With the bowl games now upon us I started to wonder how teams that made coaching moves would do in this post-season. So far they are 0-3, with Navy (lost to Utah), Southern Miss (lost to Cincinnati) and UCLA (lost to BYU) all going down. Central Michigan Head Coach Butch Jones has been linked as a possible candidate for the West Virginia vacancy. By the way, Central Michigan lost to Purdue last night in the Motor City Bowl.
Houston, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Michigan, West Virginia, and LSU all have their bowl games to play in the middle of their respective coaching changes. It will be very interesting to see what the final won-loss record will be in the end with all these teams. Of course LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pellini will coach the Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State before taking over Nebraska full time as their new head coach.
Speaking of coaching moves, what the heck is going on in Morgantown? Who is running this show, the Governor, big money boosters or the school Athletic Director and administrators? What’s happening with the Mountaineers is an example of a big problem with big time college football. Who’s in charge; the people that write the checks to Universities or the Universities themselves? Someone needs to get a handle on things.
It appears the Bruins could be close to naming a new coach soon. It looks like it could be Rick Neuheisel. He went from being on the outside looking in to the front runner. Interim Head Coach and defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker is still in the running but it appears Neuheisel has too much support. This begs the question that if it is Neuheisel what will happen to Walker? Will he stay on board or become a defensive coordinator elsewhere? If he bolts L.A. for Washington or another place say goodbye to that once stellar UCLA recruiting class, especially if wide receiver coach Eric Scott leaves as well. Those two did an amazing job recruiting this current Bruin class. It could implode to higher levels than what we have seen happen in Lincoln.
Remember this, you can’t afford to lose a class like this when you are trying to catch USC and keep pace with the rest of the Pac 10.
Joe Paterno
How do you think Penn State should handle the issue of providing for the succession of a coach to replace Joe Paterno, if and when he determines to retire? Do you see a plan similar to Florida State’s decision to name Jimbo Fisher as successor to Bobby Bowden?
Russell
Glassboro, New Jersey
Here is how I look at the Penn State coaching situation and you have to remember this is coming from someone (me) that is on the outside looking in. Here’s what I see. First, no one is telling Joe Paterno he has to go. He will leave and retire when he is good and ready. Like Bobby Bowden, he would have stepped down already if the pressure was too great.
But that’s the thing with both of these legendary coaches; no one can dictate anything to them and force their resignation. They have too much power and respect at their respective universities. It’s NOT going to happen.
Look how far both of these programs have slipped yet Joe Pa and Bowden are still roaming the sidelines. But fans are growing restless at both Happy Valley and Tallahassee. FSU went the proactive route and named offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher the successor to Bobby Bowden when Bowden decides to retire. Here they tied up one of the young and up and coming coaches in Fisher. If not, they would have likely lost him to another job opening. FSU would have had to hire another offensive coordinator. Then, when Bowden does walk away, Florida State would have to go through the whole coaching search/process with all eyes on the Seminoles.
Now it’s done at Florida State. So what will Penn State do? I think if they name a successor they go Tom Bradley. That’s easy. But will they do it? I tend to think no on that part. I think they go outside of the current Nittany Lion family. The easy pick here is Rutger’s Greg Schiano. The common theme with Schiano is that he has been waiting on this one (Penn State). Remember that he has turned down both Miami and Michigan and the speculation is that he’s waiting on Penn State to open up. Two other possibilities are Jim Caldwell (Colts QB Coach and former Wake Forest Head Coach and PSU coach) and Al Golden (Temple Head Coach and former PSU player/coach).
The Athletic Director is more or less out of play here and this decision will ultimately fall on the shoulders of school President Graham Spanier. He will be the guy that’s remembered as the guy who picked Joe Paterno’s successor.
Ryan Mallett
What do you think of quarterback Ryan Mallett and secondly how do you think he will work out with a spread offense?
Matt
Ann Arbor, Michigan
One would think that this is a bad fit for Mallett, with Rich Rodriguez becoming the new head coach at Michigan. The ultimate spread quarterback is one that can both run and throw. Mallett can certainly throw the ball, as he has an NFL arm. There is no doubting that and his throwing skills will only get better and better the more football smart he gets. And you improve with playing time and he’s the heir apparent for the Wolverines. As a true freshman this past season he played pretty well.
His style is much more conducive in the former Michigan offense scheme. Mallett is your classic, drop back passer that you don’t ask to run the ball, unless it’s to avoid the rush and extend a play for a second or two. Mallett is a good athlete that is somewhat deceptive in the pocket. He’s big (6-6/220+) and can move a little. But he’s no Vince Young, Tim Tebow or Pat White.
Now we have seen what a running quarterback can do in a Rodriguez spread attack with Pat White at West Virginia and Woody Dantzler at Clemson (when Rodriguez was the Clemson offensive coordinator). If Michigan can eventually recruit a signal caller that can do both, run and throw (and they will sign one soon, whether it’s this recruiting class or the next), then I could certainly see Michigan and Rodriguez going to a two quarterback system like Florida did with Chris Leak and Tebow last season. It worked well enough for the Gators to win a National Championship. Why couldn’t that work for the maize and blue? All things being equal it’s really too early to tell what will happen between the Michigan/Mallett marriage.
Which begs the question; how legitimate of a shot does Michigan have with quarterback Terrelle Pryor? I got to believe that the Wolverines have a good shot, although I firmly believe that Ohio State is the team to beat here, at least now. But Michigan doesn’t have an athletic quarterback on their roster to plug into their new offensive scheme and that’s got to be appealing to Pryor. We’ll see how his recruitment plays itself out over the coming weeks.
Dennis Erickson
How do you see the Sun Devils doing next season coming of a nice 10-2 season (possibly 11-2)?
A.J.
Gilbert, Arizona
Dennis Erickson worked wonders in his first year at the helm at Arizona State, finishing the season at 10-2. The Sun Devils lost to Oregon and USC and play Texas in Holiday Bowl. 11 wins is a good possibility and that would cap an unbelievable year for ASU. In fact this is the most Arizona State wins in a season since 1996, as ASU finished 2nd in the Pac 10.
Now that Erickson has set the bar high the pressure will be on them next year. Quarterback Rudy Carpenter will be back after throwing for over 3,000 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Most of his key targets will be back. Seven of their top ten tacklers return on defense. The Sun Devils will have to replace three starters along the offensive front and three of their four starters in the secondary as well as linebacker Robert James (leading tackler).
But everyone that is back will have 13 games under their belts in the Erickson system. The Sun Devils will also have a lot of confidence and momentum going into the off-season. That has carried over to recruiting, where ASU is sitting at No. 25 overall and No. 4 in the Pac 10.
Leading the way for the Sun Devils is quarterback Jack Elway (Englewood, Co.), wide receivers Kemonte Bateman (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Jarrell Barbour (Peoria, Az.), tight end Steve Figueroa (Phoenix, Az.), offensive linemen Zach Schlink (Peoria, Az.) and Andrew Sampson, and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy (Las Vegas, Nev.). They would love to close strong with players like quarterback Sean Renfree (Scottsdale, Az.), wide receiver Gerrell Robinson (Chandler, Az.), tight end Dion Jordan (Chandler, Az.) and running back Covaughn Deboskie (Chandler, Az.).
So you can see things are looking bright for Erickson and his program and they close out year one and enter year two. Sure the pressure is on but the pieces are in place to make a run at the Pac 10 in 2008. Until someone takes down the Trojans USC will be the team to beat. But next season ASU and others will certainly have their shot.
Julio Jones
Is there any way that Julio Jones looks at Auburn over Alabama? Plus with Auburns lack of elite talent at wide receiver do you think that he will look at that also?
Trent
Troy, Alabama
I think Auburn will make a final play for Julio, especially now that the Tigers will change their offense with new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin. They are going to throw the ball all over the field and really open things up. That should be appealing to Jones and all the other receivers they are in on. Receiver is also a position that is not one of deepest at AU and that problem will certainly help their cause with Jones. But at this point I think its way too late in the game. I believe Alabama is the team to beat for the nation’s top receiver, although I think Oklahoma and Florida State will be there until the bitter end.
But one player doesn’t make or break a recruiting class. Receiver is a position of need for Auburn and I like what they have committed so far in the speedy Harry Adams (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Damion Allen (Orlando, Fla.), the physical Jarmon Fortson (Columbus, Ga.) and the versatile Darvin Adams (Kennesaw, Ga.).
DeAndre Brown (Ocean Springs, Miss.) and Martavious Odoms (Pahokee, Fla.) are two other excellent wide receiver prospects to watch for with the Tigers.
Jermaine Kearse
Do you think Ty Willingham's incoming recruiting class will show immediate dividends this upcoming year for the Huskies? Also I thought the Huskies recruiting class was a pretty big surprise, yet I didn't see any mention of them in the surprise recruiting class question.
Kyle
Belleville, Washington
Washington is a big surprise but not quite the surprise like Colorado. The Huskies currently sit impressively at No. 3 in the Pac 10 recruiting rankings and No. 13 overall. Regardless, this UW recruiting class is loaded and there should be plenty of incoming freshmen that will have a chance to make a big splash next season for Washington.
They need help on offense, especially at receiver. Anyone of their incoming guys could earn early playing time like Chris Polk (Redlands, Calif.), Jermaine Kearse (Lakewood, Calif.), Cody Bruns (Prosser, Wa.), and Jordan Polk (Portland, Or.). Don’t forget about a few that grey shirted in Anthony Boyles and Devin Aguilar. Senio Kelemete (Seattle, Wa.) should see some time at offensive tackle and Craig Noble could get playing time on the other side of the line of scrimmage. They will need some help in the secondary a cornerback and John Tate (Fresno, Calif.), Anthony Gobern (Fair Oaks, Calif.) and Justin Glenn (Mukilteo, Wa.) will also get a serious look. Of course the gem of this class is tight end/defensive end Kavario Middleton (Lakewood, Wa.) who will certainly have a shot to make an impact.
Michael Brewster
Do you think that if Ohio State lands Josh Jenkins that this offensive line class could be the best ever for the Buckeyes and one of best ever in college football history.
Zach
Middleton, Ohio
Jenkins recently told Bob Lichtenfels of our recruiting team at Scout.com that he was no longer committed to West Virginia and that he was down to four schools Ohio State, Pitt, Penn State and Florida. "I just wanted to let you know I have de-committed from WVU," Jenkins said. "I feel like I handled this like a man. I owed it to them to wait this out, but I feel like they have taken too long to name a new coach. So, after carefully thinking about everything I decided it was best for me to open up my recruitment."
I would suspect that West Virginia is still not out of it just yet, depending on when they name a successor to Rich Rodriguez and who it is. But at this point I think the Buckeyes are the team to beat. Despite his early commitment to the Mountaineers, Ohio State stayed on him hard throughout the process. He has already officially visited the Gators and Buckeyes.
If Jenkins were to join Ohio State and commit to the Buckeyes it would be quite an offensive line group headed to Columbus. Would it be their best ever? Only time will tell but they have a chance. You would have the No. 1 guard prospect in the country in Jenkins (if he were to commit), the No. 1 rated center in Michael Brewster (Orlando, Fla.) and the No. 2 and No. 6 rated offensive tackles in Mike Adams (Dublin, Ohio) and J.B. Shugarts (Klein, Texas).
Across the country at USC, the Trojans have the makings of an unreal o-line class as well with the nation’s No. 1, 3 and 7 offensive tackles in Tyron Smith (Moreno Valley, Calif.), Matt Kalil (Anaheim, Calif.) and Matt Meyer (Stockton, Calif.). In addition guards Daniel Campbell (Houston, Texas) and Khaled Holmes (Santa Ana, Calif.) are very good prospects.
So there will be a raging debate as to who ultimately has the better offensive line class in the country – Ohio State or USC. Perhaps the Jenkins decision could be deciding factor? Time will ultimately tell the answer.