NFL Draft analyst Josh Buchanan, our eyes in El Paso, says the "Texas vs. the Nation" all-star game experience was a good one for Demon All-America tackle Demetrius Bell.
Watching the game Saturday on CSTV, NSU head coach Scott Stoker was pleased. He sent a text message to Demon basketball coach Mike McConathy, who brought Bell to NSU, saying that the big fella had played well.
My TIVO didn't catch all of the game, and I am not a coach or an analyst, but it looked like he got in about 12-15 plays in the third quarter at least, and was pretty solid. He allowed one QB hurry, maybe on his first play, but was dominant at times on other plays. He showed he still can move in spite of adding weight, as NFL scouts said he needed to do. He weighed in at 304 pounds in El Paso.
Here's Buchanan's final report:
"He did fairly well. People are talking 6th round right now. I think the area scouts will talk higher on him once he works out at Indy (in the NFL Combine later this month). I have heard as high as 5th round.
"Add the Chiefs to those showing heavy interest in bell. Seven scouts stayed for the game and they all were looking at Bell. They represented the Browns, Colts, Packers, Titans, and Chiefs."
From what I saw in the Super Bowl, the Patriots, also said to be watching Bell closely, have good reason to do so!
Up in Oklahoma City, Demons great and two-time Giants' Super Bowl champion linebacker Gary Reasons has to be smiling.
Doug Ireland, SID
Monday, February 04, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
D-Bell update from El Paso
NFL Draft analyst Josh Buchanan files a quick update on Demons All-America offensive tackle Demetrius Bell, who is in El Paso preparing for Saturday's 4 p.m. "Texas vs. the Nation" all-star football game televised on CSTV. Bell will wear No. 79. Here's Josh's update after yesterday's workout:
"Bell has had interest from the Patriots, Browns, Packers, Ravens, and Cowboys. He has been inconsistent as he has shown dominance at times and struggled with technique at other points. He sometimes crosses his feet but has quick feet and shows good athletic ability. He is too high (in his blocking) at times but not all the time. He is inconsistent but very talented. Bell has certainly proved he is a top tackle and one of the best here."
"Bell has had interest from the Patriots, Browns, Packers, Ravens, and Cowboys. He has been inconsistent as he has shown dominance at times and struggled with technique at other points. He sometimes crosses his feet but has quick feet and shows good athletic ability. He is too high (in his blocking) at times but not all the time. He is inconsistent but very talented. Bell has certainly proved he is a top tackle and one of the best here."
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Reconnecting after 22 years
One of the fun things about this job, and this website, is the interaction we get with friends and supporters, including former athletes and coaches.
The pictures above are proof of that.
Earlier this week, we were able to help two former NSU tennis players reconnect via e-mail and put in motion plans for their families to meet this summer.
Graduate N Club Hall of Fame 2005 inductee Shayne Fitzwilliam (her family photo is above) was thrilled when athletic director Greg Burke forwarded her an e-mail that I'd gotten from Martin Aguirre, a member of the last men's tennis team at NSU (1986). Martin and Shayne dated until NSU reluctantly dropped men's tennis. He wound up heading to Iowa State to continue his college career, and in Shayne's words, "we were both heart broken at the time." They lost contact (there was no internet, Facebook, MySpace or cell phones at the time, as hard as that is to imagine for today's college students!) and through the years each had wondered about the other.
Martin and his family were planning a trip to Disney World this summer. He had heard Shayne was in Florida, and after checking our website, he e-mailed me from his home in Ecuador to ask if we could help get him in touch.
We also were able to get Martin in touch with his coach, Johnnie Emmons. Even though he spent only his freshman year here, he was very excited about having the chance to reconnect with his old coach. You can see a nice combined team picture above.
As a sidelight, it was great to hear from Shayne that she stays in touch with one of my favorite Lady Demon tennis players, Vicky Simms Newsom, who married my first fulltime assistant SID, Tommy Newsom. In fact, Shayne and Vicky joined a couple more teammates for a summer holiday in Maine recently to have fun with Jane Paterson, who has been in college coaching at Bowdoin.
The Newsoms are relocating from their McKinney, Texas, home this spring to Austin, where Tommy (or should we say Dr. Newsom) is the new president of the Art Institute of Dallas, a non-traditional but fully accredited university targeted toward commuters and online students. Vicky is continuing work on her doctoral studies and keeping track of their three kids, including pre-school twins.
Current Lady Demon coach Patric Dubois is doubtless hoping that perhaps one of the daughters of Shayne, Vicky or Martin may grow up to follow in their parent's footsteps and attend NSU.
Doug Ireland, SID
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Turn for the worse in rural Kenya
Joe Peterson, the Demon basketball assistant coach (1999-2001) now in Kenya as a missionary/teacher, filed a much more ominous update this morning, just a little more than a day after things seemed to be calming down:
"Written 1-29-08 at 5:25 AM PST
"Safe" is a relative term these days. I may have spoken too early in the last update. Mbita is much safer than most places in Kenya, but that doesn't mean we are always safe. Kenya is quickly becoming another Somalia where there is no government. This country is not being run by a government right now; it is being ruled by the mobs. The mobs tell you when it is ok to travel or not. They tell you when to open your shop or keep it closed. And they tell you when you can go to school or not.
Yesterday most schools around the Province opened. In Mbita things went on well, but on the news I saw many pictures in Homa Bay and Kisumu of parents rushing back to schools to retrieve their kids and bring them home when more rioting began. On Tuesday the schools in Mbita started their days normally. It was a great morning. The kids were so happy to be back in school and the teachers were busy teaching their lessons. Around 9:30 A.M. my phone began ringing furiously, and it didn't stop ringing for almost ten minutes. Parents were calling to inform us that riots had broken out in town and the mobs were targeting schools and teachers. All the schools in the area quickly dismissed their kids to go home. We rushed to the classes and asked the kids to get their things and come to assembly. After informing them of what was happening we prayed over them and sent them home. It was a dangerous situation. A mob from Mbita was coming in our direction and another mob was coming from Sindo, a nearby town in the other direction. Our teachers grabbed the littlest ones who could not walk fast enough and ensured all of the children's safety. I managed to escort the group of children living around Mbita town to their homes through some back ways. We are sure that all of staff and children made it safely to their homes.
People are protesting because of the violence that was inflicted on their Luo tribe over the weekend in other parts of the country, and also because a Member of Parliament from the opposition party (ODM) was assassinated at his home this morning. People were burning many tires all over town throughout the day. They went to a secondary school on Rusinga Island to attack the teachers there and vandalize the school. They also went to Mbita High School to threaten them, but eventually left after they were given money and about ten tires (so they can burn them). This mob was different than the ones I have seen in Mbita in previous weeks. In this one, most were armed with 1-2 machetes and there were even some bows and arrows.
Currently as I write this, both sides of the political divide are arriving at County Hall in Nairobi to begin official negotiations with the mediating team, headed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Looking at it through my own eyes, a suitable solution that will bring long lasting peace is highly unlikely. Looking at it from a Biblical perspective, I know God is in control and everything is possible with him!
It doesn't look like we will be going to school for quite a while
"Written 1-29-08 at 5:25 AM PST
"Safe" is a relative term these days. I may have spoken too early in the last update. Mbita is much safer than most places in Kenya, but that doesn't mean we are always safe. Kenya is quickly becoming another Somalia where there is no government. This country is not being run by a government right now; it is being ruled by the mobs. The mobs tell you when it is ok to travel or not. They tell you when to open your shop or keep it closed. And they tell you when you can go to school or not.
Yesterday most schools around the Province opened. In Mbita things went on well, but on the news I saw many pictures in Homa Bay and Kisumu of parents rushing back to schools to retrieve their kids and bring them home when more rioting began. On Tuesday the schools in Mbita started their days normally. It was a great morning. The kids were so happy to be back in school and the teachers were busy teaching their lessons. Around 9:30 A.M. my phone began ringing furiously, and it didn't stop ringing for almost ten minutes. Parents were calling to inform us that riots had broken out in town and the mobs were targeting schools and teachers. All the schools in the area quickly dismissed their kids to go home. We rushed to the classes and asked the kids to get their things and come to assembly. After informing them of what was happening we prayed over them and sent them home. It was a dangerous situation. A mob from Mbita was coming in our direction and another mob was coming from Sindo, a nearby town in the other direction. Our teachers grabbed the littlest ones who could not walk fast enough and ensured all of the children's safety. I managed to escort the group of children living around Mbita town to their homes through some back ways. We are sure that all of staff and children made it safely to their homes.
People are protesting because of the violence that was inflicted on their Luo tribe over the weekend in other parts of the country, and also because a Member of Parliament from the opposition party (ODM) was assassinated at his home this morning. People were burning many tires all over town throughout the day. They went to a secondary school on Rusinga Island to attack the teachers there and vandalize the school. They also went to Mbita High School to threaten them, but eventually left after they were given money and about ten tires (so they can burn them). This mob was different than the ones I have seen in Mbita in previous weeks. In this one, most were armed with 1-2 machetes and there were even some bows and arrows.
Currently as I write this, both sides of the political divide are arriving at County Hall in Nairobi to begin official negotiations with the mediating team, headed by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Looking at it through my own eyes, a suitable solution that will bring long lasting peace is highly unlikely. Looking at it from a Biblical perspective, I know God is in control and everything is possible with him!
It doesn't look like we will be going to school for quite a while
Monday, January 28, 2008
D-Bell update from El Paso
Josh Buchanan, a North Carolina-based analyst of the NFL Draft and a keen observer of FCS football, is part of the staff for Saturday's "Texas vs. the Nation" college football all-star game in El Paso involving Demon All-America tackle Demetrius Bell.
Buchanan, who visited NSU in 2004 when Appalachian State came to Turpin Stadium, has been a big advocate of Bell's pro potential since watching film of him last spring. He's going to provide, as he squeezes out a few minutes, updates on D-Bell and the all-star game scene this week from El Paso.
Bell has been working out at a center in Orlando, trying to add the bulk NFL teams want to see from him while retaining his speed. Ted Marchibroda Jr. is his agent -- son of the highly-respected former NFL head coach.
Today's report from Josh:
"Sunday was used as a day to check in and interview with some scouts. Bell told me he would weigh over 300 pounds after many concerns that he was only 285 pounds or less. He was 6-5 1/4, 301 pounds and his hands were 10 1/4 inches and his arms were 33 7/8 inches. He had a solid build and is a player that many people are looking forward to seeing. The first practice will be Tuesday. I will report on how he looked and the buzz after Wednesday's practice and then again on Friday or Saturday morning heading into the game."
Thanks, Josh!
Buchanan, who visited NSU in 2004 when Appalachian State came to Turpin Stadium, has been a big advocate of Bell's pro potential since watching film of him last spring. He's going to provide, as he squeezes out a few minutes, updates on D-Bell and the all-star game scene this week from El Paso.
Bell has been working out at a center in Orlando, trying to add the bulk NFL teams want to see from him while retaining his speed. Ted Marchibroda Jr. is his agent -- son of the highly-respected former NFL head coach.
Today's report from Josh:
"Sunday was used as a day to check in and interview with some scouts. Bell told me he would weigh over 300 pounds after many concerns that he was only 285 pounds or less. He was 6-5 1/4, 301 pounds and his hands were 10 1/4 inches and his arms were 33 7/8 inches. He had a solid build and is a player that many people are looking forward to seeing. The first practice will be Tuesday. I will report on how he looked and the buzz after Wednesday's practice and then again on Friday or Saturday morning heading into the game."
Thanks, Josh!
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