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Part Two of our “Notes From The Margin” column for Week Nine
By Drew Smith | October 25, 2008
In Part Two of our “Notes From The Margin” column for Week Nine, we take a look at the Big Ten, Pac-10, and, of course, SEC football conferences, and find some interesting “cat-and mouse” games playing themselves out as both winning and losing coaching staffs alike attempt to pay homage to the premier of the new James Bond movie, “Quantum of Silence” with unusual player adjustments, potential offensive “secret weapons” being prepared, and the burning of redshirts suddenly abounding in the world of collegiate football . . .
Check out Michigan installing star recruit Justin Feagin at wide receiver, Purdue coach Joe Tiller’s wonderful crack-back on mouthy starting tailback Kory Sheets, a potential waste of a redshirt for Washington’s Cody Burns – and all for three total plays, Sylvester Croom’s “secret weapon” at Mississippi State, and the trivia-filled quarterback crisis confronting head coach Steve Spurrier at South Carolina (i.e., what’s the connection with Spurrier, the University of Florida, and walk-on quarterback Zac Brindise?).
Big Ten
Illinois Fighting Illini
Head coach Ron Zook of the Illinois Fighting Illini told reporters this week that he had committed to getting freshman tailback Jason Ford significant time this past Saturday against the Indiana Hoosiers; that commitment paid off big time for Illinois, with Ford taking 19 carries for 172 yards and three touchdowns. Zook continues to claim, says the Chicago Tribune, that his team’s backfield will continue to utilize a running back-by-committee approach, but our intuition tells us at FCB that even if that remains the case, Ford will continue to see a large number of snaps this weekend against Wisconsin. This is a great time for owners in keeper leagues to snatch up what should turn out to be one fantastic ball carrier as he matures.
The website STLToday.com points out, in the meantime, that sophomore wide receiver Arrelious Benn of the Fighting Illini posted his fourth consecutive 100+ yard receiving game for the 2008 season, and, as such, becomes the first player in the history of the Illinois football program to have achieved such an achievement.
Indiana Hoosiers
Writes the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette this week, even had junior quarterback Kellen Lewis been available for action this past weekend against Illinois, the final outcome of the game – a 55-13 loss at Memorial Stadium – would likely still not have turned out differently. The reasons? First, the Hoosiers had their worst special teams performance of the year. Second, Indiana’s defense got smoked to the tune of 563 yards of total offense, a season-high. That being the case, the Hoosiers allowed its fourth contest over the span of its last five games of 40 points or better, a deficit which no quarterback, points out the newspaper, could be expected to make up on a week-to-week basis.
South Bend, Indiana news station website WSBT.com informs readers this week that leading pass catcher for the Indiana Hoosiers, Andrew Means, was seen during practice wearing a cast on his hand; as such, the status of the junior wideout – who has 25 receptions for 333 yards so far this year – currently remains unknown for Saturday’s matchup with Northwestern.
Michigan Wolverines
The website MLive.com writes Thursday that with regular starter at wide receiver for the Michigan Wolverines, Greg Mathews, sidelined with an injury this week, it appears as of now that sophomore James Rodgers could see his first start this weekend as UM takes on in-state rival, Michigan State. Thus far this season, notes the article, Rodgers has just two receptions, including a 21-yard catch against Penn State last Saturday.
The same piece referenced above also includes the interesting news that head coach Rich Rodriguez admitted to nearly burning the redshirt of freshman quarterback Justin Feagin last week against Penn State, but did not do so due to a lingering shoulder injury Feagin sustained in practice. Still, Rodriguez acknowledges that he and his staff could very easily see putting the freshman into Michigan offense as a slot or outside receiver before the year is out, as playing that would be “easier for him to grasp.”
Finally, The Detroit News offers fans and fantasy owners alike the news that both Steve Threet and Brandon Minor are expected to start this Saturday, this despite injuries both have been nursing over the last couple of weeks.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Star Tribune provides readers with an interesting development regarding the University of Minnesota; the paper writes Wednesday that Troy Stoudermire, a true freshman with the Golden Gophers, will continue to see playing time on the offensive side of the ball this upcoming weekend versus Purdue. Entering 2008 as a backup cornerback and kickoff returner, Stoudermire has made a transition to backup wide receiver, while also taking a direct snap from under center last week versus Illinois.
Northwestern Wildcats
The Chicago Sun Times quotes head coach of the Northwestern Wildcats, Pat Fitzgerald, as saying this week that starting quarterback C.J. Bacher will continue to see significant time running the ball on planned keepers and draws; to this point in the year, the senior sits third on the team in rushing with 51 carries netting 180 yards.
The Chicago Tribune notes that with his four receptions this past Saturday against the Purdue Boilermakers, tailback Tyrell Sutton of the Northwestern Wildcats now has more career receptions (142) than any other player in school history.
Penn State Nittany Lions
The Philadelphia Inquirer comments that should Nittany Lions’ wideout Deon Butler grab just six more receptions, the senior will surpass Bobby Engram for the all-time receptions record at Penn State University.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue Boilermakers’ head coach Joe Tiller told the Star Tribune this week that with Joey Elliot sidelined with a shoulder dislocation suffered last week against Northwestern, the Boilermakers will be forced to turn back to senior Curtis Painter under center. Still, Tiller made it known that sophomore Justin Stiller will move from running back on the Purdue depth chart to quarterback in order to provide the necessary depth should Painter go down with injury or play poorly enough to warrant being replaced.
As Tiller finds his hand forced at quarterback with Painter, the Purdue head coach fired off critical comments at starting tailback Kory Sheets this week. Sheets, who after the Boilermakers’ loss to Northwestern last week told reporters that he had little confidence in his senior passer, was described by Tiller in the South Bend Tribune as having “grown physiologically but not intellectually the last four years.” The Boilermakers’ coach continued, noting, “if you know [Sheets], it’s not a surprise” that he made such comments; regardless, “It’s a disappointment.”
Wisconsin Badgers
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel informs readers this week that the Wisconsin Badgers’ coaching staff has elected to allow junior quarterback Dustin Scherer to remain under center for a second consecutive week as the team’s starter, but with the caveat that both senior Allen Evridge and sophomore Scott Tolzien will likely see time on the field as well. Interesting enough, head coach Brett Bielema announced to reporters that it would be Tolzien – not Evridge – that would see the majority of snaps which Scherer himself would not get this week during practice.
A separate article published by the Sentinel states that P.J. Hill, senior tailback for the Wisconsin Badgers, did not practice early in the week due to an injury sustained last weekend against the Iowa Hawkeyes; subsequently, Hill’s status for this upcoming Saturday’s contest with the Illinois Fighting Illini is currently unclear, though the star running back will be reevaluated later this week to identify if his pain tolerance level is good enough to warrant his plying versus Iowa.
Pac-10
Arizona Wildcats
The same young man who replaced Oklahoma Sooners’ running back DeMarco Murray at Bishop Gorman High School upon Murray’s departure to Norman, Keola Antolin, made a major splash for the Arizona Wildcats this past weekend in an important Pac-10 matchup with the California Bears. The true freshman, writes the Las Vegas Review Journal, averaged 7.1 yards per carry against Cal, finishing with a career-high of 21 carries for 149 yards and three touchdowns playing in place of sophomore Nic Grigsby, who was sidelined by the UA coaching staff after fumbling away his first carry of the night. The Arizona tailback also made an impact on the Wildcats’ special teams unit, returning four kicks for 79 yards.
Also revealed this week: The Arizona Daily Star reveals that senior wideout for the Arizona Wildcats, Mike Thomas, plans to play this week versus the USC Trojans, this even though he suffered a bruise right foot in the second quarter of last weekend’s contest against the California Bears. Fans and fantasy owners alike will also want to keep an eye on Delashaun Dean, who too was injured against Cal having hurt his left shoulder.
Arizona State Sun Devils
The website ASUWebDevil.com notes earlier this week that starting quarterback for the Arizona State Sun Devils, Rudy Carpenter, was seen taking the majority of snaps under center in practice, with head coach Dennis Erickson acknowledging that the senior’s strength has improved dramatically over the last few days.
For readers left questioning this season why wide receiver for the Arizona Sun Devils, Chris McGaha, has seen a dramatic drop in overall production so far this football season, the East Valley Tribune attempts to answer such inquiry this week by revealing that McGaha has been “dogged by pain from a surgically repaired left toe that has much slower than expected” after an operation conducted in April of this year. The subsequent effect on the junior’s numbers has been dramatic, with last season’s yardage leader for ASU so far in 2008 having accumulated just 265 yards receiving and a single touchdown off 19 receptions. Team doctors estimate that McGaha is current at 90%, but the ASU wideout tells the Tribune that he feels this week he’s gotten a majority of his speed back, something he describes as “kind of comforting.”
California Golden Bears
The San Francisco Chronicle points out to its readership this week that the California Golden Bears have had six different leading receivers over its first six games of 2008, emphasizing the fact that Jeff Tedford’s squad has yet to identify that go-to receiver that it had last season in DeSean Jackson or Lavelle Hawkins. Still, there is hope, as this past weekend, Verran Tucker grabbed a team-best 68 yards on four catches against the Arizona Wildcats playing in place of the injured Michael Calvin. Calvin, readers may be familiar, was lost for the year when he suffered a torn ACL the week prior.
In a separate piece published by the Chronicle, fans and fantasy owners alike learn that the quarterback competition for the California Bears between Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley has picked up speed yet again this week, this as Longshore went 18-of-37 for 218 yards, two touchdowns and an interception versus the Arizona Wildcats this past Saturday. Head coach Jeff Tedford, looking for a spark down 42-27, pulled Longshore with 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter in favor of the sophomore Riley, but found little additional productive emerging from the move; Riley, instead, finished the game 7-of-19 for 97 yards and an interception.
Oregon Ducks
According to the Gazette Times, the coaching staff for the Oregon Ducks is remaining tight-lipped this week about its potential starter at quarterback this upcoming weekend as UO prepares to faceoff against the Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday night. Head coach Mike Bellotti told reporters in his weekly press conference that the Ducks would likely not make a selection under center until Friday or Saturday, with the possible candidates coming from either Joseph Masoli or a now-healthy Justin Roper. Both, notes the Gazette, have been splitting snaps in practice while the coaching staff evaluates both of the sophomore passers.
In injury news, the website OregonLive.com writes that Oregon running back Remene Alston suffered a broken foot in practice Monday and looks to be out for the remainder of the season. Alston is currently a redshirt freshman and has totaled 21 carries for 161 yards (7.7 yards per carry) in the two games in which he’s played this season.
UCLA Bruins
The Daily News of Los Angeles, California highlights this week that head coach for the UCLA Bruins, Rick Neuheisel, is currently engaged in the difficult task of weighing the potential value in having senior tailback Kahlil Bell continue to play on a week-to-week basis even though a high-ankle injury suffered against the Tennessee Volunteers still has yet to heal properly. The senior currently rests as the team’s second leading rusher, this even though freshman Derrick Coleman (191 total rushing yards) has need one-half of the number of carries that Bell has to this point in the season.
The Press-Enterprise also reports that a week after sustaining a nasty concussion and strained neck injury against the Oregon Ducks, junior wideout for the UCLA Bruins, Terrence Austin, saw a team-high five receptions and the first touchdown of his career this past Saturday versus Stanford and even managed to become involved with the UCLA special teams unit on kick returns.
USC Trojans
The Daily News reveals this week that the family of USC starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez, met with a former NFL executive on Monday night to discuss subjects of agnet recruitment and pro-scouting evaluations. The individual Sanchez’s family met with, Joe Mendes, is actually paid by USC to advise underclassmen about the NFL, with head coach Pete Carroll commenting to local media this week that the school makes Mendes “available as a resource” in order to outline “the business aspect that come to the front as you get eligible for the NFL draft.” Still, the article notes fans and fantasy owners apparently have little to worry about when it comes to Sanchez, as the junior has made it clear up to now that he intends to return to the Trojans to play in his senior year.
Washington Huskies
The Seattle Times includes in its Thursday edition a piece on freshman Chris Polk of the Washington Huskies, currently recovering from a surgery to repair an injured shoulder sustained against the Brigham Young Cougars earlier in the year and set to redshirt for the remainder of the 2008 season. Apparently, doctors found more damage than anticipated in Polk’s left shoulder, leaving the youngster unable to lift his arm high enough to dress himself in the morning; despite this fact, the freshman ball carrier remains positive about returning next season though rumors currently abound suggesting that Polk is quite unhappy with the state of thing at the University of Washington. “This is where I want to be,” the youngster told reporters, expressing that his only concern to this point in time is not taking “seriously enough preseason conditioning to prepare for the season.”
In other news, the Times reports Wednesday that freshman wideout for the Huskies, Cody Bruns, is recovering quickly from a hamstring injury that kept him from playing against Oregon State this past Saturday afternoon. Still, major concerns surround the UW coaching staff’s decision to burn Bruns’ redshirt status against Arizona on October 4th, as the freshman saw just three plays during the contest.
Washington State Cougars
Fantasy owners may or may not be interested in the news coming out of the Spokesman Review this week that head coach for the Washington State Cougars, Paul Wulff, is preparing to have freshman quarterback J.T. Levenseller start under center this coming weekend against the Stanford Cardinal. Kevin Lopina, many of our readers may be familiar, started this past week versus USC, but still is not consider 100% by the WSU coaching staff.
SEC
Arkansas Razorbacks
A few newsworthy gems come to us from The Baxter Bulletin this week regarding the state of the Arkansas Razorbacks’ offensive unit heading into Saturday’s SEC matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels and former head coach Houston Nutt: First, current head coach for the Razorbacks, Bobby Petrino, told reporters he was “encouraged” by tailback Michael Smith’s inclusion in individual workouts on Wednesday, the first such practice the junior has participated in since a concussion suffered this past weekend against the Kentucky Wildcats. Regardless, both freshmen De’Anthony Curtis and Dennis Johnson saw significant time with the first-team offense and are ready to go Saturday should Smith be ruled out for the Razorbacks’ contest with Ole Miss. Second, backup quarterback Tyler Wilson has been diagnosed with mononucleosis and could be out for an extended period of time; subsequently, Nathan Dick, younger brother to current starter under center, Casey Dick, has been moved to the #2 quarterback slot on Arkansas’ depth chart.
Auburn Tigers
The website Al.com provides readers with some of the first public statements from former offensive coordinator of the Auburn Tigers, Tony Franklin, in regard to his being let go just halfway through his first season with AU. Noting that he wanted to wait a few weeks before speaking to the media in fear of speaking out of emotion, Franklin tells the website that he really holds no grudges with the university; the lone exception, the article points out, was the manner in which Tigers’ fans booed their players, and quarterback Chris Todd in particular. Other than that, the former offensive coordinator for both Auburn and Troy states that he does not ever expect to enter into coaching again at this point in time and is planning to leave the city of Auburn in the near future, even though he has learned to love more now than he did when he was employed with school’s football program.
Florida Gators
The Orlando Sentinel writes this week that even with the outstanding show that Florida Gators’ tailbacks Chris Rainey and Jeffrey Demps put on in UF’s last game two weeks ago against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the freshmen duo could see competition for carries this coming weekend versus the Kentucky Wildcats from redshirt sophomore Emmaneul Moody. Moody, readers should be familiar, has been nursing a high ankle sparind suffered during the Gators’ only loss of the season at home against Mississippi, but is said to have “really looked like Emmanuel Moody again” during practice this week according to head coach Urban Meyer.
Georgia Bulldogs
OnlineAthens.com reveals Thursday that tight end Aron White of the Georgia Bulldogs was injured in practice this week with a sprained shoulder and will be unavailable for service as UGA travels to LSU this Saturday to take on the #11 ranked Tigers. On the positive side, however, head coach Mark Richt told reporters at the same time that tight end Tripp Chandler will be back in the lineup after missing the Bulldogs’ last two games with his own injury.
Kentuchy Wildcats
The buzz around campus at the University of Kentucky this week is the breakout performance that freshman do-it-all receiver / quarterback Randall Cobb had this past weekend against the Arkansas Razorbacks; according to the Courier-Journal, Cobb took command of the Kentucky offense with just over four minutes remaining in last Saturday’s contest and scored two touchdowns, thereby allowing the Wildcats’ a much need 21-20 win over an SEC-opponent. Reports from the sidelines during the contest spoke of Cobb making an impassioned speech to his teammates with under five minutes to go and commanding “everyone’s attention” when he spoke. Wearing the #12 jersey in a sign of respect for senior wideout Dicky Lyons, lost for the season to a knee injury one week earlier, the freshman expressed that nothing less than a winning performance from each player on the offense would be acceptable in his eyes, a statement deeper in their sentiment than just the words spoken, but backed up as well by his actions on the field. Net result? Cobb has clearly established himself as a team leader and clearly acknowledges, “It’s time for me to step up.”
Mississippi Rebels
The Clarion Ledger notes this week the painful realization that no matter how athletically inclined wideout Dexter McCluster of the Mississippi Rebels is, he has over the last few weeks become as much a hindrance to his team as he has been a multi-talented game changer. The Ledger points outthat McCluster had two more key turnovers this past weekend against the #2-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, a statistic which is forcing head coach of Ole Miss, Houston Nutt, to look at ways to revamp his offense and the “Wild Rebel” formation in particular. Nutt expressed to reporters that he foresees a possible “shake-up” on offense heading into Arkansas, but did not go into detail as to what such a process might entail. The Ledger suggests, however, that McCluster might start seeing playing time trumped in favor of sophomore Lionel Breaux, who has begun playing an increase role on the field since being used on a fake punt earlier in the year against Florida.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Clarion Ledger writes this week of the “coyness” head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Sylvester Croom, has engaged in with reporters after revealing Tuesday that MSU had added a potential “secret weapon” on offense that could be seen on the playing field as early as this coming Saturday. The article attempts to make a determination as to whom that weapon might be, highlighting Arceto Clark and Charles Bailey as the most likely candidates; if in fact the case, Croom would have to burn the redshirt of either player seven games into the season, a move which the head coach acknowledged he would make if he thought it would help to win more ball games.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal takes it’s own stab at figuring out the identity of this alleged “secret weapon,” pointing out that Croom was suggesting that third string redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Relf could be used in some capacity against Middle Tennessee State this weekend. Croom states that he feels “he’s not ready to play – except on a limited basis” but that there is likely “a point where I just may insert him.” The Journal notes that might include at wideout, given that Relf played both quarterback and receiver in high school.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Leave it head coach Steve Spurrier to stir up a hornet’s nest regarding the quarterback position at the University of South Carolina yet again; talking to The Augusta Chronicle this week, Spurrier mentioned that he was giving serious consideration to starting walk-on quarterback for the Gamecocks, Zac Brindise*, due to the fact that Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley “do better coming off the bench” than they do as starters. Garcia apparently would have been the preferred choice, according to the Chronicle, but hasn’t practiced much this week to do what the coaching staff was calling “a sore throwing shoulder.” Humorously, the article points out, perhaps it was the six sacks that Garcia took from LSU last week – or the even more brutal tag by umpire Wilbur Hackett, Jr.** – that brought the injury on and leaves Garcia’s status “unknown” at this point in time.
* - What’s the trivia here? Brindise is the younger brother of Noah Brindise, a former UF quarterback whose head coach at the time just so happened to be one Steve Spurrier.
** - We gave you the first one; now you tell us the second one; what’s Hackett’s historical connection to the SEC?
Tennessee Volunteers
The Columbia Daily Herald writes Thursday that while head coach for the Tennessee Volunteers Phil Fulmer has been pleased with the performance of sophomore quarterback Nick Stephens, there is little doubt that Fulmer is ready for Stephens to take that “next step” in his progression as a thrower. Having taken over for incumbent starter Jonathan Crompton, Stephens has yet to put up anything impressive statistically – 49% completion rate and averaging 135 yards per game –, but has over his first three starts thrown three touchdowns and no interceptions, one score more and four interceptions less than did Crompton and in one less start. As such, Fulmer told reports this week that he feels the sophomore has “had enough games now under his belt” to begin producing on a higher level, and is arranging a game plan along with offensive coordinator Dave Clawson to give Stephens the opportunity to do so.
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