Bill O’Brien officially completes first Penn State staff

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By John TaylorFeb 18, 2012, 8:01 PM EDT

Following up on reports from Friday, Penn State’s Bill O’Brien has officially hung a “No Vacancy” sign on his maiden collegiate coaching staff.

Unless Greg Schiano comes a courtin’, of course.

In a press release, the Nittany Lions confirmed Saturday evening that it has hired Charlie Fisher as its new quarterbacks coach.  In 2011, Fisher served as the pass-game coordinator/QBs coach at Miami of Ohio.

“With the hiring of Charlie Fisher as quarterbacks coach, we have completed the Penn State football coaching staff,” O’Brien stated. “This is a staff made up of men who care about the mission of Penn State University and being successful on and off the field.  It is also a staff of winners, with five staff members that have been a part of national championship teams as assistant coaches.

“This is a staff that has won many games; some while being a part of the same staff, and is a staff comprised of former head coaches, coordinators and tremendous recruiting experience.”

Prior to his time with the MAC Miami, Fisher spent nine seasons as an offensive assistant at Vanderbilt.

Report: Ole Miss wants NCAA to require two Miss. St. players to attend hearing

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By John TaylorJul 26, 2017, 12:21 PM EDT

Thanks to off-field events, the Egg Bowl rivalry has ratcheted up a notch or 12 in the last week or so — after ratcheting up several levels the previous months.

Monday, ESPN.com‘s Mark Schlabach reported that it was a lifelong Mississippi State fan who discovered the infamous call to a number connected to an escort service and led to Hugh Freeze being forcefully ousted at Ole Miss.  Two days later, Schlabach is reporting that attorneys representing the university and former coaches accused of wrongdoing are asking the NCAA that it require two Mississippi State football players, Leo Lewis and Kobe Jones, to appear at their hearing in front of the Committee on Infractions later this year.

At this point in time, it’s unclear whether either player has received a notice to appear.

Jones, a four-star 2016 signee, has alleged that an Ole Miss booster paid him upwards of $15,000 as an inducement to go to the Rebels before he signed with the rival Bulldogs. “Lewis also accused Rebels boosters and former coaches of arranging for him to receive free transportation, lodging, food and meals and memorabilia and clothing from Rebel Rags, a retail store in Oxford,” Schlabach wrote Wednesday.

The Oxford retailer filed a lawsuit last month against, among others, Jones and Lewis alleging “defamation, slander, conspiracy and commercial disparagement stemming from false statements made to the NCAA.” On at least three occasions, the Bulldog duo spoke to the NCAA and its investigators regarding their allegations made against the rival program.

From Schlabach’s latest report:

The NCAA previously denied Ole Miss lawyers’ requests to interview Jones and Lewis about allegations they made during the NCAA’s investigation of the Rebels. In fact, Lewis’ attorneys stopped the second of three interviews with NCAA investigators after Ole Miss’ lawyers attempted to cross-examine him. Ole Miss wasn’t allowed to have an attorney at his third interview.

Jones and Lewis were provided partial immunity by NCAA investigators before they were interviewed.

The NCAA has accused the Ole Miss football program of 21 violations, 15 of which are the most serious under The Association’s penalty structure.  Ole Miss self-imposed a bowl ban for the 2017 season as well as stripped itself of seven scholarships.  Additionally, they will forfeit all postseason revenues for the upcoming season, a number in excess of $7 million.  It’s expected the NCAA will add to those self-imposed sanctions.

The university received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA back in February, releasing its response to the NOA early last month.

Former Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt and his attorney filed a lawsuit earlier this month as well, alleging that Freeze and other Ole Miss officials engaged in a clandestine smear campaign to pin the NCAA investigation into the Rebels’ football program in large part on Nutt. The lawsuit levied some rather serious allegations, including Freeze allegedly conducting off-the-record conversations with prominent journalists and recruits to falsely spread the narrative that the lion’s share of NCAA recruiting violations occurred under Nutt’s watch.

4-star 2018 QB with offers from Tennessee, Washington commits to… Princeton

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By John TaylorJul 26, 2017, 10:55 AM EDT

I have no clue how long this commitment will last, but it’s patently awesome.  And spectacular.

Brevin White is a 2018 recruit who 247Sports.com has pegged as a four-star prospect.  The same recruiting website rates the California high school product as the No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the country and the No. 39 player at any position in the state.

White, the younger brother of redshirt sophomore Arizona State quarterback Brady White, currently holds scholarship offers from, among others, Arizona State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Washington State.  Tuesday night, the younger White signal-caller took to Twitter to announce his program of choice, and revealed that he would be playing his college football at… Princeton.

Selfishly, I hope this verbal holds.  To see a young man with Power Five options go, at least for now, the Ivy League route is utterly refreshing on multiple levels.

And the fact that the P5s involved have to be borderline beside themselves?  Priceless.

Despite sexual assault charges, ex-Michigan State DE Auston Robertson to play at Kansas JUCO

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By John TaylorJul 26, 2017, 8:44 AM EDT

I guess if you have football talent, there’s almost always a spot for you somewhere.

The latest example of that phenomena is Auston Robertson, who was dismissed by Michigan State in April not long after word surfaced that the defensive lineman was facing charges of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.  It’s alleged that Robertson sexually assaulted the victim in her apartment after being driven home from a party, with the lineman’s girlfriend waiting in the vehicle while the assault took place.

Despite the allegations and pending court case — Robertson is free on a $250,000 bond — the lineman will be permitted to continue his collegiate playing career at a Kansas junior college.

From mlive.com:

[Attorney Brent] Leder said Robertson had been given the opportunity to attend Garden City Community College in Kansas to play football and attend school. He said the school’s football coach knew the circumstances surrounding the situation and was willing to take on the responsibility of supervising Robertson’s movements.

Robertson would not use the move as an attempt to evade future court proceedings, Leder said.

“He’s here fighting these charges, and he will be at all future court dates,” Leder said.

While it’s certainly the most serious, this is not Robertson’s first brush with the law.

The lineman had been committed to the Spartans but did not sign with MSU in February of 2016 after he was charged with misdemeanor battery in his home state of Indiana.  Robertson subsequently signed with MSU in late March of that year after he entered into a pretrial diversionary program, with the charge dropped a month later.

Prior to that, he had been charged with criminal mischief, damaging or defacing property and resisting arrest in a separate incident. Those charges were later dropped.

A four-star recruit, Robertson was rated as the No. 9 weakside defensive end in the country and the No. 3 player at any position in the state of Indiana.  The only recruit in MSU’s class that year rated higher than Robertson was fellow four-star defensive end Josh King.

As a true freshman, he played in seven games.

Darren Carrington’s dad confirms ex-Duck WR is now a Ute

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By John TaylorJul 26, 2017, 6:22 AM EDT

One of the bigger intra-conference transfers this offseason is all but officially official now.

Word surfaced earlier in the day Tuesday that Darren Carrington had pulled the trigger on a transfer to Utah.  Later on that night, the former Oregon wide receiver’s father confirmed to Lynn Worthy of the Salt Lake Tribune via email that, yes, his son will be playing for the Utes in 2017 as a graduate transfer.

From the Tribune:

The circumstances are definitely not what we planned,” Carrington wrote. “However we are so thankful to Coach [Kyle] Whittingham, Dr. Chris Hill-AD and the U of Utah, for providing darren with an opportunity to not only finish is college football career but also for him to be known not just for 2 bad decisions, but as a man of God. One who made some mistakes have learned from them and is now better as a result.

“Special shout out to OC [Troy] Taylor for being the catalyst.

Earlier this month, Oregon announced that it had dismissed Carrington, a move that came a couple of weeks after the senior was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

The senior’s 606 yards receiving last year were tops on the Ducks, while his five receiving touchdowns were tied for first. His 43 catches were second on the team as well.

In mid-November of last year, Carrington caught a 17-yard touchdown pass with two seconds left that carried the unranked Ducks to a 30-28 win over the then-12th-ranked Utes 30-28 in Salt Lake City.  October 28 of this year, Carrington will come “home” as Utah will travel to Eugene to take on the Ducks.