College Football: Offseason coaching drama and crootin'

[Ferrum Aeternum]

Lol obviously completely unscientific (and fraught with the issue of the snowball effect of retweets), but Joe Schad basically tweeted two things: Tweet A: Retweet if you think coaches favor changes in play because of player safety issues. and Tweet B: Retweet if you think coaches favor changes in play because it favors their style of play.

Current count is Tweet A: 22 Tweet B: 894

My equally unscientific translation: 22 Bama fans were around to retweet choice A.

No one can honestly believe this is about player safety.

[sperry]

My equally unscientific translation: 22 Bama fans were around to retweet choice A.

No one can honestly believe this is about player safety.

Just have to hope this one of those ones where there is enough public backlash that the network stooges who proposed it go, "Just kidding, we don't want that all. Leave it the way it was", and fire a couple subordinates to show they mean business.

[D_P]

the remainder of spring fooball is drawing to a close...what did you see? or read? there seems to be a more stout group of programs at the top as opposed to recent years. Is your time now? what do you think they need? remember that summer players have yet to show. I want your best case and worst case scenarios. Who is in the doghouse? for example, i feel for THR and his UGA bulldogs; they've had some arrests and it looks as that harvey-clemons is headed to louisville. that is a tough road to hoe for pruit. Mason is an extreme question mark too? can pruitt help an underachieving defense? you do, however; have the best. gurley wich most NFL teams would want right now. Wooten and Rumph are also future stars is mason pans out.

they still have a very capable and young WR core and in Gurley and Marshall they have to best 1,2 RB punch in all of football. All could be negated if bobo, mason and pruitt don't do their jobs. they are really gonna miss harvey-clemons on D.

UGA isnt' my team but i thought i'd throw them out there.

anyone else keeping up with the goings-on this time of year?

with what happened to vandy, rhom, considering a second year decent coach and the qb he brought in, you may only be a year or two away. spurrier personally knew jesus, muschamp simply will not last but you do have to worry about richt. he's a disciplinarian and they are almost always competitive. if he can stop losing recruits to alabama, auburn, clemson and south carolina, he should be at the top of the west. lets not forget that davis from UT is on his way up too.

Tooting the SEC horn here but a loaded SEC team is, in fact, virtually impossible to stop. they have greater depth, train in more extreme conditions and the entire conference has convinced these kids that the SEC is the best opportunity for a NFL lottery ticket. Enough about that, though, we all know that there are beasts all over the place.

I'm just tired of waiting. educate me. let's talk about some NCAA football.

[Ferrum Aeternum]

I went to the Ole Miss spring game and they looked really solid, speedy and fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball. Makes sense as we have a ton of experienced players returning. IF we can stay healthy, this has the potential to be a 9 or 10 win team. That being said, it was a spring scrimmage, so it means almost nothing. A few key injuries in fall practice and this will be a 6-6, 7-5 team again.

As for predictions I'll just stick to the SECW:

MSU is in about the same boat as us; their defense should be very stout. With a few breaks this could be Mullen's best team.

Arkansas will be better. They could challenge for a bowl if they can find a QB.

A&M will have a down year without J. Footballington, esq.

LSU & Bama will reload but for once should be vulnerable to an upset or two.

Auburn will be really good again and their defense should make huge strides. I'm interested to see how their offense does without Mason.

Speaking of spring ball, I though this was pretty neat - Arkansas St. auctioning off chance to coach a team in the spring game.

[sperry]

I am really, really hoping that aTm goes 0-8 in the conference. It's a possibility, and nothing would be sweeter.

[S John]

I too am beginning to hunger for football.

WVU is once again a big ?

Defense has more depth than last year. But last years D was only marginally less terrible than the 2012 D. A lot of that can be blamed on the injury bug, WVU D looked reasonably stout up until around the Baylor game when they absolutely demolished us. Hoping that heath and depth lead to great strides in improvement this year. Also brought in Tom Bradley from Penn State (in a hire that I was not personally thrilled about) in an effort to improve the D. The scheme is supposed to be simpler now.. who the hell knows. They really can't get much worse.

Offense - still big question marks at QB. WVU brought in the #1 dual threat JUCO QB out of California but word is that he has not looked good in practice. Seems to be having a hard time adjusting to playing against a D1 defense, even one that has been as lousy as WVU's has been lately. Paul Millard looks to be the leader right now. Trickett had shoulder surgery but will be back for the summer. Trickett was injured in every game he played last year except the first one so I am really hoping that a healthy Trickett ends up starting if this JUCO kid can't get it together. Trickett, for all his faults, at least plays with passion. I don't hate Millard, he can move the offense, but the guy looks so wooden out there and has no mobility. I invite him to prove me wrong though and have a great season.

The really bright spot on O is the running back position. WVU is as deep at RB as I can ever remember. Rushell Shell was a 5* coming out of HS, a transfer from Pitt, and is a power back. We also return Dreamius Smith, Wendell Smallwood, Dustin Garrison, and Andrew Buie, who have all proven that they can play. If we can get some solid O line play I think WVU's 'air raid' might start looking a whole lot more like a ground attack. This gives me a lot of hope in that if we can prove that we can run that might set up some wide open guys downfield that even our struggling QB corp can hit for some nice gains in the air. All comes down to the O line, really.

Schedule - First four games are rough and will set the tone for the whole season.. they are:

Alabama

Towson

Maryland

Oklahoma

I pray to the Mountaineer gods that we can get out of that stretch 2-2. Maryland blew us out last year and returns the same team. And Bama and OU are Bama and OU. Not to mention that a loss to Towson would be a disaster. Most WVU fans are predictably pessimistic about the Alabama opener. I give us a puncher's chance since we like to spread out and play up-tempo which seems to be Bama's Achilles Heel. But with Saban having lost in their last two outings... I dunno, I think they'll be prepared and that WVU will likely get run over. I hate moral victories, but if we can just make a game out of it, then that is something to build on. I guess you could also say it is good that we get the two toughest teams on our schedule early in the season, might catch them off guard, and at worst it is good preparation for later on. Though TTU, Texas, Oklahoma State and Baylor are also going to be hard games. TCU and ISU will probably be toss ups and hopefully we beat Kansas like a yard dog after last years' total embarrassment. Damn tough schedule this year though with the regular Big 12 slate plus Bama and an improving Maryland OOC.

All in all, I think at this time WVU has more depth than at any point since Rich Rodriguez was the coach and possibly even more than he had. I am pleased with that. But with questions at QB and a D that has been bad for two years... I dunno if that's going to be enough to get bowl eligible. And I think 6-6 is a requirement for Holgorsen to stay employed. WVU sits out of a bowl again and I think he's gone.

And honestly, based on last season, its tough to find 6 wins on that schedule. The only sliver of optimism I have is that last year WVU led in the 4th quarter of SIX GAMES that we ended up losing. That is ridiculous. That is the difference between a 4 win season and a 10 win season. Hoping that another year of maturity (we do return basically everyone) will allow us to finish some of these games.

[sperry]

Oklahoma spring game was yesterday.

Trevor knight looked terrible, and baker mayfield, the transfer from Texas tech, was 9-9 for 125 yards and two tds

[Ferrum Aeternum]

Heard today that QBs Matt Joeckel (A&M) and Jalen Whitlow (Kentucky) are both seeking transfers.

Joeckel supposedly wasn't the favorite to win the A&M job anyway so that one's not too unusual, but I figured Whitlow would at least be in the mix at Kentucky. Wasn't he the QB1 in spring practice?

[MisterOJ]

Heard today that QBs Matt Joeckel (A&M) and Jalen Whitlow (Kentucky) are both seeking transfers.

Joeckel supposedly wasn't the favorite to win the A&M job anyway so that one's not too unusual, but I figured Whitlow would at least be in the mix at Kentucky. Wasn't he the QB1 in spring practice?

Stoops asked Whitlow to change positions and he didn't want to. UK has a hotshot freshman QB coming in with several other options available as well - and all of them better suited to running the style of offense that Stoops wants than Whitlow. Whitlow would probably be fine in an option-read style of offense, but that's not what UK is going to be running going forward.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

TCU has had an interesting offseason.

Demoted our co-OCs and brought in Doug Meacham from UH to be OC/inside receivers and Sonnie Cumbie from TTU to be co-OC/desperately-needed-QB-coach. Immediately saw a jump in recruiting and landed some great athletes, especially on offense (including flipping a four-star WR from UT and a four-Star RB from Aggie).

Our defense loses Jason Verrett, the All-American corner, but otherwise is scary good and fairly deep. We have top three (in the conference) units at LB, DL, and secondary.

On offense we don't lose anyone important, but Jesus did we have a fucking pathetic offense. Bad play-calling, bad QB play, bad WR play, and one of the worst D1 OLs I've ever seen. Play-calling should be better with a competent OC, but I have major concerns about the rest.

At QB we have Trevone Boykin sitting at #2, despite him being a better WR than anyone else on our roster. The guy who was poised to take his job didn't cut it and has transferred. BUT, we just landed Matt Joekel as a one-and-done, so the hope is that he can come in, start for a year and lead the team while our hotshot freshman QB recruits get some practice and seasoning, then one can take over and start 3-4 years.

Overall, TCU has a more favorable schedule than last season, getting OU, TTU, and OSU at home, plus we open against an FCS and our D1 OOC is Minnesota, who is good but not on LSU's level. If we can make a modest improvement on offense and stay salty on defense, then we have a legit shot at a great season.

[sperry]

TCU has had an interesting offseason.

Demoted our co-OCs and brought in Doug Meacham from UH to be OC/inside receivers and Sonnie Cumbie from TTU to be co-OC/desperately-needed-QB-coach. Immediately saw a jump in recruiting and landed some great athletes, especially on offense (including flipping a four-star WR from UT and a four-Star RB from Aggie).

Our defense loses Jason Verrett, the All-American corner, but otherwise is scary good and fairly deep. We have top three (in the conference) units at LB, DL, and secondary.

On offense we don't lose anyone important, but Jesus did we have a fucking pathetic offense. Bad play-calling, bad QB play, bad WR play, and one of the worst D1 OLs I've ever seen. Play-calling should be better with a competent OC, but I have major concerns about the rest.

At QB we have Trevone Boykin sitting at #2, despite him being a better WR than anyone else on our roster. The guy who was poised to take his job didn't cut it and has transferred. BUT, we just landed Matt Joekel as a one-and-done, so the hope is that he can come in, start for a year and lead the team while our hotshot freshman QB recruits get some practice and seasoning, then one can take over and start 3-4 years.

Overall, TCU has a more favorable schedule than last season, getting OU, TTU, and OSU at home, plus we open against an FCS and our D1 OOC is Minnesota, who is good but not on LSU's level. If we can make a modest improvement on offense and stay salty on defense, then we have a legit shot at a great season.

I think you're more than modest improvements on offense from a great season. You need leaps and bounds. That offense was absolutely brutal. The TCU defense is very good, but to make up for an offense that bad you need a defense on the level of '11 LSU, and that's not there. I have a difficult time seeing TCU being better than 6th in the league.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

Well, we were 4-8 with the best or second-best defense in the conference last season (depending on how you measure), and we lost five of those games by 3 points or less (IIRC). So if we were to move from an atrocious offense to a mediocre-to-fair offense (from 106 or whatever to maybe 50s-60s) then we would be in a position to make some noise. I realize that's a pretty big improvement; I guess by modest I just meant that we needed to improve to middle of the pack, not to be world-beaters.

Btw wanted to comment on your QB situation ... Trevor Knight looked like Peyton Manning in the bowl game, so I am surprised to hear he played worse than Mayfield. If Mayfield were to theoretically earn the starting job, he would have had one of the strangest CFB careers I've heard of. Is he on schollie at OU or still a walk-on? I know he had a lot of drama with getting releases from TTU.

[sperry]

Well, we were 4-8 with the best or second-best defense in the conference last season (depending on how you measure), and we lost five of those games by 3 points or less (IIRC). So if we were to move from an atrocious offense to a mediocre-to-fair offense (from 106 or whatever to maybe 50s-60s) then we would be in a position to make some noise. I realize that's a pretty big improvement; I guess by modest I just meant that we needed to improve to middle of the pack, not to be world-beaters.

Btw wanted to comment on your QB situation ... Trevor Knight looked like Peyton Manning in the bowl game, so I am surprised to hear he played worse than Mayfield. If Mayfield were to theoretically earn the starting job, he would have had one of the strangest CFB careers I've heard of. Is he on schollie at OU or still a walk-on? I know he had a lot of drama with getting releases from TTU.

He is still a walk-on, and is ineligible to play this year. Obviously the spring game is only one game, but Trevor Knight is still a cause for concern. His season was not very good last year, but obviously the bowl game is what people remember, where he absolutely torched Alabama. But honestly, Alabama's secondary was dreadful, and simply wasn't exposed often because they faced really poor QBs most of the year.

Knight has talent, but he's struggled with accuracy quite often. The bowl game was a sign of his potential, but I have reservations until I see him continually throw the ball accurately over the course of multiple games, not just here and there.

[Rhom]

Posted this in the college BBall thread:

The era of the Superconference is nigh.

:stunned:

Check out this section in particular:

Areas in which the membership generally agrees on autonomy for the five conferences include:

-financial aid, including full cost of attendance and scholarship guarantees;

-insurance, including policies that protect future earnings;

-academic support, particularly for at-risk student-athletes; and

-other support, such as travel for families, free tickets to athletics events, and expenses associated with practice and competition (such as parking).

That would be a humongous shift in the current NCAA structure. I also think its probably the right move if the NCAA wants to try to hang onto them. The days of the 300 small schools dictating to the 50 large schools what they can and cannot do are over.

[Kalbear]

The sooner that comes into play, the better.

[balefired-ed]

Everyone has to read this article on a SEC bagman.

What a joke that college sports are "amateur." Just drop the BS and have an actual minor league already.

[Rhom]

Jameis Winston arrested for shoplifting crab legs from a Publix.

Okay... so obviously there's an STD joke in there about getting crabs from a Publix; but on a serious level, what the fuck man? Did you not get enough of the public eye for the sexual assault charges? I almost sorta, kinda gave him the benefit of the doubt on the past thing... but now I look back on that and say maybe he is exactly the kind of entitled athlete douchebag that he was initially painted as.

The Heisman Trust has to be thrilled on the behavior of their last two recipients...

[sperry]

Jameis Winston arrested for shoplifting crab legs from a Publix.

Okay... so obviously there's an STD joke in there about getting crabs from a Publix; but on a serious level, what the fuck man? Did you not get enough of the public eye for the sexual assault charges? I almost sorta, kinda gave him the benefit of the doubt on the past thing... but now I look back on that and say maybe he is exactly the kind of entitled athlete douchebag that he was initially painted as.

The Heisman Trust has to be thrilled on the behavior of their last two recipients...

I don't think entitled athlete douchebag is the right word. Common criminal with no regard for the law seems more like it. This is Free Shoes University, though. Nothing will happen. Jimbo will probalby declare his baseball suspension to be enough of a punishment.

[Maithanet]

Jameis Winston arrested for shoplifting crab legs from a Publix.

This article was updated with this:

11:30 Update: A source inside Florida State's program says that Winston will be fined $30, required to do community service, and will be suspended from the baseball team.

11:35 Update: The Leon County Sheriff's Office will hold a 2 p.m. press conference concerning Jameis Winston.

Tomahawk Nation has reached out to Florida State for comment and will update this story as it unfolds.

Correction: The original story said that Winston was arrested, but a source with Tallahassee Police says that it is being classified as a citation, and not an arrest.

I dunno, I can't help but find this kinda sad. Both that he would resort to petty crime like this, and that this whole amateur NCAA nonsense means that he can't just purchase crab legs with salary from the millions of dollars that he's earned his school.

[Baitac]

Crab legs. Committed a crime for crab legs. How did he figure he would sneak them out? He acted like the child he is. That is so sad.