Somewhere between taking shots at Lane Kiffin and babbling excessively about Rich Ellerson during last week’s podcast, Brian and I forgot to mention the absurd amount of coaching changes that took place this offseason in the Mid American Conference. Never one to shy away from giving my opinion on all things related to the non-BCS conferences, here are some thoughts on the new MAC coaches for 2009.

Ball State

Out: Brady Hoke (Hired by San Diego State)

In: Stan Parrish (Former Ball State OC)

I think this is both a good long-term and short-term hire. Parrish is actually one of the best recruiters in the conference, and has a proven track record of attracting mid and low tier Big 10 prospects to come and play for the Cardinals (see: Nate Davis, Briggs Orsbon.) I think he was one of the most underrated coordinators in the entire FBS over the past several season, and should keep Ball State rolling offensively. The real challenge will be on the defensive side of the ball. Ball State should be fine considering the depth returning this year (seven returning starters), but with Hoke leaving you have to wonder if they will struggle down the road.

Bowling Green

Out: Gregg Brandon (Fired)

In: Dave Clausen (Former Tennessee OC)

Clausen was one of the very best head coaches in all of the FCS when he coached at Richmond (2004-2007) and brings with him experience as both a headman and a coordinator to the Falcon program. I know he did not have much success at Tennessee last year but to tell you the truth it is hard to go into an SEC school and transform an offense in one season, especially considering how ill-equipped the Vols were in terms of personnel. Bowling Green was a decent 6-6 last year and although I questioned the decision to fire Gregg Brandon, I think the move to Clausen is ultimately in the program’s best interest and should pay dividends immediately. 

Eastern Michigan

Out: Jeff Genyk (Fired)

In: Ron English (Former Louisville DC)

I actually thought Jeff Genyk was a decent coach and an underrated recruiter, but there is no disputing that his teams underperformed in Ypsilanti and after five years it was time for a change. English is a good short-term hire because he can help shore up the defense immediately, while he inherits a veteran and already strong EMU offense led by senior QB Andy Schmitt. I like English’s recruiting ties to Big 10 country, but ultimately I question whether or not he can sustain success at Eastern Michigan. Like Genyk coming into EMU a few years back, English has never been a HC before and despite success as a high profile coordinator will have to deal with the unique challenges of selling a very tough program to sell. Not exactly the most charismatic guy in the world, this hire may end up going south after one or two good seasons. 

Miami (OH)

Out: Shane Montgomery (Fired)

In: Mike Haywood (Former ND Offensive Assistant)

I don’t like this hire in the long-term or the short-term. Miami University is a program that is used to winning in the MAC but has very little going for them going into 2009. The offense was almost nonexistsant last year, while the defense loses its best players to graduation. Haywood is a smash mouth football coach with a great personality, but can he make this program competitive in a MAC conference which seems to be heading the way of the Big XII in terms of a formula for offensive success? He has had very limited coaching experience in the past and although he brings “name” recognition, you have to wonder if being associated with Charlie Weis really means as much as it used to for a high school recruit. I think this was a “wrong person, wrong time” hire for the program and a “wrong school, wrong situation” for Haywood.

Toledo

Out: Tom Amstutz (Resigned)

In: Tim Beckman (Former Oklahoma St. Defesnive Coordinator)

Amstutz may have been the butt of a number of fat and gambling jokes during his career at Toledo, but people forget that he was one of the best coaches ANYWHERE in the country between 2001-2005, winning two conference titles and four division titles during that time. That being said Tim Beckman is a good hire in the sense that he has experience scheming against spread offenses coming over from Oklahoma State, a skill that should serve him well against the MAC’s increasingly offensive and spread oriented style of play. Beckman also has great recruiting ties to Ohio thanks to his days as a position coach at Ohio State, and should be in a position to attract his fair share of talent to a Toledo program which has heard nothing but bad news as of late. While Amstutz was one of the MAC’s best coaches, I like this hire and think it was a great move by the school.

Thoughts?

It’s a bright and sunny Saturday here in central Maryland. By all accounts I should be outside cutting the grass or grilling up some thick cut of red meat while blaring a Kenny Chesney song in the background. But I’m not doing any of those things.

In fact, I’m currently in a dimly lit room of my basement staring back and forth between my computer screen and a much too difficult to read, will-surely-destroy-my-eyesite-by-the-time-I’m-30 magazine page informing me about the correlation between yards per point and offensive success.

It can only mean one thing.

That’s right college football fans. Call it Christmas in May, because today Phil Steele Magazine arrived in good old West Friendship, Maryland. Needless to say, this makes Adam a very happy young man.

Brian and I will of course have much more in lead-up to our interview with Phil Steele next week (to be posted here at the ITB website and on Itunes on Monday, June 8^th), but for now I thought I’d drop some initial first impressions. Your ridiculously obsessive and personal questions are of course welcomed to these otherwise random notes. Enjoy!

• Texas and Florida in the National Title. I know: Phil really went out on a limb here, didn’t he?
• Notre Dame is Phil’s pick to make it to the Gator Bowl, to face off against Clemson (!?!)
• Bradford, Tebow, and McCoy are Phil’s top three quarterbacks. CMU’s Dan LeFevour, Ole Miss’ Jevan Snead, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, and (here’s the shocker) Arkansas’ Ryan Mallet round out the top seven.
• For the first time in which I can ever remember, Phil has included FCS players in his player rankings.
• Phil’s Conference Rankings based on last year (in descending order): SEC, Big 12, Pac-10, MWC, ACC, Big 10, Big East, CUSA, IND, WAC, MAC, Sun Belt.
• Phil says Illinois will be the most improved team in the country this year.
• Surprise Team Top Five: 1) Penn State 2) Rutgers 3) Cal 4) Notre Dame 5) Illinois.
• Preseason Top 10 you ask? Here we go: 1) Florida 2) Texas 3) USC 4) Oklahoma 5) Penn State 6) Mississippi 7) Notre Dame 8 ) Alabama 9) Cal 10) Ohio State.
• Phil likes BYU to win the MWC, UTEP and Southern Miss in CUSA, Boise in the WAC (seven of his nine power rankings call for Boise to go undefeated), CMU and Ohio in the MAC, and Troy in the Sun Belt.
• Florida has Phil’s highest +/- rating at 140.00. NMSU has his lowest at 90.80.
• Phil has revised his experienced charts. Army and Navy and Air Force are no longer at the top on a yearly basis. This year’s most experienced team is Minnesota. Missouri is his least experienced team.
• From the Turnover=Turnaround charts. Oklahoma, Florida, Buffalo, Wake, and Ohio State “going down?”. Washington St, Wyoming, Washington, North Texas, and Army “going up?”
• Same two girls as always modeling bikinis. How old are those ads?
• Lettermen Returning Indicator: Toldeo, UAB, and Stanford have an 89% chance of improved record. Navy, Missouri, and South Carolina have 82% chance of weaker or the same record.
• Phil picks Georgia Tech to outrush Navy in 2009. Dammit.
• Phil likes Tebow for the Heisman.

I need oxygen. Keep those questions coming!

Who, if anyone, can stop Southern Cal from their 8th straight Pac-10 title?

The Trojans will be replacing Mark Sanchez at quarterback, and a slue of linebackers, but looking at the Pac-10 as a whole; there is still really no team out there that looks to be able to dethrone them.

The best bet as of this moment is California or Oregon, but with both of those teams come significant holes. The Ducks have an offensive line to replace and a backfield that accounted for most of their offense in 2008. Cal has Jahvid Best coming back at running back, but even the best running backs in conference can not make up for an inconsistent quarterback.

UCLA is still a few years away, and Arizona and Arizona State are losing key players. Finally, the Oregon State Beavers do return running back sensation Jacquizz Rodgers, but they have too many holes in their secondary to contend. So unless the Trojans have more than one slip up in conference play; they should be on cruise control to their 8th straight Pac-10 title. Which brings me to my next question…

Can USC stay focused enough for the entire Pac-10 season, and not have their usual conference slip-up?

In 2006, it was UCLA; in 2007 it was Stanford; and last season it was Oregon State. All three of those games cost USC a chance to play in the BCS Championship. In all 3 of those seasons, there was no doubt that after watching the Trojans play in their Bowl game, that they were one of the teams that should’ve been playing in the title game.

So how does Pete Carroll keep this team focused? It’s a tough task when you have so many 4 and 5 star recruits on your team, but if the Trojans ever want to play in a title game in the near future, they need to stop losing to these inferior teams in conference play.

Carroll needs to keep this team on their toes week in and week out, even with the notion that the Trojans are far and away the best team in the conference, that doesn’t mean a team couldn’t sneak up on them. If this can be done, we can maybe finally see this team in the Championship game.

Who will be the starting quarterback for a number of teams in the confernce?

No longer do we have familar name such as Mark Sanchez, Rudy Carpenter, or Willie Tuitama as quarterbacks. I can honestly say that every team, sans Washington with Jake Locker, has their quarterback situation in-flux.

The most interesting battle takes place at USC, where incoming freshman Matt Barkley will battle both Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain for the starting job. Mustain left Arkansas (where he was the starter), for a chance at being the #1 QB at USC, but in the end he might never get there.

UCLA returns starter Kevin Craft, but with only a handful of success last season, his job is not safe. Redshirt freshman Kevin Prince looks like he is the #1 threat to Craft’s job but there are others including true freshman Richard Brehaut, sophomore Chris Forcier, redshirt freshman Nick Crissman, and senior Osaar Rasshan. Both Rasshan and Crismann had shoulder issues in the past year.

At Arizona State, senior Danny Sullivan, sophomore Samson Szakacsy, sophomore Chasen Stangel, redshirt freshman Jack Elway, and true freshman Brock Osweiler are all fighting for Carpenter’s old job. Sullivan was his back-up but nothing is etched in stone for him to be the starter in 2009 just yet.

Stanford returns last year’s starter, Tavita Pritchard, but given his less than stellar play in 2008; his job is in jeporady. Alex Loukas and redshirt freshman Andrew Luck are hoping to impress head coach Jim Harbaugh enough to unseat Pritchard.

Matt Scott or Nick Foles will replace Arizona Wildcats’ starter Willie Tuitama. Whoever gets the nod better have wheels because the Wildcats have a lot of questions on their offensive line.

In Berkeley, Kevin Riley was given the job last season, but could not hold onto it throughout the season. Now with Nate Longshore gone the job should be his right? No, his inconsistency still plagues him and if he isn’t careful Brock Mansion will unseat him.

Is there anything to look forward to out of the state of Washington?

Both teams combined for two wins last season, one of those wins was a conference win against the other, and were outscored by their opponents by an average of 41-13 in all of their games. The Huskies fired Ty Willingham and replaced him with former USC coordinator Steve Sarkisian, while the Cougars have 2nd year coach Paul Wulff was just suspended for the first few practices of fall camp due to violations he had while at Eastern Michigan.

Two once proud programs are now bottom dwellers in the Pac Ten, and I don’t expect much to change this season. Besides Jack Locker, can you really name any other impact players of either school in Washington? Locker now has to deal with a new offense with Sarkisian at the helm and the fact that he hasn’t been healthy for an entire season yet. Their linebackers are back (Mason Foster, Trenton Tuiasosopo and Donald Butler) but is that really a plus for a team that gave up 39 ppg last year?

The Cougars are running into their own problems with injuries and suspensions. Quarterback Marshall Lobbestael was recently suspended for an alcohol violation. And if you think help is on the way, well you are mistaken. For the second year in a row, Washington State is ranked 10 out of 10 in the Pac Ten recruiting rankings. The Washington Huskies were 5th and 9th in the past two years respectively. Buckle up, it’s going to be a long and bumpy ride in 2009.

Will Oregon see a smooth transition between Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly?

On March 13, Mike Bellotti decided to become the Ducks’ full time Athletic Director, therefore, handing the reigns over to assistant Chip Kelly. This wasn’t a big surprise because in early December, Kelly was named the head coach in waiting.

A lot of this sounds familar to Ducks’ fans because it was Rich Brooks who named Mike Bellotti his successor when he left to go coach the St. Louis Rams. I think this should be an easy tranistion for the team. Kelly is a quality offensive coordinator who has been around the program for two years.

It was Kelly who was the key coach that helped Dennis Dixon become a Heisman contender in 2007. Kelly has already had his hand in naming a few new assitants, but other than that little change, business should be the same as usual in Eugene.

With Matt Cavanaugh gone and Frank Cignetti in as the new offensive coordinator, will the Panthers be even more offensively challenged?

Even with the loss of LeSean McCoy to the NFL and rather inconsistent play from their quarterbacks, the Panthers have a solid offensive line to build around. Four of five starters return from last year’s squad including guard John Malecki who has made great strides last year after switching over from defense. As a receiving corp, Cignetti has the talented and speedy Jonathan Baldwin, who will be a superstar in the Big East. Also, tight end Nate Byham will give the quarterback someone to throw to over the middle, and can also stretch the defense.

The question marks for Pitt come at quarterback and running back. Even though Bill Stull is the “returning” starter, he is not the starter just yet. Stull was very inconsistent last year and really lacks the arm strength for a D-1 quarterback. But behind him, there are players with questionmarks also. Pat Bostick, who came in as a 5-star recruit, lacks mobility and arm strength, and youngster Tino Sunseri is very green and a bit undersized. But what I like about Sunseri is how he can manage a game.

At running back there will be 5 players fighting for carries in the backfield. Redshirt sophomore Shariff Harris, redshirt junior Kevin Collier, redshirt freshman Chris Burns, and true freshman Dion Lewis all are going to have a crack at LeSean McCoy’s old job. If Pitt can solidify these two positions, they can make a run at the Big East crown.

Will the real Matt Grothe please step forward?

Matt Grothe can be Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde at the same time for South Florida fans. In one play he can make something exciting happen for his team, and in the next he can make a stupid boneheaded play. Those inconsistencies are expected from freshmen and sophomores, but Grothe is entering his senior year this fall. It is time for him to grow into the quarterback he showed flashes of being early in his career.

In his first three years as the Bulls signal caller, Grothe has increase his touchdown production from 15 to 18 but he has thrown 14 interceptions in each of those years. Statisicly if you look deeper at Grothe’s stats, you will see that he feasts on the lesser teams and tends to implode against the tougher opponents. In games against Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Rutgers, and West Virginia, Grothe threw for a combined 2 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. The Rutgers game was the only time he topped the 200 yard passing plateau and had a respectible completion percentage.

The Bulls have a lot of offensive talent coming back, mainly with running backs Mike Ford and Jamar Taylor as well as 3 exciting, play making receivers. It is time for head coach Jim Leavitt to take some of the offensive burden off of Grothe. Let him settle down and not try to make ALL the plays for his team.

Can Cincinnati continue their winning ways?

Quick question…what Big East team has the most wins over the past two seasons? The answer is the Cincinnati Bearcats with 21. Brian Kelly has quickly built a winning program over his first two seasons as head coach and their defense was a key factor in many of their wins. So why after their first Big East title and BCS Bowl bid did Kelly fire defensive coordnator Joe Tresey? Many think it is because Kelly wants to move to the 3-4 defense, and he wanted to get his hands on Bobby Diacon as the new defensive coordinator.

Not only will the switch to the 3-4 defense be a change for the Bearcats, but the loss of quite a few big names on that side of the ball; could make their chances to repeat as Big East Champions a tough task. Realistically speaking it is going to be tough for the Bearcats to repeat, but a bowl bid is cleary in the grasp. If their offense led by Tony Pike and Mardy Gilyard can pick up the slack for the defense in the early part of the season, the Bearcats will be a tough team to play as their defense grows into the new system.

How long is Steve Kragthorpe’s leash?

When Kragthrope took over for Bobby Petrino, Louisville was the king of the Big East coming off a 12-1 season and a Orange Bowl victory. Since then, the Cardinals have amassed 11 wins in two seasons, only 4 of those coming in Big East play.

Unfortunately for Louisville fans, the 2009 season does not look much better. The heir apparent to the QB throne, Matt Simms, has transferred; leaving Tyler Wolfe as the most experienced QB on the staff throwing a total of 4 collegian passes. To add to the pain, defensive coordinator Ron English left, his successor, Bill Miller left, and Jeff Brohm decided to leave.

If Louisville is not careful, Syracuse could pass them. If that’s the case, there is no doubt that this will be Kragthorpe’s last season as coach. However, with the low expectations, a 6 or 7 win season could save his job for a few more years. But is that realistically possible with a defense which gave up the 2nd most yards in the Big East, and an offensive with not much firepower returning? I think not; Kragthorpe will be lucky to last the season.

How do you replace someone who accounted for 10,400 yards of offense and 103 touchdowns?

The quick and simple answer is…you don’t. Pat White left West Virginia last year as one of the most decorated players in school history, and now has left the Mountaineers with a huge void in their offense. Senior Jarrett Brown is going to fill some of that void, however, with a different style than White.

Head Coach Bill Stewart is going to make his mark on the team by switching the offensive scheme to put the ball in the air more often. This could be interesting for Mountaineer fans who have been accustom to the spread offense.

But before the excitement gets too high, there are some questions about the offensive line that need addressed. Four linemen graduated and moved on leaving a lot of uncertainty on the offensive line. Brown better have his running shoes on early, because there are going to be some growing pains for this group.

It’ll be interesting to see how this new scheme works, and how Brown adapts to being the main guy in Morgantown. He has done well filling in when White was hurt, but not the team is on his shoulders and will only go as far as his arm will take them, which some thing could be a Big East title.

Big East Spring Game Dates

Cincinnati (April 25)

Connecticut (April 19)

Louisville (April 17)

Pittsburgh (April 11)

Rutgers (April 18)

Syracuse (April 18)

South Florida (April 11)

West Virginia (April 18)

What will Miami’s offense look like?

With the transfer of Robert Marve the Hurricanes believe they’ve finally found their man at quarterback in Jacory Harris, who has already gone on record of saying the team’s production should be profoundly improved with new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple at the helm. Still, Miami didn’t look all that hot at a recent spring scrimmage, and there are lingering questions at backup quarterback should Harris struggle to open the year. With Jarrvis James and Graig Cooper returning at running back the Noles have the talent in the backfield to win the ACC, now it’s just a question of whether or not Whipple can get Harris and the rest of the offense to absorb enough of the scheme to be successful against top ranked ACC defenses.

Is Boston College in for a giant step back?

While Florida State has been the subject of recent offseason talk, the Boston College Eagles were the team caught squarely in the media’s headlights as the calendar passed from 2008 to 2009 this offseason, as head coach Jeff Jagodzinski was fired and defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani took over the team. While Spaziani is a brilliant defensive mind and the Eagles do return one of the nation’s top defenders in linebacker Mark Herzlich, BC must deal with the loss of the 700-lb, two-headed monster in the form of Ron Brace and BJ Raji at defensive tackle. While they return 14 starters overall the situation on offense remains up in the air, with another new OC coming in and another new scheme to learn. Boston College has benefiting tremendously from a standstill in the ACC over recent years, but unless the Eagles can replace their two top defensive linemen and find an answer on offense we could see them slip to the bottom of the conference standings.

Will it be next man up for Wake Defense?

Jim Grobe has built Wake Forest into a legitimate ACC contender with three straight winning seasons, including last year’s 8-5 finish with a bowl win over Navy in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl. Last year’s success however came largely on the heals of terrific defensive play, as Wake finished 16^th in the country in total defense including an impressive 12^th in the nation in pass efficiency defense. This offseason Grobe and his staff must replace eight defensive starters to include All American caliber performers in linebacker Aaron Curry and cornerback Alphonso Smith, who both look like first round picks going into April’s NFL draft. With an offense that ranked 106^th nationally a year ago it is imperative that Grobe is able to bring Wake’s young defense along this spring, as even a veteran Riley Skinner and eight other offensive returnees may not be enough to sustain the program’s run of four straight bowl games.

Can North Carolina find a playmaker?

The Tar Heels won eight games a season ago even when devastated by injury and inconsistent quarterback play, foreshadowing a possible ACC title run under third year head coach Butch Davis for 2009. With both TJ Yates and Cam Sexton coming back the Tar Heals should be better at quarterback this spring, but there’s still the issue of replacing the team’s top three receiving threats. The departure of Brooks Foster, Brandon Tate, and Hakeem Nicks leaves Davis with a group of wideouts that accounted for just 18% of the team’s receiving production a year ago, the second lowest returning mark in the conference. There aren’t many steady veterans waiting in the wings to take over either, and for the Tar Heels to come out of spring with a reliable go-to wide receiver they’ll likely have to search for a replacement among the ranks of a talented, but untested, group of redshirt freshmen and sophomores.

What is year two like for the triple option?

Paul Johnson led an amazing turnaround at Georgia Tech a season ago, installing a completely new offense with a host of inexperienced and ill-equipped players on the depth chart. The last time he took over a team in such a position (Navy in 2002) he went 2-10 before taking the Mids to a bowl and an 8-5 record in his second season. Will the Yellow Jackets see similar improvement from year one to year two under Johnson this time around, or will ACC defenses be better repaired to stop Josh Nesbitt and the nation’s fourth best rushing attack? If not than Johnson, along with nine starters back on offense from a year ago, could field the ACC favorite headed into the summer.

ACC Spring Game Dates

Boston College (April 25th)

Clemson (April 11th)

Duke (April 18th)

Florida State (April 4th)

Georgia Tech (April 18th)

Maryland (April 25th)

Miami (March 28th)

North Carolina (March 28th)

NC State (April 18th)

Virginia (April 18th)

Virginia Tech (April 25th)

Wake Forest (April 18th)

This weekend we take a look at our most intriguing offseason questions from the Big XII conference. You can view Part I of our offseason preview (focusing in on the Southeastern Conference) here. And no, we did not steal this whole “offseason questions” idea from SI.com’s Andy Staples, who we just happen to be a big fan of. I guess great minds just think alike…

What’s next for the Mad Man of Lubbock?

Mike Leach has replaced some record setting quarterbacks in the past, along with his fair share of 1000-yard receivers. Yet he faces arguably his largest rebuilding project yet in Lubbock this spring, as his Red Raiders must replace a seemingly irreplaceable star studded class on offense which includes quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Eric Morris. Once more, Leach will have to deal with the fallout from a somewhat ugly contract dispute this offseason, as well as the expectations which came from last season’s near Big XII South title run. It’s a far cry from the “others receiving votes” perception that most associated with this program just a few years back, and could dramatically turn up the heat on an already shaky relationship between Leach and the university.

Will OU’s receiving corps find its star?

The Sooners return what undoubtedly figures to be a Big XII Title worthy team, but the difference between a trip to the Big XII or even National Title and playing second fiddle to Texas could come down to how well the Sooners restock at wide receiver. Considering that OU loses some 2300 yards and 21 touchdowns between outgoing playmakers Manuel Johnson, Juaquin Inglesias, and Quentin Cheney, head coach Bob Stoops will need one of his inexperienced backups from a season ago to emerge to compliment sophomore Ryan Broyles and tight end Jeremy Grisham. With Broyles and Grisham forming a solid duo, the Sooner offense will border on impossible to defend if previously unheralded wide receiver Adron Tennell can step up in 2009.

Who is the new quarterback in Lincoln?

As if Bo Pelini wasn’t going to have enough trouble in trying to groom Patrick Witt for the starting job vacated by Joe Ganz after last season’s breakout year, the Huskers now have to deal with the ramifications of Witt’s intent to transfer from Lincoln. The options are sparse for Pelini and his staff, who’ll likely have to decide between early enrollee Cody Green and former third teamer Zac Lee. Yet with a host of offensive playmakers departing after last season (including starting wideouts Nate Swift and Todd Peterson) they’ll be no easy transition for whichever quarterback comes out of spring on top, with the position battle likely to continue well into the summer. The good news for Husker fans? Nine returning starters on a defense which is well on its way to restoring the ‘Blackshirt’ legacy.

Will Oklahoma State find some defense?

With Mike Leach and his Red Raiders facing a major overhaul on both sides of the football the Big XII South is actively seeking its perennial third wheel. Yet given what Oklahoma State proved last year (at least as far as the offense was concerned) the Cowboys may be more than just the proverbial punching bag for Texas and Oklahoma in 2009. Yet for that to happen Mike Gundy and his club will need to develop some kind of defensive identity, as the Cowboys gave up an average of over 400 yards per game in 2008, including 267 yards a game through the air (10^th worst in the country.) With six starters back on defense for 2009 there are enough veteran faces for this unit to improve, but it remains to be seen whether it’ll be enough to get Gundy’s group over the hump.

Can Gary Pinkel stave off decline?

Pinkel did a masterful job in constructing Missouri into a nationally recognized power of the past few seasons, but his Tigers were still no match for Big XII South heavyweights in league play a season ago. Now, with the team’s top offensive players departing for the NFL and offensive coordinator Dave Christensen taking over at Wyoming, Pinkel and his Missouri team face an uphill challenge just to remain favorites in the North part of the Conference.  Throw in the recent departure of defensive coordinator Matt Eberfluss to the Cleveland Browns and you’ve got the potential for a major dropoff in Missouri’s win total for 2009. If Pinkel can revamp his staff in working order and find enough talent on offense to still win the Big XII North, than we’re looking at nothing short of one of the best head coaching jobs in college football.

Big XII Spring Game Dates

Baylor (April 4th)

Colorado (April 25th)

Iowa State (April 18th)

Kansas (April 11th)

Kansas State (May 2)

Missouri (April 18th)

Nebraska (April 18th)

Oklahoma (April 11th)

Oklahoma State (April 18th)

Texas (April 5th)

Texas Tech (April 18th)

Texas A&M (April 18th)

A few weeks ago I briefly touched on the effects of Jim Harbaugh’s recruiting efforts at Stanford, and how the program was defying conventional wisdom when it comes to getting both quality football players and top-notch student athletes. Since then Harbaugh has reeled in another top prospect, this time getting the commitment of California’s own Mr. Football in Cathedral Prep running back Tyler Gaffney. Gaffney, who ran for 2,866 yards and scored 56 touchdowns this past season for the undefeated Dons, chose the Cardinal over offers from USC and Notre Dame, who recruited him primarily as a fullback. Let me repeat that. Who recruited him primarily as a fullback.

They weren’t alone in their assessment. ESPN.com’s Scouts Inc.had this to say about Gaffney:

…he currently lacks the vision, suddenness and feel for the cutback lane to project well as zone runner at the next level. Struggles picking and sliding through traffic, slipping through the small creases and making something out of nothing. A true north-south back that could continue to develop the size and strength necessary to wear down a defense as a college runner and occasionally break off a long run with his good top-end speed. Overall, Gaffney could be productive in the right downhill, power running system or potentially make a slide down to fullback or over to defense as an outside linebacker with his great size to speed measurables…

Flattering to an extent, but not exactly the most stellar review for a guy who rushed for more yards in a high school single season than former Heisman trophy winners Marcus Allen, Ricky Williams, Reggie Bush or Rashaan Salaam. Yet all worn-out jokes about white running backs being “power runners” aside, Gaffney’s commitment to Stanford shows, in my mind anyway, the limits of even the best college football recruiters. And make no mistake about it; when it comes to recruiting young men to play football in college, Pete Carroll and Charlie Weis are second to none. While I don’t presume to know exactly what Gaffney was thinking when he made his commitment, it does not take a rocket scientist or professional physiological analyst to figure that after literally having unprecedented success rushing the ball in high school that Gaffney would want to continue that success - or at the very least go somewhere with the opportunity to do so - in college. And what better place to do so than Stanford, which currently features another “bruising” yet athletic back in Toby Gerhart, who oh-by-the-way holds the California career high school rushing record at over 9000 yards. Gerhart’s story is almost the mirror image of Gaffney’s, especially considering that the 6′1, 236-lb Gerhart was also listed as a fullback by many scouting services out of high school and also was a two-sport star who wanted the chance to play college baseball. Yet Gerhart received comparatively little interest from school’s as a runner, and ended up signing with a swooning Stanford program which was trying to rebuild itself under Walt Harris. A major injury and a couple of losing seasons later and Gerhart was all but forgotten by college football, that is until a 2008 campaign in which he returned to lead the Cardinal offense with over 1100 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns while splitting time with Anthony Kimble, another potential NFL running back.

Now if I’m Gaffney, where would I rather go? The up-and-coming program which will give me a chance to play my natural and preferred position while also playing college baseball, or the perennial power where I can go mash shoulder pads with linebackers for four years while some dude who rushed for half as many yards as me in high school gets all the glory? The answer is - and I think we can all agree - quite simple. I’d choose the former, especiallyknowing Stanford’s recent history with Gerhart. After all, why let Rivals.com or Scout.com or whoever tell me who and what I am as a football player, especially when my ridiculous production at the high school level should speak for itself? Let’s be honest here people, these young men (despite a few and often very noteworthy exceptions) are not stupid. If they’ve been a playmaker all their life their natural instinct is to want to go to a program which will feature them in that same capacity, and one which will give them the opportunity to show their talents in the best way possible. And how can you blame them? Isn’t it natural for anyone to want to receive maximum exposure doing what they do best?

Therein lays the limits of selling a player on a program - however strong - if you’re only going to promise him the chance to be a role-player. And for as much as you can sugar coat the fullback position with promises of short-yardage carries or H-back status, the position remains one of such ignominy that it practically screams glorified offensive lineman in most pro style offenses. Never mind that most programs now run spread offenses and would shuffle a player of Gaffney’s ability into a defensive role. And you know what? It’s not just productive running backs being forecast at fullback either we’re talking about. It’s tweener defenders who get typecast as “hybrids” at the college level, or undersized wide receivers who are given the chance to walk-on to programs as the proverbial special teams “demon” when they’ve really been excelling at catching passes their entire careers.

My point here isn’t to fault Gaffney or others like him. In fact it’s just the opposite. While there is much to be said for the inflated egos of the high school football superstar, the reality is that player’s should understand their own value in the recruiting process. For as many times as we see high school athletes let the “star” ratings go to their heads we see player’s like Gaffney or Gerhart get slotted down to role player status because they may not conform to prototypical and often unrealistic standards those same scouting services have defined for their position. Yet given the right offense and the right coaching staff player’s such as these can often thrive at the next level, taking advantage of their natural ability and not letting it go to waste in a program which fails to accurately define that player’s inherit value. And that my friends is why parody will continue in the college game. Because as long as recruiters and scouts continue to misunderstand the value of player’s and offer them only on the basis of being a “role player,” the more we will see highly talented athletes like the Tyler Gaffney’s of the world sign with rising program’s like Stanford over a traditional heavyweight like USC.

There are hundreds if not thousands of aspiring head football coaches around the country every day. Our peewee leagues are filled with volunteer coaches pretending they are Pete Carrol coaching it up against Notre Dame. Coordinators around the country are all working on their craft and establishing networking roots in order to one day be one of the lucky few to lead a college football program.

But are there any jobs out there which, in all likelihood, just might be incapable of winning at? One school jumped out at me above the rest and coincidentally (or maybe not?) enough, their head coach slot is currently vacant. The school? The Eastern Michigan Eagles.

With its proximity to Ann Arbor, I find it very hard to believe that Eastern Michigan can ever truly be turned around as a program. Not only that, EMU is competing with two other Michigan directional schools in its’ own conference. Western Michigan and Central Michigan have both reported recent success in the conference and look to be building themselves to the upper tier programs in the MAC.

In the MAC West division, there really is no perceived weak program outside Eastern Michigan. Ball State may have the least amount of resources but they have a standout NFL-ready quarterback in Nate Davis and oh yeah, they only lost a single game all year this past season. Northern Illinois won two games in 2007, but new Head Coach Jerry Kill led a rejuvenated young Huskies team to a solid 6 wins and they seem to be on their way back to the top of the MAC. Toledo is always tough in the Glass Bowl, and upset Michigan this year. Even with Tom Amstutz retiring, their history suggests they never stay down for too long. Both Central and Western Michigan have competed for MAC championships in the last few seasons and have proved to be a good breeding ground for upcoming coaches (Cincy’s Brian Kelly came from Central Michigan.)

Might EMU be better off dropping a level to FCS. I am no one to suggest what an athletic program should or shouldn’t do but if I were the administration and fan base, I would look within myself and see just what was important. EMU has had attendance issues recently, and a simple stroll through campus will find more “University of Michigan” jackets than EMU wear. Eastern Michigan might be better to cut their losses and instead try to compete in the lower division and build a winning program from the ground up.

Can EMU ever turn into a winner? Sure. EMU found a way to win the MAC in 1987 and defeated San Jose State 30-27 in the California Bowl that year. But all the external factors point towards this job being quite possibly the toughest in the country

This thought sponsored by CollegeFootballNews.com’s Adam Nettina, who actually gets paid (although very sporadically) to understand the world of non-BCS football.

Charles Barkley thinks Turner Gill was not hired by Auburn because Gill is black. Does that mean Brady Hoke – a more experienced coach than Gill who is also coming off of a better overall season- was not hired by Auburn because Hoke has, how should I put this, a little more to love in the midsection? If you’ve listened to the show before you know there is no bigger Gill fan than me, but if I were Barkley I’d stick to hitting my three wood in the high grass and commenting on sports I actually understood.

Just sayin’.

As you probably know by now, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford won the Heisman trophy Saturday night in one of closest races in recent memory. Bradford, who becomes the fifth Sooner in history to win the award, totaled 1,724 total points in the voting, edging out Colt McCoy’s 1,604 points and Tim Tebow’s 1,575 points. While all three candidates seemed more than deserving to win the award, what was most interesting about this year’s voting process was that it was actually Florida’s Tebow - not Bradford - who received the most first place votes.

As our good friend Chris Huston of Heismanpundit tells us, Tebow’s third place finish is the first by a leading first-place vote getter since Oklahoma’s Tommy McDonald in 1956. As always Heismanpundit.com has the historic presentation covered from all angles, as Chris continues to recap Saturday night’s events and their implications for next year at his site.

While Bradford’s Heisman triumph was the college football story of the day it was by no means the only one, as the FCS, Division II, and Division III playoffs all rolled on, with the game of the day taking place in Cedar Falls, Iowa. After building a 20-7 lead in the fourth quarter the Northern Iowa Panthers looked poised to head to Chattanooga to face off against Montana in the FCS Title game, but a late-game surge by Richmond quarterback Eric Ward and the Spider offense ultimately put Richmond on top 21-20.

While it may have been tough to top Friday night’s Montana-James Madison finish the Spiders and Panthers did just that, with Ward’s touchdown pass to Joe Stewart with fourteen seconds left to go in the game completing Richmond’s comeback. It’s been an improbable run to the FCS Championship game for the Spiders, who weren’t on anyone’s radar to make the playoffs after starting the year at 4-3.

The stage is set for yet another Mt Union-Wisconsin Whitewater showdown in the Division III National Championship next week, as both the Purple Raiders and Warharks won their semifinal games to advance to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. For the Purple Raiders is was all about senior running back Nate Kmic, who broke Danny Woodhead’s one year old NCAA rushing record with a 310-yard day against Wheaton College. Kmic, who we told you about last week, surpassed Woodhead’s mark by 24 yards in the win, boosting his career rushing total to 7,986 yards.

He currently holds the all-division NCAA mark for touchdowns and career points as well, with 129 scores and 774 total points in his illustrious career. Saturday’s game will mark the fourth straight meeting between Wisconsin Whitewater and Mt. Union for the Division III National Title, with the Purple Raiders looking to avenge last year’s upset loss.

In coaching news, Iowa State’s now-former headman Gene Chizek took the Auburn head coaching job, while Army, fresh off a seventh consecutive loss to Navy in the annual Army-Navy game, canned second year man Stan Brock. Yet with a defensive pedigree and a 5-19 career record as a head coach Chizek was not the answer Auburn fans were hoping for, writes SI.com’s Andy Staples. As far as Brock goes, his 0-2 record against Navy (losing the ‘07 and ‘08 games by a combined 78-3 margin) speaks for itself, but it was ultimatly his incompatability with coaching option football that doomed him. Who is next for the Black Knights?

My guess is they take a long look at Wake Forest offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke. And how about Ball State’s Brady Hoke? After leading the Cardinals to a 13-1 regular season he’ll be taking hs services to San Diego State. Hard to imagine that being a step up, but when you’re offered a raise of nearly three times what you’re currently making in this economy I don’t blame him. Look for Ball State offensive coordinator Stan Parish to replace him in Muncie.

Finally, I’d like to direct you’re attention to a fantastic article about Navy senior quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada. Bill Wagner of the Annapolis Capital says that a lingering hamstring injury nearly led the signal caller to quit the team with a month left to go in the season, but that Navy offensive coordinator Ivin Jasper talked him into sticking the year out. It proved to be the best advice Kaipo received all season, as the Hawaii native returned against Army last week to give Navy’s offense a much needed spark in the 34-0 win.

I bring all of this up because I actually had a fairly awkward elevator ride with Kaipo coming out of the Navy-Notre Dame game a month ago in which you could pretty much tell the usually incredibly upbeat Kaipo wasn’t himself. After the game a couple of the other Navy beat writers and I had a conversation about it, and we all pretty much concluded that we wouldn’t likely be seeing Kaipo on the field for the rest of the season. Just goes to show how a little determination can go a long way, and how a determined and motivated college athlete can prove a group nosy sportswriters (and I include myself here) wrong any day.