Friday, January 16, 2009

Ask Todd McShay

We have made many great connections thanks to this blog so we would like to give our many readers a chance to ask questions of their favorite sports personalities. For the first installment, we have ESPN and Scout Inc.'s Todd "Mel Kiper Jr." McShay.

Todd,

What do you think about Utah’s surprising and convincing victory over previously #1 ranked Alabama? Seems like small conference teams have really been flexing their muscles recently. How do you think this will affect the landscape of college ultimate going forward?

Jedediah Buttermaker, The SLC

I’m not into this whole, “prove it on the field” school of thought. I know some guys would have you think that Utah can play with anybody but the fact of the matter is, the talent just isn’t there. I think it’s a nice little story for people and the whole underdog thing sells but I’m just not buying it. Sure they beat Alabama but I think Alabama is a team that was upset with the matchup. I’m sure they think, and I think as well, that they deserved to play a BCS conference team like Texas or Ohio State. It was disrespectful to them to even be included on the same marquee and I just think that it’s using sort of a “what have you done for me lately” mentality to even think that Utah can play with them, despite what the head-to-head results might have you believe. This is meant as no disrespect to Utah, I’m impressed by their insistence on sticking with a gimmicky offense and “hard-nosed” D in order to scrape by with wins over 4 top 25 teams. Those are just smoke-screens folks... magic if you will. That stuff may fly in the WAC and Mountain West Conference but step up to the big boys when they actually try hard and you might just get what you ask for.

___________________

Hey Todd,

I’m a fan of the U but I have become somewhat disenfranchised by the number of off the field incidents over the past 10 years. I have followed the story of Myron Rolle this year and find it refreshing that an athlete of his caliber can also excel in the classroom and realizes where football is in the grand scheme of things. He makes me want to be a ‘Nole fan! Where do you see him ending up if he does pursue life in the NFL after a year in England?

Thanks,

Tommy Canefan, Miami

Not impressed. I think this guy is an overrated football player, you look at his bloodline and expect a tremendous athlete with good size and all you’re really getting is a guy with a little bit of brains. I think the whole Rhodes Scholar thing is overblown. This is a guy who needs one more year in college to cement himself as a 3rd round pick and possible career nickel-back but he’s foregoing it to chase unicorns and rainbows at Oxford. Passing up an NFL shot for the 9-5 grind that is neurosurgery? This guy has bust written all over him, and I’m not talking about the kind that resides in Canton.

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Todd,

We were all glad to hear that Tim Tebow will be playing out his career at Florida. 3 titles and potentially 2 Heismans, not bad. Do you expect Tebow to make a good NFL player, whether it be QB or another position?

Thanks,

Ali Crocker, Gainesville

What did Kiper say? Yes? I’ll go with no then. That chest pounding, god-fearing act isn’t going to fly in the NFL. This is a quarterback with good size and a good heart with mediocre throwing skills. I know he loves the game but this isn’t Rudy. In the real world, Rudy takes a job at the steel mill like everyone else.


*Please note, Todd McShay did not say any of this. He might have said something similar, but that would be purely coincidental.

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