Defense, Defense, Defense

Recently I came across an opinion piece on WRALSportsFan by a local radio contributor concerning the BCS National Championship game.  James Alverson (@JamesAlverson), a producer for 99.9 the Fan and AM 620 the Buzz in addition to serving as the color analyst for their Friday Night Football Game of the Week, host of High School OT Gamenight and HighSchoolOT Wrap-up (probably best to simply call him the local High School Radio-based Guru/Analyst) detailed his take on whether or not the often-debated BCS system worked in setting up a rematch between the two SEC powerhouses, LSU and Alabama.  Alverson has always had solid insight when it comes to the local landscape of prep football and his take on 1 vs. 2 is worth the read.

You can find Alverson's opinion piece at the following link: Alverson discusses BCS [BCS got it right, this time]

There are numerous points that Alverson makes that are spot-on in my opinion.  One of the most compelling is the fact there appears to be absolutely NO debate that LSU should be in the National Championship game.  The debate in large measure is about Alabama's inclusion in the game based on a three-point loss to LSU earlier this year.  As Alverson points out, that game was an even match-up and to most folks that put on their anti-bias hats, the consensus would be that the game could have gone either way.  And that is where the thought that Alabama should not be included becomes a bit illogical.  If you can say the game was evenly played and Alabama may have been the better team and quite possibly walked out with the win, then with the roles reversed would you be sitting here at this moment saying Alabama definitely should be playing for the National Championship and LSU should not?  

The BCS system and the desire by many for a playoff format has led almost all of us down the road that includes a not-so-absolute fact that in general if you lose during the year, then you are probably out of the discussion unless others have lost as well, regardless of who you've lost to.  Why is that?  Because that is fair?, just?...the thought that you had your chance and 'didn't do what you needed to do?'  With regards to Alabama specifically, it would appear that many subscribe to the logic that the Cowboys , Cardinal or Ducks simply 'deserve' the opportunity to play LSU because Alabama had their shot and lost, regardless of what actually happened in the earlier match-up.  Moreover, the discussion of whether a loss to Iowa State (Okie State), Oregon (Stanford) or LSU/USC (Oregon) was more damaging than the single loss to LSU by Alabama seems to be somewhat unimportant in comparison to simply saying that someone else deserves a shot against LSU.

As always the BCS is fun to discuss and Alverson has some great points - be sure to check out his piece and enjoy the National Championship game!

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X's and O's - Talking West Virginia and SmartFootball

PHOTO BY TRAVIS LONG - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

It seems like at every level of play, high school and up to the pro level, scores in games are getting out of control.  To think that the national championship game next week will be about defense seems a bit strange in the current offensive environment where scores in the 40's and 30's are routine and getting to 70 or 67 points against what most would call reputable competition, see West Virginia over Clemson in the Orange Bowl and Baylor over Washington in the Alamo Bowl is a reality.  

On the local high school scene the Leesville Road Pride averaged 51.5 points a game this past season and had just two games where they scored less than 40, against Garner (21 points) in the Eastern 4AA semifinals and early in the year against Jordan where they managed a paltry 39 in a victory.  At the pro level, three teams, Green Bay, New Orleans and New England all averaged over 30 points per game during the 2011 regular season.  A quick look over the past nine seasons revealed that in 2004 two teams passed the 30 point threshold (Indianapolis and Kansas City), while in 2008, 2005 and 2002 no teams averaged more than 30 a game.  In every other season during that nine year period, only a single team eclipsed the 30 point per game threshold [New England (2010, 2007), New Orleans (2009), San Diego (2006), Kansas City (2003)].  A quick glance would indicate that points scored are up and the performance that West Virginia put forth against Clemson earlier this week is just one example.

My background is more on the offensive side of the ball and I love talking X's and O's - I love the chess match of it all.  If that sounds interesting then I would highly recommend checking out Chris Brown's site SmartFootball.com.  It is hands-down one of, if not the best, X's and O's sites out there and I've rarely left the site after reading one of his posts wondering why I took the time.  It's here that the discussion about a seeming point bonanza and SmartFootball.com  coalesce.  I would encourage you if you are interested in reading a ton of great material about what Coach Dana Holgorsen and his staff are doing offensively at West Virginia or understanding in more detail the roots of their system - to venture over there and check out the following story: SmartFootball article by Chris Brown on WVU offense.  I feel confident for all those X's and O's junkies out there, you won't be disappointed.  I'd go a step further, bookmark the site!

Photographs courtesy of newsobserver.com (The News & Observer)

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Recruiting: One Month until National Signing Day 2012

PHOTO BY CHUCK LIDDY - THE NEWS & OBSERVER

With National Signing Day exactly four weeks away, February 1, 2012 and the new year upon us, I wanted to post a small bit on the college recruiting front that will hopefully be of some help to those out there that have recently completed their senior season or are an underclassmen thinking about what's next in the process.

During this past season I had a number of informal conversations with student-athletes and parents of student-athletes regarding the college recruiting process and unfortunately it seems that in may ways the knowledge gap still exists - something that quite frankly isn't positive for the student-athletes or their high school programs.  I've always thought that the more the high school student-athlete knows about the system and the more their family understands about how it all works, the higher the probability that the student-athlete will end up in a situation that matches not only their athletic pursuits but also the academic side of things.

Rather than go into anything too in-depth, I'll throw just a few things out there:

Current Seniors:

For the seniors that are out there that are 'in-the-process' at the moment and haven't made a decision.  A few things to keep in mind.  Most D-IA or FBS schools at this point in time have the guys they've offered for this class and in many cases they have verbal commits.  Point is that in many cases unless you have been actively recruited by one of these schools, it is not the most realistic position to assume that an offer is still going to materialize.  I would add that as with most things, this isn't a 100% statement.  I can recall a tight end from the RDU area being offered by a major program in the ACC about a week prior to signing day.  As in he didn't have an offer from the school and then he did and it appeared that just weeks prior that the school had little interest in him.  So as I said, it's not impossible, but unlikely.  If you think a school is recruiting you at this level and you are 'waiting to hear from them'...point being that you are uncertain of their intentions, then do the following.  Pick up the phone, or have your high school coach pick up the phone and find out.  You'll get an answer and depending on the answer you can  have some peace of mind however the conversation goes.

I've Been Offered - Oh Really...Offers Demystified

In this installment of The Recruited I hope to provide a bit of insight concerning all those 'offers' that are supposedly being picked up by area athletes.  I think the best way to approach this topic is slowly.

From signing day back in February and up through the summer there will be a number of rising seniors that 'pick up offers' from schools.  But what exactly is an offer and maybe more important, are all offers the same?

Well, perhaps the question I put forth is a bit ill-posed.  As I look back I can recall many a time when someone said they had been offered by a school, but when individuals in the know commented on the specific topic, it was clear that said individual had not been offered.  My point with this story is that in many cases there were student-athletes that for a number of reasons, the majority of which benign in nature, simply didn't understand what constituted being offered. Moreover, based on their interactions with a specific school, they had reached a point where in their mind and potentially in the minds of some individuals around them, they had indeed been offered.  In fact they had not - in many cases they were simply being recruited officially by the school.  This was a recurring story and speaks in many ways to the fact that understanding the system is important to those that are a part of the process.

The Full Ride - To Be or Not to Be

Just over a week ago on National Signing Day colleges inked what they believe will be important pieces in the framework of building national championship caliber teams.  For those out there that don't think the world of high school/college recruiting isn't a big business, take some time and go to one of the major recruiting sites for your alma mater and you'll quickly find that big business might just be an understatement.

As someone that has coached high school football for a number of years, one thing that I've learned through my involvement in the college recruiting process is that the process is anything but easy to understand.  Even more apparent is that many of the student-athletes and their family support structure are walking into an environment that has moved towards putting a lot of emphasis on what I like to call the Bright Lights on Friday Nights...the stuff that shines...while leaving all of those important details that are in many ways encyclopedia-like to the fringes.  Let's be honest, that makes sense, the hope of having a five star recruit at your alma mater is much more entertaining to talk about than rules, regulations and the NCAA clearinghouse.  I get that, at the same time I also get that when it comes to discussing those not-so-exciting elements of the process, presenting that type of information isn't exactly the priority for the big-business machine of college recruiting.  Understood, but that doesn't make the information any less relevant and I would suggest that in reality is even more important.

The college coaching staffs that I've worked with and their support structure spend a lot of time once they begin to recruit a student-athlete in explaining all the details and providing as much information to families as they can handle.  But for those that are just starting out the process and thinking about the possibilities of being recruited there is a large void when it comes to knowledge about what is and isn't the reality of the process.  It is in this void, fueled by the reality that recruiting from a commercial perspective is big business along with increased media coverage that has given hope to almost every young man that suits up on a Friday night that they might one day find themselves playing college ball, that entities have swooped in to satisfy the hunger for understanding, excitement, hope and answers.

My own personal journey has shown me in large part that the reality is that the void, even with all that is out there to fill it, is still pretty empty when it comes to substance.  What I hope to do through this new feature on Bull City Football for Starters is to periodically address topics that I personally feel are important to the process of being The Recruited.  Topics that to be perfectly honest would have a hard time of convincing folks to spend $9.95 a month to access that all important information about future recruiting classes, but in the end are about real substance, the stuff that if you or someone you know dreams of being The Recruited, should know, need to know, so you can navigate the process and not be staring at National Signing Day wondering what happened, but instead understand the why of what occurred so that you can move forward appropriately with the power of real knowledge!