MeanGreenMailbox aka TFLF

Tip of the iceberg? Sheesh. The book on Stoops at OU has been out for a long time. This is a list compile before the 2015 season. So, this is OU from about 2009-kickoff 2015. In the Top Five you've got not just Stoops' OU, but two schools - Washington State (Leach) and Texas A&M (Sumlin) - with head coaches who once were on Stoops' coaching staff! They learned from the master - and outdid him! That OU is dirty is no great secret. Never has been. The years they were clean, they hated the coaches, Gary Gibbs and John Blake. OU and its meth-infested, tooth-challenged fan base want to win, and don't care who represents them on the field...or what they do off the field: Also, as far as the list goes...has any school gotten less out of their criminals on the field than Iowa State? I mean, they were one arrest behind OU at the time of this list, yet nowhere near challenging for the Big 12 title. By the way, this list obviously came out before all of the Baylor stuff really broke. Otherwise...Stoops' OU might fall out of the Top Five and just be the school with the sixth most arrests. Baylor and Briles really rallied to surpass everyone in as short a span as they did. And, given the company, that is really saying something about Briles and Baylor. (Just as an aside...this arrest list is just another place where Stoops was getting the better of Texas and Oklahoma State. They didn't beat Stoops' players on the field very often...and, couldn't keep up with them off the field either. So..."Boomer Sooner" one more time for Head Coach/Warden/Parole Officer Bobby Stoops?)

Lynn McGruder. Kicked out of Tennessee for dealing drugs in the dorms. Stoops gave him a scholie. Austin Box. Overdose on pain killers after back surgery and continuing to play under Stoops. Football chaplain for OU caught selling drugs: http://newsok.com/article/5357432 Forget it...there's been too much to keep up with up there. Lots of drug arrests once you start to google it. Former players in armed robberies and prostitution stings. All guys Stoops signed. Not shocking. OU's as dirty as any big program. For years, the media up there helped keep most of it swept under the rug. I think the Mixon situation, though, soured the relationship between the local and state press up there and the OU athletic department. Suddenly, OU was making the local and state media go to court to sue for information in the Mixon case, simply not answering questions and stonewalling on that and others, and finally just going to press releases so that no one would have to face the press. They were helped along, of course, by the local judge who was a graduate of OU Law. Probably took courses from Boren. Yet, he didn't recuse. Wonder why not? I bet a check of his bank account would go pretty far in answering that. Lots of OU donors, like other big school donors, do open the check books to keep the law in order. These three coward David Boren, Joe Castiglione, and Bob Stoops, though, put Mixon in front of reporters in December once the video came out. Not OU President Boren. Not athletic director Castiglione. Not head coach Stoops. None of those three cowards would face the press to explain why they'd simply let Mixon redshirt a year for breaking a girl's face. They had Mixon read a statement then field questions for a few minutes. Those guys stonewalled everyone for three years, then threw the kid up there in the end. What a group they have up there in Norman.

Wow. He and OU handled his retirement the same way they handled the Mixon, Green-Beckham, Westbrook, and Shannon situations: through press releases. Is Bob Stoops just not smart enough to simply stand up and face reporters who might ask him something other than, "Why'd ya'll run that play, Bob?" "Wow, great game, Bob. you must really be proud of the players. Talk about them!" Amazing.

Another site said it wasn't health. Also, on some OU boards they are saying Stoops recently bought a house in Chicago. He's from Ohio. Wonder if it's just family. Or...just whatever sleaziness has been at OU for the past three years with Joe Mixon, Frank Shannon, Dorial Green-Beckham, and DeDe Westbrooks finally caught up to the school and Stoops is getting out of town before the sh*t hits the fan.

When the recruiting changes....

True, all. Especially about San Jose State. I've been to their stadium. It really was a Fouts-like piece of "architecture." Thanks for the San Jose pro soccer team (Hunt money), they got some upgrades in the 2000s. But, it's still not a great stadium. By the way, SJS also has a four game, home and home series with Army :-) Another similarity to us. They had a four game series with Navy as well at the beginning of the decade. They have a home-and-home with Cal in the future, but not other Pa-12 school; similar to our Tech deal. Good points, many similarities with SJSU. One thing SJSU does seem better at than us, though, is politicking. Didn't hurt to have Bill Walsh as an alumni, though. While still alive, he was very supportive of his alma mater.

I know this draws fire, but...another kid with no FBS offers except from us? Is there a secret plan to join the Southland Conference that the power that be are keeping from us? Raveon Hoston eligible yet? In Denton at all? He had some FBS sniffs, at minimum, until grades and test scores. Same story with this DB? Or, was it always Jackson State, D II schools, and us? Is this now our path: don't gamble on probable academic casualties who may have FBS talent; instead, throw a lifeline to FCS/D II recruits and hope they pan out? If this is the path, why are we paying the head coach more than Sam Houston State and SFA pay their head coaches? If this is the path - recruiting FCS/D II guys - just go hire Sam Houston State's or SFA's coach. Put a little honesty into what we are trying to accomplish.

Which makes sense because Boise's roster was full of Pac-12 non-qualifiers. Our roster isn't full of Big 12 non-qualifiers. Big 12 non-qualifiers tend to go to JUCOs in Texas, NEO A&M in Miami, OK, or one of the Kansas JUCOs. People might ask, "Why couldn't we do the same?" Well, yeah...why couldn't we? After all, we were in a conference with Boise at about the time the mid-2000 schedules were being set in late 90s. The largest reason of all, I'd venture to say, is that Boise had already invested in upgrading their stadium and facilities. The blue turf was installed in 1986. The stadium was expanded/renovated in 1997. The same year, 1997, they began hosting bowl games. Whom to throw under the bus here for not doing the same? Matt Simon, who was the coach when Boise began picking off Pac-12 non-qualifiers? Darrell Dickey who followed soon after? The athletic directors before RV for not moving sooner to upgrade or replace Fouts, upgrade facilities, and attempt to get a bowl game in Denton? There are any number of mistakes we've made along the way. Boise rolled the dice many times - with the backing of their alumni and community because there really isn't a whole hell of a lot to compete with Boise State football when it comes to sports entertainment in Idaho. Being so close to the metroplex, the average person on the street has dozens more entertainment options in DFW than in Boise on a Saturday afternoon or Saturday night. I don't care about any of that. It's water under the bridge, and so what matters is the present. And, presently, we are paying a coach $1 million and getting the same type of recruits we always have. That bothers some people; others, it doesn't. I think Seth Littrell and Wren Baker are nice guys. But, I don't think they are the pull-a-rabbit-out-of-the-hat types who can really deliver long term for the good of the program. I view them both as stop-gap players who will use us as a stepping stone and will jump the first chance they get. Hence the signing of a home and home with Liberty, hiring an OL coach who has been in recruiting trouble with the NCAA before, and then allowing him to give scholarships to players coveted by McNeese State and NW Oklahoma State. Some will argue, "He got Houston!" Yes, so did RV. And, RV also got a long term deal with a service academy. Phone me when Wren can get a long term deal with Navy or Air Force. I know you understand this; but, many others do not. Or, they do and simply hate the look of reality when it has set in so hard, like so much concrete.

Boise State did not "for year recruit virtual unknowns." They took advantage of the then-Pac-10/12's academic requirements to sweep in some nice players who didn't qualify to enter Pac-10/12 schools. They positioned themselves as a "play now" option over the JUCO route many non-qualifiers took. It worked for them, to a degree. They were never invited into a bigger conference even though they occasionally slayed a bigger dragon.

The points made by me and others are not a knock on recruits personally, but simply further evidence to many of us that we are paying more money to a coaching staff who is not getting any better results in recruiting that those in years (decades now) past. RV set up a pretty easy OOC schedule for the better part of seven or eight more seasons. If Littrell can't get over six wins with the gimme games RV set up, we're spinning our wheels at FBS-level. If we cannot win six games where three OOCs are Lamar, SMU, and Army, plus playing in the C-USunBelt, Littrell and Co. either need to be shown the door, or we need to drop down and spend the money elsewhere in the department. In other words, cut the charade: if we are going to recruit to the FCS level, get on the FCS level. As it stands, since we've returned to I-A/FBS status: -4 winning seasons, 18 losing seasons -5 head coaches: Simon, Dickey, Dodge, McCarney, and Littrell. Only Dickey and McCarney have delivered winning seasons since we've returned. Only Dickey has delivered multiple winning seasons. Recruiting matters. We are not getting much bang for the buck at this point. I'll stand by my opinion, always, that the vast majority of talent is found by FBS coaches and recruiting services. Those who stand out get multiple offers by FBS schools. Those who don't are getting FCS and DIvision II offers...then, we sweep in. And, although we are not supposed to mention UTSA, I'll go ahead and do it. They are getting three-star guys with multiple FBS offers. They had 10 in their 2017 class; we had four. They are beating us on and off the field. It's a problem.

First of all, I am not on any kind of social media. No facebook, twitter, instagram, linkedin. None of it. GoMeanGreen.com is the extent of my "social media"...and, it's not that social beyond the couple of dozen or so regular posters to it. Second, Seth Littrell and Wren Baker ought to know that signing a roster full of kids that no other FBS schools wanted isn't going to make for a very competitive football program very often. If they need someone to tell them face-to-face, again...they should resign today because they aren't cut out for this level. The truth is, if you like to hear the truth, very few kids "slip through the cracks" because everyone is watching tape of some player. A kid will show up on FBS coaches' radars if he is outstanding in almost every case. Conroe plays schools with players college coaches are seeing on film. If Brown's play had caught their eye while watching those films, they'd be onto him because good OLs and DLs are hard to find. Those coaches are not onto him. McNeese State was. NW Oklahoma State was. And, us. Not, LSU, OU, and us. McNeese State, NW Oklahoma State, and us. If Brown rounds into a starting C-USun Belt OL within three years that'll be fine for us. But, it's not earth shattering stuff from a staff which is being paid more than any in the past, with better facilities than almost all others in the past, and with a bowl game (albeit a gift from APR ) under its belt. Finally, I have offered no advice. All I've done is point out that the recruiting is at the same level it has always been. And - this is fact, not opinion - such recruiting has led to exactly four winning seasons in the 22 that have passed since we because I-A/FBS again. You call it "advice," I call it looking at the history that is there: We are getting now what we've always gotten. If that's worth $1 million a year to you, we simply will have to say that we have different opinions on what we expect from $1 million; and, that's fine. Go Mean Green!

:-)

Follow along...slowly, if necessary: In a criminal investigation, there has to be some sort of evidence that a person is involved in some criminal activity in order for him or her (or, "other," not knowing the offical "CIS" status of Benford) to be, you know, investigated further. So, try putting one and one together here: after over two months of investigation, perhaps...just perhaps...Benford hasn't been named by any witness or found in anyone's phone by way of text or computer by way of e-mail within the context of drugs or prostitution. That being so, your answer to why he is able to "skate on this" should be clear.

Thank you for the first part. That's what I was looking for. But, ??? to the second part. I didn't link to FOXNews or quote it. I linked to Inside Higher Ed. Seattle Post Intelligencer, and Cooper Point Journal. I would argue that none of those three is what people would consider "conservative." Perhaps I'm wrong. Can someone refresh my memory as to whom the Seattle Post Intelligencer endorsed for president over the past few elections? Maybe I'd have given an MSNBC link...if they'd reported on the story. See the dilemma. I can't read or link the MSNBC angle if they don't have one. WaPo finally reported on it this morning...by simply posting an AP article on their site: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/higher-education/threat-closes-washington-college-after-protests-over-race/2017/06/01/b4f6de24-4735-11e7-8de1-cec59a9bf4b1_story.html

Welcomed? What does that have to do with anything? I already said he's likely a good kid and hard worker. Probably opens doors for ladies and children and so forth as well. But, whether or not I welcome him will not change his talent - or, 129 other FBS coaching staff's evaluation of it - one way or the other. His profile is no different than what we've gotten in the past: a kid with no other FBS offers besides us. That is the point. We are now paying a head coach $1 million a year to hire the type of staff that steals recruits from McNeese (FCS) and NW Oklahoma State (DIvision II). If we join the Southland Conference and are paying our head coach $250,000 a year, this is our recruit and I'm happy with it. However, we are not in the Southland Conference, and we are paying our head coach substantially more than $250,000. And, his recruiting results are no different than his predecessor's results. Okay? Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don't. This isn't rocket science. If we don't recruit FBS-type recruits we are not going to compete well very often at the FBS level. That isn't an opinion, that is our glaring history since our re-entry to the Big Boy field in 1995.

I agree, totally agree there. Same as a business can put a sticker on the door telling potential patrons, "No Firearms Allowed" here. Woah, and now this: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/education/article153810709.html They closed the campus down today. Unbelievable. Wonder if any national press will now begin to cover the story.

I don't want to hear from "libs" or "conservatives." That isn't what this is about. This is about whether or not this whole protest business has completely jumped the shark when they start going after professors who have spent their entire careers being sympathetic to their cause. Liberal or conservative aside, it appears to me that you have many kids out there who simply will not process different points of view. Not just that they can't defend their own point of view logically, but won't. To me, this has to be frightening for academics. That's why I wanted to hear from academics, not just a knee-jerk mix of "liberal" or "conservative" viewpoints. And, again, let me just say this from the perspective of someone with a Literature degree: how can anyone take your "demands" seriously when you cannot even punctuate correctly? I'm not in academics or teaching, so can someone who is explain to me how grammar is being taught today, if at all? Simple concepts in drafting a paper such as organizing into paragraphs even? Are kids even required to do research papers in most places? I just know what I see at home. My fifth grader had to write - and present (thankfully) - two biographical essays this year. He hated it, but gutted them out. I am thankful for that much from our school district's fifth grade curriculum - making the kids do things they don't want to do, but will help them in the future. But, you who are educators, what are you seeing in the classroom in schools and colleges these days?

Okay, look...I'll just have to take your word for it because I've been watching this kind of recruiting since 1990. It hasn't brought us a whole heck of a lot of success. Hope it works out. But, at this point, sure looks like more of the same.

And, Division II power NW Oklahoma State. Bye-bye, Rangers! Honestly, though, if this is what Chuck Langston is doing with his "Oklahoma ties" in recruiting - stealing guys from NW Oklahoma State - Littrell is in for a very short career as a head coach. And, look...I don't think there's any way Littrell doesn't have veto power on all offers, so these are every bit as much on him as they are the coaches who do the lead recruiting. Now...before other posters come in here and go nutso because I don't fawn all over the commitment, I'm certain he's a nice kid with a good attitude, and hope - again - that this is somehow a sleeper that "everyone else somehow overlooked because they were so dumb." I really do hope that because I've hoped that for many, many players for the better part of three decades now since enrolling at UNT and continuing to follow the football program for that long. However, none of that changes the picture as far as us competing against FBS schools on a regular basis is concerned. If we were an FCS school, I'd be more excited.

If the quality of the five were different than in years past, yes. But, that's not the case, so...no.

John, Awesome! Always good to see young folks going into sales; that's where the money is. In basketball and soccer, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. In sales, you miss 100% of the sales you don't ask for. Remember that. Don't ever let the tire kickers and "no" get you down. You'll get a lot of that. You'll get more of that than "yes." Keep going. Think of it this way, as well, because you were a defensive back. You knew you couldn't intercept 100% of the passes the opposing QBs threw. But, the one or two you might get by studying them and paying attention to their tendencies would mightily swing the momentum in your favor. Study your customers to figure out how to best "pick them off" when they "pass" your way. And, then, sometimes...you just get lucky! Someone just walks in, knows what they want, knows they want buy it that day, and you happen to be the guy there at the time. Those are the best sales of all! Those are like the tipped passes that just flutter into your area. Being at the right place at the right time...sometimes it's planning; sometimes it's luck: both pay the bills! Once our kids are out of school, we'll be in the market for an RV, for sure, too. Hope you're still there...unless, you have your own lot by then! Go Mean Green! Sell! Sell! Sell!

Was really sad to see the Flying Tomato go. Perfect place...right across from the building where I took most of my English/Literature major classes. And, back then, the CD jukebox was a new, novel thing. Loved that place.

Not just Dan, but Dodge and Dickey as well, for the most part. Agree, though, as many have that it's becoming clear that the recruiting hasn't turned yet.

This. Although, Houston is (slightly) more of a draw than Rice. Army does get more national. Houston will peter out under Applewhite; so, it remains to be seen how it plays beyond the state of Texas...or, at least the small part of Texas that pays attention to UNT and/or Houston football. I've got friends and relatives with degree from Houston and Rice, and some who still live down there. So, any scheduling down there is worthwhile. I'll say this: it makes a hell of a lot more sense than giving Liberty a home and home. You are probably somewhat correct. However, there are enough Houston people in the DFW area that you have to at least admit that a Houston game would certainly draw more than Liberty. (By the way, as an aside, Liberty was the name of my junior high school. So, just seeing the words Liberty and football together doesn't do much for me, even knowing we are talking about a college...or, what passes for a college.) If the future schedules website is correct, the years it looks like this will fit us and them are: 2019: in Denton, that would give us two home OOC and two away OOC, and still leaves them space for two home OOCs that season http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/conf-usa/north-texas-mean-green.php 2022: in Houston, that give them two home OOC and two away OOC, and still leaves us space for one more home OOC that season http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/aac/houston-cougars.php Or, any place you choose two years from 2023 onward.

Texas has bypassed two opportunities to hire Mack Brown's Head Coach in Waiting. Probably because he couldn't do the "Hook 'Em Horns" hand sign correctly: