8.08.2008

August Updates

* Cranky JoePa kicks two defensive linemen off the team
Luckily Penn State was already stacked on the D-Line. Losing Phil Taylor and Chris Baker hurts, but it will essentially only affect depth at the position. The Lions will still be fine up front, they just won't be able to rotate in as many guys as they were planning on.

* Wisconsin's Lance Smith kicked off the team
This isn't really that shocking. Smith was suspended from traveling with the team to road games last year, and Wisconsin has great depth at running back. So while Smith is a talented player, his presence on the roster won't be missed.

* Kentucky quarterback Curtis Pulley kicked off the team
The heir apparent to Andre' Woodson was booted off the team last week due to some off-the-field issues. Pulley would have brought a ton of athleticism to the quarterback spot at Kentucky, but now the job falls to sophomore Mike Hartline.

* Cincinnati's Ben Mauk denied extra year of eligibility
No offense to Ben Mauk, but I'm glad the NCAA made this decision. Mauk redshirted at Wake Forest, then played two full seasons. He was injured in the season opener his third year at Wake and then decided to transfer to Cincinnati where he played last season. He used all his eligibility - end of story. The NCAA doesn't need to be awarding all kinds of extra years to players every time they get hurt or we'll start seeing a bunch of Paul Blakes running around on the field - nobody wants that. I like Ben Mauk and it sucks that he's suffered so many injuries in his career, but the NCAA made the right decision and he needs to move on.

No comments: