Notes From the Margins: Pac 10 and SEC Coverage
October 17th, 2008 by Jason Roberts
Our next excerpt from Jason Roberts version of War and Peace…also known as Notes from the Margin:
Pac-10
Arizona Wildcats
The Tucson Citizen tells fantasy owners everywhere to keep a close eye on this weekend’s matchup between the Arizona Wildcats and California Bears, as senior quarterback for UA, Willie Tuitama, is close to surpassing the 25-year old record for career passing yards at the university currently held by Tom Tunnicliffe. Tunnicliffe, in his time with the Wildcats, threw for 7,618 yards, completing 574-of-1,069 attempts and 45 touchdowns; Tuitama is a mere 30 passing yards, five pass attempts, and 172 total yards away from owning every major record at the University of Arizona, this already having obtained all-time records for touchdowns (57) and completions (612).
Meanwhile, the website DailyWildcat.com, calls attention to the fact that last week, as Arizona took on the Stanford Cardinal, it was wide receiver Terrell Tuner, and not Mike Thomas, that had a big day receiving, grabbing a career-high 10 catches for 175 yards. And while Thomas leads the entire Pac-10 in several statistical categories, including receptions per game and receiving yards per game, it is Tuner that receivers coach David Nichol refers to as Arizona’s “most sound” wideout.  At 6’2″ and 190 pounds, the junior will likely need to become an increasing part of the Wildcats’ offense, particularly as Stanford showed that double-teaming Thomas, Arizona could be contained.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Given that Dennis Erickson’s squad in Tempe has a bye-week this upcoming weekend, the Arizona Sun Devils, writes The Arizona Daily Star, will work to try to improve a rather lethargic rushing attack – currently ranked 116th in the nation with just 83.67 yards on the ground per game played. Increasingly that statistic will be key, as, currently, six of the Pac-10 conference’s teams are ranked in the top 55 programs in the nation when it comes to the ability to run with the ball; Oregon rests at sixth, Stanford 33rd, California 36th, USC 46th, Oregon State 47th, and Arizona at 55th. “It’s an important stat,” comments UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel.  As such, ASU will work to get a now healthy Keegan Herring and junior Dimitri Nance more effective behind an offensive line that will be re-tuned to support a strong presence at the point of attack and in blocking down the field as the Sun Devils run out of the backfield; notes the website ASUWebDevil.com, that process began this week, with the Arizona State coaching staff reshuffling players along the offensive front, where Shawn Lauvao is now at right tackle, while Adam Tello goes from inside to left guard.
California Golden Bears
Bad news for fans and fantasy owners of the California Bears’ wide receiver Michael Calvin; the Berryessa Sun on Thursday, Calvin has torn an ACL in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season. On the year, the redshirt freshman had accumulated eight catches for 103 yards.
In other injury news for Jeff Tedford’s Bears, Cal will get a break heading into an important matchup with the Arizona Wildcats this weekend, as the website InsideBayArea.com reports that Jahvid Best was seen back at practice earlier this week. In post-drill interviews, the Bears’ tailback expressed that he “feels pretty confident” that’ll he play this Saturday.
The same article, however, notes that Nate Longshore has apparently suffered from a slipped disk in his back and sat out a few practices throughout the Bears’ bye-week; nevertheless, head coach Jeff Tedford feels that Longshore should be back to full capacity by the time Saturday’s game with Arizona rolls around. That he is will be key for Longshore, as the piece suggests that Longshore and Kevin Riley would be once more competing for the starting position under center this week.
Oregon Ducks
Yep, fantasy owner, you heard right; as discussed this week in the International Herald Tribune, freshman quarterback Chris Harper of the Oregon Ducks has in fact made the jump from playing under center to a slot receiver, where last weekend, versus UCLA, Harper caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from sophomore Joseph Masoli. Head coach Mike Bellotti told local reporters this week that Harper “will likely stay at receiver” now that Justin Roper has recovered from a knee injury and a bout will a nasty virus.
Speaking of Justin Roper: the Oregon Daily Emerald highlights this week that Roper has returned to team practices and is expected to be fully recovered from a knee injury by the time that the Ducks face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils next weekend. Head coach Mike Bellotti explained that he had actually intended on using Roper last weekend against UCLA, but with Joseph Masoli finding so much success running against the Bruins, he did not feel it necessarily to bring the sophomore into the game.
Stanford Cardinals
Interesting statistic regarding the Stanford Cardinal: According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Stanford currently ranks second in the Pac-10 for rushing, with 184.1 yards averaged per contest played and last week against Arizona, putting up some 286 yards on the ground, now has four games this season with 200 yards or more rushing – all four of which ended up in wins for the Cardinal.
Also, the Berrysea Sun reveals to readers on Tuesday that starting quarterback Tavita Prtichard will “likely” play Saturday as the Cardinal face off against UCLA at the Rose Bowl; Pritchard suffered a mild concussion in the second quarter of last weekend’s game against the Arizona Wildcats and did not play in the second half. “I feel great,” Pritchard said after practice on Tuesday afternoon. “I’m right on track.”
UCLA Bruins
The Press-Enterprise reports this week on tight end Jeff Miller, who in his first two years with the UCLA Bruins saw almost no playing time at all, but against Oregon last week, grabbed four receptions for 27 yards and touchdown in his first significant time on the football field. “It was a good time,” the redshirt sophomore told reporters on Wednesday. The Enterprise states that the sudden move to get Miller into the huddle stems from the long-string of injuries that the Bruins have suffered across the board, but particularly at tight end.
The same article also claims that wide receiver for UCLA, Terrence Austin, who suffered a concussion and sprained neck against the Oregon Ducks, practiced this week, but was held out of contact. Regardless, Neuheisel believes that Austin will be back with the offense again full-time next week.
USC Trojans
Important news for fans and fantasy owners of the USC Trojans; the Daily News of Los Angeles, California states Thursday that sophomore tailback for Southern California, C.J. Gable, will start and alternate series with junior Stafon Johnson Saturday against the Washington State Cougars, this as Joe McKnight has been declared inactive due to a case of turf toe.
Freshman tight end, Blake Ayles, also returned to practice this Thursday and will be available to play this coming Saturday.
Within the same article is an interesting piece of news regarding USC wide receiver Vidal Hazelton. It seems that Hazelton’s father, Dexter Hazelton, wrote an angry letter to head coach of the Trojans, Pete Carroll, complaining that his son did not get the proper treatment for an injured ankle the day after the season opener against the Virginia Cavaliers. Apparently, the heated tone hit its intended target, with the News reporting that Carroll called the same day the note was leaked and saw to it that Hazelton’s ankle was properly addressed.
Washington State Cougars
The News Tribune reports Friday that given the fact that Marshall Lobbestael has been ruled done for the season with a torn ACL and MCL by Paul Wulff and the rest of his coaching staff, Kevin Lopina will be returning as starting quarterback this coming weekend against the USC Trojans, this despite a relatively recent injury in which the starting quarterback for the Washington State Cougars sustained a broken vertebrae. Is Lopina nervous about his first game back under center since hurting himself against Oregon? If so, he certainly isn’t letting that be known. Thus, the excitement is definitely there, given that he will play once more this Saturday. But what about the fact that he’ll be returning against a fantastic defensive squad in the USC Trojans?
Washington Huskies
Head coach of the Washington Huskies, Ty Willingham, told The Olympian this week that there is no change in the recovery time expected for starting quarterback Jake Locker to return to the playing field. Having been reevaluated Thursday, Locker is predicted to return no earlier than November 22nd, when the Huskies will take on in-state rivals, the Washington State Cougars, in the annual Apple Cup. This counters statements made by offensive coordinator Tim Lappano that he felt Locker “was done for the season” made earlier this week, but still places the UW quarterback with just two games maximum left to play before the Huskies regular season schedule would be over. Sad side note relating to this article: despite missing as many games as he has, Locker still remains the Huskies’ leading rusher with 180 yards on 56 carries.
SEC
Alabama Crimson Tide
Al.com reports Tuesday that wide receiver for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Mike McCoy, has been working at full speed in practice and seems fully recovered from a pulled hamstring which caused him to miss the contest with the University of Kentucky; as such, expectations are that McCoy, who has seven catches for 97 yards so far this year, will be available for Saturday’s showdown against the Mississippi Rebels.
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette shares with readers on Friday the advice to keep an eye on Arkansas Razorbacks’ freshman wide receiver Joe Adams; a former quarterback in high school, head coach Bobby Petrino last weekend had Adams take a reverse handoff from fellow freshman Jarius Wright and then throw a six-yard pass for a touchdown to starting quarterback Casey Dick late in the third quarter, a play which helped Arkansas seal the deal with a 25-22 win over Auburn. It also served as the third reception on the year for Dick, but the quarterback’s first receiving touchdown of 2008.
Meanwhile, local news media such as the website NWAOnline.net was buzzing around the state of Arkansas this week as a season-best performance against Auburn for 5’7″ tailback for the Razorbacks, Michael Smith – 176 yards on 35 carries – now has the youngster leading the SEC in rushing yards per game (119.8). He has now gone over the 100 yard mark three times for the 2008 season.
Auburn Tigers
The website Al.com writes earlier this week that the Auburn Tigers may be looking at removing the redshirt of true freshman quarterback Barrett Trotter this upcoming weekend if Trotter performs well in practices leading up to next weekend’s showdown with the West Virginia Mountaineers. If Tommy Tuberville and staff do in fact go ahead with playing the youngster under center, it would make the 13th such freshman to have his redshirt removed in 2008 in order to get playing time – even if minimal – on the team’s offensive, defensive, and special teams units.
The above story is interesting considering the news released by WTVY of Dothan, Alabama; the news station, after all, tells its loyal viewers that Kodi Burns now is embedded under center, with the quarterback position, according to head coach Tommy Tuberville, his to lose. Still, there may be more to this story than a surface reading would reveal, particularly given that Auburn’s coach also added that the current roster hierarchy at quarterback “is subject to change” if someone – perhaps Trotter? – happens to beat him out in practices during the remainder of the year.
Florida Gators
The majority of buzz relating to football on the campus of the University of Florida, claims the Miami Herald, currently surrounds freshman running back Jeffrey Demps, who now leads the team in rushing (307 yards and four touchdowns on just 23 carries!) and averages 13.3 yards each time he carries the ball. Says Gators’ quarterback Tim Tebow, “Demps is stupid fast,” a factor which clearly allowed the native of Okahumka, Florida to burn the LSU Tigers last weekend for 129 rushing yards on just 10 carries. Subsequently, though Demps has been sharing time in the Florida backfield with fellow freshman Chris Rainey, coaches are alluding to the possibility of the former carrying a heavier load for the Gators starting in UF’s next scheduled matchup on October 25th against the Kentucky Wildcats; this seems particularly likely given that Rainey separated his right shoulder against LSU and has not practiced so far this week. Keep in mind as well that Emmanuel Moody still remain hurts as well and is questionable against the Wildcats.
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