Haven't discussed football recruiting in a while, largely because absolutely nothing has happened other than QB target Zach Frazer commiting to Notre Dame. I'll probably update the board in a few days with some guys who have emerged as targets and remove some of the more speculative "well, this guy might be interested" names I had up earlier.

There's a scout.com interview with Tim Tebow up, if you're interested. Tebow is either the #1 or #2 quarterback in the country and appears ticketed for Florida, but Michigan is in the chasing group with FSU, Miami, Georgia and Nebraska(?).

Michigan's summer camp will be the next big football event of the year. Usually there are at least a couple commits from the camp and this year it's looking like there could be several--many of Michigan's prime targets this year want to decide on a school before September. Last year Michigan picked up commits from Mister Simpson and Zoltan the Inconceivable.

I didn't think it could be done, but they did it. There's now a fifth BCS game a week after the existing ones at one of the four sites. Does it match two of the four BCS bowl winners in a playoff-ish game? No. It's just the national championship game, like it was this year, except on something like January 8th. Two more teams will be BCS teams.

The "formula" is going to remain the same except the AP poll (which withdrew from the process and will crown its own champion) will be replaced with an as-yet-to-be-determined new poll. Auburn fans everywhere have died in vain.

What's so bad about a single added game? This is the same organization that stridently opposes a playoff on the grounds that it will compromise athletes' ability to keep up academically. mgoblog (and most people who are paying attention) call shenanigans. Shenanigans! The college hockey season lasts from October until March and even April for teams who make the Frozen Four, a full two months longer than the football season. I don't have any numbers in front of me at the moment, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that hockey players graduate more frequently than football players. Can we dispense with the obviously untrue, patronizing "it's for the children!" excuse for the bowl system?

There's one good reason to oppose a playoff: the Rose Bowl. That's it. The tradition and oft-referenced pagentry of college football make it what it is, and the Rose Bowl is the regal center of the whole enterprise. There's definitely an argument to be had about the pros and cons of a playoff, but let's be serious here: nothing on the pro or con side has anything to do with a few teams playing for an extra week or two. These kids are already majoring in football.

And it all started with googling "Jason Avant." I ended up here:

That's Lamarr Woodley as a high school senior. Yes, he's eating a football.

Also, check the column headline from this edition of the Daily immediately following the UM-MSU basketball game that UM actually won:

Yeesh. (I grabbed both these photos from www.molophoto.com... dude used to work for the Daily. Hire him, so he doesn't sue me.)

Then there's this:

Uh. No comment on that one. It exists. That is enough. Also, did you know that the Purdue student newspaper is actually called the Exponent? I shi'ite you not. I feel much more secure in my belief that I am nowhere near the dorkiest person in a three state radius.

What does any of this have to do with Jason Avant? Very little. Also, mgoblog showed up on page 29. I find this disappointing, both in that I got to page 29 and that I didn't find me before then. Goal for football season... page 20!

Jim Carty managed to write something that didn't call out Lloyd Carr. Ernest Shazor calls himself "the best safety in the country" in the Detroit News (except for that one dude from Albany... he's good!).

This Cleveland Plain-Dealer article features this bizarre passage: "By the time Edwards was 12, Stan knew he'd play in the NFL. Instead of fighting it, he joined him." Um... I don't think many parents who 'know' their kid will play in the NFL freak out and say "oh no! He's going to buy us Bentleys! Quick, break his legs!" It also says this: "[Edwards] also aspires to be a model." I need that {whoah} emoticon from the RCMB.

Found it!

This article from Indianapolis... well, I excerpt:

[Jackson is] the first cornerback taken by the Colts in the first round since 1984 when they used the first pick in their Indy era, No. 8 overall, on Vanderbilt's Leonard Coleman. Ironically, the only other time the team used the draft's 29th overall pick, in 1992, it also opted for a corner -- Mississippi Valley State's Ashley Ambrose.

Don't those two sentences directly contradict each other? Am I crazy? I had to read that paragraph three times... thanks for nothing, Indianapolis Star!

Update: I am crazy. In 1992 the 29th pick was a second-rounder. That's still confusing as hell.

Update II: This AA News article has more on Shazor and notes that he's signed with Arizona. It also mentions that Markus Curry signed with the Chargers and Roy Manning signed with Green Bay.