Wed May 22 09:59am EDT
The dynamic at Penn State is among the most interesting in college football.
We touched on it last week as Sports Illustrated wrote an expose on Penn State making changes in its medical staff, a story that didn't seem as salacious as it was presented to be but still left coach Bill O'Brien answering to it in an angry and frustrated 22-minute teleconference. It also left us wondering if at some point this drama, possibly brought about due to a chasm between the old guard at Penn State and the new era, could mean O'Brien starts thinking about NFL jobs sooner rather than later.
In a very well thought out and insightful piece, David Jones of the Patriot-News wrote that he thinks "a group of self-appointed experts and charlatans feeding off them" championing the cause of whether Joe Paterno was treated unfairly could be in the process of driving O'Brien out of Penn State.
Jones also introduces a word for that group that probably will have some legs: "Joebots."
Tue May 21 04:11pm EDT
As if the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry couldn’t get anymore ridiculous — the schools won’t even refer to each other by their correct names — Michigan has taken it to a whole new level.
Wide receiver Bo Dever posted a photo of the Wolverines new footballs and while they are made in the USA (wooo, patriotism), they are not manufactured in Ohio. See, it says so on the ball. Because a Michigan man would never, ever be caught playing with a football that was produced in that God forsaken state… Or so I’m told.
Tue May 21 02:35pm EDT
This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.
PLAYERS WHO COULD KEEP JOHNNY MANZIEL FROM ANOTHER HEISMAN
NO. 4, JAMEIS WINSTON
Before you get too worked up ...
The last six Heisman Trophy winners have come out of the blue to win. Some were entirely off the radar (Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton). Others were coming off solid seasons but weren't considered Heisman contenders. HeismanPundit.com does a very good preseason watch list every year, and none of the last six winners were in the preseason top 10 (here are the lists if you're interested: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
The last Heisman winner who appeared in HeismanPundit's preseason top 10 was Troy Smith, and he was considered a darkhorse at No. 3 behind clear favorites Brady Quinn and Adrian Peterson. The last player to enter a season as one of the clear favorites and actually win the award might be Matt Leinart in 2004.
All that is to say, maybe you haven't heard of Jameis Winston, who will start at quarterback as a redshirt freshman for Florida State this season. Maybe you have heard of him and you think it's ridiculous to think he could win the Heisman. But there's a pretty good chance someone is going to come out of nowhere to either win the award or come very close, so why not the dynamic Seminoles quarterback?
Tue May 21 02:03pm EDT
What’s the best way for a new coach to introduce himself to fans? Well, hand delivering them their favorite fast food might be a good start.
New Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen spent his lunch hour working at Culvers. Anderson took a special interest in a fan whose car was sporting a Minnesota Gophers sticker. According to @BadgerFootball, the man told Andersen it was his sister’s car.
Anderson even tried his hand at the grill.
#Badgers Coach Andersen has taken over the grill Culvers vine.co/v/b9dgw0UOKKl
— Badger Football (@BadgerFootball) May 21, 2013
Tue May 21 01:30pm EDT
Vanderbilt offensive line coach Herb Hand is one of the nicest and most approachable coaches on Twitter, but even he’s not immune to stupid fans.
Monday, Hand was verbally attacked on Twitter by a Tennessee fan who goes by the Twitter handle @JulianBucio.
@coachhand dude I think your wife is [expletive] someone while you coach your pathetic football team #[expletive]
Wow, stay classy Tennessee fan. Hand did nothing to provoke this comment. In fact, most of Hand’s comments on Twitter are either praising his family or talking about his latest charity effort. This is not a guy you attack.
Of course Hand didn’t just sit back and take the comment — he fired back.
"You are welcome to come to my office so we can discuss this face to face...I fully welcome the opportunity. Feel free to come by anytime so we can talk about this in person like men."
Then he texted the message to Tennessee coach Butch Jones.
OK, we get that this is a rivalry and that words are often exchanged. Even coaches aren’t immune from getting wrapped up in it from time to time. But attacking the offensive line coach’s wife on Twitter in the middle of May is just sad and shows the world that not only are you a terrible human being, but you also have nothing better to do with your time.
My hope is that both Tennessee and Vanderbilt fans chastise this guy for being a disgrace to the Tennessee fanbase and the rivalry itself. I also hope, if he has season tickets, sad Tennessee fan is no longer allowed to attend games per a Jones request.
After Hand’s initial frustration with the situation, he calmed down and deleted the Twitter exchange. He did, however, thank those who were supporting him in a final message.
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Tue May 21 01:29pm EDT
Texas A&M already tried one "Is there anything Johnny Manziel can't do?" stunt when it let the quarterback try an extra point last season. Maybe Manziel has stumbled upon another one.
Perhaps the Aggies can send out Manziel for a series or two blindfolded this season. Apparently it doesn't affect his accuracy that much.
In a story from longtime NFL writer Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (she also tweeted the picture to the right), she explained how quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr. put Manziel through a drill in which he was blindfolded and heard a receiver clap three times so he knew where to throw.
And Manziel threw only two uncatchable passes in 29 blindfolded attempts, the report said. Wow.
So, is there anything Johnny Manziel can't do?
Tue May 21 12:47pm EDT
In the aftermath of the devastation from the tornado that hit Moore, Okla., it isn't surprising that Oklahoma's football program is already reaching out to help.
Moore is only about 10 miles from Norman. The tornado affected two members of the Sooners staff personally, as they had homes that were destroyed in the disaster, ESPN reported:
Tue May 21 11:59am EDT
N.C. State has a pretty big hole at quarterback with Mike Glennon off to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but now has another candidate to replace him.
Brandon Mitchell, who left Arkansas after it was apparent he had been beaten out by Brandon Allen for the starting quarterback job, is transferring to N.C. State, according to ESPN. He's on track to graduate and can play in the fall.
That should help the Wolfpack, although it's hard to tell what Mitchell will really bring to the team.
Tue May 21 11:28am EDT
Urban Meyer loves college football. After all, he only stayed retired from the game for less than a year.
But there is one thing that knocks his coveted profession of its pedestal — his unbridled love of Jimmy Buffet.
Busted Coverage found a photo of Meyer and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen palling around at a Buffet concert in Atlanta in April. Mullen and Meyer have been close friends and colleagues since the late 90s when they worked together at Notre Dame. They were also together at Bowling Green, Utah and won a couple national championships at Florida.
Tue May 21 09:08am EDT
Heisman Trophy campaigns by schools don't make sense, or at least they shouldn't.
Voters shouldn't be swayed by football cards or billboards or other kooky items (Kansas State sent out band-aids to pump up Collin Klein's candidacy last year). They should be swayed by watching players, analyzing numbers and making correct decisions on who to vote for. Anyone who needs a promotional item mailed to them to know who to vote for the Heisman Trophy shouldn't have a ballot. But, the campaigns for individuals roll on anyway.
Just not at Louisville this year.
Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is one of the best players in college football, told Louisville he does not want a Heisman campaign, according to WDRB.com.
Bridgewater probably wasn't aware that he boosted his reputation a bit among smart Heisman voters with that request.
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