As I mentioned on Thursday, if you’re looking for hard-hitting coverage in the lead-up to next week’s National Signing Day, well, Aaron Torres Sports might not totally be the place for you. There are only so many hours in the day, and less time I spend using those hours to learn about 17-year-old high school football players, the better off we all are. Just trust me on that one.
But while I’ll be the first to admit that I have little interest in learning about high school football players, I’m proud to report that I have no problem taking thinly-veiled shots at the men who’ll coach them in college.
That’s why yesterday, I broke out the first half of my “Fake Recruiting Pitches,” chronicling what I believe to be the most outlandish ways that the coaches of the SEC, Pac-12 and Big East would try to land recruits, and convince them to come to their schools.
Well, today I am back with Part II: Looking at the coaches of the Big Ten, Big XII and ACC.
As always, along with my own recruiting pitches, I encourage you to share your own, in the comments section.
Now, let’s get to the pitches:
I’m just going to be real with you here for a second: If you’re looking for some quality college football recruiting coverage, Aaron Torres Sports simply is not the place for you (although, we are doing some things at the other site I work for, CrystalBallRun.com). I’m not saying I’m a busy guy per se, but the idea of tracking a bunch of 17-year-old kids, more than half of which will never make any tangible impact on the college level, just doesn’t sound all that appealing to me. Especially when I’ve got more important things to do… like watch re-runs of How I Met Your Mother, for example.
Still, this whole recruiting frenzy does kind of make me wonder, and think how much fun it’d be to be a recruited athlete. Beyond just the bags of cash, free trips and endless girls (boooooring), I’m always curious what it’d be like to have a Nick Saban or Lane Kiffin in your house, pitching the merits of their school to you. What would they say? How would they act? Do you think Les Miles likes dogs?
Which is why in the lead-up Signing Day, I’ve decided to do something different here at ATS. Rather than pretend like I know a damn thing about any of these recruits, I’m going to instead focus on the guys that I do know, the coaches. And in one paragraph or less, I’m going to try my best to sum up what I think they might say, and what their top selling points might be.
In Part I today, I’ll look at the coaches of the SEC, Pac-12 and Big East and tomorrow I encourage you to come back with Part II, evaluating those from the ACC, Big Ten and Big XII.
Here goes:
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As I’m sure most of you have heard by now (if only because I won’t shut up about it), I spent last weekend traveling to Kentucky, to cover a UK basketball game for the esteemed website, KentuckySportsRadio.com.
My job was to capture the essence of Rupp Arena from an outsider, non-UK, first-time visitor perspective, and hopefully I fulfilled that goal. I ended up writing two columns, one on my experience at Rupp, the second on all the peripheral things that happened while I was in Kentucky (and believe me, there were a lot of them).
Anyway, while it’s one thing to put these experiences into words, it’s quite another to actually see them with your own eyes. Which is why in addition to the writing I did, I also decided it might be a good idea to add a picture show to along with the words I’ve already written.
Just one quick note before we get started: I’ve got a smartphone, and for those of you who’ve got them yourselves, well, you know that the batteries on those things suck. A lot. So with that said, there are some big gaps in the picture-taking process. I jump from one subject to another, pretty quickly, although for the most part, I got the pictures that I wanted.
Otherwise, sit back, relax and enjoy my Kentucky picture show:
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Over the last few years, there might not have been a single player in college football that was more exciting to watch on a day-to-day, game-to-game basis than Georgia cornerback/return man/spot offensive superstar Brandon Boykin. And on Wednesday, he was nice enough to join me on the Aaron Torres Sports podcast.
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It was a quick, 15-minute interview (that is easily digestible on a lunch break), but Brandon and I still squeezed in conversation on a number of topics, including…
- Expectations at Georgia entering the 2011 season. Did players feel those expectations? And why Brandon knew things would be different his senior season.
- What led to Georgia’s success, and why a strong group of poker willed this program back to the upper-echelon of the SEC.
- The split personalities of Todd Grantham, and why he is much different away from the field than on it.
- Brandon’s versatility on the football field, and why he was practically begging the Georgia coaches to let him get more touches on offense.
- His preparation for next week’s Senior Bowl, what he’ll be trying to prove to scouts, and why his height shouldn’t scare teams away.
- The NFL Draft process as a whole, and why Brandon has consulted with a number of ex-Dawgs on what he needs to know these next couple weeks.
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It wasn’t until last Tuesday night that I came to have a full appreciation for just how important college football had become in my everyday life.
After eating, sleeping and breathing the sport since the beginning of August (and even before that really), all of a sudden, I looked up, and well, there was no college football to be played, no college football to be discussed, and really, just a huge void in my life. Honestly, it was like breaking up with a girlfriend, only about 100 times worse, and ended with me questioning everything I thought I knew. What do I do? Where do I go? Who am I? Needless to say, it got pretty bad.
But after a few nights of sitting in bed, eating Ben and Jerry’s and watching replays of old MAC games on ESPN3.com (ohh MACtion, how I’ve missed you), I decided that it was time to be proactive. College football may be over, but that also means a bunch more time has opened up, and I plan on using it as productively as I can. There’s just so much more to life than sitting my couch with a bag of Doritos, and wondering things like “Hmm, I wonder who would win in a fight, Will Muschamp, or a grizzly bear?” It’s time to live life dammit, which is what I plan on doing!
And because of it, I decided to make a list of all the ways I plan on passing the time over the next eight months. Not every item on the list is perfect, and with so little time in the off-season, I know that not every single one will be accomplished. But the path to success starts with a plan, and this is my way of tabulating one.
Here are 50 Ways I plan to pass the time during the college football off-season.
You know how they say, “It’s better to be lucky than good?” Well, there has never been a truer case of that motto coming to life than the latest edition of the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast.
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That’s because for a few weeks now I’ve been trying to get Bryan Fischer of CBS Sports to come on and talk some recruiting stuff as well as early 2012 story lines. And after finally tracking Bryan down to do the interview late last week, news struck late Monday that was right up his alley. The news? Just that the No. 1 high school quarterback in the country Gunner Kiel had de-committed from LSU, and was headed to Notre Dame. You’ve probably heard about it by now, but still Bryan brought some unique insight to that subject, as well as others, including discussion on:
- How much of a role Kiel’s parents may have made in his decision, and why parents are more important in the recruiting process than the casual fan might think.
- How Kiel fits into what Brian Kelly is doing at Notre Dame, why Kiel is a better fit for the Irish than LSU, and why Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix should be worried.
Heading onto the national college football front, Bryan and I also discussed:
Well hello everyone! Hope everybody is doing well, and getting through these cold winter months. Luckily, Charlie Weis just saw his shadow yesterday, which means it’s only six more weeks of winter!
(Kidding of course)
Anyway, I wanted to pop in with some quick news: Aaron Torres Sports is hitting the road! I am happy to announce that next weekend I will be leaving the cold Connecticut winter for the equal cold of the Southern Midwest, when I travel to…Lexington, KY!
That’s right, I will be going down to the Bluegrass State, and crossing a big thing off my Sports Bucket List, when I make it to my first game at Rupp Arena to watch Kentucky take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in hoops. And personally, I couldn’t be more excited.
Now to give you a little background on everything, the whole idea got hatched a short time before Thanksgiving. As you may remember, Kentucky was playing in a preseason tournament in Connecticut, and at the time, I had a chance to chat with Matt Jones, the head man over at Kentucky Sports Radio, who was in town for the event. Apparently he liked me (why, I have no idea), and pitched me an idea: If I wanted, I could come down to Kentucky at some point and cover a game for his website KSR, with the goal of giving an “outsiders view,” of the whole “Kentucky experience.” And when the opportunity was offered, well, I jumped on it faster than John Calipari does when a seven-footer says “I think I want to take an unofficial visit to Lexington.” From there, it was just about dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s with Matt, and here I am, one week away from fulfilling a lifelong dream.
Of course it’s important to note that basketball is only a part of the Kentucky Experience (a big part yes, but just a part), which is why I am writing this post. Because even though my first priority is covering this game (and doing it to the 100 percent best of my abilities), I still want the chance to meet as many of you as I can. As I’ve learned through the years, if Kentucky does one thing better than basketball it’s actually hospitality, which is why I invite you all to come hang out. The KSR crew has a lot of actual job responsibilities, and the last thing I’d ever do is keep them from those. Therefore, I’m counting on all of you to come, hang and show me around town.
While there is no set itinerary, here is loosely how my plans are laid out:
I fly into Louisville about mid-day Thursday, and plan on hanging there for the rest of the afternoon and into Friday morning. It is my hope to check out the KSR radio show, as well as the TV side of things, and since both are based in Louisville, that seems like a good jumping off point.
However, I won’t be in Louisville for long, and plan on hopefully heading to Lexington mid-day Friday. While I have no plans for the early afternoon (other than to check into my hotel), the owner of Rafftery’s Restaurant and Bar (on Alysheba Way) has already invited me out to dinner on Friday, and I plan on taking full advantage.
That is of course where you all come in.
For UConn basketball fans, it’s safe to say that the 2011-2012 season has been “interesting” so far. A team that is infinitely more talented than the 2011 title team has had plenty of ups and downs and inconsistent play. But coming off a hard-earned win over West Virginia, there’s plenty of reason to believe that maybe- just maybe- this group has turned the corner.
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One person who’d know better than most is Kevin Duffy, who covers UConn hoops for the Connecticut Post. Kevin was a huge help in the promotion of my book on the Huskies, and was nice enough to again do me a favor and stop by the podcast. We discussed a number of things, including:
- Why the win over West Virginia on Monday night well could’ve been a turning point in the Huskies season, and why the home crowd at the XL Center very well could’ve keyed the victory.
- The emergence of Andre Drummond in the West Virginia game, and why if he continues to play as well as he did, the Huskies can beat anyone.
- Why- as good as Drummond has been- another key component could be freshman Ryan Boatright. Is he the best “leader” this team has?
- A further discussion on some of the off-the-cuff comments that Shabazz Napier made following the Rutgers loss. Are they a big deal? Are fans looking too much into them?
- Why Alex Oriahki needs to continue to get better, and why “confidence” is more of an issue with him than any of his actual basketball skills.
- Where Kevin sees this team progressing to. What will they look like around NCAA Tournament time, especially relative to where they are now? How close are they to reaching their potential?
Plus much, much more!!
Folks, with college football season now in the books, I’ll be turning some (but not all) of my attention to college hoops at Aaron Torres Sports, and I’m flattered and honored that Kevin was nice enough to join me. Few are more in tune with what’s going with this team, and Kevin provided insight that just can’t be found anywhere else.
As always, there are plenty of ways to access the podcast, if you cannot listen to it here on the website. You can always download on iTunes, or simply subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast in any number of ways. You should also be following on Twitter as well.
And finally, if you enjoyed the podcast, then you’ll definitely want to pick up your copy of ‘The Unlikeliest Champion’ the only book of its kind to capture last year’s National Championship run. It’s available in both paperback and on Kindle, and more information can be found at www.uconnbook.com as well as Amazon.com.
Also, I’m extending a special 15 percent off deal to listeners to the podcast.
All you’ve got to do is e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject line “Aaron Torres Sports Podcast.” Do that, and I’ll send along a coupon code, which will allow you to get 15 percent off the purchase price of a paperback copy.
Thanks again to Kevin for joining me, and thanks to you for downloading the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast! Come back soon!
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It was right around this time four months ago that I was putting the finishing touches on my book ‘The Unlikeliest Champion.’ For those of you who know nothing about the book (or likely about me), it is about the UConn men’s basketball team and their National Championship last March, and as I finished it up this past fall, I was looking for one final quote to really sum up the entire season as a whole. To give such an unexpected championship some broader, “big picture” perspective.
That quote eventually came to me from a guy named Leo Papile. Papile is a legendary figure on the Boston hoops scene, an AAU coach who has sent more guys to college than the G.I. Bill, and a guy who has forgotten more basketball in the last week than most “analysts” on TV have learned in a lifetime. He’s also one of UConn head coach Jim Calhoun’s oldest friends, going back over 30 years, way before the TV cameras, National Championships and Hall of Fame speeches Calhoun has become famous for now.
When I asked Papile what the 2011 championship meant to Calhoun’s legacy, he said something so elegant, it practically brought tears to my eyes.
This quote is straight from my book (available on Amazon.com by the way!):
“Through the years Jimmy’s best teams would out-work you, out-tough you, out-compete you,” Leo Papile, Calhoun’s friend, dating back 30 years to their days in Boston said. “That’s exactly what that team was all about. It was his perfect team. This was Jimmy’s masterpiece.”
His “masterpiece.” How beautiful, huh?
And as I watched last night’s BCS National Championship, I couldn’t help but think back to that quote.
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As you’ve probably heard by now the BCS title game is tonight. Crazy, I know. After all the waiting, all the analyzing, and the debating, incredibly, it’s just time to ball.
With so much build-up to this game you need no further introduction from me. So instead, let’s just jump right into it, talking about some of the biggest story lines entering tonight’s game.
The Talent On The Field: Go ahead admit it, you expected the first bullet point here to be “the defenses.”
Honestly, I can’t blame you, and if anything they probably should have been. But considering I started my preview of the November 5 game the exact same way, and given that not much has changed with those defenses since then (it’s not like Alabama’s entire secondary came down with mono or something) it doesn’t seem worth rehashing old thoughts. As I said on November 4, “How many different ways can you say “These are far and away the two best defenses in college football” anyway?
So instead, I’ll keep the same theme, change the context, and ask an abstract, impossible-to-answer question instead: Is this the most “talented” title game since USC and Texas in 2005?”
Obviously, there’s no real way to answer that. But I think that it just might be.
For Alabama- to put it as simply as I can- the Tide may very well be the most talented top-to-bottom college defense I’ve ever seen. The numbers obviously back it up, since incredibly Alabama ranks No. 1 in the country in the following categories: Total defense, scoring defense, run defense, pass defense and red zone defense.
