Some Fall Camp News Across the Nation

[SoonerBS]

Andre Jones, a JC transfer CB with good size is off to a fast start at Nebraska, Brian Rosenthal reports:

"Jones, a 6-foot, 195-pound cornerback who also figures to contribute on special teams, was among those players Saturday wearing a Tour de Camp yellow jersey, awarded to players who had strong practices the prior day."

Jones' emergence couldn't come at a better time in light of the devastating news that Zackary Bowman, the Huskers standout 6-2 CB, was lost for the season after tearing his ACL Saturday becoming the first casualty of fall camp. Bowman's size and athleticism would've been a huge plus when NU visits USC. As I started reading about Bowman's misfortune, it dawned on me USC has caught two big breaks in the past week or so. First, that Darren McFadden probably won't be able to suit up for the season opener at Arkansas and now Nebraska loses its biggest and best corner for Game No. 2.
And let me get this straight: The Big Red, which likes to call its defense the Blackshirts, is now awarding yellow jerseys for good practices?

Not surprisingly, blue-chip freshman TB C.J. Spiller has been the talk of Clemson camp thus far:

"The 5-foot-11, 190-pound waterbug from Lake Butler, Fla., already has displayed the physical tools to be a feature back -- to the naked eye, he's even bigger and thicker than starter James Davis, who is listed as the same height and 15 pounds heavier. Through two practices, he said his primary struggle has been remembering play-call signals. Otherwise, running backs coach Burton Burns chides him once in a while about adjusting his footwork as he scoots through the hole," writes Paul Strelow. Keep an eye on Clemson. The Tigers have a very good O-line and as many playmakers for new QB Will Proctor to rely on as any quarterback in the ACC. They also have DE Gaines Adams, probably the best defender in a league loaded with top defensive talent. I'm not ready to pick them as national title sleeper but if Proctor is solid I could see them as a legit top 10 team.

The hits just keep on comin' for Rich Brooks. The latest disappointment: Eight players who signed with UK last winter -- running backs Moncell Allen, LaRay Foote and Corey Goodson, wideout Marckus Boswell, linebacker Chris Cessna, defensive backs Chris Drayton and Ameer Salahudin and tight end Chris Goode -- failed to report for the start of fall camp. Seven of them did not qualify academically. Cessna is coming off knee surgery and will not be cleared for full activity until October, Rich Brooks told the Courier-Journal.
By my calculations, Brooks trails only Al Groh (8) in this season's scoreboard of "Most ineligible recruits signed by a former NFL head coach."

Meanwhile, LSU has a bunch of newcomers that are on the shelf due to academics, including stud tailback Keiland Williams, who is one of five players waiting to be cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse, according to Carl Dubois.

The Tigers already had four recruits declared ineligible. Among them, highly touted lineman Charles Deas.

Love him. Hate him. Mock him. Love mocking him or whatever, but you can't claim the Zooker isn't a good recruiter. And in keeping with his rep, Ron Zook's recruits are turning heads at Illinois this summer, according to Lindsey Willhite:

"Featuring such specimens as 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end Jeff Cumberland, who runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, and chiseled cornerback Vontae Davis, whose brother, Vernon, went sixth overall in the last NFL draft, nearly each of the 25 true freshmen looked like a different class of athlete."
(And don't forget talented Maryland castoff Melvin Alaeze, a powerhouse DE prospect.)

"A lot of these young guys, they're so unbelievable," sophomore split end Derrick McPhearson told the Daily Herald. "All those young guys, there's a good swagger that they have with them, and they know they can play with anybody.

"It's kind of exciting to see what they can do."

But the real gem of this piece comes further down in the story: "Zook, who was followed around by blue-chippers Martez Wilson (Simeon), Robert Hughes (Hubbard) and Josh Brent (Bloomington Central Catholic) for the first 45 minutes of practice, declined to get too giddy about his freshmen, though he did seem to offer his cautionary words with a hint of a smile on his lips."
My three cents: If the Zooker lands Wilson (seventh overall on Scouts Inc.'s big board), his rep as a recruiter will go to new heights. Nabbing all three (Hughes is the No. 18 RB while Brent is listed as the 17th best DT) would get everyone's attention in the Big Ten since that would give the Illini three of the top four players in the state of Illinois. (OT Bryan Bulaga is committed to Iowa.) Then again, I'll believe it when I see it.

Alex Boone, the Ohio State LT who found guilty of drunk driving in early April, has given up boozing and, according to Doug Lesmerises, really changed his body:

"Boone, who turned 19 in May, will arrive in Columbus as a sophomore starting left tackle, four months sober, down to 315 pounds after losing 50 pounds of beer weight, and eternally grateful that his actions in the early morning of April 2 didn't end a life or his football career." That is nice to hear, although if Boone dropped that much weight in that short a time frame, he must've really been partying at a world-class rate.

These exerpts come from Bruce Feldman's BLOG. I like reading Bruce's BLOG because this is all he does all year -- keep up with teams in Div. 1A College Football.

 

[TheGarfather]

Nice.

 

[pags11]

thanks for these updates...

 

[SoonerBS]

Va. Tech TB Branden Ore is one of those mystery guys who could determine whether his team has merely a decent season or a great one. Ore's focus in the past, though, wasn't always what Hokie coaches wanted, but it sounds like, according to the Washington Post, he has grown up.
"Before, I was just being a knucklehead," said Ore, a redshirt sophomore. "Missing study halls, class. Anything I didn't feel like doing, I didn't do, pretty much. I did enough to stay eligible so I could play on the team, but I didn't live up to my potential." On the field, that potential is considerable: Ore is one of Tech's most dynamic offensive threats, reminding RB coach Billy Hite of Lee Suggs the way he jump-cuts into running lanes. But the coach, while encouraged by their conversations over the summer, still had his doubts about the player's approach to life. "I've always said the spots on a leopard don't change," Hite said. "But they have. He's been unbelievable. He has made a clean 180."

More offbeat stuff from Pete Carroll and the USC folks. This time it involved USC alum Will Ferrell, a one-time Trojan sports information department aide.

The setting: As an assistant coach ripped the team while watching video of a lackluster afternoon practice, Carroll -- complete in an official Wonder Bread NASCAR racing uniform and helmet -- appeared from the back of the room, accompanied by the roar of an engine and shrouded by the smoke of a fog machine. Carroll raced to the front of the room and, as the team howled in laughter, informed the Trojans that they were going to take a break from football and go to the campus theater to watch the nation's hottest movie, "Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby."
Unbeknownst to Carroll, the REAL Ricky Bobby came in from the side door, also decked out in his NASCAR outfit. A stunned Carroll and his Trojans erupted. I think this is all good stuff and certainly doesn't hurt the spirit of the program, especially if USC keeps winning. It'll be seen from the outside as more of Carroll keeping his players loose. But if they start to slip a little, I'm sure you will hear some people say USC went too Hollywood and had too many outside distractions undercutting the blue-collar nature a program needs to compete for championships.

Former blue-chipper Leon Jackson wants to transfer out of Nebraska and is expected to return home to play in the Pac-10, Rich Kaipust writes.
Jackson joined quarterback Harrison Beck as marquee recruits from a heralded NU's 2005 class who have left this week. Others already gone from that class are Robert Rands, Jeff Souder and Rodney Picou.

 

[SHSUHorn]

That's the problem when you recruit nationally. So many of these young kids that were stars in HS don't get early PT and they bolt going back home to be closer to momma.

 

[SoonerBS]

That's the problem when you recruit nationally. So many of these young kids that were stars in HS don't get early PT and they bolt going back home to be closer to momma.

And it's happening a lot more frequently these days.

 

[SHSUHorn]

I'm telling you denny that's what happened to OU when they went national with their recruiting. Stoops should stick with getting his 20 texas kids and 5-6 kids out of Oklahoma each year. Those kids respect the rivalry and have more pride for playing for either school.

 

[Razor]

Interesting transition at UAB with Brown trying to use a fullback this year. Settling into a little more of a power style with Hackney graduated.

Fullback to be part of Blazer game plan

STEVE IRVINE
News staff writer
The plan to incorporate the fullback into the UAB offense began about the time Darrell Hackney started his record-setting college career.

But UAB head coach Watson Brown was in no hurry to begin using the plan.

"When Darrell was gone, I wanted to regroup and make the fullback a bigger part of the offense," Brown said. "We're going to play for the first time here, in probably four or five years, with a true fullback."

The fullbacks Brown plans to use this season are junior David Sigler and senior Taylor Ownbey. And neither is actually a true fullback. Sigler moved to fullback in the spring after spending two seasons at tight end and Ownbey, who is currently out with an injured knee, was a linebacker.

But when Brown was first looking forward to putting the fullback back in his offense he did recruit a true fullback.
"That's exactly what (Nolan Hughey) was recruited to do," Brown said. "This would have been Nolan's year."
Hughey, a Vestavia Hills product, signed with UAB in 2004 and was redshirted his first season. Brown planned on easing his role into the offense last season but Hughey injured his leg in training camp. He came back to play in three games - catching one pass for three yards against Troy - but injuries suffered in a car accident in September ended Hughey's football career.

The Blazers were left without a true fullback heading into a spring practice when the running game would become the first option.

Brown's first move was to convert the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Sigler into a full-time fullback. Sigler caught three passes for 25 yards in two seasons at tight end but distinguished himself as a blocker. He also played fullback at times in high school - rushing for 309 yards on 52 carries with three touchdowns as a senior at Albertville High - and was used at the position in short yardage situations some last season.

"I approached David in the winter and told him this is what we want to do with him," Brown said. "He accepted the role and had all spring to work at fullback."
Ownbey's move didn't come until later because he missed spring practice after having shoulder surgery. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Ownbey, who opened fall camp behind Sigler, hurt his knee in the team's fourth practice of fall camp.

Brown said both Sigler and Ownbey will be important to the offense this season but that won't necessarily mean they'll get a lot of carries. Dan Burks and Corey White will still be called on to carry the ball more than any other running back.

A good example of the role came early in the week when Sigler didn't touch the ball during an inside running drill but he helped clear room for the running backs. A few minutes later, when the team was working on goal line offense, Sigler finally got the ball and jumped over the defense for a short touchdown.
"I think (the fullback is) a blocker first, a pass catcher second and he might run a little bit," Brown said. "We want to carry a power game and the fullback has to step up and play his role."

 

[Razor]

Little SID writeup on the Hogs' first major scrimmage of the fall. Nutt and his "band of brothers", he cracks my ass up. Maybe he can keep some of those brothers out of trouble. Nice to see Damian Williams getting some action, he's an explosive talent.

Fayetteville - Junior quarterback Robert Johnson and junior free safety Matt Hewitt were on opposite sides of the ball on Saturday night, but both players made their presence known in the passing game in Arkansas’ first major fall scrimmage in front of an estimated crowd of 6,500 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

Johnson completed seven-of-eight passes for 109 yards including consecutive 20, 21 and 20-yard passes to set up an early touchdown. After the trio of pass completions on the first-team offense’s opening drive, sophomore tailback Felix Jones scampered in from three yards for the touchdown.

Freshman quarterback Mitch Mustain also netted the Razorback offense a touchdown when he connected with John Aaron Rees for a 26-yard score. Mustain finished the night with five completions on eight attempts, a touchdown and one interception. Sophomore Casey Dick didn’t scrimmage Saturday night while resting a sore back.

"I think, for the first time coming out here, I was proud of what Robert (Johnson) did,” Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. “I thought he was very accurate. After a slow start, Mitch (Mustain) got going and started throwing some good balls. I think he’ll learn and I think he’ll get better next time.”

Freshman Damian Williams provided the biggest rushing play of the night when he took a reverse handoff 50 yards for a touchdown. Junior Peyton Hillis rushed four times for 15 yards and scored a two-yard touchdown. Jones also earned a rushing score and nine yards on four carries. Both Hillis and Jones donned green shirts and were off limits to would-be tacklers.

Junior Marcus Monk paced the Hogs with four catches for 81 yards. Rees was on the receiving end of two passes for a total of 44 yards including the 26-yard strike from Mustain.

Hewitt was as effective defending the pass as the Hogs’ top two quarterbacks were delivering the football through the air. The junior college transfer led the Razorbacks with six tackles, but more impressively snared two interceptions and racked up three pass deflections. Hewitt is competing with junior Michael Grant for the starting free safety position. Nutt is counting on some of the newcomers like Hewitt to step in to help the team right away.

“Guys like Matt Hewitt, who we hadn’t seen very much of, is going to have to (continue to) learn how to play,” Nutt said. “He is making great strides. It was good to see Michael Grant out there. He is covering some ground and I’ll be anxious to watch that part of it.”

Sophomores Dallas Washington and Desmond Williams each earned five tackles while Arkansas’ defensive front of Marcus Harrison, Jamaal Anderson and Keith Jackson all netted three tackles a piece. Anderson earned two tackles for loss (-13) and one sack (-9). Harrison earned a tackle for loss (-2) and a sack (-2). Jackson garnered one tackle for loss (-1). Fellow senior defensive lineman Anthony Brown injured his left knee in the scrimmage action and will undergo an MRI on Sunday.

Senior linebacker Desmond Sims racked up three tackles, including two stops for lost yardage (-1). Senior cornerback Darius Vinnett also snared an interception.

The Razorbacks spent significant time on the kicking game on Saturday night. Senior Jacob Skinner and sophomore Jeremy Davis handled all the punting duties prior to the official start of the scrimmage. Davis then joined a trio of other Razorbacks in placekicking opportunities.

Freshman walk-on Dan Bailey was impressive nailing four of his five field goal attempts including one from 44 yards. Stephen Arnold was successful on one extra point and three of his four field goal attempts. Davis and Joel Hall each hit two of four placements.

Nutt was pleased with his squad’s performance overall in the first major scrimmage of fall camp. The Razorbacks’ head coach says that position battles are heating up and now is the time for players to step up if they want snaps this season.

“I thought our guys were really focused tonight,” Nutt said. “It’s going to be fun watching the film. I think we played just about everybody on the sidelines and got them some snaps. We are looking for execution, looking for who’s going to take care of the ball, who’s going to chase the ball and who’s following their assignment. That has been our theme all through camp.”

Arkansas will take Sunday off from practicing, but will return to the gridiron on Monday with two practices. As the Razorbacks head into the second week of pre-season camp, Nutt is counting on his team continuing to make progress as the season opener approaches.

“This team is a band of brothers united and focused and now we have to get better,” Nutt said. “Next week is going to be a real grind. You can’t do a lot of scrimmaging but you can come to work very hard.”

 

[Razor]

Virginia Tech names redshirt sophomore starting QB
ESPN.com news services

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer announced Sunday that redshirt sophomore Sean Glennon will be the starting quarterback when the Hokies open their season Sept. 2 against Northeastern in Blacksburg, Va.

"After meeting today, we think Sean Glennon deserves the right to be the starter in the opening ball game," Beamer said in a statement. "This decision goes back over a lot of practices.


"We are going to tie Cory Holt and Ike Whitaker for No. 2 and get them equal work at No. 2 this week. Both of them did some nice things in the scrimmage yesterday. Like every position, there is always competition, but this is the direction we plan to go right now."


Glennon played four games as the Hokies' backup during the 2004 season and was redshirted last year.

 

[B.A.R.]

Good shit Den and Razor.

Hope that Glennon is ready for that fierce Northeastern D-line..lol

 

[Razor]

Good shit Den and Razor.

Hope that Glennon is ready for that fierce Northeastern D-line..lol

HA HA.....Northeastern licking those chops!! They should at least get to know his name since they'll see the back of his jersey a lot.

 

[pags11]

outstanding articles...Carroll knows how to keep those guys loose...

 

[SoonerBS]

ND's decision to move backup TB Travis Thomas to OLB is apparently looking good thus far, writes Eric Hansen: "The 6-foot, 218-pound senior's highlight-reel play Saturday was decking 250-pound fullback Asaph Schwapp on a little curl route over the middle. 'When you say go, he goes,' D-coordinator Rick Minter said. 'Really, his speed and athleticism is a nice addition. And you have a chance on defense when you can run. When you can run on defense, it gives you so many more opportunities to make plays.'
Weis isn't concerned about the lack of size of Thomas and middle linebacker Maurice Crum (220 pounds). 'Size is a factor in a 3-4 defense,' Weis said. 'In a four-man front, size is not a factor. It lets [linebackers] run to the ball.'"

 

[SoonerBS]

Speaking of pedigrees, Earl Campbell's son Tyler has impressed his new coach Chuck Long. The 6-0, 215-pound Texan carried eight times for 44 yards and a touchdown last night as the Aztecs staged their first scrimmage of fall camp.

As I mentioned in that top freshmen list a few weeks back, Sam Shields is creating quite the buzz at Miami. Susan Miller Degnan has more on the guy who scored seven TDs in his first seven practices against a pretty stacked defense: "Of Shields' 67 receptions at Booker High, 44 were touchdowns or first downs. His 4.39 speed in the 40-yard dash -- UM teammates say he's faster, but that conditioning coaches didn't want to acknowledge it -- also helped him return two punts and a kickoff for scores."

A trusted source down in the Bayou said to keep an eye on rugged true freshman RB Charles Scott, who has been very impressive in LSU camp while blue-chipper Keiland Williams awaits the Clearinghouse to green-light him. The source also said ailing RB Alley Broussard and Justin Vincent should be full go in three weeks for the opener, adding that Broussard is probably 90 percent and Vincent is better than 95 percent right now.

Pitt freshmen McKenzie Mathews and T.J. Porter rejoined the Panthers yesterday after taking some time off to ponder their future. Both players left the team over the weekend to work through some personal issues and deal with homesickness.
The two players were welcomed with open arms by the coaches and their teammates, who voiced their support for them.

Speedy Rudy Burgess, who worked primarily at cornerback during spring practice, returned to corner during both morning and afternoon sessions of ASU's camp, Jeff Metcalfe writes. Burgess also practiced some at receiver and as a punt returner.
"'We have some depth at wide receiver, and we don't have that much depth at corner,' coach Dirk Koetter said. 'So we said, 'When are we going to have time to take some reps at corner? If we don't do it now, we never will.'"

 

[pags11]

interesting that they are considering moving Burgess to corner...thanks for the info. soonerbs...