Corn Flakes: The Year Of Readiness

I actually took a vacation. A real vacation. Mrs CN and I headed off to Los Angeles/Orange County and San Diego for a few days. It was... beautiful. It was a nice time away from the frozen tundra, anyway.

In the meantime, I missed all this talk about freshman eligibility, i.e., "The Year of Readiness" as proposed by Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. I'm sure you all ran into it. The initial freak out was that it would ruin the Big Ten Conference, but you have to realize that the Big Ten wouldn't do this by itself.

What it is is a good talking point by a guy who knows more about diplomacy, it seems, than the rest of college football put together. He's the guy that started making oodles of money for his conference with BTN and the guy who gave up his opposition to a College Football Playoff, making oodles more money for the Power Five conferences.

"The Year Of Readiness" is an attempt to make it appear like the money makers give a damn about the student athletes they're supposed to represent. I suppose that in some way they actually believe they're helping themselves look like they're for amateurism, and that's what they're hoping the courts and congress think too.

Nebraska's Shawn Eichorst unsure yet on freshman eligibility stance - ESPN

Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst, in step with other Big Ten administrators, supports a discussion in college athletics to bolster academics, though he's not ready to endorse freshmen ineligibility.

What you should take from this article is that Eichorst has talked to Riley and Miles about it, and OMG, he talks to his coaches. Weren't we lead to believe otherwise?

Which Players Won the NFL Scouting Combine? - WSJ
If one player could lay claim to being the best of the best, however, it would be Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah. He finished as the top performer in four separate drills (vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill and short shuttle), the most of any player in Indianapolis.

Six Big Ten teams land on ESPN’s list of College Football’s Top 24 jobs " Big Ten Network

If every college football head coaching job became available tomorrow, which would be the most desirable? ESPN.com's Travis Haney (@TravHaneyESPN) recently headed a project, which ranked each of the 65 college football jobs at the Power 5

Modern pass defense and "the rule of three" - Football Study Hall
Teams are learning to stock up on defensive backs in the modern era or face marginalization of their best players and dwindling coverage options.

New Jersey officials considering bid to host college football national championship game - Orlando Sentinel
The College Football Playoff is beginning a new bidding cycle, giving select cities a chance to bid for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 title games. Cities from coast to coast have received request for proposal information and one area in the mix may surprise a few people – New Jersey.

Why banning true freshmen is a bad idea that will never happen | FOX Sports
In conversations since last week with numerous administrators around the country, I've learned that a surprising number of influential figures are truly interested in exploring the so-called Year of Readiness concept. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has been quietly planting the seeds for months, but Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, for one, is making sure his conference takes the matter seriously. The Pac-12's Larry Scott likely will as well.

Family of missing RIT student Max Maisel seeks help

The family of missing third-year Rochester Institute of Technology student, Max Maisel, asked for the public's help in finding him.

This really sucks. Ivan Maisel has been a favorite of mine for a long time. His son is missing and things don't sound good.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SEEDING PROJECTIONS: 125-157 - Black Heart Gold Pants
How might the seeds look for the wrestling version of the Big Ten Tournament next weekend?

Adidas Refuses to Award JJ Nelson $100,000 for Fastest Combine Time - Underdog Dynasty
You may be shocked (shocked!) to read this, but suspicious circumstances surround a shoe company, athletes, and money.

The South keeps 91 percent of its top football recruits home, more than any other region - SBNation.com
How each part of the country compares at producing elite high school players and hanging onto them for their college careers.

Basketball

Northwestern-Indiana Final Score: Northwestern extends win streak to four in 72-65 win over Indiana - Inside NU
Northwestern has now won four consecutive Big Ten games for the first time since 1967.

Then There Was This....

Once-homeless Baylor player ineligible, allegedly for accepting a place to live - SBNation.com
Walk-on Silas Nacita scored three touchdowns and made Academic All-Big 12 last season while sleeping on apartment floors and studying cell phone pictures of textbook pages.

NCAA touts inspiring homeless athlete as other homeless athlete punished - SBNation.com
Intentional or not, the NCAA's comic timing is one of its few strengths.

What the heck is going on with Silas Nacita, Baylor and the NCAA? - SBNation.com
Let's try and make sense of the statements.

MORNING UPDATE:

The bottom line is that I broke the rules. I should've never accepted the help and I am deeply sorry for my actions pic.twitter.com/Ekw0e4uSbQ

— Silas Nacita (@Salsa_Nacho) February 26, 2015