Thursday Hodge Podge

• Losing the 'Tude. Running back Dennis Johnson has been one of my favorite Hog players for a while. He's always struck me as a very gritty player. I guess looks can be deceiving, though. Both Chris Bahn of AS360 and Brandon Marcelllo of WholeHogSports.com detail Dennis' past tendency to be in Petrino's doghouse and his recent attitude adjustment.

• Go Get 'Em, Mike. I'll admit it: I'm not going to miss watching Michael Washington get his shot blocked by much smaller players. Still, I wish him well in his pursuit of a professional basketball career, and per Brandon Marcello's Twitter feed, that pursuit is off to a decent start. While playing Wednesday in the Portsmouth Invitational, Washington scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 26 minutes of play.

• Talking with D.J. Williams. Robbie Neiswanger has posted a Q&A with the Razorback tight end.

• Sounds Good to Us. Thoughts from the Dark Side, an Oakland Raiders blog, is arguing that the team should trade Darren McFadden (btw - we're all for it. The man needs a fresh start). Here's what the blog has to say:

The problem with McFadden and the Raiders is they were never a good match. This has caused his stock to drop constantly since the first moment he stepped on the field in silver and black. The best thing for McFadden and the Raiders would be to shop him right now while there may still be teams that think he has value. And more importantly; while there are quite a few teams that can properly utilize a player with his skill set.

This would be a win-win-win situation all-around. No doubt the Raiders were not the only team that had McFadden high on their draft board in ‘08. Since then, his lack of production has been partially due to the Raiders "lethargic" offense. Well, combined with the aforementioned misuse of his skill set.

Among the teams that would likely be interested in McFadden’s services would be the Dolphins, Cowboys, Bears, and Eagles.