SB Nation User Blog: The VD Special

VD's Take: Age limits for NBA, NFL

The VD Special — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 06:23:40 -0000

[Ready for another one of VD's takes? Check out his previous take on Round Robin scheduling if you haven't already. -jake]

So there has been a lot of discussion lately regarding the whole Memphis knowingly or unknowingly allowing Derrick Rose to play last year, despite rumors that not only did he get his high school transcripts offered (from a D to a C) so that he was eligible, but also even more ridiculously that he had somebody else take his SAT for him. The discussion includes talks about OJ Mayo, Reggie Bush, that whole SCandal down there. Basically any player who has ever received money or special "assistance" that the whole situation could have been avoided had players just had the opportunity to go pro right out of high school.

There are good and bad points to both views. On the one hand, its true. A guy like Derrick Rose was ready for the NBA. Everybody knew he was a one and done. Same with DeMar DeRozan down at USC. And there are a few others around the NCAA college basketball scene that are the same. And its going to be that way every year. However, the flip side for the NFL is that most importantly, most players aren't physically ready for the NFL at 18, 19 or even 20. My take after the jump.

My take: The rules in place are there for a very good reason. Don't be fooled when the NBA says the rules are in place are to protect the kids. David Stern said that recently. The rules are in place for the NBA to protect...gasp...the NBA. Scouts got railed too many times on trying to pick potential over production, and too many times they failed. Take a look at the previous five drafts BEFORE this rule went into place. For every one LeBron James that makes a splash, there are 10 guys IN EACH DRAFT that don't. They make these decisions because agents and their friends and their family are in their ears saying "you're going to be great!" And they believe it. And why wouldn't they? So the NBA said it had had enough, and it wanted guys to get a year at the next level so they could see if the players were for real. Quite honestly, I like the rule. I think it protects both the NBA and the players. Yes, it hurts the NCAA when these types of allegations come out. It sucks, I get that. But I was getting sick and tired of hearing about wash outs. And I know you all were too. Would it have been dumb to put LeBron James in college basketball for a year? Yes. But what if a guy like Qyntel Woods had gone to college? Maybe that extra year or two would have helped him develop. Not only into a better basketball player, but also not so much an idiot. Remember that college coaches are there to raise men (most of the time). NBA coaches are there to win championships. You may think it sounds stupid, but I know I have a legitimate point here.

The NFL is an entirely different beast all together. As said above, kids in high school are just not physically ready for the NFL. Every once in a while you get a guy like Jonathan Stewart, or Maurice Clarrett, or Adrian Peterson. But that's 3 guys. Out of hundreds of thousands, potentially millions, of high school players. If I had to make a qualitative guess, 1% of all high school seniors are PHYSICALLY ready to play in the NFL. Of those 1%, maybe 1 kid each year is talented enough AND phyiscally ready to make the jump. And even in that case, I would not trust an 18 year old with an NFL playbook. Hell NO. Even after freshman year there aren't many guys physically ready. Sophomore year gets better, but positions are limited to generally defensive backs and wide receivers/running backs. After a kids 3rd year in college, that is when the real growth takes place. And its physically normal to take 2-3 years to bulk up, especially with as much weight as these kids need to put on nowadays. But just like the NBA, I agree that the NFL has taken a good stance that protects themselves as well as the kids. But really, they are one in the same, aren't they?

There may be some argument as to the fact that the MLB and soccer leagues don't have age limits, which is true. But what the MLB does have is a minor league system. Guys rarely make it to the league before they are 23 anyways. As for soccer, well, I played soccer so that is my people, but it isn't the sport where you need to be the strongest and most muscular human beings ever, let's just say that. Is it physically demanding? Yes. But more so with the conditioning then anything else.

So all in all, I think the age limits are good for sports. Does it hurt the NCAA when allegations like this come out? Absolutely. But the NBA is a business, and not one to protect the NCAA either. David Stern said that kids don't HAVE to go to college, they have the option of overseas, sitting out a year, do whatever. But they are going to have to develop physically and I think it's a good idea. As for football, I think it's pretty obvious that this is a good thing. Kids just aren't physically ready for the NFL. So in that case, even if there wasn't an age limit, you wouldn't see many kids going to the NFL anyways. And quite frankly, the boosters in college football are going to find a way to get money to these kids no matter what. Take Michael Oher for example. For those that haven't heard his story, look it up, it's a very sad yet happy story. Best wishes to him. But he was a top football prospect when he was "adopted" by a family in Memphis, TN when he was 16, I believe. Turns out, his "family" just happened to be Ole Miss grads, who were in hot pursuit of Oher. Interestingly enough, Michael Oher became a Runnin' Rebel. Man, those SEC fans really will do anything for their football.

Thoughts?

Poll

What do you think of the age limit rules?

Good for both

32 votes

Good for NFL but not NBA

16 votes

Good for NBA but not NFL

2 votes

Not good for either

5 votes

Maybe we should get an age limit on SBNation. Goodbye Jake and qrsouther!

3 votes

58 votes | Poll has closed

VD's Take: Round Robin Scheduling

The VD Special — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:16:43 -0000

[This VD's Take seemed to get buried by all the baseball talk of the past weekend, so we're bringing it back to the top of the page so you can vote and comment if you didn't get a chance to last week. Keep your eye out for more of VD's Takes during the offseason! --jake]

In case you haven't seen, Ted Miller wrote a blog [today last week] about how the Pac-10 coaches voted 6-4 in favor of an 8 game conference schedule, rather than a round robin. This doesn't mean that we will see an 8 game conference schedule this year, however. Ted Miller writes:

In an informal poll conducted by the Pac-10 blog, conference coaches voted 6-4 in favor of ending round-robin conference scheduling and reverting back to an eight-game slate, which was how things were before a 12th game was added in 2006.

That's about how a straw poll went in May during the Pac-10 meetings in Phoenix, and feelings were strong enough against the nine-game conference schedule that the athletic directors will review the issue during their June meetings in San Francisco.

There are valid points on both sides of the argument. I think the general feeling of the fans is that the round robin is the way to go: it is more exciting, and it is nice to play every team, every year. And nobody wants to have to play USC and not play Washington, when they are battling for a conference championship. It just isn't fair. But the coaches bring up a very vaild point. Ted Miller talks about how they voted:

The vote mostly split like the current conference standings, with the top-half teams favoring nine games and the bottom half teams wanting to go back to eight.

There's a good reason for that. Nine conference games insures five conference teams will lose an extra game every season, which could be the difference between earning bowl eligibility or not.

He then discusses how Stanford and Arizona State were both 5-7. Had they eliminated one conference game and added a non-conference patsy win, they could have been 6-6, and the Pac-10 would have played in seven different bowl games.

My take after the jump...

My take? I can absolutely appreciate the FACT (and I say it like that, because it is a fact) that if the Pac-10 played one less conference game, then it would likely mean one more win for most of the teams. They could schedule a patsy and end up being 4-0, or at the very least 3-1. Could you imagine how many Pac-10 teams could end up in the top 25 with those kinds of records? I can tell you. Just look at how many SEC teams end up in the top 25 before November starts. Hell, even LSU and Auburn were in the top 10 last year at one point, and both finished with less-than-stellar records (and wayyyyy out of the top 25). The one other argument is that some teams only get 4 conference home games, and have to hit the road 5 times, while others stay home 5, and only hit the road 4. I say, good teams can win on the road. Not always, but usually. If you can't win on the road, then you probably don't deserve a bowl game anyways. So, in the sense that it could potentially add an extra win, I like the idea of playing an eight game schedule. HOWEVER....

I absolutely HATE the idea of playing an eight game conference schedule, and I'm sure after you guys see my reasoning, you will agree. First and foremost, while the argument is made that the Pac-10 could add a patsy, I think that the Pac-10 would take this opportunity to add another BCS school, just like we have recently. And to be quite honest, if we DID play an eight game conference schedule, I don't think the Pac-10 fans want to see a game against Portland State when they could see one against, at the very least, an up and coming team from a mid-major conference, say Nevada or New Mexico or Colorado State. The SEC and Big 12 use these patsy games for revenue. But the simple fact is, there isn't the same level of passion out here then there is there. I'm not saying the fans aren't as good, or as interested, but we aren't going to come out in the hundreds of thousands to see a 56-0 whipping of an FCS team. You think USC is going to sell out the Coliseum to see them play UC Davis? No way. Oh fantastic, Arizona State is playing Northern Arizona is 95 degree weather! Count me out. The way the Pac-10 generates interest in the non-conference games is by scheduling teams the fans want to see.

But most importantly, the reason I love college football (and Oregon State) is because it's fun. And I have fun being able to play every team every year. I have fun knowing that we played ASU at home this year, thus anticipating a road trip to Tempe next year. I enjoy seeing the same teams, and same players. I missed seeing Reggie Bush play against Oregon State my freshman year of college. Oregon fans, how badly did you want revenge on Cal after the fumble of '06. Now imagine if you had to wait two years to play them. And imagine having to play in Pullman two years in a row, in November. Cal and UCLA fans, what happens when you don't get to play each other. Cal and USC, what happens when YOU don't get to play each other. What if UW and UO didn't happen every year? Madness! I want a crack at what every Pac-10 team has to offer, and an eight game schedule doesn't allow that. Take a look at the 2000 season. Oregon, Washington, and Oregon State all finished 7-1, each having only lost to each other (OSU to UW, UW to UO, and UO to OSU). This led to a 3-way conference championship tie, with UW getting the rep to the Rose Bowl, OSU nearly getting left out of the Fiesta Bowl, and, get this, a Pac-10 champion in the... Holiday Bowl? I don't have each team's schedule, so I'm not sure who was left out for each team, but I'm assuming at least one of the team's would have lost to someone down the line.

Basically, all I'm saying is don't get rid of the round robin. Yes, it may do better for "national perception." And we finally might get two Pac-10 teams in the BCS again if we do eliminate one conference game. But as a fan, I say this is the worst thing possible for the league. Stick with the round robin! Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Poll

So now you have heard VD's take. What's your thoughts?

Keep the round robin scheduling!

58 votes

Get rid of it! The Pac-10 needs more bowl teams.

4 votes

62 votes | Poll has closed

The Top Ten Pac-10 Games from Last 5 years: #6-4

The VD Special — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:07:56 -0000

Note: Sorry it took so long to get up. Computer broke. Anyways here we go!

For those that don't know, Building the Dam has been recapping the best Pac-10 games from the last 5 years. To recap:

10. Washington @ USC, 2006. USC wins 26-20 on too-late snap by UW

9. Washington @ Cal, 2006. UW ties game with heave, loses in OT 31-24

8. Cal @ UCLA, 2005. UCLA scores 19 points in 13 minutes to top Cal 47-40

7. Oregon @ WSU, 2004. Ducks score 13 points in final 5 minutes for comeback win in thriller, 41-38

So there you have the first 4 games. Now for #s 6-4.

#6. November 15th, 2008. Arizona (6-3) @ Oregon (7-3)

What was at stake: Oregon was debuting the new black, wingged uniforms, and Arizona was hoping to be Oregon a 3rd straight year and put themselves in a good bowl situation.

What happened: Oregon came out fired up because of the unis, and they didn't disappoint. With not even a minute gone in the 1st quarter, Jeremiah Masoli ran for a 66 yard touchdown to get Oregon off to a hot start.

Oregon Vs. Arizona Highlights (via ArcticAutzen)

After that, it was all Oregon the rest of the first half. Following a field goal with no time left, Oregon led Arizona 45-17 at halftime. But the Wildcats were not to be denied. The 2nd half, UA came out as solid as the Ducks in the first half, and UO looked as flat as the 'Cats. Scoring 28 points in a 16 minute span, Arizona cut the lead to 45-48 with just over 6 and a half minutes remaining. After a 3 and out for UO, Arizona got the ball back. With 5 and a half minutes left, UA had a 4th and 3 from their own 45 yard line. This is when Mike Stoops did what Mike Stoops does best: Mess up. He went for it, and didn't get it. Oregon with the ball, handed the ball to LaGarrette Blount and he ran for a 40 yard touchdown to put the game out of reach 55-45.

#5. November 24th, 2006. Oregon (7-4) @ Oregon St (7-4)

What was at stake: 3rd place in the Pac10. Civil War bragging rights. A perfect, miserable, rainy Saturday in Oregon. Everything the Civil War should be.

What happened: Oregon State came out and plugged away, like it usually does, and just wore down the Oregon defense with 4 yards here, 5 yards there. Leading 20-7 at halftime, it appeared OSU was in control.

2006 Civil War - Oregon at Oregon State (via thomasg86)

Going into the 4th quarter down 14-27, Oregon was not ready to give up just yet. After a Jonathan Stewart touchdown with 6 minutes left, Oregon State blocked the extra point. However, Oregon got the ball back and scored on a 26 yard pass to Jordan Kent from Brady Leaf. Kicking an extra point would have tied the game. But Mike Bellotti gave the all-clear for a two point conversion attempt. The Ducks got it and were up 28-27 with 3 minutes left. Oregon State got right back in it with a couple big throws from Matt Moore, and set up a soggy, wind-in-your-face 40 yard field goal for Alexis Serna. But as we say in Corvallis "In Alexis We Trust" and he came through big, nailing it right down the middle, giving OSU a 30-28 lead with 1:12 left. Game not over. Jonathan Stewart hit the return to the outside, and if not for a game saving push out of bounds at the OSU 43, would have scored. Oregon marched down to the OSU 27, when Oregon State called timeout with 20 seconds left. Then this happened (view from student section):

Oregon State Blocks UofO's Field Goal to Win 2006 Civil War (via panda2432)

Now all Beavers take a big sigh of relief: Game Over. Beavs win 30-28.

#4 October 6th, 2007. Stanford (1-3) @ USC (4-0)

What was at stake: Oh just the Stanford students annual pilgrimage to LA for the USC game. And USC being a 41-point favorite. And USC's national championship aspirations. But that didn't matter because USC was going to stomp Stanford...

What happened: We all know what happened. John David Booty threw 4 interceptions. Stanford played the game of their lives. All it came down to was a 10 yard touchdown pass from a freshman Tavita Pritchard with 49 seconds left on 4th and goal to the back of the end zone against the #1 team in the country in front of 90,000 of their fans. But no big deal right?

STANFORD UPSETS USC (via kevbomac2205)

This was not only felt in the Pac-10. It was felt all across the country, especially in Louisiana...

LSU's response to USC losing!! (via pinklsutiger3405)

So there's 4, 5, and 6.

Check back tomorrow for the 3 Best Pac-10 Games from the last 5 years! Any guesses?

--The VD Special

The Top Ten Pac-10 Games from Last 5 Years: Part 2

The VD Special — Fri, 08 May 2009 03:38:14 -0000

Building the Dam is recapping the best of the conference games from 2004-2008. To recap so far:

#10 Washington @ USC, 2006: USC wins 26-20 on too-late snap

#9 Washington @ Cal, 2006: Washington ties game with heave, loses in OT 31-24

So, here we are, at the eighth best Pac-10 game from 2004-2008

#8 October 8th, 2005: Cal (5-0) @ UCLA (4-0)

What was at stake: #10 Cal's 12 game regular season win streak, and #20 UCLA getting it on in what was a top 20 football game, but more importantly, a top 5 public institution THROW DOWN!

What happened: An exciting game that featured nearly 1,000 yards of offense and only 1 turnover for each team. Maurice Jones-Drew had 5 touchdowns on the day (3 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 punt return) and accounted for 279 total yards. The game was back and forth until Cal hit a field goal with 13 minutes left in the game, putting the Bears up by 12, 40-28. A touchdown for the Bruins with 7 minutes left brought them to within a score, but they were going to need to stop the high scoring Bears. Which is what happened. And with 1:35 left, MJD stepped up one more time for UCLA

UCLA winning touchdown vs. Cal 2005 (via CFBFanaticfan)

They missed the 2-pt conversion to make the game 41-40 with only a minute and a half remaining. They need one more stop to be sure, and they got it. An interception set up a final MJD touchdown with no time let to give the Bruins a 47-40 win, and ended Cal's 12 game regular season win streak.

#7 October 9th, 2004: Oregon (1-3) @ Washington State (3-1)

What was at stake: Not much. Had this game been between two better teams, it probably would have been near the top, but a great game none-the-less.

What happened: The game was back and forth all day long. Washington State looked to have possibly wrapped things up when they hit a field goal to put the Cougs up by 10 with 7 minutes left. Oregon was not to be denied. Led behind Kellen Clemens, Oregon put up 13 points in the final 5 minutes, including a 13 yard TD run by Clemens with a minute and a half to go, to win 41-38. The real stat of the game was Oregon (and Clemens) domination on offense. 646 yards of total offense, with Clemens going 36-55 for 437 yards and 3 touchdown passes, and adding an additional 3 touchdown runs to go with it. I've never been a Duck fan, but Clemens' six touchdown performance that day will be forever etched in my mind as a great college football performance. Right behind Joey "5-pick" Harrington in the 2000 Civil War.

--The VD Special

The Top Ten Pac-10 Games From the Last 5 Years, Part 1

The VD Special — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:33:36 -0000

I started realizing how much fun the Pac10 football season really is. Sure, everyone east of conference states thinks the Pac10 is a joke (including the state of Utah, shame on you!), but we know that it isn't easy playing in arguably the tightest conference in the country. Every school, except Arizona, has played in a BCS game since 2000. What other conference can stake claim that their conference has 90% of the teams playing in BCS games in 10 years? I took a lot of things into consideration, i.e. what was at stake in the game, how did it finish, comeback, etc. Here's a look at the top games (between Pac10 schools) the last 5 years (2004-2008 seasons)

Note: As I was going over the last few years, there were probably 20 games that could have made this list for one reason or another. I tried to list it as I remembered the games, so if there is any debate, let's do it in the comments.

10. October 7th, 2006: Washington (4-1) @ USC (4-0)

What was at stake: A game between a bubble top 25 Washington and a top 10 USC team. Tyrone Willingham had finally appeared to turn the corner with this UW program.

What happened: As you may recall, Washington ran with the Trojans all day long. A touchdown with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter brought the Huskies to within 3, 20-23. A USC field goal 1:30 left forced the Huskies to drive down the field 80 yards and score a TD. Isaiah Stanback completed a 19 yard pass to the USC 15, but UW had no timeouts left. You may remember the official standing over the ball for a couple of seconds, not allowing UW to snap it until there were two seconds left. They couldn't get the snap off in time, and USC walked away with a victory, 26-20.

Why big game: Well as you'll see with #9, UW had two heart breakers in 3 weeks, and ultimately cost them their season, and perhaps their program.

9. October 21st, 2006: Washington (4-3) @ Cal (6-1)

What was at stake: Not much really. Not at the beginning anyways. But Cal had been playing well all year long and would be looking for a BCS bid later in the year.

What happened: It was a pretty even game the whole way through. With Cal down 17-16 with only a couple minutes left, Marshawn Lynch broke off a 17 yard TD run and following a Justin Forsett 2-pt conversion, the Bears lead 24-17 with 1:52 remaining. Then, the miracle for UW happened

UW vs Cal 2006 Miracle Catch Crowd Reaction (via shaolinLFE)

Apologies for the poor quality. Basically, Carl Bonnell just heaved the ball into the end zone with no time left and it was caught. After the extra point, the game was headed to overtime. In overtime, it only took two plays for Marshawn Lynch to decide he wanted to score. With the Bears up 31-24, Washington drove to the Cal 6. After a loss of 5 yards, Bonnell tossed one up, and it was intercepted by Jordan Bishop to seal the victory (again, sorry for the poor quality)

Cal Game Overtime vs. Washington (via monarchofdaglen)

Look for games #8 and #7 tomorrow, #6, #5, and #4 on Saturday, and #3, #2, #1 on Sunday!

--The VD Special

APR Rates-- You're going to LOVE this

The VD Special — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:59:58 -0000

Note: Edited due to my misremembering the information on Ted Miller's blog. UCLA is in fact 1 spot LOWER than previously written. UW comes in at #4.

If this has already been discussed, then I apologize, but I didn't see it anywhere in the fan posts, and I figured it deserves it's own discussion here. The latest Academic Progress Rates are out, and you can probably guess who is #1: Stanford. But that's not the awesome part.

1. Stanford 984

2. Cal 970

3. USC 956

4. UW 954

5. UCLA 948

What I found interesting about this whole ordeal, is all we have heard the last few years is how much more intelligent UCLA's players are then the rest of the Pac-10, hell MAYBE EVEN THE COUNTRY. Numbers don't lie Bruins. Both USC and Cal, who you HATE, are actually, indeed, SMARTER THAN YOU.

Let the Oregon State shit talking begin, say what you will, but its UCLA that this concerns.

Questions from a Casual Auburn Fan

The VD Special — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:24:56 -0000

Ok, so since these posts need 75 words, I'll give a little background as to how a kid from Oregon, who has never been to Alabama, became an Auburn fan. Growing up, I had a friend who was from Alabama, including his ENTIRE family. They are all Bammers, except for him. During the Iron Bowl every year, he needed somebody to root for Auburn with him to even out the household (both his parents are Bammers). Then, as it turns out, my dad's best friend from college moves to Atlanta, and ends up marrying a girl who was born, raised, and went to Auburn. The way she talked about it the Tigers got me so fired up about them, I couldn't help but love the BEST team in Alabama. (Bammers can say 36-0 all they want, I just respond with a simple 6 in a row. They are quick to remind of their past National Championships, but apparently have forgotten the past 7 years? Interesting...) Anyways, I digress...

Being 100% devoted to Oregon State, and being on the West Coast, it's hard to get good coverage of Auburn sports, mainly football. In fact, the only insight I do get is from the media, which has it's head so far up Nick Saban and Urban Meyer's a$$es that nothing gets West of the Mississippi. So my questions to you guys are, how has the spring been looking? Have the fans been happy with Gene Chizik so far? I was personally disappointed with the hire, but haven't been able to follow up much. Anyways, any insight into the team this year from a fans perspective would be greatly appreciated.

Go Beavs! WDE!

When college meets pros: What do we as fans do??

The VD Special — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:09:39 -0000

So there as been some discussion on AtQ about being a Blazer fan and being a Duck fan: Do you root for Aaron Brooks? This is something that many fans of colleges don't have to deal with. But what do we as fans do when a guy we used to love becomes our pro team's biggest enemy? I love the Blazers a lot, but I love the Beavs more. But even still, I find myself rooting against Brent Barry. I found myself rooting against Gary Payton when he was a Sonic. And I'll find myself rooting against the Seahawks, even though there is potential for three Beavs to be on the team this year. So I ask you, SBNation, what do you do when your favorite college athletes clash with your favorite pro teams?

Poll

Root for or against favorite athletes? And you don't get a "torn" option

For! I love the guys that represented my school years!

29 votes

Against! Screw those guys. My team must win!

19 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed

Sad News: Former Cal, ASU Head Coach Bruce Snyder passed away at 69

The VD Special — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:10:32 -0000

More photos » by ROY DABNER - Associated Press

Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder leaves the playing field following ASU's 42-27 victory over Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 27, 1999, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Roy Dabner)

Browse more photos »

Normally there is no need to report on news from other Pac-10 schools, but I feel this is necessary in case you haven't seen the ESPN report yet. Bruce Snyder, after a 10 month fight with cancer, has passed away at the age of 69. This from ESPN:

After leading the Sun Devils to an 11-0 regular season, Snyder earned consensus 1996 national coach of the year honors. He also was named Pac-10 coach of the year twice, once at Arizona State and in 1990 as California's head coach.

And here's more about the 1996 season:

Snyder's grand achievement was the Sun Devils' 1996 run. Led by quarterback Jake Plummer, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, ASU landed on the national map with a stunning 19-0 upset of two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska. The Sun Devils played in their second Rose Bowl, falling to Ohio State 20-17 on a last-minute touchdown, and concluded the season ranked fourth in the national polls.

As you may or may not know, Arizona State was my first love (my dad went there, and I was never a huge Beaver fan until coming to school here) so I have vidid memories of that season as probably one of the most fun season's I've ever had.

Bruce Snyder by no means would have been considered a great coach, but he was a solid coach and led good programs. He will be missed by many.

R.I.P., Coach.

FB Recruiting: I've heard this name before, but where...?

The VD Special — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:47:45 -0000

Giovanni Bernard, yes Yvenson's little brother, is a 4-star running back from St Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. For those that don't know, STAHS is regarded annually as one of the best high school programs in the country. Listed at 5'9", 198 pounds, he is very similar to Yvenson, not only in size, but in playing style. He doesn't burn many people with his speed, but he's very shifty and quick, which as we all know is key to excelling at running back here. His junior year he rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and 18 TDs, averaging 9.7 yards per carry. Awesome. His current offers list looks like a who's who of the college football stage:

Notre Dame
Nebraska
West Virginia
Auburn
Florida
Florida State
Miami
Ole Miss
Oklahoma
Oregon State
And others...

If you can, check out this video about him....

http://rivals.yahoo.com/video/recruiting-football/amp-bernard-has-all-of-the-skills-48653

If you can't, basically he says that his top priority is coaching relationships. Well Yvenson can probably attest to the family atmosphere here at Oregon State. He's a top running back, and my early guess is he ends up at one of the Florida schools, so we shall see. There's also talks that he's looking to stay in the south so that his dad can attend games (his dad was only able to make it one game for Yvenson, Senior Day). But if Yvenson makes the Seahawks, there's potential for a move-- this hasn't been said officially, just my thought. Anyways, just thought you guys should know we're in the running for one of the top running backs in the country, and he's someone we'll want to keep our eye on. GO BEAVS!