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Continued from Part 1

5.  June Jones signs with SMU–After leading Hawaii to the greatest season in history, and launching the Warriors all the way to the BCS promised land, a rout at the hands of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, the Run and Shoot Guru himself was lured away by the SMU Alumni who were willing to Pony Up the cash.  Jones inherits a fairly talented, but downtrodden program which he will make a contender in the Conference USA.  Jones, after moving to SMU, moved Katy, TX QB commit Bo Levi Mitchell to Dallas as well (from a commit to Hawaii), and he, subsequently, went on to be named the starter for the opener against Rice.  June Cometh.

4.  Interesting Coaching Changes–Every year coaching changes happen.  Many happen before the bowl season, therefore, they are not technically offseason.  However, the consequences are felt throughout the offseason as the new staff comes in to their first Spring practices, first recruiting class, etc.  Some of the more interesting hires this year are Houston Nutt from Arkansas to Ole Miss, Rick Neuheisel to UCLA, Paul Johsnon from Navy to Georgia Tech, Bobby Petrino from Atlanta (NFL) to Arkansas, Art Briles from Houston to Baylor, June Jones (see Above) and Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia to Michigan (see Below).

3.  Terrelle Pryor signs with Ohio State–Every year it seems as some kid is the coveted prize of the recruiting world.  Pryor seemed to be wined and dined by the programs and fans who wanted him to sign with their school.  A photo even surfaced of Pryor at a Michigan basketball game talking with Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez.  Pryor delayed his signing, he remained uncommitted, until after he finished his basketball season which went deep because his team won the state championship.  Pryor considered Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State where his father lobbied for him to play.  In the end, the Buckeyes won the prize.  Think Vince Young, only bigger.  Buckeye fans are thinking National Title!

2.  Ryan Perrilloux dismissed from LSU–The highly recruited QB who waited his turn at LSU struggled with off the field probelms.  No need to rehash all of that.  Head Coach Les Miles gave him several opportunities to remain on the team.  Perrilloux showed his abilities last season leading LSU to a win over Tennessee in the SEC Championship game with starting QB Matt Flynn injured.  Without Perrilloux, the Tigers go from defending national champions with a proven QB to defending national champions with no proven QB.

1.  Rich Rodriguez to Michigan and Saga–Rodriguez bailed on the Mountaineer fans.  At least that is how they feel about it.  Rodriguez, a West Virginia Alum, was poised to stay for many years in Morgantown and lead them to the elusive national title.  However, when it was all over, Rodriguez took the Michigan job feeling as if he had been cheated by his employers.  The Hawaii athletic director apologized to fans when June Jones left, no such action from the West Virginia AD.  He and WVU sued Rodriguez for the $4 Million buy out in his contract which Rodriguez claimed was void due to an oral agreement between he and the AD to take out the clause.  Of course, we know, contracts don’t mean anything.  Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Rodriguez wasn’t a hit with every player.  QB Ryan Mallet decided to transfer to Arkansas to play in Spread Offense that doesn’t need the QB to run the option like in Rich Rod’s offense.  And, Michigan lineman Justin Boren transferred saying that the “family values” have left under Rich Rod.  And that was only Spring!

Last year I started a Top Ten Offseason Stories segment.  There were two parts, and this year I will split the segment in to two posts as well.  The first post will contain numbers 6 through 10 while the second post will contain numbers 1 through 5.

10.  Tim Tebow Mission Trip–The Legend of Tim Tebow grows which each passing year.  Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in his first year as a starter, and now, there are reports that Tebow took a mission trip during the Spring.  Mission trips are nothing new for the Tebow family, his parents are missionaries.  However, it seems Tebow has convinced his head coach, Urban Meyer, to take a mission trip too.  Tebow just seems too good to be true.

9.  Josh Jarboe dismissed from OU Scholarship–After making a dramatic decision to sign his Letter of Intent with Oklahoma, the Georgia native recruit was dismissed for a video of a freestyle rap that surfaced on YouTube.  At first, the Sooners dismissed the significance, but after outcry from some in the media, decided that to remove Jarboe’s scholarship.  Jarboe had been arrested in the spring for a carrying a weapon on his high school campus.  Jarboe has since enrolled at Troy.

8.  Plus One Playoff Considered–And was rejected by BCS officials.  Nevertheless, a “plus one” was considered.  Despite being considered, the system was turned down and has left many upset about the evil while others are content.

7.  Coaches Visit Middle East–Five very prominent coaches including Georgia coach Mark Richt and Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis paid a visit to the Middle East to visit our soldiers, and they even got to meet the Commander In Chief when they returned.  The Coaches Tour was a great experience for both the coaches and the soldiers.

6.  Howard Schnellenberger calls out Texas–Schnellenberger has always coached with a swagger, but he just gave Texas incentive to not overlook Florida Atlantic.  Of course, he tried to back off his words, but it might be Texas who is hitting FAU in the mouth.

To Be Continued

I have a hunch.  Call it a hunch because it may not be worth much.  I have a hunch that we will see TCU light it up on offense this year.  Not only that, but I have a hunch that Andy Dalton will pass for 3000 yards.  It’s just a hunch.  I have no real empirical evidence.  The Horned Frogs have always been fairly balanced in the Gary Patterson era, but a little more to the run (See Hobbs, Tomlinson, and Merrill).  Dalton is a good passer, and while we won’t accuse TCU of running a Spread Offense, we just might see it be much more explosive this year.  Therefore, I offer my Top Ten Reasons TCU’s Offense Will Be (More) Explosive in 2008.

10.  Blake Schlueter–For the Frogs, it all starts up front.  Don’t underestimate his importance.  He is the QB of the Offensive Line which returns 4 starters.  He makes all the calls.  And, he is the first guy to touch the ball.  Have you seen this guy?  I wouldn’t want him to be upset with me.

9.  Aaron Brown–If Brown is healthy, he has the ability to have over 1500 all purpose yards.  As a

Keith Robinson Photography

Sophomore he had 1256 yards.  Brown is not just a great back on the edge, he is a great receiver out of the backfield.  All you have to do with Brown is get him the ball in space and he can make plays.  I can envision Brown lining up in the slot with Joseph Turner in the backfield along with And Dalton.  Who would the defense focus on?

8.  Young Receivers–The receivers are young, but they are fast.  They also are carrying a little bit of a swagger into fall practice.  These receivers did play last year even though they were not starters.  Walter Bryant, Jimmy Young, and Jeremy Kerley will be looking to make a big impact.  Also pay attention to Bart Johnson, John Brown and Antoine Hicks.

7.  Marshall Newhouse–If Dalton is to pass for 3000 yards, it will be up to Newhouse to keep him upright.  Newhouse led TCU in Knockdowns last year.  He also will be Dalton’s first line of defense at the Left Tackle spot.

6.  Jason Phillips–If I practiced against a Jason Phillips led defense in practice every day, I’d probably get better too, and faster.  There is another plus too.  The TCU defense has the ability to get lots of turnovers.  In fact, in the Spring practices, the defense focused on that (see Dave Campbell’s Texas Football).  If they aren’t getting turnovers, then they will surely be getting stops giving the TCU offense plenty of opportunities.

5.  Randy Galloway–What other sports journalist could inspire that kind of success?  Galloway is a legend.  If Coach Patterson needs tips, all he has to do is call Galloway and he will lend him a hand.  He is always thinking about ways to improve each local team with his brilliant mind.  Who else would I list, Dale Hanson?

4.  Marcus Jackson–During the Gary Patterson era, TCU has always needed a second QB.  First it was Tye Gunn, then it was Brandon Hassell, and then it was Jeff Ballard.  Jackson doesn’t just represent that good second QB, but he also represents a change of pace.  Jackson is a better runner, and TCU can line up and run the option with him in the game.  Jackson has also been a fairly accurate passer.

3.  Shae Reagan–At 6-4 261 lbs., Reagan provides a big target for Dalton and Jackson.  If Reagan can remain healthy, he should be a mismatch in almost every situation.  Reagan has a TCU high of 19 yards per catch.

2.  Coach Mike Schultz–Coach Schultz has been a great Offensive Coordinator for TCU.  His offenses have been among the best in TCU history.  Coach Schultz offenses do not remain ineffective, and Schultz seems to have the players to work with to make this year’s offense explosive.

1.  Andy Dalton–Dalton set all kinds of records for TCU freshmen, and he is poised to become even better.  He had over 2400 yards passing, and became increasingly effective as a passer later in the season.  Many of the INT’s Dalton suffered were during the first half of the season, and Dalton had a great game at Stanford when he passed for 344 yards, 2 TD’s and 0 INT’s.  If TCU’s offense is to be explosive, Dalton will have to be the catalyst.

I wish I could think of all good top ten lists, but I cannot.  I found a couple of good ones from the BleacherReport.com.

First up is The 10 Most Hated College Football Programs in the Country by Corey Gautreaux.  Is your favorite team on the list?

Second is Ten Out-of-Conference College Football Series that Need to Happen written by Justin Goar.  Texas vs. Arkansas is number 10.  It will happen again this fall in Austin.  Petrino vs. Muschamp.

While compiling this list, I constructed a rating system for returning QB’s.  I pulled out my trusty Phil Steele magazine and crunched the numbers.  This list is skewed in that it does not take into account the QB’s running ability hurting QB’s such as Pat White or others who play in a very run dominated offensive system.  That being said, it is interesting to note that a few good running QB’s ended up on this list.  A dual QB is only as good as his ability to pass.  My system took into account total yards passing, QB efficiency, yard per attempt, TD’s and INT’s.  Because I didn’t want the fact a QB passed for 4000 yards to be too much of a weight, I averaged those stats with QB efficiency.  Basically, you had to be really good in all of these areas to make the list.  The need for a dangerous QB becomes more important with each year.  An offense really needs more than just a “bus driver” to win championships.

1.  Sam Bradford, Oklahoma–Sooner fans should be happy.  This time last year OU didn’t know who would start, now Bradford has become a phenom.  He is big and strong with a rocket arm.  This year we might see him run the ball some from the Spread.  He led the nation in efficiency last year as a Redshirt Freshman.  When Bradford struggled, the Sooners lost.

2.  Tim Tebow, Florida–Tebow won the Heisman with his famous 20 TD’s and 20 TD passes mark.  His efficicency was slightly below Bradford’s as the two rated the same in my system.

3.  Todd Reesing, Kansas–Do you think that Kansas might be good again?  If they are, they can thank Todd Reesing.  Reesing is undersized and very ungalmorous on the field, but he gets results.  Kansas runs what I call the Blue Collar version of the Spread Offense, and Reesing is the catalyst.

4.  Rusty Smith, Florida Atlantic–Who is the second best QB in Florida?  Rusty Smith.  He is also the fourth best returning QB.  Look for a FAU game this fall and see what others have seen.  Smith and FAU absolutely throttled Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl.  Who’s their coach?  Howard Schnellenberger who has a national championship to his credit.

5.  Nate Davis, Ball State–I didn’t seen this one coming.  I didn’t even know the Ball State threw the ball.  But Davis’ numbers are good across the board.  Davis had 3667 yards passing, 30 TD’s and only 5 INT’s.  Don’t know anything about him?  Me neither.  I gues we can find out more.

6.  Graham Harrell, Texas Tech–Harrell was last year’s CFTT Offensive Player of the Year.  He threw for 5705 yards and 48 TD’s.  It does help when you can throw the ball to Michael Crabtree.  He may pass for 5000 yards again unless Texas Tech finds a running game.

7.  Chase Daniel, Missouri–The pride of Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, TX was a Heisman finalist last year.  Daniel burst on the scene two years ago when everyone thought Mizzou had a big chore replacing Brad Smith.  Never mind.  Daniel will do just fine, thank you.

8.  Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP–That’s the University of Texas El Paso for those who don’t know the initials.  They are the Miners.  Vittatoe had very good numbers as a Freshman for the Miners, and he should only get better.

9.  Colin Kaepernick, Nevada–Kaepernick was a sensation for the Wolfpack in his first year starting.  His best stat, only 3 INT’s in 247 passes.  He finished the season with a 150.8 efficiency rating.

10.  Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State–Lost in the fiasco involing head coach Mike Gundy’s rant was the fact that Robinson was living up to his potential and making plays for the Cowboys.  Robinson will be the clear cut starter this year and should see his stats improve even more.