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Mack Brown: ‘I’m Back in the Game’

January 31, 2011   FanHouse Newswire   No comments

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Texas coach Mack Brown says he “back in the game” and the entire Longhorns program is re-energized after a dismal 2010 and a tumultuous two months of hiring an almost entirely new staff.

After a 5-7 season and missing a bowl game, Brown hired six new assistant coaches, including new offensive and defensive coordinators. He also did a confidential survey of all his players and what they thought was wrong with the team.

Brown said Monday the most important part was his self-evaluation. He believes he never got over the disappointment of losing the 2009 national championship game and it affected the entire season.

Brown says every player and coach has “clean slate” going forward.

 

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Five-Step Drop: Rich Rod Still Employed, but for How Long?

January 05, 2011   Mark Hasty   No comments

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FanHouse’s college football staff provides you with a personal quarterback. We do the primary and secondary reads for you so you can properly start your day.

1. Rich Rodriguez was not fired by Michigan. Normally somebody not getting fired wouldn’t be news, but reports during the afternoon from Michigan-based media said that Michigan had let him go. That turned out not to be the case. Other reports said that Jim Harbaugh, widely assumed to be at the top of Michigan’s wish list, wasn’t interested in going to Michigan and was going to stay at Stanford unless he went to the NFL. Harbaugh has been linked to NFL openings in San Francisco, Denver, and Miami, though technically the Dolphins had not fired Tony Sparano as of Tuesday night. San Francisco looks to be a long shot, because it reportedly hired Trent Baalke to be its GM, and Harbaugh is believed not to want to work with Baalke. Or maybe he would work with him. I haven’t been this confused since the middle school cafeteria. Here’s what I’m confident of: Rich Rodriguez either will or will not be the coach of Michigan next season.

2. Les Miles also may or may not be the coach of Michigan next season, but LSU athletic director Joe Alleva says nobody from Michigan has contacted him about interviewing Miles, probably because Rodriguez hasn’t been fired yet. “I don’t know what’s inside the head of the Michigan AD,” Alleva said. “I don’t know what he has in mind. I’m sure he’s got a plan, but I don’t know if that includes Les Miles or not.” As 14,376 people pointed out on Twitter Tuesday, Miles would be a long shot since Michigan Stadium has field turf.

 

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Florida Pulls Will Muschamp Out of Coach-In-Waiting Status

December 11, 2010   Terrance Harris   No comments

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Will MuschampWill Muschamp is a head-coach-in-waiting no more.

University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley announced Saturday night that Muschamp, the Texas Longhorns defensive coordinator and head-coach-in-waiting will replace Urban Meyer as the Gators’ new head football coach.

The hiring of Muschamp, 39, is a bit of a shocker and certainly a bit of a gamble because he comes into a high pressure job without any head coaching experience. But apparently the one-time Gainesville resident’s resumé, which includes 16 years of experience and 12 in the SEC, was good enough for Florida.

“We are thrilled to have Coach Muschamp lead our football program,” said Foley. “Coach Muschamp is someone we targeted from the beginning and he is the guy we wanted. He is the only person we met with and the only person we offered the job to.”

Earlier Saturday, there was speculation that Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops had been offered and accepted the Gators job. But a few hours later, it became clear that Muschamp had been Foley’s choice all along.

This move was completely unexpected due to the status Muschamp held as the handpicked successor to UT’s Mack Brown, who most expected to step down soon. And if Muschamp did take another job, the thought was that he would return to his alma mater, Georgia, if Mark Richt had been let go.

Muschamp turned down a chance to become the head coach of the University of Tennessee last year.

 

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Texas’ Sam Acho Wears Term Student-Athlete With Honor

December 07, 2010   Joe Lapointe   No comments

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NEW YORK — Not too many massive defensive ends can be found walking around the Waldorf-Astoria dressed in a tuxedo, but that was Sam Acho‘s role Tuesday night.

Few could recite a lengthy passage from Shakespeare upon request, but Acho did that, too, after a morning news conference with 15 other scholar-athletes who were honored by the National Football Foundation as finalists for the 2010 William V. Campbell Trophy — which Acho won Tuesday night.

“But first I’ll turn yon fellow in his grave and then return lamenting to my love,” Acho said, concluding a lengthy portion of a soliloquy from Act I, Scene 2 of “Richard III.”

Acho, a senior from Texas, also quotes Bible verses, one leading to another in a stream of consciousness. If asked, he will tell you about his many visits to Nigeria, where his parents grew up.

Acho travels there with his family and friends on medical and religious missions and has brought some of his Longhorns teammates with him over the last two summers.

A versatile fellow from Dallas who is likely to be a high-round choice in the NFL Draft, Acho speaks a little Spanish and is learning a bit of Mandarin Chinese. According to his father, Acho lacks just one ingredient.

“He doesn’t have any mean streak in him,” Dr. Omyebuchi (Sonny) Acho said. “Referees don’t call fouls on him. He’s not there to destroy, break bones and give concussions. There is no conflict with his faith.”

Acho’s father is a pastor and psychotherapist. But his son smiled, shook his head and politely disagreed when the paternal scouting report was relayed to him.

“That’s not true,” Acho said. “My mean streak has developed.”

In high school, Acho said, “I would feel kind of bad” after knocking an opponent down and “I would help him up.” But at Texas, he said, he broke that habit.

“You’ve got to be in the moment,” Acho said.

 

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Greg Davis Resigns From Texas

December 06, 2010   FanHouse Staff   No comments

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Greg Davis has stepped down from his post as Texas offensive coordinator amidst uncertainty over his job security.

After the Longhorns’ first losing season since 1997, a last-place finish in the Big 12, Davis was rumored to be on the hot seat. After directing a prolific offense for one of college football’s powerhouses of the last decade, Davis saw his unit finish 59th in total offense and 87th in scoring in quarterback Garrett Gilbert’s first year as starter. Gilbert struggled mightily, throwing nine touchdowns against 17 interceptions.

“I’ve had a great 13 years here and enjoyed every minute of it,” Davis said.

Davis has worked with Mack Brown for a long time, dating back to Tulane in the 1980s and North Carolina in the ’90s.

 

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Greg Davis’ Fate Reportedly Not Yet Decided at Texas

December 02, 2010   FanHouse Staff   No comments

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Greg Davis’ future as Longhorns offensive coordinator is still being decided, according to a report.

Sources told the Dallas Morning News that coach Mack Brown is still completing evaluation of his team, coming off a disappointing 5-7 season in the first year after losing Colt McCoy to the NFL. The unit underperformed in 2009, McCoy’s last year. Still the team was expecting somewhat of a seamless transition to new quarterback Garrett Gilbert. Instead, Gilbert threw 17 interceptions — only two shy of the school record — against only nine touchdowns.

Both Brown and Davis have said the quarterback position will be open in the spring.

A previous report had Brown replacing Davis, but such a move could set off a domino effect with major repercussions on the Longhorns’ staff. There’s also the close relationship between Brown and Davis, who have worked together for 16 years.

“The thing that coach Brown has done for 13 years is try and build a program, not a team,” Davis said last week. “I think our program has a solid foundation. This was obviously a disappointing season and some of these things are correctable. They are things that we will begin immediately trying to get corrected as we head into the offseason.”

 

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Starting 11: Coaching Dominoes Season Arrives In College Football

November 29, 2010   Clay Travis   No comments

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Dan MullenThere is no other profession in America like college football coaching. None. Nowhere else can the mere mention of your name in association with a job offer lead to such rapid raises either from a new employer or your old employer. That’s because every college coaching contract is worthless. Oh, sure there may be a piddling buyout associated with the coaching contract, but in general every year brings a brand new season of perpetual coaching free agency, the annual Christmas bonus for coaches.

It’s inevitable. The only thing more ridiculous than the lack of value associated with college coaching contracts is the e-mails I always receive from fans who are quick to point out the particularly valueless “new extension” that will ensure their coach never leaves.

Until, predictably, he leaves.

I call this coaching dominoes because of the unpredictable ramifications that can ensue from one opening that seems entirely unrelated to your own school yet can end up impacting it immensely. Let’s play coaching dominoes in the SEC, for instance. Miami is a big-time job opening. Let’s say that the Hurricanes could entice Georgia‘s Mark Richt — he played quarterback four years for the Canes from 1979-1982 — to take their job, a very real possibility. Then what happens? I’ll tell you, coaching dominoes are in play.

 

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Big 12 Report: North and South Divisions Expecting Wild Finishes

November 26, 2010   Terrance Harris   No comments

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If Texas A&M’s 24-17 victory over Texas on Thursday night did nothing else, it ensured that the uncertainty of the Big 12 would carry into the weekend – the final week of the regular-season.

Three games. Four teams. And so many possibilities.

It’s not unusual that so much angst and uncertainty dominates the final weekend in either the North or the South divisions. But this year, both divisions head into the final regular-season weekend with the champion up in the air.

In the South, the Bedlam rivalry between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will determine which team represents the division in next week’s Big 12 Championship. The 10th-ranked Cowboys (10-1, 6-1 Big 12) have already clinched at least a share of the South title, but should OU continued its seven-year domination over its in-state rivals, then the Sooners would almost certainly head to the Big 12 South Championship Game.

But the emphasis here is on almost.

That’s because a Sooners (9-2, 6-2) win Saturday would force a three-way tie in the division after the Aggies victory Thursday night and that sets off some complex three-way tiebreaker rules in the conference. The first separation criteria would be the latest BCS rankings, which come out again Sunday. Right now, OSU ranks ninth and the Sooners are 13th in the most recent poll. Conventional wisdom says the Sooners would leap ahead of OSU with a win. The Aggies (9-3, 6-2) could get a piece of their first division title since 1998, but their No. 17 BCS ranking makes them a long shot to represent the division in the conference championship game.

“I think it’s always good to win games as we all know,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy, whose team went into the Bedlam game last year with BCS bowl possibilities but lost 27-0 at OU. “Our goal each year is to win the South and give ourselves a chance to win the Big 12 championship. The guys have a lot of hard work in and got themselves to this point, we hope to play another good game this week.”

 

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Beef Always in Season on College Football Recruiting Trail

November 22, 2010   David Wasson   No comments

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Beef is an essential component of any college football player’s diet, and beef is always the most important – and most difficult to project – component of any college football program’s recruiting efforts.

To win year in and year out, coaches and recruiting coordinators know that they have to keep the stream of future 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive linemen coming through the front door to protect all those five-star talents who garner the most attention on National Signing Day – which is Feb. 2, 2011.

NSD 2011 likely will reap a bumper crop of offensive linemen, as paretns around the country have been working overtime feeding their sons to get them ready for the rigors of the next level.

Not surprisingly, the state of Texas has some of the best potential talent – as Sedrick Flowers (6-foot-3, 280 pounds, Galena Park North Shore) and Garrett Greenlea (6-7, 300, Klein Collins) are two athletes already committed to play with the home-state Longhorns.

Texas is also set to sign one of the better run-blocking offensive linemen in the 2011 class, as Chandler (Az.) Hamilton’s Christian Westerman (6-5, 288) has already committed to Mack Brown (pictured). And with 23 commitments to date, Texas leads both the Scout.com and Rivals.com overall recruiting leaderboard.

The state also has a tremendous talent at Arlington Sam Houston, as Tony Morales (6-4, 300) was dominating during summer junior camps and is perhaps the best interior offensive lineman prospect in the nation. Morales is committed to Texas Tech.

The Jan. 5, 2011, Under Armour All-America Game will be rich with offensive line talent. Westerman is set to play, as is Cyrus Kouandjio (6-7, 325, DeMatha Catholic, Md.) and La’El Collins (6-5, 281, Baton Rouge Redemptorist, La.).

 

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Big 12 Report: Quarterback Change Sparking Texas A&M’s Late Run

November 17, 2010   Terrance Harris   No comments

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Ryan TannehillThere was a time when Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman flat out resisted making a change at quarterback this season, despite all the logic and conventional wisdom that said it was time.

The Aggies were a mess as the losses mounted. Senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson couldn’t get his head or aim right. And the folks in Kyle Field were growing more impatient by the interception.

Finally, Sherman made the decision four games ago that has turned the Aggies season and outlook around. Quarterback-turned wide receiver Ryan Tannehill took some meaningful snaps at quarterback for the first time four games ago and he’s been the Aggies starter the last three.

Call it a coincidence or a circumstance of timing, but the insertion of Tannehill into the lineup at quarterback has sparked one of the biggest and most impressive turnarounds this season. The Aggies were limping at 3-3 and 0-2 in the Big 12 when Tannehill began playing quarterback and since then have won four straight games, a streak that includes a huge upset of the Oklahoma Sooners, to break into the Top 25 and sit with a realistic chance of winning their first South Division title since 1998 with two regular-season games remaining.

What a difference one player has seemed to make, not just offensively but in all facets for the 18th-ranked Aggies (7-3, 4-2).

 

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