40 Acres Sports

Positive about Vince’s future, but still doesn’t get that it’s 50 questions in 12 minutes.

“Jay Cutler will be the Sam Bowie to Vince Young’s Michael Jordan.”

Agrees to a one-year, $2.1 million deal.

I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to post about this weekend’s invitation-only junior day and the successful recruiting flurry that Mack Brown and the Longhorns had. The Horns picked up eight commits from some of the best athletes in the state. While I was putting off this post, three more commits rolled in today including a couple of big ones to bring the total to eleven. These early offers are only handed out to the players Brown and staff feel are true standouts. Other recruits will be evaluated more and decisions on them will be made later, so we know how highly they think of the group they offered.

Gilmer wide receiver Curtis Brown is probably the biggest star of the group so far. Big, fast, and physical he could see either side of the ball at Texas. The Horns are really assembling a monster class of offensive linemen, with five commits already onboard including future 4-stars Kyle Hix, Aundre McGaskey, and Matt Nader. They’ll probably hold a scholarship for blue chipper Tray Allen, but otherwise they’re probably done at the position for the year already.

With three of four members of next season’s secondary set to graduate, defensive back is a big need in the 2007 recruiting class and it’s already been addressed. Brown could end up at corner and athlete Earl Thomas is headed for that position as well. Ben Wells has the size to play either CB or safety. Highly rated Lennon Creer is also rumored to be a big Texas lean as well and could join the growing list of future Longhorns soon.

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to call this the best weekend ever in Texas recruiting, and possibly the biggest and best group of kids pulled in by any school in such a short time span.

Check out the full haul from the weekend below…

*Note: The star ratings are just my best guesses based on the little bit of video I’ve seen of the recruits and Orangeblood.com’s Lone Star Top 100.

SI’s Stewart Mandel is one of the few national media members who doesn’t at least occasionally write or say something that makes me want to hunt him down and punch him in the face. I often think he’s completely wrong, but he manages to avoid saying completely incompetent things on a regular basis. His latest article on Vince Young’s Wonderlic test and subsequent uproar is right on the money…

You’ll have to pardon my confusion. It’s just that I recently emerged from a seven-week hibernation that began the day after the Rose Bowl, and I can’t figure out how, in that time, Vince Young went from being the nation’s reigning football hero to a plummeting draft prospect who supposedly can’t run, can’t throw, can’t catch, can’t dress himself, can’t sing, doesn’t know the Dewey decimal system and, based on last weekend’s combine Wonderlic bombshell, can’t read or write, either.

Our society in general has an obsession with tearing down those at the top, but the great Vince Young dismantling of 2006 is on its way to setting a new land-speed record. They’d barely had time to clean up the confetti in Pasadena before the first whispers began — about his unconventional throwing motion (with which he must have accidentally completed 65 percent of his passes last season), about his inability to throw the deep ball (I must have imagined that 75-yard touchdown I saw him throw at last year’s Texas Tech game), how he’ll be lost when he doesn’t get to line up in the shotgun every snap like he did in college (Drew Brees must not be having the same problem). By the time word spread of his so-so showing at a college all-star skills competition in late January, the pundits had officially ruled out any chance of the Texans taking him No. 1. By the time Young, who went 30-2 as a starter at Texas, showed up at the White House without a suit two weeks ago, he’d been passed up in most mock drafts by Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler — a guy who went 11-34.

…

To the scouting departments of the Texans and Titans, however, I’d recommend using any or all of these three alternative measuring tools before making up your mind:

1) Talk to him

2) Talk to some of the USC (or Oklahoma, or Ohio State) defenders in the draft who played against him, and ask whether they think he gets easily confused.

Or …

3) Watch some tape.

You mean what you did on the field and ability to play football actually matters? I could have sworn onfield performance wasn’t important.

The people bashing Vince now are the same ones who were bashing him for other stuff before this weekend. I actually heard one ESPN “expert” claim NFL GM’s were scared off by the fact Young “never took more than 6 snaps from under center in any season.” Not in a game. Total. In a season. Wow. The amount of misinformation and flat out lies floating around about Vince right now is ridiculous.

Wonderlic score is going to mean added pressure when he throws for scouts at Texas’ Pro Day.

The Rose Bowl is over, time to get the 2006 season started. (Photo gallery)

It is amazing to me how fast rumors spread and how so many versions of a story can come across in the meda. Did [tag]Vince Young[/tag] really get a 6 on the Wonderlic Test. Did he re-take the test and then score a 16? Did the grader of test actually make a mistake in scoring, proving that he would probably score a 1 on the test? All of these questions are up in the are at this moment, and I think the NFL really needs to come out and clarify the situation.

It seems to me that the consensus of stories that I am hearing is that Vince Young did in fact get quite a low score on his first test on Saturday, and then on Sunday was allowed to retake the test and then scored a 16. Now I will admit that a 16 is not great, but to me football IQ is much different than book IQ. And I think I read somewhere that Dan Marino scored a 14, and his career turned out to be just a little bit ok.

So I think we should all just wait until the truth really comes out and hold our opinions until then.

Latest Updates:

• False score gives Young wrong kind of buzz
• Only a 6? No, Young did better on Wonderlic
• GM refutes reports Young scored poorly

Like most athletes who are about to be drafted in the NFL, Michael Huff is looking forward to purchasing a new house. But his dream is just a tad bit different than you might expect. He doesn’t want to buy a normal house. No. He wants to buy an International House of Pancakes. I am not sure if this is refreshing or just plain weird.

The first house I buy will be the one with the blue roof on it that says “IHOP.” It has been a dream of mine to own my own International House of Pancakes, and someday I will. Just last week I ate there five or six times, and about every time I got the same thing, pancakes and shrimp. It’s a cool feeling to know that someday I’ll get to eat at my IHOP whenever I want.

Read the story

The Miami Herald is reporting that former Longhorn [tag]Ricky Williams[/tag] has failed a fourth drug test and is facing a one-year suspension from the league. No word on why he failed the test, at this stage of the NFL substance abuse policy a missed test counts as failed test, and no official confirmation, but where’s there’s smoke there’s fire. (Pun intended.)

Ricky went a long way last year at winning back his fans and his teammates, if he did indeed a fail a drug test that would be gone instantly. I’ve been one of his biggest supporters throughout but this is pretty tough to take. When he didn’t want to play anymore I said Ricky had the right to be himself and do what made him happy. When he came back to football I rooted him on and knew he was still capable of doing incredible things. I thought this season he’d be back to old form and force the Dolphins to trade him so he could be a featured back again. This is so disappointing. I know it’s just marijuana, but when you’re in the situation he’s in you have to know the consequences and make smart decisions. Football or no football, I hope he figures his life out.

He deserved a second change and Nick Saban and the Dolphins gave him one. I’m not sure he’ll get a third, from them or from me.

Update

Some decent news today, Ricky is appealing the suspension. His agent, Leigh Steinberg, said, “Ricky Williams has been in outstanding behavioral mode for the past six months. No one should jump to any conclusions.” Echoes what teammate Jason Taylor said yesterday. Hopefully they know something we don’t. (2/21/2006)