Stanford started spring drills last week with a new coach and the promise that the new era will be much like the old era.

 The Stanford faithful hopes little changes at the Farm. The school is coming off its first 12-win season, the climax of Jim Harbaugh’s run at Stanford.

 When Harbaugh left to coach the 49ers, offensive coordinator David Shaw was elevated to the top job and he is unlikely to overhaul the approach. Andrew Luck, the most talented pro-style quarterback in the college ranks, will return. For the Cardinal to remain successful, however, something else must continue. Stanford needs keep getting talented players admitted.  

 Walt Harris’ and Buddy Teevens’ unsuccessful seasons at Stanford early in the ’00s were not simply a lack of coaching acumen. The consensus is the Harris and Teevens’ staffs were unable to get as many quality athletes through the admissions process as Harbaugh later did. Continue Reading…

If they do everything bigger in texas, as they say, then it’s probably no surprise that texas has more FBS schools than any other state – 10. And that’s not likely to change anytime soon.

You probably know by now that  That would give the WAC seven teams in football and provide the state of texas with two more FBS playing destinations. Plus, it will provide new UTSA head coach Larry Coker a return to the FBS ranks after his firing from Miami.

But I don’t believe the WAC is done yet, as the “Baker’s Dozen” headline implies. I believe there is one more texas team on the WAC’s radar – Lamar, located in Beaumont, which is about an hour and a half east of Houston. Don’t be surprised if an invitation arrives in Beaumont from the WAC within the next two months. And be even less surprised if Lamar accepts.

Continue Reading…

Despite allegations there’s something about Kfiffin that impresses people, including recruits.

When the NCAA letter outlining allegations against your school’s football program arrives, it is a dark day — unless the letter happens to deftly pin the alleged misdeeds on the former coach whom your athletic department and fans have decided is the devil incarnate.

 They are so happy in Tennessee they might want to hold a parade, which would be a nice contrast from last year when undergraduates burned mattresses to vent their anger over Lane Kiffin bolting after one season as Vols coach and taking the job at USC.

 The NCAA said that while at Tennessee, Kiffin and staffers made 16 impermissible phone calls to recruits, allowed a recruiting intern to visit a high school in Florida and didn’t foster an atmosphere of compliance.  

 The only downer in Knoxville is the same NCAA letter, which was made public Wednesday, contained — as expected — allegations about the men’s basketball program and its coach. The fact that both programs went off track does not speak well for the athletic department and Athletic Director Mike Hamilton. The department as a whole might take a hit from the NCAA. Continue Reading…

There are only two ways to make college football news during the spring – spring football practice and controversy. 

texas Tech just started spring workouts. But that’s not why I’m writing today. 

Head coach Tommy Tuberville is in the news because he’s received a $500,000 raise after leading the Red Raiders to a 7-5 record and a bowl win in 2010. Let’s set aside the fact that leading a team to a losing conference record and a win in an inaugural bowl game doesn’t scream raise to me. But he received one because, as athletic director Gerald Myers said, Tuberville gave the Red Raiders a discount when he came on board last year. That brings Tuberville’s 2011 salary to $2 million. Some discount, right? 

Well, the timing couldn’t be worse. Like a lot of states, there’s a budget crunch in texas. texas Tech is expecting to see its state funding for education drop by as much as eight percent. For that reason, the school is asking its faculty to accept a pay freeze. 

See where I’m going with this? 

Last week the Tech faculty senate got together and Tuberville’s contract was part of the debate. Tech faculty was unhappy that the football coach was getting a sizeable raise while they were being asked to do without one. That’s understandable. If I were in their shoes, I’d be ticked, even if I loved football.  Continue Reading…

Did you know that there are some schools that have already started spring workouts? Nuts. Wake Forest, Army, Navy and the Air Force Academy are among them.

Pretty soon texas will set about trying to erase their 5-7 debacle from 2010. The longhorns have ushered in wave after wave of changes to try and make that 2010 a one-year hiccup.

There were plenty of things wrong with texas last year. But, to me, fixing one thing could put the longhorns back into contention in the Big 12 and on the national landscape quickly: The running game.

texas couldn’t run the ball worth a flip last year, and in hindsight, maybe we should have seen that coming. After several years of using spread-option type quarterbacks in Vince Young and Colt McCoy, the longhorns seemed ill-prepared to transition back to a pro set offense. I think Garrett Gilbert is more of a more pocket passer and needs the security an effective running game can provide. The longhorns were 65^th in rushing in 2010. That won’t get it done. Continue Reading…

 Former Florida head coach Urban Meyer made waves last week when he spoke to a radio personality in Indianapolis about the “garbage” in college football, things like player arrests, player agents and NCAA violations. Meyer’s comments quickly made their way across the Internet and made national news, especially now that he’s a commentator for ESPN. 

People were quick to point out that during Meyer’s tenure his players were arrested more than 30 times. Now, I don’t think Meyer’s totally at fault for that. You can’t control your players 24/7, but you can control who comes to your campus through the recruiting process, the process by which, in my opinion, the majority of NCAA violations come from. 

Meyer didn’t name names during his diatribe, which would have been nice for a change from a former coach. But it was a politically savvy move for a guy who will probably coach at the college level again and doesn’t want to burn bridges. But one has to wonder if he was, perhaps, alluding to a coach in his old conference? I won’t put words in Meyer’s mouth, but one SEC coach is certainly flirting with the garbage in his own way.  Continue Reading…

Nearly two weeks after signing day, Arizona had a chance for a big addition to its talent pool. Rutgers transfer Tom Savage came to check out the program Feb. 15.

 Savage would be quite a catch for the Cats and so far, Tucson is his only scheduled visit.

 Two years ago Savage, who is 6-foot-4 with a rifle for an arm, was a hot commodity as a high school senior from Springfield, Pa. SI.com said he was a player whose signing would attract other recruits. Rivals.com ranked Savage as the eighth-best pro style quarterback for the Class of 2009.

 Savage started 11 games as a freshman at Rutgers and was named to the Football Writers Association of America’s frosh All-America team.

 But after a rocky sophomore season in New Jersey, he announced he was going elsewhere.

 Part of Rutgers’ appeal to Savage was that the program was on the upswing. A lot of people think that’s the case with Arizona. Continue Reading…

Yes, it’s February and much of the country is just digging itself out from some of the worst winter storms in memory. But once the NFL locks out the players’ union, there will only be one game in town – college football. Not much chance of any labor strife there. So prepare for much more college football talk than you’re used to this spring.

In early August, the Associated Press voters will give us their preseason No. 1 team, along with anyone with a preview magazine or a Web site.

There are plenty of good candidates out there. But now that the early entries and the coaching market have finally settled down, I now have my eyes trained firmly on one school being No. 1 – Oklahoma. A month ago I would have said Oregon, and that was based on what I knew right after the BCS title game. But now I’d have to say Oklahoma, which was last seen destroying Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl and hastening Randy Edsall’s departure to Maryland. Here are four reasons why: Continue Reading…

The tough decisions never stop coming for Rick Neuheisel

 If the digital world where a fan base can express its displeasure had existed a few years earlier, Rick Neuheisel climb up the coaching ladder might have been easier.

 But the Internet wasn’t there to help the UCLA coach when he was passed up for a coordinator spot.   Timing is everything. The digital environment is here now, and it was causing Neuheisel headaches last week.

 Neuheisel had this notion about hiring Rocky Seto, 34, from the Seattle Seahawks as UCLA’s defensive coordinator.

 A former Trojan, Seto had been on Pete Carroll’s staff at USC as an assistant coach. In 2009, Seto was named defensive coordinator, but everyone knew Carroll was the real coordinator. Seto’s position on the Seahawks staff is defensive quality control.

 Neuheisel talked to Seto about the opening. It got serious. Serious enough that Seto posted an item about getting the job on his Facebook page, the LA Daily News reported.

 The Bruin nation reacted negatively through various Internet channels. A Veto Seto campaign was started. Bruin backers didn’t like Seto’s lack experience as a coordinator and his relative youth. His ties to USC probably didn’t help.

 At this point one of two things happened: Neuheisel either rescinded to offer, or the offer always was conditional and the head coach just decided not to go through with it.

 The spin from the Morgan Center in Westwood is there were other reasons than the fan reaction for Seto not getting the job.  I have trouble buying it. Continue Reading…

Mark Richt could find himself on the hot seat in 2011

When the “Coaches on the Hot Seat” stories get written come the start of the 2011 college football season, expect Mark Richt’s name to be on the list, perhaps close to the top.

In the ultra-competitive SEC, losing seasons aren’t tolerated, and his 6-7 record at Georgia in 2010 moves Richt to the forefront of coaches that need a bounce-back year in 2011. You can’t lose that many games between the hedges.

But even before the 2010 season began, Richt went shopping for new talent for 2011 and started calling this class his “Dream Team.” He called it that in June in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution story, even though he only had 11 commitments at the time. He used the “Dream Team” sales pitch statewide, and looking at the class on paper, it’s easy to see why Richt is stoked.

He put together a unique class based on geography – he convinced 19 Georgia high school players to come to Athens (the class bulged to 25 overall). It might seem unusual to rely on that many players from one state, but Richt had reasons.

He claimed Isaiah Crowell of Carver High School in Columbus. He was the nation’s top-ranked running back. He also signed one of the nation’s top defensive ends, Ray Drew, of Thomas County Central in Thomasville. He snagged six of the state’s Top 10 recruits, as ranked by the AJ-C, including TE Jay Rome out of Valdosta. He’s just 6-foot-6, 250 pounds. That’s all. Continue Reading…