Reddit Post About OSU Oversigning

Submitted by Bambi on

For any of you who don't use reddit, or specifically the college football subreddit r/CFB, an Alabama fan just posted a semi in-depth thread about why OSU has been one of college football's "premier oversigners."

I know Brian recently posted about why it's not a big deal, but I still thought it was an interesting read.

Link.

reshp1

February 12th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^

By the letter of the law, yes, but what matters is how you get down to the limit. If you have guys you've talked with in private and that don't figure to return, that's one thing. If you have guys that are getting pushed out or medicaled on trumped up injuries, that's another. I think the reason Brian said what ohio is doing isn't a big deal is because the guys that got medicals actually did have legitimate injuries.

Maison Bleue

February 12th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^

I completely agree, but aren't we just assuming that Meyer hasn't had these types of private conversations? That argument goes both ways.

Don't get me wrong, I think Meyer is a slimeball as much as anyone else here does. The shadiest thing to me is that OSU, based on scholly numbers, will have a higher attrition rate than UM in a year they won a NC and UM had a coaching change. But nobody here knows if he has had guys tell him they aren't returning for their fifth year or not.

GoWings2008

February 12th, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^

but I find this comment to be particularly interesting, coming from an Alabama fan:  "...a team like Alabama will typically lose seven to eleven players with remaining eligibility every year to fit their signing class."

Read to say, "....CUT seven to eleven players..."

Scarlatina

February 12th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^

The 12 players that are mentioned to have given "medicial hardships" during Urban's tenure are:

While the reddit post made a lto of valid point, it did fail to address how Urban's transition class in 2012 was decimated by transfers/injuries:

  • DE'VAN BOGARD - see above
  • JOEY O'CONNOR - TRANSFERRED TO CSU (to be closer to family), RETIRED DUE TO INJURY
  • KYLE DODSON - see above
  • FRANK EPITROPOULOS - RETIRED TO PURSUE MEDICAL SCHOOL
  • JAMAL MARCUS - EXPELLED FOR REPEATED ACADEMIC VIOLATION - TRANSFERRED TO AKRON
  • NAJEE MURRAY - VIOLATION OF TEAM RULES, TRANSFERRED TO KENT ST
  • DAVID PERKINS - TRANSFERRED TO ILLINOIS STATE
  • SE'VON PITTMAN - TRANSFERRED TO AKRON
  • ARMANI REEVES - see above
  • LUKE ROBERTS - TRANSFERRED TO HARVARD
  • RICQUAN SOUTHWARD - TRANSFERRED TO WESTERN ARIZONA
  • NOAH SPENCE - SUSPENDED BY BIG TEN, TRANSFERRED TO E. KENTUCKY
  • BLAKE THOMAS - see above

Chipper1221

February 12th, 2015 at 12:19 PM ^

that Alabama football fans have caught up to times and started using computers  on top of that using them for writing. 

 

 

I thought they still just called Paul Finebaum and screamed 

ericcarbs

February 12th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^

I think a way around this dilemma is to have a neutral 3rd party (outside the state to avoid biasm) and assess if a hardship is required.

Maybe not stop it altogether but def slow it down. But that will never pass cause the NCAA is a joke.



I don't really know any other way.

bluebyyou

February 12th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^

Why wouldn't the B1G have the opportunity to review Meyer's practice and penalize them if the departures are not justifiable?

I'd be shocked if the B1G coaches weren't aware of this practice, but maybe not.

Wonder if Harbaugh has someone who reads MGoblog.  It should be required.

ESNY

February 12th, 2015 at 2:56 PM ^

To play devil's advocate, in the scheme of the oversigining bullshit is being medicaled when you are buried on the depth chart and have little to no possibility of playing that bad?  Its much better than being outright cut or "choosing" to transfer to SW Alabama St. 

If the school or athletic department is ok to pick up your scholarship tab for the rest of your collegiate career, there are worse things.  Of course, that would presuppose that the player in question has realized they have no future in professional football.   Ideally it would never come to this, but in the world we live in, at least they vaguely honor their committment to educate the player

LesMilesismyhero

February 12th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^

As long as the student athlete gets 4 (I wish it would be 5) years worth of free education, I don't think a coach should be forced to keep him on the team if the coach has decided the athlete isn't good enough to compete at that level.  It's the Les Miles scholarship pull and boot from campus the day before classes begin that really upsets me.

OccaM

February 12th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^

I mean if you read further down all 12 medical hardships seem to be legit... I highly doubt doctors would put their careers on the line to lie to a kid about his medical condition and whether or not he can play football again...

 

OccaM

February 12th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^

Right but all the kid has to do to get a second opinion is walk down to OSU's medical school right down campus or somewhere else un-affiliated. 

I mean Armani Reeves (lol remember him? oh recruiting) is rumored to be medicalled this year b/c of concussion trauma that may sideline him for good, and I believe he's their best secondary player... 

BigBlue02

February 12th, 2015 at 2:25 PM ^

And didn't Reeves play in the national championship game? A lot must have happened in the last month to all-the-sudden have a career ending concussion problem. Why wasn't something as serious as a career ending concussion problem diagnosed before the national championship game?

Scarlatina

February 12th, 2015 at 4:01 PM ^

Reeves suffered a concussion during the Penn State game, and apparently another one during the national championship. Supposedly after one of the special teams plays, you can see him lying down on the sidelines, and people at the game said he was the last one to be carried off into the locker about 4-5 minutes after halftime started.

So the staff is citing multiple concussions and lingering symptoms as the reason he may be medicially uncleared.

bluebyyou

February 12th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^

If you check on the number of doctors who have their licenses yanked for all sorts of nefarious acts, it might surprise you.  While the vast majority of docs are straight arrows, all professions have their bad actors.

There are ways for a doctor to write a report that might be construed as adequate to keep a player from hitting the fielda even if he just played in the NC game.  I'd bet that Devin Gardner's injury last season could easily have been sufficiently bad to dump him had the coaching staff needed medical justification.