Tag: Evergreen

Examining college football’s VIP-statuses

Who are college football’s 15 VIP programs?

The international sports world was shaken upside down as recently as the creation of the “Super League” in soccer means that 12 of the most popular teams in the world are starting their own league and essentially forgetting about everything else.

The good for them means that the rich essentially get richer because the TV deal would be massive, but for the good of the sport, it’s hard to see the positives.

What if college football were to do something similar?

Who would make the cut and who would be playing a lower level of college football?

Andy Staples of The Athletic put together his list of 15 programs that would be included in this make-believe land of college football’s elite programs, but he also offered that location would have to be taken into account for the good of the game and league.

With the cutoff being set at 15 in this case there are plenty of obvious programs.

Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas, and USC are all obvious choices to me and all require no further discussion.

The final five spots aren’t nearly as easy for me to hand to who Staples awarded them to, not to say he’s wrong, but they’re clearly the ones up for debate.

Rams coach Sean McVay, Falcons thought 49ers might have traded up for TE Kyle Pitts

Sean McVay said he thought the 49ers made their trade up in the draft for Kyle Pitts if it wasn’t for Mac Jones.

The 49ers were all but guaranteed to pick a quarterback when they moved three first-round picks and a third-round choice to move up from No. 12 to No. 3 in this year’s draft. While the public debate raged over which signal caller San Francisco would take, Rams head coach Sean McVay and the Atlanta Falcons thought they might go another direction.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined the podcast Flying Coach with McVay and Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager. While discussing the draft and the pre-draft Mac Jones hype, McVay revealed that he never considered Trey Lance as an option because he hadn’t studied him much. Instead, he thought the 49ers may pass on Jones to go with Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.

“I thought there was a possibility that Kyle was gonna go Pitts at three,” McVay said. “Because he’s such a visionary. I’m telling you I didn’t think it was gonna be a crazy thought because you go back to when New England had the two tight end set and they were doing things totally different. You think about what Kittle, and then the thing that makes sense is – Jimmy’s produced all the way. This isn’t a production thing, this is an availability thing.”

That final point by McVay is why the thought isn’t totally outlandish. The 49ers have made it clear Garoppolo’s play is less of a problem than the injuries that’ve sidelined him for 23 of his last 48 games with the team. Keeping him and adding another weapon like Pitts, a 6-6, 245 pound, hyper-athletic, pass-catching savant.

Pairing Pitts with George Kittle in an extremely effective rushing offense that also features wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk would push the 49ers’ offense to a potentially unstoppable level if they have a capable starting signal caller.

Ultimately Garoppolo’s shoddy availability led the 49ers to go with Lance, but while the public debated Jones, Lance and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, the Falcons were internally worried Pitts wouldn’t be there for them with the fourth pick according to Schrager.

“The number four pick was Atlanta. I could tell you from sources there, until the pick was in, they thought there was a chance that San Francisco was picking Kyle Pitts too,” Schrager said.

Pitts’ stellar numbers over his sophomore and junior seasons warranted a high first-round selection. His pre-draft workouts that matched all of his tape helped elevate him to top-five consideration. He hauled in 97 balls for 1,419 yards and 17 touchdowns in his final 21 college games.

It would’ve been a fascinating pick had McVay’s guess on the selection been right. The 49ers though needed to find a franchise quarterback they’re confident they can rely on, which is why they went with Lance. If Pitts turns into the superstar he’s projected to be, it’ll always be an interesting ‘what-if’ about what he’d look like in Shanahan’s offense.

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Jerry Rice thinks he’d double his numbers in today’s NFL

The NFL is less physical than it was when Jerry Rice played, and the 49ers Hall of Famer thinks his stats would explode if he played now.

How good would Jerry Rice be if he entered the league now? The Hall of Famer estimates he’d be roughly twice as good in the modern, offense-friendly, pass-happy NFL.

Rice joined NBC Sports’ Brother From Another at the American Century Championship golf tournament in Tahoe and talked about how he’d fare in today’s game. The NFL’s greatest receiver said his numbers would skyrocket thanks to a dip in physicality.

“First of all, the game really favors the wide receiver now, because you can’t put your hands on him,” Rice told Michael Smith and Michael Holley. “Linebackers can’t take shots at you coming across the middle anymore. It’s kind of hard because it’s hypothetical, I probably might be able to like double everything.”

Rice is already leaps and bounds ahead of every other player in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and it’s less than a reach to assume he’d amass even greater numbers if he stepped into this version of pro football.

Doubling his numbers seems perhaps a little farfetched, but it got us wondering what that would look like.

Here are his real numbers:

Receptions: 1,549
Receiving yards: 22,895
Receiving touchdowns: 197

Here’s what those numbers look like doubled:

Receptions: 3,098
Receiving yards: 45,790
Receiving touchdowns: 394

His career totals are already comical. Doubling them puts them in a realm somewhere north of absurdity.

For context, Rice played 303 games and averaged 5.1 receptions for 75.6 yards and 0.65 touchdowns per contest. Those are incredible numbers over a 20-year span.

Doubling them across a 20-year sample shines a light on just how insanely productive a player would have to be to reach those totals.

Rice would need to average 10.2 catches, 151.1 yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game. Last year Packers WR Davante Adams was the NFL’s leader with 8.2 catches per game. He also led the league in yards per game at 98.1, and he averaged 1.3 touchdowns per game with 18 in 14 contests. Rice would need to blow him away in the first two categories on average for two decades.

While all of those numbers put Rice’s ambitious hypothetical goals into their nigh impossible perspective, it’s hard to put anything past him considering the numbers he amassed during a much more physical, run-heavy era of NFL football. He’d surely be more productive than he is now, but even doubling his numbers might be a stretch for the GOAT.

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Local radio host compares Bryan Harsin to a Marvel character

A local Auburn radio host compared Bryan Harsin to a well-known Marvel character.

Bryan Harsin was brought to The Plains to be a hero for the Auburn fanbase and discussions happened this week on the local Auburn radio airwaves on which hero he could be compared to at this point of his career.

The local Auburn radio show, On The Line, dove into which SEC coaches could be compared to Avengers characters from the Marvel movies.

The show’s host, Noah Gardner, went through several popular main characters throughout the Marvel movies before he got to the Avenger that he compared Auburn’s new head coach to. That character was Ant-Man.

“For Ant-Man, I’m going to go with Bryan Harsin here,” Gardner said. “When he was at Boise State, at times Boise would be small and out of the limelight, and at other times Boise State could be viewed as a bigger program like Ant-Man can be small or large. He was all by himself in Idaho which is similar to how Ant-Man was just an offshoot character in the Marvel universe. He had a couple of movies but he didn’t actually connect into the main storyline in any way until late.”

Gardner also pointed out that Ant-Man was the key character to get everyone back together to fight Thanos again. 

For what it’s worth, Gardner compared Nick Saban to Thanos.

On The Line can be heard weekday afternoons from 2 pm-4 pm CST on ESPN 106.7 and Fox Sports Central Alabama. 

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Ohio State football’s top 20 rushers in school history

Ohio State has had some iconic running backs in the history of the program. Here are the top 20 rushing leaders of all time.

Before the advent of the spread offense and slinging the ball all over the yard, it used to be the Cadillac position at Ohio State. Running back was what the program on the banks of the Olentangy was known for before the recent run of freakish quarterbacks and wide receivers have come through the program. From Archie Griffin to Keith Byars, to Eddie George and Ezekiel Elliott, and more, the program has had some iconic players toting the rock.

But who are the top rushers in the OSU’s illustrious history? You know doubt know some of the names on the list, but we’re bringing you the top 20 Ohio State rushing leaders of all-time so that you can impress your friends at the next get-together this fall when the Buckeyes are dismantling another Big Ten opponent. And yeah, not all of them are running backs.

Here are the top 20 rushing leaders in Ohio State football history counting down to No. 1.

Ohio State football’s top 20 rushers in school history

Ohio State has had some iconic running backs in the history of the program. Here are the top 20 rushing leaders of all time.

Before the advent of the spread offense and slinging the ball all over the yard, running back used to be the Cadillac position at Ohio State. The position is what the program on the banks of the Olentangy was known for before the recent run of freakish quarterbacks and wide receivers. From Archie Griffin to Keith Byars, to Eddie George and Ezekiel Elliott, and more, the program has had some iconic players toting the rock.

But who are the top rushers in the OSU’s illustrious history? You know doubt know some of the names on the list, but we’re bringing you the top 20 Ohio State rushing leaders of all-time so that you can impress your friends at the next get-together this fall when the Buckeyes are dismantling another Big Ten opponent. And, yeah, not all of them are running backs.

Here are the top 20 rushing leaders in Ohio State football history counting down to No. 1.

Joe Staley: ‘Kyle’s trying to get me up there to work on his staff’

Joe Staley could eventually join the San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff, but it won’t happen soon.

Former 49ers left tackle Joe Staley didn’t go far from the organization after his retirement following the 2019 season. He was still visible on social media and in interviews, and it was clear Staley had a place with the organization whenever he wanted it. The long-time left tackle revealed on 95.7 the Game in San Francisco that head coach Kyle Shanahan is angling to get Staley on the coaching staff.

In an interview with the Morning Roast, Staley said despite Shanahan’s efforts, he’s not quite ready to join the coaching ranks after a 13-year NFL career.

“I know Kyle’s trying to get me up there to work on his staff, but I’m not ready to do the coaching thing yet,” Staley said. “I’m really honestly just enjoying the time that I have with my family right now. I have two young girls, seven and four, and we’re enjoying spending a ton of time together. I’m catching up on all the time I missed while playing football and I’m not in a huge hurry to get back into something.”

The 49ers drafted Staley in the first round in 2007, and he was a mainstay on their offensive line for 13 years. Shanahan coached him for three seasons, and the fact he’s already trying to get Staley on his staff speaks volumes about the impact the left tackle has.

Coaching requires perhaps a larger commitment than playing, so committing to such an undertaking would certainly require him to spend even more time away from his family. A different role may better suit Staley for the time being if he does want to get back into the game without becoming a coach.

The team could benefit from having him around, and he has the cachet to keep that door open for as long as he’s even remotely interested in possibly rejoining the organization.

PHOTO QUIZ: Do you remember these Nets of yesteryear?

Nets Wire presents a throwback trivia quiz featuring player photos from the 1990s and 2000s New Jersey Nets.

Is past mere prologue?

Perhaps that could be said of the New Jersey Nets, who toiled west of the Hudson for 35 seasons before setting up shop in Brooklyn in 2012.

But those Nets of yesteryear and the history they recorded in the Garden State shouldn’t be forgotten — even if they did almost change their name to the Swamp Dragons back in the day.

So let’s celebrate the teams guided by coaches Bill Fitch, Chuck Daly, Butch Beard, John Calipari, Don Casey and Byron Scott from the 1990s and 2000s.

With all that in mind, Nets Wire presents a throwback trivia quiz. See if you can identify the players pictured below.

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Former Georgia CB Eric Stokes gives grandma new home

Former Georgia Bulldogs cornerback and Green Bay Packers 2021 first-round draft pick Eric Stokes has bought his grandma a house

Former Georgia Bulldogs cornerback and Green Bay Packers 2021 first-round draft pick Eric Stokes has bought his grandma a house. Stokes came through on his promise to get his grandma a home.

Eric Stokes shared a video of his emotional surprise to his grandma via his Instagram account:

You always love to see a great story like this.

Eric Stokes became a first-round pick, All-American, All-SEC cornerback after being ranked as a three-star running back recruit out of Covington, Georgia. Stokes had humble beginnings, but now he’s giving his grandma her dream house.

Stokes captioned his video on Instagram: “Since I’ve been 14 years old I promised my grandma id get her out of the projects, where she’s lived for over 30 years, and into her dream home. Words can’t describe how good it feels to finally check this off the list!! Forever luv grandma”

Eric Stokes was selected with the No. 29 pick in the 2021 NFL draft. His four-year rookie contract is reportedly worth almost $12 million guaranteed.

Stokes is a great player and person to represent the “G” in college and in the NFL.

May 14, 2021; Defensive backs Eric Stokes (21) and Shemar Jean-Charles are shown during the first day of Green Bay Packers rookie minicamp Friday, May 14, 2021 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Mark Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

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Ranking the NFC South’s top DTs: Where do Derrick Brown and DaQuan Jones fit?

We know Derrick Brown is already good enough to crack the list. But do the Carolina Panthers have another defensive tackle worthy of a mention?

At a different moment in time, Carolina Panthers fans would’ve seen the title of these rankings and said “Bring on the hog mollies!” But alas, that term is just about extinct in these parts.

That doesn’t mean we can’t dive into the division’s very best big boys with the same gusto former general manager Dave Gettleman had in collecting them. So, who’s here to represent these Panthers?

Well, we already know there’s one of them afoot. (I mean, he’s featured in the damn picture.) But, will Derrick Brown be joined by any of his Carolina teammates? Let’s get to it.