The impetus of Caldwell's sudden visit and subsequent decision is unclear at this point. Many a CPJ henchman has swiftly raised the "possible" issue of grades and test scores in order to absolve Johnson and his staff of all blame. However even if such claims are true, and we are not convinced that they are, is it not Johnson's responsibility to ensure that the recruits he is pursuing are reliably admissible to the Institute? Is there any excuse whatsoever for losing a player to academics this late in the recruiting process?
Caldwell's quick decision sidestepped a head-on collision with Johnson's "Aycock Rule," a confrontation which we had quite been looking forward to. A similar scenario will surely present itself in the future, but for now we must watch and wait.
In other news, Tech snagged Miami(FL, not OH) refugee LB Nick Menocal, temporarily assuaging the sore bottoms of Johnson fanatics with the balm of a prospect who was actually pursued by other BCS schools. And while Menocal does appear to be a decent pickup compared to the offal Tech has recently been accumulating, some slurpers have used this circumstance as a makeshift platform for lauding Johnson's recruiting abilities as if he had just "stolen" one from the mighty Hurricanes. The truth is that Menocal was not valued by their new coaching staff and was being nudged out the door:
"The new coaching staff at Miami wanted to honor my scholarship," said Menocal, "but they told me that they didn't see me playing linebacker in their scheme and they wanted me to play offense which was fine, but I just never felt wanted at the end of the day by them."I'm not familiar with the defensive scheme Miami's new coach intends to run, but this would not appear to be a good endorsement of your incoming linebacker regardless of scheme. Good thing we have two "genius" coaches like Paul Johnson and Al Groh then to mold him into an All-American!
