**
College area scout and New Jersey native Todd Brunner continues to share his weekly blog from life out on the road searching for NFL prospects.**
After we lasted talk I was setting up camp for a few days in Charlottesville, Virginia. Monday afternoon I made my way to a small Division II school called Bridgewater College. They've got a running back there who has had a decent career for them, and they just missed out on making the playoffs by one game.
I watched tape and spoke with the coaches and it turns out their head coach Michael Clark was the position coach for our defensive coordinator Billy Davis back at the University of Cincinnati. We talked about Billy a little bit and then discussed their running back. He's a good looking kid, he's got good numbers, and a lot will depend on how fast he runs this spring.
On Tuesday I went into the University of Virginia for the second time and finished up watching another three games on their players. I spoke to the coaches just to make sure nothing has changed in terms of background and work habits.
I went back in again on Wednesday and watched some tape on some of their ACC opponents so I could finish up my evaluations on a couple of those schools.
I went to the Mellow Mushroom in Charlottesville for dinner which was within walking distance from my hotel. I enjoyed an excellent calzone. So if you happen to find yourself in Charlottesville, Virginia, check it out. It's actually a Sports Bar with some really good food so you can watch some games and enjoy a good meal.
On Wednesday night and Thursday morning I finished up all of my reports on the ACC schools, which was about 20 plus reports. Thursday afternoon, I drove the five hours back home. It's turned cold here in the East but the roads were clear and I left at the perfect time so I got thru D.C. just fine without hitting their terrible traffic that really angers me.
On Saturday, I watched a couple of college games, and I definitely had an eye on the Princeton/Dartmouth game which Princeton ended up winning. That victory allowed them to share the Ivy League Title with Yale as both teams had only one loss in the Ivy League play.
I went over to a friend's house to watch the Rutgers game. I was preparing everybody because if there was one, this was a potential letdown game and to the dismay of most everyone in New Jersey, that's what happened. That big crash you heard on the west coast about 9PM was all those people jumping off the Rutgers band wagon. Cincinnati beat them and really outplayed them in all phases of the game. It was the biggest game of the year for Cincinnati, they had the home field advantage and the win allowed them to become bowl eligible.
On Sunday our 49ers/Seattle game was the 4 o'clock game out here so I was able to sit down, watch, and enjoy. It was just like the last three weeks with it coming down to the very end and you just had to hope that we could hang on and pull it out. We're getting the turnovers and the breaks that used to go against us, but it's fairly intense to sit through that and watch. We're 5-5, and that is very rewarding. Unlike colleges we don't have to appease anyone in the BCS, it just goes by your record and if we keep playing like this, we can get in the playoff hunt.
I used to cover Michigan and was fortunate enough to meet Bo Schembechler on one of my visits. I've known his son Shemy for many years as I worked with him in KC, but it was about three years ago when I finally met his dad. It's an unfortunate passing because of what he means to Michigan and college football in general. You are not going to find many guys these days who will leave that kind of legacy behind.. My thoughts and prayers go out to Shemy and the rest of his family.
