particular programs

I don't think it is necessary to contact them now about your interest. I know you are really excited and want to do everything you can to get into where you want to go but contacting programs multiple times I think could hurt more than help and there will be other times that you will want to contact the same programs. Your numbers and stuff will make the cut for a lot of interviews and I think if you amend your generic personal statement by specifically mentioning the area/program in which you are interested and why, can help. I did this for a few programs and I'd like to think it helped me as places that i thought were very similar in which i didn't add this I wasn't invited to interview. And as you said an away in the area could be helpful and a letter or a call restating your interest after it is all done is really all you can do.

I love fourth year by the way...i'm writing all this while drinking a beer on a thursday afternoon (to make me feel better about the p@#$ poor recruits PSU signed yesterday) and I really have no plans other than playing some Madden with my roomate.

I agree with above. Just wait till you do your away there and work as hard as you can and gently mention your reasons for your increased interest in their program. I think being too eager too soon might get annoying. I would suggest looking into the program to see what steps you need to do for an away rotation (application, LOR's, etc.) and get those done now so you can apply as soon as you know which month you can do it. I would also suggest not narrowing your selection so early. Look into a bunch of other programs also. You might be pleasantly suprised or might find out you don't fit in with the program you had your heart set on.

As far as recruiting, I'm on cloud 9 after the group the Aggies pulled in. Just remember, recruiting's not everything. Mack Brown has had some incredible recruiting classes, but has still failed to win a Big 12 Championship, much less a national championship. :smokin:

Recruiting, c'mon....SEC BABY!!!
You guys have it all wrong, look at the best conference in the nation and follow the leader. OK, to start, LSU & Florida, best two classes in the nation, sure, full of ACT=15 thugs, but those thugs will beat the heello out of you on the field. Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn - Already would win the Chubbie Ten championship without the stable of studs that came their way this year. Arkansas, Alabama, and Ole Miss, top 1/2 teams in any other conference. Yes, Vandy is fodder, but we only have one. OK, I'll give you Miami and USC had a good year, but 11-0/10-1 against mostly creampuff (Rutgers/Cal) teams each year doesn't impress anyone, and just happens to put stars in these kids' eyes.
Belly up to the bar and take your medicine - Its all about the Superior Everything Conference! )

I agree totally with what you said about the Pac-10 oldsouthernbones but how can you call the SEC the best conference without mentioning the Big 10. I live down south so I've felt the SEC bias and I do agree the pundits have given your conferences recruiting classes the better grade for now but I can't believe how people just dismiss the Big 10 down here. Historically no one can challenge the supremecy of the Big Ten with 14 heismans and 35 national titles compared with 8 and 25 for the SEC and even when looking at this year, the conferences (definately the two best) had 7 bowl teams each, and the Big ten was 5-2 including the national championship and wins over fla, No. 14 colo, ark, and wash, while the SEC was 3-4 with their only big win being Geo over an over-rated FSU team without a QB. Oh and Auburn did beat PSU but i've chosen to repress that memory
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final USA/Espn rankings Big Ten: No. 1, 8, 9, 15 or AP 1,8,9,16....SEC 3, 16,24 and 3,14....

anyway its fun to be able to argue this. Last year this time I was looking at 50 vaginas a day...and not in the good way..
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OK, granted, the sun shines on every dogs....No, I guess you had a few decent ones in the top half of your league this year, I'll give you that. And yes, our postseason was less than stellar, but you have to give it to Eli and the Rebs beating the (down) Huskers like a red-shirted stepchild.

And when I said Chubbie Ten, I meant the Big Ten, I pretty much dismiss the Pac 10 & Big East from being true football conferences.

Oh yeah, I was also elbow deep in yeast and BV this time last year. )

Hmmm...if I remember right, the Chubbie ten champ this year also happened to be the National Champ...did I miss something? It seems that the third place team in the chubby ten also beat UF in the bowl as well...SEC the best conference in the country, I don't see it. GO BLUE!!!

oldsouthernbones.....oh yeah....well....our stadiums are bigger than yours...
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-Oldsouthernboner

That's an interesting (read ridiculous) opinion because the Big East ended the season with 4/8 (50% of conference) ranked in both major polls whereas the SEC ended the season with 3/12 (25%) in ESPN/USA Today and a measly 2/12 (17%) in the AP poll. True football powerhouse conference.

I'm not suggesting in any way the the Big East is a stronger conference, but toe to toe, the Big East had some decent wins over the SEC this year (VT over LSU, Miama over Fla/Tenn). Temple lost to SC (big shock), Rutgers lost to Tenn (bigger shock), and Syracuse lost to Auburn. Head to head, the conferences were 3/3.

Have to give props to the Big Ten and OSU fans - despite the controversial call, OSU played a H.E.L.L. of a game and whupped Miami - loved every minute of it.

C'mon, gimme less of a bone to chew on. Big East & Pac 10, subtract USC, +/- UCLA, Miami, and recently (and I mean recently) VA Tech and you have basically nothing. Those teams have over half their seasons to beat up on nobody teams to inflate their records. Who does the SEC have, Vandy/Kentucky/and occasionally Ole Miss or Miss State. You can't look at one year, or even one decade, and tell me that those two are really football conferences. They are like the Atlantic 10 of basketball, couple of teams can play here and there and that's where it ends. Tradition baby, tradition!

I respect the Chubbie Ten boring teams (minus Northwestern) and the Big 12 fragileX cornfarmers as true football conferences cause they have done it top to bottom (almost) for decades.

Damnation, I love this string. And I peat and repeat, Superior Everything Conference!! )

sec........the best conference boosters can buy!

Oldsouthernboner,

If you would like to sit back and relive the glory days when most of us were in diapers, and get all misty about "tradition", be my guest. However, in most sports (except maybe ice-skating) the trophy is given to the team who is performing well in the present (not ten years ago).

You have still failed to justify your position that the Big East is not a "real" football conference.

The Big East has about the same percentage of pansies that the SEC has (Rutgers and Temple, vs Miss St., Miss, Vandy, Ky). The teams in the middle are comparable. Concerning the "Conference elite", the Big East went 3-0 against the SEC. (BTW, VT has been to a bowl game every year since 1993, but of course, as you stated, a decade is but a blip in the timeframe of football -
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insert sarcastic sigh).

For more facts supporting that the Big East is as legit as the SEC (at least in recent years) see the excerpt below:

2002 FINAL CONFERENCE RATINGS (UPDATED 1/5/03)

Big Ten 4.00
Big XII 1.00

Breakdown of scoring:

1.) Non-conference record:
*Big Ten, 38-15, .717
SEC, 40-16, .714
Big XII, 41-18, .695
Pac-10, 32-15, .680
Big East, 30-16, .652
ACC, 30-17, .638
MAC, 23-34, .404
MWC, 18-27, .400
C-USA, 17-28, .378
WAC, 16-28, .363
Sun Belt, 11-32, .256

2.) Non-conference record Vs quality opponents: ********(I.E. wins over PANSIES being excluded)*******
*Big XII (5-7 vs Top 25, 16-15 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
*Big Ten (5-6 vs Top 25, 17-12 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
Big East (4-6 vs Top 25, 13-10 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
Pac-10 (4-8 vs Top 25, 12-14 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
SEC (3-10 vs Top 25, 14-15 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
ACC (3-9 vs Top 25, 11-16 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
MWC (2-7 vs Top 25, 5-22 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
C-USA (1-8 vs Top 25, 4-22 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
WAC (0-7 vs Top 25, 5-19 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
MAC (0-12 vs Top 25, 3-24 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)
Sun Belt (0-10 vs Top 25, 2-22 vs all seven-win 1-A teams)

3.) Bowl records:
*Big Ten, 5-2
Big XII, 5-3
Big East, 3-2
ACC, 4-3
Sun Belt, 1-0
WAC, 2-1
MAC, 1-1
SEC, 3-4
Pac-10, 2-5
MWC, 0-3

4.) Most teams ranked in Top 25:
*Big Ten, 4/11 (cumulative 34 - OSU1, IOWA8, MICH9, PSU16)
Big XII, 4/12 (cumulative 38 - OU5, TX6, KSU7, CU20)
Big East, 4/8 (cumulative 64 - Miami2, VT18, PITT19, WVU25)
ACC, 4/9 (cumulative 68 - NCSU12, MD13, FSU21, UVA22)
SEC, 3/12 (UGA3, ALA11, AUB14)
Pac-10, 2/10 (USC4, WSU10)
WAC, 1/10 (BSU15)
C-USA, 1/10 (TCU23)
MAC, 1/14 (MARSH24)

5.) Most teams ranked in Top 10:
*Big Ten, 3 (cumulative 18 - OSU1, IOWA8, MICH9)
*Big XII, 3 (cumulative 18 - OU5, TX6, KSU7)
Pac-10, 2 (USC4, WSU10)
Big East, 1 (Miami2)
SEC, 1 (UGA3)

you guys can argue about the SEC and Big East all you want...that's fine.

you are just deadbugs on the windshield of the Big Ten.

Oh, and the Big House is the biggest of them all.

Go blue