May 2008 Archives

East St. Louis wide receivers Terry Hawthorne and Kraig Appleton are two of the top four football prospects in Illinois for the 2008 season, two of the leading wide receivers in the nation according to recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, and coach Darren Sunkett thinks it is within the realm of possibility that they could choose the same college.

"There are real good friends," Sunkett said. "They have been going to school together since junior high school. They have mentioned it (going to college together)."

You might not agree with me, but...

1. I didn't see Mount Carmel's 1950 football team, which some say was the best in state history, but no team impressed me more than Bloom's 1957 team that featured Leroy Jackson.

2. There is no more picturesque atmosphere to watch a football game on a Saturday afternoon in the autumn that Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn. Norman Rockwell should have painted the scene.

3. I haven't been to Ohio State but I've been to Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Purdue and the Big Ten doesn't compare to the SEC when it comes to generating fan electricity at football games.

For college football coaches, a moratorium on recruiting means a Saturday golf outing with alumni and boosters. They can't afford to play more than 18 holes and hoist a beer or two because they always fear that a conference rival will take advantage of the time to land a commitment.

In cast you haven't been keeping count, Ohio State already has 14 oral commitments, including seven top 100 players and defensive end Melvin Fellows, who originally pledged to Illinois.

Texas has 18 commitments, including three 5-star players and 11 4-star players. USC has 10 commitments, including five top 100 prospects and the nation's top-rated player, quarterback Matt Barkley. LSU has 12 commitments, Georgia and Oklahoma 11 each.

My optometrist and I were having a lively discussion about the Internet the other day while he was probing my eyes for signs of floaters and cataracts and other nasty things.

He said he reads three daily newspapers but his son only reads the Internet. His son thinks his father is a dinosaur. His son keeps a record of current events but, his father lamented, probably couldn't tell you what the Civil War was about or when it was fought.

A sense of historical perspective, he said, is sadly lacking in the modern generation.

I couldn't agree more.

I don't read the Internet anymore--abstaining is good for my digestion--but friends and colleagues keep informing me of the rantings of the lunatic fringe of Illini Nation, the radical few who love to keep the pot boiling with unsubstantiated rumors and erroneous information.

Not to mention that their concept of history is Neanderthal, their grammar is awful and their spelling is worse. No wonder they prefer to use anonymous names.

Obviously, the last thing the cult wants is to have a reason to remove me from their "most hated" list.

No need.

I have been writing about college football and basketball recruiting since the 1970s and I continue to be amazed at how little fans, parents and other critics know about the process.

The most interesting insight I ever received came in 1972, when legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden dispatched assistant coach Gary Cunningham to scout Thornridge's Quinn Buckner.

I can't resist.

The stupidity and lack of historical perspective of the lunatic fringe of Illini Nation never ceases to amaze me.

Pete Elliott wasn't a good recruiter?

For you knuckleheads who think history started in the 1980s, Elliott recruited Dick Butkus and Jim Grabowski and nine other players on the 1963, 1964 and 1965 Illinois teams who later played in the NFL.

Let's hope Ron Zook does as well.

Ever spend two hours in a one-on-one conversation with Ron Zook in your living room?

The first thing you notice about Illinois' head football coach is he is a charmer. And that's a compliment. It goes a long way toward explaining why he is one of the leading recruiters in the country.

I've been in the presence of some very successful salesmen over the years, from Illinois' Pete Elliott to Notre Dame's Lou Holtz to Indiana's Bob Knight. But Zook has a different approach.

Months ago, I took the advice of a friend who suggested that I shouldn't bother to read the Internet, the greatest source of misinformation, because it served absolutely no worthwhile purpose.

He was right. Whenever I am tempted, which is rare, I pick up a good Civil War book instead. I don't iss the name-calling, the lack of historical perspective, the misconceptions, erroneous facts, anonymous rants and unsubstantiated accusations.

But sometimes I hear something that can't be overlooked, something that must be addressed, that can't go without a returning salvo.

Control freaks.

They are another reason to distrust college football and basketball, as if you didn't need another one. They are the latest device invented by college coaches to manipulate the media and squeeze the personalities out of what the NCAA laughingly refer to as "student-athletes."