College Football Notebook

[WorkHorse]

Many thanks to the following from the Notebook:

bruce-outside
UtMoody10
Kaplan
HoldEmHook
Jhaug98
Can't call it
delvedeeper
and my old buddy BD

Starting a card game with my ole Mulerider buddies and they also appreciate you guys and your interest in college football. We don't forget you early guys. Come football season we will sponsor a $1000 to win opening week invitational. BigdaddyQH knows, he's won cash in some of our contest in the past. Thanks men. We all appreciate your help on this thread.

[WorkHorse]

Notebook is made up of a number of sporting men. (Old men.) We love college football and enjoy information on the teams across the country. Need your help and thank you guys for providing solid information.

Tonight....Hell of a Card Game....Townes Van Zandt playing..........................mark knopfler in reserve......

If you gamble my friends....have fun. Don't be a "Wonder What Happen" loser.....Make Things Happen and have fun.

GL...Muleriders

[BigdaddyQH]

I expect some type of settlement out of that. This is S.O.P. in California, where anyone sues everyone for any reason.

UCLA has now wasted a million of the tax payers dollars by hiring a new O.C. (a proven loser in San Francisco), and buying out the contract of Norm Chow. This coming just a few weeks after Chow signed a new contract paing him 500K a year for two years. Chow was blamed by Slick Rick Neuheisel, the head coach at Uceless, for the poor offensive showing, but in fact it was Slick Rick who insisted on the pistol offense, even though he did not have the talent to run it. Slick Rick's next move will be to hire former Miami (FL) H.C. Mike Shannon as defensive coordinator. Another move that guarantees Uceless a finish at, or near the botton of the Pac 12 South. The State is broke. The University System is broke, and Neuheisel and A.D. Guerrero are throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars on this. If Uceless wants to improve, fire Slick Rick and A.D. Guerrero.

[WorkHorse]

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
The SEC will be going for its sixth straight national title in 2011. Here's and early, early look at SEC football for 2011.

WEST CONFERENCE

1. LSU: The Tigers who will return 22 starters from a two loss team, should be ready to contend for a national championship. LSU will return four starters in the offensive line along with a group of promising young running backs. The defense will be as fast as anyone's and feature another standout secondary, led by emerging star Tyrann Mathieu.

2. ALABAMA: Despite the early losses to the NFL, Alabama still should field one of the nation's most talented teams. Quarterback play will be front and center early on but the schedule is more accommodating with both Arkansas and LSU at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Bama's defense should be damn good this season.

3. ARKANSAS: Despite the loss of junior quarterback Ryan Mallett, Arkansas still looks capable of challenging LSU and Alabama with Tyler Wilson throwing to the best set of wide receivers in the league. Running back Knile Davis returns. So do seven starters on an improved defense.

4. AUBURN: The Tigers will lose a lot of good players off their championship season including four starters from the SEC's best offensive line. The schedule is difficult. Check out the heart of Auburn's schedule: South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida and LSU in succession with only the Florida game at home. The Tigers have recruited well but to many holes to fill to challenge for the SEC title.

5. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Dan Mullen has come in and brought toughness and confidence to the Bulldog program. There's also enough returning talent to keep them in the top 25. If the quarterback play continues to improve, the Dawgs should be a tough team to play.

6. OLE MISS: The Rebels picked the wrong time to suffer a dropoff in talent. With most of the division near the top of its game, there's nowhere for the last place Rebels to go.

EAST CONFERENCE

1. SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks have more proven returning players than any other team in the division. Quarterback Stephen Garcia remains unpredictable, but you know what to expect from wide receiver Alshon Jeffery and running back Marcus Lattimore. The defense should be solid again.

2. FLORIDA: Maybe new coach Will Muschamp can reenergize a defense that has too many five-star recruits who haven't played up to their billing. The offense loses the majority of its starters in the line and has many question marks at the skill positions. The Gators must play consecutive games against Alabama, LSU and Auburn the first three weeks of October.

3. TENNESSEE: The Vols aren't capable of winning a conference championship but they should improve over last season. For the first time since 2008, they aren't beginning the season with a new coach. Quarterback Tyler Bray has potential and the offensive line returns all but one starter. The Vols have the disadvantage of playing the three best teams in the West; LSU, Alabama and Arkansas.

4. GEORGIA: The Bulldogs have a good young quarterback in Aaron Murray but lose their best receiver to the NFL. The 2010 season was a bunch of ups and downs and 2011 may be much of the same.

5. KENTUCKY: Speaking of much of the same. The Wildcats will probably win six games, beat Vanderbilt, lose to Tennessee and go to a minor bowl game.

6. VANDERBILT: Why does Vanderbilt play football in the SEC? Looks like another two win season.

Welcome your comments................

[BigdaddyQH]

Basically I agree. I have Miss.State ahead of Auburn, because of the difficutly of Auburns schedule, plus the revenge factor. Everyone is going to want a piece of Auburn. I also have to place Georgia slightly ahead of Tennessee, again because of the schedule. As Workhorse stated, theymust play LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas, and only LSU is at home. They also go to Florida. Georgia gets the bottom three in the West, Miss. State, Auburn, and Mississippi. The schedule alone could be a two game swing for Georgia. Georgia also gets South Carolina at home, the week after they play Boise State in Atlanta. A win against South Carolina could set UGA up for a run at the SEC East Championship.

[generalforumVIP]

Very good research guys. Thanks.

[HoldEmHook!!]

wow another year of outlooks and predictions....The east winds up being a big coin-flip. South Carolina is as good as Garcia plays and unfortunately for the old ball coach that is a risky proposition.....The gators could challenge or flop. The coaching change at Fla. indicates the winds of change from Urbans spread to Muschamps pro-style. Most of the time change is not good for any team muchless an SEC school where the win now attitude learning curve is very small. Now Tennessee, there is another question, How good will they be? Its an issue of depth, Dooley played a ton of youth and that helps with experience but Tennessee's Achiles heal was depth. Tenessee was a team that was beating Oregon at the half, and was 2 last second mistakes from beating LSU and winning a bowl. Georgia will be a desparate team as far as playing for the coach goes, this season for the Dawgs is all about saving Richts job. Kentuck is going to compete with Vandy and Ole Miss for that desparate 6th win just to qualify for a bowl, with Cobb going pro the vast majority of Kentucky's play making and offense left as well.

The west.

Bama and LSU are in a class all alone, factor in both schools have issues at QB and Les Miles strange antics and the season will be one of great anticipation and expectations. Either one of these teams could easily play for the national championship. Tons of talent on hand and coming in with recruiting. These two teams are teams that truly control their own destinies.
Arkansas is going to be competitive and easily could challenge depends on the qb. He looked good in spots coming in for Mallett and responded well in Patrino's system. Kniles Davis should be one of the best rb's in the league and a tallented receiving corp returning should make the Razorbacks an opponent that cant be overlooked.
Miss St. has improved every year under Mullens and he now enters that magical 3rd year where his recruits should fill the rosters on both sides of the ball. The question is can the Bulldogs go from the team that could beat anyone on any given night to the team that beats people on any given night.
Auburn just lost too much and they have the undesireable position of being the hunted instead of the hunters. With Auburn winning several games with comebacks and in a close manner, revenge will be a factor as well.
Ole Miss and Vandy just kick back and endure the ride for the 1/12th split of the bowl revenue they get from being dorrmats in the SEC.

Bottom line is...........Is it September yet....Roll Tide

[BigdaddyQH]

Good write up Hook. Tennessee really peaks my interest. Dooley played a lot of kids last season. They made a lot of kid mistakes. This year, it should be different. Unfortunately for Tennessee, so is the schedule. The three teams from the West that they catch are Alabama, Arkansas, and only LSU is at home. Throw in a game at Florida, and home games against Georgia and South Carolina, and Tennessee may be looking at yet another 6-6 season. This team could be a lot better than their final record may indicate. Here is a little wagering tip for you. In 2010, Tennessee was not noted for it's offense, but in their 12 lined games, 9 went OVER the posted total.

[WorkHorse]

TENNESSEE
Coach Dooley and his staff entered the 2010 season minus eight offensive linemen from 2009, including all five starters. Add to that, he had only one quarterback who had thrown a pass in a major college game. Matt Simms had completed 4 of 10 attempts as a backup for Louisville. With all things considered, Dooley and his staff did one hell of a job. Now what can he do his second season?

WEST VIRGINIA
Seems the university had ole Bill Stewart between a rock and a hard place regarding his employment. Just four days after West Virginia's win over Cincinnati, athletic director Oliver Luck informed Stewart of his inevitable release from being head football coach. In a nutshell, Stewart had two options: resign immediately following the end of the 2010 season, or stay on in 2011 and ease his way out with coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen. By sticking on for next year, Stewart will get $925,000 plus incentives. The coach-in-waiting BS has about run its course. Stupid ideal to begin with.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
Members of the conference are expected to vote yes on conference expansion and invite Utah State to join. The MWC was meeting yesterday and today to discuss TV deals, scheduling and expansion. Utah State is expected to accept the invitation. If Utah State leaves the WAC for the MWC, you can stick a fork in the WAC. Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State and Hawaii have already said goodbye to the WAC.

FLORIDA
Starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins was charged with possession of marijuana over the weekend. Jenkins has started 36 games for the Gators. This is his second arrest since coming to Gainesville. Welcome to Florida coach Muschamp.

ALABAMA
Dee Hart, the No. 1 rated all purpose back has enrolled at Bama for the spring quarter. Hart had committed to Michigan but backed out and joined the Tide. Hart is one of nine high school seniors who have enrolled early with Alabama.

MIAMI
Tight end Blake Ayles is transferring from Southern Cal to Miami. Coming out of high school, Ayles was rated the No. 2 tight end by Rivals. He was a four-star recruit in Pete Carroll's 2008 class. He can transfer without having to sit out a year. During his time with the Trojans, Ayles had just 14 receptions for 182 yards.

MICHIGAN
Scott Draper, director of Football Operations has resigned his position with the school. Draper, who had worked in Ann Arbor for 19 years, will take a job outside the athletic department. He was one of seven staff members said to have been at fault for actions leading to five major NCAA violations with the football program.

AUBURN
The Tigers staged a little celebration over the weekend and 78,000 of their friends showed up. Great support at Auburn for the national champs. People in the state of Alabama love their football!

[cant call it]

I wish I could go to sleep and wake up on signing day, or better yet, A-day next fall.

Can't Live Without Football

[BigdaddyQH]

The MWC has moved the TCU-Boise State game to Boise, and the Boise State-San Diego game to San Diego. Basically, the MWC told TCU where they could shove their move to the Big East, a move that I predict is going to backfire on TCU. Conference jumping is nothing new for TCU. The Big East makes the 4th conference in 10 years that TCU has played in. TCU now must play Boise State, San Diego State, and Air Force all on the road. They still are short three non-con games on the schedule after Texas Tech backed out of their game at TCU because of alleged scheduling difficulties that iccurred when the Big 12-2 went to a 9 team round robin schedule.

[WorkHorse]

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Conference officials continue to look ahead to expansion. In November, TCU was added and now Central Florida's name has been popping up as a possible addition. Adding Central Florida might be a good move because it would open up Florida's recruiting grounds, add a decent TV market and bring in a team with an improving program.

WEST VIRGINIA
The details of coach-in-waiting Dana Holgorsen's contract has been released and he will earn far more than coach-is-leaving Bill Stewart. Holgorsen will receive $750,000 as offensive coordinator in 2011 and $1.4 million in 2012 as head coach. Each year for the remainder of his contract he will receive a $250,000 raise. His contract runs through 2016 so the entire deal guarantees Holgorsen $10.75. With bonus and incentives, the six year deal could be worth $14.275. I've never been a big fan of Stewart but I kind of feel sorry for the guy with the way he's been treated.

OHIO STATE
Jim Tressel will name Stan Drayton as Ohio State's new receivers coach to replace Darrell Hazell who left to take the head job at Kent State. Drayton spent 2010 as Florida's running backs coach. He has been on staffs at Syracuse (2009), Tennessee (2008) and Mississippi State (2004-05). This guy has some fly'en shoes.

UCONN
Robert G. Burton is ticked off at the university athletic department and wants his $3 million dollars back. Burton is a big time donor at UConn and is unhappy with the hiring process involved with naming new football coach Paul Pasqualoni. Burton also wants his name taken off the Burton Family Football Complex. Who said 'Big Donors' don't have influence at major universities across the country.

MIAMI
Former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier could be headed to the Canes. Forcier has named Miami, San Diego State, Baylor, New Mexico and Middle Tennessee as possibilities. Several schools are showing strong interest in the former Wolverine starter. He will be visiting Miami's campus in the near future.

CBS-NATIONAL SIGNING DAY
Former Michigan coach Rich Rodriquez will join former Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer on College Sports Network for a six hour live discussion of recruiting. During Rods three years at Michigan, his classes were ranked No. 20 (2010), No. 8 (2009) and No. 10 (2008). Rodriguez left Michigan with a 15-22 record and 6-18 in the Big Ten. Two fired coaches telling us how to recruit?

[WorkHorse]

SENIOR BOWL - SOUTH QUARTERBACKS
The Senior Bowl will be played Saturday in Mobile, Alabama. For three quarterbacks who played college football in three different conferences, the group throwing passes for the South team have quite a bit in common. All three came from Texas. Alabama's Greg McElroy (Southlake Carroll) remembers playing both Florida State's Christian Ponder (Colleyville Heritage) and TCU's Andy Dalton (Katy). McElroy's showdown with the former Horned Frog was on the ultimate stage. A sold out Texas Stadium in the 2005 Class 5A state championship game. It was a shootout between the two passers won by McElroy and Carroll, 34-20 to complete the undefeated season in his only year as a high school starter. (He backed up Chase Daniel). He threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns, while Dalton tallied 232 yards and two touchdowns. Now, for one weekend, they are all on the same team.

[BigdaddyQH]

The Big East should jump all over Central Florida, but they have a problem with their overbloated basketball conference. That is why they went after FCS power Villanova. If 'Nova jumped aboard for football, they would not have to add another team to that ridiculous basketball conference. If the Big East were smart, they would grab Central Florida, who is a natural rival for South Florida, and dump Notre Dame, Marquette, and De Paul from their hoops conference. The Big East is going to have to do something. a 9 team conference is not going to cut it. The magic number is 12, but 10 is about as low as the NCAA wants things to go, when it comes to AQ conferences.

Tate Forcier should look no further than his old backyard, San Diego State. Basically, he has no chance at graduating any school that has any decent academic program or standards. San Diego State, the nations biggest "party" school, fits his needs perfectly.

As you can see by the numbers, College recruiting is way overblown. RichRod had three alleged good recruiting classes and went nowheres. This is why I pay little attention to recruiting classes. Too much can happen between the time a kid is recurited to the time he actually earns a starting role on a team. There are more four and five star recruits that drop out, flunk out, or get arrested than there are those who actually succeed and move on to the next level.

[WorkHorse]

Sitting here with two of my old friends watching the Heat/Knicks game and damn if we didn't hit a nice turn bet. We took NY +3 and under 213 for a $600 turn bet. Nice $2400 return. By the way, I used the same bets in LT's NBA contest. (LT does one hell of a job with his free contest here at SBR).

The purpose of this post was to say thanks to BigDaddy for his post. He has helped us out on another network and his responses bring clarity to my post on college football. If he were in Alabama and not Califorina, we would make him a member of the Mulerider gang. Thanks BD for your help Bud!

[BigdaddyQH]

Thanks WorkHorse. I feel honored to even be considered. You guys have an excellent knowledge of football. I am really looking forward to this year, which I am calling the "Great Change Year 1", because of the Big 10+2 and the Pac 12's expansion, and the Big 12-2's reduction to 10 teams. Here is a partiallist of non-con games I am really looking forward to seeing:

Oregon vs LSU at Jerryworld. 9/3. What a way to kick off the season. Two teams that could potentially meet again, in the big game. Certainly two of the Top 5 or 6 teams in the nation.

Ohio State at Miami. 9/17. Ohio State minus the Tattoo 5 in their only real non-con test of the year. Can Miami raise up from the "average" catagory and defeat the Big 10+2 favorite.

Oklahoma at Florida State. 9/17. This may be the toughest game all season for Oklahoma, the potential #1 or 2 ranked team when the season starts. A win by Florida State would be a huge statement by Jimbo Fisher.

Alabama at Penn State. 9/10. I know, few will give Penn State much of a chance because of graduation losses, but it is still JoePa and this time they are playing in State College. This may be a better game than a lot of people think.

BYU at Texas. 9/10. The first real test for the newly independent Cougars, and it comes in Austin, against a team that was completely humiliated last season. Coming off a trip to Oxford MS. to open the season, this game will tell us exactly what BYU has to offer this season. You can bet that Texas will be looking to gain some national respect in this game.

Auburn at Clemson. 9/17. The first alaw test for the new National Champions. Can they survive with the big losses they incurred player wise, and against a team whose coach is on thin ice?

[Jankar]

great!

[BigdaddyQH]

MWC Commish Craig Thompson wants his bottom feeders (Colorado State, New Mexico, UNLV, and Wyoming) to pick it up a bit, especially when it comes to non-con games, which these teams rarely win. He claims that they are hurting the MWC's chances of becoming an AQ BCS Conference. Here is a little clue for him. You may advise these teams to stop scheduling teams like Nebraska, Wisconsin, Arkansas, and Texas Tech, all of which have games scheduled against those four teams, and all of those games except one being played on the road for the MWC teams. Stick to scheduling teams like Ball State, Virginia, South Carolina State, and North Texas, which happens to be Indiana's 2011 non-con schedule.

Rumor has it that UNLV will go into partnership with billionaire Ed Roski to build a domed stadium on, or very near the UNLV campus. This would be a huge advantage for UNLV from a recruiting and scheduling point of view. It also can be used year round to schedule the numerous concerts and events that Las Vegas attracts. This would be a win-win for UNLV and Las Vegas itself.

[WorkHorse]

AIR FORCE - MICHIGAN
The Colorado Springs Gazette has reported that Air Force has agreed to play Michigan for one game in 2012. The game is scheduled for the home opener in Ann Arbor on September 8th. The Wolverines will pay the flymen $1.1 million for the visit. Nice payday for Air Force.

TEXAS
Mack Brown has finally got his staff together and it comes at a steep price. All told, Brown's assistants will pull in $3.6 million in salary in 2011. The offensive and defensive coordinators will each make $650,000. Major Applewhite was named co-coordinator on offense and will pull down $500,000. He made $270,000 last season as the running backs coach. Defensive backs coach Jerry Gray and offensive line coach Stacy Searels will make $425,000 each, defensive tackles coach Bo Davis will make $325,000 and wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt will make $315,000. When you add Brown's salary in the mix, Texas will be pay their football coaches nearly $9 million.

SOUTHERN CAL
Wide receiver Brice Butler announced yesterday he would be leaving the program. The sophomore said he didn't believe head coach Lane Kiffin gave him a fair chance to compete. As a redshirt freshman, Butler caught 20 passes for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns. No work on his future plans.

ARKANSAS
Bobby Petrino announced that a pair of starters from the 2010 team will miss spring practice because of injury. Wide receiver Greg Childs (46 catches) and defensive tackle Byran Jones have undergone knee and ankle surgery and will miss spring drills. Childs is one of the better receivers in the SEC.

IOWA
Five of the 13 players will be released from the hospital this weekend. There was no update on the condition of the other eight players who were stricken with exertional rhabdomyolsis, a condition that affects the muscles and kidneys. Head coach Dirk Ferentz has been hammered for remaining on a recruiting trip after 13 pf his players were hospitalized.

WISCONSIN
Head coach Bret Bielema is in line to receive a big pay raise following his third 10 win season during his five years with the Badgers. Bielema has compiled an overall record of 49-16 and a 27-13 mark in the Big Ten. No word on the amount of the raise but it has been approved by the Athletic Board.

CENTRAL FLORIDA
John Skladany has been promoted to defensive coordinator. Skladany replaces Dave Huxable who has taken the coordinator job at Wisconsin. Skladany was UCF's coordinator in 2007, as well as leading defenses at Houston, Iowa State and Ohio. In 2010, the Knights finished eighth in scoring defense and 15th in total defense.

LOUISVILLE
One year head coach Charlie Strong is getting a new contract. Strong took a Cardinal team that won four games in 2009 and turned them into a seven win team in 2010. He made $1.6 million last season and should receive a nice bump with a new contract. The former Florida defensive coordinator better keep the wins coming because Louisville fans don't have a lot of patience with losers.

[BigdaddyQH]

Michigan's 2012 schedule is tough. Games at home with the Air Force, at Jerryworld against Alabama, and away games against Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Ohio State.

Wisconsin is very fortunate to get a very good coach in Bielema to immediately follow legend, and current A.D. Barry Alvarez. Few teams can get top coaches back to back. Just ask Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama, etc...

[WorkHorse]

RECRUITING
Signing day is next week and many coaches and fans are holding their breath hoping for good results. As most of you know, recruiting is not an exact science and it takes about two years to really evaluate whether you had a good recruiting class or not. Five-stars, four-stars, three-stars and others are all thrown in the mix. Unfortunately, fans have their own way of looking at stars and they kind of think of five-star guys as good players on their team, four-star guys as starters, three-star guys as guys they shouldn't even be recruiting. Fact is, it just doesn't always work out that way. Of the 28 players named consensus All-Americans this past season, only two were 5-star prospects as high school seniors in Scout's assessment and four earned just 2-star ratings. The first round of last Aprils's NFL draft featured six former 5-star players and five 2-star players. Recruiting as much as anything, is in the eye of the beholder. One coach's 3-star is another coach's 5-star. Character issues play a huge role in a players development and that is something these services have a hard time evaluating.

The top two services are Rivals and Scouts. Here's a look at some history of the two.

Top Recruting Classes
2011
Rivals: 1. Alabama 2.Texas 3. Florida State
Scout: 1. Florida State 2. Texas 3. Auburn

2010
Rivals: 1. USC 2. Florida 3. Texas
Scout: 1. Texas 2. Florida 3. Auburn

2009
Rivals: 1. Alabama 2. LSU 3. Ohio State
Scout: 1. Ohio State 2. Alabama 3. LSU

2008
Rivals: 1. Alabama 2. Notre Dame 3. Florida
Scout: 1. Alabama 2. Notre Dame 3. Miami

2007
Rivals: 1. Florida 2. USC 3. Tennessee
Scout: 1. Florida 2. USC 3. Texas

Number One Recruit Rivals 2011: DE, Jadeveon Clowney, undecided
2010: DE, Ronald Powell, Florida
2009: RB, Bryce Brown, Tennessee
2008: QB, Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
2007: QB, Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame
2006: WR, Percy Harvin, Florida
2005: Ath, Derrick Williams, Penn State

Number One Recruit Scout
2011: DE, Jadeveon Clowney, undecided
2010: OT, Seantrel Henderson, Miami
2009: RB, Bryce Brown, Tennessee
2008: QB, Terrell Pryor, Ohio State
2007: DE, Everson Griffen, USC
2006: RB, Beanie Wells, Ohio State
2005: QB, Mark Sanchez, USC

Head Coaches Out Two Years After Bringing In A Top 10 Class:
2010: Randy Shannon (Miami), Rich Rodriguez (Michigan)
2009: Phil Fulmer (Tennessee), Charlie Weis (Notre Dame)
2008: Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
2007: Lloyd Carr (Michigan)
2006: Larry Coker (Miami)

First Round 2010 NFL Draft:
Five-star = 6
Four-star = 8
Three-star = 13
Two-star = 5
*average 4.1 stars

Good players win football games. Good coaches make them good. Will be interesting to see how the 2011 class turns out.

[BigdaddyQH]

I find it very interesting that two Michigan coaches have recently been fired two years after they brought in a Top 10 recruiting class. It just goes to show you how overrated the rankings are, and how coaching these new recruits is much more important than whether the recruit is 5 star, 4 star, or 3 star.

Michigan, a school that had two top recuriting classes, does not have a Top 25 recruiting class this season, because they had a very poor coaching staff who could not translate those good classes into wins. USC, a team that is on probation, still has a very good recruiting class, despite all the limitations. USC, despite playing with 53 shcolarship players for most lf last season, being unable to go to a post season game, and playing with a first year Head Coach, still had a much better record than Michigan did, even though Michigan was playing for their Head Coaches future with the team. It's the coaching, not the rank of a recruiting class, that determines the success of a team.

[BigdaddyQH]

USC H.C. Lane Kiffin is already planning ahead for USC's limited scholarship seasons by using two of this years scholarships to sign a Punter and a Kicker. The Trojans have signed Place Kicker Andre Heidari and Punter Kris Albarado. They are also in the process of signing a long snapper. Kiffin's hope is to have the kicking game solidified for 4 years, so he does not have to use any scholarships for that position during the time USC is limited on scholarships. Both are expected to start as Freshmen. The kicking game was a weakness for USC last season.

[WorkHorse]

MARYLAND
In the 14 years before the Ralph Friedgen reign, Maryland had a 55-88 record in football. During Friedgen's 10 years as head coach, the record improved to 75-50. I will be interested in watching the progress of the football team the next few years. As you know, Friedgen was forced out as head coach.

GEORGIA TECH
One coach I really like is Tech's Paul Johnson. Johnson is a throw back to some of the old coaches in that he does things his way..period. Johnson just pulled the scholarship offer to defensive tackle Tre Jackson because he took a recent visit to Florida State. Jackson had been committed to Georgia Tech for some time and Johnson didn't like the fact he was still looking around. Johnson is the only college coach I know who allows his quarterbacks to play live in practice.

TEMPLE
Spencer Reid, son of NFL head coach Andy Reid, has committed to Temple. The 5'10", 205 pound running back was not highly recruited. About the only news to this story is that he's the Philadelphia Eagles head coach son.

FLORIDA STATE
New head coach Jimbo Fisher has brought some new life to Florida State's recruiting. As of now, Scout and ESPN have the Seminoles rated the #1 recruiting class. Rivals has them at No. 3. Fisher has received 25 verbal committments with National Signing day being February 2. Nice job by the FSU staff.

IOWA
All 13 football players who had been hospitalized with symtoms of rhabdomyolysis have been released from the hospital. Five were released on Friday, six on Saturday and two on Sunday. The school is conducting an investigation into what caused the illness.

KENTUCKY
Former Tennessee quarterback and Wildcats receiver coach Tee Martin has been promoted to passing game coordinator. Martin also agreed to a contract extension. You Tennessee fans remember Martin leading the Vols to the national championship.

ALABAMA
Former Bama quarterback Greg McElroy cracked a bone in his throwing hand during Saturday's Senior Bowl. He is expected to miss two weeks of throwing but should be ready for the NFL Combine scheduled for February 23.

Ex-Mississippi State head coach and former Alabama player Sylvester Croom is a candidate for a coaching position created when Curt Cignetti left to become head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Last season, Croom was running backs coach for the St. Louis Rams. Croom was an All-American center for the Tide and served as an assistant coach there for a number of years.

TEXAS
Four-star recruit (2009) Tarig Allen is leaving the Horns' football team. In two years with the team, Allen has not managed any playing time. He was rated the #16 outside linebacker coming out of high school. No word on where he might go.

ARKANSAS
Wide receiver Lance Ray was arrested this weekend and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Seems this dumbass was smoking weed in his dorm room. His dorm room for heaven's sake. "Stupid is as stupid does."

[BigdaddyQH]

The fact that a four star player who was recruited by a major university (Texas) and did not get any playing time shows that recruit ranking is nothing more than a crap shoot. It is quite easy for kids to look great in High School, but to fail at the next level.

I also like Paul Johnson a lot, but I think that he has to change his offensive style a bit. It is becoming too predictable. Johnson has to develop some type of legitimate passing attack or face defenses that guard exclusively against the run. When Tech had their great WR Calvin Johnson, defenses had to respect him. They lacked that last season, and they suffered offensively.

[WorkHorse]

PENN STATE
Nike, Inc., is giving $400,000 to Penn State's libraries in honor of Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno's milestone 400th win. Paterno and his wife, have been staunch supporters of the libraries, and one of the school's main libraries is named after the family. The Paternos have contributed more than $4 million to the school during JoePa's 45 year career, including aid for the libraries.

AUBURN
The Tigers gained its 23rd commitment for its 2011 recruiting class Monday when Marcus Roberson, a 6-foot-1, 173 pound defensive back from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announce his intention to sign with Auburn. Roberson is projected as a cornerback by Rivals, which ranks him as the No. 2 cornerback prospect in the nation. With Roberson's commitment, Auburn's signing class is ranked No.3 by Scout, No. 6 by Rivals and No. 8 by ESPN.

URBAN MEYER
The ex-Florida coach is joining ESPN as an analyst. Meyer will call one game a week during the regular season and also serve as a studio analyst. He will start with Wednesday's signing day coverage. Meyer was 104-23 in 10 seasons at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. He said he would maintain an affiliation with the Gators, working with Florida athletic director Jeremy Floley on fundraising for the university.

VANDERBILT
New coach James Franklin has completed his staff with the hiring of four assistants, including Bob Shoop as defensive coordinator and Brent Pry as co-defensive coordinator. Also joining the Commodores staff is former Miami assistant Wesley McGriff, who will coach defensive backs and serve as the team's defensive recruiting coordinator, and former Bowling Green assistant Sean Spencer, who will be in charge of the defensive line.

TEXAS
Head coach Mack Brown said he had a lack of energy last season and was responsible for the losing season. He said he is now re-energized and back in the game. After two months of hiring six new assistants and a strong effort to hold together what should be one of the top recruiting classes in the country, Brown on Monday declared himself and the Texas program ready to turn things around. Brown promised a "clean slate" for everyone, coaches and players, and planned to treat the uncoming season like 1998, his first in Austin, when the Longhorns turned a 4-7 team into one that won nine games and went to the Cotton Bowl.

TEMPLE
The Owls have named Chuck Heater defensive coordinator. Heater served as a co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Florida. Heater was not retained as part of Will Muschamp's staff at Florida. Addazio was the offensive coordinator at Florida. He was hired to replace Al Golden.

[BigdaddyQH]

Clemson will lose Senior Starting LB Brandon Maye shortly. Maye, who has completed his 4 years, will transfer as a greduate student to another school. Maye was very upset at the amoung of playing time he received last season. This is just another blow to Dabo Sweeney, whose seat keep getting hotter by the week.

[utmoody10]

AUBURN The Tigers gained its 23rd commitment for its 2011 recruiting class Monday when Marcus Roberson, a 6-foot-1, 173 pound defensive back from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., announce his intention to sign with Auburn. Roberson is projected as a cornerback by Rivals, which ranks him as the No. 2 cornerback prospect in the nation. With Roberson's commitment, Auburn's signing class is ranked No.3 by Scout, No. 6 by Rivals and No. 8 by ESPN.

Some conflicting reports on Roberson and Auburn. Word is that he will not be signing with Auburn, then Jamie Newberg chimes in that it is untrue that Auburn pulled his offer, either way things dont look good for Roberson to Auburn.

Also Tennessee just landed Cameron Clear TE/OT out of Memphis. Moore and Clear in the past two days give the Vols great momentum going into signing day.

[WorkHorse]

UT....your Vols are putting together a pretty good class. No.13 now at Rivals.

Breakdown of commitments:
QB = 1
RB = 3
WR = 1
OL = 5
TE = 1
DL = 4
LB = 2
DB = 5
Ath = 3

I'm a little surprised Dooley has not landed another quarterback.

[WorkHorse]

Getting ready for a card game tonight with some great (old) friends. We started this thread on 1/14/11 and appreciate you guys who have taken some interest in what we are doing. I mentioned earlier in the thread I will sponser an opening week college football INVITATIONAL contest. The following guys will be invited to play for $1000.

BigDaddyQH
UTMoody
HoldEmHook
Can'tCallIT
BruceOutside
DelveDeeper
Jankar
Kaplan
Jhaugh98
GeneralForumGuy

At the end of this month we will invite some others to play at $750.

[utmoody10]

UT....your Vols are putting together a pretty good class. No.13 now at Rivals. Breakdown of commitments: QB = 1 RB = 3 WR = 1 OL = 5 TE = 1 DL = 4 LB = 2 DB = 5 Ath = 3 I'm a little surprised Dooley has not landed another quarterback.

This is the strongest finish to a signing day that I can remember for the Vols with now Moore, Clear and Curt Maggitt announcing they will play for Dooley next season in the past two days. Its beginning to become a numbers crunch with a few guys left on the Vols board.

I believe Dooley likes what he has at QB, Bray coming back (SO) with Simms (SR) as the backup and Nash Nance (FR RS) already in house. Both Kiffin (before his exit) and Dooley were very high on Justin Worley and had him as their primary QB prospect this year. There are a few guys that the Vols have their eye on for 2012, Gunner Kiel from Indiana and Patton Robinette is an in state guy that will be on thier radar.

[WorkHorse]

Our gang likes you UT. Love guys who love college football. Some of our guys think they know you from another site. You have the smarts and knowledge of another Vol faithful who we got to know at another network.

No matter...appreciate you and your passion for college football. Thanks Bud.

[WorkHorse]

Our thread and not trying to be a horse's ass. Jesus...you late night guys explore Townes Van Zandt and his music. Best song writer of my time. Have a few, and listen to this guy and you will know why I and my old gang love his words and music. Only dude who makes me cry.

Now some football......................football!

[BigdaddyQH]

Again, I think signing day is way overrated. Basicaly it is for teams like Tennessee, who are not very good, to get all hyped up about a season where they will be, well not very good. I look at it this way. Teams like Tennessee can talk about how good this recruit may be, and that recruit may be, but the bottom line is no one really knows. These guys, who are basically dumber and dumber by the year, must keep their grades up, stay out of jail, and stay healthy just to get on the practice field, much less the starting lineup. I do not know how any of these recruits will fare. What I do know is this. Tennessee hosts Georgia, LSU and South Carolina, and goes to Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas. Add a trip to Kentucky and you are looking at another 6-6 season going intp their bowl game, something else they do not do very well (1-3 in their past 4 bowl games). So I do not look for anything out of Tennessee this season. 7-5 would be expected. 8-4 would be very good.

[utmoody10]

Again, I think signing day is way overrated. Basicaly it is for teams like Tennessee, who are not very good, to get all hyped up about a season where they will be, well not very good. I look at it this way. Teams like Tennessee can talk about how good this recruit may be, and that recruit may be, but the bottom line is no one really knows. These guys, who are basically dumber and dumber by the year, must keep their grades up, stay out of jail, and stay healthy just to get on the practice field, much less the starting lineup. I do not know how any of these recruits will fare. What I do know is this. Tennessee hosts Georgia, LSU and South Carolina, and goes to Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas. Add a trip to Kentucky and you are looking at another 6-6 season going intp their bowl game, something else they do not do very well (1-3 in their past 4 bowl games). So I do not look for anything out of Tennessee this season. 7-5 would be expected. 8-4 would be very good.

I dont expect anything better than an 8 win season so Im not sure where I predicted great things for the Vols next year. The fact is that the Vols are still lacking depth and will not be able to reach the 85 schloarship player mark until 2012. There is plenty of reason to be excited for the future though and really there isnt much to talk about college football wise this time of year other than recruiting. This years freshman class performed very well this year and I would much rather take my chances in the SEC with recruits who are highly ranked.

There are instances of busts and players that go under the radar because they cant afford to participate in the various camps etc. so the rivals and scout ratings are sometimes hit and miss. The Bama fans in this forum will agree that recruiting was a major factor in their return to the national scene. Its a nice day to bring a little attention to college football and the last day before spring practice where there is an abundance of news.