For the moment, it appears he doesn’t want to talk about it.

After starting quarterback Ryan Perrilloux was suspended a third time (in the last 10 months) and will miss all of spring practice, Les Miles has said that he will not be discussing Perrilloux and his future with the team. My take on the matter has been clear. If he wants to send a clear message to his team about off-the-field issues, he needs to dismiss Perrilloux. Period. LSU football may not be recruiting the brightest student-athletics in the SEC but I assure you they’re smart enough to see the hypocrisy in the star quarterback being given a third opportunity to NOT screw up when many on the time would be given their walking papers the first time they were involved in a bar fight or indicated in a forgery ring.

For the moment, Miles is, at the very least, non-committal on what Perrilloux’s future with the team will be. Miles told reporters today:

“I am not going to spend a lot of time thinking and talking about [Perrilloux],” said Miles at a pre-spring practice news conference Wednesday. “I am focusing on the guys who are competing for a position on this team now. I’d appreciate if you don’t ask me any more questions about him.”

When pressed by reporters for answers, Miles decided to take the always-wise approach of talking down to the media and explaining what being a head coach means.

“My discipline is about team discipline,” Miles said. “My responsibility is to the program and the team and not to the media. You guys get no vote and no say about the suspension. In time, you’ll get to know stuff.“

I’m sure that the reporters present at that press conference are comforted by the fact that eventually, if Uncle Les says it’s ok, they’ll actually “get to know stuff.” If Miles doesn’t suspend Perrilloux, he is taking an awfully big chance on a guy that is a repeat offender and has never actually been a full-time starter for any length of time in the SEC. This thing could all go horribly wrong for The Hat if he keeps Perrilloux on this team and he either plays horribly and costs LSU ballgames, if he gets in trouble again or both. For the moment, it appears that famous cap hasn’t cut of all the oxygen to Miles’ brain.

“The reality of it is [Perrilloux] is no longer part of the team [at this time]. It’s a very serious issue.”

The key phrase in that sentence may be “at this time.” While Miles refused to talk to reporters about Perrilloux at any length, he did leave the door open for the quarterback’s return to the team.

“He broke team rules, and I really don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking and talking about him,” Miles said. “His responsibility is to do everything right and get back on this team. And I’ll focus on the guys that are competing for jobs on our team currently.”

For those of you who believe all of the NCAA allegations to be gospel, truth and absolute, consider this story today out of Norman, Oklahoma:

“An NCAA appeals committee partially overturned its ruling in the infractions case involving former Sooners quarterback Rhett Bomar.

The NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee said Oklahoma should not have been found guilty of separate violations for failing to detect football players were working at a Norman, Okla., car dealership and failing to monitor those students’ employment.”

The NCAA had originally vacated the eight wins the Sooners earned in 2005. Those wins have been reinstated.

This is the third time that LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been suspended. He’s a junior.

I hope that Les Miles have the nerve to do what other college coaches (including himself), in both basketball and football, haven’t had the integrity to do: Kick this kid off the team. Time and time again, we see examples of athletic programs sending mixed moral messages to their players by giving the most talented break after break while preaching a message of accountability, respect and class to the kids seeing the least amount of playing time.

Case and point, last month Wake Forest dismissed a reserve running back for threatening messages he posted to his Facebook page. No second chances, no temporary suspension until they play a conference rival. Nothing. Just a handshake and a ride to the bus station.

Meanwhile, kids like Perrilloux who, for all intents and purposes has been a problem since arriving in Baton Rouge, has been suspended three times for violation of team rules. Former UConn point guard Marcus Williams was suspended by coach Jim Calhoun for his part in the heist of laptops from dorm rooms but was allowed to rejoin the team just in time for the starts of the Big East conference opener against Marquette. Isn’t that convenient?

I admonish Calhoun, Miles and coaches like them for taking moral stands of convenience and not sending a stronger message to not only their athletes but middle school and high school kids. The hypocrisy of the actions of these coaches and the special treatment received by the best players does not go unnoticed.

For now, the message seems to be that if you can run fast, shoot a jump shot or elude a blitz, you get to play by a different set of “team rules.”

Hello everyone, my name’s Patrick and I’m a draft freak.

I’ve heard the first step to overcoming addiction is admitting that you have a problem so here I am. I love the NFL draft. I love the meaningless 40 times, shuttle runs, bench press numbers and critiques of throwing motions all of which are a scientific way to analyze something that has proved to be nothing if unscientific.

That being said, I am a huge fan of the mock draft if, for no other reason, than to see how badly my Philadelphia Eagles will disappoint me by selecting yet another offensive or defensive linemen when they are other glaring inadequacies but I digress. I should add that last year’s decision to trade out of the first round (with divisional rival Dallas) and then take Houston QB Kevin Kolb with the team’s first pick of the draft in the second round was enough to make me pause for a moment, in stunned silence, before yelling at the television.

That said, I was parousing Scout Inc.’s Todd McShay’s (a guy who bears an uncanny resemblance to Destin Beach Safety Patrol Chief Joe D’Agostino) mock draft and was disappointed that he had my team taking Miami defensive end Calais Campbell. I mean why wouldn’t the Eagles take a defensive end from the U when Jerome McDougle worked out so well with the 15th pick in 2003.

That said, looking over this first round mock, there are a couple prospects I’d be very leery about drafting. For the record, one of them is NOT Indiana’s James Hardy, who McShay has going to San Fransisco with the 29th pick the team received from the Indianapolis Colts. Hardy’s size and speed at the wide receiver position makes him a unique talent though he needs a little work on his route running and needs to become more physical against press coverage.

Darren McFadden, Arkansas. I would be very, very careful about drafting Run DMC because he reminds me of another great college running back who has been something of a dud in the NFL: Reggie Bush. To be successful in the NFL, McFadden will have to quickly learn something that Bush has yet to learn in his first two seasons, you can’t outrun everybody in the NFL. McFadden’s east-to-west style of running would be a concern for me, though he is a terrific pass catcher out of the backfield. What makes Adrian Peterson such a great college and NFL running back is that he is great in space but can also run between the tackles and be an every down back. I’ve yet to see both of those qualities in McFadden.

Early Doucet, LSU. McShay has the LSU senior going to Jacksonville late in the first round and I can’t stress enough how awful this pick would be for Jacksonville who has other holes to fill and have wasted first round picks on receivers in recent years (the underwhelming Reggie Williams and combine hero Matt Jones, who is looking to play himself out of the league). By his own admission, McShay says Doucet will be a good number 2 receiver. I don’t know about you but I’m not paying millions of dollars in guaranteed money to a number 2 receiver unless his name is Wes Welker. Doucet is undersized but fast, could be a good return guy as he tries to find his bearings as an NFL receiver.

As ESPN would be quick to remind you, today  is the day when college football recruits sign National Letters of Intent with their respective colleges and the coverage is a little overwhelming to say the least.

While rabid college football fans find any semblance of news related to their favorite team refreshing during the barren winter landscape of college basketball and the NBA, national signing day doesn’t really do it for me.

As much as I love me some NFL draft, it’s a widely speculative event. There is no science to it and seemingly no reason to why a first-round pick is a terrible NFL player and a sixth-round pick from Michigan is arguably the greatest quarterback of a generation. But national signing day is worse than speculation. Maybe it’s because I went to a basketball school who never landed any of the big recruits that some of these programs get annually but I’ve never been excited about an 18-year-old kid signing with my team after seeing him destroy inferior talent.

While I am largely indifferent to this day and believe it’s significantly overvalued as a day on the popular sports calendar, I am interested to see where quarterback Terrelle Pryor chooses to go to school. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has been recruiting the Pittsburgh native hard and has pretty much staked his offense on landing Pryor after Ryan Mallett (a big recruit from the ‘07 class) saw the writing on the wall and transfered to Arkansas. If Rodriguez doesn’t sign Pryor, he may be between a rock and a hard place when spring practice starts.

That being said, what impact will these kids really have? Think back to last season and you can probably count on one hand the number of true freshmen that impacted their team in any significant way. Joe McKnight from USC was a nice addition to their backfield but hardly a feature back, Noel Devine at West Virginia but only saw a lot of time when Steve Slaton was hurt, Arrelious Benn proved to be as good as advertised at Illinois and Michael Crabtree from Texas Tech was the nation’s best receiver last year. So that’s five kids out of the hundreds that will sign letters today.

Still excited?

So I was on the elliptical earlier today when a story out of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. caught my attention.

The Associated Press is reporting that reserve running back Luke Caparelli has been dismissed from the Wake Forest football team after posting threats to his Facebook.

The threats reportedly included Caparelli saying that he would blow up campus and would be carrying a loaded Uzi in his backpack. A search of the running back’s dorm room produced no weapons.

At first blush, I was outraged at this story. Upon reading a few more details, I am less incensed but still bothered. For starters, Caparelli has to be smarter than this. Post-Virginia Tech university officials and law enforcement will handle any threat, no matter how vague or taken in what context, as a serious one and justifiably so. You can’t post these kinds of remarks anywhere and not expect a visit from the police in short order, particularly on a university campus. Our generation has got to become smarter about what is and isn’t appropriate when utilizing all of this new technology.

But I have an issue, at least for now, with how this issue was handled by the football team. I doubt, very seriously, that if this were not a reserve running back and was instead a starter that he would have been dismissed from the team. However, injustices like this are hardly common in big-time collegiate athletics. But where is the support for this young man in the event that his comments were not made in jest utilizing stupendously poor judgment? So by removing him from the football team, you risk alienating him even further and additionally depriving him of the help that he may potentially need. This appears to be a really classless, spineless action taken by Jim Grobe and the Wake Forest football team and the athletic department.

All of this may be premature when and if additional details become available. The AP says that Caparelli has not returned phone calls and has not provided a comment on the matter. There is a suspicious lack of coverage on this story locally, far as I can tell. The Winston-Salem Journal has nothing, the Wake Forest student newspaper has nothing and there is no statement that I’ve seen on the Wake Forest athletic department website.

This situation stinks.

The North team features an interesting mix of quarterbacks with Michigan’s Chad Henne, USC’s John David Booty and Delaware’s Joe Flacco, a quarterback that didn’t get a whole lot of attention but had scouts buzzing with his size and mobility, comparing him to a Ben Roethlisberger-type threat.

Joe Gibbs retires — again

After an emotional year, Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs retired as head coach of the Washington Redskins this morning. Gibbs had limited success in the four years since his return from retirement but this does little to tarnish his reputation as one of the greatest NFL coaches ever. I never really sensed that Gibbs was all that enthused about his return and I understood why he came back in the first place.

It now becomes very interesting to see what happens in Washington. Surely, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will be an option but perhaps not a big enough name for owner Daniel Snyder.

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Time for hoops 

With the college football season now officially behind us, I can now shift my attention to college basketball. My beloved Hoosiers tip-off tonight against Michigan on ESPN and while John Belein’s Michigan team  is struggling, any road win in the Big Ten is huge. I like IU’s backcourt as much as any in America with Eric Gordon, Jamarcus Ellis, Jordan Crawford and now AJ Ratliff coming back from missing the first part of the year with academic ineligibility issues. The frontcourt features some real bruisers with DJ White, Mike White and 295-pound, former Chipola Junior College star DeAndre Thomas. Go Hoosiers!

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Senior Bowl staffs announced 

The coaching staffs from the 49ers and the Raiders will be coaching the North and South teams in this year’s Senior Bowl.

This year’s game could be a good one with the list of players committing to play including Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson, Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice, Alabama wide out DJ Hall and corner Simeon Castille and Oklahoma State wide receiver Adarius Bowman.

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Raging Rocket

I honestly don’t know what to say about Roger Clemens’ press conference yesterday in which he played a taped conversation between himself and former trainer Brian McNamee, a tape that did more to muddy the waters than it did to clarify anything. What struck me about the press conference was Clemens’ crankiness about having to answer semi-pointed questions from reporters. It leaves you to wonder how he’ll respond to flat-out accusatory questions he is sure to receive when he appears before Congress as he said he intends to do. The McNamee/Clemens issue is likely never to resolve itself in any definitive way but the fireworks have been, at the very least, entertaining.

Another BCS title loss to another SEC team for Ohio State.

I think the gameball from last night’s BCS title game  has to go to LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton. I’ve been very critical of the Tigers’ offense all season long, calling it bland and boring but great playcalling paired with near-perfect execution nullified the nation’s top defense. As a note to Ohio State coach, Jim Tressel may want to start recruiting cornerbacks that can tackle and defend the run — and the pass while they’re at it. Never in my life have I seen a team so unable to defend the option. Hats off to Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston who played the option perfectly everytime LSU ran it. His assignment is the quarterback and everytime out he forced the pitch but no one was home to take the pitchman and it resulted in at least a five yard gain every time out.

LSU’s won by doing the little things right. They didn’t commit bone-headed penalties, didn’t turn the ball over and converted, consistently, on third down and that’s how you win big games.

Offensively, Todd Boeckman looked confused and lost all night and the blitz packages Bo Pelini was calling weren’t all that complex. I feel for Jim Tressel, whom I believe to be one of the classiest coaches in all of college football, because I sensed that he wanted to go downfield but the lack of speed on the outside and Boeckman’s spotty accuracy prohibited him from doing so and testing Craig Steltz’s replacement at safety in coverage. One things for sure after last night, Brian Robieski, Brian Hartline and Todd Boeckman better think twice before declaring themselves eligible for the NFL Draft.

As far as whether or not this game solidifies, once again, the SEC’s dominance, I’m not nearly as sold on that as everyone else appears to be. I think that the top three teams in the SEC (see: Georgia, LSU, Tennessee.. sorry Florida) are  as good as any in America but their middle of the pack teams (see: Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina) are certainly no better than the middle of the pack teams in the Pac 10 and Big 12.

I do think this game was a crippling blow to Big Ten football however. As a Big Ten alum, today hurts a little bit, losing to the SEC — again — but the conference isn’t where it should be and I attribute that primarily to poor non-conference scheduling by the elite teams in the conference. Michigan shouldn’t be scheduling Appalachian State (and probably won’t again after what happened this year), Ohio State shouldn’t be scheduling Youngstown State, Penn State shouldn’t be scheduling Florida International and Temple. To be considered the best, you have to play and beat the best and the Big Ten’s elite teams didn’t play the best until the end of the season. Conference commish Jim Delany would do well to get in the ear’s of the conference’s athletic directors and urge them to play tougher non-conference games for the betterment of the Big Ten as a whole. Getting stomped, repeatedly, on national television isn’t good for a conference with a new television network and it certainly isn’t going to help recruiting nationally.

For the LSU fans, enjoy your championship because this team is about to hemorrhage a Gator-esque number of players, particularly on defense. Check out the starting seniors this team is losing:
Ali Highsmith, Early Doucet, Matt Flynn, Craig Steltz, Jacob Hester, Jonathan Zenon, Chevis Jackson, Kirston Pittman, Glenn Dorsey.

Enjoy it while you can.

Great graphic on ESPN.com leading up to tonight’s National Championship game. I really hope that it’s a game worth watching for at least three quarters. Enjoy the game. Live on FOX, 7:30 p.m. CST.