The random juke box continues the summer tour with my favorite from the great Alan Jackson. Yes, we’re leaving some of the 80s rock on the sidelines.
****
So I listened with great interest from Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby about the state of the conference and his presser.
Here were some of the bullet points:
>When it comes to expansion and the psychologically disadvantaged, Bowlsby said: "The majority of our chancellors/presidents agree 10 is the right number for us. We're not at critical mass for expansion.’’
But he also said that there were several unnamed schools in the conference that could be persuaded either way. He then went on to say that it’s in the league’s best interests to help keep the other FBS conferences (Example: The American) remain strong. That made me think that potential expansion candidates could come from those leagues.
>The Big 12 will now only allow full contact for players on two days a week, including game days. One fewer than the NCAA rule. I think it’s a really good rule because as you have seen with Baylor, the Bears are doing fewer and fewer contact days. Coaches are finding out by the year that having their players beat the stuffing out of each during the week does more to impair freshness than to augment it.
>League stadiums were at 95 percent capacity, which is better than most leagues. The problem is that high dollars are putting the squeeze on people. I think attendance will continue to suffer. That’s the elephant in the room for college football.
>Pop Warner and other developmental football programs are down by 15 percent in their participation numbers. That’s not surprising given the number of concussions and the media attention devoted toward it.
>The Big 12’s new slogan is: Every Game Matters. Well, now it does. That gives legitimacy to One True Champion. That still exists. I really don’t have a problem with, ‘One True Champion.’ The league just botched it when it came to 2014.
>By Aug. 1, 2016 -- Implementation for academic standards and eligibility standards. That mandates more core classes and a higher GPA. So that means the members of the Baylor 2016 class need to remain aware of this. We’ve talked about this before. But to remind you, student athletes have to have a minimum 2.3 GPA, must have taken 10 core courses prior to their seventh semester in high school. And seven of those 10 must be in English, math or science.
>Bowlsby doesn't believe the playoffs expanding beyond four teams will happen anytime soon.
Ok, so this was not really an earth shattering address. Bowlsby didn’t have anything to say like he did last year when he announced, “It pays to cheat.’’ Of course, he was using that platform to fuel the cost of attendance stipend. That’s beginning this year.
Sometimes, league addresses can be meh. But what I’m looking for in Bowlsby is someone who is a visionary and has a plan to take the conference forward into new directions. I don’t know if he is that kind of person who can really do it.
The issues with Baylor last year notwithstanding (Bowlsby saying he would have voted for TCU and then being booed at Baylor’s Big 12 trophy presentation), I’m close to saying that the Big 12 presidents and chancellors missed with this hiring. The problem I have is that I haven’t seen a proactive approach from Bowlsby on any platform. He’s too much of a reactionary. I don’t know if he’s fighting for the conference enough. I know he wants the conference to succeed. His reputation is at stake.
But when you looked at retiring SEC commissioner Mike Slive, he fueled the conference’s ascension to the No. 1 league in college athletics. PAC 12 commissioner Larry Scott has implemented a globalization of his conference with games being played oversees. The conference’s additions of Utah and Colorado have been negligible to this point. Big 10 commissioner Jim Delaney is pretty much gold in his spot because he was the first to begin these conference TV networks and then added replay to football games. ACC commissioner John Swofford saved the conference when Florida State’s departure was thwarted. He then added Louisville – a move that stung the Big 12.
In Bowlsby’s defense, he’s the second newest of the five commissioner because Greg Sankey is taking over for Slive in a couple of weeks. But I think it’s pretty important for Bowlsby to find his voice over the next couple of years and start pushing the agenda for the league. If that’s going to be in expansion, fine. If that’s going to be in a different way of taking the Big 12 brand globally, fine. If that’s going to be leading the charge to some issues that could impact the future of college sports, fine.
Right now, the only thing Bowlsby has on his ledger is adding an eighth official. It is an effective move because other conferences are going with that. However, it’s small on the grand scheme. The current TV contract was pretty much done by interim commissioner Chuck Neinas as well as the Grant of Rights. Bowlsby just happened to be in the chair when it was announced. I’m sure he had some tweaks to offer. However, this was pretty much done.
Maybe his agenda should push for expansion of the playoff system after this year. If the Big 12 gets shut out again, then Bowlsby really needs to spearhead the effort to get the CFP playoff committee and Bill Hancock into a hard timeline for when the playoff will expand to eight. There’s enough smart people in the game who have already looked at it and have some measures in place for when this can happen.
I’m not a big fan of Bowlsby. I need a more forceful leader. I need someone who can keep everybody on the same message (as hard as that is). I don’t need someone who has to go into defense when Oklahoma President David Boren is firing shots at the conference’s future. That doesn’t need to happen. The Big 12’s future isn’t currently in the jeopardy that others may believe it is. However, this conference can’t sit on idle either.
Remember when Neville Chamberlain announced ‘Peace in our Time.’
****
I don’t think I’ve encountered a week in Baylor recruiting where not only did Baylor reel in multiple talents but it also really went heavy with major names.
When I got word something was going down Saturday afternoon, my first thought was Marvin Wilson from Houston Episcopal. The No. 1 player in the 2017 Rivals100 just visited Baylor a couple of weeks ago and then was at the camp on Friday.
Now, he had said he wasn’t planning on making a decision. But you know recruiting has its own journey for each player.
When it came down that it was Kennedale linebacker and No. 90 prospect Baron Browning, I really wasn’t surprised. Now, others may have been. That includes outsiders from other schools who were throwing down their hot sports opinions.
(Remember Rule 45.678 of the Recruiting code states: When you’re upset that your school did not land a big-time recruit, it is OK to use any form of social media to immediately a) rip the school where he committed. b) Claim that he will not remain committed to that school before signing day because he’s eventually going to figure out he made a mistake and will find the clarity to pick your school. c) Pick your spots when ripping the recruit for making such an egregious error.
This is why twitter can be such a trainwreck. No one is happy about anything. And the use of this mechanism for mean and hateful purposes is just amateur.
A pretty good tool for information and other purposes can be ruined. I’m sure several of you saw those postings from fans of all schools who weren’t chosen going down that road. I get the disappointment. If Browning committed to Ohio St, it would hurt.
But getting back to Browning. From the time Baylor offered him in early June 2014, I really had this impression that this was a player the Bears could get. I thought the road would be harder when Ohio State, Alabama and others entered the race.
Yet when he and I would talk here and there about his relationship with Baylor or just about his 2014 football season, there just appeared to be a sincerity to everything he said. Now, I know why.
The euphoria is palpable. The reality is NSD 2017 is so far away to see the likes of Browning, Hezekiah Jones, Kedrick James, Kellen Mond, Donovan Stiner and Jhamon Ausbon. Obviously, the recruitment for these prospects will reach new twists and turns. We just have to see how it all unfolds.
What I can tell you is that the early 2016 commits like Zach Smith and Kameron Martin have stayed pretty tight. Obviously, you can counter with Tren Dickson. The advantage with five of these six commits (Stiner is just now starting to reach more circles) is that these are well known players. There hold a slew of offers. They are not under the radar like Dickson was.
****
Admittedly, when I talk to 2017 recruits, it’s pretty sobering. That’s the year my oldest graduates from high school. Geez. Oh, and she passed her driver’s test and is on the road. Doing pretty well so far. And my insurance premium didn’t take the hit that I thought it was.
*****
A quick thought about Thursday’s visits:
I know there are those hopeful for Southlake Carroll 2017 safety Robert Barnes visit to turn into a commit. The Alabama offer is always one that takes notice. The Texas offer will always have clout. But the Baylor offer continues to build its own.
This would be Barnes second visit. His first was June 7. One source told me about Barnes reaction to Baylor back then: “Sounds like the place to be.’’
With Stafford’s Jalen Pitre, he may follow suit. But this is going to be interesting because I don’t know if Baylor wants three committed safeties. That is unless Baylor has a different thought for either Stiner, Barnes or Pitre.
I don’t expect Tyrie Cleveland to commit. But it’s important that he is coming up for a visit. Devin Duvernay remains the No. 1 target. We’ll see how he responds to what he sees.
Oh, and on Anthony Hines visiting, he and Browning have talked about playing together in College. I know people like to look for clues. And this may be a big one. We'll just see what happens on Aug. 4.
****
Other thoughts
>Baylor will be at the Big 12 media days session on Tuesday. Art Briles will be joined by DE Shawn Oakman, DT Andrew Billings, WR Corey Coleman and OT Spencer Drango. Stephen Cook and I will be there and hope to provide interviews from the media breakout session in the afternoon.
>Has Tiger Woods just flat out lost it? When you miss the cut badly in consecutive majors like the U.S. Open and British Open, you can’t simply write it off as a slump. These problems are far deeper than that. He’s done far too much to his swing. He changes swing coaches like socks. And when you’re personal life is in chaos, it does impact you in your sport. I just don’t see him surpassing Jack Nicklaus.
>Big series win by the Astros over the Rangers this past weekend. They needed that from a psychological standpoint to feel good about making the push for the playoffs. I always believe the first 10 games of the second half of the baseball season really set the tone for those flirting with playoff berths. They are either discovered as contenders or pretenders.
>Baylor transfer guard Manu Lecomte led U20 Euro Championships with 19.6 ppg and helped Belgium to best ever 7th place game vs LTU. Again, the potential of the Belgian national team pursuing him for a professional career seems a bit much. He’s not a big guy. Maturity matters.
>Anyone see the video Sunday of three-time world surfing champion Mark Fanning being attacked by a shark at a competition off the coast of South Africa? Hard to believe he escaped unharmed. Manning told the World Surf League's official website: "I'm just tripping. ... To walk away from that, I'm just so stoked."
By the way, I’m a still a little stunned that Discovery’s Shark Week ran earlier than the usual. It was the week I was on vacation (still watched it). It’s usually the second week of August. But I found out that a quick weekend of Shark shows are running the last weekend of August.
They are truly a magnificent creature. JAWS changed the entire perception of them. I’m not going all environmental but I do believe their protection is necessary for the eco system.
Let’s make it a great week.
****
So I listened with great interest from Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby about the state of the conference and his presser.
Here were some of the bullet points:
>When it comes to expansion and the psychologically disadvantaged, Bowlsby said: "The majority of our chancellors/presidents agree 10 is the right number for us. We're not at critical mass for expansion.’’
But he also said that there were several unnamed schools in the conference that could be persuaded either way. He then went on to say that it’s in the league’s best interests to help keep the other FBS conferences (Example: The American) remain strong. That made me think that potential expansion candidates could come from those leagues.
>The Big 12 will now only allow full contact for players on two days a week, including game days. One fewer than the NCAA rule. I think it’s a really good rule because as you have seen with Baylor, the Bears are doing fewer and fewer contact days. Coaches are finding out by the year that having their players beat the stuffing out of each during the week does more to impair freshness than to augment it.
>League stadiums were at 95 percent capacity, which is better than most leagues. The problem is that high dollars are putting the squeeze on people. I think attendance will continue to suffer. That’s the elephant in the room for college football.
>Pop Warner and other developmental football programs are down by 15 percent in their participation numbers. That’s not surprising given the number of concussions and the media attention devoted toward it.
>The Big 12’s new slogan is: Every Game Matters. Well, now it does. That gives legitimacy to One True Champion. That still exists. I really don’t have a problem with, ‘One True Champion.’ The league just botched it when it came to 2014.
>By Aug. 1, 2016 -- Implementation for academic standards and eligibility standards. That mandates more core classes and a higher GPA. So that means the members of the Baylor 2016 class need to remain aware of this. We’ve talked about this before. But to remind you, student athletes have to have a minimum 2.3 GPA, must have taken 10 core courses prior to their seventh semester in high school. And seven of those 10 must be in English, math or science.
>Bowlsby doesn't believe the playoffs expanding beyond four teams will happen anytime soon.
Ok, so this was not really an earth shattering address. Bowlsby didn’t have anything to say like he did last year when he announced, “It pays to cheat.’’ Of course, he was using that platform to fuel the cost of attendance stipend. That’s beginning this year.
Sometimes, league addresses can be meh. But what I’m looking for in Bowlsby is someone who is a visionary and has a plan to take the conference forward into new directions. I don’t know if he is that kind of person who can really do it.
The issues with Baylor last year notwithstanding (Bowlsby saying he would have voted for TCU and then being booed at Baylor’s Big 12 trophy presentation), I’m close to saying that the Big 12 presidents and chancellors missed with this hiring. The problem I have is that I haven’t seen a proactive approach from Bowlsby on any platform. He’s too much of a reactionary. I don’t know if he’s fighting for the conference enough. I know he wants the conference to succeed. His reputation is at stake.
But when you looked at retiring SEC commissioner Mike Slive, he fueled the conference’s ascension to the No. 1 league in college athletics. PAC 12 commissioner Larry Scott has implemented a globalization of his conference with games being played oversees. The conference’s additions of Utah and Colorado have been negligible to this point. Big 10 commissioner Jim Delaney is pretty much gold in his spot because he was the first to begin these conference TV networks and then added replay to football games. ACC commissioner John Swofford saved the conference when Florida State’s departure was thwarted. He then added Louisville – a move that stung the Big 12.
In Bowlsby’s defense, he’s the second newest of the five commissioner because Greg Sankey is taking over for Slive in a couple of weeks. But I think it’s pretty important for Bowlsby to find his voice over the next couple of years and start pushing the agenda for the league. If that’s going to be in expansion, fine. If that’s going to be in a different way of taking the Big 12 brand globally, fine. If that’s going to be leading the charge to some issues that could impact the future of college sports, fine.
Right now, the only thing Bowlsby has on his ledger is adding an eighth official. It is an effective move because other conferences are going with that. However, it’s small on the grand scheme. The current TV contract was pretty much done by interim commissioner Chuck Neinas as well as the Grant of Rights. Bowlsby just happened to be in the chair when it was announced. I’m sure he had some tweaks to offer. However, this was pretty much done.
Maybe his agenda should push for expansion of the playoff system after this year. If the Big 12 gets shut out again, then Bowlsby really needs to spearhead the effort to get the CFP playoff committee and Bill Hancock into a hard timeline for when the playoff will expand to eight. There’s enough smart people in the game who have already looked at it and have some measures in place for when this can happen.
I’m not a big fan of Bowlsby. I need a more forceful leader. I need someone who can keep everybody on the same message (as hard as that is). I don’t need someone who has to go into defense when Oklahoma President David Boren is firing shots at the conference’s future. That doesn’t need to happen. The Big 12’s future isn’t currently in the jeopardy that others may believe it is. However, this conference can’t sit on idle either.
Remember when Neville Chamberlain announced ‘Peace in our Time.’
****
I don’t think I’ve encountered a week in Baylor recruiting where not only did Baylor reel in multiple talents but it also really went heavy with major names.
When I got word something was going down Saturday afternoon, my first thought was Marvin Wilson from Houston Episcopal. The No. 1 player in the 2017 Rivals100 just visited Baylor a couple of weeks ago and then was at the camp on Friday.
Now, he had said he wasn’t planning on making a decision. But you know recruiting has its own journey for each player.
When it came down that it was Kennedale linebacker and No. 90 prospect Baron Browning, I really wasn’t surprised. Now, others may have been. That includes outsiders from other schools who were throwing down their hot sports opinions.
(Remember Rule 45.678 of the Recruiting code states: When you’re upset that your school did not land a big-time recruit, it is OK to use any form of social media to immediately a) rip the school where he committed. b) Claim that he will not remain committed to that school before signing day because he’s eventually going to figure out he made a mistake and will find the clarity to pick your school. c) Pick your spots when ripping the recruit for making such an egregious error.
This is why twitter can be such a trainwreck. No one is happy about anything. And the use of this mechanism for mean and hateful purposes is just amateur.
A pretty good tool for information and other purposes can be ruined. I’m sure several of you saw those postings from fans of all schools who weren’t chosen going down that road. I get the disappointment. If Browning committed to Ohio St, it would hurt.
But getting back to Browning. From the time Baylor offered him in early June 2014, I really had this impression that this was a player the Bears could get. I thought the road would be harder when Ohio State, Alabama and others entered the race.
Yet when he and I would talk here and there about his relationship with Baylor or just about his 2014 football season, there just appeared to be a sincerity to everything he said. Now, I know why.
The euphoria is palpable. The reality is NSD 2017 is so far away to see the likes of Browning, Hezekiah Jones, Kedrick James, Kellen Mond, Donovan Stiner and Jhamon Ausbon. Obviously, the recruitment for these prospects will reach new twists and turns. We just have to see how it all unfolds.
What I can tell you is that the early 2016 commits like Zach Smith and Kameron Martin have stayed pretty tight. Obviously, you can counter with Tren Dickson. The advantage with five of these six commits (Stiner is just now starting to reach more circles) is that these are well known players. There hold a slew of offers. They are not under the radar like Dickson was.
****
Admittedly, when I talk to 2017 recruits, it’s pretty sobering. That’s the year my oldest graduates from high school. Geez. Oh, and she passed her driver’s test and is on the road. Doing pretty well so far. And my insurance premium didn’t take the hit that I thought it was.
*****
A quick thought about Thursday’s visits:
I know there are those hopeful for Southlake Carroll 2017 safety Robert Barnes visit to turn into a commit. The Alabama offer is always one that takes notice. The Texas offer will always have clout. But the Baylor offer continues to build its own.
This would be Barnes second visit. His first was June 7. One source told me about Barnes reaction to Baylor back then: “Sounds like the place to be.’’
With Stafford’s Jalen Pitre, he may follow suit. But this is going to be interesting because I don’t know if Baylor wants three committed safeties. That is unless Baylor has a different thought for either Stiner, Barnes or Pitre.
I don’t expect Tyrie Cleveland to commit. But it’s important that he is coming up for a visit. Devin Duvernay remains the No. 1 target. We’ll see how he responds to what he sees.
Oh, and on Anthony Hines visiting, he and Browning have talked about playing together in College. I know people like to look for clues. And this may be a big one. We'll just see what happens on Aug. 4.
****
Other thoughts
>Baylor will be at the Big 12 media days session on Tuesday. Art Briles will be joined by DE Shawn Oakman, DT Andrew Billings, WR Corey Coleman and OT Spencer Drango. Stephen Cook and I will be there and hope to provide interviews from the media breakout session in the afternoon.
>Has Tiger Woods just flat out lost it? When you miss the cut badly in consecutive majors like the U.S. Open and British Open, you can’t simply write it off as a slump. These problems are far deeper than that. He’s done far too much to his swing. He changes swing coaches like socks. And when you’re personal life is in chaos, it does impact you in your sport. I just don’t see him surpassing Jack Nicklaus.
>Big series win by the Astros over the Rangers this past weekend. They needed that from a psychological standpoint to feel good about making the push for the playoffs. I always believe the first 10 games of the second half of the baseball season really set the tone for those flirting with playoff berths. They are either discovered as contenders or pretenders.
>Baylor transfer guard Manu Lecomte led U20 Euro Championships with 19.6 ppg and helped Belgium to best ever 7th place game vs LTU. Again, the potential of the Belgian national team pursuing him for a professional career seems a bit much. He’s not a big guy. Maturity matters.
>Anyone see the video Sunday of three-time world surfing champion Mark Fanning being attacked by a shark at a competition off the coast of South Africa? Hard to believe he escaped unharmed. Manning told the World Surf League's official website: "I'm just tripping. ... To walk away from that, I'm just so stoked."
By the way, I’m a still a little stunned that Discovery’s Shark Week ran earlier than the usual. It was the week I was on vacation (still watched it). It’s usually the second week of August. But I found out that a quick weekend of Shark shows are running the last weekend of August.
They are truly a magnificent creature. JAWS changed the entire perception of them. I’m not going all environmental but I do believe their protection is necessary for the eco system.
Let’s make it a great week.
