Oregon lists EWU transfer Vernon Adams as starting QB

By Zach BarnettAug 28, 2015, 6:48 PM EDT

It didn’t come with a grand proclamation (at least not yet) or a trumpeting of horns, just a line on a depth chart, mixed in with dozens others like it. Yet it is significant all the same: Oregon has listed Vernon Adams as its starting quarterback for the Eastern Washington game next Saturday.

Adams, of course, just arrived from Eastern Washington. As in, two weeks ago.

Oregon announced the addition of the record-setting EWU quarterback as a graduate transfer on Feb. 11, but Adams couldn’t join the Ducks’ roster until he completed his undergraduate coursework. That didn’t happen until Aug. 13.

Adams needed all of two weeks to beat Jeff Lockie out for Oregon’s QB1 job.

Oregon’s first depth chart pic.twitter.com/Pw0QYksZe1

— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) August 28, 2015

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Some takeaways: Springs over Amadi at one corner spot; Hegarty tops at center; Merritt a backup at WR; and obviously Adams at QB. — Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) August 28, 2015

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

In 37 career games at Eastern Washington, Adams threw for 10,438 yards with 110 touchdowns against only 31 interceptions while adding 1,232 yards and 11 scores on the ground. A 6-foot powder keg of extreme confidence, Adams has a knack for saving his best performances for the biggest of stages. He threw for 425 yards and three touchdowns (with two picks) in a loss to eventual FCS runner-up Illinois State in the FCS playoffs last December, a performance only surpassed by his spotless 475-yard, seven-touchdown effort in a 59-52 loss to Washington in September.

In a game only surpassed by Washington at Boise State in terms of awkward Week 1 reunions, Adams’ first game as Oregon’s quarterback will be against Eastern Washington next Saturday in Eugene.

Adams’ former head coach, Beau Baldwin, spoke out against the graduate transfer rule that allowed Adams to leave and play immediately at Oregon. “It’s not what the rule is intended for,” Baldwin said. “… Ultimately we feel like, you know what, we were also the ones who developed [Adams] from a level where obviously out of high school he wasn’t at that level.”

Missouri AD hopes to hear on NCAA appeal before football season

Getty Images

By Bryan FischerJun 19, 2019, 2:05 PM EDT

2 Comments

While there are always a ton of storylines surrounding the SEC on any given season, the big focus for Missouri is quite clear heading into the 2019 campaign and it has nothing to do with anything that is on the field. The Tigers were handed a surprising bowl ban by the NCAA back in January for a host of major violations and fans, players and other supporters of the school have been vocal in their displeasure ever since.

We might get some clarity on the exact status of Mizzou’s football program later this summer however, as athletic director Jim Sterk detailed to KTGR in a recent interview.

“We really think we have a strong case for overturning the majority of the decisions that they made,” Sterk told ‘The Big Show.‘ “The people that are a lot smarter than me that worked on this case really presented an appeal that’s strong and compelling. And we’ll be doing an in-person hearing, we’re expecting somewhere on the middle of July and then hear something hopefully by before football starts or shortly thereafter.”

Sterk went on to say that he had heard from a number of folks in other departments who criticized the NCAA’s original decision, which also came with restrictions to official visits and recruiting contacts in addition to the bowl ban. The timeline he indicated is notable however, as the school formally appealed in late March. While the appeals committee could rule sooner, a six-week or so time-frame seems about the norm on these kinds of things and would indeed put a response dropping just as the Tigers get ready to play Wyoming in their season opener on August 31.

We’ll see if Missouri’s case is any different — as Sterk tries to make out — but appeals are still typically an uphill battle for schools to win. A bowl ban isn’t the end of the world for the Tigers but they no doubt would like to play in one if they qualify given expectations around Columbia are a bit higher in 2019 after the addition of Clemson QB Kelly Bryant and a host of others.

Either way, it at least seems like a good bet for Mizzou to find out their fate early in the season so they know what they have to play for… or not.

Travian Robertson replaces Brad Lawing as Georgia State’s DL coach

Getty Images

By John TaylorJun 19, 2019, 12:54 PM EDT

Illinois offers update on DE who suffered severe spinal injury

Getty Images

By John TaylorJun 19, 2019, 10:40 AM EDT

Lincoln Riley would owe Oklahoma $4.6 million if he leaves for another job after 2019 season — including NFL

Getty Images

By John TaylorJun 19, 2019, 8:24 AM EDT

3 Comments

Thanks in large part to back-to-back Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, Lincoln Riley was a hot topic of speculation during the most recent spinning of the NFL coaching carousel, even as the head coach has stated in the past it’s “hard to see myself leaving Oklahoma” for the big-boy league of professional football. In approving a contract extension for Riley earlier this year, the coach’s employer gave itself a (very small) bit of a financial buffer should Riley ever change his mind.

Based on an open records request, Tulsa World reported Tuesday that, should Riley leave OU for any other job, including the NFL, after the 2019 season, he would owe the university $4.6 million. That number drops by $1 million every year thereafter until March 16, 2022, at which point a buyout would be waived.

Riley’s new deal runs through the 2023 season; if he’s the head coach on April 1, 2021, he would be due a $1 million bonus. Additionally, the World writes, “Riley receives $700,000 as an annual stay benefit if he remains employed as OU’s head coach on June 1 of each contract year.” The newspaper further writes that, “[i]n addition to the annual stay benefit after two seasons, Riley gets an annual amount of $1 million deposited into a supplemental retirement income plan.”

“Riley is immediately fully vested in the plan,” the paper added.

The $6 million in total compensation Riley will receive for 2019 is the most OU has paid any head football coach in its history, topping the $5.55 million Bob Stoops made in what turned out to be his final season in Norman.

The 35-year-old Riley just completed his second season at OU. In those two seasons, the Sooners have gone 24-4 and won a pair of Big 12 championships. The Sooners have also appeared in the playoffs both of those seasons and OU quarterbacks have claimed back-to-back Heisman Trophy wins — Kyler Murray this season (HERE), Baker Mayfield last (HERE).