2010 College Football Spring Practice/Fall Camp Thread

[DeToxRox]

We could use a thread to discuss on the field things heading into the season.

I'll start:

Ryan Mallet broke his foot and will be out 3-4 months.

Also Duke started Spring Practice earlier this week which is remarkably early.

[Logan]

16 hours and no back and forth between the USC/UCLA contingent yet? Shocking.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Logan

16 hours and no back and forth between the USC/UCLA contingent yet? Shocking.

I see what you did there.

[JonInMiddleGA]

GT QB Josh Nesbitt will miss spring practice due to surgery to clean out some junk in both ankles.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Logan

16 hours and no back and forth between the USC/UCLA contingent yet? Shocking.

Meh...we're waiting until the sanctions come out.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm waiting until USC is given a slap on the wrist and the whining starts about the lack of a stronger punishment. It will be good to have this ammo for negative recruiting cleared away. As far as on the field stuff, Dillon Baxter has been uncoverable in player only practices and Prater has been equally impressive. I can't wait for the season.. only 7 months away.

[BishopMVP]

Dayne Crist is reportedly well ahead of schedule recovering from ACL surgery (aren't all athletes these days) and will be able to fully participate in non-contact drills this spring. ND also had a freshman enroll early, so the disaster of having no scholarship QB's in the spring has been averted.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm waiting until USC is given a slap on the wrist and the whining starts about the lack of a stronger punishment.

That cavalier attitude is precisely why USC should be given the death penalty.

I see that a good loyal Trogan pulled the fire alarm at the NCAA meeting

[dawgfan]

Oregon continues to implode - not content with having star RB LaMichael James busted for domestic assault after strangling his girlfriend, having a couple of their kickers involved in a massive brawl and one of them cited for assault and potentially most damaging, former WR Garrett Embry and star QB Jeremiah Masoli implicated in a theft case at a local fraternity - they now see LB Kiko Alonso busted for DUI the same night that coach Chip Kelly publicly addressed the Ducks mounting off-field problems, and then WR Jamere Holland go off on a profanity and possibly racist series of tirades on his Facebook account, leading to his dismissal from the team.

Go Ducks! These things couldn't happen to a more deserving team and fan base...

[MrBug708]

Sure it could, but the NCAA is too busy with them

[JonInMiddleGA]

Citadel quarterback charged in armed robbery case *| ajc.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A quarterback for The Citadel has been charged with three others in connection with an armed robbery of a man at his home, Charleston police said Sunday.

Miguel Starks, 19, and former Citadel player linebacker Reginald Anthony Rice, 22, were charged Saturday with armed robbery, first-degree burglary, kidnapping and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis said in a news release.

Starks lettered in football and baseball at Mundy’s Mill High School in 2008 in Clayton County.

Francis said two College of Charleston students also were arrested in connection with the case. Stephen Horace Francois, 20, was charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and first-degree burglary and Sasha Gaskins, 18, was charged with accessory after the fact.

The arrests were first reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston.

Francis said a woman who knew the victim got him to open his garage door by saying she was having car trouble. Three men forced the victim back into the house at gunpoint, tied him up and took his wallet, electronic equipment and jewelry.

The victim freed himself, reported the robbery and described the suspects.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, you think your team has problems? The punchline to The Citadel story came out nationally today.
Citadel QB's alleged robbery victim was his assistant coach *| ajc.com
The victim allegedly robbed Saturday by a Citadel football player from metro Atlanta was one of the quarterback's coaches.

*

Police charged Miguel Starks, a 19-year-old quarterback who lettered in football and baseball at Clayton County's Mundy's Mill High School, with robbing Citadel assistant football coach Joshua Harpe, the Post and Courier newspaper of Charleston reported.

Also charged in the robbery was former Citadel linebacker Reggie Rice, who played high school football at Greenbrier High School in the east Georgia town of Evans.

Both Starks and Rice, 22, were charged with armed robbery, first-degree burglary, kidnapping and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, Charleston police spokesman Charles Francis said in a news release.

Two College of Charleston students were also arrested in connection with the case. Stephen Horace Francois, 20, was charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and first-degree burglary, and Sasha Gaskins, 18, was charged with accessory after the fact.

According to the Post and Courier report, Harpe told police that three intruders with black bandanas, gloves and a silver revolver wrapped him in duct tape, then ransacked his bedroom, stealing a flat-screen television, video games, a Citadel ring, his bank card and other items.

According to the newspaper, Charleston County sheriff's deputies are looking into whether the group was also responsible for a similar home invasion Feb. 24 on James Island outside Charleston.

In that incident, a man and woman were bound with duct tape by masked intruders who stole a flat-screen TV and other electronic items. The woman told police she was forced to perform a sex act at gunpoint, the Post and Courier reported.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oopsie.

UGA QB Mettenberger arrested in south Georgia | UGA sports blog

University of Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger was arrested in Remerton, Ga., over the weekend on five misdemeanor charges, the Remerton police chief told the AJC today.

Mettenberger was charged with underage consumption/possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, obstruction and two counts of having a fake identification, Remerton Police Chief Mike Terrell said.

Remerton is near Valdosta.

Mettenberger, a redshirt freshman from Oconee County, is one of three candidates for Georgia’s starting quarterback job.

The arrest occurred at 1:39 a.m. Sundy at Flip Flops bar in Remerton. Mettenberger was transported to the Lowndes County Jail. He posted bond and was released.

I'd say he just went from "competing" to "at the bottom of the list" since a) he was considered by most observers the least talented of the candidates and b) I don't know how Richt can avoid some disciplinary action given that he'd just started to quieten things down

[tarcone]

Iowa basketball is a crime. Spring game hurry.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Oregon continues to implode - not content with having star RB LaMichael James busted for domestic assault after strangling his girlfriend, having a couple of their kickers involved in a massive brawl and one of them cited for assault and potentially most damaging, former WR Garrett Embry and star QB Jeremiah Masoli implicated in a theft case at a local fraternity - they now see LB Kiko Alonso busted for DUI the same night that coach Chip Kelly publicly addressed the Ducks mounting off-field problems, and then WR Jamere Holland go off on a profanity and possibly racist series of tirades on his Facebook account, leading to his dismissal from the team.

Go Ducks! These things couldn't happen to a more deserving team and fan base...

Masoli has pleaded guilty to the theft and has been suspended for the entire 2010 season (in part because he lied to the coach about his involvement in the theft.) James has been suspended for 1 game.

[Logan]

What the hell was Masoli thinking? Is there info on what the theft actually entailed?

edit: I stopped being lazy. Two laptops and a guitar. Unreal.

[bhlloy]

Anyone want to put an over/under on which game Masoli is reinstated? I'll go with game 6, just in time for the UCLA, USC and Cal games. It'll be nice and easy, coach can just reuse his speech from the Blount press conference this year.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Anyone want to put an over/under on which game Masoli is reinstated? I'll go with game 6, just in time for the UCLA, USC and Cal games. It'll be nice and easy, coach can just reuse his speech from the Blount press conference this year.

My thoughts as well.. will be weak if he does it again.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

My thoughts as well.. will be weak if he does it again.

lol...this would not shock me. Kelly set the bar high with his "toughness" on Blount.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Masoli has pleaded guilty to the theft and has been suspended for the entire 2010 season (in part because he lied to the coach about his involvement in the theft.) James has been suspended for 1 game.

I understand the lying to the coach, possible previous violations, and the he-said, she-said nature of domestic allegations, but a season for theft and 1 game for domestic assault? Disgraceful.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I understand the lying to the coach, possible previous violations, and the he-said, she-said nature of domestic allegations, but a season for theft and 1 game for domestic assault? Disgraceful.

If you read the court report on the James case, the 1 game suspension is entirely reasonable. James pleaded guilty to the lowest level of domestic violence - basically he pushed his ex-girlfriend after she wouldn't leave his house (she was there to verbally assault another woman at James' house) and she yanked on and broke his necklace, and then he ended up tackling her to the ground after she stole his car keys and wouldn't get out of his car.

Masoli on the other hand - I can't believe he still has the option to redshirt and return to the team in 2011. This is his second conviction on theft charges, on top of the fact he made his coach look like an idiot for defending him when he lied to him about his involvement.

Kelly is going to become a national joke if he reinstates Masoli this coming season...

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

If you read the court report on the James case, the 1 game suspension is entirely reasonable. James pleaded guilty to the lowest level of domestic violence - basically he pushed his ex-girlfriend after she wouldn't leave his house (she was there to verbally assault another woman at James' house) and she yanked on and broke his necklace, and then he ended up tackling her to the ground after she stole his car keys and wouldn't get out of his car.

I'm drunk, but how and why was she in his car? And how could he tackle her to the ground if she was in the drivers seat?

I understand as much as anyone how thin the difference between assault and a consensual sexual encounter can be when alcohol is involved, and I have seen my share of hideous behavior by D1 athletes, but there was always that line - and in my day pushing and/or threatening a woman crossed it... If you want to argue that pushing and tackling a girl is only worth sitting out vs. New Mexico and being reinstated when Tennessee comes to town, go ahead, but don't expect me to agree.

[BYU 14]

Kelly has set new standards for losing control of a program, if he does reinstate Masoli short of the full season he will never be able to instill any discipline up there.

[BYU 14]

I was really looking forward to catching the BYU spring game this year, but again they are paper thin on O-Linemen heading into spring ball due to injury/offseason surgery. Only 8 will have meaningful reps and if one or two of them get dinged up there will definitely be no game again this season

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I'm drunk, but how and why was she in his car? And how could he tackle her to the ground if she was in the drivers seat?

I understand as much as anyone how thin the difference between assault and a consensual sexual encounter can be when alcohol is involved, and I have seen my share of hideous behavior by D1 athletes, but there was always that line - and in my day pushing and/or threatening a woman crossed it... If you want to argue that pushing and tackling a girl is only worth sitting out vs. New Mexico and being reinstated when Tennessee comes to town, go ahead, but don't expect me to agree.

If you're not going to bother reading the Sentencing Memorandum that describes the entire situation in great detail, I'm not sure why I should bother to continue this debate.

LaMichael James sentencing memorandum

Read that and then come back and tell me what you think. I think the 1 game suspension is appropriate, especially considering everything that has happened to James since this incident first went public.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

If you're not going to bother reading the Sentencing Memorandum that describes the entire situation in great detail, I'm not sure why I should bother to continue this debate.

LaMichael James sentencing memorandum

Read that and then come back and tell me what you think. I think the 1 game suspension is appropriate, especially considering everything that has happened to James since this incident first went public.

We're supposed to actually search out the facts before commenting? Where's the fun in that?

I still don't think that unarmed robbery is so much worse than throwing a girl against a car and the ground, but like others have said I'm sure Masoli will be reinstated at some point this season.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

I still don't think that unarmed robbery is so much worse than throwing a girl against a car and the ground, but like others have said I'm sure Masoli will be reinstated at some point this season.

Masoli should've been kicked off the team - it's his 2nd conviction for theft. And they way James handled his case vs. the way Masoli handled his - i.e., James was contrite and honest to all involved the whole way, vs. Masoli lying to the cops and Oregon administration - also plays a part in how they were treated.

I would think that Kelly & Bellotti understand that reinstating Masoli during the 2010 season would be a total joke, but the Washington fan in me hopes they do so.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Masoli should've been kicked off the team - it's his 2nd conviction for theft. And they way James handled his case vs. the way Masoli handled his - i.e., James was contrite and honest to all involved the whole way, vs. Masoli lying to the cops and Oregon administration - also plays a part in how they were treated.

I would think that Kelly & Bellotti understand that reinstating Masoli during the 2010 season would be a total joke, but the Washington fan in me hopes they do so.

What's this fair assessment bull? If you don't start irrationally ripping into your hated Ducks rivals here, I'm gonna let dawgman.com know to pull your Dawg Card.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

What's this fair assessment bull? If you don't start irrationally ripping into your hated Ducks rivals here, I'm gonna let dawgman.com know to pull your Dawg Card.

Eh, chalk it up to age I suppose. I'd love to rip on the Ducks (and do every chance I can), but I also have to be honest - I really don't think James deserves any greater punishment than he's already getting.

I think I would've shown a bit more restraint than he did in a similar situation, but I could totally understand the temptation to do what he did when dealing with a crazy ex who's flipped out on you.

[DeToxRox]

UCLA reinstates Hasiak.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

UCLA reinstates Hasiak.

Yup, big news...IF he keeps his cool and proves to be as talented as he was projected to be.

[dawgfan]

Hmm, interesting move. Considering all the hullabaloo when he left "for good" the last time, a little surprised that he's back. For the sake of Bruins fans, I hope Hasiak has matured and that he's made amends to teammates and coaches.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Hmm, interesting move. Considering all the hullabaloo when he left "for good" the last time, a little surprised that he's back. For the sake of Bruins fans, I hope Hasiak has matured and that he's made amends to teammates and coaches.

Well, when it all went down, it seems that him being kicked off the team was intended to be irreversible. Stan's family, though, approached the staff/university and more or less begged to give Stan another chance. By all reports, when the staff allowed him to try to work back to the team, the kind of things he had to do were supposed to be pretty stringent and involve a wholesale attitude change.

So seeing him back, at least with a chance again, tells me the staff thinks he has really made progress with his attitude and approach to things. Not that UCLA can't use a talent like that, but guard is probably the position on the line with the least concerns, with both starters back, some veteran depth and the top two guards in CA the past two high school seasons as well. Neuheisel's a chemistry type, so if he wasn't convinced Hasiak had made a huge attitude adjustment, I don't see him allowing Stan back on the team. So I am hopeful that this is a very good sign and that Stan has found some solutions to his problems and is ready to contribute.

[MrBug708]

If Stan screws up during the spring, he's gone. Same with the summer/fall practices

[dawgfan]

Good for Hasiak - he's a great talent, it would be too bad if he let an opportunity to play Pac-10 football go by the wayside. Washington wanted him pretty bad (and really could've used him) so I've paid extra attention to him since signing day of last year to see how his career went...

[Chief Rum]

Masoli-Embry crime spree 911 call

Hilarious.

[DeToxRox]

So a rumor is out there that within the next few weeks Michigan will announce that in 2011 vs Notre Dame we will hold our first ever night game. God I hope this is true.

[JonInMiddleGA]

RB Bryce Brown ""As of now he's not a part of the team," according to new (and increasingly looking overmatched for the big time, completely inept with the media since the first press conference & hamfisted at best with former playing alums) Coach Derek Dooley.

Rumors say BB may be headed to K-State to join his brother who transferred there from Miami previously.

[MJ4H]

lol

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

lol

I'd laugh too if it wasn't getting so pitiful.

At this point I've gone from "cautiously optimistic" to "wondering who the new coach will be for the 2012 season". Unless he can win 9-10 games by 2011 & at least splits with Florida & Alabama over the next couple of years, given that CDD seems to have already turned most of the statewide media against him and he's off to a very bad foot with the former players/alums after having several of them thrown out of practice last week (apparently no one on the staff recognized any of them), I can't see him surviving very long unless he's exceptionally successful.

He appears to me to be very ill suited for the demands of a modern football program, regardless of how good a coach he might be.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oregon's AD Mike Belotti resigned today and will join ESPN. I wonder if the new AD ends up cleaning house in the football program. If I was Chip Kelly, I think I'd be nervous right now.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Oregon's AD Mike Belotti resigned today and will join ESPN. I wonder if the new AD ends up cleaning house in the football program. If I was Chip Kelly, I think I'd be nervous right now.

I haven't followed that situation real closely, but it seemed odd from the start. It seemed like they named Kelly Coach in Waiting and then Belotti retired really soon after (did he even coach a season afterwards?), and then he is named AD immediately after. There must have been some sort of power struggle there or Kelly was in high demand and the guys that write the checks didn't want to lose him?

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

...or Kelly was in high demand and the guys that write the checks didn't want to lose him?

This.

At the time it happened, I think Texas had recently named Muschamp "coach in waiting" and of course Fisher had been so designated at FSU for several years. I think there was a feeling at Oregon that they'd better hang on to Kelly by doing the same thing, and I think they had some inkling that Bellotti was thinking about taking some time off.

I'd guess the biggest factor here is that Bellotti may yet have a desire to coach, and that's harder to do as a sitting AD in terms of making the break from Oregon than going and doing a TV gig for a year or two. Plus, I'd bet that Bellotti wasn't thrilled with the AD job in the first place, nor especially after having to deal with all the off-field issues for the football team and having to fire Ernie Kent. And I'm sure it became crystal clear to him (if it wasn't before) that Phil Knight and Pat Kilkenny are the ones that run things at Oregon.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Oregon's AD Mike Belotti resigned today and will join ESPN. I wonder if the new AD ends up cleaning house in the football program. If I was Chip Kelly, I think I'd be nervous right now.

I think it would be a good move for the new AD, Oregon Football has become a parody due to the actions of a few and Kelly's inconsistent handling of said issues.

[JonInMiddleGA]

FIU RB Kendall Berry stabbed to death on campus

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/2...all-berry.html

[Poli]

Bryce Brown apparently watched practice yesterday. This on the heels of Aaron Douglas leaving the program.

Dooley is looking pretty bad, but it's hard for me to believe anyone can be surprised at Brown's likely departure. I'm surprised kids like Teague, Jackson, and Oku haven't left as well.

[Swaggs]

Urban Meyer is d-bag.

That is all.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Memphis prospect opts for early college in unusual move » GoVolsXtra

Lonnie Ballentine has had enough of high school.

But don’t paint the 6-foot-3, 195-pound defensive back as some sort of disenchanted dropout.

Ballentine is a highly recruited prospect that has accomplished enough academically that he can graduate from Southwind High School in Memphis and enter college early. So he’s doing just that.

In a highly unusual move, Ballentine will sign his letter of intent to attend Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU or Memphis on Monday.

“There is no leader at this time,” Ballentine stated via text message to the News Sentinel on Thursday. “But I do like the Vols and I’m going to visit this Friday with my mom.”

Players enrolling midway through their senior season has become commonplace in college football, but bypassing one’s senior season all together is mostly unheard of. Quarterback John David Booty from Louisiana did so, enrolling at Southern California in 2003 before his senior season.

[cartman]

LSU has announced they are going to install purple turf before the start of the 2010 season. The dateline is Apr. 2nd, not the 1st. They can't even get that part right

Tiger Stadium to Feature Purple Field Turf in '10 - LSUsports.net - The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics

[cschex]

Originally Posted by cartman

LSU has announced they are going to install purple turf before the start of the 2010 season. The dateline is Apr. 2nd, not the 1st. They can't even get that part right

Tiger Stadium to Feature Purple Field Turf in '10 - LSUsports.net - The Official Web Site of LSU Tigers Athletics

Considering this story was posted yesterday, I don't think they're the ones who got it wrong.

I might be the only LSU who actually kinda wishes the purple turf was real.