We're getting the band back together, with a side of asparagus (LOTD 6/22)

They got the band back together. The team reports to campus today to begin the summer session, which means that football is juuuuust around the corner.

The guys at BGS took a look at the Hansen article I mentioned yesterday, bringing up a very interesting point. One of the crucial players Hansen highlighted was Trevor Robinson, a lineman who showed some signs of solid play down the stretch. Robinson was originally slated to take over the left tackle position, but Paul Duncan has returned with a vengeance to solidify the left side of the line. Hansen speculates that Eric Olsen may be moved to center, bumping Dan Wenger, and moving Robinson to left guard and Chris Stewart to right guard. Sam Young would remain at right tackle.

It's an interesting line if that were to play out. Olsen, Stewart, and Young would be a lot of weight to move on the right side of the line, the strong side in most situations. It would also play out the Charlie Weis play-the-best-linemen scenario. The problem? Robinson has limited experience, Duncan missed all of last year, and Olsen has never played center. That's a lot of uncertainty for a line already adjusting to a new offensive line coach.

If Olsen can get the snaps down, the shotgun snaps in particular, then I could see this scenario working. There's a lot of talent in that group (Young was a five-star, Steart, Olsen, and Robinson were four-stars), and if Verducci can coach them up then it could work. It's a risk-reward situation, but those seem to be Charlie Weis' favorite plays.

A blog named TrueGipper (Gipper? I hardly know her) has a Q+A up with Chris Martin. Martin reitterates that he will not be an early enrollment recruit. Martin was then asked which NFL player he likes to fashion himself after, to which he replied "I'd say Ray Lewis. I'm a gentleman off the field, but mean as hell on the field." That would be fine if not for that little Ray Lewis murder charge following a bar fight/stabbing in 2000. You can't really blame Martin for the response though, he was only 9 when the incident occurred (which shows what a job Lewis did in rehabbing his reputation).

Martin also says that he'd like to take both home games against USC and see what happens down in LA. I'm all for that, though he needs to pump up the adrenaline if he's going to catch up with Cierre Wood.

Mike Frank's Irish Sports Daily (courtesy of the WWL) has a lineup of the ND quarterback versus the competition. ISD sees Jimmy Clausen as being better than any QB on the ND schedule. I would put Colin Kaepernick and Jake Locker ahead of Clausen at this point, given that Kaepernick is a freak of nature and Locker will probably see the effects of the Willingham-bump this upcoming year.

Nick Saban, Ron Zook, and Steve Spurrier, three recruiters of questionable repute, are coming out against recruiting websites that present a possible violation if not held in check. Here's the Zookernaut's quote on the issue:

"We're turning the recruiting over to the so-called recruiting gurus. Now, all of a sudden, just like you've got basketball coaches complaining that it's turning over to the AAU coaches, now we're turning it over to these guys that can call them. Well, you know what a lot of them are saying. They're selling their school to these kids, and we're not able to talk to them. To me, we're losing this thing, in my opinion."

That's taking things a bit far, seeing as how AAU coaches act as agents for their players and recruitniks might be looking for extra access at the most. I do wonder, however, if an Illinois recruiting site had anything to do with the theft of Arrellious Benn from ND, or if it was just Zook's shady tactics alone. Rivals Bobby Burton shot back at Zook and Saban with the following (great) quote:

"The [Saban Rule] has come about because of your profession's inability to work within the rules that govern them. Simply put, the NCAA doesn't want its head coaches going out in the spring because they don't trust you and your brethren."

Touche.

Finally, the crazy kids at William & Mary, who rioted when their beloved (liberal) school president was kicked out of town, are now coming up with mascots for their school. The Tribe, which will remain the Tribe, is acquiring a new look, and the school is taking suggestions from the students. So far the suggestions have ranged from a feathered horse (?) to a stalk of asparagus. Notes the person who suggested the asparagus: if served with cheese, the vegetable represents the school colors.

This reminds me of a Tony Kornheiser column where he looked for new nicknames for his (and soon to be my) Binghamton University, the best of which was the Fighting Hassids. I'm not sure if the Hassids would be a hit in Virginia (it is below the Mason-Dixon line, after all), but at least they wouldn't make your pee stink.

And on that note, I'm out. PeeYou preview coming tomorrow (maybe), along with any newsworthy... news.