Latest News & Rumors

AP

Earlier this week, Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News– a guy who has really been on top of all things conference realignment — tweeted that, according to a source, Boise State was feeling “pressure from Big East to join in 2012 to offset WVU’s departure.“

The big picture hint, of course, was that perhaps West Virginia was on its way out of the Big East and into the Big 12 by next season, as the school has said repeatedly since accepting an invite to the Big 12 last fall. Currently, WVU and the Big East are in non-binding mediation talks and the two sides are scheduled for a status conference next week.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 released its schedule privately to its TV partners earlier this week as mandated by the conference’s TV contract; a public version of the Big 12 schedule should be coming up some time in the next week.

However, it doesn’t appear Boise State will be in the Big East next season. BSU president Bob Kustra told the Idaho Statesman on Friday that “it’s too late,” for his program to make a conference move in time for the start of next season.

“I can’t imagine how anyone can pull that off. We would never want to pull it off in a fashion that dealt shabbily with our existing partners in the Mountain West. I don’t think that could ever work,” Kustra said.

Just as pressure to get Boise State into the Big East next season would be good news for West Virginia, indicating the conference needs a replacement, Kustra’s comments paint a less promising picture for WVU as they try to get out of the Big East as soon as possible.

The Big East remains gridlocked in a legal battle with WVU over when the school can move on to the Big 12. Perhaps next week won’t provide any answers to that question, but there absolutely will be multiple parties waiting with bated breath just in case.

Not long after Central Florida defensive backs coach Derrick Ansley left to take the same job with Tennessee — that has since been made official by UT — the Knights have quickly filled the DB coaching spot with a former player.

UCF announced that former UCF defensive back and Florida graduate assistant Kirk Callahan has come back to his alma mater to replace the hole left by Ansley.

Callahan also spent one year with UCF as a student assistant and two years at North Carolina as a GA.

Additionally, coach George O’Leary announced that Tyson Summers will take over as linebackers coach. Summers was hired by the Knights in January after spending five seasons at UAB.

AP

It’s nothing short of hilarious that Urban Meyer has only completed one signing class as Ohio State’s head coach and is already ticking off Big Ten coaches for disregarding their “gentlemen’s agreement” and doing what any smart coach should be doing: recruiting until that letter of intent is signed and faxed.

Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, the supposed target of “Operation Bratwurst“, indicated that Meyer’s recruiting conduct was perhaps venturing into “illegal” territory. That seems to be more to the core of Bielema’s discontent, despite the fact that his boss, Barry Alvarez, has stated publicly that he has no issue with Meyer’s recruiting tenacity.

Another victim of Meyer’s brass-knuckle recruiting style, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, has also backed off the signing day uproar. Dantonio was quoted that day as implying that Meyer’s recruiting was “pretty unethical.”

Today, Dantonio released a statement clarifying the remark:

“There’s a need to correct some inaccurate news accounts that have appeared over the last two days. Let me be clear: some general recruiting statements I made were completely taken out of context when combined together by a reporter not in attendance. The timing of my comments was a reflection of an occurring matter on Signing Day and had nothing to do with Urban Meyer and Ohio State. My comments regarding ‘unethical’ behavior were general in nature, according to my current coaching philosophy, and not directed toward any particular institution.”

The quote, which was supposedly taken out of context, was ”They’ve got a new coach, and it’s different… I would say it’s pretty unethical, in the end.”

You can be the judge of what Dantonio meant, but the general consensus two days later is that, as long as Meyer didn’t do anything illegal, then his actions were fair game and justifiable.

Southern Miss hired its new head coach, Ellis Johnson, from South Carolina; it seems only appropriate in a Head Ball Coach kind of way that the Gamecocks complete a USCe-USM swap by taking an assistant from the Golden Eagles.

South Carolina announced today that USM cornerbacks coach Grady Brown would be joining the Gamecocks’ staff as secondary coach and assistant special teams coordinator.

Okay, it’s not quite an eye for an eye. Still, we think Urban Meyer would approve.

“We’re pleased to announce the hiring of Grady Brown, a sharp, young defensive secondary coach who has had much success the last three years at Southern Miss,” Steve Spurrier said in a statement. “He will also assist Joe Robinson with the special teams. He and Joe were together at LSU and know each other well. He will fit in extremely well here and be an excellent addition to our staff.”

Brown spent the past two seasons on USM”s staff under current North Carolina coach Larry Fedora and was retained when Johnson was hired. Southern Miss finished last season No. 7 nationally in pass efficiency defense and set a NCAA record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with eight. In total, the Golden Eagle defense finished the 2011 season as a Top-30 defense on their way to a Conference USA title and Hawaii Bowl win.

Brown was previously in strength and conditioning at LSU before taking over the CB’s at USM. He replaces safeties Jeep Hunter, who was not retained.

(Photo courtesy of USM Athletics) 

AP

In December, Iowa State kept Paul Rhoads from potentially leaving for a then-vacant Pitt opening by offering him an extension and raise said to be worth $20 million over the next 10 years.

Yesterday, the specifics of Rhoads’ new contract were released.

Rhoads will make $1.6 million in 2012 as part of his new contract — a decent raise from the $1.15 million he was making in 2011. His salary will increase by $100,000 every year for the next 10 years, resulting in $2.5 million in 2021.

Whether Rhoads will still be the coach at Iowa State in 2021 remains to be seen. He’s proven he can win at a place where, if we can be candid, wins rarely come easy. ISU’s athletic budget isn’t the biggest — in fact, it’s the smallest in the Big 12 — but it’s clear the athletic administration has made every call, pulled every string they can to keep Rhoads.

And it looks like Rhoads understands and appreciates that. The $2.5 million he’s guaranteed to get in 2021 is a pretty hefty price tag at most football programs, but with the success Rhoads has had at Iowa State, he could probably get that within the next five years if he’d taken another job.

Who knows how long Rhoads will be at ISU — maybe it is his last job — but the Cyclones can take comfort in knowing that each year Rhoads is around that he’ll be getting the most out of that team.

Already this offseason, Kirk Ferentz lost defensive coordinator Norm Parker to retirement.  Now, the Iowa head coach will be forced to find a new coordinator for the other side of the ball as well.

According to Randy Peterson of the Des Moines Register, offensive coordinator Ken O’Keefe has decided to leave the Hawkeyes football program.  The school later sent out a a release saying O’Keefe had taken another job.

“Ken O’Keefe has decided to leave our Iowa staff for another coaching opportunity,” said Ferentz in a statement.  ”Ken’s work contributed greatly to our program’s success during the past 13 years, and more impressively to the growth and development of the young men in our program.  We wish Ken and Joanne the most success in this new chapter of his career.”

The school did not say to where O’Keefe was going, but rumor has it that he will be going to the Miami Dolphins, which have already snatched up three Division 1-A coaches.

O’Keefe has been Ferentz’s coordinator for the past 12 seasons.

(Photo credit: Iowa athletics)

For the third time in the past three days, the Miami Dolphins have reached into the Div. 1-A ranks and pulled out an assistant for its new coaching staff.

The latest to lose a coach to the NFL is USF, with head coach Skip Holtz wishing wide receivers coach Phil McGeoghan good luck via Twitter late Thursday night. “Appreciate the job you have done at USF,” Holtz wrote, although the coach didn’t confirm the Dolphins were McGeoghan’s destination.

The school subsequently did, though, the Tampa Tribune reported.

McGeoghan was one of three assistants retained by Holtz when he took over for Jim Leavitt in 2009.

In addition to McGeoghan, Lou Anarumo (Purdue) and Jim Turner (Texas Tech) have left the collegiate coaching ranks for jobs with the Dolphins this week.

(Photo credit: USF athletics)

AP

UPDATED 3:47 p.m. ET: Following a previously scheduled meeting Friday in Chicago, Urban Meyer released a statement addressing the recruiting flap that’s developed throughout the week.  Here’s the statement, in its entirety:

“I was pleased to take part in a productive, regularly scheduled meeting of the Big Ten Conference coaches today in Chicago. We had an opportunity to discuss a number of issues with each other and conference staff, including those that have arisen this week. It should be noted that my coaching staff is in full compliance with our recruiting efforts, and no one on this staff did anything illegal or unethical. We will continue to comply with NCAA rules and recruit with relentless effort, especially the great state of Ohio.

______________________________

 “I want to thank Commissioner Delany for his insight and leadership, and at this point we all look forward to moving past this week and getting ready for the start of spring football.”

Instead of worrying about what’s going on at another Big Ten school, Bret Bielema might want to consider getting on the same page as his boss.

At least twice in the past three days, the Wisconsin head coach has used the word “illegal” when talking about the recruiting practices of Urban Meyer and his new coaching staff.  Former UW head coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez, who knows a thing or two about surviving on the recruiting trail, addressed the accusations made by his football coach with ESPN.com‘s Joe Schad and seemed to subtly take Bielema to task for going with a public airing of his grievances.

“It’s dangerous to point fingers and make accusations,” Alvarez said. “I actually think recruiting is tamer now that it was at one point in time.”

As for the issue of continuing to recruit a player until he’s signed a Letter of Intent, Alvarez said all is fair in the recruiting game.

“Recruiting is recruiting until they sign,” Alvarez told Schad. “If we had somebody who changed their mind and came to us, that’s OK. Urban [Meyer] was very aggressive but there is no pact within the conference not to continue to recruit. It’s open season until they sign.”

Again, it might be time for the two to get in the same book — or the same library — let alone the same page.

And, yes, we’re well aware of the fact that Bielema could, or probably is, referring to something other than flipping verbally committed recruits with his accusations against Meyer.  If that’s the case, stop making blanket, non-specific accusations and spill what illegal tactics are being utilized by a rival coach.  Short of that, shut up about it publicly and keep your grievances where they should be — behind closed doors and resolved through proper conference channels.

In essence, that’s exactly what OSU athletic director Gene Smith said in a statement released by the university early this afternoon, which makes me leery about the stance I took in the previous paragraph.  Be that as it may, Smith chided those who have made “negative references” about his new head coach.

“I am disappointed that negative references have been made about our football coaches, and particularly head coach Urban Meyer regarding recruiting. In our league appropriate protocol, if you have concerns, is to share those concerns with your Athletic Director (AD). Then your AD will make the determination on the appropriate communication from that point forward. The ADs in our league are professionals and communicate with each other extremely well. Urban Meyer and his staff have had a compliance conscience since they have arrived.”

(Writer’s note: I’d like to personally thank Mr. Smith for lobbing up the “compliance conscience” softball for our commenters to take a few whacks at.  Appreciate it Gene!!!)

For some reason, though, I don’t think this is the last we’ve heard of this issue; Bielema and Meyer are expected to be in attendance at a “voluntary” conference for Big Ten coaches in the very near future, affording Jim Delany the opportunity to have a Slive-like come-to-Jesus discussion with at least two of the coaches in the conference.

Getty Images

Under normal NCAA rules, when a player transfers from one Division 1-A school to another, they have to sit out one year — unless they’ve already graduated from their previous program.

That exception could apply to former Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who will be moving on to SMU after a pair of disappointing seasons as a Longhorns quarterback. FOX Sports Southwest reports that Gilbert is staying at UT and will graduate this spring, making him immediately eligible to compete for a starting job with the Mustangs.

Had Gilbert transferred before finishing his undergraduate degree, he wouldn’t have been available to play until 2013 as a redshirt senior and would have to get a special waiver from the NCAA to play beyond that.

All of this comes shortly after former SMU starter Kyle Padron was granted release from his scholarship. J.J. McDermott, who took over SMU’s offense when Padron was benched in the first game of 2011, has used up all his eligibility.

Two days after announcing he would not be signing his letter of intent to Florida State on National Signing Day — although reaffirming that he was “a ‘Nole” — five-star quarterback (Rivals) Jameis Winston has finally sent his signature to Jimbo Fisher.

In a ceremony in Birmingham, Alabama, Winston made his pledge to the Seminoles official, becoming the 19th commitment to Florida State for the 2012 class.

“It feels great to be a Seminole. I’m heading to FSU. I knew for a while FSU was where I was going.” Winston said. ”My heart belongs to FSU. That was the difference from when I visited other schools.”

The quarterback joins cornerback Ronald Darby, defensive end Mario Edwards and defensive tackle Eddie Goldman as part of on heck of a recruiting class.

“Jameis is a true impact guy,” Fisher said. “He can be a great player for us. Not only from his physical standpoint, but from the way he approaches the game, the competitiveness which he has and the demand for excellence he puts on himself. He brings a lot of things to the table. We think he’s one of the great ones out there.”

Winston, a two-sport athlete in football and baseball, said on Wednesday that his decision could be coming as soon as today, which obviously it did, or some time next week.

Rivals.com had Winston rated as the No. 1 dual-threat QB in the country, and ranked him as the No. 10 player overall; 247Sports.com had Winston as the top dual-threat QB and the No. 26 player overall.

(Tip of the cap: Warchant.com) 

Those looking for the ACC to significantly revamp its divisional setup ahead of the additions of Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the conference will be sorely disappointed.

The ACC announced Friday that Pittsburgh will be added to its Coastal Division while Syracuse will play in the Atlantic Division… and that’s it.  No other members will be moving to different divisions as some had projected.

“We have been engaged in discussions on the various options for integrating Pitt and Syracuse since early fall,” said ACC commissioner John Swofford in a statement. “It’s a tremendous tribute to the leadership at our schools that we will be able to seamlessly add Pitt and Syracuse at the appropriate time when they become full playing members.

Thus, the divisions will look as follows:

ATLANTIC
Boston College
Clemson
Florida State
Maryland
North Carolina State
Syracuse
Wake Forest

COASTAL
Duke
Georgia Tech
Miami
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Virginia
Virginia Tech

Additionally, the ACC confirmed in its press release that the conference will go to a nine-game schedule for football upon the arrival of the two current Big East members, which is expected to happen no later than the 2014 season.

The release states that “[t]he format will consist of each team playing all six in its division each year, plus its primary crossover partner each year and two rotating opponents from the opposite division.  This six-year cycle allows each team to play each divisional opponent and its primary crossover partner six times (three home and three away) while also playing each rotating crossover opponent two times (one home and one away).”

Moving to a nine-game league schedule could have one very big downside as well — the odds of the continuation of the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia, not good to begin with, have decreased immensely.

AP

As unbelievable as it may seem, Urban Meyer — or at least his “recruiting practices” — is getting a tiny bit of support from the coach of That School Up North.

Meyer has come under fire in recent days from coaches within his new conference over his “recruiting tactics”. Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema intimated on more than one occasion since signing day that the way Meyer goes about his recruiting business is illegal, and will have his boss discuss the issue with Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany. Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio has labeled the tactics the Ohio State head coach has brought to the conference “unethical”.

Michigan’s Brady Hoke? He’s good, thanks for asking.

Speaking in Columbus at a clinic for Ohio high school coaches, Hoke was asked about going after a recruit who has already verbally committed to another school and violating the “gentlemen’s agreement” that supposedly exists in the Big Ten, which appears to be from where most of the whining angst stems.

“Well, it’s competitive.  That’s what it is,” Hoke told Matt Barnes of NBC4 in Columbus when asked about the burgeoning recruiting controversy. “There’s no NCAA legislation about [recruiting a player committed to another school].  I think, at times, we’ve had guys who have left us late in the recruiting [process].  But, you know, it’s part of it.  For us, you want to do a great job of holding on to them and all those things.  It’s recruiting.  It’s competitive.”

Imagine that.  A coach realizing that he may have to actually do some work on the recruiting trail before and after he secures a verbal commitment. A coach realizing that, as long as it’s not illegal as Bielema has suggested — still awaiting a specific accusation instead of public generalities — it’s fair game.

Bravo, Coach Hoke.  Bravo.

As for Meyer, the OSU coach is not, as expected, very pleased with the accusations.  In fact, he vowed that the criticism will merely make him and his staff work that much harder on the recruiting front.

“You’re pissed because we went after a committed guy?” Meyer asked rhetorically at the same Ohio high school coaches clinic Friday. “Guess what, we got nine guys [his coaching staff] who better go do it again. Do it a little harder next time.”

Consider the recruiting hornet’s nest stirred up, Big Ten coaches.  Congratulations, I guess.

AP

UPDATED 10:26 a.m. ET: In a press release, Georgia confirmed that wide receiver Sanford Seay and defensive backs Nick Marshall and Chris Sanders have been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules.  All three players were freshmen in 2011.

“It’s a privilege to play college football and to be a part of this team and University,” said head coach Mark Richt in statement. “Along with that privilege comes certain responsibilities.  Mistakes were made and part of our job is helping them learn from mistakes. Going forward, we are committed to assisting them find opportunities where they can continue their education.”

______________________________

The post-signing day attrition continues across college football as Georgia has reportedly dismissed at two players from its football program.

Both the Macon Telegraph and Athens Banner-Herald are reporting that wide receiver Sanford Seay has gotten the boot from head coach Mark Richt.  The Telegraph reports that, per his high school coach, Seay is off the team for violating unspecified rules after earlier “minor issues with the team”; the Banner-Herald reports that Seay was dismissed after stealing money from another student in a dorm room.

The paper notes that criminal charges aren’t expected to arise from that situation.

The FOX affiliate in Atlanta is also reporting that cornerback Nick Marshall was involved in the same incident as Seay and has been dismissed as well. The television station stated that Seay and Marshall allegedly stole $500 in money and valuables from a teammate.

Both papers subsequently confirmed that Marshall will be dismissed as well.  The school has yet to comment on the status of either player.

Seay took a redshirt as a true freshman last season.  Marshall played in 13 games in 2011, mainly on special teams.

This is the second off-field incident involving a Georgia player the past two weeks; last month, starting cornerback Sanders Commings was charged with domestic violence and simple battery.

AP

Don’t worry, Boilermakers; Texas Tech can feel your pain.

In a press release, Purdue announced that defensive backs coach Lou Anarumo has left the football program and taken a job with the Miami Dolphins.  What his role will be on new Dolphins’ head coach Joe Philbin’s coaching staff was not explained in the release.

“It is bittersweet,” Purdue head coach Danny Hope said in a statement. “We will greatly miss having Lou on our coaching staff but could not be more excited for him to have this opportunity.”

Anarumo has been with the Boilermakers since 2004.  His departure leaves two holes on Hope’s staff — DBs and defensive line.

Hope becomes the second college coach in as many days to lose an assistant to the Dolphins; Tommy Tuberville confirmed Wednesday that Jim Turner was leaving the Red Raiders for the AFC East club.

With Isaiah Pead off to the NFL, Akise Teague may have been afforded the opportunity to see an increased role in Cincinnati’s running game in 2012.

After an incident late last month, though, that won’t be happening.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Teague was arrested and booked Wednesday on one count of burglary.  He appeared before a municipal court judge Thursday morning for his preliminary hearing.

As a result of the arrest, Teague has been dismissed from the football program.

“Student-athletes in the program are held to a higher standard of conduct on and off the field as representatives of the university,” head coach Butch Jones said in a statement. “This incident in no way reflects the values, principles and ideals of our football program.”

It’s alleged that, on Jan. 22, the running back entered multiple unlocked dorm rooms on the campus and stole items while students were sleeping.  Teague confessed to the crimes after being questioned in connection to the burglaries.

There was no word on what items were stolen.

In two games as a true freshman last season, Teague rushed for eight yards on two carries.