Hold your horses, folks: Mack Brown denying tabbing Gilbert as starter

By Ben KerchevalMay 10, 2011, 12:31 PM EDT
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Hello, denial, my old friend.

As you probably recall, Kirk Bohls of the Austin-American Statesman stated Sunday night that an anonymous source told him that  Mack Brown had tabbed junior-to-be Garrett Gilbert as the starting quarterback for the upcoming season.

Turns out, that’s not true at all — at least not according to Brown.

“As we’ve said throughout the spring and many times since, we have not talked with the kids about a depth chart and that includes our quarterback position,” Brown told ESPN (the statement was seen on “College Football Live” yesterday evening). “All of our guys are well aware of that and are working hard to get better. We’re really excited about the potential we have at quarterback and are impressed with how the guys have embraced the competition. We’re looking forward to seeing the progress all four of our quarterbacks make when we report for camp in August.”

I don’t know what Brown has told — or, hasn’t told — Gilbert, but I hope for his sake, Brown was honest with him.

Some situations merit naming a starting quarterback before summer break (i.e. Washington and Keith Price) because there is some separation in the group and it gives the starter some confidence before fall camp.

But judging by Gilbert’s performance during the Horns’ spring game, tabbing him the starter would have been premature; there just wasn’t any significant visible separation by Gilbert over Case McCoy or Conner Wood.

And after a 5-7 season that saw so much coaching turnover and promises of positive change for next year, it would  be wrong for the Longhorns to settle on Gilbert simply because he’s the incumbent.

Not if he doesn’t give them the best chance to win.

Nebraska fans set new school record for spring attendance in Scott Frost debut

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By Kevin McGuireApr 21, 2018, 1:00 PM EDT
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Nebraska has generally been one of the traditional heavy hitters when it comes to the not-at-all-important stat of spring game attendance, but never before have so many Huskers fans crammed into Memorial Stadium to see their beloved team play the spring game.

Nebraska is reporting a spring game crowd of 86,818 in Lincoln this afternoon, easily making them the new leader in the nation for spring game attendance this season (other contenders Alabama and Penn State are also in action today, so we’ll see if Nebraska hangs on to this lead). The massive crowd on-hand to witness the spring debut of new head coach Scott Frost also catapulted Nebraska into the top 10 leaderboard for all-time spring game attendance figures. Nebraska’s 86,818 fans is good for the eighth-most fans for a spring game, and Nebraska’s only appearance on the top 10 list.

It’s worth a quick reminder that these are paying fans as well, and the weather isn’t fantastic, although it is far better than a number of spring games have seen this season.

Florida State previously had the highest-attended spring game going into this weekend, but the crowd of 60,934 stood very little chance of staying ahead of some of the schools in action on Saturday, including the combination of Nebraska, Alabama, Penn State, and Georgia.

Wisconsin QB announces intent to transfer

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By Kevin McGuireApr 21, 2018, 12:44 PM EDT
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Wisconsin’s quarterback position looks to be pretty solid heading into the 2018 season with Alex Hornibrook back to lead the offense, but the depth at the position will get a little more shallow with a pending departure. Karé Lyles is set on leaving Madison by way of a transfer, according to a message posted to his Twitter account Friday night.

“Thank you UW for the memories, but it’s time to focus on a new chapter and a new beginning,” Lyles said in his message on Twitter. “The best is yet to come! Just a kid with a dream, and I didn’t come this far just to come this far.”

Lyles would have been floating on the depth chart at Wisconsin this season behind locked-in starter Hornibrook, with Jack Coan rising to be the top backup option ahead of Lyles for the Badgers. Wisconsin has some other younger in-experienced quarterbacks on the roster as well to fill some of the space on the depth chart in the fall.

Lyles, a redshirt sophomore in the fall, will have to sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules. He will be eligible to play again in 2019 with two years of eligibility to use at another FBS program. If he transfers to a lower division school, then Lyles would be eligible to play immediately this fall.

Helmet sticker to Bucky’s 5th Quarter.

Four-star 2015 signee second Aggie to leave Texas A&M this week

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By John TaylorApr 21, 2018, 9:11 AM EDT
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With a new head coach in town, it’s far from surprising to see somewhat of a personnel exodus in the spring.  In that vein, Jimbo Fisher‘s first-year Texas A&M roster is the latest FBS football program to see such attrition.

On his personal Twitter account Thursday night, offensive lineman Koda Martin announced that he would be transferring from A&M to Syracuse.  On the same social media website a day later, teammate Kemah Siverand announced that he too will be leaving College Station as a transfer.

Unlike Martin, Siverand (pictured, left) did not reveal his next college football home in the tweet.

As Siverand will be leaving the Aggies as a graduate transfer, he’ll be eligible to play immediately at another FBS school in 2018 if that’s the tack he takes.

Siverand was a four-star member of A&M’s 2015 recruiting class.  After beginning his collegiate career as a wide receiver, the Cypress, Tex., native moved to defensive back between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.  He caught two passes for 16 yards in two games as a redshirt freshman in 2016, then was credited with six tackles in 12 games last season.

Iowa LB Aaron Mends to miss extended time with injury

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By John TaylorApr 20, 2018, 10:35 PM EDT
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Talk about a hard-luck story.

After never starting a game at Iowa, Aaron Mends (pictured, blocking punt) had earned a starting job at outside linebacker during practice this spring.  With football being the cruel mistress that it can be at times, the Hawkeyes announced Friday night that Mends “will miss an extended period of time due to injury.” The program offered no details as to the specific nature of the injury, although it’s believed to involve the knee.

According to the school’s release, the fifth-year senior suffered the injury during the final week of Iowa’s spring drills.

Mends was a three-star member of the Hawkeyes’ 2014 recruiting class.  He was the highest-rated linebacker in Iowa’s class that year.

After taking a redshirt as a true freshman, Mends has played in 38 games the past three seasons.  A baker’s dozen of those appearances came during the 2017 season.