Early top 25 for college football

College football season is two months away, so to ease everyone's anxiety, here is my Early top 25 for 2012.

A couple of notes: this is largely based off of Mark Schlabach's way to early top 25 on ESPN.com. Also, any team that is facing a bowl ban is ineligible from being ranked (see Ohio State).

Without further ado...

11.   USC Trojans. The Trojans are finally eligible for postseason play. With nineteen starters back led by QB Matt Barkley and WR Robert Woods, they should be the favorite to win it all.

22.       LSU Tigers. New QB Zach Mettenberger will give the Tigers much needed offensive balance in terms of throwing the ball.

33.       Alabama Crimson Tide. The defending champs lost a lot to the NFL. Can Nick Saban reload for another title?

44.       Oregon Ducks. LaMichael James is gone, but RB’s Kenjon Barner and DeAnthony Thomas still give the Ducks plenty of firepower.

55.       Oklahoma Sooners. Injuries derailed the Sooners’ BCS chances last season. Landry Jones may be the best QB not named Matt Barkley.

66.       Georgia Bulldogs. The SEC slate is easy (No LSU, ‘Bama, or Arkansas). QB Aaron Murray is the best Georgia has had since Matt Stafford (or STAFFORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

77.       West Virginia Mountaineers. Now in the Big 12, the Mountaineers look to score a lot of points on some weaker defenses.

88.       Florida State Seminoles. Will the real Florida State Seminoles please stand up? If QB EJ Manuel can stay healthy, the ‘Noles will live up to lofty expectations.

99.       South Carolina Gamecocks. RB Marcus Lattimore is back after tearing his ACL last season.

110.   Michigan State Spartans. Defense will be the strength of the Spartans as Andrew Maxwell takes over at QB.

111.   Michigan Wolverines. We won’t have to wait long to see if Michigan has returned to national prominence. Season opener vs. Bama looms large.

112.   Arkansas Razorbacks. New coach John L. Smith inherits a team led by QB Tyler Wilson and RB Knile Davis

113.   Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers got another transfer QB (Danny O’Brien), but it will be RB Montee Ball carrying the load.

114.   Stanford Cardinal. All that QB Brett Nottingham has to do is replace some guy named Andrew Luck.

115.   TCU Horned Frogs. Another newcomer to the Big 12 with plenty of offensive firepower.

116.   Clemson Tigers. An offense led by QB Tajh Boyd and WR Sammy Watkins will score a lot of points. New defensive coordinator Brent Venables will make sure the Tigers don’t give up a lot of points

117.   Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns’ defense made major improvements last season. The offense needs to do the same.

118.   Kansas State Wildcats. QB Colin Klein accounted for 40 touchdowns last season. Can he sustain that success?

119.   Florida Gators. Brent Pease replaces Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator. Will he help the Gators get back to the top of the SEC East?

220.   Oklahoma State Cowboys. Mike Gundy chose freshman Wes Lunt to replace Brandon Weeden at QB. Who will step up and replace Justin Blackmon at receiver?

221.   Nebraska Cornhuskers. QB Taylor Martinez has to improve his passing to balance with RB Rex Burkhead’s running.

222.   Virginia Tech Hokies. The Hokies have won ten games for the last eight seasons. The defense will carry the team until the offense gets their footing.

223.   Boise State Broncos. Chris Petersen is one of the best coaches in the country. He faces a hefty rebuilding job if he wants to sustain the Broncos’ success.

224.   Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Year 3 could be Judgment Year for Brian Kelly. The Irish play the nation’s toughest schedule.

225.   Missouri Tigers. One of two newcomers to the SEC. QB James Franklin will be more comfortable with a year of starting under his belt.

Jim Delany is a Clown

Finally, I have some time to do a post. I have been busy with working my regular job at Lone Star Steakhouse in Dundee, and coaching church league softball.

One of the hot issues going on is the discussion of playoffs in college football (insert Jim Mora remark here). This has been a big discussion at the Big Ten Spring Meetings. While I myself have made my beliefs loud and clear toward my hatred of the BCS and would LOVE a playoff, the words and actions of Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney do not help the B1G's cause.

In an article on Yahoo! Sports by Dan Wetzel, the Big Ten's love affair for the Rose Bowl is brought to light. How crazy is the Big Ten about playing in Pasadena? Crazy enough that it seems to be the only reason that will keep Big Ten teams from playing for a national championship. Crazy enough that by keeping the Rose Bowl ties, the "dirty" conference in the south still is able to reap the benefits of dominance.

For more about Delaney's exploits, listen to Mike Valenti rant about them here.

In the end, the only way that the B1G will get to a level of dominance without playing dirty is to let go of the Rose Bowl. Better yet, get rid of Delany. To quote Valenti, "Jim Delany is a boob."

Old Mr. Illitch Has A Farm (Edition 2, Part 1)

For this edition of Old Mr. Illitch Has A Farm, I would like to do something a little bit different.  I will give you an update on some/most of all of the Tiger's top minor leaguers, but I would also like to do a sort of stock up/stock down approach.  Part 1 will feature West Michigan and Lakeland, with Part 2 focusing on Erie and Toledo.

West Michigan Whitecaps (A)

Stock Up:

Curt Casali/Patrick Leyland (Yes, that Patrick Leyland) C:

The 2-headed catching monster for the Whitecaps is putting up very good offensive numbers thus far.  Leyland and Casali are splitting the catching duties pretty evenly, with one or the other occasionally filling in at DH while the other suits up behind the plate.  All of a sudden, a position that once featured Alex Avila and Alex Avila alone as its minor league depth is chalked full of solid prospects; including Leyland, Casali, Holoday, McCann, and Brantly.
Casali: 18G, 61AB, 19H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 10 BB, 10 K.  .311/.408/.508/.916
Leyland: 16G, 64AB, 19H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB, 12 K.  .297/.308/.391/.698


Eugenio Suarez 2B/SS:

Never heard of him?  Don't feel bad, neither had I, but it's hard to ignore the number's he is putting up thus far.  Saurez won't turn 21 until July, so he's about right on in terms of age for the Midwest League, and is more than holding his own both with the bat and with the glove.  He has been splitting time between SS and 2B, rotating with Brandon Loy between those two spots.  He is striking out in more than a quarter of his at bats, but walking at better than a 10% clip as well, so his strike zone discipline, while needing refinement, is slightly more advanced at this stage than you would traditionally see from a prospect in A ball for the first time.
31G, 121AB, 37H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 19 R, 13 BB, 33 K, 4 SB. .306/.381/.438/.819


Stock Down

Danry Vasquez OF:

Calm down people.  This is Vasquez's first season in A ball, and he still only 18 years old.  He has all the tools and still has all the potential in the world, but the bottom line is that he is struggling right now.  But he could literally repeat A ball 2 more times and still be young for the league, so if you're panicking, you're about 4 years too soon.
27G, 93AB, 16H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 19 K.  .172/.231/.237/.468


Aaron Westlake 1B/DH:

The 2011 3rd Round selection was billed as having huge raw power to go with capable defense at 1B, and as a college senior, was someone who would have to hit, and hit quickly, to hold any sort of esteem with the Tigers' brass.  At 23, Westlake is indeed old for A ball, and has done very little in the way of trying to outplay his advanced age title.  Westlake has hit for very little power, and while his 8 doubles would usually lead to the "wait until he gets older and stronger, those will turn into homers (a la Castellanos)" sentiment; Westlake is 23 years old and is about as big and as strong as he is going to get.
31G, 116AB, 25H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 12 R, 12 BB, 26 K.  .216/.292/.310/.603


Lakeland Flying Tigers (A+)

Stock Up

Nick Castellanos 3B:

That's right, everyone's seemingly favorite Tiger prospect is absolutely raking at High-A Lakeland.  Before anyone asks, NO, HE CAN'T BE MOVED TO 2ND BASE AND BROUGHT UP NOW!  Ok, moving on, Castellanos is still only 20 years old, which is about 2 years young for High-A, and the Florida State League is widely considered a pitcher's league.  All of these factors should lead to Castellanos struggling right now, but the fact of the matter is that he is leading all of the minor leagues in hitting, along with showing much more advanced plate discipline and pitch recognition than he did last year at West Michigan.  He is still more doubles-power than home run-power at this point, but as I hinted at above, let the kid's body develop.  His frame projects to that of an above-average to plus power hitter (15-25 HR), and his swing is already quick, smooth, and powerful; generating very good backspin on the baseball, which, as he gets stronger, will lead to more balls carrying over the fence as opposed to landing in the gaps.  It's now officially OK to get excited about this kid, but again, he's not moving to 2nd base, and he's not ready to come up now.
29G, 114AB, 48H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB, 20 K.  .421/.469/.596/1.065


Avisail Garcia RF:

Garcia is finally starting to put it together at the plate here in 2012, and is just barely scratching the surface of his offensive potential.  As we have established here at Ab(r)andon Inge, Garcia is the type of prospect that makes scouts drool and hand over blank checks.  He's a massive human being (6'4", 240), with plus raw power, plus defense, and a plus-plus arm from right field.  He also has above-average speed, which, for a man his size, is quite impressive indeed.  His biggest issue thus far in the minor leagues has been strike zone recognition/discipline, which lead to atrociously high strikeout rates and incredibly low walk rates; which diminished his offensive impact substantially.  Remember, he is still only 20 years old (turns 21 in June), and is repeating A+ ball.  He is still striking out too much and walking too little, but he has definitely made significant gains just in the past year.  Last season his strikeout rate was at a staggering 27%, while he was only walking around 3% of the time.  Thus far in 2012 he has improved both numbers, striking out at just under 21%, and walking at a nearly 5% clip.  He still needs to improve, obviously, but the numbers show a better approach at the plate indeed.
28G, 115AB, 37H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 18 R, 5 BB, 24 K, 5 SB.  .322/.366/.452/.818


Stock Down

Dixon Machado SS:

Probably the best shortstop in the Tigers system (although I have some sort of fascination with Brandon Loy), Machado has struggled both with the bat and with the glove so far in 2012.  He has made 9 errors through only 26 games, and is hitting only .196.  There are a few silver linings; however.  For 1, he is still only 20 years old.  As we have established, 20 is quite young for the FSL.  Furthermore, the FSL is still a pitchers league, and this is Machado's first go-round in Lakeland.  Aside from the terrible batting average, Machado has shown easily the most advanced plate discipline and strike zone recognition on the team, as he has walked 16 times compared with only 13 strikeouts.  This leads me to believe that Machado's BA has been hampered by some bad luck, as he is obviously putting the ball in play.  His OBP is sitting at .312, which isn't very good, but when compared with a .196 BA, it's pretty remarkable.  He has also stolen 7 bases, good for 2nd on the team behind only Daniel Fields.  He will improve, just give him time.
26G, 92AB, 18H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 14 R, 16 BB, 13 K, 7 SB.  .196/.312/.261/.573


Alex Burgos LHP:

After bursting onto the scene last year in West Michigan as a somewhat diminutive left hander who struck out nearly a batter an inning at 20 years old, Burgos has struggled so far in 2012.  His command, which was very solid at only about 3BB/9IP last season, has seemingly eluded him, as his BB/9 ratio has doubled in 2012.  His strikeout rate has also gone down, furthering his issues.  Burgos is only 5'11', and while I am partial to shorter pitchers (my school's ace is only 5'10"), his numbers are not going to be overlooked because of a projectable frame, a la Casey Crosby (sometimes).  This is Burgos' first time in the FSL, and he is still only 21, so he has plenty of time on his "prospect clock" left to figure it out.
7GS, 1-4, 5.67 ERA, 33 1/3 IP, 32H, 21BB, 1.59WHIP, 23K.


Erie and Toledo to come tomorrow evening

Future Wings?

Now that I have moved back across the state and recovered from the finals week/graduation hangover, I can actually fulfill my duties here at Ab(r)andon Inge (which by the way, with him gone should we update the name?).  Since the Wings were eliminated in the first round, they will have a pretty lengthy off-season when compared to years past.  Although this sucks from a fan perspective, I'm sure some of the older players might benefit from it (Lidstrom especially).  Due to this early playoff exit it is pretty clear the Wings are going to use some of their estimated $22 million in cap space to lure in some big names this off-season.  Although two have been floated around, Parise and Suter, there are some other possibilities that the Wings may be interested in.  So, once or twice a week I will be typing up a profile of one people that the team might try to be in.

Up first, Zach Parise.  With the injury to Helm, it was pretty clear that the Wings lack depth up front.  Just imagine Parise lining up to the left of Datsyuk with Franzen as the top line.  Parise played in every regular season game this year, while amassing 31 goals, 38 assists, and only 32 PIM.  He also has more than 30 goals in 5 out of the last 6 seasons.   With Parise able to score or set someone up, this should be one of the top priorities this off-season (at least until Brad Stuart does the obvious and goes to California and we need a defenseman not named Kyle Quincey to replace him).  Another added benefit of adding Parise, he's 27 (28 as of July), so they can get several good years out of him, especially as the team continues to age.  I'm not really a gambling man, but I think the Wings do pretty much everything they can to get Parise, or Babcock might falcon punch Holland.  Here's to hoping the Wings can land one of the top free agents this summer.

Next profile will be: Ryan Suter

Lions Draft Recap

After selecting Riley Reiff in the first round and Ryan Broyles in the second round, it was obvious that the Lions needed to focus on the defensive side of the ball. They did just that. They're next six picks were all defensive players. The Lions made multiple trades throughout the day, and here is the final list of players they selected:

• Riley Reiff, OT (23rd Overall Pick)
• Ryan Broyles, WR (54)
• Dwight Bentley, CB (85)
• Ronnell Lewis, OLB/DE (125)
• Tahir Whitehead, OLB (138)
• Chris Greenwood, CB (148)
• Jonte Green, CB (196)
• Travis Lewis, OLB (223)

Ryan Broyles, Ronnell Lewis and Travis Lewis all played their college football at Oklahoma. Chris Greenwood is a local product, playing his college football at Albion College. The breakdown of two offensive players and six defensive players is a good split. After the last two games of the 2011-2012 season, it was painfully obvious that the Lions needed help in the secondary and they certainly tried to address those needs through the draft.

Martin Mayhew has lost his mind

Lions take Ryan Broyles. Nobody knows why. Matt Millen has entered the building. I'm not going to do anymore breakdown of this pick. This is absolutely ridiculous.

Introducing....Riley Reiff

In the weeks leading up to the draft, the Lions were thought to be looking to upgrade the defense either through a defensive end or a cornerback. As it turned out, all the cornerbacks worthy of the 23rd pick (without significant baggage) were off the board. There were an abundance of defensive ends available, but the Lions chose to address a more long-term need of offensive line.

The Lions chose Riley Reiff who was widely thought of to be a top 20 pick by most mock drafts:

• Mel Kiper ($): 13th to Arizona
• Todd McShay ($): 13th to Arizona
• Peter King: 18th to San Diego
• Mike Mayock: 13th to Arizona

When we looked at possible first round picks for the Lions earlier this month, I was operating under the assumption that Reiff would already be off the board. Reiff was a three year starter at Iowa. He started at right tackle and moved over to left tackle after Bryan Bulaga moved on to the NFL.

I don't think the first round played out like anyone thought it would. The amount of trades was something that I had never seen before and was a product of the new collective bargaining agreement. Martin Mayhew stayed true to his word when he said he would take the best player available. Reiff could play either tackle spot long-term, but I think it's pretty obvious that he'll be groomed to take over for Jeff Backus. For the upcoming season, don't be surprised if he slides over to the right side to give Gosder Cherilus some competition along with Corey Hilliard before moving over to the left side after next season.

Looking Ahead

The second and third rounds of the draft will be tomorrow night, and the Lions have one selection in each round. Their priorities for tomorrow have got to be to bring in at least one cornerback who can compete for a starting position. Addressing the offensive line was a perfectly logical choice with the way the draft fell tonight. However, if we're sitting here at this point tomorrow and the Lions have yet to draft a corner, feel free to hit the panic button. As it stands now, the group of Houston, Lacey, Berry and Smith is not going to produce two quality starters at cornerback.

Names to Watch (All Cornerbacks)

• Janoris Jenkins, North Alabama
• Trumaine Johnson, Montana
• Josh Robinson, Central Florida
• Josh Norman, Coastal Carolina
• Brandon Boykin, Georgia