Drew Thurman (2:51 pm)

It has been awhile since we have had a News & Views installment, and it feels nice to pull it back out. The big news out today is that Brian Kelly is expected to interview with Notre Dame tomorrow. The Kelly situation has been very interesting, especially if he ends up taking the job. After all of his comments about how he is happy (and staying) at UC and his recent outbursts at the media for their questions, taking the job would certainly cause uproar in Cincinnati. On top of that, I can only imagine the hatred that could be coming from Ohio. Not only do Ohio State fans despise the Irish, but Kelly's arrogance has definitely bothered Buckeye Nation. Add to that the angry Bearcat fans, and Kelly and the Irish will have a whole State hating on them. Could be fun to watch! Anyways, here are some other things going on.... 

1) The Bowl Schedule was released last night, and there was very little drama (especially for Buckeye fans). The Big Ten did get two BCS Bowl bids, which means the conference has an uphill battle to fight once again. Iowa drew Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl rather than Boise State in the Fiesta, which was one of the positives of the schedule. I think the Big Ten is a better conference than the ACC, and on top of that, I am not sure the Big Ten wanted to deal with the possibility of Boise State beating the Hawkeyes. It's one thing when Alabama loses to Utah, because the SEC has dominated in recent years, but the Big Ten doesn't need that bad press. Here is the rest of the schedule:

Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. Oregon
Orange Bowl: Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Capitol One Bowl: Penn State vs. LSU
Outback Bowl: Northwestern vs. Auburn
Champs Sports Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Miami (FL.)
Valero Alamo Bowl: Michigan State vs. Texas Tech
Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Iowa State

2) Bill Kurelic is reporting the Buckeyes have offered another QB in the 2010 class. It is Verlon Reed out of Columbus (OH) Marion, who is listed at 6'2'' 185 pounds. I am a little confused why the staff is offering an athletic quarterback now, especially with Braxton Miller and Cardale Jones coming in 2011. Even from early on in the process they seemed adamant to get a pro-style quarterback in this class. After Nick Montana and Andrew Hendrix headed elsewhere, the staff grabbed Taylor Graham. Then it appeared the strategy was to really go after Miller in 2011. If Miller didn't work out they had a very talented quarterback in Jones. Reed's offer doesn't make since considering all of that, but obviously you got to trust Tressel and the staff. Reed has solid speed, and could also play wideout or in the secondary.

So, just one more surprise name to surface for Tressel as a class closes. It will be interesting to see who caps off this class, especially with so many big names still out there. 

3) Kurt Coleman was the big winner at the team banquet in regards to awards. Not only did Coleman get the Bill Willis Award as the outstanding defensive player and the W.W. Hayes Award as outstanding player in the Michigan game, but he also received the Most Valuable Player. Some of the other notable award winners were Pryor with Archie Griffin Award as the outstanding offensive player and Ray Small as the special teams standout. Check out all the award winners here.

I am glad to see Coleman bring in the bulk of the awards. He has been a great senior leader this year, and I think he deserved to get much more national recognition than he has. Count me in as a Coleman fan for life!