NCAA Football Texas Tech Football

Stephen Hamby, who was projected as the team's starting center this fall, was involved in an altercation on March 29. A Lubbock County grand jury has now indicted the Red Raider for aggravated assault for his alleged involvement in this brouhaha.

Hamby reportedly punched a man in the face twice before fleeing the scene. The victim was then treated for a fractured jaw. The severity of the victim's injuries likely led to the aggravated assault charge.

"I do know for a fact there was no weapon involved, so it had to be serious bodily injury for it to qualify as an aggravated assault,'' [Lubbock Police spokesman Capt. Greg] Stevens said.

Hamby started just two games in 2007. However, a strong spring propelled the 6-foot-3, 287-pound junior ahead of incumbent starter Shawn Byrnes. Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach was already aware of the incident involving Hamby and no changes have been made in Hamby's status with the team.

"His status is we'll see what the facts are and then address it based on the facts,'' Leach said. "We're not going to jump to any conclusions.''

Leach said he "was aware that there was an altercation.''

"But my understanding is that we addressed it, just like we address things internally,'' Leach said. "So if there's more facts that I don't know ... We're going to just wait and see what they are.''

The Big 12's annual meetings are currently taking place in Colorado Springs and league commissioner Dan Beebe has a lot on his plate. But one agenda item that he is pushing strongly is a fifth year of eligibility for football players. He hopes the proposed change will get some attention from the NCAA rules committee.

The proposal for a fifth year of eligibility would eliminate redshirting, instead giving college football players five years to compete on the field. Under current rules, players have a five-year window in which to complete four years of playing time. This isn't the first time this change has come up, but opponents have argued that eligibility rules need to standard across sports. Big 12 commissioner Beebe, disagrees.

Beebe, however, said he thinks football should be seen as unique because it has a high rate of redshirts and injuries.

"Injuries happen and coaches have players who could contribute, but they don't want to play someone on a limited basis and burn a redshirt year," Beebe said. "And you have kids during their redshirt year who are getting the heck beat out of them in practice every day with no hope of playing."

The rule change would certainly eliminate the need for coaches to agonize about redshirting decisions. In addition, it would seemingly end the need for athletes and schools to file medical hardships in the wake of injuries. Lastly, given that the average college football player takes around 4.7 years to graduate, the five-year eligibility window could help improve graduation rates.

My affinity for Mike Leach is never-ending. He's a blogger's dream come true and a darn fine coach. He's been the subject of at least one lengthy profile already, which is fine by me, given that he's a walking cornucopia of quotes. Most recently ESPN's Mark Schlabach spent some time with Leach in Lubbock and was able to gather even more about college football's most colorful head coach.

First we discover that Leach lives by his own schedule and has no love for naps:

Leach, 47, isn't like most of his colleagues in a profession dominated by millionaires and workaholics. He typically reports to the office around 10 a.m. and leaves before 9 p.m. Once Leach returns home, he often stays up until 2 a.m. or later, watching TV programs few others know exist.

"If you're getting to the office at 6 a.m. and getting home at midnight, well, then you're wasting a lot of time," Leach said. "That's just a failure to manage your time. What are you doing in the middle of the day? Are you having a siesta?"

But the highlight of the piece has to be the bizarre nature of Leach's fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants adventure to commission a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Mike Leach, Pepperdine lawyer turned swashbuckling football coach and quote machine, on the recent trend towards offensive geniuses real and supposed giving up their play-calling duties:

"I'm younger than those guys," he said. " ... I got into coaching to coach. Otherwise, you're just a handshaker."

Oh snap. "Handshakers" referenced in the article but probably not in the question, but that's no fun so let's just ignore that downer reality why don't we: Ralph Friedgen, Steve Spurrier, and Charlie Weis. (Weis, at the least, is one hell of a handshaker.)

Do I hear celebrity deathmatch? Anyone? Bueller?

(Via the Wiz)

We've already checked in on the quarterbacks, so why not delve into what's new with the running backs of the Big 12.

We'll start at Texas, where the biggest question mark of the spring is who will replace Jamaal Charles? Charles led the Big 12 in rushing in 2007 on the strength of a fantastic second half of the season. Three backs will fight it out over the starting running back gig in 2008.

Sophomore Vondrell McGee will get first shot at the starting job after serving as Charles' understudy a year ago. When Charles was having consistency problems at midseason in 2007, McGee actually got more playing time, specifically on short-yardage and goal-line plays. He gained 297 yards overall and scored eight touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker and McGee share the same, low-to-the-ground build. Both resemble miniature linebackers.

Whereas McGee prefers the I-formation, Whittaker is more comfortable running out of the shotgun. That's how he made his yardage at Pearland High School, where he finished with the sixth-best rushing total in Class 5A history.

The third member of the committee is Chris Ogbonnaya, a well-known offensive commodity. The Longhorns often turned to Ogbonnaya on third-down situations last fall because he was as adept at running pass routes as he was at picking up the blitz. He caught 21 passes a year ago. To prepare for this season, the fifth-year senior dropped 12 pounds to improve his speed. He's now at 215.

We'll look elsewhere in the Big 12 after the jump.

Spring football is always a time of hope, optimism and rampant hyperbole. This year in the Big 12 is no different. But one can't help but take notice of the increased expectations as spring practice opens in Lubbock, Texas. Both local and national media outlets are already touting the Red Raiders as one to watch in the Big 12's southern division.

Much of the talk centers on the fact that Texas Tech returns 18 starters from a team that finished 9-4 in 2007. Given that they also return the nation's most prolific receiver in Michael Crabtree, a talented quarterback in Graham Harrell (pictured at right) and their entire offensive line, this could truly be the year that Mike Leach's squad crests the proverbial hump.

"We've had two of the most exciting bowl games for two straight years," [head coach Mike] Leach said. "... And we expect to keep improving and that there will be more to come in the future."

The fate of the Red Raiders will likely rest on the play of their defense...again. This is troubling given that Tech has finished in the Top 30 in total defense just once in the last five years. But this year fans are pinning their hopes on defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill, who enters his first full season at that position. McNeill served as interim defensive coordinator after Lyle Setencich "stepped down" following the fourth game of the season. McNeill's impact was sudden and significant in 2007.

"Under McNeill, Tech led the Big 12 in total defense over the regular season's final eight games. Overall, the Red Raiders finished third in the conference in total defense, their highest finish during Leach's eight-year tenure."

Clearly Tech fan has a reason to smile this spring. But whether Oklahoma, Texas and the rest of the Big 12 South has reason for concern has yet to be seen.

Five times this year, Virginia won games by two points or less. Karmic payback's a bitch. UVA fans that made resolutions to curb their drinking were seriously put to the test today as the Cavaliers allowed 17 points in three and a half minutes, losing to Texas Tech 31-28 after a field goal with two seconds remaining.

- The only thing more relentless than Chris Long is the use of "relentless" to describe his play.

- Texas Tech is looking to bring back 18 of their starters next season. This could very well be the year that the Red Raiders manage to make a big impact in the Big XII South, and perhaps with Tim Tebow's 2007, an indication that Graham Harrell might be taken seriously as a Heisman contender.

- All year, I've been saying that Al Groh may have made a mistake by alienating Kevin McCabe in 2006 and causing his transfer. Backup QB play has been pretty unreliable all season, to the point where Groh burned Peter Lalich's redshirt in the first game. After Jameel Sewell went out with a leg injury, Lalich rode Mikell Simpson to a scoring drive that put Virginia up 28-14, but after that the offense was greatly limited, even moreso than it was under the cautious gameplan instituted for Sewell. Lalich has regressed pretty badly over the course of the season and he often looked lost, particularly when he was sacked and coughed up the fumble that led to the tying score. Shades of Anthony Martinez...

- Even though Sewell got the job done to a certain extent in the first three quarters, Virginia was pretty much useless on third and long. Al Groh seriously needs to find more options at wide receiver because he hasn't had one that's been a scare going deep since Billy McMullen and he'd better hope Kevin Ogletree finds his way back on the field 100% next season. During the last drive where an injured Sewell was limited, they looked like a team that knew they weren't scoring. Virginia's leading non-RB, non-TE receiver in 2007 was Maurice Covington and he finished with 20 catches.

- Not to make light of Rylan Reed's scary injury, but you get the feeling that once that extra point was kicked, you knew pretty darn well that Virginia wasn't going to mount any sort of comeback.

- Considering that it's supposedly one of the more bureaucratically difficult jobs in the country, you have to wonder how Mike Leach would've done at UCLA. Love the onside kick call that began the second half as well as his insistence on sticking with his gameplan (69 tosses for Harrell) and never panicking.

- Let's just say that Virginia didn't do much to counter their rep as a wine and cheese crowd that doesn't travel well. I'm amazed how many blimp shots CBS allowed.

Quick thoughts...

- Texas Tech seems like the least likely team to possibly have a safety go against them considering their passing game relies on quick passes and they've only been sacked 16 times thus far. And you figure the "let 'em play" style of bowl games would dictate that an intentional grounding call wouldn't happen that often. So it requires a cocked eyebrow to see that UVA has managed to procure TWO intentional grounding safeties in the FIRST HALF. I'm pretty sure that's a first.

- I understand that you need a certain amount of speed to even get a 96-yard rushing TD, but I'll be damned if Mikell Simpson's wasn't among the slowest ones I've ever seen. You know, considering all the 96-yard rushing TD's I've seen.

- Ras-I Dowling is completely shutting down Michael Crabtree at this point. One catch for a handful of yards at the half. Graham Harrell doesn't appear to have much rhythm going either. Any penalty these guys get seem to shut them down completely.

- Jameel Sewell has completed 12 passes for 68 yards thus far. I would say that the deep ball isn't exactly UVA's forte, which can also be culled from the fact that they send two tight ends wide in their version of the spread. One of Sewell's darts was to guard Branden Albert for two yards. Virginia fans can only hope he's not trying to pad his resume for the NFL draft.

- So to recap, UVA's 21 points: two TDs, two safeties and a FG.

- Mike Leach ... easily one of your more outstanding halftime interviews. Among the quotables- "we played like garbage." Also something about playing 8 on 11, which I didn't quite understand. Every bit as bitter as one can expect from a law school grad (albeit a Pepperdine Law grad).

Happy To Be Here?

Well, if ticket sales are any indication, apparently not. But in terms of the team itself, it's not even a question. Virginia often played poorly in 2006, but by the end of the season, the defense had solidified and they had become far more competitive on their way to a 5-7 record. And by the way, if you ever want to quantify just how easy it is to get to a bowl game, consider the fact that if Virginia managed to pull one of their close losses out, they would have been eligible last year. This season, Al Groh copped ACC coach of the year honors by bringing his team to the precipice of the conference championship game and their first New Year's Day bowl in seemingly forever. One can question if Virginia's suspect schedule might have played a part in all of this or whether all of their close wins were more a matter of luck than talent, but once again, this team seemed to find its center late in the season thanks to the improvement of Jameel Sewell at QB and the discovery of Mikell Simpson as possibly the best run/catch threat at UVA since Tiki Barber.

Come Here Often?

Before their still-mindblowing win over Miami this season, Virginia had literally never won a game in the state of Flordia EVAR. Among those games was the Cavaliers' last Gator Bowl bid, a tilt with Oklahoma in 1991 that, uh, didn't work out so well.

Spurning the advances of former Bruin Rick Neuheisel, UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero has narrowed his list of candidates for the football head coaching job to three.

According to both local papers, the next football coach in Westwood will be Boise State's Chris Petersen, Texas Tech's Mike Leach or the NFL Network's Steve Mariucci. Petersen is said to be the favorite, but the notoriously stingy University may opt for Mariucci, as he has no contract that needs to be bought out.

There's only one little problem: Guerrero has yet to dump current head coach Karl Dorrell. In fact, Dorrell is quoted in the University's official press release regarding the Las Vegas Bowl, saying, "UCLA is extremely happy to be playing in the Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl." I guess he has a point, because the way this season went, Dorrell should be happy to be in a bowl at all!

Given his 5-1 record against Dorrell, it should come as little surprise that USC coach Pete Carroll is coming across as Karl's greatest fan, imploring fans and the University to, "Give him a friggin' break."