No Hay in the Barn
Football coaches are usually full of a lot of things. Especially quotes. Some make sense and others couldn’t be figured out with a degree from Northwest Shoals or New Jersey School of Sweet Cornbread. As the season gets ready to kickoff, there is a common phrase that probably started with Paul Bryant, since he grew up using a mule’s butt for a compass while he plowed Moro Bottom, Arkansas.
“The hay’s in the barn.”
For my city slicker friends, that means that everything is complete so it’s time for the foot to meet the leather. In other words, nothing else can be done. Nothing keeps coaches awake at night more than the fear that something might have been overlooked.
Examples: spiking the ball to stop the clock. Taking a safety. Where to stand during a timeout. Communication when the phones go out. Deciding when to go for two. It’s often something simple which was overlooked.
Last night, Georgia Tech had to take a penalty on an extra point because they only had 10 players on the field. There are 10 full-time coaches, graduate assistants, 20 analysts and a bunch of jock sniffers on the sideline. SURELY one of them can count to 11. Brent Key is an excellent coach for Tech but somebody on that sideline should be walking back to the office with only one butt cheek after that.
This is an example of some hay being left in the field.
This also brings us to an important subject this year, the so-called “hay” has zero to do with strategy and game plans. It involves EVERTHING else. Examples, since players are legally getting paid to play, coaches are having to deal with NIL, collectives and threats by a player’s “posse” or “representatives” threatening to transfer or sit out if they don’t get more PT. (Playing time.) I thank the Good Lord for getting out of the profession before it became an NFL minor league.
Players and ex-players are suing for so-called contract violations. Believe it or not, some of it has to do with jersey numbers. Former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels claims his jersey #5 wasn’t supposed to be worn by anyone else. Many of us accuse LSU of smelling like corn dogs which are served at the circus. Yep, welcome to Death Valley.
LSU has a huge opening game tomorrow against Clemson, but all the focus is on Lane Kiffin and the hometown judge who has ruled that former pro players who got cut from an NFL roster but still have college eligibility should be added to the college roster. Specifically, LSU.
All the talk for the last two weeks has involved everything BUT the focus on Saturday’s game. There is a bunch of hay still out there. The new NCAA rule “5 to play 5” was a good start. Each player has 5 years to play, UNTIL loopholes were located. Much of it could be traced back to the infamous “Covid year” which basically gave every player an additional year.
Now, some players are playing in their 7th year of college football. Basically, a 7th year player is 25 or 26 years old. Let’s say they came to college and were red-shirted. Then the covid year. Maybe, they were hurt in the first game of the next year and was awarded another year called a “medical” year. Now, add their next 4 playing years and it adds up to seven. They will be close to Social Security and Medicare age before long.
Today, football programs have general managers, just like the NFL. They oversee roster management which includes NIL, the transfer portal and recruiting. As the former recruiting coordinator at Alabama, that position has basically been eliminated. Why recruit and sign a high school senior when you can legally raid another program and get a 21-year-old “plug and play” veteran? Alumni and boosters don’t give a coach enough time anymore to get “their” recruits in place.
The GM at Bama has been quoted as saying they won’t bring a player in until they have an agreement on how much they can pay. I never dreamed college football would ever come to this. I am not opposed to players being able to benefit from using their name, image and likeness to sell jerseys and autographs, but the toothpaste is out of the tube.
College football just started for the 2026 season. Questions abound everywhere.
How will DeBoer do in his third year with Keelon Russell at the helm? How will Auburn’s mad Russian do as their new head coach with a top transfer quarterback named Byrum Brown? Will the SEC come down to Georgia or Texas? Will the Big 10 with 18 teams win their 4th consecutive national championship?
Is this Notre Dame’s year? How many of the playoff slots will be taken by the Big 2: SEC and Big 10? Will Arch Manning live up to his last name pedigree? Can Pete Golding keep it going at Ole Miss?
Will the LSU circus be a distraction or will the Lane Train prove to be the answer and become the 4th coach to win a national championship in the 21st century?
Let’s tee ‘em up and forget the off-field drama.
Why?
Because the hay is finally in the barn.