SB Nation - Bradley Starks

The Shotgun/Throwdown: Friday (9/25/09) Edition

WVUIE97 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:45:14 -0000

Welcome By-Godders, to the Shotgun Throwdown, your daily WVU sports link dump, brought to you today by Quilmes beer of Argentina.

Yes, it's been a slow news week, but things should pick up again Monday for the short week. I'm trying to send you off to the weekend with a bang. The caption contest has ended and the results are enclosed. Winners should email me via the tipline, please. All other requests and tips are appreciated as well. (UPDATED: Now with gallery links that work.) Have a great weekend and see you after the jump...

What You May Have Missed:

UConn Tickets Available - Twitter / Coach Bill Stewart
"Ticket office just informed me that returned tickets from Connecticut are on sale at www.WVUGame.com"

Auburn Award Winners Announced - MSNsportsNET.Com
The coaching staff has named its award winners for the Auburn game last Saturday.

Men's Basketball: Season Tickets On Sale Monday - MSNsportsNET.Com
Get 'em while they hot!!!

Football: Selected Player Quotes - MSNsportsNET.Com
Hale, Starks, Jenkins and Brown

News of Note:

Let's Go Mountaineers! - MSNsportsNET.Com
Caridi is on board with getting this thing started again. Spread the word!!!!

King of Pain - MSNsportsNET.Com
"Basketball strength and conditioning coach Andy Kettler says he is seeing results."

Hale helping special teams make gains - The Times West Virginian
Hertzel Column

Colorado coach on the defensive - The Charleston Gazette

Around the League (and Beyond):

The Syracuse Football Team Would Have Loved The Lilith Fair - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Sarah McLachlan's Angel is their new team entrance music.

Pitt's Fields realizing potential - PPG

USF's Daniels trying to keep an even keel - Tampa Tribune

Seniors will replace Cards’ Simien - The Courier-Journal

Thomas: Precious little time to generate support for practice facilities - The Cincinnati Enquirer
At least we aren't this bad off for our BB facility.

Lutrus Watch, Day 17: Out, yet again - TheUConnBlog.com

Injury to Tom Savage could lead Rutgers to turn to Dom Natale at QB again - Star Ledger

SEC commissioner tells both Meyer and Kiffin to zip it - USATODAY.com
Now go and be good little boys and sit in your time out chairs.

Brawls at KU were simmering for a long time - Kansas City Star
"Fights between members of the University of Kansas football and basketball teams over the past two days may have shocked fans of the nationally-ranked programs, but former players say the hostilities are nothing new."

A day after brawls, KU coaches say punishments won’t be public - Kansas City Star

Video of (Dis)Interest:

Safety Video of the Day:

I wanted to end this week with a bang, sooo...

Caption Contest Results:

With a last minute entry we have a tie. Pepperoni Roll had me at Kung Pao, but Beamer'sGoiter got in a last second save to tie it up (both made me laugh out loud). If you folks would email me please to claim your rights to choosing a Miss Throwdown, I'd be grateful.

via joesportsfan.com

"Damn, dog. You be meltin’ my nostril hairs wit dat killer Kung Pao garlic breath." - Pepperoni Roll

and

"So...that’s what the hokie pokey is all about?" - Beamer'sGoiter

This Week in Body Painting:

I knew there was a reason to root for the Phillies last year. There's a real nice Tom Brady fan inside too...and many others.

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Sorority Slumber Party Gallery of the Week:

via coedmagazine.files.wordpress.com

Miss Throwdown:

Today's Miss Throwdown hails from Argentina. Meet Sofía Zámolo. Scroll down after following the linked picture. Yes, I've linked two galleries and embedded four videos. Any complaints?

via www.infobae.com

The Learning Curve of the Colorado Offense

irish1611 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:24:59 -0000

The Longmont Times, CUBuffs.com and the Boulder Daily Camera all had stories today on "the armchair offensive coordinators", how much of a learning curve the new receivers are going through with this read-based offense and basically, how everyone needs to tone back their expectations of Andre Simmons, Will Jefferson and Anthony Wright until they get a firm grasp of the position.

I wish the amount of "learning" going on transferred onto the field more. The Buffs offensive ranking the last four years:

2006: 102nd
2007: 72nd
2008: 95th
2009: 79th

I think it is time to get the playmakers the ball, regardless of how it is done.

Buff fans saw first hand that a true freshman, someone who hasn't been campus for three years, can have success in an offense. Imagine that! His name was Eric Page, the Toledo Rockets true freshman receiver, that "learned" and was coached up in less than one month to torch the Buffs for 138 yards and a score. This year the true freshman has hauled in 21 passes for 320 yards, putting him on pace for 84 receptions, 1,280 yards and 8 touchdowns. All of those statistics against BCS teams - Purdue Boilermakers, Ohio State Buckeyes and the Colorado Buffaloes. You would think a freshman wouldn't be able to "learn and read" those complex defenses of BCS schools. By the way, the Buffs have yet to face a BCS team. That same true freshman named Eric Page is currently 14th in the entire NCAA in receiving yards. Eric Page was named the starter after only three weeks of practice. And just in case you were wondering, Page was a 2-star cornerback/running back/receiver coming out of high school, unranked at any position by the recruiting sites.

Toledo's offense has averaged 442 yards per game against BCS teams. Colorado has racked up 342 yards on non-BCS teams. "Learning curve" gets you every time playing those pesky non-BCS teams!

Anyone else find themselves saying, "how come so-and-so can do it but we cannot" all the time? Yeah, me too.

I am ready for the Buffs to one day surprise, exceed expectations, have someone "learn" faster than usual, have someone make a big play before they are supposed to be ready, have someone be a difference maker, take a chance, live on the edge, create a buzz, score 60 on Wyoming...I am ready for a player to be put in a position like Eric Page and make an impact. I am ready to not have a 70+ ranked offense against non-BCS schools.

The Longmont Times-Call - CU Receivers Catching On

The big play has played a big role in Colorado’s season so far. Unfortunately, they’ve all been on the wrong side of the ball. Through the first three games of 2009, the Buffs have had just two pass plays go for more than 30 yards. It suffices to say that Andre Simmons and Anthony Wright, a pair of speedy CU receivers brought in to boost the Buffs’ receiving, will add to that total this season — but for now, CU fans will have to remain patient while the duo catches up to the offense. "There’s a learning curve, but I’m starting to pick up on things — like where to line up, little things like that," Wright said. "I really think this bye week will help me and Andre get caught up. "There’s a just a lot to learn."

Learning curve steep for CU receivers - Boulder Daily Camera

"I think the hardest thing for me is just to have confidence to know what I`m doing," Jefferson said. "You get these huge play books every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the whole week and you line up and it`s like, 'Wait a minute. I know this, but is it the right thing?` You just doubt yourself. You know that you know the play, but you just have to have confidence, which is really hard to gain as a true freshman."

Three Linemen Return To Practice - CUBuffs.com
More on the learning curve:

After being asked how hard it is for a wide receiver to come into the program and contribute right away, Hawkins explained that, "there's a lot that goes into it. Even if you try to use them only in certain situations, if we just had them line up in the same formation on the same side of the field every time, there's still adjustments based on coverages and audibles. Then it's a matter of making it not-mechanical where a guy is not a second behind."

Only if we can ever get past this learning curve!

Other non-learning curve and West Virginia Mountaineer links after the jump...

The Buffzone Blog - After further review of the po…

After further review of the post-practice audio, coach Hawkins did say Bryce Givens will play against the Mountaineers.

Redshirting an option for CU guard : All Things Colorado Sports Colorado

Redshirting appears to be an option for Colorado redshirt-freshman guard Max Tuioti-Mariner, who is participating in some individual practice drills this week after returning from two ACL surgeries during the past 12 months. "I know that’s been discussed, with him and by him," CU offensive line coach Denver Johnson said Wednesday. "It’s a little bit above my pay grade to make that decision. But that is an option, I would think. But that’s not my call, so I’m not sure where that will go.’’

Woelk: CU needs to consider risk-reward of scheduling - Boulder Daily Camera
I didn't know their was an agreement to play Colorado State the opening Thursday of the season:

There was a tentative agreement at one point for Colorado and Colorado State to open the season on the Thursday before Labor Day (Sept. 3). That date would have allowed the game to still be televised by FSN (the Rockies had an afternoon game that day), and it would have given the Buffs more than a week of preparation instead of just four days. But the Thursday game was quashed because of faculty concerns, and thus the Sunday-Friday set-up.

Injured Colorado running back Scott makes progress - The Denver Post

Scott won't go through full contact in practice until next week. But he says he'll be ready to go when the Buffs face West Virginia on Oct. 1. Scott has played in two of the Buffs' three games, but has carried the ball just 13 times. However, he has made the most of those carries, rushing for 86 yards, a team-high 6.6 yards per tote. Scott is also looking forward to getting back to returning kicks. "Oh, yeah," Scott said. "I love it."

I hate it! Put Lockridge or someone else back there. We don't need our horse returning kicks after he has had health issues in the past.

Big 12 internal affairs: CU's Stewart provides RB depth - College Football Nation - ESPN
It was certainly good to get Rodney Stewart back last week. He has done nothing but play well, when healthy, in his short collegiate career. Darrell Scott or no Darrell Scott, it is going to be hard to keep him off the field.

The performance of running back Rodney "Speedy" Stewart last week against Wyoming was an obvious indicator of why Colorado’s biggest offensive strength is its deep backfield. And Dan Hawkins has shown no hesitancy to go with different backs as his featured runner depending on game situations. Darrell Scott will get his chances after he becomes healthy, but Stewart is a consistent substitute if the Buffaloes need another feature back.

The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia - WVU getting ball to speedy playmakers Devine and Sanders
West Virginia does a good job getting the ball in their playmaker's hands

West Virginia has had success with its two playmakers on offense, Noel Devine and Jock Sanders. Devine had 128 yards rushing and three touchdowns in last Saturday’s 41-30 loss at Auburn, one fewer than he had all last season. His five through three games is one more than the four he had in 2008. And Sanders is catching the ball at an alarming rate, with 29 in three games, and he is well on pace to break the record for receptions in a season (77 by David Saunders in 1998). His 12 against Auburn tied the game mark, last done by Saunders that same year.

West Virginia must address turnover plague - Big East - ESPN

The Mountaineers currently are last in the Big East in turnover margin at minus-7. That ties them for 116th nationally, ahead of only three other teams in the FBS.....The main culprit, statistically speaking, in the turnover spree has been quarterback Jarrett Brown. Though the fifth-year senior rarely if ever threw picks in spring or fall practice, the regular season has been a different story. He has five interceptions and two lost fumbles his past two games...Yet Brown is still completing 68.5 percent of his passes and has a knack for making big plays even when flushed out of the pocket. Stewart pointed out that the Auburn game was just the quarterback's fifth career start, and his first one on the road.

West Virginia looks to heal after Auburn loss

Quarterback Jarrett Brown, who threw a career-high four TD passes a week earlier against East Carolina, was limited to one TD toss at Auburn, threw four interceptions and bruised his left, non-throwing shoulder when he was slammed to the ground while being tackled late in the fourth quarter. Stewart said. He didn’t indicate whether Brown would start against Colorado (1-2) on Oct. 1. ‘‘As tough as Jarrett Brown is, he would play if he could,’’ Stewart said. ‘‘He’s that kind of tough.’’

Scout.com: Stew's Views: Evolving Offense

Whether those have been the result of the development of big-play receivers like Alric Arnett and Bradley Starks or the gun-slinging ability of quarterback Jarrett Brown, the deep pass has been seen more often through the first three games of this season at WVU than perhaps at any other point this decade.

MSNsportsNET.Com -- West Virginia University Mountaineers

On Colorado I see a lot of talent from this Colorado team. A lot of misfiring, but a lot of talent and it was shown this week against a very tough Wyoming team. They played very hard against Colorado State and Toledo, but they were just misfiring. So I see a talented group of people that beat us last year. They have good running backs, quarterback and receivers says Bill Stewart (West Virginia Head Coach)

Four Star Quarterbacks, Success, Failure, and What Michigan Football can Expect out of Tate Forcier

Maize n Brew Dave — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:33:59 -0000

As a general rule, highly rated quarterback recruits are the crown jewel of any school's recruiting class. Sure you can bring in a #1 Linebacker or a #1 Offensive Tackle, but those guys don't score points and their faces aren't plastered all over ABC or CBS every fall Saturday. Offenses simply don't work without an able bodied/minded signal caller under center.

But high school kids rarely turn out to be the person we thought they'd be coming out of high school. While Dr. Saturday has pointed out on numerous occasions (link no longer available) that a 5* player is far more likely than a 4* or 3* player to make the NFL, for some reason a 5* is far more likely to get himself arrested than a 4* or 3* (from the 2005 class at least). You get your five star flame outs (Ryan Perrilloux) far more often than your #1DC's like Matt Stafford, and you're just as likely to be starting a three star quarterback that you recruited as "insurance" than your four/five star savior.

For Michigan, this is not welcome news. Since the departure of five star rated Chad Henne, Michigan has gone from five star rated Ryan Mallett to no star rated Nick Sheridan to four star rated Steven Threet, back to Sheridan, then to two star Justin Feagin, to Threet, to Sheridan, and now, finally, to four star rated Tate Forcier. Looking at the preceding list, it's easy to disillusioned by the rankings process. Mallett transferred, Threet transferred (again), Sheridan was basically useless, and Feagin is being switched to receiver. As a result, Michigan will be starting a first year quarterback for the second straight year.

Despite Michigan's string of bad luck under center last year, it has failed to temper the enthusiasm of the Wolverine faithful when talking about Tate Forcier's first snaps. While (thankfully) this enthusiasm hasn't gone all Beano Cook, it is palpable when you talk to a Michigan fan. And to his credit, Forcier has done something to stoke that fire. Four passing touchdowns and one running touchdown in your spring game, your first anything against college competition, will get people excited.

Oddly, in watching that video the first thing that jumps out at me is not, OMG Savior!, it's "our defense is going to be baaaaaaaaaaad." But I digress. Watching this video is incredibly reassuring for any Michigan fan who had to sit through or pour over bad video of last year's spring practice. Combined, IIRC, Threet and Sheridan combined for 6 turnovers and no touchdowns via the air in 2008. And that performance was turned in against what proved to be the worst Michigan defense in Michigan history. I'm just saying.

So it's kind of hard to truly judge what we can expect out of Forcier against live competition, you know, the kind that will actually try to tackle him. Last year's quarterback play set the bar very low. But, Forcier seems to have the unique abilities required to run Rodriguez system. Tate showed the ability to throw on the run. Go deep. Scramble out of a sack. Not spike himself. These are good things.

Last year Michigan quarterbacks combined to go an abysmal 165/338 for 1718 yards, 11TD/12INT and a miserable combined QB rating of 95.2. Nick Sheridan's numbers alone make you cringe, a QB rating of 81.1 and a 2/5 TD/INT ratio despite starting a handful of games. If you just threw up a little in your mouth, you're not alone. Say what you want about changing systems, these guys were not and are not good quarterbacks in any system with numbers like that. Last year Forcier's numbers look like a shiny beacon in comparison. 208/326 for 3424 yards, 23/15 TD/INT ratio, 783 yards rushing on 92 attempts, and 12 rushing TDs. But lets break this down a bit.

For context on the competition, Forcier's High School, Scripps Ranch, is a Division II South school in California. Scripps is in the middle tier high school division for California schools with enrollment between 2400 and 1100 kids. The bigger Division I schools have enrollment from 2400 and up [some almost reaching 5000 enrollment]. Scripps is one of the larger Division II schools with enrollment around 2100. So he definitely facing decent competition, he's just not facing a Long Beach Poly kind of talent pool (4600+ kids).

Now, onto the numbers. One thing that jumps out at me is the 2 to 1 TD/INT ratio in 2008. Forcier, if you look at his numbers, had his best season as a HS junior where he was 21/5 TD/INT. But that's two years ago, with different personnel. Last year in 12 games, Forcier had just three games without an INT, and threw 2 picks or more in five games. Tate's playoff numbers were a mixed bag, throwing for over 300 yards in one game, but tossing a combined 5 picks in both play off games he played in. The glass half empty kind of person can take that as Tate wilting under pressure.

But the reality is that's far from the case. Scripps was a good, but not great team last year going 8-4. Their second round bow-out from the DII playoffs was against 12-0-1 Oceanside, the defending state champs, who won their fifth consecutive Division II section title in 2008. Forcier scored both TDs in the loss for Scripps, and a look at the boxscore shows there's not a lot you can do when you give up 28 points in the 4th quarter. Looking at the results, you'll note a couple of games where Scripps gave up 40+ points, including 70(!) to the eventual state champs, Cathedral. FWIW, Forcier was 21/36 for 295 yards, 4TDs and 1INT in the Cathedral game.

What all this means is Michigan is getting a kid who has taken his lumps, knows what it's like to get planted, and has played well against higher levels of competition. Is he the Rich Rod savior we've been hoping for? Chances are we're not going to know for a while. After the jump you'll find the Rivals rankings for every quarterback receiving four stars or higher since 2005, and a few three stars of note. Of this group, over five years, you're only going to find five or six quarterbacks that jump off the page at you. Three of those page jumpers are: Tebow, Bradford, and McCoy. Surprisingly, Bradford and McCoy were three star recruits.

If it seems like things are a little off moving towards 2005, you're right. In '05 Rivals handed out only thirteen four star plus ratings to quarterbacks. In 2009, Rivals handed out twenty five four star plus ratings, nearly double the 2005 amount. In my opinion, this might have something to do with the precipitous drop in production from 4* plus players. When you're handing out high ratings like candy, eventually you degrade the overall effect of that rating. It also explains why I'm nervous about anointing a four star quarterback, even a good one, as a program savior or more modestly as an offensive savior.

So what do these numbers mean for Michigan and Tate? It means we should all cool our jets a tad. Given the number of four and five star flameouts over the last five years, a four star QB is statistically more likely to be a bust than a success. Further, regardless of pedigree, even the best of the best get hammered in year one. Everyone remembers the lumps Chad Henne took as a first year starter, the bad throws, the bailouts by Braylon. And Chad was one of the highest ranked QB recruits in the country at the time. Sam Bradford's been a starter since day one but he got beaten down fairly regularly too. What helped Braford, and what is a major question mark for Forcier, is Bradford's OU defense was AWESOME that year and Bradford often had the opportunity to fix things when he messed up.

Tate's in that middle ground between OMG SHIRTLESS and good, solid prospect. On the negative side, he's shorter than we'd like. He's got good, but not great arm strength. He's shown a propensity, at least at the High School level to throw some picks. On the positive, he has shown great escapability. Great instincts. Good decision making. Has a resume jam packed with awards and MVPS. And an arm that is more than capable of delivering the ball down field and into tight pockets mid field. But all this is conjecture before he plays a single game. So before we all start bringing offerings to his temple, let's allow the kid to show us what he can do in a real game environment.

But here's where the realistic fan in me comes out; it's really hard not to get excited about what he's shown so far. On the basis of his high school career, spring performance, and Rodriguez offense, 2,300 passing yards, 700 rushing yards, 15/9 TD/INT, 6 Rushing TD seems like a reasonable expectation. Juice Williams threw for 3,000 plus last year while running for 700 yards on a bad team. Having seen both players throw, I like Forcier considerably more than Williams as a passer. The rushing numbers will be comparable just because of the nature of the offense. Forcier's going to run the ball. It's a necessity in this offense. So he'll have every opportunity to gain rushing yards.

I may be underselling the passing a tad, but I don't know how well our receivers are going to play this year. They should be a solid group, but there were a lot of dropped and misplayed balls last year. If the receivers play better, I think Tate can get them the ball and my projection would go up from there.

Thoughts?

Here's the list of ranked quaterbacks from 2005 forward. Help me fill in the blanks on these guys if you can.

Rivals.com dual-threat quarterbacks 2009

1Russell Shepard 5* LSU

2Tyrik Rollison 4* Auburn

3Eugene Smith 4* West Virginia

4Kevin Newsome 4* Penn State

5Tate Forcier 4* Michigan

6Cody Green 4* Nebraska

7Nathan Scheelhaase 4* Illinois

8Shavodrick Beaver 4* Tulsa

9Casey Pachall 4* TCU

10Jordan Reed 4* Florida

11Raymond Cotton 4* Ole Miss

Not included – 14 Denard Robinson 4* ATH - Michigan

Rivals.com pro-style quarterbacks 2009

1Matt Barkley 5* USC

2Garrett Gilbert 5* Texas

3Aaron Murray 4* Georgia

4Tajh Boyd 4* Clemson

5Bryn Renner 4* North Carolina

6Richard Brehaut 4* UCLA

7AJ McCarron 4* Alabama

8Tom Savage 4* Rutgers

9Andrew Maxwell 4* Michigan State

10Allan Bridgford 4* California

11Zach Mettenberger 4* Georgia

12Tyler Russell 4* Mississippi State

13Josh Nunes 4* Stanford

14Ryan Mossakowski 4* Kentucky

Rivals.com dual-threat quarterbacks 2008

1Terrelle Pryor 5* OSU – You may have heard of him

2E.J. Manuel 4* Florida State

3MarQueis Gray 4* Minnesota - eligibility issues

4Robert Griffin 4* Baylor - Starter

5Matt Scott 4* Arizona

6Darron Thomas 4* Oregon - Bench

7Curt Phillips 4* Wisconsin

8B.J. Daniels 4* South Florida

9Kody Spano 3* Nebraska

10Jaybo Shaw 3* Georgia Tech - Included for awesome name

Rivals.com pro-style quarterbacks 2008

1Blaine Gabbert 5* Missouri - sorta starter

2Dayne Crist 5* Notre Dame - Bench

3Mike Glennon 4* N.C. State - starter

4Andrew Luck 4* Stanford

5Star Jackson 4* Alabama

6Landry Jones 4* Oklahoma

7Jacory Harris 4* Miami - Starter

8Jordan Jefferson 4* LSU

9Tyler Wilson 4* Arkansas

10Kyle Parker 4* Clemson

Rivals.com dual-threat quarterbacks 2007

1Tyrod Taylor 5* VTech – Starter

2Cameron Newton 5* Florida

3Aaron Corp 4* Southern Cal - Starter

4Stephen Garcia 4* South Carolina - washout?

5Willy Korn 4* Clemson - Starter

6Keith Nichol 4* Oklahoma - Bench/transfer?

7Chris Forcier 4* UCLA - Washout/transfer

8Kodi Burns 4*Auburn

9Josh Nesbitt 4* Georgia Tech - starter

10Logan Gray 4* Georgia

11Kellen Kiilsgaard 4* Stanford

12Bradley Starks 4* West Virginia

Rivals.com pro-style quarterbacks 2007

1Jimmy Clausen 5* Notre Dame - Starter

2Ryan Mallett 5* Michigan – Transfer/Starter

3John Brantley 4* Florida

4Mike Paulus 4* North Carolina

5Peter Lalich 4*Virginia

6Pat Bostick 4*Pittsburgh - Bench

7Jarrett Lee 4* LSU - sorta starter

8Robert Marve 4* Miami-FL - washout/transfer

9Steven Threet 4* Georgia Tech – Sadly, washout/Transfer x2.

10BJ Coleman 4* Tennessee - nothing

Rivals.com: Dual-threat quarterbacks 2006

1Tim Tebow 5* Florida (Football Jesus)

2Demetrius Jones 4* Notre Dame Washout/Transfer – Now a linebacker at NIU

3Jevan Snead 4* Texas – Transfer/Starter at Ole Miss

4Jake Locker 4* Washington – Punching bag/Starter

5Jeremy Ricker 4* Maryland

6Austen Arnaud 4* Iowa State

7Garrett Green 4* Southern Cal - bench

8Sherrod Harris 4* Texas - bench

9Antonio Henton 4* Ohio State – Who?

11Rick Stanzi 3* Iowa – Starter/Manzi

14Adam Weber 3* Minnesota - Starter

15Nate Davis 3* Ball State - NFL

16Todd Reesing 3* Kansas – Marky M says Balla.

Rivals.com Pro-style quarterbacks 2006

1Matthew Stafford 5* Georgia 1DC

2Mitch Mustain 5* Arkansas Washout

3Isiah Williams 4* Illinois Starter

4Josh Freeman 4* Kansas State Starter/washout/NFL?

5Pat Devlin 4* Penn State washout/transfer

6Kevin Riley 4* California sorta starter

7Neil Caudle 4* Auburn bench

8Chris Smelley 4* South Carolina sorta starter/washout

9Zach Frazer 4* Notre Dame washout

10Tyler Lyon 3* Arizona Bench

11Greg McElroy 3* Alabama – Starter (sorta)

12Sam Bradford 3* Oklahoma (Heisman winner)

Rivals.com Pro-style quarterbacks 2005

1Mark Sanchez 5* Southern Cal - NFL

2Jonathan Crompton 4* Tennessee - sorta starter

3Harrison Beck 4* Nebraska

4Derek Shaw 4* Arizona State

5Willie Tuitama 4* Arizona - One Time Stater/washout

6Rob Schoenhoft 4* Ohio State - bench

7Joe Cox 4* Georgia - bench?

8Arkelon Hall 3* Washington St.

9Domenic Natale 3* Michigan State

10Sean Canfield 3* Oregon State

11Bill Stull 3* Pittsburgh - starter

12Evan Sharpley 3* Notre Dame - Graduated

14Dustin Sherer 3* Wisconsin - sorta starter

15Colt McCoy 3* Texas - Starter Heisman Candidate

Rivals.com: Dual-threat quarterbacks 2005

1Ryan Perrilloux 5* LSU - Washout of spectacular fashion

2Jake Christensen 4* Iowa - Washout

3Ike Whitaker 4* Virginia Tech - Washout

4Josh Portis 4* Florida - ?

5Kyle Reed 4* California - ?

6Chase Daniel 4* Missouri - NFL?

7Jimmy Johns 3* Alabama - Proveyor of Fine Powdered Products

10Zac Robinson 3* Oklahoma State - Starter

Worst of the Big 12 - The Big 12 "Cob of the Week"

Jon Johnston — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:00:06 -0000

A little late with this week's "Cob of the Week" awards, but at least no one's playing on Wednesday this week. This week, we're all over the place - a backup quarterback, an athletic director, and a coach.

Husker Mike:

I'd like to nominate West Virginia backup quarterback Bradley Starks, who threw a dying quail on a trick play and completely missed running back Jock Sanders, who was so wide open that there wasn't a Colorado defender within thirty yards of him. If Starks throws it somewhere in the same ZIP code as Sanders, Sanders walks into the end zone and the Mountaineers take a 21-14 lead late in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Mountaineers drive stalls and the game goes to overtime.

If missing a wide open TD isn't bad enough, Starks also gave up a fumble that lead to a Buffalo touchdown. Ouch!

Blankman:

Take a good long look at this picture of Mike Sherman. I feel the pain in these eyes because I was there this time last year. The Aggies continue to bumble and stumble their way across the non-conference schedule thankfully (maybe?) playing Army this weekend.

Mike Sherman, wondering just what he's gotten himself into.

It's far too early to grade a staff, but for one that was supposed to have one of the best QB’s in the Big XII according to ESPN, "Dollar" Bill Byrne isn't just the Cob of the Week, he's getting one stuffed...well, you get the idea.

Corn Blight:

My Cob of the Week is going to Ron Prince, the same prince of the stompin’ dance who up until last week had the K-State faithful feeling good about themselves for beating up on small fry.

Last week they marched into Louisville ranked 18th in total offense, sixth in total defense, then proceeded to give up 577 yards to the Cardinals. If you watched the game, you saw a lost defense, consistently out of position, slow, and as an added bonus, poor tackling. They were so bad they dropped to 51st in total defense.

After last week’s performance our buddy TB at Bring on The Cats has written an open letter to Ron Prince, stating:

I'm not going to ask for much; I'm a pretty rational and realistic guy. But here's what I, Joe Average KSU Fan, expect from here on out:

A defense that's assignment sound
A defense that isn't afraid to hit or get hit
An offensive line that can generate a push
A running game that's not inept
A coaching staff that is capable of making halftime adjustments
A coaching staff full of experienced, qualified men who can turn these proud young men into football players

Ouch!!!