Barry Switzer weighs in on Oklahoma fraternity racism story

By Kevin McGuireMar 10, 2015, 9:42 AM EDT
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You knew at some point former Oklahoma football head coach Barry Switzer was going to be given an opportunity to speak his mind about the recent story regarding a racist video connected to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter in Norman. As the university’s leadership took actions to shut down the fraternity on campus and current head coach Bob Stoops joined his players in an on-campus protest and demonstration, Switzer came to the defense of the chapter as a whole, stating the entire chapter should not have to be punished for the acts of a few captured and shared on video.

“I understood that supposedly they were called bigots that lived in this house, none of them could live on this campus. I haven’t seen the interview, but if that happened and occurred, that’s no different from what those kids did on that bus,” Switzer told KOCO in Oklahoma City.“Throw a blanket over these kids that are here and say that they’re bigots? That’s unacceptable.”

According to The Dallas Morning News, Switzer is an honorary member of SAE. Switzer also says he has never heard the racist chant before seeing the video of fraternity members chanting it on a bus.

“It hurts me because I have a vested interest in this. I am an SAE and I know the kids in this house,” Switzer said. “I spend some time over here and I know what they’re like. Hey, I wouldn’t put up with that crap either and they don’t either and they don’t believe in it.”

While this story is not directly tied to the Oklahoma football program, it has led to at least one player on the recruiting trail taking a step back for now. Four-star 2016 Texas offensive tackle Jean Delance announced his decision to decommit from Oklahoma, which quickly led to current Sooners looking to repair the damage supposedly done. The sad fact is racism exists just about anywhere you look. Unbelievable as it may be in the year 2015, this is not just an Oklahoma problem. If anything, the leaders in place at Oklahoma should be applauded for the handling of this story, including Stoops with the football team.

Wyoming AD taking pay cut through end of 2020 due to coronavirus

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By Bryan FischerApr 2, 2020, 3:48 PM EDT
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Athletic department cuts will be coming to pretty much every athletic department over the coming months and the AD at Wyoming is taking a small, but important, step in mitigating things as much as possible.

In what is bound to be the first of several announcements like it, Cowboys athletic director Tom Burman announced on Twitter Wednesday that he was taking a 10% pay cut through the end of 2020 as the school deals with the fallout from the coronavirus.

Wyoming’s athletic department is on the smaller end of the FBS scale and faces inherent challenges due to its location and small (but fierce) fan base. USA Today’s college financial database lists the school as having a budget of just under $45 million in 2018 so Burman’s salary is still just a drop in the bucket but it does go to show what steps are being taken to reduce expenses.

Others, such as Iowa State, have already announced reductions on things such as coach bonuses and a general salary reduction.

Given how much the COVID-19 outbreak is already impacting the financial statements of programs across the country, such measures figure to become less newsworthy going forward because they’ll simply be commonplace. Such is, sadly, the state of affairs we’re in right now.

USF nets former SWAC Offensive Player of the Year QB as grad transfer

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By Bryan FischerApr 2, 2020, 2:25 PM EDT
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USF apparently wanted to make sure Tom Brady isn’t the only signal-caller added to the ranks in Tampa this year.

According to 247Sports, the Bulls landed an intriguing name in Alcorn State graduate transfer QB Noah Johnson on Thursday. The move reunites the 2018 SWAC Offensive Player of the Year with assistant coach Pat White, who used to serve as the quarterbacks coach at the FCS program prior to joining Jeff Scott’s staff at South Florida.

Johnson was apparently granted an extra year of eligibility in order to make the transfer as he was knocked out of his senior year with an injury.

The addition of the former FCS star — he passed for over 2,200 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 in 2018 — makes for an interesting set of names behind center for Scott’s first season whenever college football does resume. Junior Jordan McCloud figures to be the incumbent after starting 10 games last year but, with a new staff, everybody’s job is open. A pair of freshman recruits are slated to arrive in the fall while ex-North Carolina QB Cade Fortin also transferred as the team remakes their 2020 roster even without spring practice or recruiting.

USF is scheduled to open the 2020 campaign at Texas on Sept. 5 but that’s a date that obviously could be in flux due to the coronavirus pandemic. While there’s hope things will go off as originally set, whoever winds up taking the first snaps for the Bulls will be fascinating to watch in the debut of the former Clemson assistant’s new team.

College Football in Coronavirus Quarantine: On this day in CFT history

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By John TaylorApr 2, 2020, 12:48 PM EDT
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The sports world, including college football, has essentially screeched to a halt as countries around the world battle the coronavirus pandemic. As such, there’s a dearth of college football news as spring practices have all but been canceled at every level of the sport. And there’s even some concern that the health issue could have an impact on the 2020 college football campaign.

In that vein, we thought it might be fun to go back through the CollegeFootballTalk archives and take a peek at what transpired in the sport on this date.

So, without further ado — ok, one further ado — here’s what happened in college football on April 2, by way of our team of CFT writers both past and present.

(P.S.: If any of our readers have ideas on posts they’d like to read during this hiatus, leave your suggestions in the comments section.  Mailbag, maybe?)

2019

THE HEADLINE: Illinois becomes sixth B1G school to allow in-game beer sales
THE SYNOPSIS: Indiana subsequently joined Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Rutgers in Big Ten schools permitting alcohol sales at football games.  That’s exactly half of the conference.

2018

THE HEADLINE: LeBron James’ company challenges Alabama football over barbershop videos
THE SYNOPSIS: How I long for the days of inane offseason brouhahas.  Never thought I would miss things like this.  Until now.

2017

THE HEADLINE: New Tennessee AD John Currie says Butch Jones ‘on the right trajectory’
THE SYNOPSIS: Seven months, 10 days after that public vote of confidence, Currie canned Jones.  The head coach finished with a 34-27 record on Rocky Top.  What doomed him, though, was a 14-24 record in SEC play.  At the time of his dismissal, the Vols were 0-6 in the conference.

2015

THE HEADLINE: Cardale Jones comes full circle on playing school, and so should everyone else
THE SYNOPSIS: In October of 2012, the Ohio State quarterback famously tweeted, “Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL? we ain’t come here to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS.” Three years later, Jones tweeted, “still can’t believe I tweeted something as stupid as this but hey, we live and we learn.” In May of 2017, Jones received his degree from OSU.

2014

THE HEADLINE: FSU’s Nick O’Leary again involved in motorcycle accident
THE SYNOPSIS: The talented Florida State tight end suffered minor injuries in what was his second motorcycle accident in nine months.  O’Leary totaled 1,591 yards and 17 touchdowns on 114 receptions during his time with the Seminoles.  And, I don’t know if you’ve heard this, but his grandfather is golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

2012

THE HEADLINE: Updated: Petrino reportedly not wearing helmet at time of accident
THE SYNOPSIS: The only reason I’m using this?  It affords me to use the greatest.  Photo.  Ever. This was also before the fit hit the shan for Bobby Petrino in Fayetteville.

2010

THE HEADLINE: Irish recruit James dies in spring break accident
THE SYNOPSIS: Offensive lineman Matt James, who signed with Notre dame two months earlier, died after falling from a hotel balcony.  He chose the Golden Domers over his hometown Ohio State.

2009

THE HEADLINE: PISSY PETE SAYS BLASTING SANCHEZ WAS JUST A TEST
THE SYNOPSIS: Ah yes.  The good ol’ days.  When we could refer to then-USC head coach Pete Carroll as “Pissy Pete” for his treatment of Mark Sanchez, who had the audacity to leave the Trojans early for the NFL.

(*Yes, back in the day, we used to scream out our headlines at our readers in all-caps. The move to NBC a couple of months later mercifully ended that practice.)

Rutgers inching closer to Top 10 2021 recruiting class

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By John TaylorApr 2, 2020, 11:22 AM EDT
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Rutgers, of all schools, is killing it on the football recruiting trail. Still.

When last we left Greg Schiano‘s Rutgers football crew, the Scarlet Knights held the No. 12 class in the 2021 team rankings. That upward move was launched by five commitments in a span of roughly a week. The highlight of the recruiting splurge was four-star linebacker Khayri Banton committing to the Big Ten school.

Tuesday, three-star wide receiver Max Patterson committed to Rutgers football as well.

With the flurry of commitments, Rutgers now holds the No. 11 2021 class in the country. Rutgers football.  Nearly a Top 10 school in recruiting.

That ranking, incidentally, puts them ahead of the likes of Georgia (No. 15), LSU (No. 16), Michigan (No. 17), Oklahoma (No. 19), Florida State (No. 24) and Auburn (No. 25), among others.

That No. 11 ranking also leaves Rutgers with the fifth-ranked football recruiting class In the Big Ten. The other four are No. 1 Ohio State, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 9 Maryland and No. 10 Iowa.

The Scarlet Knights have never had a Top 10 recruiting class. Ever.  Or a Top 20 class, for that matter. For some perspective, the top-ranked Rutgers football recruiting class of the past two decades was No. 23 in 2012. The cycle immediately after Schiano left the school for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it should be noted.

Outside of that, the recruiting finishes have been decidedly pedestrian for the Scarlet Knights. Since the start of the 21st century, 18 of the Scarlet Knights’ 21 classes have finished outside of the Top 30. Of those 18, 15 finished 42nd or worse; 10 came in outside of the Top 50.

Seven of the current members of Rutgers’ Class of 2021 hail from the state of New Jersey. The other three come from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

If Rutgers is to continue making hay on the football recruiting trail, they’ll do so in an extended dead period. Wednesday, the NCAA announced that the ban on all in-person contact between schools and prospects has been extended out through May 31. That extension, of course, is a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.