being that ND regularly offers top players, and they just go elsewhere).

 

[Irishize]

In my view the standard for admitting an athlete should be that the student is admitted unless admissions thinks that he will not be able to graduate from ND. I don't know what the actual standard is. I remain convinced, however, that ND can land top players (the reason being that ND regularly offers top players, and they just go elsewhere).

BGI used to do articles on the ND compliance officers & admissions standards, etc back during the Davie/Ty/Weis years. They wanted to show that ND can still compete for NCs despite rigorous academics. Keep in mind, though; that the author of these articles, Lou Somogyi; is an ND grad so he’s going to likely stick w/ what makes ND different & prove that they can still win. Prister used to work at BGI, too & he’s an alum w/ likely a similar mindset. They’re also both of a generation when they saw it done multiple times & saw ND compete for a NC almost yearly. Their point would be it’s the HC.

That point isn’t incorrect but they don’t seem to address the fact that elite HCs are not going to come to ND b/c they’ll be hamstrung in recruiting. Maybe they agree with this in an unspoken manner b/c Somogyi has also offered that ND needs to catch lightning in a bottle by evaluating an up-&-comer HC who ends up being the next Ara or Lou.

As everything stands today, BK has done wonders for this program. Imagine being offered his accomplishments back when we were saddled w/ Davie/Ty/Weis?!?! We can’t know if BK could ever win the big one b/c he’s not going to be given the necessary resources (academically questionable 5-stars). Could Meyer, Saban, Dabo do any better w/ what BK has to work with? Maybe. I’d say probably w/ Meyer & Saban. I’d say no w/ Dabo...but I don’t want to dismiss what Dabo has done. As many 4/5-stars as he now signs, he & his staff still develop 3-stars into NFL first rounders. Remember Isaiah Simmons was a 3-star.

I feel your frustration. So much that I’ve been told to quit taking it personally and just take it for what it is...a wild ride. Being an ND fan doesn’t define who I am. It’s just a hobby that I’m passionate about. If friends, colleagues & strangers want to bash them w/ the tired tropes we’ve been hearing for decades...have at it. Screw ‘em.

 

[NDRock]

In my view the standard for admitting an athlete should be that the student is admitted unless admissions thinks that he will not be able to graduate from ND. I don't know what the actual standard is. I remain convinced, however, that ND can land top players (the reason being that ND regularly offers top players, and they just go elsewhere).

I agree they can. There is a narrative that somehow elite players aren’t a fit here or can’t make it academically. They’re harder to land because we’re going up against the best coaches and programs to get them. Look what it took to land Manti (Weis and Polian flying every week) but look what he meant to the program (spearheaded a 12-0 year, started a Hawaiian pipeline). Hardly anyone thought it was possible or worth the time. Kelly is a fine recruiter but I’ve never heard anyone close to the program describe him as an elite recruiter. That being said, I think he knows this and even talked about the need to recruit better. I think we kind of got screwed this year with the lack of visits.

 

[IrishTusker]

Suppose is ND is hamstrung by academics to a greater extent than other schools (which is true even if ND would only take, say, 90% of players compared to 100% at other schools). All that follows is that ND should be paying more for someone who will recruit harder, or whatever. It's no different than ND having a higher heating and snowplowing bill than USC.

 

[Irishize]

Suppose is ND is hamstrung by academics to a greater extent than other schools (which is true even if ND would only take, say, 90% of players compared to 100% at other schools). All that follows is that ND should be paying more for someone who will recruit harder, or whatever. It's no different than ND having a higher heating and snowplowing bill than USC.

I do wish they would get creative and hire a full-time recruiting coordinator under the guise of another role. There’s 300+ 4* prospects in a given year. I would think they would need at least one person who dissected all those players from high 4* to low 4* to find the best fits. Then you have thousands of 3* prospect to cull through to find the best fits & the diamonds in the rough.

Maybe they already have that covered or Polian does that but that’s a lot of in-depth research when you have a more narrow window to recruit through. We need a modern version of Vinny Cerrato driving around in a gold Corvette.

 

[NorthDakota]

The school needs to remember that they arent Harvard or Yale, and the only reason they are even relevant is because of the accomplishments of the football program over the course of decades.

Be a bit more accommodating towards athletes (particularly ones who maybe grew up in less great situations) and let's get to work. It's hard enough to win as a football school North of the Mason Dixon Line, its even harder when you cant/wont grab many of the best kids because they haven't had strong academic performances growing up.

I ain't saying to let in people practically devoid of brain activity, but let BK and the coaches at least try. Do a pilot program for a few years, let them grab a few guys and see how it goes. If its having a bad effect on the school, then I presume they'd shut it down.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Sure that’s part of it. But you nor I have any idea how many elite HS phenoms never get to even entertain an ND offer b/c the coaches can’t entertain even reaching out and expending energy on a kid that can’t qualify. These are kids who we have zero idea what they truly think about Notre Dame. Lou Holtz doesn’t even register on a HS kid’s radar much like Jimmy Johnson doesn’t. They’re both old guys who used to coach football when it was a different game. They sure as hell aren’t wasting energy about some old white guys politics.

Imagine how cynical SEC coaches get when hitting the recruiting trail in states like MS, LA & AL. Not sure where you live...but those are welfare states and most of those elite recruits come from a single parent (mother) household where they have to win over mom as much as the kid. To dismiss ND of having a chance is an insult to those parents & kids b/c we have cynically stereotyped them as the infamous “Fatherless Phenom w/ Learning Disability” (can’t recall who coined that phrase).

Adding to this is the fact that these kids have grown up watching their heroes play on Saturday at LSU, Ga, Fla, Bama. And those heroes are much, much different than maybe the ones playing for the schools many of us remember. Getting a kid from the south, AND convincing Mom too, is tough for schools in the north. Most of the players today don’t remember the legendary teams, schools, players, etc from yesteryear. They remember D. Henry, Honey Badger, and the legend of Tebow, etc., and that’s who becomes their legendary teams, schools, coaches, etc.

 

[MNIrishman]

Adding to this is the fact that these kids have grown up watching their heroes play on Saturday at LSU, Ga, Fla, Bama. And those heroes are much, much different than maybe the ones playing for the schools many of us remember. Getting a kid from the south, AND convincing Mom too, is tough for schools in the north. Most of the players today don’t remember the legendary teams, schools, players, etc from yesteryear. They remember D. Henry, Honey Badger, and the legend of Tebow, etc., and that’s who becomes their legendary teams, schools, coaches, etc.

Only eight schools are graduating more than 2/3 of their black football and basketball players (http://es.pn/2Gep6pz). If Mom cares about her kid's future, that's the list. Anything else is just gambling that the kid will get lucky.

FWIW, the median lifetime income of an ND grad is greater than the median career income of an NFL player (https://www.businessinsider.com/nfl...e-making-salaries-last-into-retirement-2017-9), so even if ND wasn't on NFL scouts' radar (it is, and has the second-highest total number of draftees among schools), it would still be a better choice than most schools if Mom cares about her kid's future.

 

[T Town Tommy]

I don’t disagree but while mom probably can’t tell you what state those eight schools are even in, she can tell you who the coach is at every school in the south that’s recruiting her son. You want to crack the Deep South in recruiting you have to start with Mom.

 

[Dizzyphil]

Only eight schools are graduating more than 2/3 of their black football and basketball players (http://es.pn/2Gep6pz). If Mom cares about her kid's future, that's the list. Anything else is just gambling that the kid will get lucky.

FWIW, the median lifetime income of an ND grad is greater than the median career income of an NFL player (https://www.businessinsider.com/nfl...e-making-salaries-last-into-retirement-2017-9), so even if ND wasn't on NFL scouts' radar (it is, and has the second-highest total number of draftees among schools), it would still be a better choice than most schools if Mom cares about her kid's future.

Is ND currently requiring ACT/SAT scores to get in?


All SEC schools have suspended needing ACT/SAT to get in due to Covid-19. I don't know about other conferences. I only know this because I'm local to a SEC school and heard it on the radio the other day.

 

[NorthDakota]

Only eight schools are graduating more than 2/3 of their black football and basketball players (http://es.pn/2Gep6pz). If Mom cares about her kid's future, that's the list. Anything else is just gambling that the kid will get lucky.

FWIW, the median lifetime income of an ND grad is greater than the median career income of an NFL player (https://www.businessinsider.com/nfl...e-making-salaries-last-into-retirement-2017-9), so even if ND wasn't on NFL scouts' radar (it is, and has the second-highest total number of draftees among schools), it would still be a better choice than most schools if Mom cares about her kid's future.

Hell, might be better for your kid's NFL dreams too. Less blue-chip talent to keep you off the field in South Bend. And its not like ND guys aren't producing in the NFL anyway. Plenty of high-end dudes.

That said, can respect how tough it is to pull people out of state or the region. Weird thing i noticed living in the south too, was a somewhat bizarre attitude towards Notre Dame in particular. If that attitude is very widespread, its easy to see why a lot of dudes down there aren't too interested in South Bend when they got Ed Orgeron or Kirby Smart in their living room.

A good showing against Alabama would go a long way in changing some attitudes. I think the UGA games may have helped some, but standing up to the biggest bully, even in a loss, would be a welcome sight.

Play good defense. Force a couple turnovers. Move the ball a bit. Have a couple long drives that result in touchdowns and see where we are at.

I dont see a way for ND to score enough to win. Even if the guys play good defense we will give up 30 and I just don't see the offense matching that.

 

[NorthDakota]

I don’t disagree but while mom probably can’t tell you what state those eight schools are even in, she can tell you who the coach is at every school in the south that’s recruiting her son. You want to crack the Deep South in recruiting you have to start with Mom.

Isn't this how we got Colzie allegedly?

Every year some mom gets pissed on signing day when her kid goes with the "other" school and it cracks me up

 

[irishtrain]

The narrative is that the schools who dont have a large endowment DEPEND on the football revenue and those schools do anything to get players to win games and make BIG$ off the football team revenues. Notre Dames endowment for example is almost 3 times that of say an ALA. If you check there are not many contradictions to this statement today except for maybe Texas/Texas A&M-the rest need the $$$ and football provides that. Therefore they dont really care much about graduation or profile of your athlete. Anytime I hear classes come into the conversation with the you know who schools I want to throw up in my mouth. Ala can name their score next week. But is this college football? I m damn proud of what Notre Dame does and wouldnt change a &^@#ing thing.

 

[Sea Turtle]

The narrative is that the schools who dont have a large endowment DEPEND on the football revenue and those schools do anything to get players to win games and make BIG$ off the football team revenues. Notre Dames endowment for example is almost 3 times that of say an ALA. If you check there are not many contradictions to this statement today except for maybe Texas/Texas A&M-the rest need the $$$ and football provides that. Therefore they dont really care much about graduation or profile of your athlete. Anytime I hear classes come into the conversation with the you know who schools I want to throw up in my mouth. Ala can name their score next week. But is this college football? I m damn proud of what Notre Dame does and wouldnt change a &^@#ing thing.

https://rolltide.com/news/2020/11/1...est-ncaa-graduation-success-rate-figures.aspx

 

[Bishop2b5]

The narrative is that the schools who dont have a large endowment DEPEND on the football revenue and those schools do anything to get players to win games and make BIG$ off the football team revenues. Notre Dames endowment for example is almost 3 times that of say an ALA. If you check there are not many contradictions to this statement today except for maybe Texas/Texas A&M-the rest need the $$$ and football provides that. Therefore they dont really care much about graduation or profile of your athlete. Anytime I hear classes come into the conversation with the you know who schools I want to throw up in my mouth. Ala can name their score next week. But is this college football? I m damn proud of what Notre Dame does and wouldnt change a &^@#ing thing.

You should probably do some research before making such claims. Bama isn't Harvard, nor even ND or Vandy or Stanford, but our graduation rates and academic success scores are well above the national average for FBS programs. During the Saban era, we're 2nd behind ND (by only 1 or 2 players) in producing academic All-Americans. We've produced the scholar-athlete of the year not only for football, but the scholar athlete of the year for ALL NCAA sports.

ND has a lot to be proud of when it comes to having high academic standards for your athletes. The narrative that you're the only program who cares about your players going to class or getting an education is a joke though. It's a sanctimonious, snobby, elitist, and erroneous attitude that is the source of a LOT of the anti-ND sentiment from other fanbases.

 

[IrishBoognish]

Nobody gives a shit about anti-ND sentiment from your peers, Bishop.

 

[Wingman Ray]

You should probably do some research before making such claims. Bama isn't Harvard, nor even ND or Vandy or Stanford, but our graduation rates and academic success scores are well above the national average for FBS programs. During the Saban era, we're 2nd behind ND (by only 1 or 2 players) in producing academic All-Americans. We've produced the scholar-athlete of the year not only for football, but the scholar athlete of the year for ALL NCAA sports.

ND has a lot to be proud of when it comes to having high academic standards for your athletes. The narrative that you're the only program who cares about your players going to class or getting an education is a joke though. It's a sanctimonious, snobby, elitist, and erroneous attitude that is the source of a LOT of the anti-ND sentiment from other fanbases.

100% full of crap. Not sure where you are getting that info from. Bama isnt even superior to Auburn in academics. Everyone in Alabama knows Bama for sports, Auburn for education between the two sports.

I realize Bama dumped a crapton of funds to give itself a makeover image wise but the fact is, academic wise it is bottom third of D1 schools academic wise, right with LSU and Ark.

#keepdreamingpal

 

[Bishop2b5]

100% full of crap. Not sure where you are getting that info from. Bama isnt even superior to Auburn in academics. Everyone in Alabama knows Bama for sports, Auburn for education between the two sports.

I realize Bama dumped a crapton of funds to give itself a makeover image wise but the fact is, academic wise it is bottom third of D1 schools academic wise, right with LSU and Ark.

#keepdreamingpal

OK. Do you feel better now? I don't feel a need to go around bragging about how good my football team is and how everybody else's is inferior. You know why? Because I'm not insecure. If you need to brag about yourself, your team, your job, your wealth, your house, your whatever and put others down in doing so, especially by misrepresenting things to do so, that screams insecurity.

I've always been nothing but respectful towards ND and all you guys, but this BS narrative is a joke from two or three insecure whiny little shits. Be proud of your school and stop the idiotic "we're the only ones who take education seriously" BS. It's weak and pathetic and wrong. If it's all you have and you really need to keep it up though, go ahead. I understand.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Nobody gives a shit about anti-ND sentiment from your peers, Bishop.

Of course you do. I've seen dozens - maybe hundreds - of posts here at IE over the years from a lot of different people complaining about the hatred and dislike of ND from other schools, other fans, the media, even supposedly neutral announcers. I've even mentioned it before in response to some of those complaints that the rather snobby, condescending attitude from a minority of your fans is a MAJOR factor in it. I like ND. I have nothing but respect for your school and football program, but a few of you with that ridiculous belief that you're the ONLY school in the country who takes academics seriously or makes your players go to class and that all your players are Mensa-level future Rhodes Scholars is a joke to the other 99% of us. I truly do like just about everything about ND except that attitude from a few.

 

[T-Boone]

This is why I do not understand why ND didn’t even make a good faith effort to see what they could get out of Jordan Johnson this year (or Watts or anyone underclass).

Yes. Also getting Austin a lot more involved in his freshman year and Claypool in his.
If Austin was used in his freshman year (more than 5 catches) who knows what happens the next 2 years.
Basically I hope Styles flips to cornerback so he has a chance of actually playing before he is a junior.

 

[MNIrishman]

Of course you do. I've seen dozens - maybe hundreds - of posts here at IE over the years from a lot of different people complaining about the hatred and dislike of ND from other schools, other fans, the media, even supposedly neutral announcers. I've even mentioned it before in response to some of those complaints that the rather snobby, condescending attitude from a minority of your fans is a MAJOR factor in it. I like ND. I have nothing but respect for your school and football program, but a few of you with that ridiculous belief that you're the ONLY school in the country who takes academics seriously or makes your players go to class and that all your players are Mensa-level future Rhodes Scholars is a joke to the other 99% of us. I truly do like just about everything about ND except that attitude from a few.

Even Carlo Calabrese is now the director of marketing for a mid-size firm in a major city, and I'd hardly call him our shining example on the 2012 team. Meanwhile, Alabama academic all star Barrett Jones is in an entry-level financial advisor role in BFE. We don't want your respect. We want envious loathing of the sort we feel for Alabama football. We know Alabama has used this run to focus on digging its academic reputation out of the trench, and it's made a lot of progress, but it was a very deep trench to start.

No one has ever respected ND. Stanford didn't when they refused to play us because we weren't academically good enough. The B1G didn't when they decided Catholics weren't good enough. The KKK didn't when they intimidated students in South Bend. Hell even now we catch shit from the SEC insulting our football and Michigan, Northwestern, and Stanford insulting our academics. Disrespect and hatred define who we are. We were born in it.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Even Carlo Calabrese is now the director of marketing for a mid-size firm in a major city, and I'd hardly call him our shining example on the 2012 team. Meanwhile, Alabama academic all star Barrett Jones is in an entry-level financial advisor role in BFE. We don't want your respect. We want envious loathing of the sort we feel for Alabama football. We know Alabama has used this run to focus on digging its academic reputation out of the trench, and it's made a lot of progress, but it was a very deep trench to start.

No one has ever respected ND. Stanford didn't when they refused to play us because we weren't academically good enough. The B1G didn't when they decided Catholics weren't good enough. The KKK didn't when they intimidated students in South Bend. Hell even now we catch shit from the SEC insulting our football and Michigan, Northwestern, and Stanford insulting our academics. Disrespect and hatred define who we are. We were born in it.

I get that. I don't even blame you for relishing it and using it. Let me tell you a true story from my teens to make a point, though. When I was growing up, there were two families in my relatively small town who were very wealthy. Both families had kids ranging from 1 year older than me to 2 years younger, so I knew them all well. Almost everyone hated the girl from one of the families. It wasn't because she was rich. Heck, we all liked her two brothers and both kids from the other rich family were very popular and nice people.

We hated her because she couldn't stop bragging, reminding everyone that she was rich, making snide comments about others who weren't as well off, and just generally being an insecure **** who needed to stroke her ego about it. Her brothers and the brother & sister from the other family all had an "Our PARENTS are rich, not us" attitude, but not this girl. I can't count the number of times I heard her, when participating in a discussion or answering a question in class say, "Well, during my flying lesson this weekend, my private flight instructor said..." or "Last month when my mother and I flew to New York to buy my prom dress, we talked about..." and we'd all just roll our eyes. Even her two brothers made fun of her for it. It SCREAMED insecurity. In her case, unfortunately, she never outgrew it. I know her via FB and an alumni group and she still does the same stuff nearly 45 years later.

Confident, secure people don't need to do that. ND is a fine school... one of the best in the country. Be proud of that without the need to diminish what others are doing under different circumstances. The need to pat yourself on the back and put others down is not an admirable quality.

 

[Wingman Ray]

Gotta ask this question now Bishop: Do you go to the Bama boards and talk about how good ND is? Do you talk about how academically, Bama cannot hold a flame and then when the people on that board push back, do you tell them stories about your ND experiences despite the fact that you do not even reside in the same state as ND is? Do you talk about how the average graduate of ND makes more than the shinning academic stars of their beloved Bama? Do you talk about the integrity of ND football and how the school and the state, doesn't sell it's very existence to be great at a singular sport as if nothing else really mattered?

I didnt think so.

You must have a truckload of time on your hands my friend to spend SO much time on your beloved Alabama team boards and then come and haunt this board like you do. Kinda sad really.

 

[T-Boone]

Does Saban insist on his wide receivers being able to block etc before they play or does he just get them in there?

 

[NorthDakota]

Gotta ask this question now Bishop: Do you go to the Bama boards and talk about how good ND is? Do you talk about how academically, Bama cannot hold a flame and then when the people on that board push back, do you tell them stories about your ND experiences despite the fact that you do not even reside in the same state as ND is? Do you talk about how the average graduate of ND makes more than the shinning academic stars of their beloved Bama? Do you talk about the integrity of ND football and how the school and the state, doesn't sell it's very existence to be great at a singular sport as if nothing else really mattered?

I didnt think so.

You must have a truckload of time on your hands my friend to spend SO much time on your beloved Alabama team boards and then come and haunt this board like you do. Kinda sad really.

Calm down. He's written at length about why he has stuck around IE before. Never hurts to get out of an echo chamber.... or maybe he likes watching a bunch of masochists beat up on themselves... everyone has a kink.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Gotta ask this question now Bishop: Do you go to the Bama boards and talk about how good ND is? Do you talk about how academically, Bama cannot hold a flame and then when the people on that board push back, do you tell them stories about your ND experiences despite the fact that you do not even reside in the same state as ND is? Do you talk about how the average graduate of ND makes more than the shinning academic stars of their beloved Bama? Do you talk about the integrity of ND football and how the school and the state, doesn't sell it's very existence to be great at a singular sport as if nothing else really mattered?

I didnt think so.

You must have a truckload of time on your hands my friend to spend SO much time on your beloved Alabama team boards and then come and haunt this board like you do. Kinda sad really.

Enjoy your team and school. Best wishes to you.

 

[Bishop2b5]

Does Saban insist on his wide receivers being able to block etc before they play or does he just get them in there?

Blocking is a requirement for WR's. If you can't or won't block, you won't see much playing time.

 

[tko]

I support Bishop. He and Tommy have contributed and supported this board for years. We're not dealing with TomHaverford here, come on.