Bearcat Bits April 30th

This piece by Paul Daugherty got lost in the shuffle of draft weekend but it sheds a light on the way that Butch Jones runs the Football program and why I continue to believe in him as a coach. Butch is real in a sense that previous coaches at UC haven't been. He is corny and cheesy with above average dance moves for a white man of 44. But the players will run through a brick wall for the man. Mainly because they know that he will do the same for them if they ask.

Now I am not saying that he will be here forever, but I will say that the odds of him sticking around and building the program that he wants are pretty good. One interesting tidbit that doc coaxes out of Butch is that hours after beating Connecticut and hoisting the Big East Trophy for the first time he returned home to see an AD waiting at the curb. The rumors are out there that Mike Thomas tried his best to take Butch with him and that he was the guy waiting on his curb. Personally I can't confirm that, though there were two jobs with which Butch Jones was heavily linked, North Carolina and Illinois, both of whom had fired their coaches beforehand and thus had time to zero in on candidates. So it was probably either Bubba Cunningham OR Mike Thomas. I have no proof either way. Regardless the point is that Butch turned the offer down and I am of the opinion that he will continue to do so.

The recruit mentioned in the P Doc piece is Braxton Lane a wide receiver/athlete returning to Football after 5 seasons in the Rangers farm system. Lane was an unheralded kid according to the scouting services, but he had some major offers coming out of Sandy Creek High School. Auburn, Georgia Tech, Michigan and West Virginia all extended offers are various points in the process. He wound up signing with Oregon after Chip Kelly put in work.

Lane decided to give up Baseball and play College Football. When he made the decision he had a few suitors and it is reported to have come down to Ole Miss and UC with him choosing the Bearcats. He will be eligible this fall and should bring even more depth to the Wide Receiver position. It should be noted that Sandy Creek is the alma mater of Alex Chisum as well.

Videos of Interest

Et Cetera

UC athletes took part in the annual relay for life event at McMicken Common's over the weekend...Jamelle Elliott has added Tasha McDowell to her coaching staff...The NBA playoffs got off to a great start with two fantastic finishes as the night caps with the Clippers incredible run to beat the Grizzlies...apparently one is required to be a bit of a dick to work at Nike...KISS, not just an out of date/terrible band a mantra for successful companies

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