BSD Mailbag 2.19.16

Other than Houston, which team is most likely to draft Hackenberg? I think the chances of him landing in Houston are pretty high, but I wouldn’t call it a lock. Gerry Dincher
Houston seems like the obvious destination for Hack because of the BO'B connection and the fact that they are in serious need of a quarterback, especially after Brian Hoyer's dreadful showing against the Chiefs in the playoffs. However, it's still extremely early to really have a clear idea, plus you just never know how things will unfold once the clock starts ticking on draft day.

I still think the door is open for Hack to blow the doors off at the Combine, both on the field and in the interview sessions, and work his way into the first round. Sound crazy? Yes, but look at the list of NFL quarterbacks who have been chosen in the first round during the past 10 years. It seems likely someone could roll the dice. However, if he does go in round two or later, as currently projected, that means just about every team will have a shot to take him, meaning he could end up just about anywhere. The fact that he isn't expected to walk in and be a starter as a rookie opens things up even more.

My best guess is that he goes somewhere with an aging quarterback, and take a couple years to prepare to lead the helm while also giving the franchise some time to decide if he is the future leader of the offense. This would be the best situation for him, as he wouldn't be forced into action behind what would likely be a poor offensive line, and gain some extremely valuable mentoring from an experienced NFL quarterback. With that in mind, I could see Pittsburgh, Arizona, New Orleans, San Diego, Dallas and possibly Green Bay as the teams in the best position to invest in someone with Hack's long-term potential.

Why did Garder54 decide to start this ridiculous rankings series we've all been contributing to like morons? ReadingRambler
Because there's no meaningful football to be played for nearly seven months, and we need something completely subjective to debate endlessly to help fill the void.

Anyone knows of a backstory connected with the sudden departures of Shoop and Hand. It’s clear that Shoop’s leaving negatively impacted the recruiting of some key defensive players. It’s still a class that gives one hope for the future, but the ‘noise’ at the end of the recruiting schedule seems to be in need of some explanation. Raoul69
I'm not sure if there's much of a backstory, as much as Shoop and Hand likely saw opportunities they thought were better for themselves and their families. It's easy to forget that coaches are just regular folks, who like the general population, will switch employers when they believe it's the right thing to do for their career or family. I'm also not certain Shoop's departure really impacted recruiting, since he wasn't terribly involved in that aspect and the defense will remain largely the same under Brent Pry's leadership. As far as Hand, he may have just jumped on the offer knowing he would be on the hottest of seats if things didn't turn around fast in 2016.

The decommitments were certainly troubling, but unfortunately, that seems to be the new way of college football that we as a fanbase are finally being confronted with after decades of knowing what to expect. The one troubling aspect, however, is that this is the second year under Franklin where many of the prized recruits offered their commitment early, only to back out closer to Signing Day. Hopefully this has more to do with indecisive teenagers rather than a flawed recruiting strategy that gives reason for the blue-chip athletes to second guess their decisions.

Having to choose one recruiting class, 2015 or 2016. Which would you choose? rpm5103
Overall I would have to say 2015 as it had a much higher percentage of four star-plus commits, plus the class brought in 25 new scholarship players, which was much-needed after a few seasons playing with a limited roster. We already know what guys like Saquon Barkley and John Reid bring to the table, and have spent the better part of two years now salivating over the potential of players like Juwan Johnson, Irvin Charles and Sterling Jenkins so it makes it easier to go with the more well known commodity.

I'm just glad we have them both, and that the future appears to be very bright with all of the young talent on the roster.

Which coach is most likely to eat Scrapple? Dbridi
Cael Sanderson. He likely eats it by the pound in his breakfast nook to start each day, and then turns it into pure, concentrated excellence that comes out of his backside.

Which former PSU player would you least like to get hit by? Dbridi
Below is my top five, in order. I am certain taking a hit from any of these legends would result in an extended visit to the ICU for me. Also, if you ask me again at this time next year it's very likely a third number 11 would be added to the list.

1. Lavar Arrington
2. Tamba Hali
3. Paul Posluzny
4.  Courtney Brown
5. Navarro Bowman

Did you or did you not shut down NSD comments at times on purpose? C.McKean
In all honesty, that was a network-wide outage that impacted sites across SBN. It was rather poor timing for an outage on such an important day, but as we all know, technology isn't something we can rely on. The silver lining is that it saved us all from reading a plethora of "HOW WILL WE EVER WIN, THIS GUY DOESN'T HAVE 5 STARS AHHHHH FIRE FRANKLIN NOW!!!!!" comments that would make most of us slam our heads into the nearest hard surface.

Which is more annoying, fans obsessing over recruits or fans obsessing over mock NFL drafts? Gerry Dincher
Being a Browns fan, I want to say mock NFL drafts, because that is the main focus of the team's coverage from October (when it becomes clear we'll be drafting very high and need a new QB) through May every year. But looking at the big picture, I have to go with those who obsess over recruiting.

To be clear, there's nothing wrong with taking an interest and actively following recruiting. However, it's the individuals that seem to live and die on the speculation of what a 17 year-old kid may do. Even if everything falls into place and that four or five-star recruit you think will carry their team to a championship signs on the dotted line, it's still a total crapshoot over what will happen in the future. Maybe he'll wake up one morning and decide football is no longer a major priority. Maybe he'll realize he'd rather go out and party rather than worry about his academic eligibility. Maybe they'll never learn the nuances of the game needed to succeed at a higher level when they can no longer rely on pure athleticism. Maybe he'll have a moment of poor judgement that ends his career in the blink of an eye (take the sad case of Raymond Williams, the the best high school athlete I ever watched in-person and former Mr. Ohio Football, who never even made it to campus after committing to West Virginia) . Basically, anything can happen when you're talking about high school athletes moving up to the big-times, and it's just not worth the spike in blood pressure if things don't go the way you hope.

Tennessee- Will they get destroyed by the NCAA for actual problems of sexual nature involving players on the team? Haha can’t believe I am even asking that. Of course they won't. adamp1984
You answered your own question correctly. We all know by now, and we should have known long before IT, that the NCAA has no type of consistency or rhyme and reason when it dishes out punishments to its member universities. At most, we can expect a brief statement that goes along the lines of "This matter is out of the NCAA's jurisdiction and no action can or will be taken at this time."