badger
5/15/2007, 09:07 AM
from college insider:
Like pretty much everything else these days, with the exception of Chick-fil-A, spring football stories are overrated. Too many eventual spot-starters get hailed as future All-Americans based on piling up big numbers against third-teamers, but occasionally we do get a good window into future greatness. So with that lukewarm introduction I give you the most buzzworthy performers of the spring:
1. DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma: No one is intimating that the Sooners aren't going to miss the great Adrian Peterson, but it looks like the Sooners are still in really good shape in the post-AP era. Hard-running Allen Patrick will provide the toughness and the explosive Murray, a redshirt freshman from Vegas will provide the burst. Murray, a stunning blend of moves and speed, averaged over 11 yards per carry in OU's three spring scrimmages. He also has very good hands.
2. Rejus Benn, WR, Illinois: Big, fast and confident, Benn lit up the Illini spring, teaming with Juice Williams to give Ron Zook some hope to at least double the win total from last year. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound frosh caught five passes for 145 yards in the Illini's spring game. Three plays went for 30 yards or more. Benn, a much-needed big-play threat, is a huge reason why Williams (39.5 percent completion rate) should be one of the country's most improved players in 2007.
3. Cullen Harper, QB, Clemson: The Willy Korn Era in Tigerland is on hold for a little while thanks to the emergence of the Georgia-native. Listening to someone close to the Tigers program, Harper, a junior, was a guy most folks around there had already written off. From the way he played during the spring, completing 42 of 64 passes for 447 yards in three spring scrimmages, it had some folks shaking their heads wondering why the coaches didn't give him a shot when Will Proctor was struggling so much last season.
4. Brandon Bair, DE, Oregon: The 6-7, 250-pound Idaho-native will actually be a 23-year-old freshman this season after having served two years on a mission, but he certainly appeared to be in a hurry to make an impact on the Ducks D this spring. The one-time tight end prospect was all over the field in spring scrimmages and might've won a starting job on the revamped Oregon line.
5. Graig Cooper, RB-KR, Miami: The Canes haven't had a true home-run hitting threat in their backfield since Willis McGahee was in Coral Gables, but the 5-11, 195-pound Cooper did enough to have UM insiders excited. In fact, Cooper, a dynamic combination of speed and shiftiness, was so impressive early in the spring he had former UM star Edgerrin James saying that Cooper, not his own cousin Javarris James was the best back Miami had. In reality, if the Canes are to get back to national prominence this fall, they'll need both backs to take some heat off the QB situation there.
6. Greg Matthews, WR, Michigan: There are quite a few questions about the Wolverine receiving corps coming out of the spring (most notably the status of suspended WR Adrian Arrington and the return of injured Mario Manningham), but the 6-2 Matthews came through with a strong performance showing reliable hands.
7. David Bruton, DB, Notre Dame: The Irish are desperate for defensive help and Bruton might have been their best player for much of the spring. He returned a pick for a touchdown and had a few big hits in their spring game, winning MVP honors. He should bring some much-needed speed into the secondary.
8. Louie Murphy, WR, Florida: Urban Meyer wasn't short on receiving talent to begin with, but Murphy, perhaps his most polished wideout, came through with a great spring. The 6-2, 199-pound junior, who only had two receptions in 2006, caught eight passes for 129 yards in the Gators spring game.
9. Neefy Moffett, DE, FSU: The FSU coaches no longer ride him for being lazy as the speedy edge rusher has really begun to mature for them both physically and mentally. Moffett came to FSU as a 215-pounder and now is around 250, but looks just as quick as ever. From sources inside FSU, Jimbo Fisher couldn't stop raving about him.
10. Brandon Gibson, WR, Washington State: The Cougars will miss departed star Jason Hill, but Gibson, a junior, showed play-making skills that had the coaches optimistic, scoring on one long touchdown reception and another TD on an 89-yard kickoff return in the spring game. He should team with the very underrated Alex Brink for an exciting combination in the fall.
Just Missed the Cut: Maurice Moore, WR, Wisconsin; Larry Grant, LB, OSU; Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech; Reid Neely, OG, Ole Miss; Joe Craddock, QB, Middle Tennessee; Knowshon Moreno, TB, Georgia; Matt Robinson, DE, Wake Forest; Joe Dailey, WR, UNC; Scott Lutrus, LB, UConn.
Random Stuff
• Jim Harbaugh is rapidly becoming the media's favorite college coach. Harbaugh certainly has no qualms about speaking his mind. He tells Glenn Dickey that the sport needs Stanford, and then throws his own alma mater, Michigan under the bus in the process:
"We're looking not for student-athletes but scholar-athletes," referencing Stanford. "No other school can carry this banner. The Ivy League schools don't have enough weight [because of their low athletic level]. Other schools which have good academic reputations have ways to get borderline athletes in and keep them in."
Harbaugh includes his alma mater, Michigan, in that indictment.
"Michigan is a good school and I got a good education there," he said, "but the athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they're in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They're adulated when they're playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won't hire them."
My three cents: Harbaugh's right on. From my research for Meat Market, I'd say with the exception of Stanford and the Academies and perhaps Duke, no other I-A programs really are that choosey when it comes to their actual admission standards. I was actually amazed to see some of the kids with GPAs in core classes that hovered around 2.0 were getting recruited and accepted by programs that supposedly don't take such students.
• Great read about the passing of Alex Agase by Rick Telander, who actually played for the coaching legend in college in today's Sun-Times.
• Akeem Hebron, who was expected to compete for a top backup LB role after redshirting last season, has been suspended from Georgia after getting arrested for underage possession twice in a two-month period this spring, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hebron told the paper he now plans to enroll at Georgia Military College, play football in the fall and try to return to UGA in 2008.
Hebron would need to complete the Alcohol and Other Drug Advanced program offered at the university health center and meet with Brandon Frye, the assistant dean of students before being let back in, the Journal-Constitution reported. Hebron would also be on probation until Dec. 15, 2009, and any breach of that probation could mean an expulsion from the university.
• Larry Coker is talking to the media again. According to the Miami Herald, Coker, who was fired in November, told ESPN Radio 760 in West Palm Beach that among other things, he hopes to coach again.
Asked if he could get one "do-over" from his UM tenure, he said, "Obviously to somehow prevent this altercation with FIU. I don't know how we would've done that, but that was a disastrous situation for us there, and I would've loved to have the opportunity to maybe approach the situation a different way."
My three cents: Coker is a decent man, and the program did have a strong performance in the classroom and he graduated players, but he also had ample time to impact the team and from a discipline standpoint, I think it was lacking, and eventually his nice-guy persona stopped working there.
"post AP era?" they must be referring to when Allen Patrick leaves.:D
Like pretty much everything else these days, with the exception of Chick-fil-A, spring football stories are overrated. Too many eventual spot-starters get hailed as future All-Americans based on piling up big numbers against third-teamers, but occasionally we do get a good window into future greatness. So with that lukewarm introduction I give you the most buzzworthy performers of the spring:
1. DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma: No one is intimating that the Sooners aren't going to miss the great Adrian Peterson, but it looks like the Sooners are still in really good shape in the post-AP era. Hard-running Allen Patrick will provide the toughness and the explosive Murray, a redshirt freshman from Vegas will provide the burst. Murray, a stunning blend of moves and speed, averaged over 11 yards per carry in OU's three spring scrimmages. He also has very good hands.
2. Rejus Benn, WR, Illinois: Big, fast and confident, Benn lit up the Illini spring, teaming with Juice Williams to give Ron Zook some hope to at least double the win total from last year. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound frosh caught five passes for 145 yards in the Illini's spring game. Three plays went for 30 yards or more. Benn, a much-needed big-play threat, is a huge reason why Williams (39.5 percent completion rate) should be one of the country's most improved players in 2007.
3. Cullen Harper, QB, Clemson: The Willy Korn Era in Tigerland is on hold for a little while thanks to the emergence of the Georgia-native. Listening to someone close to the Tigers program, Harper, a junior, was a guy most folks around there had already written off. From the way he played during the spring, completing 42 of 64 passes for 447 yards in three spring scrimmages, it had some folks shaking their heads wondering why the coaches didn't give him a shot when Will Proctor was struggling so much last season.
4. Brandon Bair, DE, Oregon: The 6-7, 250-pound Idaho-native will actually be a 23-year-old freshman this season after having served two years on a mission, but he certainly appeared to be in a hurry to make an impact on the Ducks D this spring. The one-time tight end prospect was all over the field in spring scrimmages and might've won a starting job on the revamped Oregon line.
5. Graig Cooper, RB-KR, Miami: The Canes haven't had a true home-run hitting threat in their backfield since Willis McGahee was in Coral Gables, but the 5-11, 195-pound Cooper did enough to have UM insiders excited. In fact, Cooper, a dynamic combination of speed and shiftiness, was so impressive early in the spring he had former UM star Edgerrin James saying that Cooper, not his own cousin Javarris James was the best back Miami had. In reality, if the Canes are to get back to national prominence this fall, they'll need both backs to take some heat off the QB situation there.
6. Greg Matthews, WR, Michigan: There are quite a few questions about the Wolverine receiving corps coming out of the spring (most notably the status of suspended WR Adrian Arrington and the return of injured Mario Manningham), but the 6-2 Matthews came through with a strong performance showing reliable hands.
7. David Bruton, DB, Notre Dame: The Irish are desperate for defensive help and Bruton might have been their best player for much of the spring. He returned a pick for a touchdown and had a few big hits in their spring game, winning MVP honors. He should bring some much-needed speed into the secondary.
8. Louie Murphy, WR, Florida: Urban Meyer wasn't short on receiving talent to begin with, but Murphy, perhaps his most polished wideout, came through with a great spring. The 6-2, 199-pound junior, who only had two receptions in 2006, caught eight passes for 129 yards in the Gators spring game.
9. Neefy Moffett, DE, FSU: The FSU coaches no longer ride him for being lazy as the speedy edge rusher has really begun to mature for them both physically and mentally. Moffett came to FSU as a 215-pounder and now is around 250, but looks just as quick as ever. From sources inside FSU, Jimbo Fisher couldn't stop raving about him.
10. Brandon Gibson, WR, Washington State: The Cougars will miss departed star Jason Hill, but Gibson, a junior, showed play-making skills that had the coaches optimistic, scoring on one long touchdown reception and another TD on an 89-yard kickoff return in the spring game. He should team with the very underrated Alex Brink for an exciting combination in the fall.
Just Missed the Cut: Maurice Moore, WR, Wisconsin; Larry Grant, LB, OSU; Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech; Reid Neely, OG, Ole Miss; Joe Craddock, QB, Middle Tennessee; Knowshon Moreno, TB, Georgia; Matt Robinson, DE, Wake Forest; Joe Dailey, WR, UNC; Scott Lutrus, LB, UConn.
Random Stuff
• Jim Harbaugh is rapidly becoming the media's favorite college coach. Harbaugh certainly has no qualms about speaking his mind. He tells Glenn Dickey that the sport needs Stanford, and then throws his own alma mater, Michigan under the bus in the process:
"We're looking not for student-athletes but scholar-athletes," referencing Stanford. "No other school can carry this banner. The Ivy League schools don't have enough weight [because of their low athletic level]. Other schools which have good academic reputations have ways to get borderline athletes in and keep them in."
Harbaugh includes his alma mater, Michigan, in that indictment.
"Michigan is a good school and I got a good education there," he said, "but the athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they're in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They're adulated when they're playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won't hire them."
My three cents: Harbaugh's right on. From my research for Meat Market, I'd say with the exception of Stanford and the Academies and perhaps Duke, no other I-A programs really are that choosey when it comes to their actual admission standards. I was actually amazed to see some of the kids with GPAs in core classes that hovered around 2.0 were getting recruited and accepted by programs that supposedly don't take such students.
• Great read about the passing of Alex Agase by Rick Telander, who actually played for the coaching legend in college in today's Sun-Times.
• Akeem Hebron, who was expected to compete for a top backup LB role after redshirting last season, has been suspended from Georgia after getting arrested for underage possession twice in a two-month period this spring, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hebron told the paper he now plans to enroll at Georgia Military College, play football in the fall and try to return to UGA in 2008.
Hebron would need to complete the Alcohol and Other Drug Advanced program offered at the university health center and meet with Brandon Frye, the assistant dean of students before being let back in, the Journal-Constitution reported. Hebron would also be on probation until Dec. 15, 2009, and any breach of that probation could mean an expulsion from the university.
• Larry Coker is talking to the media again. According to the Miami Herald, Coker, who was fired in November, told ESPN Radio 760 in West Palm Beach that among other things, he hopes to coach again.
Asked if he could get one "do-over" from his UM tenure, he said, "Obviously to somehow prevent this altercation with FIU. I don't know how we would've done that, but that was a disastrous situation for us there, and I would've loved to have the opportunity to maybe approach the situation a different way."
My three cents: Coker is a decent man, and the program did have a strong performance in the classroom and he graduated players, but he also had ample time to impact the team and from a discipline standpoint, I think it was lacking, and eventually his nice-guy persona stopped working there.
"post AP era?" they must be referring to when Allen Patrick leaves.:D