Signing day is just a few days away and every school is putting forth its “best” effort to get those undecided recruits to sign. While the coaches are out recruiting, the players back on campus are trying to join unions. We all know they are only trying to join a union to get paid for play. With that in mind, we will have a long summer of hearing about a “players’ union” vs the NCAA.
If you don’t want to pay attention to that then you can always listen to the police blotter or the war of words between coaches and former players. I hear Warren Sapp is bored so he is ripping the coaches at his former school and stirring things up against former NFL players. That will always make for a good story. Let’s get into some more news and highlights from this past weekend before the rest of the nation focuses its attention on the Super Bowl.
1) Whenever the season is over, the players get bored and start getting into trouble – or they try to form a union. Northwestern players are trying to make the necessary arrangements to join a union so they can finally have someone seeking out their best interest. What this looks like to me is . . . WE WANT TO GET PAID! Well, then get to the NFL!
I know players generate millions of dollars for their universities, but I think they’ve got it pretty good and do not need a little “extra” on the side. This is always a hot topic and it mostly relates to the football players, but does anyone realize that the schools will have to also pay the track team, or the golf team, heck even the tennis team will start getting paid. This will destroy any small school trying to make its athletic budget, and any big school, such as Alabama, will just get stronger!
On a side note, Texas football wants to basically build a SUPER FOOTBALL FACILITY. I have to use all caps when describing it because once you read over what Texas wants to do, you will understand. Heck, they will have a helicopter landing pad on their new facility and even a fishing pond. So players complain about not being paid when in reality they have so much more available to them compared to the average college student. Get over yourself and enjoy the next couple years playing college football.
2) Notre Dame received some positive recruiting headlines this past week. Future NFL Hall-of Famer Randy Moss gave his endorsement – Notre Dame is still the place to be. Moss was interviewed about his recruiting experience and said if he had to go and do it all over again he would go to Notre Dame. Randy Moss reminded everyone that Notre Dame was where all the BEST athletes went and that college football went through South Bend.
To top it all off, Notre Dame finally approved a $400-million dollar stadium upgrade. They are hoping this finally helps bring their stadium up to level with all the other programs in the nation and gives them one more thing to show off to recruits. So Notre Dame is getting new uniforms, the stadium is changing, and former NFL players are “recruiting” for Notre Dame. Everyone talks about Notre Dame no matter what they do! You either love ’em or hate ’em!
3) Warren Sapp has never been afraid to speak his mind. That probably explains why he will always be in the headlines! Sapp played for the University of Miami during their glory days of the 1980s. He remembers when championships were just expected and Miami was the premier place to be for athletes all over the country. So, of course, he spent some time ripping on Miami’s coach Al Golden for wanting to leave for Penn State and spoke his mind about Miami’s defense being horrible under their defensive coordinator.
I think former players have every right to speak their minds about what is going on at their school. Even former NFL and Gator great, Jack Youngblood, spoke out against Urban Liar . . . I mean Meyer. Youngblood was upset about how Urban left the school only to return to coaching a few months later. It should make for an interesting off season with all of the “fun” conversation going on with former college athletes and the media.
Enjoy your Super Bowl weekend everyone and then we can get back to National Signing Day. Any predictions for the Super Bowl? This is probably the most torn I have ever been when deciding who I want to win. So many worthy players on both teams to win a ring. Should be a great one!
NATIONAL NEWS:
1. Mack Brown Day!
2. TCU attacked
3. College football mailbag
4. USC loses QB
5. SEC recruiting
Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF’s first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.