I don't know why more people don't try this

In the, "Now you don't see that everyday" category, backup Northern Colorado punter Mitch Cozad apparently stabbed a teammate in back of the leg. But no, this isn't just any teammate, this was the guy listed one spot above him on the depth chart -- the starting punter, Rafael Mendoza. Now, in all of these weird stories, you have to wonder just what the thought process of Cozad was. He obviously was the less talented of the two punters, but Cozad's ego must have been so inflated that he would stop at nothing to win the starting job. Apparently, the obvious consequences of getting arrested, kicked off the team, and expelled from the university escaped his mind. At least he was smart enough to know which thigh to hit. ESPN compares this to the Tanya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan incident, but it should be noted that Harding and Kerrigan were not battling for the glorious job of starting punter at a D-1AA school.


In news not involving knife-in-the-thigh, the Buckeyes released the two-deep for the UC game. After the Texas game, I don't know how much to really hold this to anymore, seeing how Nick Patterson was the listed starter, but Anderson Russell ended up starting the game. Other notes for the depth chart:

• Roy Hall is back on the depth chart, but it looks like the injury cost him his starting spot. Good job to Robo, he deserved it with the way he played in the Texas game (even with that one drop on third down).
• Donald Washington is now the Nickleback. Russell was the NB during the Texas game when Patterson was in, but it looks like the coaches want him manning the Free Safety position.
• What a month for Tyler Waley. The Walk-On player started September out by earning himself a scholarship, and now it looks like he's replaced the "heir apparent" to Nick Mangold as the backup center.

There is one other change on the depth chart that I feel is more important than just a bullet point. That is the coaches' continuing faith in the obviously incapable John Kerr. Last week, the starting WLB spot was listed as "John Kerr or Ross Homan." Now, Kerr is the starter and Homan is the backup. I assume this is a decision of Tressel's everlasting tradition of picking the undeserving Senior over the more than qualified underclassman. The only good having Kerr on the field has ever done for the Buckeyes is that he consistently takes up a blocker, making it a 10 on 10 game. But, heck, even when he isn't getting blocked, he's never in the play. Kerr would suffice in short yardage/obvious rushing downs when we can put in four linebackers, but other than that, he has no use on the field. Homan actually brings a presence to the field, and he has that sense about him that makes you think, "this guy is going to be something special." In the Texas game, you can look up and down the stat sheet and not see Kerr's name once, and you wouldn't have missed anything. No tackles, no assists, no pass breakups, no nothing. Homan had the fifth most tackles of anyone on the team, and the second most among linebackers. This goes without mentioning the NIU stats on top of those. In season totals, John Kerr has One-Half of a Tackle. Even Jamario O'Neal, the whiff-king himself, has managed to rack up 5 times as many tackles as Kerr.

Ross Homan doing something John Kerr cannot: Getting to the Football

If Homan isn't the starter by Big 10 play, I will be not only angry, but shocked at the coaching staff's arrogance. Ross Homan for WLB 2006.