Kickoff Zone College Football Blog

A lot of eyes in the southeast will be curiously trained on the start of Tennessee’s spring practice today, as Derek Dooley begins to refocus the football after the departure of Lane Kiffin.  However, he is starting out without not only an experienced starting quarterback, but also a couple of key players.  From The Tennessean:

Dooley has promised practices that will be physical but not so physical that the Vols will run the risk of suffering injuries at positions where they have little depth.

To counter depth issues, Dooley has moved fullback Austin Johnson to linebacker and wide receiver Rod Wilks from Smyrna to safety.

“Long term, I’m not (concerned),” Dooley said. “But short term, I’m very concerned. We do have some short-term concerns that really can’t get fixed.”

Offensive guard William Brimfield, who played in 12 of 13 games last season, has decided to leave the team, Dooley said.

Linebackers Nick Reveiz and Savion Frazier (knees) and defensive back Art Evans (shoulder) will miss the bulk of spring practice recovering from surgeries.

Another lineman, Aaron Douglas, will miss part of spring practice attending to a personal matter.

Dooley’s top goal for the Vols during spring practice is for each player to improve on the fundamentals of football as he evaluates their performance. He said that he will give some weight to the way each player performed last season while opening competition at each position.

One position that will have wide-open competition for the starting position is quarterback, though Dooley said he won’t name a starter before fall.

Senior Nick Stephens, junior-college transfer Matt Simms and freshman Tyler Bray are expected to be among the players competing to replace Jonathan Crompton under center.

“The quarterback position will not be settled by the end of spring. This is a body of work over time,” Dooley said.

This will be one of the more fascinating teams to watch in a long while because it’s been an Alabama-esque (think DuBose to Franchione to Price to Shula to Saban) few years for the Volunteers, and many will be watching to see if an underproven coach like Dooley will have what it takes to straighten things out on Rocky Top… and that’s even the fact that he will still have to compete with a “healthy” Urban Meyer in the SEC East.

Tags: College Football, Derek Dooley, injuries, NCAA, spring practice, Tennessee, Vols// Category College Football, Derek Dooley, Hot Seat, NCAA, Southeastern Conference, University of Tennessee, Vols, recap, spring practice // Add Comment »

According to the Los Angeles Times, the new head man at USC is one of 64 candidates for Esquire Magazine’s title of “sexiest woman alive.”

Somehow, USC Coach Lane Kiffin found himself among the field of 64 for Esquire magazine’s Sexiest Woman Alive bracket.

Kiffin and 63 women are in the field, Kiffin squaring off in a first-round matchup against golfer Natalie Gulbis.

Kiffin is described as “Such a pretty girl. Sure raises a ruckus.”

Kiffin apparently is having some fun with the situation.

He just tweeted: hey @natalie_gulbis I apologize for this early lead; please finish strong like a 1 seed should. tell evry1 u know 2 vote for u ASAP!!!!!

Tags: College Football, esquire, Lane Kiffin, Sexiest woman alive// Category College Football, Lane Kiffin, NCAA, Trojans, University of Southern California, rumor mill // Add Comment »

Here is the spring schedule for all the SEC Teams:

The University of Alabama

Began spring practice on March 12

Spring Game Scheduled for April 17

The University of Arkansas

Practice begins March 30

Spring game scheduled for April 24

Auburn University

Spring practice begins March 22

Spring game scheduled for April 17

LSU

Spring practice already in progress

Spring game scheduled for March 27

Mississippi State

Spring practice begins March 23

Spring game scheduled for April 17

Ole Miss

Spring practice begins March 27

Spring game scheduled for April 17

University  of Florida

Spring practice begins today

Spring game scheduled for April 10

University of Georgia

Spring practice already in progress

Spring game scheduled for April 10

University of Kentucky

Spring practice begins March 31

Spring game scheduled for April 24

University of South Carolina

Spring practice began yesterday

Spring game scheduled for April 10

University of Tennessee

Spring practice begins March 18

Spring game scheduled for April 17

Vanderbilt University

Spring practice begins today

Spring game scheduled for April 10

Tags: College Football, NCAA, Schedule, Southeastern Conference, spring practice// Category College Football, NCAA, Schedule, Southeastern Conference, spring practice // Add Comment »

Over the weekend, Oregon quarterback and Heisman candidate Jeremiah Masoli was suspended for the 2010 college football season.  Here is the story:

Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was suspended Friday for the upcoming season by coach Chip Kelly after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary in the theft of a pair of laptops and a guitar from a campus fraternity.

Masoli, who had been mentioned as a potential Heisman candidate, will remain on scholarship with the Ducks.

“He does have a redshirt season available to him if he chooses to do that,” Kelly said.

Kelly announced the suspension just hours after Masoli appeared in Lane County Circuit Court to answer to the burglary charge.

This will likely drop Oregon from consideration for the national championship for the time being, and put their entire season in jeopardy.  According to ESPN’s Ted Miller, Oregon was the early favorite to win the PAC 10 before the news of the suspension, but it remains to be seen how well his backups will be able to fill his shoes.  The most likely replacement is Nate Costa.  Costa was originally the favorite to take over the Ducks’ offense when Dennis Dixon used up his eligibility after the 2007 season, but bad knees prevented him from reaching his potential and opened the door for Masoli to take the reigns.   The other candidate will be RS Sophomore Derron Thomas, who was impressive two years ago against Boise State before redshirting last season.

Oregon won’t have much trouble handling New Mexico in their opener, but their 2nd game of the 2010 season will be where they will need one of their quarterbacks to step up, as they travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Vols in Neyland Stadium.

Tags: College Football, Jeremiah Masoli, Nate Costa, NCAA, Oregon Ducks, pac 10, replacement, suspension// Category Law, NCAA, University of Oregon, suspension // Add Comment »

Uhhh… I don’t know if this exactly qualifies as news, but the news agencies apparently think so.  From the Huffington Post:

Mike Leach was fired by Texas Tech in December, but the former Red Raiders coach continues to make news — and not only because the ensuing lawsuit remains ongoing. The saga preceding and immediately following Leach’s firing featured criticism of ESPN (including from its own ombudsman) and the publication of multiple videos showing the coach’s alleged treatment of player Adam James, whose complaints led to Leach’s undoing at the university.

Now, new videos have surfaced from Leach’s time at Texas Tech.

In one video, Leach addresses his team for more than six minutes. His speech is filled with expletives, although his demeanor remains somewhat calm. It’s also unclear if his salty language is even atypical for a college football coach. At one point, Leach says, “—- playing close. We lost a ——- game to the University of Texas and we could have won the mother——.”

In the other video, he speaks to his “god squad” players, telling them, “As long as we’re going to have all these prayers out on the field, as long as we’re going to do all this other stuff, I want you to make sure that’s directed towards football.”

“It’s also unclear if his salty language is even atypical for a college football coach.”

Some people are either naive to the point of ignorance, or just plain stupid.  Mike Leach sweared at his players… SO WHAT?  What’s going to happen next?  Are they going to exhume the body of Bear Bryant and wash his mouth out with soap?  I hate to be the one to let the cat out of the bag, but here’s the worst kept secret in college football… coaches use bad words.  Even some of the most mild mannered coaches tend to let their mouths run wild when the intensity heats up.  

I’d be willing to bet that 98% of those who make up college football rosters are 18 years of age or older, and that makes them legally adults.  If we fired every boss in the country who has cursed around employees, the unemployment rate would increase by 75%.

Tags: College Football, cuss words, media, Mike Leach, NCAA, ridiculous, texas tech// Category College Football, Mike Leach, NCAA, Texas Tech University // Add Comment »

Apparently, the defending national champions are not to thrilled with their current schedule for 2010, and are lobbying the SEC Office to change it to give them a more favorable draw.  From Chris Lowe at ESPN:

There’s a reason the SEC hasn’t released the league schedule for the 2010 season.

That’s because some games could be switching dates.

Charles Bloom, an SEC associate commissioner, said Thursday that the league is trying to provide some relief for Alabama so that the Crimson Tide won’t have to play six of their eight conference games next season when the opponent is coming off a bye week.

As it stands now, Alabama’s final six SEC opponents during the 2010 season are scheduled to have bye weeks prior to facing the Crimson Tide.

Those six teams are South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn.

Bloom said the entire schedule wouldn’t be torn up to accommodate Alabama, but that a more likelihood scenario was a handful of games moving so that the Crimson Tide wouldn’t have to play so many teams next season on the heels of byes.

“This is something that’s important to the entire league, because nobody wants to be in that same position a year or two from now,” Bloom said. “So we’re looking at a way to balance it out this year and for years to come. The difference is that it might be a little tweak this year with more widespread changes coming in future years.”

Blooms said the league hopes to have any changes finalized for the 2010 season prior to the spring meetings in Destin, Fla., in May.

I’d have to side with the Crimson Tide on this one.  I’m personally not in favor of amending schedules because “they don’t seem fair,” but to have to face their final six opponents when they are coming off bye weeks is a little ridiculous.  Everyone is already going to be gunning for the Tide next year, but the current schedule has the deck stacked a little to far in their opponents’ favor.

Tags: changes, College Football, NCAA, Schedule, SEC, Southeeastern Conference// Category Schedule, Southeastern Conference, University of Alabama // 1 Comment »

For now, it seems that Michigan Coach Rich Rodriguez will still have a job when the 2010 college football season starts this fall.  New Athletic Director Dave Brandon reiterated that he is standing behind the embattled coach during NCAA inquiries.  From the Associated Press (via rivals):

Michigan’s once-proud team has been embarrassed on and off the field lately.

The NCAA notified Rodriguez and school officials two weeks ago that the football program is facing five potentially major rules violations in part because its report said Rodriguez “failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the football program” in regards to time spent on practice and football-related activities.

Brandon backed his coach then and on Monday reiterated his support for Rodriguez.

“He’s our coach for this season,” Brandon said. “There’s nothing within the framework of the NCAA allegations that led me to believe that it should change his status as our coach.”

Michigan was given 90 days to respond and is scheduled to appear at an NCAA hearing on infractions in August. Brandon said he is “very” involved in formulating the school’s response, but declined to comment much about it.

“We’re going to continue to be in a quiet period as all of this evolves,” Brandon said.

Rodriguez lost a school-record nine games in his debut season two years ago, then finished 5-7 last year after a 4-0 start.

“Rich knows football, he’s passionate and his track record for success— winning everywhere he’s been—is there for the world to see,” Brandon said. “He’s feeling very good about the upcoming season.”

Then, Brandon paused and simply said what many in Ann Arbor and around the country are saying.

“It’s a big season ahead,” Brandon said. “A big season.”

Though not unemployed, Rodriguez now sits squarely on one of the hottest seats in America.  Brandon put a lot of emphasis on next season, meaning that if the Wolverines continue to underperform, then they may be searching for a new coach come next winter.  On a related note, Lane Kiffin has not said whether he is interested in the job were it to become available.

Tags: College Football, Hot Seat, Michigan, NCAA, Rich Rodriguez// Category College Football, Hot Seat, Infractions, Rich Rodriguez, University of Michigan, Wolverines, coaching carousel, rumor mill, violations // Add Comment »

As David Brandon officially takes over as the new Athletics Director at the University of Michigan today, he has some tough issues he must deal with in the near future.  From ESPN:

The athletic department is stable, certainly more so than when Brandon’s predecessor Bill Martin arrived a decade ago, but Brandon faces several challenges right off the bat. Michigan’s three flagship sports programs — football, men’s basketball and hockey — are all struggling to varying degrees, and the football program is facing NCAA allegations of five rules violations.

Michigan has until May 23 to respond to the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, and the school is scheduled to appear before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions in August. Many will watch how Brandon handles this initial challenge, and he’s off to a good start.

If there was one bright spot for Michigan fans from the university’s Feb. 23 news conference to address the NCAA’s allegations, it was Brandon. The former Domino’s pizza CEO seemed prepared, poised and totally in command, even though he hadn’t officially taken over as AD.

As annarbor.com’s Michael Rothstein writes: “He was genuine. He was confident. He didn’t stumble over words. He acted like a CEO and a leader. All of this even though this situation is not one any employee wants to walk into — let alone someone preparing to take over one of the country’s most storied athletic departments. … He was the star, if there could be a headliner in a three-person press conference.”

Like Mike Hamilton at the University of Tennessee, Brandon is not a “football guy.”  Nor is he a basketball guy.  He has no background in collegiate athletics.  Heck, he probably doesn’t have a background in high school athletics either.  As the ESPN article mentions, more and more schools are turning to businessmen to run their athletics programs, as opposed to former coaches.    As was the case in Knoxville, this could mean that more and more historically successful coaches will find themselves in hot water much faster than they are previously accustomed to.

Tags: College Football, NCAA, Rich Rodriguez, sanctions, University of Michigan// Category College Football, Hot Seat, Infractions, NCAA, Rich Rodriguez, University of Michigan, Wolverines, rumor mill, violations // Add Comment »

Chris Lowe, over at ESPN.com, has a great article up about South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia. 

But in a season in which Steve Spurrier didn’t have any other options at quarterback, Garcia took the kind of step the Gamecocks needed him to take.

Now, he has to take an even bigger one if South Carolina is going to contend for the Eastern Division title in 2010. Garcia has to become even more of a leader, not to mention more consistent.

He hasn’t had any off-the-field missteps since his run of problems soon after he arrived on campus and showed some real toughness on the field last season. He took a serious beating (the Gamecocks gave up 37 sacks), but didn’t miss a game and played through some pretty intense pain after bruising his ribs against Ole Miss in the fourth week of the season.

You still got the feeling last season that Spurrier didn’t trust Garcia implicitly and held off on calling some things. That should change in 2010.

Hard as it is to believe, Garcia is now the grizzled veteran of the league at quarterback. He’s the SEC’s active leader in career total yards (4,078) and passing yards (3,694).

There are several factors that will go into the Gamecocks genuinely making a run in the East next season, but none are any more important than Garcia taking that next step as a quarterback and as a leader.

Lowe is correct in that Garcia has improved.  A lot of his critics seem to forget that he was only a sophomore last season and has lots of time to continue to mature into a good leader.  If Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks want to be successful next season, they need Garcia to continue to improve and step into a leadership role.

Tags: College Football, Gamecocks, NCAA, South Carolina, Stephen Garcia// Category College Football, NCAA, Steve Spurrier, University of South Carolina // Add Comment »

According to the Rivals website, Tennessee RB Bryce Brown is not yet sold on the new coaching staff, and may be open to the idea of transferring.

From the Kansas State Mercury:

Bryce Brown, Arthur’s brother who was the No. 1 player in the nation in 2009, is currently at Tennessee after playing his freshman season for the Volunteers. Sources have told The Mercury that Bryce will wait and see how he fits into coach Derek Dooley’s system, who took over after coach Lane Kiffin bolted for the USC job in January, and then will make a decision on whether or not he will remain in Knoxville.

Bryce Brown, of course, was the number one high school player in the nation last year who signed with the Volunteers after an extended recruiting process that was drawn out over a month after National Signing Day.  One of the biggest attractions for Brown was the coaching staff Lane Kiffin had assembled, so it is not a total shock that he would be considering a transfer… if the rumor is true.

This would cause a lot of problems in Knoxville, however.  With the graduation of both QB Jonathan Crompton and RB Montario Hardesty, the Vols are going to have to rely on a strong running game.  Brown was supposed to be the answer to their tailback problems and did finish the season with over 500 yards on the ground, although he was stuck behind Hardesty on the depth chart.  

Although the tailback position is one of the deepest on the Vol roster, they can hardly afford to lose a player with as much talent as Bryce Brown at this point.

Tags: Bryce Brown, College Football, Derek Dooley, NCAA, transfer, University of Tennessee// Category College Football, Derek Dooley, NCAA, University of Tennessee, Vols, rumor mill, transfer // 1 Comment »