Over The Pylon

"Forget about offense and defense. I have a wonderful stock tip for you, friend!"

Remember that time you were told something and then it didn’t actually happen? You know… that time your parents told you that you would get a new bike for Christmas and you ended up with a GI Joe you already had. Or that time your friends told you they wouldn’t get you wasted and you woke up in a seedy hotel with a terrible headache and a missing kidney. Or that time your girlfriend told you she’d love you forever and then decided to play Who’s In My Mouth with everyone she came in contact with. But I digress… Sometimes you’re told things that don’t actually come to fruition. But let the record show that OTP at least delivered on our promise to get back to normal eventually. Off we go…

Fall camp opened on Thursday for the Cardinals. And that’s important because without fall camp, the Cards would probably suck something fierce in the fall. Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, but it gets you a hell of a lot closer than you’d be otherwise. Some random practice thoughts, commentary, etc.:

• Doug Zaleski at The Star Press recaps the first practice. Of note: Lembo clearly watches the news and references stock market drops in practice. This man is a mutitasker of epic proportions.
• The BSU media relations folks are again recapping each of the practice sessions. This was actually a very insightful way to learn about the goings on and was far from the general no-info kind of “updates” we’d had to suffer through in years past. Practice 1 here, practice 2 here.
• Maybe the highest potential item, at least for us, is the fall camp photo gallery. Expect some LOLposts from these. Check them out before for yourself… though they aren’t nearly as humorous as they could (and will) be.
• Not really camp report related, but Doug Z also put out some content about the installation of the playbook under Coach Lembo and how some of it likely won’t be in by the season opener. The pessimists will say that will make it hard to win. Optimistically, I will say Coach Lembo agrees that we don’t even need to have a full playbook to beat the Hoosiers.

There’s also been some significant roster moves, some impacting the fall, some impacting the years ahead.

• With the departure of Eric Williams, the tailback spot looked to be a bit of a problem. With the ding ups of David Brown and Cory Sykes, I began to wonder who would be switching positions to even fill out the offense during camp. BSU announced though that former walk on RBs Barrington Scott and Dwayne Donigan have been awarded scholarships for the fall.
• Reports came last week that the 2012 edition of the Cards may have a little bit of Buckeye all up in ’em as LB Jonathan Newsome is apparently transferring from Ohio State to Ball State if his Twitter account is to be believed. OSU hasn’t confirmed it, but he has been removed from the online roster.

Normally, we don’t delve into recruiting much. The biggest and dominant reason is that my life is already football-centered enough without the 24/7 watching of where a 17-year old wants to spend the next four years. I admire those that make their bones on the recruiting trail, because frankly, I avoid it until they’re signed for my sanity. Having said that, I cannot let this small piece of news slip by:

• BSU has received a verbal commitment from yet another Cleveland prospect, but this one takes the cake. And then eats it. All of it. Lineman Carlutorbantu Zaramo has verbally committed his 6’4″ 300-pound frame to Ball State and I for one am already giddy at the many many many satire posts he can be a part of.

In Cardinal opponent news…

• The first coaches poll got released Thursday and the Oklahoma Sooners were deemed the #1 team in the country by the coaches. That’s important because OU shows up on the Cards’ schedule on October 1. I’d like to make some sort of smarmy comment but I’ll just be over in the corner rocking back and forth and sobbing. Don’t mind me.
• This bit of news has nothing to do with 2011, but our season opening opponent Indiana got a seismic piece of news this past week when Gunner Kiel committed to them. Kiel is the nation’s top-ranked QB and is from Columbus, IN, but the overwhelming response from this commitment has been, “WHY?!?” and it’s a valid question. Granted, the Hoosiers have rid themselves of the Lynchian anchor that they had, but top-ranked QBs don’t go to awful programs, Tim Couch not withstanding. And let the over/under gambling begin for how long it is until Kevin Wilson gets popped for recruiting violations. Put me down for the day after Kiel actually signs a Letter of Intent.

Filed under: Ball State, Preseason |