Catching up...

It's been a busy week, both away from the autograph world and with the successes in the mailbox. Time to catch up now...

Over the past three days, I've received successes from Oregon QB Dennis Dixon, Purude QB Curtis Painter, Missouri QB Chase Daniel, and Tennessee WR Robert Meachem. All four of those were among the requests I sent over the past two weeks, and each took 14 days or fewer to be returned. Only Meachem did not return both index cards I had enclosed.

As for college hoops, I wrote last week how I was short four SEC coaches from having the complete collection for the 2006-2007 season. You can now cut that number in half as newly-hired Mississippi head coach Andy Kennedy and Auburn head man Jeff Lebo both returned autographs to me this week. Kennedy signed just one index card, while Lebo signed both. Both successes took less than one week.

A look now at the updated football stats:

2006 STATS - FOOTBALL
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RECEIVED: 41
SENT: 131
% RECEIVED: 31.3%
AVG # OF DAYS: 24.3
PRICE PER SUCCESS: $3.05

Saturday success!

Akron QB Luke Getsy returned my autograph request in just nine days, becoming the second player to respond to my mid-season mailings made last week. As a reminder from yesterday's post, I'm including the updated stats below, but keep in mind that these are somewhat misleading simply because those requests sent last week have (for the most part) not had enough time to be returned just yet.

2006 STATS - FOOTBALL
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RECEIVED: 37
SENT: 131
% RECEIVED: 28.2%
AVG # OF DAYS: 25.7
PRICE PER SUCCESS: $3.38

...And one other note: I have eight of the twelve '06-'07 SEC hoops coaches autographs already in my collection from previous years, so I sent out for the additional four today. They were directed to Jeff Lebo (Auburn), Bruce Pearl (Tennessee), Andy Kennedy (Mississippi), and Tubby Smith (Kentucky).

Football success!

The first of the late football requests sent last week has returned to my mailbox. Southern Miss freshman RB Damion Fletcher returned my request in just seven days, signing both index cards I enclosed. The latest stats are shown below, but you should keep in mind that these appear a bit worse than they actually are simply because many of the requests I sent last week have not yet had time to be returned. Within the next 7 to 10 days, these should become more accurate.

2006 STATS - FOOTBALL
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RECEIVED: 36
SENT: 131
% RECEIVED: 27.5%
AVG # OF DAYS: 26.2
PRICE PER SUCCESS: $3.47

Last of the late requests out the door...

The second half of the late college football requests went in the mailbox today, as well as one leftover NFL request (Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger). And by the way, one note on those NFL requests... I sent each player two index cards, but on each, I included their college team name and logo, not their NFL team. Why? Well, for one, NCAA autographs is what I do. And second, their NFL team may change; their college won't.

OK, so back to the college football requests. The following were sent out today and will wrap up the gridiron requests for the season:

Mario Manningham (WR, Michigan), Nate Longshore (QB, Cal), John Parker Wilson (QB, Alabama), Dennis Dixon (QB, Oregon), Ray Rice (RB, Rutgers), Robert Meachem (WR, Tennessee), Curtis Painter (QB, Purdue), Rhema McKnight (WR, Notre Dame), Jaison Williams (WR, Oregon), DeSean Jackson (WR, Cal), *Calvin Johnson (WR, Georgia Tech), *Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma), *Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State), *Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame), *Jonathan Stewart (RB, Oregon), *John David Booty (QB, USC), *Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn), *Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville), *Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal)

Those marked with a (*) were sent to players whom I had already contacted earlier this fall. I just felt these guys were worth the effort to give one more shot to before the season was complete.

Another hoops success...

Florida State's Al Thornton answered my autograph request in 35 days, becoming the 13th basketball success of the fall. However, he returned neither of the two index cards I enclosed, instead sending along three blank index cards of his own. I'm now just one success away from reaching the 30% success rate for the season.

2006 STATS - HOOPS
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RECEIVED: 13
SENT: 45
% RECEIVED: 28.9%
AVG # OF DAYS: 14.9
PRICE PER SUCCESS: $3.38

In the box...

I mentioned last week that I would be sending out a few additional college football requests in the coming weeks to guys I somehow overlooked when sending out the mass mailing back in early July. I've gone ahead and sent out 9 of those requests to the players noted below and am planning on sending the next ten a few days from now.

These went in the mailbox today:

Ian Johnson (RB, Boise State), Luke Getsy (QB, Akron), P.J. Hill (RB, Wisconsin), Chase Daniel (QB, Missouri), BenJarvus Green-Ellis (RB, Mississippi), Damion Fletcher (RB, Southern Miss), Johnnie Lee Higgins (WR, UTEP), Dwayne Wright (RB, Fresno State), Tim Tebow (QB, Florida)

A project of a different kind...

Looking back over the last few years of college football, there are a number of autographs I would have like to have gotten but didn't succeed in obtaining. I sent requests to most of these guys, but none were returned. These guys have continued their success at the pro level, so I've decided to contact them via their current NFL team and attempt to have them sign a card adorned with their college logo and a photo from their collegiate days.

Most of these requests are to high-profile NFL players, so I doubt my success rate will be all that great. But I still think it's worth a try. With that in mind, here's a list of the players I've chosen to contact. These requests went in the mailbox today.

Reggie Bush (USC/Saints), Vince Young (Texas/Titans), Matt Leinart (USC/Cardinals), Jay Cutler (Vanderbilt/Broncos), Joseph Addai (LSU/Colts), LenDale White (USC/Titans), Maurice Jones-Drew (UCLA/Jaguars), Jerious Norwood (Mississippi State/Falcons), Ronnie Brown (Auburn/Dolphins), Sean Taylor (Miami/Redskins), Carson Palmer (USC/Bengals), Rex Grossman (Florida/Bears), Willie McGahee (Miami/Bills), Michael Vick (Virginia Tech/Falcons), Peyton Manning (Tennessee/Colts), Donovan McNabb (Syracuse/Eagles), Drew Brees (Purdue/Saints), Warrick Dunn (Florida State/Falcons), LaDainian Tomlinson (TCU/Chargers), Santana Moss (Miami/Redskins), Terrell Owens (UT-Chattanooga/Cowboys)

From the Mailbag

Here's another frequently asked question from the audience. Feel free to contact me if you've got questions of your own.

Q: Where do you get the addresses for college teams?

A: When I send college requests, I almost always send them to the school's athletic department. Those addresses can be found on each school's website, but the list I use is over at SouthernCollegeSports.com. It's pretty extensive, listing addresses for basically every D-I college football team and many more.

In the event an address you're looking isn't found on that list, the easiest thing to do is to go to that particular team's official athletic website and look for their "Staff Directory." Usually a mailing address is listed on that page. If it isn't, the next best bet is to go to the university homepage and search for the athletic department address there.

Add another hoops success

The 12th hoops success of the fall arrived this week, coming from Oral Roberts' Caleb Green. That now puts me over the 25% success rate for college hoops while moving me under the $4 price per success mark at the same time.

2006 STATS - HOOPS
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RECEIVED: 12
SENT: 45
% RECEIVED: 26.7%
AVG # OF DAYS: 13.2
PRICE PER SUCCESS: $3.67

Something new...

I've decided to try something a bit new, a small experiment you might say. As always, there are a number of guys I overlooked when sending out this summer's college football requests for one reason or another. So with that in mind, I've compiled a short list of those players and will attempt to contact them within the next week or so, even though we are actually in mid-season. There are just 19 names on this list (shown below), so I feel if it's a safe experiment and might lead to something new if it turns out to be ultra-successful.

In any case, here are the names I've compiled, so let me know if you have any additions. Keep in mind all of the guys listed below are guys I did not contact this past summer.

Ian Johnson (RB, Boise State), Mario Manningham (WR, Michigan), Nate Longshore (QB, California), Luke Getsy (QB, Akron), John Parker Wilson (QB, Alabama), Dennis Dixon (QB, Oregon), Ray Rice (RB, Rutgers), P.J. Hill (RB, Wisconsin), Robert Meachem (WR, Tennessee), Chase Daniel (QB, Missouri), BenJarvus Green-Ellis (RB, Mississippi), Damion Fletcher (RB, Southern Miss), Johnnie Lee Higgins (WR, UTEP), Curtis Painter (QB, Purdue), Rhema McKnight (WR, Notre Dame), Jaison Williams (WR, Oregon), DeSean Jackson (WR, California), Dwayne Wright (RB, Fresno State), Tim Tebow (QB, Florida)

New link added: 316 Sports

I've been adding a number of new links over the past few months, but the most recent - 316 Sports - may be the best yet. There's tons of great info on collecting autographs, especially for those of you interested in topics other than strictly college sports. Check it out!