A few years back basketball analyst Dick Vitale did a commercial for Pizza Hut in which he would say, "it’s time to wake up and smell the pizza baby!!!".....
I believe that time has come for former Ohio high school golden boy quarterback Justin Zwick....since donning the scarlet and gray at Ohio State, the high school prodigy was redshirted a season, then sat behind Craig Krenzel for another season.....
Now over the last two seasons, Zwick has watched as Troy Smith has taken control of the Buckeye offense.....instead of being the one to lead Ohio State to a national title, Zwick has been relegated to holding the clipboard....in the past two seasons, Zwick has started a handful of games and has thrown only seven touchdown to go along with seven interceptions....
How time changes things....when coming out of Massillon Washington, Zwick was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in high school....he was head coach Jim Tressel’s first big prize recruit when he committed prior to his senior season to Ohio State over Michigan....
With Zwick out of the picture, the Wolverines set their sights on California stud quarterback Matt Gutierrez....he never lost a game while running the offense for DeLasalle.....
It looked like Gutierrez and Zwick would be matching up at least three times as the starting quarterbacks for both Michigan and Ohio State...but it never happened....
Like Zwick, Gutierrez was redshirted his first year then served as a protege to John Navarre....then came an injury to his shoulder and in came a hot shot freshman named Chad Henne.....that’s all she wrote for Gutierrez in Ann Arbor....
After pulling a Justin Zwick in Ann Arbor for the last two seasons, Gutierrez finally woke up and decided this week to transfer to Division I-AA Idaho State for his senior season....it’s his last chance to show the NFL scouts his ability....
But while Gutierrez made his move, Zwick continues to sit and wait and steam....at this year’s Fiesta Bowl, Zwick told the Ohio media that he was frustrated that he lost his job to Troy Smith.....Zwick said he felt he did nothing wrong to actually lose his job....
Even though thoughts of transferring have danced in his head, Zwick, so far, has decided to be loyal to Ohio State and serve as the mop-up boy in blowout games....as each week goes by, Zwick is slowly watching his chance to play in the NFL slip away....
More than likely no NFL team will draft Zwick because of his limited experience....for a "can’t miss" kid when coming out of high school, Zwick has decided to trade away his dream of playing in the NFL for being loyal to Ohio State....
And if that is his choice, so be it, but hopefully 10 years from now he doesn’t regret following Gutierrez’s decision and transferring to a I-AA program to showcase his talent....if Zwick does wise up and leave, I think he can rest easy knowing that THE Ohio State will not have a problem finding another clipboard holder and mop-up boy.....
It’s a tale of two football programs....
Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer should be commended for taking a stand and dismissing his starting quarterback, and now former Hokie, Marcus Vick from the team after Vick’s deplorable act of spiking Louisville’s Elvis Dumervil in Monday’s Gator Bowl....
Think about it, how many head coaches would take such a stand....one thing for sure, a coach along the Olentangy River in Columbus is not one of them...and there is proof to that claim....
Many Buckeye faithful like to forget about the unsportsmanlike act by former Buckeye linebacker Robert Reynolds in the 2003 game against Wisconsin....to refresh some memories, the defending national champion Buckeyes were playing at Wisconsin on ESPN’s Saturday Night Game of the Week on national television....
With the Badgers taking control of the game behind the play of quarterback Jim Sorgi, Reynolds took it upon himself to try and slow down the Wisky offense....after hitting Sorgi on a play, Reynolds deliberately and blatantly tried to choke Sorgi by sticking his fingers into Sorgi’s windpipe and throat....ultimately, Reynolds succeeded as Sorgi was knocked out of the game....in the end, Wisconsin won the game....
The national media were in an uproar about this classless, thuglike act.....after the game OSU head coach Jim Tressel smoothly said he had to review the tape because he did not see the play....as the media criticism did not stop in the days following the game, Tressel decided to take a hard stand and show the nation that this was unacceptable for anyone wearing the scarlet and gray of THE Ohio State University....
Tressel gave his starting linebacker a one game suspension.....yes, one game!!!!.....
Tressel said, "However, after getting a firsthand look at the tape and seeing what took place, I feel that the apology by itself is not enough. Robert's conduct was totally unacceptable and has no place in intercollegiate athletics."
Then to add insult, the "classy" Ohio State football players used Reynolds’ one game suspension as motivation for their next game against Iowa.....they wanted to win for their hoodlum teammate who had to sit out one stinking game....
Thank goodness some coaches like Frank Beamer will not stand for this thuglike behavior on the playing field....Vick was planning on coming back for his senior season and was a possible candidate for the Heisman Trophy....so it is not like Beamer bounced some bench warmer..... a
t least he had the guts to do the right thing.....
king up only 128 yards of total offense against the Bucs last weekend....the Skins are heading into hostile territory today....those people up in Starbucks land can really make some noise....Washington should be commended for not quitting during the year which resulted in a playoff berth....but they are up against too much today....the Seahawks will not lose this game - Seattle 27-13
England @ Denver (-3.5) - this is an even game....the Broncos are favorite because of the homefield advantage....the Patriots are playing good ball right now....and honestly, I would like to see them win and play either the Colts or Steelers next week.....look for New England to have this game in hand, but somehow the Broncos will win it in the end - Denver 21-20
eam to do it because of their defense....if that upset is going to happen, the defense has to be physical and knock around Peyton Manning and throw Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne off their routes....the Steelers will need to disrupt the timing of the Colts well-oiled offense....and I think it could happen – but in the end it won’t happen - Colts 27-16
@ Chicago (-2.5) - about five years ago, the Bears had a home playoff game against the Eagles only to lay an egg.....something tells me this could happen again because they are relying on their defense so much.....the Panthers offense can put points on the board a little better than the Bears offense....I think the first team to score 17 points will win this game - Chicago 20-14
