Harvin Trouble. Florida all-purpose player Percy Harvin isn't suffering from a lack of buzz going into the NFL Draft. No, he's getting talked about plenty -- or maybe even too much.
Nonetheless, one executive said Harvin would have to slip to the fourth round for him to consider rolling the dice on Harvin's character. Two others said they would not entertain the idea of drafting him at any price. Coachability, a posse of hangers-on, his lack of respect for authority and drug usage made Harvin a unanimous selection to become a repeated problem in the pros. (HT: Swamp Things)
Well. There you have it.
This phenomenon has apparently become known as "liv[ing] in 'Percy Harvin World.'" Of course, it doesn't really help when your former head corch coach is out there refusing to answer whether you tested positive for drugs in your time with the program and then adding little gems like this:
He's got to be in the right place, though. I think he'll be a great NFL football player. I just hope he goes to a good team with good coaches.
Other parts of Gator Nation are rallying a bit more enthusiastically to Harvin's cause.
Let's consider how much of a team cancer Harvin really is -- never got arrested in Gainesville, never got publicly suspended by Urban Meyer, played hard through injuries and probably should have missed more than five career games, helps lead the Gators to two national titles in three seasons, puts together the performance of his life in the championship game against Oklahoma, never knowingly rubbed teammates the wrong way or pissed guys off, no one within the UF program publicly said one bad thing about him.
What a team cancer!
C&F has to admit his own confusion at this turn of events. There's never been any real serious problems associated with Harvin until now, but the sheer volume and venom of the complaints, along with Urban Meyer's tepid endorsements, make Harvin sound awful. Did we miss something?
Andre Smith has apparently finally maybe it seems fired his agent. Not that this should come as a shock to anyone, though the agent is denying it. Is it me, or is the best time to fire your agent generally some time before your draft status is in freefall?
Can't play with 'em, can't coach with 'em, can't win with 'em. Or maybe I can. Seems that Matthew Stafford's unwillingness to talk about his parent's divorce -- because, you know, most people are just falling all over themselves to chat about the most painful moments of their lives -- might not be a deal-breaker for the San Francisco 49ers after all. Please, please finish the NFL Draft so we can all return to reality and leave this world where people who threw millions of dollars at Terrell Owens see Matthew Stafford as a head case.
Counterintuitive me-me alert: Gene Chizik -- Brilliant! The usually good Tony Barnhart is the first one to climb on this bandwagon.
The media narrative on Gene Chizik was pretty much set in stone right after he became the head coach at Auburn: Very good defensive coordinator; went 5-19 in his first two years as a head coach; going to Alabama where Nick Saban started 12-0 last season and was ranked No. 1 on Championship Saturday.
Well, you could call it a media narrative. Or you could call it a series of incontrovertible facts.
The bottom line if you're an Auburn fan is that while Chizik was getting his brains beat out in the Big 12, he was learning how to be a head coach. This is no small thing. He was talking to Mack Brown of Texas and other friends about the million little details that you didn't even know EXISTED before you become a head coach.
So, to recap: Chizik went 5-19 in the Big XII while getting help from Mack Brown. How bad would things have been had he not gotten help from Mack Brown?
Listen, Chizik could somehow turn out to be a great head coach. It happens. But there is absolutely nothing to make one believe that he will be a great head coach -- unless, hedging bets, you want to be able to say, "See! I wrote a column about how great he would be, back when everybody else was writing him off."
But it's all okay, because Chizik is chasing the next great running back. He doesn't have said running back yet, but he's chasing this star of the future, so prepare for the rise of the Tigers.
No, Bama fans, the Bear can't coach this one, either. Alabama plans an alumni seven-on-seven game for A-Day. So that's 92,014, for your information. Come thrill in the pulse-pounding matchup between John Parker Wilson and Jay Barker!
Pete Carroll is playing with fire. Doesn't he know what happened to the last guy who benched Mitch Mustain?
He did WHAT? Just imagine you're reading along on your team's ESPN affiliate's report about spring practice, going through the notes, when your eyes hit this sentence:
Andrew Harris suffered a ruptured testicle Friday and didn't dress for the scrimmage
Well, no, I would imagine not. (HT: Red Cup Rebellion)