Then the coach-in-waiting at Texas , Muschamp declined. But he didnt wait for the Longhorns job, either, replacing Urban Meyer in December. The first time I ever… Source: The Tennessean
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UT, Florida coaches’ destiny never in doubt
Filed under News by on Sep 17th, 2011. Comment. 
The Florida Gators move on from the Urban Meyer era and will be led by former Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator Will Muschamp . He was named the 23rd head coach in program history on Dec. 11, 2010, and is… Source: Bleacher Report
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College Football 2011: Odds to Win the SEC and Who We’d Bet on
Filed under Football, News by on Aug 28th, 2011. Comment.
It’s time to look at the new men on the block — the guys heading into their first years as head coaches in the country’s most cutthroat league. The SEC welcomes Will Muschamp at Florida and James Franklin at Vanderbilt. Expectations are certainly high in Gainesville, where Muschamp replaces Urban Meyer, who developed into an icon in his six seasons by winning two national championships and appearing in three SEC championships. Franklin steps into a program with a history of consistently finishing near the bottom of the SEC barrel and is riding back-to-back 2-10 seasons. Here is a look at both coaches and what impact each could have on the SEC this fall: Will Muschamp, Florida: Muschamp enters his first season at Florida with 16 years of coaching experience, with eight coming in the SEC. The former Georgia safety served as defensive coordinator at LSU (2002-04; he was LSU’s linebackers coach in 2001) and Auburn (2006-07), where he was a finalist for the 2007 Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant. He was also the assistant head coach for defense for the Miami Dolphins in 2005. Muschamp replaces Meyer, who left the cupboard far from bare and the expectations high. Muschamp, who left Texas as the coach-in-waiting, is a hard-nosed, all-business coach who has tempered those crippling Gator egos from last season. He also assembled a NFL-heavy staff, headlined by offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who scrapped the spread favored by Meyer for a pro-style offense. The talent is there for Muschamp to lead Florida back to the SEC championship, but with a new system and staff, expect growing pains. Muschamp will be very hands-on with the defense, which should be a major strength for the Gators, but offensively, Weis will do most of the directing, with the goal of resurrecting an offense that ranked 82nd nationally in total offense (350.85 yards per game). Highlights: In four of his eight seasons as a defensive coordinator, Muschamp’s teams allowed less than 100 rushing yards per game and twice led the nation in rushing defense while allowing less than 75 yards per game. LSU’s 2003 defense led the country in rushing defense (67 ) the best of any SEC team in the 2000s. In 2009, Texas led the nation allowing 73.1 yards rushing Over the past three seasons, Texas’ defense ranked first nationally with 119 sacks for 949 yards lost. James Franklin, Vanderbilt: Franklin is the 27th head coach at Vanderbilt and also brings 16 years of coaching experience. Most notably, he was the wide receivers/recruiting coordinator at Maryland from 200-04, the wide receivers coach for the Green Bay Packers in 2005 and spent two years as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Kansas State before taking the same job at Maryland from 2008-10. Though he was named Ralph Friedgen’s successor at Maryland in 2009, he decided to take one of the toughest jobs in college football, where he’ll be asked to win at a school known more for academics than football in the nation’s best conference . Franklin inherits 21 returning starters and has brought a new and exciting energy to Vanderbilt. You can see it in the confidence his players are showing and in the solid recruiting class he’s putting together. There seems to be a new culture at Vandy and Franklin is out to make sure this team becomes competitive in the SEC. It’s hard to say what the Commodores will do in Franklin’s first season, but expect him to be immersed in Vanderbilt’s offense, which ranked 110th in total offense (298.3). If this team can improve its play like it has its confidence, the Commodores could pull a surprise or two this fall. Starting the season off right will go a long way. Beginning the year with numbers in the loss column could hurt that swagger Vandy is strutting. Highlights: Last season, Maryland quarterback Danny O’Brien earned ACC Rookie of the Year and first-team Freshman All-America honors, ranking third nationally among freshmen with a pass efficiency rating of 135.2 and throwing 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Marylands’ 2010 offense ranked third nationally committing only 12 turnovers. In 2007, Franklin mentored Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman, who set numerous school records and threw for 3,353 yards. Freeman was selected in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft (17th overall) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Meet the new SEC head coaches
Filed under Football by on Aug 11th, 2011. Comment.
Each team has it’s question marks, as Texas is coming off of a 5-7 season that forced Mack Brown to reshuffle his coaching staff. Florida saw Urban Meyer step down,… Source: Bleacher Report
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College Football Preseason Rankings 2011: Texas & Florida Low in Coaches’ Poll
Filed under Football, News by on Aug 4th, 2011. Comment.
Just about every week in the SEC, there’s a so-called “don’t miss” game. Some are bigger than others, and some mean more. But the beauty of this league is that every week matters. As former Florida coach Urban Meyer used to say, there’s a playoff every week in the SEC. So as we point toward the 2011 season, which games warrant being on the “don’t miss” checklist? For starters, there are several nonconference games that should be dandies, and it starts the first week of the season with LSU taking on Oregon in Arlington, Texas and Georgia facing Boise State in Atlanta. The second week of the season, Alabama travels to Penn State. But inside the league is where memories are made, and we won’t have to wait long to get a beat on the Eastern Division race. South Carolina pays a visit to Georgia the second week of the season. That same weekend, we also find out a lot about Auburn post-Cam Newton and post-Nick Fairley when the Tigers take on Mississippi State in Jordan-Hare Stadium. From there, it’s on and doesn’t let up until the SEC champion is crowned on Dec. 3 in Atlanta. We’re depending on you to tell us what game next season is the one none of us want to miss. Go to our poll and vote, and we’ll take a closer look at the one you selected next week.
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Poll: SEC’s don’t miss game in 2011
Filed under Football by on May 13th, 2011. Comment.
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Some quick thoughts after attending the viewing window of West Virginia’s spring practice on Wednesday, the Mountaineers’ first day in full pads: I was excited to see Dana Holgorsen’s new offense in person, and it’s not hard to see the reasons for optimism. The Mountaineers have speed at receiver, a promising young quarterback in Geno Smith and were giving their own defenses problems with the mix of run and pass. Bill Stewart had told me on Monday that the team hadn’t looked downfield much yet in practice, but Smith threw deep a few times during the 11-on-11 period, and with good success. It wasn’t all passing, though, as the offense lined up with two backs frequently and did some inside zone running. Holgorsen mostly stands on the sidelines during the team periods, signaling in the calls as he will on gameday. He doesn’t say a whole lot during practice, letting his assistants handle the bulk of the talking. Holgorsen gives out a lot more instructions during film review, the players say. No worries about Smith’s health. He was participating in all drills and running around well on his surgically repaired foot. This offense doesn’t ask him to run much, anyway. Freshman Paul Millard got the second-team reps and throws a nice ball. Holgorsen told me he’s far ahead of fellow freshman Brian Athey at this point, mostly owing to the fact that he played 5-A Texas high school ball. How this kid went unrecruited is baffling. Still no real standouts at tailback, but Daquan Hargrett had some nice runs while I was watching, including a burst up the middle for a long touchdown. Brad Starks got behind the defense for a long completion. He looks great and could be poised for a big senior year. Ivan McCartney dropped a pass early but later caught a short one and completely juked Brodrick Jenkins out of his shoes. McCartney has major potential if he continues to develop and mature. J.D. Woods also made a nice catch in traffic. Tyler Urban also got involved, and it will be interesting to see how the offense uses him. The defense wasn’t allowed to tackle the quarterback, of course, but Bruce Irvin was in the backfield a lot — “No one can block him yet,” Stewart said — and Julian Miller wasn’t far behind. That’s not surprising, especially since starting offensive tackles Don Barclay and Jeff Braun are out this spring with injuries. Irvin and a few other players were wearing the gold shoes from last year’s special Nike Pro Combat uniforms, which made me happy to see. Linebacker Tyler Anderson had an interception off a tipped ball. Stewart then told him he should have stayed up and tried to score instead of falling on the ground. About the only thing last year’s defense didn’t do right last year was get turnovers and points. Overall impression: The Mountaineers weren’t as sharp or crisp defensively as they were a year ago at this time, but that’s almost a given after losing seven starters. There is still a lot of talent and speed here, and it’s just going to take a little time for the defense to gel and the offense to get the system down. If it all comes together, this could easily be the best team in the Big East this year. But there’s a long way to go.
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Thoughts from West Virginia
Filed under Football by on Apr 6th, 2011. Comment.
Stafford (4-0) pitched seven innings of no-hit baseball, scattering four walks while registering a career-high 11 strikeouts. Josh Urban continued the no-hitter with a 1-2-3 eighth inning before yielding a hit to Drew Vest to start the ninth. Source: Houston Chronicle
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College baseball: UH rallies in 9th to beat A&M 3-2
Filed under Baseball, News by on Apr 6th, 2011. Comment.
With Stafford’s pitch count at 118, he was replaced by Josh Urban in the eighth inning. Shepherd’s RBI double in the first inning staked Texas (22-7) to a 2-0 lead. The Longhorns added a run in the second and three in the third for a 6-0 lead. The… Source: Austin American-Statesman
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Stafford hurls gem as Texas rolls past A&M-Corpus Christi
Filed under News by on Apr 6th, 2011. Comment.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s early, real early, this spring for West Virginia, which began practice later than any Big East team. But one thing seems pretty clear in the initial going: the Mountaineers have a wide-open competition at running back. This is something new around these parts, as West Virginia could count on Noel Devine and Steve Slaton before him to claim the ball-carrying load for the past several years. With a new offensive system and different types of backs on the roster this year, though, that position looks uncertain. “I have not seen that Noel Devine or that Steve Slaton guy,” head coach Bill Stewart said. “I have not seen that jump cut. Is it there? We’ll see. But I haven’t seen it yet.” The most experienced running backs on the team are 230-pound Ryan Clarke , 220-pound Shawne Alston and 235-pound Matt Lindamood . Those aren’t the types of runners that Dana Holgorsen is used to using in his spread offense. “The main back has always been a little quicker, a shiftier guy,” Holgorsen said. “Someone who can get involved in the passing game, get the ball out in space and go score.” Kendall Hunter , who ran for more than 1,500 yards under Holgorsen last season at Oklahoma State, was a 200-pounder. He coached smaller, quicker backs at both Houston and Texas Tech before that. Holgorsen will adapt his offense to his personnel — see his three-back, diamond formation last season at Oklahoma State — and West Virginia will be able to throw some serious power looks at teams with Clarke, Austin, Lindamood and even Tyler Urban , who will see some time in the backfield as the tight end is phased out. But it seems likely that a younger, more fleet-footed tailback will get some opportunities in an offense based on speed. “A guy like Daquan Hargrett or a Trey Johnson , those guys have got a chance to see the field and touch the ball a lot more than they did last year,” Holgorsen said. “That doesn’t mean we’re giving up on Alston and Clarke.” The Mountaineers will also bring in two shiftier players this summer in highly-regarded running back prospect Andrew Buie, a 190-pounder, and highly-productive Texas high school runner Dustin Garrison, who measures 5-foot-8 and 160. Both could see some action right away, just as Slaton and Devine did as true freshmen. It might be until the summer, at least, before West Virginia discovers the heir to those former stars.
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West Virginia searching for top tailback
Filed under Football by on Apr 5th, 2011. Comment.
Longhorns starting pitcher Sam Stafford (3-0) pitched four shutout innings to earn the victory, striking out six while allowing only two hits and one walk. Josh Urban and Stayton Thomas combined to pitch the rest of the way, allowing only one hit… Source: Austin American-Statesman
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Texas cruises past Houston Baptist
Filed under News by on Mar 24th, 2011. Comment.
