Tressel

[cincrazy]

Here's the kind of man Jim Tressel is:

I work at a restaurant here in my hometown, and the owner has a 3 year old little cousin who has brain cancer. He's undergone more than 20 hours of surgery, is still undergoing treatment, and the family has been to hell and back. We're throwing a benefit for them at the pizza place on Sept. 28th, and at this benefit we're going to have a silent auction.

Well, I knew this was a longshot, but being a graduate of OSU, I knew how generous Tressel was. I emailed him and asked if there was any way we could get him to sign a few things for the auction, just to raise more money for the family. I wasn't really expecting a response, especially with the season nearly underway. But a little more than a day later, I get an email from him saying he'll send a signed hat and briefcase, and someone from his office emailed me, asking for an address so that the hat and briefcase could be sent.

An unbelievable gesture from an unbelievable man. That is one of the many reasons us Buckeyes defend our team so vigorously

[GoReds33]

That's great. I always thought Jim was a great coach, and it makes it so much better knowing he's a great man.

[Unassisted]

JT makes many charitable donations around OSU. IIRC, he and his wife are big supporters of the library there. His rationale is that academic departments have well-heeled alumni to support them, but the library lacks such a ready source of benefactors. He's also made donations to Youngstown State, because he remembers what it was like to scrape for resources there.

His heart is definitely in the right place.

[SeeinRed]

When I became an Eagle Scout, they had an awards dinner in Columbus and Jim Tressel was the invited speaker. It was his first year at OSU. The guy is just an awsome person and a very good speaker. Ever since then I have respected the guy a lot. I still am not an OSU fan, but the have a great guy and good coach leading their team, thats for sure.

[improbus]

You can tell that he is following the Joe Paterno model. JoePa gets criticized late in his career for some off the field issues with his team, but NO football coach has ever done more for their school than Paterno. Paterno only make $500,000 when he easily could be getting 2-3 million. His program consistently has high academic standards (and was the highest in Div-I in three of the last five years) and he has given tons of money to the school.

While I am an SEC guy, I do admit that they have no one like Tressel or Paterno. They are loyal guys who love their schools. They are classy coaches and classy guys (unlike Spurrier, Richt, Petrino, Nutt, and many others).

[Redlegs23]

Jim Tressel ran over my puppy and just kept driving. Brian Kelly was following him, stopped his car, performed CPR on my puppy, and saved my puppy.

[improbus]

Originally Posted by Redlegs23

Jim Tressel ran over my puppy and just kept driving. Brian Kelly was following him, stopped his car, performed CPR on my puppy, and saved my puppy.

Until Mr. Kelly find a better car with which he will run over puppies.

[Redlegs23]

Originally Posted by improbus

Until Mr. Kelly find a better car with which he will run over puppies.

I hope he drives his current car forever. Nebraska and Georgia Tech wanted to talk to him about giving him their cars and he didn't want to entertain the thought, so hopefully that means he is satisfied with his current vehicle.

[cincrazy]

Originally Posted by Redlegs23

I hope he drives his current car forever. Nebraska and Georgia Tech wanted to talk to him about giving him their cars and he didn't want to entertain the thought, so hopefully that means he is satisfied with his current vehicle.

I would love to see him stay in Cincy. Although I'm as diehard as it gets with my Buckeyes, it'd be nice to see the Bearcats do well for a long stretch. But sooner or later a big time program is going to come knocking, and it would be tough for him not to leave.

[Reds4Life]

Originally Posted by cincrazy

I would love to see him stay in Cincy. Although I'm as diehard as it gets with my Buckeyes, it'd be nice to see the Bearcats do well for a long stretch. But sooner or later a big time program is going to come knocking, and it would be tough for him not to leave.

People said the same thing about Huggins, and he stayed. Now that UC is in a BCS conference, he might stay longer than people think if he can put a powerhouse together.

[cincrazy]

Originally Posted by Reds4Life

People said the same thing about Huggins, and he stayed. Now that UC is in a BCS conference, he might stay longer than people think if he can put a powerhouse together.

I certainly agree with your point for the most part. But say if Bob Stoops leaves Oklahoma for the NFL (not saying it's likely, just using this as an example) and Oklahoma comes calling, it would be extremely tough for Kelly to not leave.

[*BaseClogger*]

where is Kelly from?

[Redlegs23]

Originally Posted by cincrazy

But sooner or later a big time program is going to come knocking, and it would be tough for him not to leave.

Huggins turned UC into a "big time program". Hopefully Kelly decides to do the same. The pieces are there for him to do it. A BCS conference, growing fan base, a coach that excites and plays an exciting type of football, brand new facilities, and a talent rich location. However, I do agree with you that a job like Oklahoma would be tough to turn down, but there's not too many programs out there that are on the level of the Oklahoma's and Ohio State's.

And speaking of Oklahoma, I have a crazy gut feeling that UC will knock them off in Norman in week two. I may be crazy, but I don't think it's a far-fetched as many do. UC's defense is one of the tops in the nation, so if they can cause a couple turnovers and hang with them until late they might be able to pull off a surprise. West Virginia drilled them in the bowl game last year, and UC lost to WVU by less than a TD (that might not be a fair comparison though since the bowl game was at a neutral site and UC had WVU at home). We'll see, but I look forward to seeing the line for that game.

Sorry for hijacking this thread...I do really like Tressel by the way and that's a nice gesture for him to donate those items.

[GoReds33]

Originally Posted by *BaseClogger*

where is Kelly from?

Everett, Massachusetts is where he was born. He grew up in Chelsea, Mass.

[guttle11]

Originally Posted by Redlegs23

Huggins turned UC into a "big time program". Hopefully Kelly decides to do the same. The pieces are there for him to do it. A BCS conference, growing fan base, a coach that excites and plays an exciting type of football, brand new facilities, and a talent rich location. However, I do agree with you that a job like Oklahoma would be tough to turn down, but there's not too many programs out there that are on the level of the Oklahoma's and Ohio State's.

And speaking of Oklahoma, I have a crazy gut feeling that UC will knock them off in Norman in week two. I may be crazy, but I don't think it's a far-fetched as many do. UC's defense is one of the tops in the nation, so if they can cause a couple turnovers and hang with them until late they might be able to pull off a surprise. West Virginia drilled them in the bowl game last year, and UC lost to WVU by less than a TD (that might not be a fair comparison though since the bowl game was at a neutral site and UC had WVU at home). We'll see, but I look forward to seeing the line for that game.

Sorry for hijacking this thread...I do really like Tressel by the way and that's a nice gesture for him to donate those items.

As good as I think UC will be as the year progress, they won't sniff OU in Norman this early in the year. OU is going to be more advanced, and UC is playing a "new" (as in hasn't played in two year) QB. At home or neutral they might have a shot.