We are a little over a week into summer, the 4th of July is at the end of the week, and now is a great time to go to the beach. But for college football fans, July is a horrible month. Unless your team shows up in the police blotter, or gets a verbal commitment from an upcoming senior, this month is a slow crawl towards the start of fall camp.

Johnson wants to make it 6 years of bowling

If it isn’t already in your RSS Feeds, July is a great month to head over to Saturday Soundoffs. Eric, who has joined the ITB staff, has started his two-a-days which are excellent. Yesterday he took a look at Colorado State and North Dakota State.

Former Navy coach and new Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has his hands full this year with the Yellow Jackets. Johnson will be installing a new offense, but is stuck with the talent left from Chan Gailey. Under Johnson, Navy went to five straight bowl games, but it looks as if his personal run will end this year…or will it.

As Adam and I talked about in the last episode of the In The Bleachers Podcast, we both think that BYU has a chance to crash the BCS Bowl party this year. The Mountain West Conference Connection has found some predictions that has said that BYU or Utah could end up in the top 5. BYU with their schedule and number of returning starters could finish in the top 5 after winning every game this year, but I think Utah has a little shot of finishing in the top 25, but will not finish in the top 5.

JayPa’s bocce outfit

USC is quickly piling up the blue chip recruits once again this year, and with the ongoing Reggie Bush investigation, there are plenty of rumors of possible violations by the Trojans. Over at the Barking Carnival TaylorTRoom looks at the history of college football recruiting cheating which he breaks into four parts.

Recruiting and Happy Valley are not mixing right now. If you are like me and a member of BWI’s Lions’ Den, you probably have noticed that there have been a lot of bickering and fighting over losing recruits to Rutgers and Pitt in the past few weeks. There is one person that is still the #1 lightning rod for the fans to pick on, Jay Paterno. Jay has been spending a lot of time blogging for Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and word has gotten out that he played in a celebrity bocce tournament. Maybe if the younger Paterno spent more time on the recruiting trail or developing quarterbacks than playing with balls, he wouldn’t get such grief.

Kate doesn’t need coffee to make her hot

July also brings out my favorite…the preseason football polls. I have no problem with people voicing their opinions on who they think are the top 25 teams, but there should be no “official” polls till after the 3rd or 4th week of the season. On the Bleacher Report John Lynch takes a stab at his Top 25 preseason poll. As you can tell by some of the comments, they are not too happy who he has in it. My favorite argument is how certain fans always think their team(s) is overlooked or disrespected. Calm down people, let them play a game first before you flip out.

It has been a rainy end of June here in Pittsburgh, but it is nothing compared to what is going on in the Midwest. Head over to Mizzourah and find out how you can help people who have been victimized by the floods.

Finally, the Heisman Pundit is back with an improved, updated, new-looking site. He’s great as always, and I have an email in to him to come on the In The Bleachers Podcast (hopefully Wednesday) to talk about the Heisman hopefuls for 2008. While we are waiting check out his new article asking; Is it really that important to have a quarterback who is an elite NFL-prospect in your program?

Last week Bill Conley of ESPN.com/Scouts Inc. wrote an interesting article on the importance of team sponsored summer camps in identifying under-the-radar talent at the high school level. Conley, as I’m sure some of you know, spent nearly two decades as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Ohio State, finally retiring in 2004 to work as a media analyst. Needless to say, this guy has been around the scouting block a time or two (as opposed, to you know, some washed up backup from a I-AA team.) Conley uses the example of former Ohio State safety and current Tennessee Titan Donnie Nickey as a player who came out of virtual obscurity to impress coaches at a summer Ohio State camp, earning his way to a scholarship and eventually stardom. Nickey’s story, while one of the more prolific examples in recent memory, is not the only illustration of an unheralded recruit who gets a big boost in his recruitment thanks to a strong camp showing, and this summer dozens of rising high school seniors will go through similar situations.

Having attended the Naval Academy’s summer camp as a high school underclassman in 2003 I have some familiarity with the subject, although I’d be lying through my teeth if I said I was ever in a position to be recruited, much less even compete in touch seven-on-seven’s (note to aspiring youngsters; 5’4, 130-lb cornerbacks do not match up well against even legitimate Division III level talent.) Still, despite all too frequent burnadge and an inability to understand even a simple two deep zone coverage, I left with a better understanding of the process and what the older kids (that is those with actual ability) went through in their quest to pick up a Division I-A football scholarship offer.

High school camps are still tremendously important in today’s recruiting landscape, but over the last few years we’ve seen a real growth in the prominence of independent Scouting combines. There’s the NIKE/SPARQ combines, the National Underclassman Combine, and the new look Scout.com/Under Armor combine. Over the course of May, Under Armor and Scout.com sponsored four of these combines, held in the cities of Charlotte, Cincinnati, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Today another combine will take place in my home town of Baltimore, while combines in Kansas City, Oakland, and Atlanta will take place later in the month. While there had certainly been a good deal of hoopla surrounding the top prospects entering the Under Armor sponsored combines, there have also been some ‘sleeper’ prospects who have really improved their stock in recent showings, just like Nickey did years ago at the Ohio State camp. These players, many of whom came into the month with only a few Division I offers (if any at all) proved their abilities in a series of standardized physical tests as well as one-on-one competition. Here are seven under-the-radar players (all currently 1-star rated prospects by Scout.com) from recent combines who posted strong enough performances to make their case as the next Donnie Nickey.

RB Shane McCullen, Apache Junction (AZ) - This may very well be your first time hearing about the rising senior from Arizona, but I can guarantee you it won’t be your last. Coming into last week’s Phoenix combine McCullen had already established himself as one of the best mutli-purpose backs in the state, but even his already impressive on-field performance in 2007 couldn’t have prepared scouts for what they were about to see. The 6’2, 191-lb McCullen ran an amazing 4.35 40 yard dash (highest at the combine) to go along with a 4.10 shuttle (second highest) and 35.4-inch vertical leap. Already a state track standout in the 100 meter, McCullen had curiously garnered only four offers before the combine, with only one coming from a BCS conference program. With amazing athleticism and plenty of room to fill out his 6’2 frame, expect McCullen’s scholarship offers to double or even triple over the course of the summer.

EDIT: Since writing this, McCullen has picked up offers from Utah and California. See, I told you.

WR/S Steve Hull, Sycamore (OH) - A relative unknown coming into the Cincinnati combine, Hull’s performance and attitude earned him both an on-the-spot offer from the University of Cincinnati and numerous double-takes from the so-called recruiting experts who overlooked him. Already an impressive performer at both safety and wide receiver on tape, Hull posted solid measurables with a 4.44/40 (second amongst wide receivers), 4.16 20-yard shuttle, 7.00 Three-Cone Drill (an agility and quickness test; highest at the combine) and a 9-10’ standing broad jump (second amongst receivers.) More telling perhaps was his performance in the one-on-one drills, where Hull out-muscled and out worked some of the best defensive backs in the area. Illustrating the importance of a good combine, Scout.com analyst Bob Lichtenfels went so far as to say that the single day performance by Hull probably helped him move from being a “MAC type player” to an “upper level Big Ten” prospect at the wide receiver position.

DT Jordan Stepp, Ben Davis (IN) - Is this the next Trevor Laws? Consider for a moment that of the thirteen safeties who ran the 40 yard dash at the Cincinnati combine, only two ran times faster than a 4.62. Now consider Jordan Stepp, who as a 280-lb interior lineman ran faster than those eleven players. Stepp, while undersized at just a hair over 6’0, showed elite level quickness with a 4.41 short shuttle, while posting one of the highest vertical jumps for a defensive tackle at all the Scout.com combines with a 33’ effort. Already being recruited by several MAC schools, Stepp’s strong showing in Cincinnati should garner him increased attention from some of the big boys.

WR Jeremy Dang, Peoria (AZ) - Before his MVP performance at the Phoenix combine, Dang was getting the usual interest-but-no-offer looks from schools throughout the west. At 6’2, 209 there were never any questions about his size, but a self-reported 4.67/40 yard dash (really though, it’s not that bad) likely kept some schools from offering despite solid junior year production. While he ran an average 4.80/40 at the combine, he posted a ridiculous 4.03 20-yard shuttle, which some scouts consider to be the most indicative physical test of a player’s quickness and explosion. His 37.0-inch vertical jump and a 10.5 standing broad jump were the highest at the combine regardless of position. Since his performance in Pheonix, Dang has picked up offers from Big Sky conference contenders Northern Arizona and Montana State, as well as Colorado State.

OT Taylor Lewan, Chaparrel (AZ) - Thanks to the evolution of passing offenses and the speed many top defenses have, offensive tackle has really become the new “it” position in the game over the past fifteen years. While scouts are certainly looking for players upwards of 6’5 to watch their quarterback’s blind side, they’re also looking for dynamic type athletes with the quickness to deal with the game’s best rush ends and outside linebackers. You’d think anyone with those qualities would garner tons of interest from big-time schools, but Chaparrel’s Taylor Lewan has been a relative unknown throughout the recruiting process and isn’t even ranked at his position by Scout.com. Amazingly, Lewan straight up dominated the Pheonix combine, impressing in one-on-one’s and in the physical tests. A 4.72/40, 7.60 three-cone drill, and 8-11’ broad jump were all tops for offensive lineman at the combine, a feat made all the more impressive considered his 6’6 frame. Weighing in at 252 he’s fairly light, but scouts are likely already drooling over getting this kid in a college weight room. He went into the combine with a single offer from lowly Utah State, but I’m predicting he goes into his senior year of high school with maybe a dozen offers from some of the interior west’s best.

RB Brent Michaels, Lake Havesu (AZ) - Statistically speaking Michaels has been one of the best running backs in the state of Arizona over the past two seasons. A standout with a great highlight reel, concerns over his competition level have kept many teams from offering. While McCullen rightly stole the show in Phoenix, Michaels quietly compiled a very strong resume to include a 4.41/40, 4.29 short shuttle, and a combine position leading 7.32 second three-cone drill. I honestly don’t know how many more FBS offers Michaels will receive, but he certainly showed he has the meaurables to play on the BCS conference level even if he does not attend a BCS conference school. Expect some more teams to offer over the summer and for Michaels to continue to dominate in the fall.

CB Byron Best, Greenwood (SC) - Best came into the Charlotte, North Carolina combine with no FBS offers but sure turned heads when he ran a combine leading 4.37 40-yard dash. At only 5’9, 180 size concerns may have hurt his early recruitment, but aided by his 40 time at the combine and a position leading 38.0-inch vertical leap he has since earned a scholarship offer from North Carolina. Greenwood is a highly respected South Carolina program that turns out FBS prospects with the best of them, so don’t be surprised to see more ACC programs jump into Best’s recruitment over the summer.

Other Sleeper Prospects from the May Scout.com/Under Armor Combines to Watch: RB Shad Bride, St. Johns (AZ), WR Kyle Larimer, Green Valley (NV), Joumeel McLaurine, CB Columbus East (OH), S Winston Hines, Pulaski County (KY), WR Luke Swift, Center Grove (IN), RB Ali Alaboody, Dearborn Fordon (MI).

Full List of Combine Results:
[Charlotte]
[Phoenix]
[Cincinnati]

Last week I talked about some quarterbacks that can use the 2008 college football season to take the next step from good to great. In this segment I am going to look at six quarterbacks that are going to be under the spotlight this year. Whether it be because their team has high expectations, or that they slid a little under the radar last year and won’t take anyone by surprise this season.

Stafford plays with a chip on his shoulder

With the preseason magazines set to come out this month and next, you will be hard pressed to find a top 5 without the Georgia Bulldogs in it. Their junior quarterback, Matthew Stafford, is one of the main reasons why the Bulldogs are ranked so high. If he progresses this year like he did between his freshman and sophomore year, Stafford has a chance to get some Heisman consideration. In his freshman year, Stafford threw for over 1700 yards with 7 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, then improved last year throwing for 2500 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. In all the important categories his stats improved; interceptions went down, touchdowns went up, and completion percentage went up (52% to 55%). Now he has the weight of the world on his shoulders with the Bulldogs being National Title favorites. He will be under the microscope each week, and the Bulldogs have one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

Since Pete Carrol has come to USC, they have been national title contenders pretty much every season. This year is no different, even with the Trojans losing their starting quarterback from last year. Some thought that the 2008 season would be the start of the Mustain train in Southern California, but the experience of Mark Sanchez was too much for Mitch Mustain and Sanchez will be the starting quarterback this fall. Sanchez did well filling in when Booty was hurt last season, throwing for almost 700 yards with 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. It is a good thing he got his feet wet because the Trojans don’t start out the year with any warm up games. Game one has them traveling to play at Virginia, and game two is when the Ohio State Buckeyes come to Southern California. Luckily for Sanchez, he has a 5-star studded backfield and wide receiver core to support him, but that might put a little more pressure on him because if USC struggles, all fingers are going to be pointed squarely at him.

Last season in the Big 12 North, Kansas and Missouri took the division by storm. They even set up an end of the year match up between the two teams for the Big 12 North title. Chase Daniel and Todd Reesing were main reasons why their teams faired so well during the season. Both quarterbacks are undersized as far as the protypical quarterback is concerned, but their heart and determination make up for it. Reesing’s stats last year had him throwing for 3400 yards with 33 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. One big knock against Reesing and the Jayhawks was that they did not play either Texas or Oklahoma in 2007. Kansas’ only loss was against Missouri and in the Orange Bowl, Reesing played superb against a tough Virginia Tech defense. With Oklahoma and Texas on the schedule this year, as well as a trip to South Florida, teams will be well prepared for Reesing this year, so it will be interesting to see if his play will continue to soar.

Harper hopes to take pressure off the running game

Daniel’s stats in 2007 are almost mind boggling. He threw for 4300 yards, 33 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a whopping 68% completion percentage. Chase is on a lot of short lists for the Heisman Trophy award this year, which he finished in the top 3 in 2007. There is no Oklahoma on the schedule for the Tigers this year, but a game at Texas and starting the season against Illinois should be tough tasks for the Tigers. The Tigers lost Tony Temple to graduation as well as their talented TE Rucker. Stopping Daniel will be task #1 for all defensive coordinators, but the question is, can it be done?

Not a household name, but Rutgers’ senior quarterback Mike Teel will be entering his third year as starting quarterback of the Scarlet Knights. In those few seasons, Rutgers went from the laughing stock of college football, to a top team in the Big East Conference. So I am sure you are asking, why the heck is Mike Teel on this list? Plain and simple, the Scarlet Knights no longer have Ray Rice to carry the load for them. Mike Teel will be asked to do a lot more with the football than in years past. He has to make the difficult throws and protect the football if Rutgers want to challenge for the Big East title. In his two years as starter, his touchdown, passing yards, and completion percentage has grown, but his interceptions has stayed the same (13 each year). He has to get that number under 10 and get that completion percentage over 60%. Their first game should be a fun test for Teel, with the Fresno State Bulldogs coming to New Jersey. All eyes will be on Teel and the Knights to see if they can derail this year’s version of the Hawaii Warriors.

Quick, can you name me the quarterback who played the best in the ACC in 2007? I bet many of you think it is Matt Ryan, but you are wrong. CJ Spiller and James Davis get all of the press clippings, but it is Cullen Harper who should be getting some attention. Last season Harper threw for almost 3000 yards with 27 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a completion percentage at 65%. Harper has the luxury of having two great backs behind him to take some of the pressure off of the passing game, but at the same time it is up to him, to keep up the good play so that the running game works so effectively. Clemson is a favorite to win the ACC and opens up at home against Alabama. Teams might load up in the box and force Harper to air it out, which leaves the team’s hopes of a BCS bowl bid, square in his hands. I think this is a guy you could possibly see at the Heisman Ceremony come December.

A special thanks to Adam Nettina for keeping this blog afloat for the past few weeks. Even though he has a strange infatuation with Phil Steele, he does great work and is a big asset to In The Bleachers. You will see Adam hopefully throughout the offseason and into next season. I apologize for my lack of writing, the NHL Playoffs have been keeping my mind off of college football, but I am re-energized and ready to start talking more about the 2008 season.

My favorite position to analyze is the quarterback, they are the ones that are either the heroes or the goats of the game. If a quarterback is lucky enough to start as a sophomore or freshman, they are given a little more leeway since they are younger and are more prone to mistakes. But what makes them an elite quarterback is their ability to take the “next step” to that higher level. I have identified 7 quarterbacks that have the talent, started early, and now it is time for them to take the next step.

Deacon Fans have high hopes for Skinner

In 2006, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons were the feel good cinderella story of the year and one of the big reasons why was the play of their freshman quarterback Riley Skinner. Skinner had a good year as freshman quarterback throwing for over 2000 yards with 9 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. In his second year his passing yards went up a little, as did his completion percentage, but his interceptions went up to 13, and he missed two games in the 2007 season. He did have 12 touchdown passes, but you always want your QB to have more passing touchdowns than interceptions. For Skinner to make that next step, he has to improve on those interception numbers and not turn the ball over as much.

The next person on my list, might be a bit of a surprise, but if you look at his play from one season to the next you will understand why he is on it. Colt McCoy had a stellar freshman season with the Longhorns, which landed him on many lists for Heisman hopefuls in early 2007. But McCoy’s play early on in 2007 was very much less than stellar. In his first 5 games against less than average opponents, McCoy threw 8 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions. He ended the season with 22 and 18, and with a lower completion percentage than the year before. With the losses in the skill positions on offense, the pressure is going to be even greater on McCoy to protect the ball and produce points. So we should find out early if Texas will get back the McCoy of his freshman year or not.

Matt Grothe has been a big pain in the neck to Big East coaches his first two years at South Florida. Each of his first two seasons he has hovered around the 1 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio, which as I stated earlier must improve for him to become elite, but also Grothe disappeared down the stretch for the Bulls in the later half of 2007. Teams have focused on him and now it is up to the Bulls coaching staff to become creative and find ways for Grothe to exploit opposing defenses. USF has the chance to vault to the top of the Big East, but the Bulls will only go as far as the arm, and legs of Matt Grothe take them.

Ty’s job is riding on Locker’s shoulders

Some call him the savior, some call him the second coming of Ron Paulus, but any way you put it Notre Dame is excited to have Jimmy Clausen under center. I will be honest here, I was not a big Clausen fan, but he did well in his first season under center considering the fact that Notre Dame had no rushing game and their offensive line had more holes in it than a cheese grater. But as we all know, Domer fans are not patient, they want results now. Hopes are high for Clausen after his lack luster performance (10-of-27 passing for 183 yards) in the Irish’s spring game. Clausen has a strong arm and the toughness to be a good quarterback, but whether he takes that step up this year or next is another question. If the Irish are going to go bowling this year, it will be because of this man.

At 6 foot 3 inches and 225 lbs, Jake Locker has a big frame which he needs to play quarterback the way he does. In his first season as Huskies quarterback, Locker threw for over 2000 yards and ran for over 900 more. The two glaring bad points with him are that his completion percentage was below 50% and he threw one more interception than touchdown. Not bad at all for a freshman, so why is he on this list? Well his coach Tyrone Willingham, the guy who recruited Locker, is running on borrowed time. He needs to win now to keep his job for another season, and for that to happen Locker has to improve his offensive output, and decrease his turnovers. That is not going to be an easy task playing in the Pac 10 where the Huskies won 2 games last year, and 4 overall.

I save the best for last, well the quarterback with the best name. John Parker Wilson will be a three year starter when the 2008 season begins for the Crimson Tide. It will be his second year under Nick Saban. Unfortunately for him, he will no longer have his favorite target DJ Hall to throw to, but with the way the Tide have been recruiting, there will be some young freshman ready to step in. The main problem with Parker Wilson is his consistency. He will go stretches of games where he is just plain lack luster, even against team where he should be padding his stats. The past two years Alabama snuck into bowl games with a 6-6 record, and I don’t think Tide fans would be happy if they had anything less than 9 wins this year. Parker Wilson is a senior now, the leader of the team. He needs to completed over 60% of his passes and keep his interceptions below the double digit mark. If he does that, you will see the Tide challenging for the top of the SEC West, if not, no New Years Day bowl for Alabama.

Former LSU and oft-troubled quarterback Ryan “Hunk Fiji” Perrilloux has officially transferred to FCS middleweight Jacksonville State.

What This Means: While I can’t say I’ve had much sympathy for Perrilloux, I think this is a mutually beneficial situation that he’s stepping into. Considering Jacksonville State didn’t have any scholarship quarterbacks on the roster he’s clearly doing them a favor by stepping into a tough situation, while Head Coach Jack Crowe is doing him a favor by virtually guaranteeing him a starting spot. But don’t just assume Perrilloux will dominate at a lower level and play his way back into NFL prospectdom. He’s bound to be on a short leash considering he’s taking over for a quarterback who was kicked off the team, and has shown a propensity for finding trouble in the past even when he knows he’s run out of fifth chances. If nothing else, this gives us another reason to tune into the Jacksonville State-Georgia Tech matchup on August 28. Something tells me Bristol is scrambling to get involved in this one.

BYU running back Manase Tonga was ruled academically ineligible for the 2008 season, and will have to take a redshirt before reapplying to the University if he wants to play in 2009.

What This Means: Not a whole lot. Don’t get me wrong, in an offense based on role players Tonga was one of BYU’s best last year. A solid blocker and receiver out of the backfield, he ran for 305 yards and eight touchdowns for the Cougars in limited duty. But BYU is stacked in the backfield, returning both MWC Freshmen of the Year Harvey Unga (1227 yards, 13 TD) and a finally healthy Taufui Vakapuna (252 yards in ’07, 445 yards in ’06.) Unga is truly as talented as they come, while Vakapuna, when healthy, is an absolute load to bring down. When you throw in highly touted redshirt freshmen J.J. DiLuigi to the mix, BYU has one of the best backfields in the entire country even without Tonga.

The Big East reportedly was in negotiations to bring Memphis into the conference as a possible expansion team, then reportedly was not.

What It Means: It seems like just yesterday we were still writing Big (L)east and never missing an opportunity to make the constant aside about how much the new Big East sucks. That being said dumping Temple and moving to an eight team football conference hasn’t been bad at all for the Big East, and despite basically perpetual calls for adding a ninth team by fans and media members I don’t know if this is something that needs to be rushed along. I do know one thing, and that’s that Army, Navy, and Notre Dame aren’t going anywhere, so when the Big East does decide to expand, it will either have to come internally (like ‘Nova moving up from the FCS) or will have to come from Memphis or East Carolina.

ACC Athletic Directors decided to scrap possible plans for adding a ninth conference game.

What This Means: Boo-hoo. I know the folks in SEC and Pac-10 country are whining over this as usual, but being from ACC country I applaud this move. Why? Because we have great regional games here on the east coast, games that often feature matchups between the ACC and Conference-USA or the highly competitive Colonial Athletic Conference. People love to knock these “lower” matchups because of how easily they perceive the ACC slate to be, but God forbid the sport of college football be extended out of hallowed SEC conference. Personally, I’d much rather see a highly motivated CAA team try to knock off a mid-level ACC team than be subjected to seeing Clemson put up 70 on Duke.

League Commissioner John Swofford has announced that the ACC will no longer participate in the Humanitarian Bowl after 2008, a move which will terminate one reluctant ACC team’s annual pilgrimage to the Smurf Turf.

What It Means: With the approval of the Congressional Bowl this was bound to happen, as the ACC is now affiliated with nine (count them: NINE) bowl tie-ins for 2008. Considering the ACC probably won’t have nine bowl eligible teams, it makes sense to cut ties with Humanitarian Bowl, which has always been looked on as something of a punishment by fans and media members. For the record, I hate it when people knock Boise, which really is a pretty awesome city in one of the coolest regions of our country. Maybe not a cup of tea for some Miami fan in December, but hopefully my Midshipmen can jump on this in 2009 and give me a decent excuse to get out to Sun Valley for some skiing.

Mailbag, did you say Mailbag?

I like to think myself a fairly astute observer of the college football game, especially the non-BCS conferences. So, in an effort to make our slow crawl into the college football preview season a little more interesting, I’ve decided to set up a “Non-BCS Conference Mailbag” over here at ITB. Basically we can do this one of two ways. One, you send your questions, comments, concerns, or queries to guyontheright-at-gmail.com and I answer them here on the blog, OR I make up questions by people named A. Howard Rogers and post the answers on the blog. Frankly I’d rather try the first option, so let’s have at it.

Just to get you in the correct mood for this post, watch this first:

First we start in the nation’s heartland where new coach Bo Pelini has visions of bring back Nebraska football to the way it was in the mid 90s, but don’t expect any miracles to happen for this year. That doesn’t mean there is not optimism for the Husker fans. There have been reports that fans have paid in excess of $95 to see a practice game. Seriously, we’re talking about practice here, not a game, but practice. Corn Nation has a list of the teams for the practice game over on his site. Sometimes I wonder about that guy, he would rather watch how the hogs are doing up front than the skilled guys.

Mitch couldn’t beat out Sanchez

Keeping in the Big 12 North, the Missouri Tigers might not even have enough players to field a team for their spring game. The latest is backup O-Lineman Austin Wuebbles got arrested when the cops found marijuana and a metal marijuana smoking pipe. It doesn’t end there, Wuebbles also had a fake ID and beer in his car. Instead of having football practice, maybe the Tigers’ coaching staff should hold practice on how to act like a normal adult. But I got to hand it to Big Head, even when faced with all this trouble for his team, he still knows how to rub one in on his rival.

The players over at UCLA must have a little bit of Allen Iverson syndrome since the seniors thought they were too good to practice. Actually it is a time honored tradition where the Seniors skipped a practice, but most of Bruin Nation, including offensive coordinator Norm Chow, isn’t laughing at all. I thought all that Senior skip stuff was only done in High School? Maybe it is a sign to Bruins fans that this year’s team might resemble a high school one. But even with the missed practice. head coach Rick Neuheisel has seen enough of the quarterback battle to name Patrick Cowan the starter over Ben Olson.

One way to get out of practice is to not attend class and get ruled ineligible to participate in practice in the Spring. That was what happened to USC’s Joe McKnight. McKnight dropped a class in the Spring and that put him below the 12 credits needed to participate. This should have no bearing on his fall eligibility though. Unlike McKnight, Mark Sanchez took full advantage of his time on the field last year and in spring practice this year. So much so that Pete Carroll named Sanchez the starter for the fall over Mitch Mustain. I don’t think this is much of a surprise given that Sanchez has been with the program for awhile, and has game experience. But one has to wonder if Mustain is second guessing his decision to transfer to USC and not another team with a quarterback situation that would’ve better suited him.

Ryan doesn’t need practice!!

If you are envious of Joe McKnight not having to go to class and therefore forfeiting his right to practice, Ryan Perrilloux has one upped McKnight. Not only did Perrilloux not practice with LSU much (if at all) this spring, he got in trouble at a local bar, he was suspended due to violating team rules, and has academic problems (says Miles). One writer says that LSU should dismiss Perrilloux for these violations, but we all know that won’t happen, especially in the SEC. One would think that a player that has gotten into so much trouble would either have to work in practice to get his job back, or be off the team all together. No way, Miles tells us that it was all a misunderstanding, no one knows what is going on inside his team but him and that Perrilloux is key to the success of the Tigers.

In Hawaii I am sure they are longing for Yesterday, but without Colt Brennan and his cast of characters, including June Jones, the Warriors are trying to find out in practice what kind of team they will have this year. This team will have to travel to Florida to play the Gators early in the season, ouch! This Hawaii football blog is a good source of info for the Warriors and how they are progressing through the 2008 Spring practice drills.

Finally, I will be heading up to State College to watch the annual Penn State Blue and White practice Game. One of the battles I have been watching closely is the quarterback one. Both Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin have looked good in practice, and even though many think it is Clark’s to lose due to Paterno’s allegiance to the older one, I think this will continue into the fall. And maybe into the season. This is a case where I believe we could seen another two quarterback system in Happy Valley, like in 1999 with Kevin Thompson and Rashard Casey. For more coverage of the happenings in the Valley, check out the Blue and White Roundtable.

Well all in all I got 18 practices in, not bad but no where near as good as Mr. Iverson.

One of my favorite things about blogging is making predictions, then when they come true I can brag about them. If they don’t come true, I can pretend they never occurred but still boast about the ones I got correct or nearly right. In the second part of MIZZOURAH’s bold predictions, we predict the 2008 BCS Games, Heisman Winners, Surprise teams, and teams doomed to disappoint us. Below I will lay out my thought process for my choices for the BCS games and potential Heisman winners. Next week I will talk about my picks for Surprise and Disappointing teams in 2008.

Get use to the name Cullen Harper

It’s April and spring time, time for new beginnings and fresh starts. So here is my first crack at who will be in the BCS Games come January of 2009.

BCS Title Game
USC vs Georgia - No surprise here if you followed who I voted in the top 2 of my Top 10 in Bold predictions. Both teams return a lot of talent, although USC will be a little green at quarterback, but both Sanchez and Mustain have a lot of potential. I really like the duo of Stafford and Moreno to be one best in the country. Also when you have defensive lineman that can run down WR, it can’t hurt either (See 2008 Sugar Bowl).

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs Arizona State - As you can see I like Ohio State to win the Big Ten and keeping with the Tradition, I expect the Rose Bowl committee to pick the #2 team in the Pac-10 to replace USC in this spot. I like what the Sun Devils have coming back and think they have a good shot at finishing up high.

Sugar Bowl
Missouri vs Florida - Since the Sugar Bowl lost Georgia, they easily replace it with the Gators who boast the 2007 Heisman winner and possibly the 2008 one too (see Heisman predictions below). Missouri once again should finish at the top of the Big 12 North, but once again will fall to Oklahoma in the title game. However, unlike in 2008, the Tigers will get a BCS bid in 2009.

Orange Bowl
Clemson vs West Virginia - The best quarterback in the country that no one is talking about is Cullen Harper of Clemson. Harper along with the backfield tandem of CJ Spiller and James Davis is going to make Clemson a favorite in the ACC which does not look that tough. West Virginia who returns Pat White and Noel Devine on offense should be the favorites in the Big East.

Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma vs Wisconsin - I already stated before that I believe Oklahoma will beat Missouri in the Big 12 title game. The second pick was a little tougher since the BCS rules state that no conference can have more than 2 teams in the BCS. I gave Fresno State a little thought as an at-large, but settled with Wisconsin. I think the Badgers are the second best team in the Big Ten and could be the Buckeyes’ biggest obstacle in capturing their 3rd outright Big Ten title in as many years.

Heisman Trophy

Harvin: Running through a defense near you in 2008

I am going to follow one of the Heismandment which state no more two-time winners, and eliminate Tim Tebow. But I do think someone from Tebow’s team will be in the race for the Heisman. Percy Harvin is an amazing athlete and does something extraordinary every time he touches the ball. Even in the Capital One Bowl loss to Michigan he did well, and it still baffles me why he didn’t get more touches in that game. Harvin is a running back/wide receiver hybrid and will take some of the load off Tebow this year.

My next thought for Heisman is from THE Ohio State University, Mr. Chris “Beanie” Wells. He had 146 yards in the title game and nice 65 yard run where he outran everyone in the speedy LSU defense. Wells not only has speed but has the power to punish defenders who try and tackle him. With those two things going for him and the fact that the Buckeyes have a strong offensive line, Wells’ rushing number will be close to 2000 in 2008.

Finally I am going to go with Chase Daniel of Missouri for a 3rd pick. Chase was already through this last year and is a known commodity (see McFadden 2006/07). What Daniel has going for him is that Missouri should have another good year and he will put up some big numbers. For him to win, however, he must have that one huge game against an Oklahoma or a Texas.

First drill…the fumble drill

Nothing says spring football like a cold-snowy day in the northeastern portion of the United States. Well we all know that isn’t true, but there is one team that does start spring practice today and that is the Texas Longhorns. The have their first scheduled practice today at 3:45 pm and it all concludes on March 29th with their spring scrimmage. I think that is about the time most of the teams up in this region will be starting their spring practices. Today and tomorrow’s practice will be open to the public.

It is also a time honored tradition by the bloggers to pay homage to the Fulmer Cup. As we all know, the Fulmer Cup was invented by Orson of EDSBS and it involves a scoring system for schools based on the trouble that their players get in. Since Tennessee notoriously would be near the top of this list (see this year), their coach would take a lot of grief from the media about their off the field behavior. Well Phil Fulmer has had enough and fired back at a local reporter with a letter to the editor.

For anyone out there wanting to get away from this horribly snowy weather, I suggest a little place called Hawaii. Great weather, beaches, and I hear the women are nice there too. The Hawaii Fan Blog (one of my favorites) has the itinerary for the 2008 “Football `Ohana Festival” Schedule. It involves meeting the players, photos with them, autographs, and watching a scrimmage and a practice. Did I mention that you will be in Hawaii where the weather is nice?

High 5 for spring football & since the strike is over

Bloggers aren’t the only ones who are bored during the offseason of college football, the mainstream writers feel the same way. But unlike the Bloggers, mainstream media members have access to a lot of information and people that bloggers aren’t so they can write some good articles…like predicting the 2008 Big Ten standings. I don’t know about you, but everyone has trouble enough doing that in August and September, but it is only February! Well that ESPN article struck a nerve with a particular Iowa Blogger and he had a few nice words to say.

A website to keep an eye on during the offseason is BCS Busters. Ben is currently putting the finishing touches on a book called The Grass Ain’t Blue In Georgia - The Story Behind the BCS Controversy. Ben is a very knowledgeable person on this topic and in college football in general. So far since the BCS title game he has written two posts Sizing Up the SEC and talking about the history of the conference. Part one talks about Alabama and Auburn, while Part two discusses Georgia and Florida.

28th Anniversary of The Miracle on Ice

Right now I am half way through breaking down the six BCS Conferences and what they key battles and improvements that each team needs to work on during spring practice. If you happened to have ESPN Insider, check out Bruce Feldman’s latest blog on the Top 8 Quarterback battles this spring. I was surprised to see Nate Longshore’s name on this list, but I guess when your team crashes like Cal did at the end of last year, no position is safe. Other teams he talks about and predicts winners of the QB battles are LSU, South Carolina, Auburn, USC, Penn State, Miami, and Michigan.

This is not college football…or even football related, but today is the 28th Anniversary of the greatest upset in the history of the world…the Miracle on Ice. On that chilly night in Lake Placid, New York, a squad of mostly college students took on the best professional team in the world, the USSR. As we all know they won the game 4-3…and the next game beat Finland to capture the Gold Medal. It was a great boost for a country, that at the time, was in maybe it’s darkest days morale wise. I was only a little over a year old at the time of the game, and still to this day, if there were a sporting even I wish I would have attended live…The Miracle on Ice would be #1 on my list.

In an ongoing series I will look at the BCS conferences and when their spring practice starts and ends for this season. Spring football is really important since it is where most battles commence and get settled for most positions. I will first start out on the left coast, and talk about the Pac 10.

USC
Spring Practice Begins - March 25
Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day.

John David Booty has graduated so Pete Carroll will use this spring to settle on Mark Sanchez and Mitch Mustain at quarterback. Hopefully this time if Mustain does not get QB1 he wouldn’t pout and transfer like he did with Arkansas. Also, it will be an important spring for Vidal Hazelton to become a legit #1 wide receiver and also to unmuddy the Trojans’ backfield with all those starts fighting for carries.

UCLA
Spring Practice Begins - April 3
Spring Practice Ends - April 26 with their squad scrimmage that day.

This will be the first set of practices for the Bruins under new head coach Rick Neuheisel. It will be all about Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow installing their offense and having the players become comfortable with it and the new terminology. The Bruins need to have a new attitude going into the 2008 season, and expect to win games. Also, they need to settle on a quarterback, whether it be Olson, Rasshan, or Bethel-Thompson. Pick a guy, stick with him, and let him grow in the offense.

California
Spring Practice Begins - March 17
Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day.

Coach Tedford will have to find some new offensive weapons since DeSean Jackson and Justin Forsette have graduated. Nate Longshore has to improve on his disappointing 2008 campaign and better watch because if he is lax, Kevin Riley is right behind him wanting to take his job. Riley is best known for taking a sack at the end of the Oregon State game which allowed time to run out, that was the start of Cal’s downward spiral last season.

Oregon
Spring Practice Begins - April 2
Spring Practice Ends - April 26 with their squad scrimmage that day.

Dennis Dixon and Jonathan Stewart have graduated, not good news for Ducks’ fans. Cody Kempt and Justin Roper will fight it out for the QB1 job. Roper had an impressive 4 touchdown performance against South Florida in the Sun Bowl and will hope to build off of that in the spring. Andre Crenshaw looks to be the man to replace Stewart for the 2008 season.

Oregon State
Spring Practice Begins - March 31
Spring Practice Ends - May 3 with their squad scrimmage that day.

The Beavers have a need for improvement on both sides of the ball. First their leading rusher, Yvenson Bernard who ran for over 3800 career yards, is gone. Ryan McCants, Ahmed Mokhtar, and Patrick Fuller all will fight for the carries with McCants having the leg up going into spring. At quarterback Lyle Moevao will duel it out with Brennan Sim for the quarterback job, while on defense they need to find 3 new linebackers since all graduated. This should be a fun spring for the Beavers.

Arizona
Spring Practice Begins - March 8
Spring Practice Ends - April 12 with their squad scrimmage that day.

I’ll just come out and say it, this is an extremely important year for Mike Stoops. I’d go as far as saying a make or break year for him. Willie Tuitama has the full support of the team but the Wildcats have yet to find him a supporting cast. That is the number 1 job for Stoops this spring, if he doesn’t, it could be his last in Arizona.

Arizona State
Spring Practice Begins - March 25
Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day.

In his final spring practice, Rudy Carpenter must show leadership that lacked a little bit at the end of last season. For two seasons now the Sun Devils have handed Carpenter the keys, now he must show that he can put the team on his back and challenge USC for the Pac 10 title. He might have a little bit of trouble though, since most of his offensive line has graduated. Maybe Rudy should learn how to scramble this spring.

Stanford
Spring Practice Begins - Feb 26
Spring Practice Ends - April 12 with their squad scrimmage that day.

Jim Harbaugh and the Cardinal ended the season on a great note beating Cal, now he must continue that momentum into Spring ball. Harbaugh might be a bit loud spoken but he has confidence in what he can do with this team. Tavita Pritchard is the returning quarterback with some playing experience but Stanford does not have any play makers as of now on offense. That is important to get this spring as well as the defense getting acclimated with new defensive coordinator Ron Lynn’s schemes.

Washington
Spring Practice Begins - April 3
Spring Practice Ends - April 22 with their squad scrimmage that day.

Huskies’ head coach Ty Willingham made some shake ups with his staff, hiring Ed Donatell to run the defense. This is a last ditch effort for Willingham, as he is another coach in this conference on the hot seat. Washington showed some promise early in the season last year but fizzled once conference play started. Quarterback Jake Locker should use the spring to work on his passing skills, this guy is going to be a good quarterback by the time his days are done here. He also has to gel with his receivers and running backs so that teams cannot just key on him.

Washington State
Spring Practice Begins - March 17
Spring Practice Ends - April 12 with their squad scrimmage that day.

This will be the first spring practice for new Cougars’ coach Paul Wulff. His first priority will be to find a new quarterback…Gary Rogers and Cole Morgan look to be the front runners.

Even though there aren’t any games, there is plenty of news in the college football world. First the East-West Shrine game happened over the weekend, not as prestigious as the Senior Bowl, but still a chance for college seniors to strut their stuff in front of NFL Scouts. It was Utah State’s Kevin Robinson who stole the show catching a touchdown pass and returning a punt for a score as the West beat the East 31-13. Houston’s Scout site has a list of players who stood out in the game. As I said the Senior Bowl will get a little bit more publicity, and I will have those rosters posted on ITB as soon as they are officially announced.

I hinted at it on Friday, but it looks more and more like Norm Chow will become the offensive coordinator for the UCLA Bruins. Chow has an impressive resume’ of quarterbacks that he has worked with in his career. That list includes Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Philip Rivers, Jim McMahon and Steve Young. UCLA is hoping that this hire, teamed with head coach Rick Neuheisel will persuade some top notch offensive talent their way instead of heading over to their rival USC.

Putting the slap fight aside for a second, Rich Rodriguez has signed his contract with Michigan and it is reportedly worth $2.5 million a year. A buyout of $4 million is included in this contract which will decrease by $500,000 per year that Rodriguez coaches at Michigan.

Staying in Ann Arbor, the #1 recruit in the nation, Terrelle Pryor, was there visiting this weekend. If there is one thing I have noticed about Pryor is that he really knows how to play the media. In my opinion, I think it will come down to a Michigan and Ohio State battle for his services with teams like Penn State, Florida, and LSU on the outside looking in right now. For Michigan fans, Pryor did say his visit to the school “Was Cool”.

The nominations for the 2007 blogger awards have opened. Head over to Rocky Top Talk to read over how to go about nominating your favorite blogs.