NCAA Football Big East

Saturday, Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton became the latest college athlete to acknowledge receiving death threats. This adds Crompton's name to a growing list of players who have received death threats for on-field actions. You don't even have to be that famous anymore to draw fan ire. From West Virginia kicker Pat McAfee to Ohio State tight end Ryan Hamby, the past several years have seen a scary increase in threats of violence. Even though they might not have been publicized if you're a fan of a major college football team, chances are one of your players has received a death threat. And it's high time this ends. I mean, now, immediately. How? By prosecuting one of the boneheads who sends a threat to the fullest extent of the law.

Even though by Lord Voldemort Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany has already shot down the idea, Penn State coach Joe Paterno still thinks the league should add a twelfth teams and a championship game. JoePa added a twist on Wednesday, saying who he doesn't want to see added to the conference: Notre Dame.

Stating the Irish have "had their chance," Paterno wants the league to look east, as in Big East. He recommends adding Syracuse, Pitt, or Rutgers to the conference. Paterno wants to see the Big Ten pick up the New York market, which would argue against Pitt. Rutgers has to like its chances in the Big East more than in in the Big Ten. As for Syracuse, well, at this point, you couldn't blame them if they decided to join Temple in the MAC. So there's no school out there that makes sense as a twelfth Big Ten Team, right?

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.

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Spring. The time for rebirth and renewal. At least that is the theory. While there was only one change at head coach, there will be plenty of new in the Big East, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Half the teams have a different offensive coordinator. To say nothing of the departures of top offensive talent including quarterbacks Pat White and Mike Teel, running backs LeSean McCoy and Donald Brown, along with wide receivers Kenny Britt, Dominick Goodman and Tiquan Underwood. Defense will definitely lead the way in the conference this year.

USF coach Jim Leavitt is known for leading his team out on to the field before games in a mad dash as the state troopers accompanying him try to keep up.To promote the South Florida spring game,Leavitt agreed to do a 40-yard dash. The 52-year old Leavitt turned in a brisk 5.72 second time. He also complained that the run was into the wind.

I'm hopeful that someone will eventually set up a biathlon of swimming and running between Leavitt and USC coach Pete Carroll.

Virginia has already burned through two defensive coordinators in the 2009 offseason. (What's your chump school been up to?) The first time was somewhat surprising, but understandable. The 65-year-old Bob Pruett had been at the helm for one very inconsistent season, but his age and concerns over allegations of academic fraud and player overpayment by local businesses while serving as the head coach at Marshall could've played a huge role in his decision to voluntarily step down.

Signing day has come and (nearly) gone, filled with celebration and upheaval. Sort of like life. We're here to parse what can be parsed and detail the recruiting classes that were for the major conferences.

So, who had the best recruiting class in the Big East? It seems to depend on who you ask. West Virginia was tops according to Rivals.com and Scout.com. ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc., however, had them at number three. Rutgers was ranked first, third and fourth in the various team rankings. Only South Florida seemed to have consistency at the two spot.

There is no question that the Mountaineers got offensive talent that would thrive in their old spread schemes. Whether it will still happen under the Bill Stewart and Jeff Mullen version of the offense is the big unknown. The headliners were running back Tavon Austin and quarterback Eugene Smith. Both are players that fit perfectly in the spread option offense.

FanHouse's lead-up to college football's signing day makes like Charles Dickens and looks at the Ghosts of Recruiting -- past, present and future. In the Ghosts of Recruiting Past we note 10 recruiting powers who have hit a dry spell

Today's kids probably have no idea Pitt and Syracuse were once incredibly powerful programs, not much different than say, a Georgia of today. Unfortunately for various reasons, several decades of change in America and the college football landscape have revealed their age. Sure, there's the movie about the late great Ernie Davis. Jim Brown is an American athletic legend and cultural icon. Pitt produced legends like Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Hugh Green and Mike Ditka. Oh, and that Larry Fitzgerald guy. None of that matters much right now.

Give a conference an inch and they'll take a mile. Fresh off their most successful football season ever, the Mountain West Conference is starting to agitate for a permanent seat on the Bowl Security Council ... excuse me, I mean a permanent berth for their conference champion in the Bowl Championship Series.

Before we all get too worked up over this in light of Utah's impressive win over Alabama, it would be good to look at some numbers which might help us decide. Is the Mountain West the real deal, or should they just be happy with some crumbs from the table? The answer may surprise you.

I'm not entirely sure how this result will justify the SEC as the nation's best conference, but I am sure someone will argue it: the South team jumped out to a 21-3 lead at the annual Senior Bowl and coasted to a 35-18 win over the North.

Most of the South's offensive success came on the ground -- rising star Rashad Jennings from Liberty carried nine times for 57 yards, part of a 169-yard team rushing effort. Quarterback/whatever he'll play in the NFL Pat White posted the best yards-per-carry average, carrying three times for 31 yards.

White also hit on 4-of-9 passes for 63 yards and a 39-yard third-quarter touchdown to Ole Miss' Mike Wallace. Alabama QB John Parker Wilson, N.C. State running back Andre Brown and LSU fullback Quinn Johnson each scored on the ground for the South, while Wallace's Mississippi teammate Peria Jerry added a late defensive score.