Only one from the MAC.

I'm sure all of these guys are good players but these watch list awards are simple marketing ploys for a company/foundation/organization.  Unfortunately the respective colleges of these players buy into this and the sheep line up to follow.  Again, these are good players but are these "awards" really necessary?  At the end of the day who won the game?  Let's beat Marshall and win the MAC for the first time in 46 years and the awards will take care of themselves.

Alan, if an Ohio player won one of these awards, how do you think it would impact recruiting? Having players drafted has been a step up in recognition for the program, and it definitely helps recruiting. Getting to bowl games has also been a step up. The same for the program being on TV regularly. Having players on watch lists is a step up in recognition, too. Having a player be a finalist would be yet another step up, and winning it an even bigger step up.

Yes, each step along the way is small, but over the long term it matters. The recruits Ohio has landed the last 3 or so years are a significant step up from the ones 8 or 9 years ago, and I think we'll see results of that over the next few years.

It goes beyond that, though. If the goal of having sports at all is to promote the University, then the more places you see the name mentioned, the more effective the program is in meeting those goals. Thus, each of these small steps up also increases the promotion of the Ohio brand, perhaps not a lot, but some.

So LC, you are saying all this is going to add up to a MAC Title? After all that's the prize that actually matters!

While it certainly could add up to that, no, that's not what I'm saying, and in some ways is actually is the opposite of what I'm saying.  What I'm saying is that the reason Universities participate in sports is because they believe it furthers their mission as a University, not for the pure sake of the sports themselves. The ultimate goal of sports is not getting players drafted, nor bowl games, nor watch lists, and in fact, it's not even a MAC Title. All these things are merely steps along the way in terms of increasing the national profile and visibility of Ohio University. They all are important in their own way because they are each a step towards the bigger goal.

Do i think Ohio will win a MAC championship in the next several years? Yes, I do, but I also recognize that luck is also a factor, whether it be turnovers or injuries. In the end I won't be disappointed if Ohio's team play well, and play hard, even if they don't always win.