Nick ‘Son of Joe’ Montana signs with Tulane

By John TaylorJan 5, 2013, 10:37 AM EDT

Following up on reports that first surfaced last month, Nick Montana has officially landed at his new collegiate football home.

Tulane announced Friday that the son of NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana has signed his National Letter of Intent with the Green Wave and will begin competing with the football program during spring practice. The quarterback will have two years of eligibility.

“We are very excited about the addition of Nick to our program,” Tulane head football coach Curtis Johnson said. “He was very high on our list for this year’s class. Nick is a highly intelligent player who has a very accurate arm and has incredible leadership skills, and he is a proven winner. We will have a young group of quarterbacks next season so we made it a priority to bring in an experienced player at that position. We believe Nick will have an immediate impact on our program.”

Montana spent this past season at Mount San Antonio College after transferring to the JUCO ranks from Washington in January of 2012. As a three-star member of the Huskies’ 2010 recruiting class, Montana was rated by Rivals.com as the No. 22 pro-style quarterback in the country.

After redshirting as a true freshman, Montana completed 24 of 42 of his passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns in 2011. He started one game that season in place of an injured Keith Price.

Iowa’s leading receiver out indefinitely after practice injury

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Florida confirms hiring of Miss. St.’s Scot Stricklin as new AD

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By John TaylorSep 27, 2016, 10:53 AM EDT

Mississippi State’s loss is officially Florida’s gain.

Monday, reports surfaced that, after a longer-than-expected search, Florida had zeroed in on Scott Stricklin to be its new athletic director. Tuesday morning, UF confirmed in a press release that the MSU AD has left Starkville to take the same job in Gainesville.

Stricklin will replace Jeremy Foley, the long-time AD who announced in June that he would be leaving his post in October.

“I’m really excited about this opportunity at Florida,” Stricklin said in a statement. “I’m an SEC guy. I understand the position Florida holds in college athletics. I’m excited to come and be part of the department. It’s a great staff here to work with. I love college towns. The opportunity to come and get invested in another community, with my family, you start balancing all that and you understand at this point in my career, this is an opportunity you just can’t not do. …

“I couldn’t have left for any other place but Florida. It’s just a special place not only in the world of the SEC, but in college athletics because of the success they’ve had and the way they’ve had it with the integrity. Florida holds a leadership position in college athletics. And you look at the academic reputation, it’s one of the best universities in the country. That’s a pretty hard combination to not take the opportunity if it’s offered to you.”

Stricklin, who graduated from MSU in the early nineties, had been the Bulldogs’ AD since 2010. That was the 46-year-old Stricklin’s first job as the head of any athletic department.

For the 2015-16 season, he claimed the Athletic Director of the Year Award from the National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

“I’ve known Scott on a personal and professional level for a long, long time,” a statement from Foley, who is staying at the school as a “fundraiser,” began. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Scott and what he has accomplished at Mississippi State and the other institutions where he has worked. Scott is a wonderful leader, and a great person. He has passion for student-athletes and loves working with and supporting coaches. Those two qualities alone make him a great fit for Florida.

“Scott is about the right things and running the business the right way. I have the utmost confidence that Scott will help the Gators carry out our mission to provide a championship experience with integrity. We’ve sat in the room together at AD meetings for several years now, and I’ve seen firsthand that Scott brings a deep understanding and appreciation for what it takes to run a successful athletic program, particularly in the Southeastern Conference. I couldn’t be more excited to have Scott serve as the next athletic director at the University of Florida.”

Stricklin will be officially introduced as Florida’s new athletic director at a 1 p.m. ET press conference this afternoon.

LSU will reportedly ‘gauge interest’ of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer

Associated Press

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By John TaylorSep 27, 2016, 8:58 AM EDT

LSU, as you may have heard, has a vacancy at head coach. While the university is in the very early stages of finding a permanent replacement as Ed Orgeron grabs his interim cap yet again and attempts to guide the Tigers through the remainder of the season, it appears the football program will take a swing at some of the biggest names in the college coaching business.

And no doubt colossally whiff on at least two of those prime targets.

From FootballScoop.com:

If Orgeron doesn’t earn the job, sources tell FootballScoop that LSU’s committee believes they can and should land a home run. “Their sights are on national championship caliber, proven head coaches,” a source with knowledge told FootballScoop this morning. During the initial, exploratory phase, we are told to expect LSU, through representatives, to gauge the interest of some of the top coaches in college football, including Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Jimbo Fisher and Tom Herman. Right or wrong, sources tell FootballScoop that LSU believes they will be able to attract a coach of that caliber.

I guess it wouldn’t hurt to do your due diligence and make a gargantuan swing for fences out of your reach, especially when you have one of the Top 10 jobs (Top Five?) in the country to dangle. But Saban, even given his history with the program, and Meyer?

Stanford WR Francis Owusu to miss game against Washington with concussion

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