Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:08 am EST
Headlinin': Brian Cushing's 'growth' raises combine quesitons
• We like you son, but there are just a few minor details ... Besides being one of the top outside linebackers in the country, Brian Cushing was known for two things in his years at USC: Joining a racist Facebook group and, according to some pro scouts, being linked to persistent steroid rumors:
An NFL general manager, requesting anonymity, said: "We’ve been warned it is an issue and might have been one since high school. We are considering that. As unpleasant as it is, this is an issue with this player that only a negative test here is going to clear up right now. It’s unfortunate, because no one wants to kill the kid, but the issue is a reality."
And a 30-year NFL scout added: "If I were to look at the entire 300-plus group of players here and ask myself based on my knowledge of steroids which one of these players is the prime prospect to have used it, he would be it. He has the physique and other attributes that indicate it. But he is fortunate. Unlike other sports, we test strongly for it. And if he passes that test, so be it. He gets a clean slate with us."
See said physique here. I'm not sure the allegations amount to "coffee on a rare painting," as the NFL.com's Robert George describes it, but Cushing is adamant that his drug test at the combine will come back clean and he'll go on to be drafted somewhere in the middle of the first round.
• First things first. Michigan has shifted into overtime following the transfer of likely starting quarterback Steven Threet last month: Beginning with current junior Devin Gardner last summer, the Wolverines have already extended offers to seven different quarterbacks in the class of 2010, all of them of the "dual threat" variety. Rich Rodriguez's most recent target is Georgia athlete Blake Sims, who set passing records in the Peach State and fits the ever-present mold of the Rodriguez quarterback until further notice: He's a Pat White clone.
• Something here has to change. Actually everything here has to change. Indiana won three games last year, two of them over Western Kentucky and Murray State, and finished last or next-to-last in the Big Ten in every defensive category. Hoosier fans should keep repeating that to themselves to soothe the departure of eight players with eligibility remaining over the winter, most notably starting defensive tackles Kevin and Keith Burrus, who are moving on following graduation this spring, and another defensive tackle, Jeff Boyd, leaving a pair of converted offensive linemen -- one of them a former walk-on -- as the favorites to take over the middle of IU's defensive line.
Those two are among seven offensive players the Hoosiers are moving to defense this spring, including senior-to-be Ray Fisher, who led the team with 42 catches and five touchdowns last year as a receiver but will play cornerback going forward. He might be replaced on the offensive side by quarterback Kellen Lewis, who IU plans to move "all over the place" next month in an effort to get the only notable athlete on the team in a position to make more plays.
Quickly ... Syracuse's only all-Big East player, defensive tackle Arthur Jones, will require surgery and be out indefinitely after tearing a pec muscle during weightlifting. ... Tennessee has moved tight end Brandon Warren to wide receiver to add a little height to the receiving corps. ... With Miami looking more and more out of the picture, Bryce Brown's final official visit will probably be to LSU. ... Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is turning the Scarlet Knight defense over to two assistants for the first time. ... Florida State is still trying to lock up offensive line coach Rick Trickett. ... New Iowa State defensive coordinator Wally Burnham doesn't have any friends on opposing sidelines. ... Given how often Air Force signal-callers keep the ball, it's no surprise that the Falcons are moving their leading rusher to quarterback this spring. ... Patrick Witt's departure at Nebraska doesn't leave any room for quarterback rival Zac Lee to slow down in pursuit of the starting job in April. ... You may remember the odd case of Kentucky's Ashton Cobb, who pleaded guilty to terroristic threats Tuesday for wigging out on his girlfriend last September. ... Keiwone Malone, thank goodness, is no Albert Means, but the Memphis receiver is at the center of a recruiting battleground. ... Texas receiver Collin Ashley is turning down some attractive scholarship offers to walk on at Arkansas, and Marcus Kloos is rejecting some less attractive offers to walk on at Iowa. ... Draft stock of two Ohio State cornerbacks is going in different directions, although in both cases, there was only one way it could go. ... Former Maryland linebacker Rick Costa will go to trial on charges of assaulting a police officer. ... And the story behind an intrasquad basketball fight at USC last weekend. And when did receiver Travon Patterson run for the Trojan track team, again?
Dr. Saturday
Matt Hinton
Dr. Saturday is a college football blog edited by Matt Hinton. Email him tips and feedback.
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2. their source has been dr ting of san francisco and balco infamy, whose twin sons, with zero natural athletic abilities, actually played football at usc until one of them was caught testing positive for steroids at which point both twins quit the team and pete carroll gave his usual non response"their problems have nothing to do with usc football", just as pete carroll and his staff still pretend that they were clueles about the reggie bush and other illegal payoffs.
3. usc's whole approach is to remain one step ahead of the latest testing procedures and to stonewall on other issues.however, their hubris will bring them down.
4. given the number of usc superstars that pete has conned the nfl into paying to usc football players and the very large percentage of total busts, it is not surprising that the nfl is becoming wary of shelling out biog bucks to any usc football player.
5. cushing and maualuga and other usc players did not develop those muscles naturally without cheating and it is not surprising that the nfl has caught on.
6. even regggie bush has become an often injured bust in the nfl. without the illegal chemicals, injuries are much more common and much slower to heal than when dr ting was on call, doing repair work for usc football players in san francisco.
7. in addition to being nfl busts, just imagine how many of these former usc football p[layers are going to drop dead in their 30's and 40's from the aftereffects of the illegal performance enhancing substances.
8. apparentently, pete carroll and his staff and usc simply could not care less about the usc football players as long as they get the use of them for 3 or 4 years. with very rare exceptions, none of them get any real educations at usc and, when football is over, so are their lives.
9.troy let in a trojan horse which led to the downfall of that city. well, pete carroll and his staff are the trojan horses for usc. is mike garrett clueless? unfortunately, the evidence does not indicate anything other that enthusiastic participation in these activities
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Now, if you had come out and said you have specific information about Pete Carroll and the staff at USC being "dirty" and encouraging the use of illegal substances, then I might not have laughed so hard at your numerical misgivings. Allow me to retort....Numerically of course
#1. Since Pete Carroll arrived on Campus, as the 5th choice of a new Head Coach mind you, he has done amazing things that no other College Coach has been able to reproduce. Sounds like you might be a Big 10 or SEC fan here
#2. Dr. A. Ting is not affiliated with the staff at USC, and if there is a connection between him and USC, and you claim that he "Helped" the program.....Why isn't USC involved in the Balco investigation, conducted by the Federal Government, and why has USC continued ot be a dominate force in College Football even after the Ting Brothers left?
#3. USC is actually pretty open about their program, and Hubris is only a problem when you have no means to prove your standing.
#4 Pete carroll "conned" people into playing in the NFL?? What kind of moronic turd are you? the NFL drafts people, regardless of what college coaches do...Can you provide the examples of "total busts" that have come out of USC, especially the "very large percentages"...
#5. Athletic ability and physique are individual to each individual person. Because Bo Jackson and Hershal Walker were freaks of physical form, are they on steroids? Something tells me that you are not the type to physically assert yourself and assume that any development beyond that of your couch potato workout is suspect.
#6. Reggie often injured?? Do me a favor....Go play RB in the NFL....then talk about injuries...
#7. Not even worth commenting on....
#8 Delving deeper into denial ......
#9. If you have the answers and the proof of misgivings at USC, please feel free to contact Tim Tessalone or Mike Garrett and offer your assistance....
Really, your hatred of USC is evident but you never really offer anything or any proof that your misguided feelings about a winning program are valid.
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"During Cushing’s four years at USC, the university had him tested eight times during and after the football season. In addition to that, sources revealed that he was tested by the NCAA 16 times. In all 24 random/unannounced tests came up negative all 24 times."
Now move along folks, nothing to see here. Fight On Brian C.
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2. yes, we do hate all crooks and con artists in all areas of human endeavor and we take them down in the civil courts based on the hard evidence presented to judges and juries and we hasve never lost a jury trial in over 30 years.
3. we stick by the facts and the evidence which we have gathered, a large portion of which comes from sources within the usc community who are disgusted with pete carroll's crooked football program and rightfully concerned about the damage that petey and his crew are doing to usc the educational insitution.
4. you people trying to defend pete carroll and his crooked usc football program sound an awful lot like the people who used to run enron and mci worldcom before we took them down with our civil rico cases and the us department of justice decided to follow up on the criminal side.
5. as you all know, the people who used to run enron and mci worldcom and many other scams are not laughing any more.
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2. we know that yahoo sports and the fine reporters who did that investigation were threatened with litigation and other types of personal threats by certain people asociated with pete carroll's crooked usc football program. they never backed down since, like matt hinton, they are true professionals and everything they put online was supported by reliable sources.
3. for those in petey's gang who think that the reggie bush problems are over just because some corruption at the pac 10 conference and at the ncaa rules enforcement department, combined with stonewalling by reggie bush and usc and monetary payments by reggie bush to keep certain witnesses quiet has delayed the legal consequences of those patterns of civil racketeering activities, those people are seriously mistaken.
4. do you know how long the enron and mci worldcom gangs got away with their scams before we took them down? 12 to 15 years would be correct.
5. like petey and certain people associated with thje usc football program, the enron and mci worldcom gangs also thought that they were above the laws and untouchable.
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Bill, you miserable corndog. Pull your head out of you r SEC luvin arse. You obviously don't have the intelligence to come up with anything better than the tabacco spit running from your chin. You need new drinkin buddies. Ones that don't want you to squeal for them anyway.
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