NFTM: Big 10, Pac 10 and SEC
November 21st, 2008 by Jason Roberts
Part Two of this week NFTM and turning to the Big Ten, Pac-10, and SEC, we scramble about like squirrels preparing for the winter to uncover the news that the Indiana Hoosiers look to be healthy on offense for the first time in a long time heading into this weekend’s game against Purdue, hope along with Tyrell Sutton that the Northwestern tailback is healthy enough to return to a post-season ball game, find tight end Rob Gronkowski of Arizona capturing all sorts of records thanks to last week’s fire-fight in Eugene, argue with Bobby Petrino over which Dick brother will play in Arkansas’ last game of the year, and determine which player Steve Spurrier claims is going to be cause for an early retirement.
Big Ten
Indiana Hoosiers
The Brazil Times notes this week that as Indiana looks to win it’s second-straight Oaken Bucket game versus the Purdue Boilermakers this weekend, the Hoosiers have received news that could prove beneficial to the offense’s effort to put points up on the board. The Times writes, after all, that Ben Chappell at quarterback is likely to play after suffering a concussion last week versus Penn State and Kellen Lewis appears nearly fully recovered from a high-ankle sprain that has hindered him over the last two games played by the Hooisers. Also, IU’s offensive line should see the return of two of its best players – Rodger Saffold and Justin Pagan – to the lineup, while tailback Marcus Thigpen seems to be running better on a sore right ankle as well. All in all, the Hoosiers should “have most . . . key contributors healthy for the first time in weeks,” notes the paper, making the team’s offense a much more legitimate threat to score points, particularly in the second half, where the Times writes opponents have dominated IU 187-68.
Iowa Hawkeyes
The Daily Iowan writes this week that junior running back for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Shonn Greene, currently sits just 106 yards behind Tavian Banks for the all-time school single-season rushing record of 1,691. To this point in the year, Greene, who came into camp overweight and out of shape, has managed a 6.19 yard-per-carry average, with 256 total carries going for 1,585 yards; not bad for someone, as the Iowan recalls, was “banished” from the Hawkeyes’ football program a year before for academic reasons and spent a year moving furniture while getting his grades up at a local community college. “That’s a great accomplishment for someone – especially someone like Shonn,” comments sophomore quarterback Ricky Stanzi. “He’s had a bumpy road and for him to be able to fight back just shows what kind of character he had, and I’d be nothing more than excited [if he got the record.].”
Michigan Wolverines
A load of injury / status updates on University of Michigan Wolverines players provided this week by the news station WLAJ: Reports are that Sam McGuffie is expected to play this weekend against Ohio State after attending a funeral, while quarterback Steven Threet has been seen practicing with an injured shoulder, but remains in consideration for a backup position behind Nick Sheridan. Meanwhile, it appears that wide receiver Zion Babb has been kicked off the team for violating team rules and defensive tackle Jason Kates announced he has elected to leave the team. Finally, Stephen Schilling at tackle is questionable at this point against the Buckeyes due to a sprained knee.
In additional news this week: The website MLive.com tells readers that though running back Brandon Minor wasn’t healthy enough to practice on Sunday afternoon, he told reporters Monday that he has every intention of playing this coming Saturday against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The junior ball carrier was scheduled to practice Tuesday and Wednesday to see how he has recovered thus far from an injured elbow which kept him on the sidelines last Saturday in a loss to Northwestern. Should Minor be cleared to go against OSU, watch for the junior to be matched up with Carlos Brown, who last week rushed 23 times for 115 yards versus the Wildcats.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Star Tribune explains this week that junior wide receiver for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Eric Decker, has been working overtime in the training room after suffering a high ankle sprain against Northwestern, and hopes to return to the playing field Saturday in the season finale for Minnesota, who is playing the Iowa Hawkeyes. “No way I miss the game,” Decker told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “Doesn’t matter the pain I have. I’ll tolerate it.” Yet, even if the Gophers’ top go-to at receiver is healthy enough to play this weekend, how effective can Decker be expected to be? “I’m not where I want to be,” he replies, but adds, “I’m a lot better that I was [a week ago]. Taking that last week off, doing a lot of treatment, has definitely made a difference.”
Northwestern Wildcats
As the Chicago Tribune reports, tailback for the Northwestern Wildcats, Tyrell Sutton, is realistic about his chances in playing in the final regular season game of the year this Saturday against Illinois – none – but tells members of the local media recently that he is holding out hope of playing in the Wildcats’ post-season bowl game – whenever and wherever that may be. The article points out that Sutton is currently slated to have three pins in his wrist removed in about three weeks; with that being the case, the senior should know around the third week of December if he can play or not. Given that the earliest Northwestern is likely to play would be December 27th in the Champs Sports Bowl, the outlook is positive, but Sutton expressed that he is remaining cautiously optimistic that his recovery from the Grade Four injury will go well enough to allow him to suit up for a post-season bowl, even if it means he plays only on special teams.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Senior quarterback for Penn State, Darryl Clark, hasn’t been the same since suffering a concussion a few weeks ago, writes The York Daily Record; instead, the paper suggests, “he’s been, at times, a mess of fumbles, interceptions and poorly thrown passes.” Clark tells the Record that he feels “everything is back to normal now,” that “the swagger is on its way back,” and that he’ll be well prepared to take on Michigan State this coming Saturday. Yet, even if Clark, as he claims, is back to 100 percent when he takes the field against the Spartans, Penn State will still have to account for the better blitz schemes seen against opposing defenses the past couple of games and the potentially bad weather that the Nittany Lions saw versus Iowa and again last weekend versus Indiana which seemed to get Clark rattled. Clark claims that he’s learned not to be hard too hard on himself and, as his mother advised him, to be able to just let things go, but it will be a combination of that, better pass protection, and favorable weather that ultimately gets him through Saturday’s contest and the Nittany Lions on to the Rose Bowl.
Purdue Boilermakers
Joe Tiller tells the Journal Gazette this Thursday that he feels that senior quarterback Curtis Painter had the best performance of the 2008 season last Saturday coming off the bench versus the Iowa Hawkeyes; still, even if he had not, Tiller told reporters, “out of respect [for him] as a senior,” Painter would start – even if only one series – against Indiana this coming weekend. This comes in the wake of a performance last week in which the incumbent starter for the Boilermakers completed 80 percent of his passes against the Hawkeyes and ended the game having thrown two touchdowns. “From a confidence standpoint, it helped out,” the senior told reporters. “I certainly found out my arm was back into shape and capable of doing things,” this after he suffered a separated shoulder versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Wisconsin Badgers
Good news from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel this past Sunday; after suffering a concussion from a shoulder-to-head blow from Minnesota linebacker Simoni Lawrence during Saturday night’s matchup with the Golden Gophers, Wisconsin wide receiver, Kyle Jefferson, was released the following day from a local hospital. “This is probably the best ending we could hope for to what was a pretty scary situation,” head coach Bret Bielema stated in a university press release. “We are extremely thankful that Kyle will be released from the hospital. It is always tough to see one of your players get injured like he did, and while a concussion is a serious injury, I am happy to know it is nothing more serious than that.”
Pac-10
Arizona Wildcats
Thanks to a 12 catch, 143 yard and one touchdown performance last Saturday against the Oregon Ducks, sophomore tight end for the Arizona Wildcats, Rob Gronkowski, was not only named John Mackey Tight End of the Week by the Nassau County Sports Commission, broke several school records in the process. Gronkowski now, writes the Daily Wildcat, holds not only the single-game record for catches and receiving yards by a tight end, but also the single-season receptions record for a tight end (34), single-season yards for a tight end (500), career receptions (62), receiving yards (1,025), and career touchdowns (14).
Oregon Ducks
A quick note from the news station NWCN this week: After last week’s near miss against the Arizona Wildcats, junior tailback LaGarrette Blount has accumulated 15 touchdowns on the year; that is the most since Saladin McCullough reached the same number back in 1996. That statistic, the article notes as well, gives Blount the lead for touchdowns rushing in the Pac-10 to this point in the season.
Oregon State Beavers
Head coach of the Oregon State Beavers, Mike Riley, explains to the Sports Tribune this week that freshman running back Jacquizz Rodgers has made a name for himself so far this year as the best rusher in all of the Pac-10 conference, but too often is overlooked not only for his receiving skills (28 passes for 244 yards), but also his ability to hit and block. Riley notes within the article, “That’s one of the things that separates Quizz. He’s the best blocker and best receiver among our backs. He takes pride in it. Earlier in the year, he told me all the blitzes our defense did in camp has helped him. He’s an all-around really good player.”
Additional note on Rodgers: If the freshman tailback can average 119 yards or better over Oregon State’s last three games (inclusive of a bowl game), he will be able to equal or surpass Steven Jackson‘s school single-sesason record of 1,690 set back in 2002.
Stanford Cardinal
Head coach of Stanford, Jim Harbaugh, confirmed with the San Francisco Chronicle Wednesday that he has been offered a three-year contract extension which he will sign at the end of this season, a deal which the article would keep him as the Cardinal head coach until 2014.
The same article notes that Aaron Zagory, Stanford’s placekicker who has this season hit 13-of-15 field goals, now holds the second-best mark in school history for conversion percentage (.867) behind Eric Abrams, who hit .889 (16-of-18) back in 1995.
UCLA Bruins
The Daily Bruin writes earlier this week that freshman tailback Derrick Coleman last weekend versus Washington did what so many others in the UCLA backfield have failed to do this season – spark the offense by scoring on the first offensive drive of the game. “I never thought that would happen,” Coleman told reporters. “I knew I was going to do it in the future, but it gave me confidence.” The Bruin explains that Coleman, during that first drive, gained 24 yards on four carries, “leading the way for the rest of the team to re-establish a running game that has been mostly absent since late September . . .” Such an ability to influence the outcome of a Bruins’ offensive drive proves that the playing time freshmen like Coleman are currently seeing in the midst of a brutal first season for UCLA under new head coach Rick Neuheisel is “invaluable,” with the young tailback adding, “Nothing really beats experience in football. If you’ve got college game experience then that shows a lot.”
USC Trojans
USC tailback Broderick Green, a player we reported last week here at FCB was looking to transfer away from the Trojans’ football program in order to be closer to family, announced earlier this week that he will be visiting both Arkansas and LSU, but has at least six other FBS schools which is considering, as well as a handful of FCS programs in addition. Among the other Division I schools Green is reported to be speaking with: Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State, and Texas, this according to the L.A. Daily News.
SEC
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Press-Register this week notes that senior wide receiver for the Crimson Tide Will Oakley has undergone surgery to his shoulder, this after hurting his collarbone falling down stairs. It is currently unknown whether Oakley will be able to return in time for Alabama’s bowl game, with head coach Nick Saban telling reporters, “I don’t know if he has a chance to come back . . . or not.” The absence of the senior wideout shouldn’t hurt from Alabama too badly, however, as he has to this point in the season caught just two passes for 27 yards.
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Northwest Arkansas Times reports this week that “one of the Dick brothers will start” at quarterback this weekend against Mississippi State, but head coach Bobby Petrino is being awfully tight lipped about which one. Petrino told reporters on Thursday, “I haven’t decided who will be the starter just yet. I kind of have it in the back of my mind who it will be. But we’ll go through the meetings tomorrow before I announce who it is going to be.” The Times notes that since Casey Dick suffered a concussion in a 34-21 loss at South Carolina, young brother Nathan Dick has been taking the helm during open-date practices; earlier this week, Casey entered back into the fray and are, according to the article, performing on “equal footing” for the first time. Petrino comments that he feels that the competition taking place between the two siblings has, in his opinion, made both better, leading him to suggest that it is very likely both Casey and Nathan Dick will see playing time versus MSU in a two quarterback system similar to the one Petrino used when coaching at Louisville.
Auburn Tigers
The Montgomery Advertiser informs readers this week that though sophomore Mario Fannin ran for two touchdowns against the University of Georgia last weekend, while also finishing as the Auburn Tigers’ best offensive player for the game with 107 total yards, head coach Tommy Tuberville does not expect Fannin “to emerge as the team’s top option” next weekend versus Alabama. Instead, Tuberville and the rest of the Auburn coaching staff will continue to use a tailback-by-committee approach that will include both Brad Lester and Ben Tate being featured in the Tigers’ backfield. “They’ll all play,” Tuberville explained Tiesday. “Mario had a good week last week. Ben’s had his good weeks. We want to go in with players that understand the game plan. We want to game plan with them. You just don’t have that opportunity to get [Fannin] in there that much when he doesn’t know as much as the other guys. He’s just now coming around.” The process, notes the Advertiser, has been made all that much more difficult for the sophomore given that he not so long ago recovered from an invasive injury on his shoulder that forced him to move to wideout as opposed to the position he was originally recruited for at tailback. In offensive coordinator Tony Franklin’s offense, Fannin seemed to get overlooked more so than not, a situation not rectified in any way until Franklin’s release a week after the Tigers’ contest against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Florida Gators
Interesting article on the TBO.com website this Friday: According to head coach of the Florida Gators, Urban Meyer, wide receiver Percy Harvin could have been playing on the defensive side of the ball this season at cornerback due to a shortage of players available at the beginning of the Gators’ 2008 schedule. “This summer he actually came to see me about it,” Meyer said. “We were having some issues at cornerback on the backend and after last year’s performance I was willing to think about it. But that’s so hard to do at college football. Especially with all the things we do with him on offense.” Fortunately, sophomore Joe Haden stepped his game up incrementally almost from Florida’s first game, while freshman Janoris Jenkins learned quickly the defensive schemes for the UF secondary and has since delivered with big plays.
Kentucky Wildcats
The State-Journal brings up the fact that University of Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks believes that he made the right move in switching quarterbacks from Mike Hartline to Randall Cobb, but has found a whole slew of challenges arising as a result of the switch. Among those discussed? Cobb, first and foremost, doesn’t throw the ball nearly as accurately as Brooks wants (though Hartline had challenges as well); yet, second, and perhaps more importantly, with the freshman under center, UK now has no decent receiving options by which to move the ball downfield – one writer comments, “Cobb’s receivers are doing virtually nothing to get open . . . . I saw a group of receivers [against Vanderbilt] that have no ability whatsoever to gain any separation from defenders.” With freshman wideout E.J. Fields returning to the field next season (he’s currently redshirting), the latter circumstance should improve, but with tough contests against Tennessee and an apparent bowl bid in the post-season, the Wildcats could be in for a long remainder of their 2008 schedule.
LSU Tigers
The Advertiser writes Wednesday that backup quarterback for the LSU Tigers, Andrew Hatch, remains doubtful for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss, the fourth straight week he’ll miss playing time after injuring his leg versus the Georgia Bulldogs. Still, head coach Les Miles is hopeful that Hatch will be available for the last game of the season against Arkansas on November 28th. Miles also went into a bit more detail on the nature of the injury, commenting, “It’s a upper leg, above the knee. It’s a contusion of the thigh-leg area.”
South Carolina Gamecocks
The State reports Wednesday that head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks, Steve Spurrier, has hinted during practice this week that Chris Smelley could start against Clemson next week, this after joking that Stephen Garcia “could send him to an early retirement.” Spurrier noted of Smelley, “He’s got the inside right now.” That could prove interesting, particularly since USC’s head coach has committed to using just one quarterback against Clemson after alternating players under center versus Arkansas and Florida.
Tennessee Volunteers
In one of his final moves as head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that Phil Fulmer will be playing redshirt freshman quarterback B.J. Coleman come Saturday’s game versus Vanderbilt, though Jonathan Crompton will still remain UT’s starter.
Vanderbilt Commodores
The Tennessean discusses this week the fact that though not starting a game during his freshman year and missing a number of other games due to injuries, Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson is a mere 78 yards shy of the all-time rushing mark for a Commodores quarterback. “Any record here is a great honor,” Nickson told reporters Tuesday. “I know a couple of guys who hold records here were Heisman candidates many years ago.”
The same article states as well that Jamie Graham at wide receiver practiced this week with tape on his left ankle and is expected to be able to play Saturday versus Tennessee after missing last week’s contest with Kentucky because of a bad sprain.
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