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We haven't heard anything recently from college area scout Todd Brunner because it's been a bit of a much needed downtime for the 49ers college scouts. As we celebrate the New Year, Brunner checks in to share some interesting tidbits from the 2006 year out on the road.**
I spent the last month basically getting everything ready for the holidays, keeping track of the 49ers, watching us play when I could, staying in contact with Player Personnel Assistant Ethan Waugh so I know what's going on back at the office, and answering questions about juniors who have put their names in to the committee for an early grade.
I've watched a lot of college bowl games and playoff games on television. The IAA playoffs were all on television and UMASS got to the finals so there were a lot of guys I had written up from there. I usually pull out my reports when it's some of the players I've written up. I just like to verify that I'm seeing what I had seen all year.
We had a party last Thursday for the Rutgers Bowl game. The Rutgers won, completely blew them out by dominating the game on both sides of the ball. If it wasn't for a punt return by Kansas State, it would have been a real mess. The seniors stepped up for Rutgers and played well. The standout player was the tight end Clark Harris. He had seven or eight catches for 120 yards. We had a house full of people, and a couple of buddies of mine who were Rutgers grads. They were in all of their garb and were very happy over the win.
I obviously pay attention to coaching changes at colleges because that can change things in terms of our visits and just the programs as a whole. I was glad to see from the Big East that Rich Rodriguez stayed at West Virginia, and that Greg Schiano stayed at Rutgers. The biggest surprise I saw that I thought was out of the blue was Tom O' Brien leaving Boston College to go to North Carolina State.
My next assignment really isn't until I depart on the 20th for the Senior Bowl. I'll be there all week and will be staying for the game, so I'll share my blog during that week.
For now, here's a review of 2006.
Total Miles out on the road: 11,000 plus
Longest Drive: Home to Marshall, 544 miles
Shortest Drive: My house to Princeton 12 miles, 24 roundtrip
Total Nights in a Hotel Room: 60
Live Games Viewed: 13 which encompassed 20 different teams
Most Games Seen of One Team Live: Rutgers, saw them play live four times
Schools Visited in each State:
New Jersey, 3
New York, 7
Massachusetts 3
New Hampshire 1
Maine 1
Connecticut 1
Rhode Island 1
Pennsylvania 8
West Virginia 4
Virginia 7
DC 2
Maryland 3
Delaware 1
North Carolina 1
Total Diet Cokes: Estimated 320
Days on the Road: 75-80
How Many Times I listened to Bruce Springsteen's Greatest hits: 75
Most commonly listened to radio station: ESPN
First Time Visits: 5, Marist, Bridgewater, Army, West Liberty, Elizabeth City
Schools Visiited in Each Conference:
4 ACC
5 Big East
2 MAC
1 Big Ten
Rest were 1AA or lower
Best of 2006
Best Game: Louisville @ Rutgers
Best Half time: Morgan State versus Hampton
Best half time food: Boston College
Best Pregame Atmosphere: Rutgers/Louisville
Best Facility: Army
Best line from a coach: Joe Paterno – "You are just a bunch of dirty, dirty birds coming," in regards to all of us scouts coming into Penn State.
Funniest Moment: When my younger brother sent out a satire version of my blog to my family, mostly consisting of reducing my job to eating and sleeping.
