Wednesday afternoon one-liners

By John TaylorJun 5, 2013, 2:44 PM EDT
Leave a comment

Meandering our way through the offseason, a single one-liner at a time…

— Mark Richt downplays the impact of the loss of suspended safety Josh Harvey-Clemons for Georgia’s opener against Clemson.

— Speaking of UGA, a pair of talented Bulldog running backs are trying to shake the “Gurshall” moniker.

— Pac-12 schools likely to realize eye-popping revenue.

— Al.com: Numbers dwindling from state of Alabama’s star-studded and star-crossed Class of 2011

— Andrew Maxwell is Michigan State’s starting quarterback (right now).

— Could Michigan offensive skill players go 3,000/1,000/1,000 for the first time since 2003?

— In MSU-UM scheduling news, athletic director Mark Hollis says he’s still open to his Spartans taking on the Wolverines under the lights.

— Penn State transfer quarterback Steven Bench already making his presence felt at USF.

— “Sooner t-shirted contractor” lawsuit against Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy is moving forward.

— More takeaways a must for Clemson in 2013.

— Despite a pair of transfers at the position, Gus Malzahn‘s not concerned about Auburn’s depth at linebacker.

— Hired by the fired athletic director, Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre will have no choice but to adapt to a new boss.

— Ticket pricing options have been released for the $425 million renovation of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field that is expected to be completed in 2015.

— Jamal Brown, the son of former Kansas and Green Bay Packers great Gilbert Brown, will be a walk-on for the Jayhawks this fall.

Braden White named prestigious 12th Man at Texas A&M

Getty Images
By Zach BarnettAug 21, 2019, 7:29 PM EDT
Leave a comment

The 12th Man is a big, big deal at Texas A&M. In fact, it’s pretty much the brand of not just the football program, but the entire athletics department. Case in point, A&M’s athletics department website is 12thman.com.

For the uninitiated, in 1922 the Aggies found themselves short of players in a football game against Center College, the No. 1 team in the country at the time, after multiple players sustained injuries over the course of the game. Down to just 11 players, A&M student E. King Gill volunteered to suit up and stand on the sidelines in case the team needed him. Gill now has a statue outside of Kyle Field, and A&M’s student section is collectively referred to as the 12th Man.

As such, it’s a tremendous honor for an active Aggie player to be awarded the No. 12 and, after fullback Cullen Gillaspia donned the jersey for a record-tying 39 games, it’s time to hand it off to a new player.

On Tuesday, Jimbo Fisher awarded the No. 12 jersey to Braden White, a walk-on linebacker from Florence, Ala.

“I’m honored just to be able to represent this great university and everything about it,” White said. “It’s a true blessing.”

White is a redshirt junior who has checked all the boxes of a player who checks all the 12th Man boxes. He was named Defensive Scout Team MVP during his redshirt year of 2016 and was honored as the Top Conditioned Athlete at the Aggies’ 2018 team banquet. He has appeared in 18 career games, recording 16 career tackles playing primarily as a special teams contributor.

White will wear No. 12 for the first time next when Texas A&M — ranked, ironically, No. 12 in the preseason AP poll — hosts Texas State next Thursday night (8:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

UConn begins building out independent schedules with BC home-and-home

Getty Images
By Zach BarnettAug 21, 2019, 5:57 PM EDT
2 Comments

Until they tell us otherwise, Connecticut is going to try to make it as an FBS independent. This upcoming season will be the Huskies’ final one as a member of the American Athletic Conference, as the Huskies’ Olympic sports will return to the Big East and the football team will go it alone.

This will require lots (and lots and lots) of scheduling work, and quickly. As of now, the Huskies have four games on the schedule for a season that begins 12 months from now.

While it does nothing to help the 2020 slate, UConn began chipping away at the mountain in front of it on Wednesday by announcing a home-and-home with Boston College. The first game will be Oct. 29, 2022 in Storrs, with the return game going down Oct. 28, 2023 in Chestnut Hill.

The two programs have met 14 times previously; BC leads the series 12-0-2. The Eagles took the most recent meeting 39-16 in 2017.

Additionally, BC announced a 2023-28 home-and-home with Army and a Sept. 9, 2023 home game with Holy Cross.

Safety graduate transfers from Penn State to Pitt

Getty Images
By Zach BarnettAug 21, 2019, 4:43 PM EDT
1 Comment

Penn State safety Johnny Petrishen has left State College for Pittsburgh, where he is now a Panther.

Petrishen announced the transfer on Tuesday evening, and Pitt confirmed his addition on Wednesday morning.

Petrishen has two years of eligibility remaining thanks — if you want to use that term — to two medical redshirts.

A Lower Burrell, Pa., native, Petrishen appeared in 17 career games as a Nittany Lion, including all 13 last season. Primarily a special teams player, he posted eight career tackles and one TFL in State College.

NC State transfer Tim Kidd-Glass tweets move to Liberty

Getty Images
By John TaylorAug 21, 2019, 3:21 PM EDT
Leave a comment

Hugh Freeze may be dealing with what was a significant health issue, but he’s still working his first-year roster at Liberty.

On his personal Twitter account Tuesday evening, Tim Kidd-Glass announced that he “would like to thank God for allowing me to have another opportunity to further my football career… at Liberty University.” The announcement comes a couple of weeks after the safety triggered a move from North Carolina State by entering his name into the NCAA transfer database.

As a graduate transfer, Kidd-Glass will be eligible to play for the Flames in 2019.

The past three seasons, the Virginia native played in 33 games for the Wolfpack.  He started nine of those contests, all of which came during the 2017 season.