2008's recruits, according to the RGJ:
2008 Nevada football recruits
Name, Pos., Ht., Wt., Cl.-Exp., Hometown (High school)
High School signees
*Brandon Wimberly, WR, 6-3, 195, Fr.-HS, Los Angeles (Gardena HS)
Michael Ball, RB, 5-10, 225, Fr.-HS, Las Vegas (Desert Pines HS)
*Zack Sudfeld, TE, 6-7, 230, Fr.-Nevada, Modesto Calif. (Modesto Christian HS)
Christian Barker, OL, 6-4, 315, Fr.-HS, Fontana, Calif. (Etiwanda HS)
Aaron Huck, OL, 6-3, 295, Fr.-HS, San Jose (Oak Grove HS)
Jeff Nady, OL, 6-7, 255, Fr.-HS Minden (Douglas HS)
Steve Werner, OL, 6-5, 310, Fr.-HS, Tulare, Calif. (Tulare West HS)
Mark Forrest, DE, 6-7, 210, Fr.-HS, San Jose (Oak Grove HS)
Jon Rabe, DT, 6-5, 285, Fr.-HS, Upland, Calif. (Damian HS)
*Mark Avery, DT, 6-4, 270, Fr.-HS, Stockton, Calif. (Amos Alonzo Stagg HS)
Jack Reynoso, DT, 6-3, 260, Fr.-HS, Loomis, Calif. (Del Oro HS)
*Albert Rosette, LB, 6-2, 225, Fr.-HS, Concord, Calif. (De La Salle HS)
*Brett Roy, LB, 6-4, 240, Fr.-Nevada, Yucaipa, Calif. (Yucaipa HS)
Thaddeus Brown, DB, 5-11, 177, Fr.-HS, Pasadena, Calif. (Notre Dame HS)
Isaiah Frey, DB, 6-0, 190, Fr.-HS, Olivehurst, Calif. (Jesuit HS)
Khalid Wooten, DB, 6-0, 195, Fr.-HS, Rialto, Calif. (Carter HS)
Marlon Johnson, S, 5-11, 185, Fr.-HS, Ingelwood, Calif. (Ingelwood HS)
Ahmad Wood, Ath, 5-11, 185, Fr.-HS, San Pedro, Calif. (San Pedro HS)
Junior College signees
Michael Andrews, DT, 6-3, 275, So.-JC, Kailua, Hawaii (Arizona Western College)
Antoine Thompson, DB, 6-1, 195, Jr.-JC, Norfolk, Va. (Reedley College)
Maurice Harvey, S, 6-4, 215, Jr.-JC, Titusville, Fla. (Reedley College)
Dayton Guillory, Ath, 6-0, 180, Jr.-JC, Bossier City, La. (Yuba CC)
* - already enrolled at Nevada
As usual, it would seem special teams is going to be left out - I don't see a single kicker on the list here, at least. I'm sure some of these guys are going to get some time on special teams while they wait for their starting positions to open up, and getting more speed on that side of the ball would be excellent, but it won't matter if we can't get a kicker that can keep the ball on the field on kickoffs. Letting our opponents repeatedly start on the 35 yard line is not exactly encouraging to me.
That said, it would seem our program is going in the right direction here. We definitely needed some more depth on defense, and it looks like we're going to get it. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm much less concerned about Ault and much more concerned about our program. If Ault can reinvent himself the way Tom Coughlin and countless others have reinvented themselves, we'll be the ones that benefit from that.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
In Response to Super Post
The nice thing about being a contributor here is that I get to reply with a full-on post... so I will!
I was the cohort that was at that game, and though I was also rooting for the Patriots, I can understand why others weren't. The key, ironically enough, is in this part of the Super Post:
In short, the reason my cohort became a Patriots fan was because they were terrible. They were the ultimate underdog. I understand. That's how I became a Rams fan. I was originally raised in Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles, and I had a choice - I could either become a Raiders fan like all of the "cool kids", or I could become a Rams fan. Since I wasn't cool, guess what I did? It's the same way I became a Clippers fan. It's also the same way I became an Angels fan.
It's also the same way a lot of people became New York Giants fans that night.
To be honest, the Patriots weren't particularly likable this year. If your team played them, they probably ran up the score against you. If your team was the Jets, they also cheated against you. Their coach, though brilliant, is socially callous and inherently unfriendly. Tom Brady is not only a brilliant and amazing quarterback - he's a brilliant and amazing quarterback that goes out with supermodels. Not "supermodel", mind you - we're talking plural supermodels. If you're a Raiders fan, you probably have some Randy Moss hate mail in your AutoText, ready to go out at a moment's notice. The list goes on like this. Meanwhile, you turn on the radio, or you turn on ESPN, and what do you see? Patriots, Patriots, Patriots... nothing but the Patriots. Show after show after talking head after vapid personality expounding on how brilliant they are, how historic they are, how they do all the right things (provided a camcorder isn't involved, of course), how they're all so humble and righteous and...
Ugh.
Americans love heroes. Americans also love underdogs. There's a reason for this - heroes and underdogs, at least in the American tradition, are humble people that get the job done. We can relate to that. We do that every day we go to work, take care of the kids, or clean our bathrooms. What Americans can't stand is ostentatious success. We simply don't handle having someone else's success thrown in our faces all that well. Do you know why the NBA's ratings continue to plummet? Because the entire league is full of "me first" guys who are the opposite of humble. The Patriots, well, sure, their players are humble... but the organization sure as hell isn't. Humble organizations don't point cameras at opposing coordinators after winning three Super Bowls. Humble organizations don't prepare elaborate post-Super Bowl parties to celebrate their undefeated season before it even happens. Humble organizations don't run up the score like some kind of college powerhouse each and every game.
I can understand why nobody likes the Patriots. It has nothing to do with the small lives of small-minded people or anything like that. It's just that the Patriots were ruthlessly efficient, brutal, and effective, and "ruthless" and "cuddly" rarely go well together.
I was still rooting for them anyways.
I was the cohort that was at that game, and though I was also rooting for the Patriots, I can understand why others weren't. The key, ironically enough, is in this part of the Super Post:
With that stated, as far as NFL teams go I admit my leanings are toward the Patriots. Why, because they've been good for the past ten years? Quite the opposite, in fact. When I was a child I had the athletic ability of the average tarantula (those who have been in Gabbs, NV for the annual tarantula migration know what I'm talking about), and when we would pick team names, me being the one who could care less at the time, I would ask of the others: "Which team sucks the most?" Unanimously, they would blurt out: "Oh, the Patriots are terrible!" and so I always went with the Patriots as my one-on-one team name.
In short, the reason my cohort became a Patriots fan was because they were terrible. They were the ultimate underdog. I understand. That's how I became a Rams fan. I was originally raised in Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles, and I had a choice - I could either become a Raiders fan like all of the "cool kids", or I could become a Rams fan. Since I wasn't cool, guess what I did? It's the same way I became a Clippers fan. It's also the same way I became an Angels fan.
It's also the same way a lot of people became New York Giants fans that night.
To be honest, the Patriots weren't particularly likable this year. If your team played them, they probably ran up the score against you. If your team was the Jets, they also cheated against you. Their coach, though brilliant, is socially callous and inherently unfriendly. Tom Brady is not only a brilliant and amazing quarterback - he's a brilliant and amazing quarterback that goes out with supermodels. Not "supermodel", mind you - we're talking plural supermodels. If you're a Raiders fan, you probably have some Randy Moss hate mail in your AutoText, ready to go out at a moment's notice. The list goes on like this. Meanwhile, you turn on the radio, or you turn on ESPN, and what do you see? Patriots, Patriots, Patriots... nothing but the Patriots. Show after show after talking head after vapid personality expounding on how brilliant they are, how historic they are, how they do all the right things (provided a camcorder isn't involved, of course), how they're all so humble and righteous and...
Ugh.
Americans love heroes. Americans also love underdogs. There's a reason for this - heroes and underdogs, at least in the American tradition, are humble people that get the job done. We can relate to that. We do that every day we go to work, take care of the kids, or clean our bathrooms. What Americans can't stand is ostentatious success. We simply don't handle having someone else's success thrown in our faces all that well. Do you know why the NBA's ratings continue to plummet? Because the entire league is full of "me first" guys who are the opposite of humble. The Patriots, well, sure, their players are humble... but the organization sure as hell isn't. Humble organizations don't point cameras at opposing coordinators after winning three Super Bowls. Humble organizations don't prepare elaborate post-Super Bowl parties to celebrate their undefeated season before it even happens. Humble organizations don't run up the score like some kind of college powerhouse each and every game.
I can understand why nobody likes the Patriots. It has nothing to do with the small lives of small-minded people or anything like that. It's just that the Patriots were ruthlessly efficient, brutal, and effective, and "ruthless" and "cuddly" rarely go well together.
I was still rooting for them anyways.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Super Blog
Before I begin I will admit to all readers: I am not much of an NFL fan. Sorry, but college football, I think, is far superior, even if the product varies in consistency. College athletics is WAR! Pro sports, on the otherhand, means paychecks. I, myself, am not completely consistent in this, either, as I do love professional baseball and my beloved Giants, Barry Bonds aside. But when it comes to football I'm somewhat less enthusiastic. Let alone the NBA, I could really care less about them. Just my opinion.
With that stated, as far as NFL teams go I admit my leanings are toward the Patriots. Why, because they've been good for the past ten years? Quite the opposite, in fact. When I was a child I had the athletic ability of the average tarantula (those who have been in Gabbs, NV for the annual tarantula migration know what I'm talking about), and when we would pick team names, me being the one who could care less at the time, I would ask of the others: "Which team sucks the most?" Unanimously, they would blurt out: "Oh, the Patriots are terrible!" and so I always went with the Patriots as my one-on-one team name. Leanings turned into an affinity and the next thing I knew my adopted team was in the Super Bowl, just months after I had proclaimed: "I just want to live long enough to see the Patriots in the Super Bowl; not to see them win, because I know that won't ever happen, but just to see them get there." Needless to say for about three years there I thought I was living on borrowed time.
The point? Well, I'm going to say a few things here. I don't think that they are too biased, but in case some other readers think otherwise that should provide some insight.
Aside from just wanting the Pats to win on principle's sake, I really, REALLY wanted to see history made this year. Of course, as all know by now, that didn't happen. My cohort and I tried out a new tavern for our Super Bowl festa, and for the first half or so there was one Giant's fan amongst a handfull of Pats fans. By the second half my comrade and I were the ONLY people rooting for the Patriots, and there were a hearty number rooting for the underdogs.
Why? I wanted to see history so badly, why did so many others want to see them fail?
I think that there is a little piece inside many, unfulfilled souls, who hate success, at least when other people achieve that success. Perhaps they hate their own lives, or just feel animosity toward anybody who nears achieving the unachievable. A part of me began to believe that people's internal negitivity drives their lust for those who are out there in the "thin air," pushing back the outside of that envelope and then hauling it back in. In other words, they are not where they thought they would be in life, and to see someone come oh so close just ravaged their very hearts. They weren't rooting for the Giants, they were rooting for the Patriots to fail; not because they're scary good, but because winning the big one this year would represent all those motivational things we are told in school that anyone can achieve, while they still work some menial job to help some guy in the South Meadows who probably doesn't even use his turn signal. In a way, the psyche brings the 18-1 Patriots down to "our" level a bit, and people seem to rather have that than use a 19-0 Patriots team to motivate themselves to bigger and better things.
Of course, I could be (and secretly hope I am) wrong, but there are precidents.
In 2004, when we played Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAAs the arena had a good number of Stanford fans awaiting their evening game. By and large they rooted for the underdog Wolf Pack. Were they rooting for us because we weren't a threat or even in the same bracket, or because we weren't the #2 team in the country?
People love an underdog, that's true. It helps build our own egos a bit, especially when the proverbial "we" are the underdog. But in this case, is this the popular reaction to two weeks (or five months) of hype, or a more extreme case of people rooting against history because they really hate to see a pure, unadulterated winner, or "perfects," in a world of OKs, goods, betters, and bests? Is "good" or "best" where people top out and fail to strive for even better than their best? If so, then is there a resentment toward those who do set the bar even higher? Good enough to beat my competition is all I have to be, and damn you if you come along and make me, my life, my attitude, look bad?
Or am I just a bit of a romantic idealist?
With that stated, as far as NFL teams go I admit my leanings are toward the Patriots. Why, because they've been good for the past ten years? Quite the opposite, in fact. When I was a child I had the athletic ability of the average tarantula (those who have been in Gabbs, NV for the annual tarantula migration know what I'm talking about), and when we would pick team names, me being the one who could care less at the time, I would ask of the others: "Which team sucks the most?" Unanimously, they would blurt out: "Oh, the Patriots are terrible!" and so I always went with the Patriots as my one-on-one team name. Leanings turned into an affinity and the next thing I knew my adopted team was in the Super Bowl, just months after I had proclaimed: "I just want to live long enough to see the Patriots in the Super Bowl; not to see them win, because I know that won't ever happen, but just to see them get there." Needless to say for about three years there I thought I was living on borrowed time.
The point? Well, I'm going to say a few things here. I don't think that they are too biased, but in case some other readers think otherwise that should provide some insight.
Aside from just wanting the Pats to win on principle's sake, I really, REALLY wanted to see history made this year. Of course, as all know by now, that didn't happen. My cohort and I tried out a new tavern for our Super Bowl festa, and for the first half or so there was one Giant's fan amongst a handfull of Pats fans. By the second half my comrade and I were the ONLY people rooting for the Patriots, and there were a hearty number rooting for the underdogs.
Why? I wanted to see history so badly, why did so many others want to see them fail?
I think that there is a little piece inside many, unfulfilled souls, who hate success, at least when other people achieve that success. Perhaps they hate their own lives, or just feel animosity toward anybody who nears achieving the unachievable. A part of me began to believe that people's internal negitivity drives their lust for those who are out there in the "thin air," pushing back the outside of that envelope and then hauling it back in. In other words, they are not where they thought they would be in life, and to see someone come oh so close just ravaged their very hearts. They weren't rooting for the Giants, they were rooting for the Patriots to fail; not because they're scary good, but because winning the big one this year would represent all those motivational things we are told in school that anyone can achieve, while they still work some menial job to help some guy in the South Meadows who probably doesn't even use his turn signal. In a way, the psyche brings the 18-1 Patriots down to "our" level a bit, and people seem to rather have that than use a 19-0 Patriots team to motivate themselves to bigger and better things.
Of course, I could be (and secretly hope I am) wrong, but there are precidents.
In 2004, when we played Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAAs the arena had a good number of Stanford fans awaiting their evening game. By and large they rooted for the underdog Wolf Pack. Were they rooting for us because we weren't a threat or even in the same bracket, or because we weren't the #2 team in the country?
People love an underdog, that's true. It helps build our own egos a bit, especially when the proverbial "we" are the underdog. But in this case, is this the popular reaction to two weeks (or five months) of hype, or a more extreme case of people rooting against history because they really hate to see a pure, unadulterated winner, or "perfects," in a world of OKs, goods, betters, and bests? Is "good" or "best" where people top out and fail to strive for even better than their best? If so, then is there a resentment toward those who do set the bar even higher? Good enough to beat my competition is all I have to be, and damn you if you come along and make me, my life, my attitude, look bad?
Or am I just a bit of a romantic idealist?
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