-  Bussey told me that he and Kelly have talked about being roommates next year.   

-  Kelly has the size and the speed (4.48 40-yard dash) to be a good fit for the ‘Cats.  He rushed for over 1,000 yards his sophomore and junior seasons. Kelly told me he is at 225 pounds right now, but he will play at 215.  Kelly and the coaches have not ruled out him playing linebacker in college, either.

-  In case you are wondering, Fairmont, West Virginia, is about two-and-a-half hours east of Athens.  Kelly was first team Class AAA All-State at linebacker.  Kelly reportedly took a visit to West Virginia in November and was being looked at by UCONN and Virginia.

-  Remember, Kalvin McRae was merely a two-star cornerback out of high school.  Both Donte Harden (5-11, 180) and Vince Davidson (5-11, 190) were two-star guys in the 2007 recruiting class as well.

-  St. Xavier linebacker Nick Schneider (6-3, 225) told me Saturday evening his commitment plans.  “I am probably committing to Yale tomorrow. (It’s) not a sure thing, but most likely.”  The two-star recruit runs a 4.7 40-yard dash and has a 3.9 GPA.

-  Scout.com posted an update on cornerback Quamane Bryant (5-9, 150) a few days ago.  Right now Bryant might go the prep school route.  He had a 750 on his SAT and needs an 830 to qualify.  Akron took away his scholarship offer now that they are full at the corner position.  It sounds like Carl Pelini was the one recruiting Bryant, and he is now gone.  Expect Bryant to go to prep school next year.

- Bryant, by the way, is a two-star recruit who runs a 4.4 40.  Rivals.com has him with offers from Ohio and Akron and interest from

- Athlete Gerald Moore was set to visit Louisville this weekend after taking in Athens last weekend.

-  Here is an old article about Eteyen Edet for those interested.  Article

-  I am working on updates on Moore, Rich Bell, Edet, Evan Frierson, Josh Stover, Jordan Thompson, Eric Warning and more.  Frierson was to make a visit to Athens this weekend while Bell was set to visit Tulane.

* January 12^th

-  How ‘bout we switch sports and talk a bit of basketball after the 72-63 Ohio win over Miami Saturday afternoon.

-  After attending Charlie Coles’ post-game press conference, I came away simply laughing.  What a guy…

-  Speaking of Coles, he was reportedly approached by an Ohio student after the game on the floor. The student gave Coles a tie and told him to wear one to the game next time. The student was detained by police and Coles was not worried about it.  Sad to see a dumb student ruin a great afternoon from the O-Zone on Saturday.  Coles shook it off.  He quipped that he will not remember the kid, but he sure will remember Leon Williams.

-  A couple of notable stats:  Bubba Walther had seven assists and no turnovers.

-  As a team Ohio had seven turnovers, two in the first half.

-  Tim Pollitz attempted just six shots for the Redhawks.

-  Following the game several Bobcat players jumped into the student section.  Justin Orr went way up in the stands, and Jerome Tillman and Williams soon followed suit.

-  After the game Pollitz credited a swarming Ohio defense that doubled him continually in the paint.

-  Supposedly the O-Zone got Pollitz good before the game.  Pollitz told reporters that the students found a goofy picture of him on Facebook.  “I got to erase that one,” joked Pollitz.  Pollitz was clearly frustrated with the lose and the four-game losing streak, but was confident Miami would get back on track.

-  I got to chat briefly with Gary Trent at the game.  He was showing the bling with a G-T diamonded bracelet.  Would love to guess how much that costs….

-  Speaking of Trent, we will have him on “The SportsFan” at some point during the basketball season.  He was very friendly.

-  It was good to see freshman DeVaughn Washington get seven strong minutes of action.  He should be averaging around 10 a game in my opinion, but there are only so many minutes.

-  Coles cracked some good jokes about Bert Whittington IV’s name, Leon Williams age and balding forehead.  Hopefully I’ll post those audio clips online here shortly.  Stay tuned for that.

-  Tim O’Shea and a beat writer got on this weird rant about the different type of basketballs different teams use.  O’Shea brought it up pointing out how it is hard to adjust to different balls (Nike, Wilson, etc.) at different arenas.  It was the most pointless five minutes of my life.  I’ll try to post that pretty humorous audio clip on the blog, too.

- 9,026 fans in attendance.  I am impressed after predicting about 7,000.  It was my first taste of the rivalry as a freshman here at Ohio University, and it was fun to be a part of.

-  I’m looking for some of the sweet pictures from the Washington alley-oop, Tillman, or Williams dunks for my desktop.  Shoot ‘em my way!

-  Lastly, there is big recruiting news that I am trying to track down right now.  Come back Sunday for the details, but the ‘Cats have another pretty solid recruit at a vital position.  Stay tuned….

* January 11^th

-  Ohio coaches might take a look at one of Boo Jackson’s wide receivers from El Camino.  Harry DeBerry is a 6-0, 175 WR with 4.45 speed.  Jackson is pushing Ohio coaches to go after DeBerry.  Jackson said he was the fastest player on their team but go overlooked by WRs  Verran Tucker (3-star to Cal) and Corey Surrency (4-star going to FSU).  In my opinion it doesn’t make too much sense to bring in a JUCO WR, but the ‘Cats do have a scholarship open for a summer JUCO transfer still.

-  Chris Browne, a 6-3, 270-pound tackle from Shaker Heights if off Ohio’s board.  Browne told me he was considered an alternate recruit for Ohio.  They have parted with their communication and he is set on Southern University.

* January 10th (8:50)

-  Two-star wide out Bakari Bussey (6-2, 195) gave a verbal committment to the 'Cats several weeks ago.  But there is still one cause for concern.  Right now Bussey is not academically qualified for college.  Bussey sounds confiden, however.  "I'm pretty sure I'll be good by the time school is over," Bussey said.  "I'm really excited to get to Athens.  I can't wait."  Bussey runs a 4.4 40-yard dash and is a two-star recruit.

* January 10^th

-  I talked with Thom McDaniels at Jackson High School in Massillion, Ohio, today to get an update on speedy RB Carlin Isles.  McDaniels revealed that Isles has still not qualified academically after taking his most recent ACT.  McDaniels did say that to his knowledge it is essentially down to Akron and Ohio.  McDaniels did seem a bit puzzled that he hasn’t heard from either school recently about setting up a visit date.

-  Word is that Ohio has one more scholarship open for a summer transfer (JUCO player).

-  I spoke with Boo Jackson to clarify the spread offense rumors.  It sounds like it will be a gradual transition to the spread.  Ohio will implement the style a bit this year.  But by no means will it but 100% spread.  I would imagine it will be something like what LSU does by switching between the Power I and the spread depending on game situations.

-  Ohio is expected to name a new defensive line coach next week.

-  Checked with Ohio officials about the 2008 football schedule.  No word yet on if Ohio has gotten out of the Wyoming game next year.

-  Sorry we let you down tonight with the Leon Williams interview tonight on “The SportsFan”.  We promise to have him on at some point in the near future.  Can’t blame the guy for having lifting and film sessions after practice.

-  Special thanks to BobcatAttack.com “Guru” Ted Thompson for filling in.  It should be a fun weekend in Ohio University athletics.

-  Hopefully a lot of you TroopSports.com Bobcat Blog readers will make the trip to The Convo Saturday.  Jimmy and I will be doing a half-hour pre-game show live from The Convo an hour before the game.  Stop by…we don’t bite.

-  Back to the books.

* January 10th

-  I just got off the phone with Carlin Isles' high school football coach at Jackson High School in Massillion, Ohio.  I'll provide an update on Isles on "The SportsFan" tonight in the second half of the show.  Leon Williams will be in-studio with us the first half hour.

-  Send your questions for Leon about the big Miami game this weekend to sports@970WATH.com.  Or you can call in with a question at 740-592-6646.

* January 9^th

-  According to Rivals.com, Two-star CB Ravelle Sadler (5-9, 163) has committed to Western Michigan.  He turns down offers from Ohio, Ball State, Central Michigan and Kent State.

-  Also from Rivals:  Cleveland Heights DE Corey Freeman (6-2, 215) will visit UNC, Cincinnati and Colorado in the next three weekends.  He has an offer from Ohio.

- Deion Spurlock checked in with mean tonight, and I mentioned this on the “SportsFan”.  Spurlock is a 5-10, 180-pound corner from South Charleston, West Virginia.  He said he has not heard much from Ohio lately, but has heard a lot from Coastal Carolina and Glenville State. Spurlock runs a 4.48 and is a two-star prospect according to Scout.com.  Sounds like Ohio might have lost interest.

-  I talked about this on “The SportsFan” tonight as well—no news out of Ohio yet pertaining the defensive line coach.  Word from Ohio officials is that a decision will be made by mid-January.  On report was that former Colorado State defensive coordinator Steve Stanard was offered the job.  A report out of Fort Collins, Colorado, said that he turned down the offer.   I spoke with CSU officials and they had no further information.

-  Stanard was a graduate assistant coach at Nebraska from 1988-1990, hence the Solich-Nebraska connection.  Ernie Hodge had no other information about the defensive line opening.

-  Send me your thoughts on the Ernie Hodge interview.  What do you think?  Did he sound sorry?  Do you think he would be a good fill at defensive tackle?  What can he do in 2008 for the ‘Cats?

-  More to come.  It’s been a busy couple of days.  Hopefully my voice will come back and you guys won’t have to put up with that again.  Any tips for getting it back are welcomed. 

* January 8th

-  No recruiting news, but some other news and notes for Bobcat fans.

-  Ernie Hodge will be on "The Sportsfan" tomorrow (Wednesday) probably in the first half-hour of the 6-7 pm show.  We haven't gotten any calls from all the BobcatAttacker's out there, but we (and I) would love to hear from you. 

-  On Thursday Bobcats forward Leon Williams will be in-studio on "The Sportsfan".  That should be fun as we talk about a BIG game against the Redhawks on Saturday.

- So to recap, Hodge of Wednesday and Williams on Thursday.  Got an e-mail for the show?  sports@970WATH.com.  Or give us a call during the show at 740-592-6646.  If you are out of the listening area, heck, even the state, give us a call toll free at 1-888-592-6646.

-  Okay, enough of the shameless plugs.  I'll try to get some recruiting news on here soon, but no promises.

*  January 7^th

-  Bad news about Friendly High School product Eteyen Edet (6-2, 235).  He didn’t make the trip to Athens this weekend.  Why?  Edet was not allowed on to the airplane because his passport, which he was using for his I.D., had expired.  Friendly H.S. offensive coordinator Marcus Berry said that Edet does not have a driver’s license, which could have also been used.  “He felt real bad about missing it,” Berry said. 

-  While Edet will try to reschedule, it will not be easy.  He is scheduled to visit UNC this coming weekend, then Louisville and Pitt the following two weekends.  Michigan State is trying to get the two-star linebacker to come in, too.  So what is the plan?  Berry said they will try to change one of the forthcoming weekend visits to mid-week, which would allow Edet to come to Athens on a weekend.  “We’re going to get him up there somehow,” Berry said.

-  As for teammate Quinton Sales (6-2, 278), no good news to report there, either.  Sales told Berry that Ohio hasn’t called him for quite a while now.  Berry thinks Ohio’s coaching staff has fallen in love with other prospects.  This is odd news to me.  If I were Ohio, I’d be doing anything possible to get the three-star lineman to visit.  He is a top-15 center prospect in the nation.

-  Sales is scheduled to visit Buffalo this coming weekend.  He also has offers from Wake Forest, Akron, and Kent State, according to Rivals.com.

-  Berry was at the coaches convention and was set to talk with the Ohio coaching staff, including linebackers coach Ross Els.

-  I’ve been trying for two weeks to get a hold of WR Marques Parker (6-1, 180), a three-star wide out from Mason City NIACC.  Well, according to Rivals.com, he committed to TCU on January 5^th.  Parker visited TCU on November 30^th.

-  Don’t forget “The SportsFan” starts tonight and goes from 6:30-7:30 on 970 WATH.  We’ll be previewing the BCS title game, which was the basis of my Athens NEWS column today, and we’ll also talk about the NFL playoffs and the ugly Bowling Green loss on Saturday by the men’s basketball team.  Shoot us an e-mail (sports@970WATH.com) or give us a call 592-6646.

* January 6^th Part II

-  Just caught up with Gerald Moore (6-0, 185), fresh off his weekend visit to Athens.  Moore, a two-star Rivals.com athlete out of St. John’s College High School (D.C.) said he enjoyed his visit.  “My trip was really good.  I got along with everyone well,” said Moore.  “…The people at Ohio are all welcoming.  Also the coach(ing) staff is great.  It definitely is high interest on my list of schools.”  Moore will visit Louisville next weekend.  He has offers from the ‘Cats and the Cardinals, as well as Army, Northwestern, Eastern Michigan and Navy. Moore runs a 4.59 40-yard dash and has a 31-inch vertical.

* January 6^th

-  The Bobcats recruiting class is still lacking a kicker, and it doesn’t sound like Brett Maher will fill that void.  Maher (Kearney High School) is out of Nebraska, and told Rivals.com in December that his top three schools are Missouri, Nebraska and TCU, despite the fact that his only offer is from Ohio.  Maher could also do track (pole vault, decathlon) in college, which makes a walk-on spot at Nebraska where he could play both sports a very realistic option.  Maybe things have changed.

-  Working on Gerald Moore (ATH) and Eteyen Edet (LB) updates.  Both made visits this weekend to Ohio.

-  Don’t forget “The SportsFan” returns to 970 WATH-AM in Athens tomorrow night at 6:30 after “The Sylvia Crawley Call-In Show”.  We’ll be discussing the OSU-LSU matchup, Wild Card weekend in the NFL, and the gruesome loss at Bowling Green by Tim O’Shea’s squad.

-  Expect an interview with Ernie Hodge on “The SportsFan” sometime this week.

-  Stay tuned.

* January 4^th

-  Lincoln Norris High school (NE) DT Justin Jackson will walk-on at Nebraska.  Jackson (6-2, 253) was being looked at by Ohio and had several D-II offers.

* January 2nd Part II

-  A couple of notes and opinions away from the recruiting news:

-  Expect Ohio to announce Carl Pelini’s replacement as the Defensive Line coach in late January.

-  There is a lot of speculation coming from all over the place about Ohio’s 2008 non-conference football schedule.  Two things seem to be pretty certain: First, Ohio will take on Ohio State on September 6^th

-  Secondly, Ohio will play a road game at Northwestern.  Word is that the former athletic director at Ohio had reached a two-for-one contract with Northwestern when he was still A.D.  Ohio would go to Evanston, Illinois, the Wildcats would come here, then Ohio would travel back up north.  That seems to have been changed as Ohio will make the trek to Evanston this year instead of having Northwestern come to Athens.  While this may frustrate fans, a sensible Bobcat supporter must realize that this is better off financially for Ohio due to a large payout from the Big 10 foe.

-  Ohio trying to get out of their home-and-home contract with Wyoming.  It would be a costly event to travel the team northwest in 2008.  Plus, with road games at Ohio State and Northwestern, Ohio really wants to get that second home game in the non-conference schedule.

-  Ohio officials say having six home games remains a priority.  Will that be done?  Time will tell but the effort is there.

-  ‘Cats fans don’t like to hear this, but people need to be realistic when complaining about the lack of home games.  Think about it:  If you are a big-name program, why on earth would you want to travel to Athens, Ohio, and take on a program on the rise?  Athens is not a very sexy market for potential non-conference opponents, nor is the fact that the Bobcats seem to be building something good.

-  The outline for the non-conference schedule, just so fans are clear, is as follows:  Every year Ohio likes to schedule one really tough game against a big time opponent (Virginia Tech in 2007, Ohio State in 2008), one D-IAA (FCS) opponent at home (Gardner-Webb in 2007, VMI in 2008?), and two “in-the-middle” type of games (last year it was Wyoming and UL-Lafayette).

-  Ernie Hodge has officially confirmed to me that he is back at Ohio.  He is enrolled at Ohio University for the winter quarter.  I will be interviewing Ernie in the next few days or so.  As always, send your questions for Ernie to me:  ctroop@TroopSports.com

-  The Ohio University men’s basketball media relations contact, Jason Cunningham, has left the Athletic Department.

* January 2nd

-  Updates from H.D. Woodson High School in Maryland:

-  Three-star Cornerback/Safety TaVon Wilson has indeed committed to Illinois.  Scout.com reported he was going to Maryland.

-  Teammate Evan Frierson has long been a highly sought after Ohio recruit.  The two-star linebacker told Rivals.com on December 28^th that Tennessee has now offered.  Frierson (6.2, 217) also said that he has to decide between taking a visit to Ohio or UNC on January 11^th.  Right now he is leaning towards making an official visit to Athens because UNC has yet to offer.  Frierson will visit Tennessee on January 18^th.  Illinois is still high on Frierson’s board after a December 14^th visit.  It sounds like it will be down to Illinois, Tennessee and Ohio.

-  Wilson’s commitment to Illinois could sway Frierson to the Big 10.

-  A couple of big visits for some Ohio recruits scheduled the next two weekends or so.  Hopefully that will bring more commitments.  Stay tuned.