2012-2013 NCAA Football Thread (National Signing Day)

[Fight4RGIII]

Weed is fun and all but if I was a top football player and the big man on campus, I'd be so far away from it.

[Spartacus87]

i mean he was a playmaker no doubt. he had a nose for the ball. but as a corner he was very suspect and was exposed in the BCSNCG. exposed by a true sophmore w/ no real weapons at WR. He's too small to play corner. He was a spectacular player on teams.... but think about that. a special team player gets a nickname that goes viral and is a heisman finalist? I'd say that's over rated. not even devin hester is in the conversation for league MVP.

I think to call he just a special teams player is underratting him big time. Outside of the National Championship game, when did he have a bad game in coverage?

I'm in the middle of these two opinions on Mathieu.

He was an average corner, he just became overexposed very quickly due to playing for LSU and having a catchy nickname taken from a popular viral Youtube video. He wasn't just a "special teams player" but he certainly wasn't a legitimate Heisman finalist either.

If he had stuck around for another couple of years at LSU, it's not out of the question that he would've ended up behind Jalen Collins on the depth chart anyway. Mathieu does have some good instincts, but he's also only about 5'9'' (probably an inch or two shorter, since that's his "listed" height) and weighs about 175 soaking wet. It's a lot harder to make up for taking risks in coverage the way Mathieu does when you're that small, which is why Alabama came out in the BCS Championship game with an offensive gameplan that in part, looked to take advantage of Mathieu's aggressiveness and lack of size.

I thought Mathieu was basically the SEC's Greg Reid - it's interesting that both guys just got kicked off of their respective teams for their final drug policy strikes.

---------- Post added August-10th-2012 at 03:57 PM ----------

Weed is fun and all but if I was a top football player and the big man on campus, I'd be so far away from it.

Well, you probably come from a better home life and social background than a lot of these kids, and as a result, you probably wouldn't have your friends from home coming up to visit you while acting as bad influences.

Kids like Greg Reid, Isaiah Crowell, Tyron Mathieu, etc., find themselves in situations like this because they don't realize the importance of cutting themselves off completely from the people they left behind when they went to college. Playing for a major football program could be the ticket out, either through becoming a pro in the NFL or using the scholarship to get an education and move on, but if the personal support system isn't in place for them, and they don't let go of their home life, it just takes a few bad choices to see it all end.

That was a major reason why Deion Sanders didn't want Noel Devine to go to FSU - he didn't want Devine staying associated with his crew back in Ft. Myers, to avoid situations like this.

[JMURedskins]

I definitely agree he was overhyped, but he did force around 11 fumbles over 2 years. He seemed to make the big play everytime LSU needed it.

[ixcuincle]

[Spartacus87]

I thought Mathieu was basically the SEC's Greg Reid - it's interesting that both guys just got kicked off of their respective teams for their final drug policy strikes.

I made this comment earlier, and a few hours later, I saw the following information on Twitter: Phil Steele's preseason All-American list actually had Tyrann as the #1 projected punt returner, with Greg Reid as the #2.

http://blog.philsteele.com/2012/05/2...american-team/

That now leaves Jamal Miles, from Arizona State, as the new #1 projected punt returner in the nation, by Phil Steele's estimate. Ridiculous.

[stevemcqueen1]

Lane Kiffin is the biggest scumbag in the history of football.

[Bostic Hog]

Have you seen VT's "White Out" helmet? OMG!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-...11--ncaaf.html

[Fight4RGIII]

[pjfootballer]

I'm kind of sick of all these weird ass helmets. I'm a traditionalist, so I like seeing the teams in their regular gear. As a MD fan, I cannot begin to describe how I feel about the mess they brought out last year. Turrible, just Turrible. I know some of it is for charity to be auctioned off, but it's been too rampant lately.

[ixcuincle]

I agree, the helmets are all crap. Should just keep tradition helmets. Could you ever imagine if Alabama quit using their traditional helmets with the numbers on the side?

And NCAA Football '13, while rife with controller issues, is a pretty damn good game. Love messing with conference realignment. Moved Pitt and Syracuse where they belong

[ixcuincle]

http://twitter.com/thekeyplay/status...49911647862785

In contrast to the Hokie tracks helmet, the Military Appreciation Day uniforms are awesome. pic.twitter.com/mDsfTRXH (via @VTFBEquipment)

They are slightly better...but I am adamant in my beliefs that teams should keep the same old uniforms. I strongly dislike the "Nike" trend in college football. It's become more about HEY WHAT CRAAAAZY UNIFORM ARE WE GOING TO UNVEIL NOW FOR ATTENTION instead of "Shut up, and play the game." I don't think they'll draw recruits, I never brought that excuse. I'm sick and tired of gimmick uniforms.

[earl]

I don't think recruits go to a school because of new uniforms. But i do believe that those cusp players the 3*'s and some 4*'s and below do want to go to a school w/ some noteriety. Whether it be a blue field, an ex NFL coach or those fancy new uniforms. They want that exposure. Now 5* recruits that can go anywhere probably don't care in the slightest. As well as schools w/ rich traditions and football cultures gain nothing from the new uniform marketing. Everyone already knows what they are about. So i think for upstart schools and places where they are trying to reinvent themselves new uniforms does serve a purpose.

new uni's at MD post Fridge= good idea
new uni's at VT= wasted effort

[Elessar78]

I don't think recruits go to a school because of new uniforms. But i do believe that those cusp players the 3*'s and some 4*'s and below do want to go to a school w/ some noteriety. Whether it be a blue field, an ex NFL coach or those fancy new uniforms. They want that exposure. Now 5* recruits that can go anywhere probably don't care in the slightest. As well as schools w/ rich traditions and football cultures gain nothing from the new uniform marketing. Everyone already knows what they are about. So i think for upstart schools and places where they are trying to reinvent themselves new uniforms does serve a purpose.

new uni's at MD post Fridge= good idea
new uni's at VT= wasted effort

There was an article last year or so that said that the quality of Oregon's recruiting over the past decade is up in large part due to their uniforms. Football athletes can be very shallow. YOU guys are traditionalists. 17-18 year olds rarely are.

[ixcuincle]

There was an article last year or so that said that the quality of Oregon's recruiting over the past decade is up in large part due to their uniforms. Football athletes can be very shallow. YOU guys are traditionalists. 17-18 year olds rarely are.

Would you feel the same if PSU got rid of their single color unis and had some modernized tricked-out uniform? I like the white helmet.

[Elessar78]

Would you feel the same if PSU got rid of their single color unis and had some modernized tricked-out uniform? I like the white helmet.

Well, as soon as the scandal got into full swing, I predicted that PSU would have names on their unis and pro-combat gear in the not distant future. With full honestly, I didn't really see a problem with having a special uniform for certain games in the past. A team can certainly have their traditional gear and pepper in some new once in a while. The problem is when you don't have an identity. NOt an issue for a school like Oregon that didn't have much profile in decades past, so their "identity" is the constantly shifting, trendy, gaudy uniforms. My problem with UMD's roll out was that they didn't seem to have thought behind it. They even switched, correct me if I'm wrong, after warm ups or at half time? There was just too many.