Photo: Getty Images
May 2, 2022
"He's getting $3M and a house!"
"It's a better deal than Reggie Bush got."
"I hear it's $2M with incentives that make him more money than a second round pick this year."
Those were a few of the internet and social media buzz about Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison and the supposed deals he's being offered to transfer to USC. The college football world turned its attention to Addison, the Biletnikoff winner who caught 100 passes for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns last season for Pitt, as he appears to be the target of the Trojans. People are upset over what appears to be tampering by USC and its new coach Lincoln Riley- before Addison even enters the portal. And of course, there's a rage over the rumored financial package being offered by the USC NIL collective.
I have no idea what kind of package Addison may be getting offered and I have no idea college football coaches and those within their program are tampering with players before they enter the portal, that's been going on since the portal came into existence.
But some background that matters here. Caleb Williams, the QB who transferred from Oklahoma to USC, is a childhood friend of Addison. They grew in the DC area and have known each other for years. When Williams left Norman for LA, he got criticism for the move because he was leaving a power brand for another. But Williams chose Oklahoma not because Brian Bosworth played there. He chose to play for Lincoln Riley and when Riley bolted for Hollywood, it should have shocked no one Williams would follow. It also should shock no one that Williams would reach out to his longtime friend about using his one time transfer to join him in a pass-happy offense and play in sunny Los Angeles.
Pittsburgh is a great town with proud football fans. It's not as sunny or warm as LA in the fall. Add the fact that Jordan Addison just saw his quarterback Kenny Pickett get drafted in the first round and saw his offensive coordinator leave for another job. He could stay at Pitt for a third season with a new OC and a first time starter at QB or join his good friend and play in a system where he likely secured his spot as a top 15 pick in next year's NFL Draft.
As for the financial package he may be getting offered? This is the world we live in now in college football whether we like it or not...
The NFL Draft is done and Mr. Irrelevant is...? Iowa State QB Brock Purdy. The last pick of the NFL Draft gets the moniker and with it comes some nice stuff. Mr. Irrelevant became a thing starting in 1976 where the last pick of the draft is invited usually to California and gets to go to Disneyland and honored with a few other nice gifts and the media has been covering the selection for years. Purdy might be the most well known final pick in draft history. Two years ago many had Purdy as a Heisman candidate and some thought he could be a first or second round pick. Yet, while his numbers are almost identical for his junior and senior season, Purdy's draft projection slipped and slipped and he ended up being the last pick in the seventh round. Had Purdy been eligible after his sophomore season, he may have been taken in the second or third round but his play was average his last two seasons and why he fell.
But the draft reminds us every year of something. Draft experts and even NFL teams have not mastered the science of player evaluation. Every draft expert told you QB Malik Willis would be a first round pick and some had him going in the top 10. He went in the third round with the 86th pick. FSU's Jermain Johnson was said to be a lock to go in the top 15. He went late in the first round to the NY Jets. And there will be dozens of players taken in the middle rounds who play a long time and have a successful career.
We are quick to grade draft classes seconds after the draft, but the grading should come in a few years when you can truly tell how special or poor a class was. But we do the same thing in college football recruiting because we love instant evaluation...
Monday nuggets: Mets' manager Buck Showalter is 65. He's looked the same for the last 30 years. By the way, Buck is from DeFuniak Springs, Florida...Epicenter is the likely favorite for the Kentucky Derby this Saturday. Epicenter is from Bowling Green and doesn't look like Buck Showalter...Did you know the K-Zone box ESPN uses on its broadcasts to indicate if a pitch is a strike or not is not accurate? It's not the same box used by MLB to grade its umpires. Ok, why don't they use the same box?...Why is it called cottage cheese?,,,I called not one, but two college baseball games this weekend that were about or over four hours for a nine inning game. The games were close but college baseball must be better at picking up pace of game. The constant stepping out to check the signs from the coach in the box at third or the never ending mound visits or the pitching changes are dragging games to a point it's impossible to expect fans to stick around. MLB is finding success in some minor leagues with pitch clocks and umps enforcing rules to pick up pace of play. College baseball needs to be better...The clip of Celtics GM Brad Stevens leaving a box with eight minutes left in Boston's home loss to Milwaukee is unfair. How do you know Stevens didn't say goodbye to those in the box to return to his office or locker room to watch the end? Why does everyone assume he just left to get a Starbucks?...The Yankees are on a pace to win 118 games. The Reds are on a pace to win 22...Draymond Green got ejected for that foul because of his reputation. Fair? Life is not fair...True story from Publix yesterday when I was shopping. A husband says to his wife when holding up the El Paso Taco Dinner kit that was BOGO(buy one get one): "Hey, it's BOGO...should we get it?" The wife says: "We don't make tacos and not sure when we will, but if it's BOGO, then get it." You do realize just because an item is BOGO you don't have to buy it?...
Final note: The tale goes that it's called cottage cheese because cheese was often made in cottages from leftover milk..........Where are all these cottages? I am not even sure I know what a cottage is.