Hell Hath No Fury like a Spano Spurned

The Oklahoman is reporting the Nebraska's newest signal caller, Kody Spano, perhaps could've matriculated at Oklahoma State this spring after all:

"The problem was Gundy was informed he might be two scholarships short for the spring semester due to the heavy influx of juco players and concerns two seniors on OSU's roster might not graduate in December as projected.

Gundy informed Kody Spano and Mesquite wide receiver Adrian Richards they might have to wait until June to report. Their scholarships weren't pulled. But they might have to wait.

Might is the operative word."

Amazing how hard it is to keep track of academic credits what with all the game-planning, rolling around in T. Boone's cash and man-being going on in Stillwater, but the two seniors in question did end up graduating. When it was all said and done, Spano would've had a scholarship waiting but it was too late. He was already gone.

Good for him. As a quarterback you've gotta make split-second decisions, adjust on the fly. Spano saw an opening and took off.

To Nebraska.

The best part is that Gundy, restricted by N.C.A.A. omerta, can't say a thing about it. I am confident, however, that at least the reporting is still considered garbage. Silently garbage.

I have no doubt that Charlie Weis will eat those words

Silly, silly us. After the topsiest-turviest college football season on record we thought super upsets by the likes of Appalachian State and Stanford represented the dawning of a new era in college football. NFL style parity with the intensity of a season long playoff (or beauty contest depending on your view of the BCS).

Turns out it was all a preamble as the best was yet to come. The true upset would be the delivery of Charlie's Angels, at least that's what Charlie Weis told Dan Wetzel.

"You want to talk about the upset of the year, all the upsets in college football this season?" Weis said. "This is the upset of the year. We're 3-9 and we land the top, or one of the top, recruiting classes in the country?"

No pressure 18-year-old guys, but I just used you as a defense for the worst season in the long history of Notre Dame football. We certainly wouldn't have lost that Navy streak if you had been here. My hands were tied, I tell you, my...hands...were...tied!

Finally, Notre Dame has some talent.

Contrast Weis' comments with those of Bo Pelini and I couldn't be happier with the coach that we have.

(HT: My brother for originally sending me this quote.)

Other assorted signing day thoughts...

--Speaking of Pelini's comments, this was really the second time Nebraskans got a chance to hear the new head man speak at length and his discomfort with the task is still evident.

Bo likes to talk a lot about "work"--is there a better way to win over jaded Nebraskans?--but the key is it feels genuine. Given the choice of talking about himself or his team or doing anything else football related there's never a doubt that Pelini would much rather be in the office.

I like that.

--Pelini declined to comment about individual players and I honestly haven't done the research necessary to contribute anything meaningful. (Signing Day is really just the go ahead to officially get excited about these guys for me.)

Jeff from Double Extra Point, however, has. The first part of his Signing Day overview is here and the rest of the trilogy promise to be rivaled only by Leone's Dollars set and the first three Mario games.

Kendal Thompkins doesn't like us (me)

In perhaps the biggest signing day mystery for Nebraska, Miami wide receive Kendall Thompkins has decided to stay put and join The (FL).

A couple of noteworthy statistics that I feel should be relevant for any potential wide receiver:

2007 Passing Yards
The (FL): 2034, 103rd in the country
The N: 3886, 8th in the country

2007 Passing Yards/Game
The (FL): 169.5, 103rd in the country
The N: 323.8, 8th in the country

2007 Passing Attempts/Game
The (FL): 25.1
The N: 40.1

2007 Passing TDs
The (FL): 16
The N: 31

Nebraska's signed five WR recruits of their own, but only Khiry Cooper and Antonio Bell outpace Thompkins in star count. Meanwhile, Thompkins commitment gives Miami seven recruits listed as a WR according to Scout.com, all of whom, other than Thompkins, are listed as three-star or better.

That's a lot of presumably talented guys to whom Miami won't be throwing.

Wednesday Wishes

Enjoy Wednesday sports fans. It's national signing day and national pride day (via U.S. Soccer tackling Mexico in Houston.) After that it's a long hard road out of February and into March Madness.

As much as I'm looking forward to it, I do have a couple of ideas that could make a spectacular sports day even better:

1) National Signing Day participation - As fans of a college football program we have a lot invested in National Signing Day. Lot of dollars, lot of man hours, lot of needless fretting. At best, I know next to nothing about most of these kids. If I'm lucky I've seen a shoddy YouTube highlight tape set to an even worse hip-hop soundtrack. If I'm unlucky I've seen a 40 time and an arbitrary star ranking, neither of which are nearly as good an indication of future success as many would like to believe.

The point is, however, that when a player chooses Nebraska he chooses me. His talent is validated by wanting to play for my team and I am validated by him wanting to play for my team and, indirectly, me. I helped get that kid here by contributing to the greater whole of Nebraska football. That's honestly the only way I can rationalize all the interest in recruiting.

Operating under the assumption that I am at least partially responsible for any player who signs with Nebraska, I'm left a little dismayed with the set up for tomorrow. Letters of intent can start rolling in as early as 7am EDT which means I've got a full day of website checking on tap for tomorrow. But why does it have to be that way? Why can't I get the letters of intent sent directly to my inbox and enjoy the fruits of our labor along with the coaching staff?

I'd be more than happy to pay for this service, $10 or $20 seems fair, and I know there has to be an intern or some lackey in the athletic department who could quickly scan the LOIs and send out mass emails to the thousands of people who've paid for the service.

Imagine sitting at work Wednesday and getting instant alerts rather than constantly refreshing your website of choice. Look at that! Sam McGuffie decommitted from Michigan to attend Nebraska. Amazing. Wait, I just got another email, Terrelle Pryor wants to play for Bo too? I can't believe it. Oh, here's Baker's letter. Way to stay the course.

I'm telling you, it's a cash cow.

2. A True Border War

Despite their recent success, the US cannot beat Mexico on its own turf which might ground this idea before it even gets a test flight but I'll give it hell anyway.

The last friendly between the US and Mexico took place in Arizona. While technically a home game for the US it was hardly a home crowd and the match got pretty chippy towards the end. It's doubtful that Houston, with its proximity to Mexico and...well...Texas, will be much different. Expect a hostile crowd and a fair amount of cards. That's just the way things work when the neighbors get together on the pitch.

But if the US is going to play home games away from home why not take it the logical next step? I'm talking about the ultimate soccer facility in the western hemisphere. Maybe it's in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo or El Paso/Juarez, the location isn't really important, but what is important is that the field is exactly half US territory half Mexican territory. The Rio Grande marks the center line.

Think about it, we could stage (at least half of) the first ever self-contained, truly international soccer match. There would be American beer and food on one half of the stadium and Mexican food and beer on the other. Each side would be responsible for the upkeep and ultimate condition of only their half of the stadium. The fans would be separated by a simple chain link fence sort of like the jail scene in Colors.

Really, what could go wrong? I love American soccer because it's a rare chance to partake in world politics through sport with none of the repercussions but what's been missing thus far is some real No Country for Old Men level violence.

I think this idea solves that problem.

The Much Talked About RECRUITING WEEKEND

Nebraska didn't get anybody.

At least not yet but maybe today, maybe tomorrow, and maybe that's a good sign considering the current strength of a verbal commitment against the letter of intent. The Friday Night Lights fan in me was really hoping to see eight or nine recruits commit right there at mid-court of the Devaney Center during halftime of the KU-NU game on Saturday. That woulda put'em in the aisles.

That didn't happen either, but that's okay. The earlier they commit the more time they have to decommit is what I now say.

Perhaps the more interesting news on the recruiting front was the curious case of Zach Domicone.

On Friday, Nebraska offered the QB/DB out of Beavercreek, Ohio a scholarship. Based on this article, Nebraska was the first Division I school in the mix and that's not something that happens too often at Beavercreek High. Said Domicone:

"I think I called or texted everyone on the call list on my cell within a minute after coach told me Nebraska was offering me a (college football) scholarship. I'm not sure who was more excited, me or coach."

The excitement didn't last very long. Before the day was even over, Domicone had committed to Oklahoma and ultimately Ohio State, but neither school seemed interested in the kid until Nebraska offered.

That's the good news because it is precisely that sort of recruiting and talent evaluation where I think Nebraska can succeed, especially in the immediate future. Give us your undersized, your overlooked, your three-starred masses longing to improve.

Pelini and his staff didn't get that guy this time but they did force the hand of a few teams higher on the current recruiting totem pole and I don't think you can be disappointed by that.

Give Carl Pelini--the former Ohio U. coach who reportedly started the dominoes falling--his first gold star.

Affraid of Commitment

Dearest Simi,

It's a shame I never got to meet you, Simi Kuli. A few months ago in a period of vast darkness in Husker Nation, you provided a little bit of light. When the going got tough Blaine Gabbert (& Co.) left us for the front-running Missouri Tigers, but that's when you stepped in and said you wanted us more than anyone else.

When we were all trying to divine the fate of Bill Callahan and searching for clues as to who his successor would be, you seemed like a Pelini guy. After all, you'd flirted with LSU and then chose us. You were going to be our Glen Dorsey, but better. Ten times better. You were coming to Nebraska to play for the guy who could make you the junkyard doggiest DE you could be.

Now you're not coming and I'm not so sure you would've started anyway. Your coach even told us a month ago, "Everyone thinks he's going to decommit. It's just not going to happen." What about that? You can't just say these things. Words still have meaning, don't they?

Missing you already,

HiPlainsDrifter

I can't continue like this. As I've discussed numerous times before, I hold as dim a view of recruiting as anyone. The sites, the rankings, the rules in place, they're all crap and I do my best to ignore the whole thing. Still, when you tell me about man-crushing linebackers and fleet-footed receivers, I get excited. When they ultimately renege on their commitments I feel spurned at first, angry later.

I am not proud of this but I can't deny it either. It's all true. When you leave Nebraska you leave me and even Scarlett Johanssen can look pretty ugly after she's broken your heart.

That said, this is to be expected. The surprising thing is not that Blaine Gabbert BFF, Will Compton, decommitted, it's that he didn't decommit until yesterday. (I'm certain the two have discussed this via text message. LOL. TTYL.) We had hoped that Bo Pelini could come in and save a few of these guys, but that hasn't been the case thus far.

The one big knock against Bo was he's not a great recruiter but I'm not quite ready to jump to that conclusion yet. It's probably not even the loss of Callahan that's the heart of the problem, it's losing. Nebraska isn't the flavor of the month right now. They stunk. Where is Will Compton looking? Two current hotshots in Illinois and Missouri.

At least that's what I'll tell myself because I can't explain why guys are picking CU over NU. It's almost too much to comprehend at the moment. This is the Christmas season, a time for unrepentant joy and unabashed consumerism.

But now I even look at my tree with a great deal of skepticism. It already has a good number of gifts beneath it, but I fully believe they're going to take ALL of their visits.

I'm not taking anything for granted until Boxing Day.