Welcome to the club, guys

   A funny thing happened on the way off the practice field last night.

   Sounds like the start of a joke, doesn't it?

   But what was being discussed by a few players was the fact that it was not a joke: Their red-shirt seasons were over.

   I think I heard offensive lineman Alex Bell say it first. Then a very unexpected thing happened: Defensive lineman Nate Barnes stuck out his fist and fist bumped me with a big grin on his face.

   These guys will be competing for playing time when spring drills begin. To this point, they'd been going through the motions somewhat.

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Wilder show on tonight

   Bobby Wilder's one-hour radio show with Ted Alexander will be on tonight at 7 p.m. on 94.1 FM.

   It's been moved up a night because of conflicts with the men's and women's games Thursday night.

   Wilder's final show of the season will be next Tuesday and will originate from the Monarch Grill, right across the street from the campus. 

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Friday night, er, no lights

   When the water's on the rise, you improvise.

   Bobby Wilder hasn't been able to practice his Monarchs the last two days, what with power out in many areas in and around ODU. And let me tell you, one of the weirdest things I've seen in a while are the shredded nets on the driving range hanging from the poles at Lamberts Point Golf Course. Can't imagine the thousands of dollars repairing that mess will cost.

   So what is a football team to do? Tonight, they will huddle at Webb Center for dinner, then do a Monarch March to the Ted for tonight's women's basketball game: Stanford vs. the ODU women.

   Coach Wilder says his troops will sit in the student section and he welcomes all to come and sit with them and chat it up.

   The Monarchs lost practice time Thursday and Friday (hint to Dominion Virginia Power: This team needs some amps). They will reconvene on Sunday for a practice and Wilder said he's told his guys, "You will have been without pads for eight days. You should be fresh and rested and healed."

   "I'll have to change our practice routine a little to get the rust off, but we should be ready to go," in preparation of a road game at VMI next Saturday.

   * OK, with a little time on my hands, I called Commander Wayne Justice, who is the Coast Guard honcho in Portsmouth. He told me his troops were out in the rivers working hard to get the harbor work-efficient after this big ol' storm. It was good information, but not what I was calling about.

   Commander Justice has a son, Michael, who is about 6-foot-7 or so and weighs about 280 and plays football for West Springfield High in northern Virginia. Right now, he has offers from ODU, Bryant, Eastern Michigan, Wofford and Georgetown.

   "Things are heating up," Commander Justice reports. "Villanova and William and Mary and Maryland are showing interest. But ODU remains a viable contender and consideration."

   And you didn't think I could squeeze a little recruiting news out of the day. Well, I've already squeezed enough water out of my clothes, so why not?

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Wilder show still on

   Bobby Wilder's coaches show can be heard tonight from 7 to 8 p.m., but don't expect him to make it to Red Mill. Coach Wilder and Ted Alexander will hunker down in the studio for this one. Check out 94.1 if you aren't bailing water somewhere.

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Live chat is back! Thursday!

   OK, so the weather isn't that nice. Maybe it's going to end up with you stuck at home.

   OK, so the Monarchs aren't playing football this week. But you need your ODU football fix anyway.

   That's what we're here for. I will hold a Live Chat on the Rich Radford ODUBlitz.com blog Thursday at 12:15 p.m. and I'm bringing a special guest to the blog, Virginian-Pilot columnist Bob Molinaro.

   Join us for the hour-long fun.

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Starting the week early

   It's been a while since I had a Live Chat on the blog, so we'll do that on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. and I'll have a guest blogger with me ... Virginian-Pilot columnist Bob Molinaro. We'll answer questions and offer opinions.

   * Angus Harper had committed to sign with the Monarchs. He's a talented running back from Edison High in Alexandria. For more, read this. And to watch his moves, click on this.

   * ODU QB Thomas DeMarco has thrown for 19 TDs, run for 14, and then there are a couple of two-point conversions thrown in somewhere along the way. That makes him responsible for 202 points, and that's the most in the Football Championship Subdivision. You can look it up right here.

   * And finally, if you haven't seen heavyweight boxer Bobby Wilder in action, click on this.

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Saturday at Foreman Field

   Here's the skinny: ODU is giving fans an hour extra to party like a rock star (or in this case a football fan) before Saturday's homecoming game, which begins at 2 p.m.

   And here's why: If five hours isn't enough time for tailgaiting for ODU's first-ever homecoming game, then maybe the fans that are making it to the games late are there to tailgate first and watch football second. It's just a guess.

   So ODU's giving an extra hour on the tailgating front-end, opening the lots at 9 a.m. That's five hours. Oh, that's right, we said that already. Bust out the Bloody Mary's and scrapple

   Here's the carrot that might get fans into their seats on time this time around (there's been somewhat of a Los Angeles approach to finding seats lately): There's going to be a Navy Hornet flyover, coinciding with the national anthem.

   Nothing like the raw power of steel and jet fuel and ear-shattering sound to get the juices flowing.

   * Recruiting at the Football Championship Subdivision level usually requires patience and doesn't really get rolling until December, once the ACCs and SECs and Big Easts of the world have decided on who they want. But at ODU, the Monarchs appear ahead of the curve.

   Paul Morant's commitment to sign with the Monarchs this coming February brings the number of commitments for this upcoming recruiting class to four. Throw in Tavon Gatlin, the wide receiver from Green Run who came up just short of NCAA Eligibility guidelines but is ironing that out this fall, and the Monarchs already have five pretty good ones coming in. Gatlin was considered a jewel in last year's class. He's expected to enroll in January and participate in spring drills.

   Morant is a 6-foot, 190-pound dual-threat quarterback who may never play QB for the Monarchs: He's already told the staff he wants to play safety (and he's pretty good at that too).

   When I talked to him last night, it sounded like he was playing the video game Madden 2009 in the background. I could be wrong (plus, I was playing Call of Duty at my end, so who am I to judge?).

   Morant's Phoebus Phantoms are 9-0 this season. Phoebus, by the way, has won 24 straight.

   Others who have committed: WR Trevon Butler (6-1, 170, Wise High, Upper Marlboro, Md.) and classmate DT Charles Owens (6-1, 300, Wise High, Upper Marlboro, Md.), and DL Dominique Guinn-Bailey (6-4, 225, Churchland, Portsmouth, Va.).

   Meanwhile, it appears the commitment of QB Tyler Hamilton (6-1, 185, Council Rock North, Newton, Pa.) is on hold. He might be weighing his options a little more and reconsidering. 

   Ah, commitments. Until it's on paper, it's just a promise anyway. It doesn't become official until pen hits paper in early February.

   But this much is clear: The Monarchs are quickly becoming players in this mix called recruiting. There's been too much noise this fall to ignore that.

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About those personal fouls

   Bobby Wilder's bunch has been guilty of more than a few personal fouls this season, enough to concern fans and, to a degree, even the head coach.

   There are lousy personal fouls. Like barking too much at opponents (really, doesn't a hard hit say it better?) and dirty play.

   Ah, dirty play. We laugh when Paul Newman's character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid gives the "There'll be none of this" speech while emphasizing his point with, uh, some of this.

   Honestly, Wilder's over the barking and the cheap shots too, and swears (well, swearing is a problem now, isn't it) that he's getting it in check.

   But ... there's always a but ... some of it is just plain youthful mistakes.

   "We're trying to teach them to play fast and I'd rather have them playing fast and making fast mistakes that are correctable mistakes," Wilder said. "The other night Mychael McJunkins hit someone on the sidelines and got 15 yards for a late hit. Was it a late hit? Maybe. He needs to learn where that fine line is.

   "Part of the issue is that in a normal program I'd be coaching up the incoming freshmen on what's acceptable and what isn't. With us being a first-year program, I'm having to coach up a whole team."

   So, yes sports fans, the Monarchs' coaching staff is aware of it. And doing something about it.

   * ODU's 10 straight games to start the season has a silver lining: The team is off next week and the coaching staff will get a jump on recruiting.

   It's an evaluation period, which means the coaches cannot be in contact with recruits. But they can visit high schools and junior colleges and prep schools and talk with coaches and get transcripts of players' grades.

   ODU's coaches will fly out on Sunday and spend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday making the rounds in their respective recruiting areas. When they return, the Monarchs will return to practice on Thursday.

   "We'll practice Thursday and Friday in preparation for VMI, which means we'll get a head start on that game," Wilder said. "But everybody's taking a manditory day off on Nov. 14.

   And what will Wilder do that day?

   "Daddy stuff."

   * Pep rally: Friday night behind the Constant Center, beginning at 5:45. Enough said.

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Injury report not as dampening as expected

   Coach Bobby Wilder said this morning that defensive lineman Eddie McClam's knee injury does not appear to be as serious and initially feared. McClam fell awkwardly while making a tackle Saturday against Georgetown. The fear was that he'd torn his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

   But Wilder said that ODU's medical staff beliefs it is a sprain of the medial collateral ligament and that McCLam could play this Saturday when ODU hosts North Carolina Center at 2 in its homecoming game.

   Meanwhile, quarterback Thomas DeMarco is showing signs that his helmet-to-helmet hit was not too damaging. DeMarco was hit on a quarterback keeper and showed signs of grogginess. The coaches held him out of the second half of ODU's 31-10 victory over Georgetown.

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Following up after ODU-G'town

   Notes following ODU's 31-10 thrashing of Georgetown (which No. 1 Richmond plays in a couple of weeks):  

   Get used to seeing Georgetown. The Hoyas and Monarchs have a four-year deal. There’s another four-year deal out there with Campbell. That means that when the Monarchs dive into Colonial Athletic Association play in 2011, two of the Monarchs’ three non-conference games will be G’town and Campbell.

   For a game that was so lopsided, the Monarchs came out of this one with some bumps and bruises. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s late in the season, but it appeared that more players than usual got banged up against Georgetown. QB Thomas DeMarco didn’t play in the second half after taking a hard hit to the head in the second quarter. Offensive tackle Ryan Jensen was out for the second half, although he played the first half with a sore back. Linebacker A.T. Aoelua sat out with a sprained ankle. Defensive tackle Eddie McClam left the game after injuring his left knee. Cornerback Ricky Nichols went to the locker room after colliding with a teammate in pass coverage. Safety Craig Wilkins bruised a shoulder. And even wide receiver Reid Evans hurt himself on his TD reception, landing awkwardly on the small of his back. The injury report will be thick this coming week.

   Hard to really know what Dan Pitts can do, seeing how he’s come in and QB’ed the Monarchs when it was shut-down time the last two weeks. He’s playing with a severely limited playbook, what with the Monarchs holding big leads when he comes in. But it’s clear he’s been elevated to No. 2 status at QB. Bobby Cooper is not No. 3 and Tomy Reamon is playing tight end.

   Lost a little with DeMarco’s 144-yard rushing performance was Desmond Williams’ 113 yards rushing.

   The most dangerous 60 yards in Norfolk must be the 60 yards from ODU’s tunnel under the stands to the sidelines at Foreman Field: Coach Bobby Wilder had a police escort jogging at his sides again. Please, this isn’t Auburn ... yet.

   Sports and politics don’t mix. How many times have we heard that? It was obvious again when President Obama popped up on the big screen at Foreman Field Saturday night. His visual presence drew the heartiest boos all season. 

   Jake Sweedyk’s nine tackles Saturday night was a game high. The junior from Michigan got the start because of A.T. Aoelua’s sore ankle. 

    Evans’ touchdown reception was his second in three games.

   With defensive tackle Edie McClam most likely sidelined due to an injured knee, Jason Fuller’s value to this ODU team will very likely increase in the last two games. Fuller, you may recall, transferred in from Virginia to play one season of football for the Monarchs. Don’t look for any senior day activity at the homecoming game, though. Since Fuller is playing only one year and is the team’s lone senior, the Monarchs won’t be making any special plans to honor him. Fair enough. Playing an extra year of football when it looked like his college career was done is probably reward enough.

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