The Stankoniforous Files

First of all, excuse Stank-0's extended absence.  First, Stank-0 went down to the homeplace with his lady, and then on the last day of the trip fell ill.  That put the blog game on time out, but now it's back on.

A change of pace

Senior defensive tackle Marvin Austin was dismissed from the North Carolina football team on Monday, according to a press release from UNC athletics.

 The NCAA ruled senior wide receiver Greg Little and junior defensive end Robert Quinn permanently ineligible for competition in college. The rulings effectively end the three players’ collegiate careers.

Since Werds observed that SC doesn't have the talent they used to have, it prompted a question.  If the talent is no longer attracted to SC, where does it go?  It also got Stank-0 thinkin of where talent has been gravitating.  For a football school to attract top tier talent a few things are necessary. 1. Tradition-rich program 2. Charismatic coach who can win national titles 3. History of former players getting regularly drafted 4. A location players will want to go to.

Stank-0 will cover the two major stories in reverse order. 

There's alot going on in sports so instead of writing three separate articles, I'll cover each in this one.  I hope this can become an enduring part of this blog.  Without further ado.

The superfight

This week marked the second time the Canes have had a primetime game in this young college football season. The opponent was a highly ranked Georgia Tech squad, and the Canes took them apart. Quite ruthlessly might I add.

This begs the question, is da U on an uptick? Has Randy Shannon put in the work necessary to get MIA back on the college football map? The Canes definitely have some swagger. It was evident on the field, particularly in Jacory Harris.

On one play, he sheepishly grinned at the sideline after hitting the fullback on a wheel route. Coach Shannon has put Harris on an extensive film study. He was making his progressions throughout the game. He used his legs to buy time to find an open receiver.

This is more about da U, though. The D was flying around like they used to. There was the hootin, hollerin, and preening of old.

It's good to see da U start to return to what they used to be. College football is much less interesting without the Canes doin what they do.

Their opponent did not adapt properly. The Canes are full of that FL speed so an option ground game is not gonna cut it just ask Eric Crouch and Nebraska. They will stretch out an option play and blow it up.

Maybe if MIA gets a bowl game, Coach Shannon will let them wear fatigues again. I'm just sayin.

So Stank-0 mentioned a nightmare scenario, right after the BCS championship game. So I will take this a step further. A series of simulations.

#1 Florida vs. USC. Speed vs. speed + depth, however, the edge may go to Florida. They may have a faster team but USC can throw out multiple bodies that are quick. This would clearly be the most entertaining game of the three sims. Florida's D may be alot stouter as well. The game would obviously turn on UF's ability to stop USC.

#2 Florida vs Texas. Speed vs. intangibles. Florida would have the edge at skill positions, but QBs are basically a tie because McCoy's style is remarkably similar to Tebow's. UF's D is more experienced as well.

#3 Florida vs Utah. The Utes get consideration because they are the lone undefeated team in the BCS system. I only saw snippets of the bowl game against Alabama so I can't exactly break this down, however, the whole SEC team speed would overwhelm the Utes goes out the window for obvious reasons. This would be the most intriguing of the simulations.

On second thought, the nightmare didn't come true. Florida took the AP title. Was that correct?
How about we throw all this conjecture out and have a playoff?

Ah the annual rite of passage for minor league football players scholar-athletes, the NFL draft. The Big XII has the potential to have quite a few high profile players selected early. Let's run down the draft suspects.

According to the word on the street, John Parker Wilson is the projected #1 pick. ??? Did Stank-0 miss something during his hiatus? Wilson didn't wow but he didn't disappoint and that's enough to get drafted.

Michael Oher is also a high draft pick. He was considered NFL ready back in high school. Whomever gets him has a left tackle for the next 7-10 years. Period!

Tim Tebow is considered a middle rounder, which is correct ISO. His game won't translate smoothly to the NFL. There is talk of converting him to a tight end or half back or having him in Wildcat formations. That sounds too much like a gimmick player and you can ask Reggie Bush how it feels to be a gimmick player. Bush had to change his game, so will Tebow.

Sam Bradford looks the most NFL-ready. He has pocket presence, can move around to buy time, is accurate, has the toughness factor, and is big enough so scouts won't hate on his size.

Colt McCoy has the tools to play, but there's this lingering doubt in Stank-0's mind about him. He played well in the big games but something is naggin about his game. He does run alot for a quarterback.

Graham Harrell is the only college quarterback to approach the number of attempts an NFL quarterback will make Sunday after Sunday. The knock on Harrell is he's never really been pressured with that mammoth offensive line he played behind and he put up fantasy numbers. Few big number quarterbacks make it in the NFL, just ask Tommy Chang and every other quarterback to ever play at Hawaii and Texas Tech.

Michael Crabtree is the most complete receiver in college football. He's Andre Johnson (while he was at Miami) with a bigger frame. Stank-0 thinks Crabtree is sophomore so he still has another season, correct Stank-0 if he is wrong. As a resident in Big XII country, Stank-0 would like another season to watch him play ball.

Since Stank-0 gave one soph a shout out might as well spotlight Dez Bryant, receiver at Oklahoma State. If Crab is the best receiver in college football, Bryant would make a good case for #2. Bryant had a few games where he could not be single covered. It was not physically possible.

Anyone get left out, drop a comment.

UPDATE!: Michael Crabtree redshirted early in his career so he is eligible for the draft.