Thor's hammer coming down on USC... Ohio State next?

[Mike Corey]

Harrison Till (not Twill...my mistake) was a longsnapper for OSU and Duke, and in Durham he was one of the more popular students on campus, as reported in this piece for The Chronicle in '04. He was well-acclimated with athletics at Duke, being a star thrower on the track team, rooming with Shav Randolph, and finding time for varsity football, too.

[roywhite]

Sounds like Tressell has a problem that is fatal to his job. When his tenure can't be projected beyond a few weeks and he's already suspended for several games, any additional drip-drip means the end is near.

ESPN is reporting he has resigned.

[Newton_14]

ESPN is reporting he has resigned.

Here is the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6606999

Interesting development. Ohio St has a tall task to find a replacement this late in the game.

[SuperTurkey]

Here is the link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6606999

Interesting development. Ohio St has a tall task to find a replacement this late in the game.

RichRod's looking for work.

[JasonEvans]

Asst Coach Fickell will coach next season while they search for a long-term replacement.

Whoever said he would not make it thru Memorial Day... mad props!!

-Jason

[JasonEvans]

Interesting article (written before Tres resigned) on why Ohio State won't get hit as hard as USC.

But there's an important point lost in the rush to bury the Buckeyes that bears repeating. Despite all appearances of decorum run amok, all the NCAA asks of its member institutions in these situations is to stay out in front of the matter. Don't obfuscate: Investigate. Admit you screwed up. Hit yourself over the head with the hammer first. Even those that overtly lie and cheat will still get leniency if they come across as forthright in their internal probe.

Ohio State's doing that.

USC didn't.

-Jason "of course, Jim Calhoun didn't accept any blame for the mess at UCon and he avoided any serious sanctions" Evans

[Mike Corey]

I clearly have no OSU inside information.

Darn it! I owe Ozzie a dinner at Angus Barn! Inconceivable!

[roywhite]

I clearly have no OSU inside information.

Darn it! I owe Ozzie a dinner at Angus Barn! Inconceivable!

What does the reaction to Tressel's exit seem to be in the local Columbus media and Buckeye nation?

I'm wondering if they aren't just looking to get the next full-time football coach (Urban Meyer?) and get on with winning, or if there is some sense that the program has gone seriously astray and needs deep cleaning?

[Mike Corey]

I'll have a better sense tomorrow of how people are reacting since it's a holiday. My guess: diehard fans are infuriated; most in Columbus are probably a mix of disappointed and relieved.

People have already started calling for AD Smith to resign.

Fickell is as good as anyone to hold the program together for a year. Target #1 will surely be Urban Meyer.

This move will go a long way in shielding OSU from NCAA penalties.

SI has a story being published online later today that purportedly put the OSU Admin past the tipping point.

[muzikfrk75]

I'll have a better sense tomorrow of how people are reacting since it's a holiday. My guess: diehard fans are infuriated; most in Columbus are probably a mix of disappointed and relieved.

People have already started calling for AD Smith to resign.

Fickell is as good as anyone to hold the program together for a year. Target #1 will surely be Urban Meyer.

This move will go a long way in shielding OSU from NCAA penalties.

SI has a story being published online later today that purportedly put the OSU Admin past the tipping point.

This is what I'm waiting for.

[BD80]

RichRod's looking for work.

OSU is undefeated in games he coached!

[muzikfrk75]

Sports Illustrated
@SI_24Seven Sports Illustrated
Later today on SI.com, SI will release a special investigative report on Jim Tressel and Ohio State's football’s program.

http://twitter.com/#!/SI_24Seven/sta...46718064660480


...Ruh roh.

[Sandman]

A question for the group: How does THE OSU football scandal and it's repercussions differ from the UNCCH football scandal? From what I've read, the OSU situation does not appear to be nearly as severe as the UNCCH debacle, yet OSU seems to be responding much faster and more decisively. Should the Butch(er) be worried? This does not seem to reflect well on how the UNCCH administration has addressed their rules violations.

[jkidd31]

We're in the process of moving to Columbus and are here this w/e. It's been going around for quite a few weeks that Urban Meyer was looking at homes in Upper Arlington, but does not want to start coaching again until 2012. This happening and having Fickell be the interim coach for this season so "search" can begin after the 2011 season ends will undoubtedly fuel that speculation even more.

What's sad is if Tressel would have come clean, the Tat Five would have got a few game suspension to start the 2010 season and this would be over. Sometimes it's better to say oops then trying to cover your mess up.

[sagegrouse]

A question for the group: How does THE OSU football scandal and it's repercussions differ from the UNCCH football scandal? From what I've read, the OSU situation does not appear to be nearly as severe as the UNCCH debacle, yet OSU seems to be responding much faster and more decisively. Should the Butch(er) be worried? This does not seem to reflect well on how the UNCCH administration has addressed their rules violations.

Also covered in another thread:

(a) Lack of Institutional Control. Tressel rec'd an e-mail on a potential violation and passed it on to a mentor or older friend of the player named instead of to OSU compliance officers or attorneys. Given Tressel's position as the long-time and highly paid football coach, I would hazard a guess that this fully met the definition of lack of institutional control.

(b) The Coverup. He lied about the e-mail in December, and as all recognize, the coverup is judged worse than the crime.

At UNC I don't believe we have heard of a smoking gun found in the hands of Butch Davis. I expect UNC to get punished severely, but I don't think Butch is in the same position as Tressel, although I expect there were as many or more violations at UNC as at Ohio State.

sagegrouse

[mph]

People have already started calling for AD Smith to resign.

I'm interested to see how this plays out for President Gee. While I doubt he's going anywhere, his handling of this situation has been very poor. His quip during the initial press conference - "I just hope [Tressel] doesn't dismiss me" - was bizarrely tone deaf and set precisely the wrong tone. Taken with his earlier "little sisters of the poor" gaffe, it's easy to paint him as a president who values football success more than the integrity of his school. It's a shame given his history at Vanderbilt and other universities, but his public image is a liability to OSU.

[tommy]

We're in the process of moving to Columbus and are here this w/e. It's been going around for quite a few weeks that Urban Meyer was looking at homes in Upper Arlington, but does not want to start coaching again until 2012. This happening and having Fickell be the interim coach for this season so "search" can begin after the 2011 season ends will undoubtedly fuel that speculation even more.

What's sad is if Tressel would have come clean, the Tat Five would have got a few game suspension to start the 2010 season and this would be over. Sometimes it's better to say oops then trying to cover your mess up.

Sometimes?

Of course there will be a lot of talk about Urban Meyer. But for a program now dealing with the public perception that it is "renegade," I'm not sure they're going to want to hire a coach whose players were arrested over 30 times in his six years in Gainesville. That might be hard for even Gordon Gee to laugh off.

I could easily see OSU going after another big name coach who is a proven winner, who has Ohio roots, and maintains a clean reputation, and who would be killer on the recruiting trail. Obviously, I'm speaking of Jon Gruden.

[sagegrouse]

On the front page of www.si.com.

Sagegrouse

[moonpie23]

man, the hammer is down and the splatter is just beginning to be shown...


any SI guys hanging around the well?

[Newton_14]

On the front page of www.si.com.

Sagegrouse

That article is very revealing and damning. If the allegations are true, Tressel was involved in wrongdoing from his time as an assistant coach at OSU in the early 80's, and the entire time he was head coach at Youngstown and OSU. This is far worse than most imagined and involves many players both past and present. I think OSU just one-upped USC...