NCAA Football FanHouse

Coveted Minnesota Prep Lineman Prepares for Next Big Stage

Jim Henry — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Recruiting

Can Cretin-Derham Hall keep its aerial circus and powerful ground game going for one last game? Seantrel Henderson thinks so.

Henderson, the massive senior offensive lineman and top-ranked recruit in the country, ends his stellar Raiders football career on Minnesota's brightest stage Friday. That's when No. 2 Cretin-Derham (11-1) faces No. 1 Eden Prairie (12-0) in the Class 5A state championship at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

All eyes have been on Henderson, who has been very deliberative in his college selection process and is not expected to announce his decision until February's National Signing Day.

Henderson, who made an unofficial visit to the University of Iowa last Saturday with teammate/quarterback Mark Alt, continues to list Florida, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC and Minnesota among his favorites.

"I pretty much take everything in, like all the information at every school that I go to," Henderson said of his approach to recruiting. "I'm going to try to have a notebook of everything just so I can compare all the schools when I'm done."

At 6-foot-8 and 300 pounds, Henderson is also an accomplished basketball player and will soon join the Raiders team.

Of course, Henderson's immediate focus is on Eden Prairie, which earned an opportunity to pursue a seventh state title with a stifling 17-0 victory over No. 10 Mounds View last Friday. The Eagles limited Mounds View to 47 total yards on 39 plays, forced four turnovers and registered six sacks.

Cretin-Derham Hall, meanwhile, earned its shot at a second title with an easy 45-19 win over Brainerd. The Raiders amassed 342 yards in the first half and 563 in the game. Alt threw two touchdowns on 15-of-17 passing for 233 yards.

Cretin-Derham Hall advances to the big-school championship game for the seventh time since 1988. Eden Prairie easily beat Cretin-Derham 50-21 in Henderson's sophomore season in the 2007 title game.

Friday's game won't be Henderson's last at the prep level. He also has committed to play in the 10th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The game will be broadcast nationally by NBC.

The 2010 Under Armour All-America game kicks off the post-season all-star games on Jan. 2 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. The game will be broadcast nationally by ESPN.

Henderson is one of six players ranked among the top-10 recruits in the Class of 2010 by Rivals.com who remains uncommitted.

The group includes No. 4 Lache Seastrunk (running back, Temple, Texas), No. 5 Ronald Powell (defensive end, Moreno Valley, Calif.), No. 6 Jackson Jeffcoat (defensive end, Plano, Texas), No. 7 Marcus Lattimore (running back, Duncan, S.C.), and No. 8 Sharif Floyd (defensive tackle, Philadelphia).

Henderson has held the top spot the entire recruiting season.

"Physically one of the biggest offensive linemen in the country," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Barry Every writes of Henderson.

"Henderson will remind some observers of Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams. Upper and lower body structure is in proportion and he has the powerful base to blow anyone off the line of scrimmage.

"Henderson has offers from almost every college in the country, and once he starts year-round focus on football, he should develop into a first-round draft pick."

Rivals.com has been in existence since the Class of 2002. That group of prospects was led by top-ranked quarterback Vince Young of Houston.

Thirty-six of the Rivals100 in the class of 2002 made it to the NFL, including Young, who starred at the University of Texas and was the third overall selection in the 2006 Draft by the Tennessee Titans.

Coveted Minnesota Prep Lineman Prepares for Next Big Stage originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Recruiting: Sweet Home Alabama

Jim Henry — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, Auburn, Recruiting

One announced his decision with plenty of fanfare, while the other quietly committed. Either way, college football fans in Alabama couldn't be more pleased with their weekend.

Michael Dyer, rated the No. 3 running back in the country by Rivals.com, got the party started on Friday when he publicly committed to Auburn moments after accepting an invitation to play in the Under Armour All-America game. Keenan Allen, the ninth-ranked prospect in the country, followed on Saturday when he confirmed his commitment to Alabama on the same day the Crimson Tide clinched the SEC West title.

Meanwhile, the country's No. 1 recruit in the class of 2010 -- mammoth offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson (pictured) -- is scheduled to visit USC later this month.

Dyer, from Little Rock, Ark., is the first running back and first five-star prospect (the top ranking by recruiting analysts) in Auburn's 2010 class that becomes official on National Signing Day in February.

Dyer recently became the state of Arkansas' all-time leading rusher with 7,566 yards and 74 touchdowns in his high school career. He has 1,680 yards rushing yards and 21 touchdowns this season.

"It feels pretty good to get it over with," said Dyer, a 5-foot-8, 200-pounder. "It's good to get it off my chest and announce to everybody. I was ready to get it over with and let everybody know."

The big question is how Dyer's commitment will affect the nation's other top-rated backs. Marcus Lattimore of Duncan, S.C., and Lache Seastrunk of Temple, Texas, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 by Rivals and other recruiting services, are also considering Auburn.

Seastrunk has been said to be a strong lean towards Auburn, while Lattimore, however, has long been favored to land in South Carolina.

Dyer's commitment is a big splash for head coach Gene Chizik and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. The Tigers (7-3) rushed for 282 yards with five rushing touchdowns in their 63-31 home victory over Furman last Saturday. Auburn leads the SEC in total offense (450.3 yards per game) and is second in rushing offense (230).

Allen, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound safety/receiver who is the No. 1 ranked prospect in North Carolina, attended Alabama's 24-15 victory over LSU to earn a rematch against top-ranked Florida in the SEC title game next month in Atlanta.

On Friday night, Allen helped Northern Guilford (N.C.) win its first conference championship in school history with a 48-16 win over Western Alamance. Allen returned the opening kickoff 78 yards for a score and added a 49-yard scoring reception.

Allen told Bamaonline.com that his decision to attend Alabama had been made for some time and he had communicated his decision to Tide coach Nick Saban several weeks ago.

He just felt the timing was right on Saturday to announce his decision.

Alabama and Florida have clinched their respective divisions in the SEC and will meet Dec. 5 in the league championship game. One of them is all but guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., if they can get through the next month without a loss.

"Alabama has the best fans in the world, so I wanted to let them know I was going to play for them for the next four years on a special day like this one just to keep the momentum going," Allen said.

"I had been thinking for a long time how I would announce my commitment, and I really couldn't pick a better day than this."

Allen said Saban told him he would get an early opportunity at receiver, opposite of star Julio Jones. Allen selected Alabama over offers from Oregon, Penn State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee among many others. He's the 22nd commitment in the Crimson Tide's 2010 recruiting class.

As the nation's top recruit, Henderson, of St. Paul, Minn., continues to attract attention for his every move.

Since it appears more and more -- at least in the eyes of recruiting analysts -- that Henderson's family would prefer he stay closer to home, that certainly bodes well for Notre Dame, Ohio State and possibly home-state Minnesota.

While Henderson, a 6-foot-8, 300-pounder, isn't tipping his hand, many believe that Notre Dame tops his list.

Henderson, who has already officially visited Ohio State and Notre Dame, is scheduled to visit USC on Nov. 27. He plans to select between top-ranked Florida, Oklahoma and Minnesota for his final two official trips.

(Recruits can take five official visits on schools' tabs under NCAA rules).

In case you missed it last week, Steve McNair, Jr., son of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair, announced his decision to stay close to home and attend Southern Miss.

McNair, Jr., a receiver out of Oak Grove (Hattiesburg, Miss.), selected the Golden Eagles over higher-profile schools such as Mississippi, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Minnesota and West Virginia.

"I just wanted to give my family a chance to watch my games," McNair told the Hattiesburg American.

"I wanted to stay close to home and I loved the Southern Miss campus ... I felt good about (Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora). I think he's going to do whatever it takes to win. I'm looking forward to playing for him."

McNair has been an all-around threat for Oak Grove, catching 39 passes for 372 yards and three scores, while also rushing for 293 yards and passing for 141.

McNair's announcement was positive news for a family that has suffered a tragic year.

McNair's father was the victim of a homicide on July 4, 2009, from gunshot wounds inflicted by Sahel Kazemi, his mistress, who then turned the gun on herself.

Recruiting: Sweet Home Alabama originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seantrel Henderson Handles Life at Top

Jim Henry — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Recruiting

Lights, camera, action. High school football -- from recruiting battles to Friday's No. 1 vs. 2 national showdown -- continues to entertain.

Offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, long anointed the nation's top prep football player by recruiting services, hasn't disappointed this season for undefeated Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.), according to head coach Mike Scanlan. The drama should only build as Henderson remains undecided about his collegiate selection as February's National Signing Day approaches.

Farther South, St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Super 25, is set for its highly-anticipated clash against No. 2 Duncan Byrnes (S.C.) on Friday at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The nationally-televised game (ESPNU) could very well decide the prep national championship.

Of course, recruiting remains a hot topic. And there's none hotter, if not larger, than Henderson, ranked the country's top prep recruit by recruiting services Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Henderson, a 6-foot-8, 300-pound tackle, recently made his first official visit, when he traveled to Ohio State for the Buckeyes defeat to USC on Sept. 11. Henderson's short list remains Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma, Southern Cal, Notre Dame, Minnesota and possibly a late, wildcard entry in Miami.

Henderson's next visit is scheduled for Notre Dame Oct. 11. Henderson's former prep teammate, receiver Michael Floyd, plays for the Irish. Floyd, however, recently underwent surgery for a broken left collarbone and will miss the remainder of the season.

Henderson also has scheduled a visit to Southern Cal Nov. 27. He hasn't set dates for his remaining two visits (players are permitted five under NCAA rules).

Henderson was one of 30 players nationally recently named to the watch list for the 2010 U.S. Army Player of the Year Award. Past winners include Kevin Jones (Chicago Bears), Lorenzo Booker (Florida State), Chris Leak (Florida), Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings), Ryan Perrilloux (Jacksonville State), Mitch Mustain (USC), Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame), Terrelle Pryor (Ohio State) and Bryce Brown (Tennessee).

Scanlan says Henderson hasn't let the recruiting pressures affect his performance.

"We are 4-0 in the conference (Suburban East) with some tough games coming up, but it beats 0-4," Scanlan chuckled and told FanHouse Monday morning.

"We have a nice balance between running and throwing. Of course, we have the franchise - Seantrel. He is playing well. This is probably as good a start of a season that he has ever had. I think he has been able to stay focused. He's real responsible. He takes care of (academic work). I think he has been doing a great job."

Henderson has started every game at left tackle for Cretin-Derham since his sophomore season (freshman aren't allowed to play varsity for the Raiders) and he has allowed just one sack.

Big-time football recruits are nothing new at Cretin-Derham, which has produced Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, Denver Broncos offensive tackle Ryan Harris, Baltimore Ravens All-Pro center Matt Birk and Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer.

Mauer was the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year his senior season at Cretin-Derham and committed to play quarterback at Florida State before giving up the sport in favor of baseball.

Scanlan also said that the team's current quarterback, Mark Alt -- he's the son of former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman John Alt -- should start to attract attention for his torrid start. Alt, who has committed to play hockey at Minnesota, has already thrown for 13 touchdowns with only one interception.

Of the nation's top 10 prep recruits listed by Rivals.com, only three have made verbal commitments (which are, of course, non-binding) -- No. 2 Kyle Prater (receiver) of Hillside, Ill. (Southern Cal) No. 9 Robert Woods (athlete) of Gardena, Calif. (Southern Cal) and No. 10 James Hurst (offensive lineman) of Indianapolis (North Carolina).

The country's top two prep running backs -- Lache Seastrunk of Temple, Tex., and Marcus Lattimore of Duncan, S.C. -- also have played well.

Seastrunk, ranked No. 3 nationally, scored on a 49-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the season earlier this month. It was Seastrunk's 22nd career touchdown of 40 yards or longer; he's also the career rushing leader at Temple, which owns the fourth-most victories all-time in Texas prep football history. Seastrunk has neither narrowed his list of colleges nor scheduled an official visit.

Lattimore, ranked No. 6 nationally, says the football season has provided a reprieve from recruiting. He is scheduled to take his first official visit to FSU on Oct. 9, followed by Auburn Oct. 30. He also has scheduled a trip to Penn State on Nov. 6. Other favorites include North Carolina, Oregon, Georgia and South Carolina.

"Coaches are allowed to call now so I still talk with them a lot," Lattimore told Rivals.com. "I am really focused on these games that we have coming up. We've got a five-game stretch coming up that is going to be tough."

Highlighting that mix is Friday's trip to Florida to face St. Thomas Aquinas (3-0), the two-time defending Class 5A state champion which has outscored its first three opponents 133-20.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Aquinas but was moved to Lockhart Stadium (18,500 capacity) when school officials realized their stadium couldn't safely accommodate the anticipated crowd.

Lattimore and Byrnes moved to 5-0 with a 60-7 win over Gaffney, S.C., last Friday night. Byrnes has scored 145 points the past two games. St. Thomas Aquinas has won 27 consecutive games dating back to the 2007 season.

"It will be a really special event for the city of Fort Lauderdale, and hopefully it will bring more of this type of stuff to South Florida," St. Thomas coach George Smith told the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

In team recruiting rankings, Texas remains No. 1, according to Rivals.com. The Longhorns are followed by LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, Penn State, USC, Florida and Georgia (tied for eighth) and Texas A&M.

Seantrel Henderson Handles Life at Top originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minnesota, Colorado Both Recruiting Kicker Who Made 67-Yard Field Goal

Michael David Smith — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:15:00 EST

Filed under: Colorado, Minnesota, Recruiting

A recruiting battle could be brewing over a high school kicker from Broomfield, Colorado who has verbally committed to Minnesota but then made an unofficial visit to Colorado a day after making a state-record 67-yard field goal.

The kicker, Kip Smith, a senior at Broomfield Legacy High School, has Gophers fans excited because he has said he'll be playing at Minnesota in 2010. But after his big field goal Friday, he reportedly made an unofficial visit to Colorado to watch the Buffs play Colorado State.

Verbal commitments aren't worth the paper they're not printed on, so we'll have to wait until Smith signs on the dotted line before we know whether he'll be a Gopher or a Buffalo. But we do know the kid has an awfully strong leg. Yes, it's true that his 67-yarder came without a rush on a fair catch free kick, and it's true that the kick benefited from the thin air of Westminster, Colorado, with its elevation of 5,300 feet. Nonetheless, it was the state record in the state where field goals fly longest, and either Minnesota or Colorado has a very good kicker coming next season.

Minnesota, Colorado Both Recruiting Kicker Who Made 67-Yard Field Goal originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With Early Commitments, Being No. 1 in August Does Mean Something

Jim Henry — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Recruiting, Prospects

Texas is No. 1.

Or is it Oklahoma? Or does Florida, USC or defending recruiting champion Ohio State have enough juice to finish with a flurry over the next five months and land the nation's top 2010 recruiting class? While questions remain, this much is certain: for many top schools, football coaches are receiving non-binding verbal commitments long before February's national signing day.

Many believe the trend of committing early was a recruiting strategy first implemented by Texas coach Mack Brown.

"Most teams are either pretty much done or halfway done at this point, compared to five years ago when teams were barely getting started commitment-wise by late summer," Jamie Newberg, national recruiting analyst for Rivals. com, told FanHouse.

"I knew it hit us two falls ago when FSU and Miami had a combined 32, 33 commitments before Aug. 1. It's unbelievable. Teams are evaluating earlier, offering earlier, getting kids on campus and to camps. I crunched some numbers for the fun of it and looked at the BCS schools two Junes ago and commitments were up over the same period five years prior by 500 percent.

"It's all because of Mack Brown and Texas. They are basically done by the May evaluation period, so they get a jump on next year. So what happened? The rest of the teams in the Big 12 had to recruit accordingly and it has kind of laterally spread across the country. And now everyone is recruiting like this."

Last week, for example, Oklahoma received a commitment from Scout.com three-star prospect Trey Millard of Columbia, Miss., helping the Sooners overtake the top spot from rival Texas in Scout.com's updated team recruiting rankings.

Oklahoma has 22 commitments for a total of 3,803 points (3.59 average star ranking), according to the site's five-star ranking/point system. The Sooners have received commitments from four of the site's Top 100 players. Texas, meanwhile, has 19 commitments for 3,777 points (3.89 average star ranking). Alabama, LSU and Georgia round out the top five schools in Scout.com's team rankings. Ohio State, which hauled in last year's top class, according to Scout.com, is currently 19th with 11 commitments.

Texas, LSU, Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama hold the top spots in team rankings by Rivals.com.

Scout.com National Director of Recruiting Scott Kennedy posted that he believes the Sooners are probably off to their fastest recruiting star under coach Bob Stoops. Kennedy believes the rivalry with Texas for recruiting dominance in the Lone Star State has intensified the urgency on the recruiting trail.

"Their main rivals for recruits right now is the team that goes out and gets the recruits the absolute earliest, Texas," Kennedy said.

"So if they are going to try and get some of the players that Texas wants then they need to get out there and start offering and taking commitments even earlier, because as we all know Texas is going to be done with their class in March. OU is one of the few teams if not the only team that can go head-to-head with the University of Texas with that type of success."

Not much has changed atop the individual rankings.

Seantrel Henderson, a 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive tackle from Saint Paul, Minn., continues to be ranked No. 1 by Rivals.com and Scout. com. Henderson, also an accomplished basketball player, has received more than 50 scholarship offers in football and at least two in basketball.

He has made unofficial trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Florida, USC and Ohio State.

Henderson, a senior at Cretin-Derham Hall, is scheduled to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 9 in San Antonio. Henderson, who plans to announce his school of choice on National Signing Day in February, is scheduled to take official visits to Ohio State in September, Notre Dame in October and USC in November.

Henderson's three favorites have been reported as Florida, Ohio State and USC. In its summer prediction, Scout.com has Henderson becoming a Gator.

Barry Every, a recruiting analyst for Rivals.com who has worked in the recruiting offices of coach Mark Richt at Georgia, Bobby Bowden at Florida State and Brown when he was at North Carolina, offered this written evaluation of Henderson:

"Physically one of the biggest offensive linemen in the country. Henderson will remind some observers of Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams. Upper and lower body structure is in proportion and he has the powerful base to blow anyone off the line of scrimmage. Henderson has offers from almost every college in the country, and once he starts year-round focus on football, he should develop into a first-round draft pick."

Of course, early recruiting has both a good side and a bad side.

Many prospects are taking unofficial visits to campuses and finding that connection with a particular school. The benefit allows players to enjoy their senior seasons and focus on the tasks at hand, rather than concerning themselves with the pressures of being recruited. It also allows them to focus on their academics and ease the transition from high school classes to collegiate academics. It's also a boon to college football programs; they can start the evaluation process earlier for the following year.

There's also a negative side of committing early.

Injuries are a factor, potentially affecting a player's development. There are also evaluation mistakes made earlier in the process. Plus, in some instances, a head coach may leave a school, prompting a player to change his commitment. And, when dealing with teenagers, let's also not forget that players can change their minds for a multitude of reasons, leaving coaches with holes in their recruited class.

"There are tremendous advantages of recruiting early, but there are also great risks," Newberg said.

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In this Aug. 23, 2009 photo, Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez waits for his players to be seated for a team photo, during the school's annual football media day at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Players from the 2008 and 2009 teams told the Detroit Free Press for a story published on the newspaper's Web site on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009 that the amount of time they spend on football activities during the season and in the offseason greatly exceeds NCAA limits. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

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Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino speaks to reporters before a luncheon at the Little Rock Touchdown Club in Little Rock, Ark., Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

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Tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, center, of Denmark, poses with members of the Yale University college football team as she visited their practice in West Haven, Conn. (AP Photo/Bob Child)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Aug,11, 2009, Ohio State running back Dan Harron (3) runs in a drill during NCAA college football practice in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, Ohio State running back Jaamal Berry (4) runs in a drill during NCAA college football practice in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, Ohio State running back Brandon Saine (3) runs in a drill during NCAA college football practice Tuesday, Aug,11, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, Ohio State running back Dan Harron (1) stretches during NCAA college football practice in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is shown posing during NCAA college football media day in Gainesville, Fla. Despite working with prostyle quarterback coaches, Tebow is expected to show little changes on the field. Coach Urban Meyer said "the guy has a 60 plus percent completion rate. Enhanced, yes. It's not going to be like all of a sudden, 'Look at this guy.' It's going to be Tim Tebow." (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

In this photo taken on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (15) throws a pass under the eye of new quarterback coach Scott Loeffler, left, during the NCAA college football practice Gainesville ,Fla. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Last year, according to Scout.com, Ohio State managed to stay atop of the team rankings from day one. But a number of schools are within striking distance of Oklahoma -- Texas, Alabama, and LSU are all within 300 points of the Sooners.

Newberg also is keeping close tabs on the recruiting efforts of Notre Dame and Miami.

Notre Dame, which needs to make strides this season under coach Charlie Weis -- many believe he is essentially on a one-year contract in 2009 -- has built critical depth through its past three recruiting classes, including players who undoubtedly would play extensively for any team in the country. UM head coach Randy Shannon, in his third season, has two highly-rated recruiting classes on campus and the pressure is turning up on him to bring the Hurricanes back to national prominence.

"I think it's safe to say that both coaches [Weis and Shannon] have to have good seasons," Newberg said.

"With Miami, there is more talent in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties than I have ever seen. You would think that Coach Shannon would pretty much have the pick of the litter, but they are struggling a little bit down there and that shocks me. But it also tells me that teams across the country are hammering these kids that, 'Look, things are not changing at UM.' Every team in the country is recruiting kids down there."

Defending national champion UF, meanwhile, has just 15 commitments, the same as Penn State. The Gators, however, have received commitments from a trio of five-star players, the most of any team listed in the top-25, according to Scout.com's rankings. USC, a notoriously strong finisher, has just 13 commitments.

"When you look around, there are early commitments every where," Newberg said. "But I also have been doing this long enough to know that it's still August and a lot of things can still happen.

"It's recruiting."

With Early Commitments, Being No. 1 in August Does Mean Something originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCAA Fishing for More Alabama Trouble

Brian Grummell — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Alabama, SEC, Recruiting

The NCAA is once again looking into Alabama's football program after a, well, fishy report emerged that a person had funded a fishing trip for two of the program's star players. An Alabama man named Curtis Anderson acknowledges paying for both receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram to go on an offseason fishing trip.

Alabama has investigated the matter and passed along its findings to the Southeastern Conference, which will then be shared with the NCAA. Alabama's defense at face should clear them -- they claim Anderson is not a booster and has zero affiliation with the program. But Alabama was also recently placed on three years probation, this on the heels of just getting cleared of five years' probation in February of 2007. Anderson's story and that of his relationship with the players adds intrigue to the story.

The Birmingham News reports that Anderson is a mess of physical ailments that leaves him unable to even walk.

''I didn't carry them fishing," Anderson said. ''They carried me fishing. I can't even stand up by myself."

Literally.

He said he has degenerative disk disease, among a long list of physical ailments, and has been through six major operations. He said, before his physical problems began, he was an outdoorsman who hunted and fished throughout the United States and Canada.

''For seven years, I haven't been able to go fishing," Anderson said. ''I wanted to go one more time. I said, 'If I can get a hook in one fish, I'll be happy.'" Anderson said the charter boat captain was reluctant to let him take the trip because of his physical condition. He said they were supposed to travel 28 miles out but made it only six miles because he couldn't go any farther. He said the trip was possible only because Jones and Ingram physically carried him onto the boat and supported him while on-board.

There's more to this, I encourage you to read the whole story. Anderson's clearly defensive of the players and calls them close friends, having met them in unexplained circumstances, but claims to have not known nor cared of their football lives for much of the relationship.

There's no way to parse the truth right now, but he's on record and Alabama's also on record with their side of things. This being the NCAA -- which I'm happy to report is having its heart ripped out because a Florida court forced it to reveal "confidential" exchanges between them and Florida State in an unrelated investigation -- you never know where this situation might turn even if everything checks out.

The bottom line is the players received a substantial benefit from an outside party that most of us wouldn't blink twice about but must be accounted for because they are competing in NCAA sanctioned competition.

NCAA Fishing for More Alabama Trouble originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marshall Reinstates A.J. Graham After Robbery Charges Are Dropped

Jim Henry — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:42:00 EST

Filed under: Marshall, Recruiting, Prospects

There's no doubt about it.

A.J. Graham -- Florida's Mr. Football - will soon be headed to join his new teammates at Marshall University.

Marshall University reinstated the Godby High School (Tallahassee, Fla.,) star's scholarship Thursday after armed robbery charges were dropped against the record-setting quarterback earlier on Thursday morning because Graham's alibi, according to his lawyer, is strong enough to create "reasonable doubt."

""Based on today's development, A.J. will have his scholarship reinstated," Marshall head coach Mark Snyder said. "We look forward to having him join our program and put this unfortunate episode behind him."

Graham, 18, signed with Marshall last Feb. 4 (National Signing Day) after setting school season and career records for pass completions, pass attempts, passing yards and touchdown passes.

A month earlier, Graham, who completed 244-of-396 passes for 3,870 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2008, was named Florida's Mr. Football as the state's top player. Previous winners include Tim Tebow, Leon Washington, and Daunte Culpepper.

Graham's dream of playing college football. however, appeared lost when he was arrested and charged with armed robbery May 26 in Tallahassee. Marshall University released Graham from his scholarship.Graham's trial had been set for Oct. 19 and he could have faced 10 years to life in prison had he been convicted.

"They can't prove the charges," Graham's attorney, Tim Jensen, told The Tallahassee Democrat.

According to the court document, three men were robbed about 11:45 p.m. May 23 by two men in a charcoal-colored gray/silver Chevrolet Impala. Court records state the three victims were on their way to a party, which Graham attended earlier in the evening. The investigation found that Graham's grandmother had a gray Impala registered in her name and the car was found in the driveway of Graham's home.

However, court records show the woman testified she drove the car to work the evening of the robbery and didn't return home until 11:35 p.m. A neighbor confirmed the woman's testimony and said the car didn't leave after that time. Court records state additional witnesses testified Graham attended the party with three other people and left around midnight.

Marshall is looking to rebound from last season's 4-8 record. The Thundering Herd open their season Sept. 5 at Southern Illinois.

Marshall Reinstates A.J. Graham After Robbery Charges Are Dropped originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Class of 2010 Recruit Updates: Seantrel Henderson Still Tops

Jim Henry — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Recruiting

Summer camps, combines and workouts are nearing a close for the nation's top high school football recruits. Player and team rankings continue to be listed and debated by recruiting analysts as the prep season quickly approaches and the Class of 2010 comes into focus.

Not much has changed, however, for offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson, ranked numero uno in the Class of 2010 by two recruiting services. Henderson, a 6-foot-7, 310-pound offensive tackle from Saint Paul, Minn., has received more than 50 scholarship offers in football and, for good measure, two in basketball.

Elite programs across the country are waiting to hear where Henderson will take his official visits this fall. He has made unofficial trips to Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Florida, USC and Ohio State.

Henderson, a senior at Cretin-Derham Hall, hopes to narrow his gargantuan list to five favorites this month. He plans to announce his school of choice on National Signing Day in February after playing in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 9 in San Antonio.

"After I narrow it down, it will be better for me," Henderson told Scout.com. "It won't be as hectic as it is for me now."

Added Cretin-Derham football coach Mike Scanlan: "He's got a list going, but it fluctuates from day to day. Seantrel is not the kind of kid who says no very easily, so this is going to be hard for him to narrow things down."

Henderson, also an accomplished prep and AAU basketball player, played with the Howard Pulley Panthers this summer. The Twin Cities-based AAU team, widely considered one of the top programs in Minnesota, also featured top basketball prospect Harrison Barnes.

Barnes, from Ames, Iowa, is the second-rated basketball player in the Class of 2010 by recruiting services.

Last summer, Henderson attended the Nike Hoops Jamboree, where he was measured at 6-foot-7 1/2 without shoes and weighed 303 pounds with a 7-foot-2 wing span and an 8-foot-9 reach. He has indicated that he wants to play both football and basketball in college.

In other recruiting news, Marcus Lattimore, the nation's No. 2 rated running back prospect and No. 7 overall prospect in the Rivals100, has announced his five final schools -- Oregon, Penn State, North Carolina, Auburn and South Carolina.

Lattimore, from Duncan-Byrnes, S.C., informed Rivals.com and Scout.com via text message that "this is final and will not change. I am taking my official visit to Oregon Oct. 31 and I have a visit set to Penn State Oct. 10. I will take my other visits after the season."

Rivals and Scout also recently unveiled their college team rankings as the recruiting period for the Class of 2010 has reached the halfway point. Both services list Texas at No. 1. The Longhorns have received 19 non-binding verbal commitments, headlined by defensive end Reggie Wilson of Haltom, Texas.

Rivals' top-10 also includes LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Penn State, Michigan and Stanford. Scout's top-10 includes Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida, LSU, Penn State, Stanford, Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

Rivals recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg admits it will be interesting to see if the Longhorns can go wire-to-wire with the top class in the nation.

"This is a balanced class, and they all are from the Lone Star State," Newberg said.

"Can (Mack) Brown and the Longhorns go wire-to-wire with the top class in the nation? That will be decided by the decisions of running back Lache Seastrunk, wide receiver Darius White and defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat. All hail from Texas and each currently is the top prospect at his position."

Of the top-10 rated players each ranked by Rivals and Scout, only three have announced their decisions.

From Rivals, athlete Matt Elam (No. 8) of West Palm Beach has selected Florida. From Scout, in addition to Elam (No. 9), offensive tackle Andrew Norwell (No. 5) of Cincinnati has selected Ohio State and defensive end Chris Martin of Princeton, N.J., has picked Notre Dame.

At the Top Gun Camp in Florida last week, offensive lineman Robert Crisp, of Hillsborough, N.C., was named the camp's top overall player, while Connecticut prospects Silas Reed (athlete) and Khairi Fortt (linebacker) were selected the top offensive and defensive players.

Crisp has committed to North Carolina State. Reed has committed to Penn State, while Fortt's top schools include Penn State, Georgia, USC, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Class of 2010 Recruit Updates: Seantrel Henderson Still Tops originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marcus Lattimore's Hype, Not Ego, Grows

Jim Henry — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Recruiting, Prospects

Marcus Lattimore has never bought into the hype about himself.

He might be South Carolina's top college prospect and the No. 1 recruit in the nation, according to The Sporting News. Scout.com lists him as No. 2 nationally and Rivals.com lists him at No 4 for good measure. Lattimore also has received more than 30 scholarship offers and he enters his senior season at powerhouse James F. Byrnes High School as the program's all-time leading rusher.

Impressed? Not Lattimore, no sir.

"Marcus continues to work hard every day and he continues to be the same person," Byrnes head coach Chris Miller told FanHouse Tuesday. "He hasn't changed at all. Actually, he has become a better person. He takes everything in stride and does what he has to do with a smile on his face."

Lattimore and teammates have plenty to smile about, too.

The Rebels depart their hometown of Duncan, S.C., on Wednesday for Nike's 7-on-7 Passing Tournament in Beaverton, Ore. The two-day tourney, which also features teams from California, Texas, Georgia and Florida, is sponsored and paid by the hometown corporate giant.

Closer to home in South Carolina, Lattimore and teammates have enjoyed a productive summer.

Fifty-one of 52 players participating in strength and conditioning drills have met their obligations and will open preseason practice next month with their last names on their jerseys (program tradition), according to Miller. The Rebels will enter the season with incredible expectations. The program has won six of the last seven state titles with seven-year record of 97-5.

Overall, Byrnes has won nine state championships since 1976.

"We feel like we have a great nucleus returning," said Miller, 51, whose team has not lost a home game in seven seasons and opened last year ranked No. 1 nationally by USA Today. "We have all of our skill players returning and even though we have to revamp our offensive line, we have a lot of kids with experience overall."

Lattimore, at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, headlines that experience.

Lattimore has narrowed has collegiate choices to eight: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, Penn State and South Carolina. While he doesn't list a favorite, four former prep teammates -- Willy Korn, Chad Diehl, Stanley Hunter and Xavier Dye -- play at Clemson. Lattimore plans to whittle his list to five by summer's end, visiting two teams this fall and three teams at the conclusion of his senior season. Lattimore hopes to make his decision prior to February's National Signing Day.

It's easy to see why Lattimore has developed into one of the nation's top prep players.

In last season's state title game (Class AAAA -Division I, South Carolina's top division) against Sumter at Clemson's Memorial Stadium, Lattimore scooted for 305 yards on 38 carries and rushed for four touchdowns in the 31-21 victory. On the game's second play, he got outside and ran 69 yards for a score. He added touchdown runs of 13, 50 and three yards in the second half as Byrnes finished with a 14-1 record.

Latest College Football Images

University of Miami football player Sean Spence, top, works with kids at a football camp in Belle Glades, Fla. Saturday, July 11, 2009. After the drills football players talked to the kids about staying out of gangs and in school. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

University of Miami football players Travis Benjamin talks to home town kids during a football camp in Belle Glades, Fla. Saturday, July 11, 2009, about staying in school and out of gangs. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

University of Miami football player Randy Phillips (6) works with home town kids at a football camp Saturday, July 11, 2009, in Belle Glades, Fla. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

University of Miami football player Travis Benjamin (3) works with kids during a football camp in Belle Glades, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2009. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

University of Miami football players Travis Benjamin (3) and Randy Phillips (6) talks to home town kids during a football camp in Belle Glades, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2009 about staying in school and out of gangs. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

From left, Dick Mitchell, Babe Parilli, Clayton Webb, Bob Fry, and George Blanda greet each other upon arriving at a Paul "Bear" Bryant reunion at the Crown Plaza, Campbell House in Lexington, Kentucky, Friday, June 19, 2009. Kentucky football players who played for the famed coach get together every other year. (Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)

MCT

Babe Parilli, gets a bear hug from Dick Mitchell during a Paul "Bear" Bryant reunion at the Crown Plaza, Campbell House in Lexington, Kentucky, Friday, June 19, 2009. Kentucky football players who played for the famed coach get together every other year. (Pablo Alcala/Lexington Herald-Leader/MCT)

MCT

In this photo taken Tuesday, June 23, 2009, provided by the University of Arkansas, part of a new artificial surface at Reynolds Razorback Stadium is shown in Fayetteville, Ark. Arkansas' first college football game on the new surface is scheduled for Sept. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/University of Arkansas, Wesley Hitt) ** NO SALES

In this Sept. 22, 2007 photo, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald looks at the scoreboard during the second quarter of a college football game against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. Northwestern has extended Fitzgerald's contract through the 2015 season, the school announced Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Fitzgerald, a former All-American linebacker at Northwestern, has been the Wildcats' head coach since 2006. He joined the coaching staff in 2001. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

University of Cincinnati head football coach Brian Kelly speaks at a news conference at UC in Cincinnati Monday June 22, 2009. The University of Cincinnati on Monday said Kelly has signed a contract extension, adding a year at nearly $1.5 million. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

"It's awesome knowing you have a guy like Marcus and you can keep giving the ball to him and he's going to make plays. It's nice knowing he's there," Byrnes quarterback Chas Dodd told The State (Columbia, S.C.) newspaper following the title game. Dodd, also a returning senior, has played on the same team as Lattimore since the fourth grade and lost only one game since then as starters.

Lattimore, who finished last season with a school-record 2,314 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns, carried the ball 76 times for 573 yards in the Rebels' final two playoff games. Miller says Lattimore, who boasts a nice combination of power and speed, reminds locals of former Clemson running back James Davis, a sixth-round selection of the Cleveland Browns in the 2009 draft.

"He is a do it all back that runs with a lot of power and grace," said Chad Simmons, a national recruiting analyst for Scout.com. "He is the number two prospect in the country and he has been on most radars since he was a freshman at Byrnes. Lattimore is ready to run the ball on the college level right now and he could play for a lot of BCS schools this fall if that was an option."

Lattimore credits his mother (Yolanda Smith) and stepfather (Vernon Smith) for helping him during the recruiting process and keeping him grounded. He also points to and thanks his teammates for helping him achieve his lofty recruiting ranking.

Miller, who played football at Newberry College in Newberry, S.C. -- his son is a kicker at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C, while his daughter plays soccer at Byrnes -- says Lattimore also has embraced his role as a team leader.

But that shouldn't come as a surprise to a player known just as much for his humility as his talents.

"Now is the time to improve," Lattimore told The State. "I am working really hard this summer. With workouts and passing camps and stuff, I mean, football is life now, and that's OK because I love it."

Marcus Lattimore's Hype, Not Ego, Grows originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jeff Luc, Nation's Top Linebacker Recruit, No Longer Allergic to Weight Room

Jim Henry — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:25:00 EST

Filed under: Recruiting

There was a time when the nation's top-rated prep linebacker was -- gesundheit! -- allergic to the weight room. Yes, it's true. A physically gifted Jeff Luc did all he could to avoid weight training when he first arrived at Treasure Coast High School, located on Florida's East Coast.

"When you've been strong your whole life, it's like what do you need weights for?" Titans head football coach Bill Kelley told FanHouse. "Jeff would get in the weight room and bench (press) because everyone wants to bench. He'd run and hide when it came time to do squats and leg work.

"I'd like to tell people he was allergic to the weight room."

Sniffles aside, that's certainly not the case any more.

Luc, a muscular 6-foot-1, 240-pound senior, is rated the country's No. 1 middle linebacker in the Class of 2010 by recruiting analysts at Scout.com and Rivals. com. Luc -- brace yourself -- has received more than 50 scholarship offers from coast-to-coast, including one from every BCS school.

Luc, also ranked as the Sunshine State's top player at any position, and is possibly the most physically superior linebacker in his recruiting class. He has impressive size, a compact, thickly-built body with long, strong arms to easily shed lockers. While he may lack great speed, Luc can close the gap on ball carriers -- he was clocked at 4.57 in the 40-yard dash at a recent summer camp at the University of Georgia.

Luc and the Titans are scheduled to participate in a 7-on-7 passing camp at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday.

"By far, Jeff is the most physically gifted football player I have ever coach," said Kelley, 47, a veteran coach from Oklahoma whose football program is heading into its fourth season at recently-built Treasure Coast High in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

"Plus, Jeff's also as good a person as any I have ever coached. Everything is yes-sir, no-sir out of his mouth, his work ethic is fantastic, and he has really embraced being the leader of this football team the last six to eight months. You don't have to say anything in the weight room because Jeff is already on top of it if a kid is leaning over on a bar or sitting down. You don't have to say a word, it's really nice."

Kelley credits assistant coaches Irvin Jones (defensive coordinator) and Aaron Shephard (offensive line) for challenging Luc in the weight room when he enrolled at Treasure Coast as a freshman in 2006. The Titans struggled as a first-year program without any seniors, they won three games in Luc's sophomore season and just missed the Class 6A playoffs last season at 7-3.

Luc registered 119 tackles, nine sacks, two interceptions, five forced fumbles and had four pass break-ups in 2008.

"When Jeff came to us as an incoming freshman, he already had a body of a man -- he has been incredibly blessed that way," Kelley said.

"Once he developed a taste for the weight room, he just exploded. His (strength) numbers are ridiculous and there's his work ethic. He just attacks his lower body now -- it has made all the difference. If you watch his highlight tapes you will see that he explodes through his tackles. He just doesn't finish, he explodes through the tackle."

Recruiting analysts also have done double-takes when watching Luc.

"He is the type of player that you do not see every year on the high school level," Chad Simmons, a national recruiting analyst for Scout.com., said in a recent scouting report of Luc.

"He looks like an NFL linebacker and he has the tools to play on that level one day. Many think he is a run stopper, but he has the ability to drop back into coverage also. He has good lateral movement, he gets down hill in a hurry, and he delivers a lot power in every tackle he makes."

Luc, who is just as impressive in the classroom with a 3.4 grade-point average, doesn't plan to rush his recruiting process. He relies on his family, specifically older brother Alex, for direction, which includes a path to the school's weight room.

"I am just taking things slow, still working hard, and looking at each school," Luc told Scout.com. "I am just going to take it slow. I will go anywhere to play as long as I am happy. I am not thinking about location of a school at all."

Jeff Luc, Nation's Top Linebacker Recruit, No Longer Allergic to Weight Room originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve McNair Jr. Follows in Father's Footsteps, Except at Line of Scrimmage

Jim Henry — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:08:00 EST

Filed under: Recruiting

His last name gave it away. Everyone assumed Steve McNair Jr., would be a football quarterback.

His late father, Steve McNair, rose from anonymity at Alcorn State to become "Air McNair," a Heisman Trophy candidate known for his passing prowess and the third overall selection of the Houston Oilers in 1995.

McNair, Jr., followed his father's footsteps until the ninth grade, when he first began to contemplate a position change from quarterback. McNair Jr., wanted to catch the football, not throw it. So McNair Jr., immediately sought advice from his father, who offered a message that his son still carries with him today:

Never go against your will.

McNair, Jr., a senior at Hattiesburg (Oak Grove), Miss., has developed into a Division-I prospect at wide receiver. He has received at least five offers -- Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tulsa and West Virginia -- and has attracted interest from Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, Louisville and, yes, Alcorn State, as well.

Again, leaning on advice from his father, McNair Jr., isn't in a hurry to select a college just yet. He has said he doesn't plan to make a decision until after his senior season. McNair Jr., caught 56 passes for 962 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior.

"My dad has taught me everything I know, both on and off the field," McNair Jr., recently told Scout.com.

"I use to play quarterback but I wanted to move to receiver, and he told me to never go against my own will. I moved to receiver that year in ninth grade. He told me to play what ever I wanted to play. I ask him for advise on recruiting all of the time, and he lets me make my own decisions, but I certainly listen to what he has to say. I could not get any better advise. He knows the ropes about everything with football."

For the past two springs, McNair, Jr., and other Oak Grove receivers had the opportunity to catch passes from another NFL legend - Brett Favre. Favre offered tips on route running and drills. College coaches also have made their way to Oak Grove to watch a number of McNair Jr.'s teammates, including fellow receiver Robert Johnson and athlete Jay Hughes.

When it comes time to select a college, McNair Jr., says his decision will be based on need -- not name.

"Most people think they want to go to a big time college, and then they are happy," he told Rivals.com. "I do not want to go to some big time school for the prestige. I just want to go where I am needed, not even necessarily where I like it the most."

While many who watched McNair, Jr., develop as a player believed he would remain at quarterback because of his father, McNair, Jr., has forged his own path.

"He's my father and everybody expects me to follow in his footsteps," McNair, Jr., said.

"I'm going to, but in my own way."

Steve McNair Jr. Follows in Father's Footsteps, Except at Line of Scrimmage originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lane Kiffin's Next Trick: Recruiting a Middle Schooler? Uh, Not Really

Mark Hasty — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:16:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, Media Watch, Recruiting, Prospects

In case you're wondering, here is the complete list of outrageous things Lane Kiffin has not done since becoming head coach at Tennessee:

1. Paint himself orange and skydive naked into Bryant-Denny Stadium.
2. Ask what Urban Meyer has done that's so great.
3. Consult with the UT astronomy department to see whether the universe would be annihilated if his ego was ever in the same room as Bruce Pearl's.
4. Coach in, and win, a football game.

For a moment, I had to cross off "make an outrageous scholarship offer to a middle schooler" because, well, there were reports that he just did that. Evan Berry, 13-year-old son of former Vol running back James Berry and brother of current Vol Eric Berry, has officially committed to the Vols. Or so said Rivals.com and ESPN, sort of.

Evan Berry's father begs to differ. As does the NCAA, which doesn't allow coaches to contact middle schoolers.

But you know it's coming.

ESPN, which should know better, ran a crawl about the younger Berry committing to the Vols. Sports Illustrated's recruiting expert Andy Staples even called it "a smart gamble." To be fair, it does sound like the kind of thing Lane Kiffin might do, apart from the whole "he didn't actually do it" thing.

How did the mess get started? Evan Berry was asked a question at a track meet by a reporter who found out he was Eric Berry's little brother. Evan said he was "committed" to Tennessee, which he probably is given his family ties. It's just that "commitment" means something different to the Recruiting-Industrial Complex than it does to, say, an eighth grader.

To a normal person, "committed" means "If possible, I am going to play for the Vols." To the Recruiting-Industrial Complex, it means "I have received a scholarship offer from the current coaching staff, and I have accepted that offer." It also means "Hurry up and get this on the internet, because nobody's going to pay $9.95 a month for old news about the potential college choices of teenage athletes." That still doesn't explain why ESPN put the story on their crawl, however.

Still, for a few short hours, it looked like Lane Kiffin had gone and signed himself a kid who hasn't finished middle school yet. Thus, every local of the Lunatic Athletic Boosters Union held an emergency meeting, trying to determine which of their former stars have offerable spawn, then texting their head coaches to ask why Former Great, Jr. hasn't been offered a scholarship yet. And they weren't going to take "he's eight months old and hasn't learned to walk yet" for an answer.

That is where college football is heading. Every time I think things can't get any weirder in this cornball sport, they do.

UPDATE: Evan Berry also committed to Tennessee back when he was in fifth grade. I believe that's what is known as a "solid verbal."

Lane Kiffin's Next Trick: Recruiting a Middle Schooler? Uh, Not Really originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Charlie Weis Tweets About How Using Twitter Can Violate NCAA Rules

Michael David Smith — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:42:00 EST

Filed under: Notre Dame, Recruiting

Like thousands of other people in the sports world, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis uses Twitter to keep fans updated on what he's doing. But in a series of tweets on Wednesday, Weis explained that there are certain things he's not allowed to do on Twitter -- like respond to tweets from high school football players -- because of NCAA recruiting rules.

Weis posted this series of tweets in rapid succession on Wednesday:

Good morning. Let me catch you up with the rules of technology regarding recruiting. You cannot call or text any recruit at this time.
Beginning in September, you may call each senior once a week, but texting is not allowed. The ways to contact a recruit include...
email, hand-written notes, or calling the coach which is permissible. Twitter or Facebook cannot be used as a two way dialogue.
For example, if I received a tweet and then responded, it would be viewed comparable to a text which is illegal.
When I use Twitter, I do not accept responses for this reason. Go Irish!

Weis doesn't follow anyone on Twitter, so it's clear that he's using Twitter solely as a one-way form of communication. The NCAA can rest easy.

Charlie Weis Tweets About How Using Twitter Can Violate NCAA Rules originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tennessee Has 187 Offers to 2010 Prospects But Can Only Sign 28

Mark Hasty — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:50:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, SEC, Recruiting

When Houston Nutt signed 37 players to football scholarships at Ole Miss back in February, he knew several would not qualify academically. After all, the NCAA only allows a maximum of 25 scholarship players in any one recruiting class. Thus it was no surprise last week when SEC Commissioner Mike Slive told his coaches they would only be allowed to sign 28 prospects to letters of intent from now on.

This puts the Tennessee Volunteers in a bit of tight spot. The website Gridironstuds.com has counted up and found that Lane Kiffin (above) and his staff have already made scholarship offers to a few more prospects than that. And by "a few" I mean "a metric boatload." The Vols have 187 offers out there for the class of 2010.

Insert your own "doesn't Tennessee have a math department?" joke here. Kiffin went to Fresno State anyway. But what are the Vols going to do?

Come on. If the past few years of the ever-escalating recruiting arms race have taught us anything, it's that a scholarship offer is about as binding as a verbal commitment. Until a letter of intent is signed, the offer can always be pulled by either party.

Still, the math says that less than 15% of the players Tennessee has offered will actually get a scholarship. There are some perfectly understandable reasons why a school might offer significantly more scholarships than it can actually award. Some players won't qualify, for instance. Likewise, most top-level recruits get more than one scholarship offer. Some get more than a dozen.

A look at Tennessee's list of offers reveals gobs of five-star and four-star prospects, many of whom have already committed to other schools and many more of whom will wind up signing somewhere else. I think this strategy of rampant overoffering is dangerous, though. Even the best teams have a handful of players who weren't highly regarded as prospects. If you spam a zillion offers to every five-star prospect in the country, those three-star or less prospects have to know that, to them, a scholarship offer from you means about as much as an e-mail from somebody claiming to be a relative of a recently deceased corrupt Nigerian bureaucrat.

Some of those kids will be told "Golly whiz, I know we said we had a scholarship for you, but a funny thing happened ..." and wind up signing with one of your rivals. Will they let bygones be bygones? That, my friends, is a sucker bet. College football is an emotional game, after all.

Tennessee Has 187 Offers to 2010 Prospects But Can Only Sign 28 originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Washington Loses Jake Heaps to BYU

Gary Washburn — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:32:00 EST

Filed under: Brigham Young, Mountain West, Recruiting

New Washington football coach Steve Sarkisian wanted to make major strides with in-state recruiting, but that campaign was dealt a blow Thursday when Skyline High School (Sammamish, Wash.) quarterback Jake Heaps announced his intentions to attend BYU for the 2010 season.

Sarkisian made a hard push for the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder, the state's top quarterback, after taking the Washington job in December. He made the competition close, but Heaps, who is Mormon, opted for Bronco Mendenhall's program, leaving Sarkisian without a top-notch quarterback to succeed junior Jake Locker. Scout.com rated Heaps as the No. 1 quarterback prospect for the class of 2010 and he led the Spartans to state 4A titles as a sophomore and junior.

Heaps flew to Salt Lake City and made the announcement at a local restaurant a day before BYU's Junior Day. Sarkisian had a unique perspective on Heaps' decision; he is a former BYU quarterback

"It was tough, but in the end, coach Sarkisian once made the same decision I did for the same reasons," Heaps said, according to the Provo Daily Herald. "He understands more than anybody why I did this."

Washington Loses Jake Heaps to BYU originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Butch Davis' Tar Heels in Line for Success With Touted Tackle James Hurst

Jim Henry — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:14:00 EST

Filed under: UNC, ACC, Recruiting, Prospects

Scout.com released its updated Scout 300 on Monday, and offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson remains the site's top high school prospect. Two other offensive lineman were rated among the country's top 22 players, including tackle James Hurst of Indiana.

In fact, Hurst just might be the most heavily-recruited offensive lineman ever from the Hoosier state, which should put a smile on the face of North Carolina coach Butch Davis. Hurst is one of three verbal commitments for the Tar Heels.

"I ran out of good things to say about James a long time ago," Brian Woodard, Hurst's high school coach in Plainfield, Ind., outside of Indianapolis, told FanHouse.

"It may sound like a broken record, but it's all true. He's a special young man. James is going to be one heck of a college football player."

Hurst, a 6-foot-5, 271-pounder, will join Davis' emerging program next season, along with his brother, tight end Nelson Hurst, who will transfer from Mississippi State. The brothers have a strong football bloodline -- their father, Tim Hurst, played for Bear Bryant at Alabama in the mid-1970s.

More than 25 programs extended scholarship offers to Hurst, who narrowed his final three choices to UNC, Florida and Georgia. Hurst became the Tar Heels' first verbal commitment in April, pointing to factors that included his connection with UNC offensive line coach Sam Pittman, the team's pro-style offense and the program's reemergence under Davis.

UNC received more good news Monday when Russell Bodine of Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy became the second offensive lineman to verbally commit to the Tar Heels. Linebacker Ty Linton, of Charlotte, N.C., also had previously committed to UNC, which featured a top-10 recruiting class this past year under Davis.

After Mack Brown's departure in 1997, the Tar Heels floundered for the next nine seasons. Carl Torbush (1998-00) and John Bunting (2001-06) went a combined 44-63 before UNC finally found its man in Davis. After a 4-8 season in 2007, Davis had the Tar Heels contending in the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division last year. UNC finished 8-5, its best season since 2001.

Davis also knows a little something about rebuilding programs. He took over a Miami Hurricanes program in 1995 that was ravaged with scholarship losses due to violations. By 2000, the Hurricanes were a top-five team nationally.

"I went on a bunch of visits, but the big three for me were North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia," Hurst told Scout.com. "I went to those three schools and we let it settle I guess for a couple weeks. It was easy for me to see where I fit in the best and where I wanted to be.

"I said I wanted to wait until August, but this was the best for me to have it out of the way and everything."

Woodard wasn't surprised by Hurst's decision to pull the trigger early on the Tar Heels. February's National Signing Day is still nine months away, and verbal commitments are non-binding under NCAA rules. Woodard pointed to Hurst's discipline on the field and in the classroom. Hurst has earned academic honors (4.1 grade-point average) and plans to graduate in December and enroll early at UNC.

"James is really a sharp guy, just a neat kid," said Woodard, whose team went 9-3 last season and made the sectional finals.

"He's a very good athlete with incredible speed for his size and frame. He plays low and is physical, but probably his greatest asset is that he's so sharp. He understands concepts and schemes that the average player does not understand. He's as good as anybody out there."

Rivals.com recruiting analyst Greg Ladky agrees.

"James Hurst is just so good at tackle," Ladky said.

"He is great in pass protection, and he will put defenders into the ground run blocking. While Seantrel Henderson has the most upside at tackle, I think Hurst is the surest thing at the offensive tackle spot. Given how important left tackles are, Hurst is Indiana's most valuable prospect."

Added Woodard: "James is one of those kids who, no matter what he does in life, he will be successful because he has that kind of work ethic and discipline."

The top five prospects ranked nationally by Rivals.com are Henderson (Saint Paul, Minn.), running back Lache Seastrunk (Temple, Texas), receiver Darius White (Fort Worth, Texas) running back Marcus Lattimore (Duncan, S.C.) and athlete Matt Elam (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.). Hurst is ranked seventh.

Scout.com's top five are Henderson, Lattimore, linebacker Justin McCay (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), linebacker Jeff Luc (Treasure Coast, Fla.) and offensive lineman Andrew Norwell (Cincinnati). Hurst is ranked 22nd.

Elam (Florida) and Norwell (Ohio State) are the lone players among the top-five on each site that have committed to schools.

Butch Davis' Tar Heels in Line for Success With Touted Tackle James Hurst originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lane Kiffin Commits Recruiting Violation On Twitter, Universe Explodes

Clay Travis — Wed, 20 May 2009 01:30:00 EST

Filed under: Tennessee, Coaching, Fans, Recruiting, General CFB Insanity

Tuesday, Lane Kiffin and the Tennessee Volunteers received a commitment from a high school defensive end named J.C. Copeland. "Kiffin" exulted via Twitter, "It's a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so excited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!"

There's just one problem with this twit, er, tweet. You can't comment on a recruit by name until they've officially signed with your program. Oops.

Meet Twittergate. As a result of the Twitter post, the Vols have been forced to self-report a secondary violation to the NCAA.

Furthermore, Tennessee quickly whipped the public relations machine into fast gear, explaining that one of Kiffin's assistants was new and mistyped the message. Which is awesome, except that I got three e-mails from UT fans within the hour all pointing out that this message was an NCAA violation. So if your average fan can get the rule straight, why can't an employee? We're not asking someone to make plutonium from candle wax and a fishing lure, all we want is basic competency. All of this just provides further evidence for something I already knew, I hate Twitter. And so should you.

For the past couple of months you can't escape Twitter, it's everywhere. Especially as it pertains to sports. But I don't understand why. It makes no sense. Let me ask you this, when was the last time that a college coach merely doing something new got covered by the media? I mean that seriously. We were around when television began, but did newspapers all run articles about football and basketball coaches buying televisions? Did they feature quotes about how cool television was? "Today General Neyland watched television. He was fascinated by the moving images."

Radios?

Fielding Yost was moved by music appearing without the use of a piano or a gramophone. "It's like magic," Yost said, "magic music."

Honestly, I'm serious. I don't remember reading articles discussing coaches getting e-mail addresses so they could surf the information superhighway. I ask because all of these examples, televisions, radios, and e-mail addresses are much more culturally relevant than Twitter will ever be. Yet we've all heard a ton about Twitter and college athletics. Every single coach in America has had to answer questions about whether or not he has a Twitter account. I don't get it. It's like every single member of the mainstream media has stock options in Twitter and feels compelled to question coaches about it at every opportunity.

(I withdraw all criticisms if press conference briefings confirm that in 1994 every single college coach in America faced this question, "Have you been on the eBay, coach?")

Twitter is Friendster with a less cool name, digital graffiti with less staying power than gum on the undersides of desks. And now it's a new route to NCAA violations.

Shoot me now.

The only thing worse than a coach getting a secondary recruiting violation for using Twitter would be a coach getting a recruiting violation because someone else was pretending to be him on Twitter. Wait, that just happened? Well, at least the Twitter page must have been awesome, mentioning girls and alcohol and ... no. Your grandpa would be bored by the messages? Well, then, what's the point?

Truly.

Ninety-nine percent of the time you get lame, 140 character updates that let you know where someone is. I suppose that's amazingly valuable if you happen to be sitting at the airport, you think to yourself, I wonder if that's Lane Kiffin sitting across the aisle and then Kiffin tweets, "Sitting at Denver airport. Coffee's expensive, feet ache. Haven't read actual book since 1983. Urban Meyer has no chin!"

Only Kiffin wouldn't tweet this because he doesn't actually tweet. And if he did, this would be 10 billion percent more interesting than what a Kiffin stooge writes for him. Don't believe me? Read Lane Kiffin's Twitter page. It's everything that's wrong with the Twitter phenomenon. The NCAA rules violation post has now been removed, but since April 8, "Kiffin" has posted 20 times. Based on a quick review of these postings, we learn five things.

1. Kiffin is not actually doing the twits -- better name than tweet -- himself. This makes everyone who follows him niTwits. (Did you see what a clever play on words I did there? Bang, send me the Pulitzer.)

2. The majority of the tweets don't feature actual sentences. For example: "Out with the Big Orange Caravan in the Tri-Cities ... I hope we have a lot of Vol fans come out today! 10:36 AM May 4th"

Be honest, if someone sent you this e-mail, you'd block them from sending you any more e-mails, right? Yet put it on Twitter, attach it to a coaches' name who you've never met, and it's like Shakespeare reincarnated.

3. Kiffin has used exclamation points in 13 of his most recent 20 posts. That's more frequently than he's used periods to end sentences. I hate, hate, hate, exclamation points! They drive me insane! But even if you use exclamation points, can 65 percent of your comments really need them? Doesn't that mean that the majority of the things you write about are exclamations? My head is spinning!

4. Twitter makes the really exciting, (wow, football!) seem really boring. "Slow day in the office ... great time to watch some film ... 8:11 AM Apr 30th" I'm troubled by this, where's the exclamation? Is Lane Kiffin not excited about film? Shouldn't he be excited about film? How is it that Lane Kiffin can twit and make lawyers think their job doing document review for asbestos litigation is exciting?

5. Twitter makes cool guys seem lame. Don't you know that in the past six weeks Kiffin has done 15 billion things more awesome than anything you or I will do? Why does his Twitter feed read, "In meetings ... Getting ready for practice #11 this afternoon! Go Vols! 9:41 AM Apr 9th"

Look, I'm not meaning to pick on Kiffin. Most coaches are lame when it comes to Twitter. Just like most coaches would have been pretty lame if we'd suddenly insisted that they start raising program awareness on eBay. Everyone can picture Bobby Bowden walking into the office and saying, "Golly, I just don't know know why my autographed liver spot photos aren't selling for more."

Can we make it a rule that football and basketball coaches don't get asked about any new technology ever again? In the meantime, at least Twitter has made actual news, time for the NCAA rulebooks to get a 140 character review!

Lane Kiffin Commits Recruiting Violation On Twitter, Universe Explodes originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 20 May 2009 01:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elam Leads Unrivaled Florida Class

Jim Henry — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:15:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Recruiting

Beaches and bikinis aside, the state of Florida is loaded with prep football talent. Again.

Despite the wealth, however, one veteran recruiting analyst says he doesn't remember the state, specifically South Florida, being this good. Around 200 high-school players in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties alone are considered Division-I prospects.

It's easy to see how the overall depth of talent and the consistency of play have made Florida an important ticket for college coaches. One of the Sunshine State's brightest in the Class of 2010 is Matt Elam of Palm Beach Gardens.

Elam, the younger brother of Cleveland Browns safety Abram Elam, is the nation's fifth-rated prospect, according to Rivals.com. Elam, at 6-foot and 205 pounds, is a two-way star at running back and linebacker with 4.4 speed (40 yard dash) at William T. Dwyer High School.

Elam, a junior, helped lead the Panthers into the state's playoffs last fall with 100 tackles, 431 rushing yards, 776 receiving yards and 21 overall touchdowns. Elam, who also played basketball at Dwyer, is one of 12 players who has made a non-binding verbal commitment to the University of Florida.

"Matt is probably the top player in Florida," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg told FanHouse Friday morning.

"He's a phenomenal athlete, unreal at this [high school] level. He's a star running back, a defender who can walk up in the box. I think he will be a strong safety at the next level. He's physical, fast, versatile, just a great-looking kid."

Elam ranks behind offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson (St. Paul, Minn.), running back Lache Seastrunk (Temple, Texas), receiver Darius White (Fort Worth, Texas) and running back Marcus Lattimore (Duncan, S.C.) on Rivals.com's national list.

The site's top-10 national rankings also includes Floridians Jeff Luc (linebacker, Port St. Lucie) and Lamarcus Joyner (defensive back, Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) at eighth and 10th, respectively. Elam, Luc and Joyner also are ranked among the nation's elite by Scout.com as well.

Dwight Thomas, who won two state championships and coached Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith at Pensacola Escambia in the 1980s, is a recruiting specialist for LRS Sports in Springfield, Ill.

Thomas spent three decades coaching in Florida and concentrates on high school recruiting for colleges in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Thomas says 15 years ago in Florida he was the first person to stage the highly popular combines that now dot the national recruiting landscape. These combines, now traditionally sponsored by Nike, Under Armour and McDavid, are free to top underclassmen football players looking to showcase their skills.

Thomas believes prep players in Florida have an advantage simply because they play more football than in most places, pointing to the regular season, spring practice and summer camps. He also points to the competition level that is spread among eight classifications for the 500-plus schools.

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In this Nov. 1, 2008, photo, Boston College's Mark Herzlich plays against Clemson in an NCAA college football game in Boston. Herzlich, the Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year, has cancer. Herzlich said Thursday, May 14, 2009, he was diagnosed earlier this week with Ewing's Sarcoma after feeling pain in his leg and will undergo more tests in his home state of Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Josh Halter is swarmed by family and friends after being named the drum major for The Ohio State University Marching Band in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (Jeff Hinckley/Columbus Dispatch/MCT)

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Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno speaks to reporters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Taylor Stokes wears his letter jacket on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 1, 2009. Stokes was the first black scholarship football player at Vanderbilt, and has returned 40 years later to finish his degree. He will graduate on May 8. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Taylor Stokes wears his letter jacket on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, May 1, 2009, in front of a statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the founder of the university. Stokes was the first black scholarship football player at Vanderbilt, and has returned 40 years later to finish his degree. He will graduate on May 8. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, and West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, right, are sworn in before giving their testimony before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, left, testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. Also testifying on the panel are, from left, West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, President and CEO of Valero Alamo Bowl Derrick Fox and Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Boise State Athletic Director Gene Bleymaier, right, testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. Also testifying on the panel are, from left, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford, West Mountain Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson, and President and CEO of Valero Alamo Bowl Derrick Fox. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Thomas says he has evaluated 4,279 rising seniors in Florida. Of that number, he classifies 32 as "U.S. recruits," or players such as Elam who have the potential to be offered a letter-of-intent by every major college program in America. His breakdown also includes 116 major Division-I recruits and 570 Division-I/lower recruits.

"Every college coach in America wants to recruit Florida, we have the thing going," Thomas told FanHouse Friday.

"Every combine that I attend, I think there is no way [the players] can be better, bigger, faster and stronger than I just saw today. But guess what? As soon as I leave to the next one, there's always a kid who does one more rep, runs a tenth faster, jumps higher. I never dreamed anyone in high school could rep 180 pounds 40 times [in bench press], and now we are seeing kids doing 60 reps.

"Don't ever say kids aren't going to get any better."

Elam, for one, wants to get better. His team lost in the playoffs to Tampa Plant last year, two victories shy of a state title. Elam said he selected Florida in large part due to coach Urban Meyer, who he has had a close relationship with since Meyer coached his older brother Abram at Notre Dame. He followed Meyer's career after Meyer went to Utah, then to Florida.

"We'd always talk and I'd go up there [to Gainesville] for camps," Elam told the Palm-Beach Post. "Our relationship was real close and I feel like Florida gives freshmen a chance to show what they can do and I felt like if I get a chance I would take advantage of that chance."

The Gators typically get off to a slower start when it comes to recruiting. They are known, however, for strong finishes and often land one of the top classes in the country. UF has done an about-face this year in securing recruiting commitments. The Gators are staying close to home, too -- 10 of their 12 commitments are highly-regarded Floridians.

Florida State currently has three commitments. The University of Miami has doubled the Seminoles with six commitments.

"This is certainly a different approach for the Gators because they usually close so quickly in December and January," said Newberg.

"But I think it's also because the state of Florida, specifically in South Florida, is so loaded with talent and they [Gators] are really going hard core in recruiting. It is amazing when you look at these kids. For overall talent and depth, this is the best year I can ever remember in Florida."

Elam Leads Unrivaled Florida Class originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 16 May 2009 13:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greg Paulus Will Play QB at Syracuse

Chas Rich — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:34:00 EST

Filed under: Duke Football, Syracuse, ACC, Big East, Recruiting, General CFB Insanity

Greg Paulus has chosen to go from being the focus of verbal abuse and scorn as a guard for Duke basketball to physical abuse as the quarterback of Syracuse. The senior has one year of eligibility remaining, and was one of the top quarterback prospects in the country before opting for basketball at Duke.

Paulus made the decision quite a saga, as he traveled from working out with the Green Bay Packers to a flirtation with Michigan before narrowing the field to Nebraska or Syracuse. He ultimately chose Syracuse, his hometown team and the one he originally scorned in favor of Duke.

Under the always simple-to-understand and not-at-all-convoluted NCAA regulations concerning student-athletes (/sarcasm off), Paulus has an additional year of athletic eligibility in a different sport. He can transfer to another school right away to play as long as they offer a graduate program he wishes to take that is not offered at his prior school.

Paulus will not come in designated as the starting quarterback for the Orange. Coach Doug Marrone had previously designated redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib as the starter. He will compete, and it will be very likely that he will start the season as the back-up.

As the No. 2 starter, it is almost a certainty that he will see a decent amount of action. There are no shortages of weaknesses for a Syracuse squad that had hit bottom under Greg Robinson, and is now trying to climb out under the new coaching regime. One of the weakest areas is the Orange offensive line. The odds of any quarterback for Syracuse managing to play the whole season without needing a break from the expected physical abuse are long.

This is good news for many who have longed to see Greg Paulus take a real body shot rather than simply flop from the breeze as a guard blows right by him.

Greg Paulus Will Play QB at Syracuse originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 14 May 2009 11:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Florida Principal Bars Vols Recruiters

Clay Travis — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:45:00 EST

Filed under: Florida, Tennessee, Fans, Recruiting, General CFB Insanity

It's really come to this.

Last week, a Florida high school principal, Ariel Alejo (like the Little Mermaid, how cute), refused to allow a Tennessee assistant coach to enter campus and extend a scholarship offer to one of his students. Why? Because he's still upset over comments Lane Kiffin made last February after signing another Pahokee student, Nu'Keese Richardson.

Why might Principal Alejo (right) be upset? I don't know, it could have something to do with the fact that his public profile page for Pahokee High School features a Florida Gator at the bottom [Now replaced with the Pahokee High seal. Alejo's e-mail address has also been removed.] Alongside this quote, "I would also like for every student to graduate and go to college." What needs to be added to the end of the quote is this, "Unless they go to Tennessee." No matter which school you support, I think we can all agree, this is ridiculous and colossal misplacement of school time, energy and focus.

The average SAT at Pahokee is 780, the average ACT is 16.3, the school is below average in every major statistical computation used for testing students. Yet the principal of this school is trying to keep students from receiving scholarship offers from one particular college. Something, to be honest, he doesn't have the actual authority to do. A public high school principal can't ban one particular college -- his rival no less -- from recruiting athletes. Put simply, he doesn't have the authority to single them out. All he does is make overworked educators look out of touch, petty, and unintelligent.

Where did all this begin?

The day after Richardson signed with the Vols, Kiffin appeared at a booster rally and said that Richardson's papers were faxed from outside the high school. "Someone at the school was going to screw it up. The fax machine wouldn't work, or they would have changed the signatures - all the things that go on in Pahokee."

The implication was clear, that Pahokee administrators steer their football players, and they produce a ton of talent, to Florida. Only Richardson went to Tennessee. In the wake of those comments Kiffin apologized to Blaze Thompson, the head coach of the state champion football team.

He also apologized to the Pahokee community-at-large several months ago, "If I offended anybody in Pahokee or [anyone who] has to do with Pahokee or in the schools, I apologize; and I want to make sure it's understood that is not what was meant by it [the comments] at all, It was just an energetic breakfast with some of our donors."

But those apologies aren't enough for Principal Alejo. What does he want? According to the Palm Beach Post:

"Coach Kiffin publicly apologized to Blaze Thompson ... but I'm still waiting, and the community is as well," Alejo said. "It's what I think he owes the community of Pahokee and what he owes this school. His comments were made public, so now he needs to go publicly and retract those comments."

Alejo suggested Kiffin fly down and attend tonight's city commission session or the school's Student Advisory Council meeting May 19.

"If I were him, I would consider [going]," Alejo said. "If it was me, that's what I would do."

Yep, he wants Kiffin to attend a city council meeting. Until then the university is banned from campus.

Seriously, are you kidding me?

Principal Alejo is trying to hold a public university hostage until they meet his particular apology demands? I know we've entered a politically correct era that demands everyone be treated with kid gloves, but, come on, this is ludicrous and embarrassing to everyone associated with public education.

Here's what should happen instead, Principal Alejo should be fired. Right now. Immediately. Whoever is in charge of Florida's high schools should issue a statement. It should read as follows: "We're happy whenever any of our students receive scholarship offers to attend college. Particularly when those offers arrive for students from comparatively disadvantaged background who have to work twice as hard to achieve their college dreams. Principal Alejo showed not just bad judgment, but his actions were the anti-thesis of the principles we support in Florida schools. He's been reassigned to janitorial duties in Miami."

That's it. Ballgame.

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Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno speaks to reporters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, speaks to the media in Arlington, Va. on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner and Bowl Championship Series coordinator John Swofford testifies testifies before the House Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing on the football Bowl Championship Series on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

And the same result should hold true for any public school principal who feels compelled to step outside of the academic universe and attempt to dictate where and how kids can go to college to play sports. Do we really want to live in a country where the individuals in charge of shepherding teenagers to adulthood aren't adult enough to accept kids going to their rival colleges? Of course we don't.

By taking his idiotic stand, all that Principal Alejo has done is prove that he's not decent enough to sport the Gator logo on his principal web page. The University of Florida ought to contact him and ask him to take down the logo. He's giving them a bad name, and doing what once seemed impossible: Making Lane Kiffin look level-headed.

Florida Principal Bars Vols Recruiters originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 13 May 2009 12:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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