James’ Life Ended Too Soon
Matt James (Photo: Cincinnati Enquirer)
It’s a story of turning triumph into tragedy. It’s a sad, sad waste.
Matt James of Cincinnati, Ohio was one of the nation’s top recruits at offensive line. He was touted as pro ready coming out of high school. James was quite possibly the headliner of new coach Brian Kelly’s first recruiting class at Notre Dame. At 6-8 290, it wasn’t hard to see why so many colleges were after him.
Matt James was enjoying spring break fun like so many other high school students do. In this case, James was in Panama City, Florida on the fifth floor balcony of a hotel Friday night when he pretended to fall over the railing, then really fell. James was drunk at the time. He was due to graduate from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati this spring.
Over the weekend, St. Xavier Head Coach Steve Specht was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune and called the day after the accident the “the most empty 24 hours of my life.”
The worst part about the player’s death is that it was completely avoidable. Kids will always think they’re invincible. It comes with the territory. The James case is a most extreme example, but it should be a testament to what can go wrong and why kids, especially student athletes should be ever vigilant.
Any average high school student could have affected his academic career with an underage drinking episode like the one James participated in. A student-athlete suffers far more. Episodes like this happen all too often. For a student-athlete it could result in the loss of a scholarship and revocation of admittance from the school. For student-athletes that are looking to get recruited, one incident could keep the colleges away.
Everything has to be in order to get a college scholarship. The stakes are too high to risk four years of education, and in James’ case a potential NFL career, for one night of partying. When you work hard to get good grades, work hard on the field and in the weight room, you’ve invested too much to blow it with a bad decision. Matt James’ parents would love to have that night back.
It’s a shame, for everyone involved.
The full story is available through the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Maryland Schedules Irish; Leverages Ticket Sales
The Maryland Terrapins announced an “almost home” date with the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame yesterday and also announced a season ticket sales driver attached to the game.
The matchup between Notre Dame and Maryland will take place on Saturday, November 12, 2011 at FedEx Field in Washington, DC. It’s almost a home game for the Terps. It’s the second time in history that the two teams will face each other and for the first time, Maryland will play a game at FedEx Field. The first time the Terps played the Irish was in 2002, Coach Ralph Friedgen’s second season at Maryland. The game was played in East Rutherford, NJ and the the #21 ranked Terrapins fell 22-0.
The game is due to be televised in prime time on NBC as part of Notre Dame’s package with the network. Because Notre Dame negotiated the venue and set up the game, Notre Dame is offically the home team for the contest. Maryland still has seven home games on the schedule for 2011, so Terps fans will only have four true road games next season.
Holding the game at FedEx Field fits Notre Dame’s M.O. of scheduling “nationally” by playing neutral sites games in different parts of the country, thereby keeping up their “national profile”. It doesn’t hurt that the game looks winnable for the Irish, especially considering that new coach Mike Kelly will be in his second year with the program.
The scheduling of the game is a win for the Maryland program as well. The game against Notre Dame gives them a national television audience and a game against a high profile team. It’s a little out of Maryland’s comfort zone, since Maryland typically schedules regional rivals like Navy and West Virginia out-of-conference, along with a game against a lesser team such as Morgan State, who is on the Terps’ schedule in 2010.
The ticket sales angle is also a positive for the Maryland program. In order to leverage higher season ticket sales for 2010 and 2011, Maryland is tying priority seating for the Notre Dame game into the purchase of season ticket packages for the next two seasons. Smart programs do this to increase sales and attendance. That’s nothing new.
Notre Dame’s Loss is NC State’s Gain
New NCST DC Jon Tenuta (Photo: NDsports.com)
Jon Tenuta has landed at NC State.
Tenuta was most recently defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Notre Dame under Charlie Weis. With the departure of Weis and the arrival of Brian Kelly, Tenuta found himself out of a job. Tenuta is well tenured as a defensive coordinator, having served in that role for seven different schools over the last 16 years. He spent the last two years under Weis and prior to that he was at Georgia Tech for six years.
Coach Tenuta replaces former defensive coordinator Andy McCollum who left the Wolfpack to take over responsibilities as defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgia Tech. It’s an ACC mini-coaching carousel.
The coaching game is a tough business. Head coaches move on, assistants get bounced, and eventually the music stops.
Tenuta started his coaching career in the ACC. He was a graduate assistant at UVA and Maryland in the early ’80s. Given his history in the ACC, and McCollum’s move to Georgia Tech, the net affect on area recruiting should be minimal. McCollum will certainly want to prove his worth as a recruiter with the Yellow Jackets, and Tenuta will welcome the move “back home” and into a warmer climate.
The Coaching Carousel Goes 'Round
It’s interesting to watch the Coaching Carousel turn. A University lets a Head Coach go and the ripple effect impacts other programs. Assistants at larger schools take the leap to become Head Coach at a lesser school. Other move up through the ranks. Sometimes entire staffs get obliterated. A fresh start opens up new jobs.
Some of this relates to 757 recruiting; certainly in the hires that I’ve mentioned in previous entries. Mike London leaving Richmond for the HC post at UVA certainly has an impact. He’s already been scouring the state for talent. Al Groh’s firing put Latrell Scott on the market. He nabbed the Richmond job and he’s trolling for talent as well.
On a national level, the carousel keeps turning and impacting careers. Charlie Weis was fired at Notre Dame. Mark Mangino was fired at Kansas. Steve Kragthorpe was fired at Louisville. Tommy West was fired at Memphis. Mark Snyder was fired at Marshall. Once those five openings were filled, five new chairs opened immediately.
Brian Kelly is announced as the new Head Coach at Notre Dame (AP Photo)
Brian Kelly left the Cincinnati HC job for Notre Dame’s opening. Turner Gill left the Buffalo HC job for the Kansas opening. Charlie Strong left the DC position at Florida for the Louisville opening. Larry Porter left an Assistant position at LSU for the Memphis opening and John “Doc” Holliday left West Virginia for Marshall.
In the case of Cincinnati and Buffalo, we now have two more HC positions open. Butch Jones, HC of Central Michigan grabbed the Cincinnati job and Jeff Quinn, OC at Cincinnati grabbed the Buffalo HC position.
This still leaves staff openings in many places. In most cases, each of these new head coaches are hiring a new staff. Such is the life of a college football coach. The music hasn’t stopped, so people keep on dancing.
As a recruit, you have to consider that your world has changed if you committed to a university with a new head coach. Last year, highly touted Phoebus QB Tajh Boyd committed early to West Virginia. Then he changed his mind and committed to Phil Fulmer at Tennessee. Then Fulmer was fired and Lane Kiffin was hired. Kiffin subsequently turned around and notified Boyd that he wasn’t a fit at Tennessee. Boyd reopened his recruitment and ultimately decided on Clemson as his new college home. He might be one of the fortunate ones. He was informed of his future before committing his future to a coach that didn’t have him in the program’s plans. Others aren’t as fortunate and spend sometimes years in a program where they’ll never play. Sometimes they transfer out, costing them years of playing time. At other times, players ride it out, often costing them years of playing time. Potential recruits: communicate with the new coach. Find out where you stand. Don’t be afraid to reconsider.
In other cases, uncommitted recruits can find committing to a new coach works to their advantage. When you are recruited by a new head coach and decide to commit, you can almost be assured that your that coach’s target and priority. He wants you because you fit his vision for the program. He also will know you almost as well as some of the players that have been in the program for years. You could quite likely get a fair shot at playing time as a Freshman.
Seniors, above all else… never assume. Ask questions. Communicate with the coach that’s recruiting you. If things are changing at the school of your choice, there’s time to confirm your choice after you gather the information you need to make sure that your next four to five years are spent in a program that’s the right fit for you.