Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, April 28, 2015
Fun story from SBNation.com on the 25 best teams since 1980 not to win a national championship.
No. 1 on the list: Penn State?s 1994 team. No argument from me.
***
Jon Gruden likes Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford. And that?s good enough for me.
Langford, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in February (4.42 seconds), is widely projected as a mid-round draft pick.
Gruden said he's not sure why Langford's stock isn't even higher.
"(Melvin) Gordon and (Todd) Gurley are clearly the top backs in this draft, but Langford is a guy I really like, (and) I don't understand why we don't hear his name more," Gruden said. "He ran a 4.4. He gained 100 or more yards in every Big Ten film I watched. He breaks tackles, he picks up blitzes and he looks like an NFL back for sure. He is tough, he can catch, he has home run speed and I love the way they train guys at Michigan State."
***
Randy Gregory?s failed drug test at the Combine was bad news. It can lead to a few inferences: 1. An indifference to knowing he was being tested. 2. An addiction issue. Neither is good. Didn?t the guy KNOW he was gonna be tested at Combine?
The revelation has caused Gregory to be dropped in mock drafts-and he may fall in the real draft, which starts on Thursday-but not too far, is my guess.
***
More NFL draft talk, this time from Penn State?s James Franklin. Watch this video. It should be a good draft for the Nittany Lions.
***
Urban Meyer said earlier that he was against them, but add Ohio State to the list of Big Ten schools conducting satellite camps, as the Buckeyes will help run one at Florida Atlantic on June 17.
Cleveland.com notes that this makes sense because Florida Atlantic's athletic director, Patrick Chun, was hired away from the Buckeyes after spending 15 years in Ohio State's athletic department.
***
Could you fathom Urban Meyer or Nick Saban speaking at the Michigan camp?
Jim Harbaugh recently invited every coach in college football to speak at a camp in Ann Arbor in June. So, it could happen, right?
"Our vision for the University of Michigan football camp is to bring together players and coaches in all different levels from around the country to provide maximum exposure for our great game of football," it reads.
So technically, Saban and Meyer are welcome to join the fun. Could you imagine?
***
Purdue also will run a satellite camp, helping conduct one in Nashville.
"It's a good area for us," Darrell Hazell said. "We think that's a hotbed of talent down there."
***
Former Michigan QB/WR Devin Gardner is a boffo athlete who seemingly could help some NFL team. Alas, there has been a lack of interest in him. And that baffles NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock.
"I've been really surprised at the way this kid hasn't generated much interest, Mayock said Thursday.? I saw him at the East-West game playing wideout, and it's obviously pretty new to him, he didn't look great. But he's athletic.
"He's a big, athletic guy."
I guess teams just don?t know where to play the guy. He doesn?t seem worthy of a pick but likely will go to some camp as a free agent.
***
Rick Brown of HawkCentral.com has an interesting story on the Hawkeyes, wondering if the can ?cross the plate? in 2015.
Brown notes that since the 2009 season, which included winning the Orange Bowl and marked the fourth double-digit victory season in the Kirk Ferentz era, the Hawkeyes have not had much to brag about. Iowa is 34-30 over the last five seasons, including a 19-21 mark in Big Ten play and 21-14 record at Kinnick Stadium, which has been sold out just once in the past two seasons.
Fan apathy is on the rise, and all indications are that season-ticket sales are headed in the opposite direction. Athletic director Gary Barta knows these are challenging times. He acknowledged that in December, publicly supporting Ferentz and then adding, "I know that can be controversial for some."
***
Still have not gotten enough analysis of the Rutgers? quarterback completion? Check out this video, which breaks down every throw of Chris Laviano and Hayden Rettig in the spring game.
***
| About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.
