tbl
5/4/2006, 11:49 AM
Who can hook the Hook 'em , and how?
By Tom Dienhart - SportingNews
It's springtime. Do you feel the love? New Colorado coach Dan Hawkins sure did. Boulder's new Zen Master spread "Hawk love" around spring practice. Offensive linemen caught punts. Players chipped golf balls and goofed around in the snow. It wasn't all fun and games, though. Hey, Hawkins wants to win.
But spring practice has sprung and gone. Fat players got yelled at, early arriving freshmen got scared to death, and BMOCs got their letter jackets dry-cleaned. All that done, some of the nation's top teams still have to-do lists to tackle if they want to topple Texas from the title throne.
Florida. Champion Chris Leak. Hug him. Love him. Praise him. Pat him on the rear end -- every day, if needed. It's all about avoiding a quarterback controversy. Tim Tebow arrived for spring drills, and he looked damn good. But Leak and coach Urban Meyer are saying all the right things. Tebow will play, but Leak is the starter. Still, the Gators may not be able to fulfill big expectations with a quarterback house divided.
Michigan. Call Richard Simmons. Yeah, he's annoying, but he knows how to keep the pounds off. Lloyd Carr spent too much time in the offseason slimming down his super-sized Wolverines to see them morph back into marshmallows. The improved stamina and explosiveness shown in the spring -- especially by running back Kevin Grady and the offensive line -- could translate into big things this fall.
Ohio State. Go to the movies. Not one of those typical summer blockbusters. We're talking about cut-ups of the 2005 Buckeyes defense. The nine new projected starters made strides this spring, but more can be done. The linebackers and defensive backs are all new, and they must hit the film room and find a way to emulate their highly successful predecessors.
Oklahoma. Have quarterback Rhett Bomar feel up center Jon Cooper. Bomar started getting more comfortable with his hands under center in the spring after mostly working from the shotgun last year. The conventional exchange will allow running back Adrian Peterson to line up deeper in the I. He likes that. And what's good for Peterson is good for the Sooners.
Tennessee. Have Erik Ainge listen to new coordinator David Cutcliffe. If Cutcliffe tells Ainge to give Smokey a bath because that's what Peyton Manning did, Ainge needs to ask: Pert or Head & Shoulders? Ainge is the key to the Vols' rebounding from their 2005 funk. He started fixing himself in the spring by working on mechanics, but he must continue to improve.
Southern California. Check the library and get the freshmen on campus. Reggie Bush? Gone. LenDale White? Gone. Heir apparent Hershel Dennis? Suffered a season-ending knee injury in the spring. All that leaves is a heap of questions. Chauncey Washington and Michael Coleman are possibilities, but neither took part in spring drills. It won't really be 250-pound Ryan Powdrell, will it? That could leave an incoming freshman -- C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson and Emmanuel Moody are possibilities -- carrying the load this fall.
By Tom Dienhart - SportingNews
It's springtime. Do you feel the love? New Colorado coach Dan Hawkins sure did. Boulder's new Zen Master spread "Hawk love" around spring practice. Offensive linemen caught punts. Players chipped golf balls and goofed around in the snow. It wasn't all fun and games, though. Hey, Hawkins wants to win.
But spring practice has sprung and gone. Fat players got yelled at, early arriving freshmen got scared to death, and BMOCs got their letter jackets dry-cleaned. All that done, some of the nation's top teams still have to-do lists to tackle if they want to topple Texas from the title throne.
Florida. Champion Chris Leak. Hug him. Love him. Praise him. Pat him on the rear end -- every day, if needed. It's all about avoiding a quarterback controversy. Tim Tebow arrived for spring drills, and he looked damn good. But Leak and coach Urban Meyer are saying all the right things. Tebow will play, but Leak is the starter. Still, the Gators may not be able to fulfill big expectations with a quarterback house divided.
Michigan. Call Richard Simmons. Yeah, he's annoying, but he knows how to keep the pounds off. Lloyd Carr spent too much time in the offseason slimming down his super-sized Wolverines to see them morph back into marshmallows. The improved stamina and explosiveness shown in the spring -- especially by running back Kevin Grady and the offensive line -- could translate into big things this fall.
Ohio State. Go to the movies. Not one of those typical summer blockbusters. We're talking about cut-ups of the 2005 Buckeyes defense. The nine new projected starters made strides this spring, but more can be done. The linebackers and defensive backs are all new, and they must hit the film room and find a way to emulate their highly successful predecessors.
Oklahoma. Have quarterback Rhett Bomar feel up center Jon Cooper. Bomar started getting more comfortable with his hands under center in the spring after mostly working from the shotgun last year. The conventional exchange will allow running back Adrian Peterson to line up deeper in the I. He likes that. And what's good for Peterson is good for the Sooners.
Tennessee. Have Erik Ainge listen to new coordinator David Cutcliffe. If Cutcliffe tells Ainge to give Smokey a bath because that's what Peyton Manning did, Ainge needs to ask: Pert or Head & Shoulders? Ainge is the key to the Vols' rebounding from their 2005 funk. He started fixing himself in the spring by working on mechanics, but he must continue to improve.
Southern California. Check the library and get the freshmen on campus. Reggie Bush? Gone. LenDale White? Gone. Heir apparent Hershel Dennis? Suffered a season-ending knee injury in the spring. All that leaves is a heap of questions. Chauncey Washington and Michael Coleman are possibilities, but neither took part in spring drills. It won't really be 250-pound Ryan Powdrell, will it? That could leave an incoming freshman -- C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson and Emmanuel Moody are possibilities -- carrying the load this fall.