June 4, 2008

 By Trev Alberts

Special to CSTV.com

TREV ALBERTS
Trev Alberts is a football analyst for CBS College Sports and CSTV.com.
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        ---   Column Archive   --- TREV's MAILBAG 6/4: In Principle, Early Signing Period Makes Sense 5/29: Well-Timed Change 5/14: The Key Is Manipulation 5/7: No Doubt Tigers Not As Good 4/30: Let's Talk This Over 4/23: Take The Pass Rusher 4/9: Not The 'Same Old Kansas' 4/2: Johnson Can Win At Georgia Tech 3/26: Big East Should Add Somebody 3/20: More To Rodriguez Than His Offense 3/12: Getting Paid Not All It's Cracked Up To Be 3/5: Look Out For The Gators 2/27: Combine Important, But Not Make Or Break 2/20: Show Some Patience 2/13: Good Call By Weis 2/6: Still Comes Down To Coaching 1/30: Changes Spell Bright Future For Bruins 1/23: Cutcliffe Can Be Successful At Duke 1/16: To Each His Own 1/10: Watching Different Games 1/2: Brennan's Sugar Performance Won't Hurt Him 12/26: LSU Hater I Am Not 12/19: Rodriguez Licking His Chops 12/12: Buckeyes Have A Chip 12/05: Missouri Got Hosed 11/28: Some Coaching Changes Ludicrous 11/21: Love Woodson's Poise 11/14: Dixon Can Be Contained, But Not Stopped 11/7: Pac-10 Far From Overrated 10/31: Appalachian State Loss An Afterthought 10/24: No Halves Off In College Football 10/17: Nebraska In Good Hands With The Doctor 10/10: Trojans Still A Player 10/03: Don't Hate On South Florida 09/26: Hangovers Part of The Game 09/19: Nebraska's Performance Disappointing 09/12: DeSean As Explosive As It Gets 09/05: Tebow Impressive In First Start 08/29: ACC QBs Better Than Advertised 08/24: McFadden Not Quite In Bush's Class 08/17: From Overrated To Underrated 08/10: Florida's Overrated 08/03: Spurrier's Got That Twinkle 07/27: Big East Deserves More Credit 07/20: Badgers Playing For Second, At Best 07/13: Gators Repeat? Not So Fast 07/06: Pac-10 Still Owned By USC 06/29: One Big's Better Than The Other 06/22: WAC Ain't All That 06/15: Text Messaging Ban Excessive 06/08: Fifth Year of Eligibility A Good Idea 05/25: Hot Seat Warming Up For Some Coaches 05/18: Big Ten Falling Behind SEC 05/11: 'Canes, Seminoles Have Ways To Go 05/07: Sleeping Dawgs 04/20: Look Out For South Florida 04/13: Boise's Johnson Has No Shot At '07 Heisman 03/30: The Best Atmosphere In College Football Belongs To... 03/23: Tough To Compare QBs With Different Styles 03/16: Top Coaches Need To Be Appreciated 03/9: Woodson Nation's Most Indispensable QB 03/2: Things Just Not The Same At Nebraska 02/23: Rodriguez Does Well With His Chips 02/16: Believe It Or Not, I Don't Have An FSU Agenda 02/09: Yes, I Do Know College Football 02/02: Of Course Huskers Make Adjustments 01/26: Coach Alberts In Lincoln? No Chance 01/19: Can't Begrudge Kids For Leaving Early 01/03: Saban Heads to Alabama 12/29: Some Coaching Changes Come As Surprise 12/22: Too Many Bowl Games Way of Life 12/15: Who Has The Best Talent In The Nation? 12/7: Who's The More Deserving National Title Participant? 12/1: Irish Don't Deserve BCS Bid 11/16: Ohio State the Better Team 11/9: Give the Big East Its Due 11/2: What's Wrong With D at USC? 10/26: Where Will Bowden Be in '07? 10/20: Who Belongs in the Top 20? FOOTBALL 1/8: In Surprise, Ohio State Beats Itself 1/6: Good Start Vital For Buckeyes 12/26: LSU Hater I Am Not 11/23: LSU Loss A Microcosm Of The Season 11/19: Give It Some Time 10/13: Give Kentucky All The Credit 10/7: USC Loss Sends Shockwaves 9/1: Michigan's Loss Nothing Short of Stunning 6/19: Hoeppner Did Things His Way 4/27: Unexpected Reigned In 1994 02/22: Combine Experience Can Be Eye Opening 02/08: Signing Day Observations 02/07: Walk Down Recruiting Memory Lane 11/17: Remebering Schembechler 9/5: One Week Is Just One Week 8/25: The Return Of Trev

You've got college football questions and CSTV football analyst Trev Alberts has answers and opinions. Each week Alberts will be answering questions and queries on the world of college football. So if you've got a question for Trev? Just ask him.

SEC coaches want an early signing period. Their ADs and presidents don't. Do you think an early signing period for college football makes sense? - Daniel, Virginia

Maybe the majority of SEC coaches wanted to have an early signing period, but apparently some did not. Urban Meyer was among those who did not think having an early signing period was an intelligent move.

Now if you had an early signing period and kids weren't allowed to take official visits I don't know how that would be considered a positive, When I was being recruited I remember having preconceived notions about schools and coaches. But until I took official visits and met the coaches face to face and understood the football trainers I'd be working with, you got a real different feel when you're actually there. I think taking trips is important.

I don't really understand how an early signing period, in principle, wouldn't make sense. Once a kid commits, and wants to sign the letter of intent, he ought to be able to do it. First and foremost, having gone through the process, these kids need to take official visits. And I'm not quite sure why if a kid wants to commit, says he's done taking official visits and wants to sign that letter, why that's not a win-win for both sides. Because, as we all know, until you actually have that signed document you never know.

How much more important is speed than strength for a pass rusher coming off the edge. And who would you say is the best pass rusher in the country? - A.K., Middletown, N.J.

Good question. From my standpoint, speed if far more important. If you ask every coach if he has to make a decision speed vs. size he'll always take speed. Obviously if you can get a guy who has some size, speed and strength you have the potential for a special player.

I think the best pass rusher went to the NFL, but we still have guys back like George Selvie, Greg Middleton and Auston English.

For me, I think Dan McCarney deserves a lot of credit for the development and transformation of George Selvie. But it's funny to me in that pass rushing, more than anything, is a matter of want-to. I often tell the story that when we played Florida State and we were big underdogs and we had media day. I was finishing up some interviews and Florida State was up next and I'm sure Florida State's offensive coaches was hammering home to the offensive line how this Alberts guy had to be defended. I had 15 sacks coming in and I'm sure they were anticipating seeing this huge, strong farm kid. I walked by and the team started laughing. I'm not kidding. I remember being almost embarrassed. I thought to myself that they were laughing like, "Yeah, right. This guy?"  

I could run fast, I was not particularly strong, but I was fairly determined. There were all kinds of guys my senior year at Nebraska that were stronger and faster than me, but they didn't want to get to the quarterback as much as me. You have to make a decision as a pass rusher just how important it is to you to get to the quarterback.

What I've noticed with Selvie is that they've gotten him to play. You have to approach every snap like it is your duty to get there. Part of it is conditioning. That's where I had a fundamental advantage. The consistent pass rusher who never take a play off are the special guys.  

With coaches using new means to interact with recruits - like with web cams - is it a disingenuous practice or genius that they've found another NCAA loophole to exploit to their advantage? - Andrew, Mississippi

Look, there are rules. You abide by them to the best of your abilities.  At the same time everybody is looking for a competitive advantage. It's the same in corporate America. If you produce widgets and you're essentially building the same widgets as someone else you want to find the best way to produce and market your widgets within the framework with which you're allowed to build your widget.

It's not the school and coaches responsibility to govern themselves. We have an organization in the NCAA with 18,000 members working there and an annual budget that would supersede a lot of companies. You've got to find any competitive advantage you can.

But at some point I think we have moved further and further away from understanding what our mission is with college athletics: It's about making a difference in young people's lives. Teaching them fundamental values that will last a lifetime. Getting a degree and turning out men. Anything that's going to keep coaches away from creating a bond with a player that will change them for the good - hopefully - I just don't get. I understand we have to govern ourselves. But it seems like at every turn there seems like there is a sincere effort to prevents coaches from getting to know kids. If I'm playing for Nick Saban or David Cutcliffe, there's a huge difference. Bob Stoops would like to know the kid he's about to invest $25,000 a year in or more. I don't think it's such an unbelievably terrible thing that coaches are trying to get to know these kids. I'm aware of rules violations and competitive advantages. I get that. But jeez, you know?