Seriously, JoePa is the oldest of old men

Okay, it's official. Joe Paterno is old. I don't mean that as a knock on his physical health... by all measures, he seems to be very fit for his age and I'm genuinely happy for that. I mean, what other octogenarian do you know that runs the equivalent of 4 miles every Saturday? No, he's past his prime, and in a way that reminds you of that grumpy old man in your neighborhood growing up. You know the one... every ball that ended up on his lawn was gone for good, you were too loud even when just riding bikes, and because you were obviously being reared incorrectly, your parents should have had the decency to be ashamed of themselves.

JoePa-- one of the most venerable coaches to ever prowl the sidelines-- is unfortunately that kind of old.

Why drone on about this? Simple: the never-ending arms race for talent that has developed between the major BCS conferences, and especially between the Big 10 and the SEC. Last month, a majority of SEC coaches voted for the creation of an early signing period for late November (a system similar to college basketball). Under the proposal, prospects would have one day before the start of the official contact period on Dec. 1 to sign a binding national letter of intent. To the uninformed, this might not sound like much, but the informed CFB fan recognizes the significance. This extra day could be the difference between locking up a top-10 recruiting class-- early in the regular signing period-- and the excruciating grind that comes with the normal recruiting process.

When asked on Saturday at a booster event about something similar coming to the Big 10, Joseph responded flatly, "I don't like it." His reasons why more than illustrate his over-the-hilledness. Paterno worries about the impact an early signing period could have on in-season demands, especially if recruits came for official visits during the weeks of big games. Sidebar: when was the last "big game" PSU REALLY played? I digress. "We do a terrible job when kids come up for official visits for a game," he said... to a room full of seemingly prosperous alumni and boosters.

I mean, c'mon. Really?!? JoePa isn't exactly the voice of the Big 10, but I'm not so sure I like his public poo-pooing of something that could mean so much to our more competitive teams. Take for example, the concerted effort OSU put into its 2009 class which resulted in the most early signees in the Jim Tressel era.

Now, think about what Senator Tressel could do in the football-crazed Midwest, Florida, and Texas with an extra early signing period. I just ran to get my Buckeye jersey out of the closet! It's time for Old Man River to hang up the cleats... and give me back my ball!