Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tressel is Dangerfield of College Football
Back in the old days when everything was so simple, famous comedian Rodney Dangerfield was on top of his game in the funny business. The line that made him famous, "I get no respect," made millions laugh throughout his career. Dangerfield ended up receiving the respect he deserved, but his catchy line may also describe an elite college football coach that doesn't get the respect he deserves.
For the past two years, the Ohio State Buckeyes have steamrolled through the Big Ten with ease. Before the 2006 season, there were doubters to whether or not the preseason favorite Buckeyes could go through the season undefeated. OSU would have to replace three All-American linebackers in A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter, and Anthony Schlegel, along with most of their secondary. Added to the fact that they had to go to Austin for a rematch with Texas and the always-tough Big Ten would make it difficult for OSU to go undefeated.
In 2006, though, the Buckeyes proved their doubters wrong and won the Big Ten title by going undefeated. In the National Championship Game against Florida, however, OSU got thumped, losing 41-14, making OSU the laughing stock of college football for the whole summer.
Then before the 2007 season, the majority predicted the Buckeyes to place third or fourth in the Big Ten. Most of the pundits said they would have a rebuilding year. Can you blame them, though? They did lose most of their offense, including Heisman winner Troy Smith and first round draft pick Ted Ginn, Jr. Not only that, but OSU had a rough schedule, as they had to travel to hostile environments such as Washington, Penn State, and Michigan (well, Michigan isn't that hostile, but it's still Michigan). There was real no mention of OSU when discussing who the Big Ten favorites are. Instead, everyone liked to talk about how Michigan was stacked on offense or how P.J. Hill was going to carry Wisconsin to a Big Ten championship.
In the end, though, the Buckeyes proved the experts and fans of opposing teams wrong by going 11-1 and winning the Big Ten title ... again. Just like the previous year though they lose in the National Championship to another SEC team in LSU which fueled fans even more to rag on OSU.
It's becoming a formality now. The doubters doubt OSU every season if they lost a lot or if their schedule is tough. Opposing fans say "they can't do it again," "this year, they'll be mediocre," or "they'll be soft this year." In some years, that's understandable like last year. OSU wasn't supposed to be good and were supposed to go through a tough rebuilding year. They lost Troy Smith, Antonio Pittman, Ted Ginn, Santonio Holmes, Alex Gonzalez, and the list goes on and on. But for the Buckeyes, it didn't matter — it never matters. Somehow, some way, they always find a way to be one of the best in college football. It doesn't take long to find the man that's responsible for all this. The man that always has OSU prepared no matter what. That man is a well-known coach in Jim Tressel.
Jim Tressel knows what it feels like to be doubted. Before taking the head coach position at OSU, Tressel was a head coach at Youngstown State, where he won four Division 1-AA National Championships and showed up in nine of them. However, when OSU made the decision to hire Tressel as their head coach, Buckeye nation wasn't too excited about the hire. After they fired John Cooper for his poor record against rival Michigan, OSU fans were looking for a big-name coach to come and take the reigns. With Tressel, though, they didn't get a big-name coach and it took many years for OSU fans to finally accept Tressel as their coach for the future.
A big reason why OSU reloads over year is because Tressel is been a madman at the game of recruiting. According to Scout.com, OSU has had a top-15 class for the last five years, except for one year where they finished with the 16th-best class. And add this year, where Tressel and OSU plan to bring in at least a top-three class. Arguably the most important aspect of college football is recruiting. Bringing in the top players that will make your team competitive year in and year out is something that coaches spend hours upon hours a day doing.
So far in his career, Tressel has been one of the best in college football at recruiting. Filling the needs for his team with blue-chip recruits every year is the norm for OSU classes. Tressel first started recruiting mainly in Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Now he dips into the big recruiting states like Florida, Texas, Louisiana, etc. Tressel's recruiting is a big reason why OSU is in BCS games every year and considered part of the "elite" college football programs.
However, his astonishing recruiting sometimes goes unnoticed because OSU has been blown out of two straight National Championship Games. Yes, I do realize that national championships mean a lot more than recruiting classes, but let's give the man his due every once in a while. Sure, his team has been embarrassed the past two years, but at least he led his team there, which is a lot more than almost everyone else can say.
It's not like Tressel really needs the attention. He knows that he doesn't need the respect that he deserves because he'll get it in the fall. He knows that even though he's been embarrassed the past two years on the big stage, he'll just go out there and go undefeated again. In fact, disrespect toward Tressel fuels him ever year. Sure, the experts can diss OSU all they want, but in the end, Tressel proves them wrong time after time. I'm surprised no one has got it yet. OSU does not rebuild, they reload. The term "rebuilding" isn't in Tressel's vocabulary. So go ahead, everyone, doubt Jim Tressel and Ohio State. Make the predictions that they'll finish in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten. Chances are that Tressel will show why he likes the "I get no respect" treatment.
Jim Tressel is one of the elite coaches in college football, we all know that. His recruiting and coaching strategies have placed him in the upper echelon of college football coaches. However, compared to many other coaches like Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Bob Stoops, and so on, Tressel doesn't get the respect he deserves.