FB: Ohio Athletic Conference

[4u]

RC Cola-
Don't spend too much time worrying about the size issue.  They'll be patient with that if he is as good as advertised.  If he does get the redshirt year, that should bode well for a few extra pounds, too.  I remember teams worrying about London's lack of height and unproven skills against higher talent.  Even during his second season in the NFL, the great Buddy Ryan (who had been hired by St. Louis as a consultant) said that London was "lost" at middle linebacker and was more suited to play on the outside.  Good thing Vermeil didn't listen.  He hasn't appeared "lost" since as he's beginning year eight in the league.  I wish Trusnik a quick heal and all the best of luck!
4u

[ace]

If Trusnik has that much interest from scouts I would think it would be in his beast interest to red-shirt. It would give him another year to bulk up. Can he still redshirt? How far into the season are you allowed to play?

[DII/DIIIFan]

JT is 6'5" (as opposed to 6'3") and his body is very muscular, but lean.

Saw him last Summer in workout clothes and it appeared reasonable that he could add 20 pounds. 6'5" and 255 pounds sounds like an outside linebacker to me.

He could decide to medical red shirt - I'm not entirely sure, but feel like the cut off is around 30% to be eliglble. The real issue is paying for another year of school.

[4u]

RII/DII,
If tuition is the problem, couldn't that be solved by not taking classes this spring and returning to finish classes next fall?  I think most institutions charge by semester and I am not aware of a rule that would force him to stay in school during the spring to be eligible for the fall.  I may be wrong,
4u

[pios]

4U,
In my experience with colleges of our sizes, many classes needed to graduate with a certain degree were set to be taken in a certain sequence.  This may make it hard for him to not enroll in the spring and then re-enroll in the fall if he has a class schedule like many of the other I have seen.  Alot of times certain classes are only offered durin one semester, however, I did not attend ONU so I don't know about their class schedulings.

Overall, it sounds like Trusnik would be a good build for an outside LB in a 3-4 system similar to what Pittsburgh and New England run with their OLB's being faster and pass rushing specialists.  I hope all works out for him and it would be great to see another OAC alum in the NFL. 

[4u]

pios-
Fair enough.  A second solution, then, would be to complete all of his coursework except for one class.  If he only needs 3 credits to graduate, the NCAA will allow him to take only that three credit hour course (reference Matt Leinart and dancing class here).  I am sure ONU will only charge him for that three credit hour course and he could stay with buddies in a local house or apartment to save on costs.  Further, with only one class, getting a part-time job to help with expenses is always a possibility.  If someone wants to find a way, they can always make it work.  Is red-shirting still a viable option per the NCAA?  That's the question,
4u

[ohiofootball]

JK- Thats funny b/c the worst field I EVER played on was at Bexley in '00. But hey it gave you guys the advantage and you almost pulled it out. As for running the score up, we went for 2 only because we couldn't go for 3.

[JK]

OHFB,

I never said the ol' snakepit in Bexley was good, but your old track at war memorial in Ada was also a dump.

[ohiofootball]

JK- Agreed. I'm glad we never had to shower there! Peterson is coaching at a local high school and Skaggs is somewhere here in Wittfield. There is nothing better than seeing Wittenberg lose unless of course we beat Mount.

[e_lee]

I played with Petersen and Skaggs. In fact I lived with Petey my senior year.  Jeff Skaggs was an interesting guy to say the least, as well.

Why was I expecting the "because we couldn't go for 3" line.

[tdubs]

Elee,
        You were expecting it because you know how classless they are. In a way I feel sorry for the players that are at ONU for being banned, but I also think they were stupid for choosing to go to that hell hole anyway!

Skaggs.....enough said! That name speaks for itself!lol

[tdubs]

Cap fans,
                Does anyone know what happened to Matt Evans? I don't see him on the depth chart anymore. Is he hurt?

[conso]

tdubs,

Obviously I haven't b/c I've been in Washington State since then, since then MUC, ONU, JCU, Cap all have upgraded from what I hear, which is good but I was ranking when I played. 

[reality check]

38-35
20-30
12-47
43-17
52-46
61-28
70-39
61-27
54-6
41-0

All those kids that picked the hellhole in the last ten years seem to have done all right. 

[frank uible]

Relative to Trusnik, most NFL Directors of Player Personnel will be reluctant to take seriously a DIII player who is 20-60 pounds (depending on requirements of forecasted position) underweight and who may have to be projected to a position (which scouts have not been able to see him play, live or on tape, considerably) despite the prospect's possibly superb play at the DIII level. Some reasonably impressive play by the prospect against good DIA players in an all-star game would almost certainly help his cause, especially if the play occurs at a position for which he is projected in the NFL. Although I know almost nothing about the prospect, he sounds, at best, like an undrafted, extended developmental project for an NFL team with a lot of risk orientation.