Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Picking Ivy

It was a refreshing 12.7 degrees when I came down this morning. Sorry, make that 12.7 below when I came down this morning. There's been a lot of that lately ;-)
Vanderbilt put a full-court press on Daniel James, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive lineman, but he has affirmed his commitment to Yale in a Times-Picayune story that includes one of the quotes of the year:
"My trainer, the best trainer in the world, Keith Ballard, always told me that there where two SEC's: the football conference and the (Securities and Exchange Commission) on Wall Street," James said. "And Yale controls that, and I feel it's more important."
Tough times for Vandy, which saw previously committed 6-2, 275 lineman Jackson Perry of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas switch his commitment to Dartmouth.

Speaking of which, a story in the Las Vegas Sun about a Bishop Gorman longsnapper being offered a scholarship by Nebraska notes that six-time defending state champion Gorman has six players headed to Division I football. In addition to Dartmouth and Nebraska, Gorman is sending a couple of players to Notre Dame along with players to Army, Fresno State and Columbia. In addition, rapper Snoop Dogg's son Cordell Broadus will be choosing among Arizona State, USC and UCLA.

A chart I saw yesterday reported the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine combined have . . . wait for it . . . one.

Combined.
A Hartford Courant list of "high school and prep school football players with Connecticut connections who have committed to play in college" lists just one headed to Dartmouth: Taft safety-running back Rivers Cahee.

Two players from Connecticut are reported as going to Brown and one to Cornell, but, surprisingly, given the schools in the state, none are known to be heading to Harvard, Penn, Princeton or Yale.
Speaking of Yale, the Toronto Star has a very interesting profile of NFL hopeful Tyler Varga. From the story:
His parents, who knew each other when they both trained in bodybuilding, own and operate Massage Magic, a wellness spa in Kitchener. That also have several beauty and bronzing salons called Sun Magic in the Kitchener area.
Diet has been a foundation of their training, and they have passed on their knowledge to their son.
For instance, Varga does a lot of carb back-loading before each game. Before the Senior Bowl, he downed three pounds of plain, white rice.
Old friend Bucknell has tacked three years on to football coach Joe Susan's contract. Bucknell began the 2013 season 1-4 but broke through with a 17-14 win in Hanover that triggered a 13-4 run ever since. The Bison were 8-3 last year. Bucknell sports information has a story here.
In advance of Signing Day – which may or may not be a holiday in the south – the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal asks a pressing question or two:
Flash or Substance? How much do uniforms matter to top recruits?