Category: College Football (Page 49 of 296)

      Oregon’s De’anthony Thomas questioned by NCAA

      March 3, 2011 /
      Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly greets the Ducks fans before the Ducks game against the Auburn Tigers at the BCS Championship game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, January 10,2011. UPI/Art Foxall

      De’anthony Thomas of Crenshaw High was one of the most decorated prep players to ever come out of the city of Los Angeles. He was ranked No. 16 in the ESPNU 150 and in early February, he signed his letter of intent to play for the University of Oregon.

      It’s not surprising that a top recruit would want to play for a program that just appeared in the national title game, nor is it shocking that a prep running back would want to be a part of Chip Kelly’s explosive spread offense. But what was surprising was that Thomas had already committed to USC and then flipped to Eugene later on.

      Granted, even though he committed to the Trojans at first, the young man has the right to change his mind. He did say that he felt comfortable at Oregon and always had his eye on the Ducks despite committing to SC. But just one day after a report was released that Oregon may be outed for major recruitment violations, Thomas left this on his Twitter page (hat tip to SPORTSbyBROOKS for the link):

      JUST GOT. OUT OF A MEETING WIT THE NCAA PEOPLE MAN IT FELT LIKE I WAS TALKING TO THE POLICE

      There’s a good chance that the NCAA just wanted to talk to Thomas about his decision to flip from USC to Oregon and wanted to make sure everything was on the up-and-up. It’s their job to ensure that gifts aren’t given to recruits in order to sway them into choosing a certain school. (It’s also their job to ruin college football by using the BCS format instead of a thrilling playoff system that would make most fans happy, but that topic is best left for another post.)

      Thus, the fact that the NCAA spoke with Thomas doesn’t mean that Oregon is the subject of major recruiting violations. In fact, it might not mean anything. The story that came out earlier this week may have nothing to do with Thomas being subjected to the heat lamps of the NCAA.

      But it does make you wonder…

      Update: Thomas apparently has been caught in a lie about the NCAA tweets. Rut-roh.

      College Football, External Sports

      Oregon to be outed for major recruitment violations?

      March 2, 2011 /
      Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks fans show the emotions after the end of the BCS Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, January 10,2011. The Tigers defeated the Ducks 22-19. UPI/John Rinehart

      On his ESPN radio program Tuesday afternoon, Colin Cowherd said he received a text stating that a major football program will be outed very soon for “major recruiting violations.” College Football Talk has the details.

      Here’s Cowherd’s minute-long monologue on what would be a seismic development if proven true:

      I received an interesting text about 10 days ago, and this should be very frightening if you’re a fan of college football, that a major program in this country is going to be outed very soon for major recruiting violations. It is a top 10-12 program. I know what I think it is according to both my sources; I received another tip last night. I went to Vince Doria, who is sort of the journalistic editor at this company. He had heard the exact same thing. We are pursuing this story with vigor. A major publication is about to unseat a major college football power on recruiting violations. I will tell you from my source, it is not — it is not — Auburn. I will leave it at that. It is a major program and a major publication. When we can validate more… I have not been able to validate it nor has this company. We’re both pursuing it.

      On Wednesday, Brooks Melchior, who has ties to ESPN and now runs the website SPORTSbyBROOKS.com, said this via Twitter:

      Mult. ESPN sources have now verified to me Cowherd was referencing Oregon as school to be ‘outed very soon for major recruiting violations’

      At this point, all we can do is wait to see if the NCAA makes an official announcement. Until they do, these reports are just speculation. But Cowherd and Melchior are both tapped into major media outlets, so this news is intriguing to say the least. With the amount of scandal surrounding Cam Newton and Auburn’s program, for Oregon to go down for major recruiting violations would be an absolute shocker. (Although would it be? Should any of us really be surprised that a major college football program – any major college football program – was breaking recruiting rules?)

      Hopefully for Oregon this is just one gigantic rumor that has zero truth to it.

      College Football, External Sports

      Could the Bengals take a flier on Christian Ponder in the second round?

      March 1, 2011 /

      A week ago Christian Ponder was viewed as a third round prospect at best. But after impressing scouts at the combine, you would think that the guy is ready to go in the top 10 based on some media reports.

      Rob Rang of CBS Sports is reporting that Ponder is generating first round buzz after his workout in Indianapolis over the weekend. He even says that Ponder is now “viewed by some as the top true West Coast Offense quarterback in the draft.”

      I know Ponder looked good in his workout but I highly doubt he’ll go in the first round. He’s still a mid-round prospect, but one team that has emerged as an interesting candidate for the former FSU quarterback is the Cincinnati Bengals.

      The Carson Palmer situation is getting a little hairy in the ‘Natti. He wants out and with each passing day, it appears as though the team is willing to abide by his wishes. If they trade or release Palmer, then quarterback becomes the biggest need for the Bengals, although I’m not convinced they’ll take a signal caller at No. 4.

      Cam Newton isn’t a fit for Jay Gruden’s West Coast offense and neither is Ryan Mallett. The same goes for Jake Locker, who doesn’t have the accuracy to play in the system and while you can make a case for Blaine Gabbert, there’s a good chance that if the Bengals wait they could nab Ponder at the top of the second round (or later if they trade back or attempt to wait until the third round to nab him) and pay him significantly less than if they take Gabbert at No. 4.

      Ponder fits in the West Coast because his best attribute is his accuracy. He also has a strong enough arm to make all the throws at the next level and as long as his confidence stays up, he could wind up developing into a nice quarterback down the road. Depending on how the situation plays out with Palmer, Ponder seems like a logical fit for the Bengals.

      College Football, External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Is there a tape that implicates Cam Newton?

      March 1, 2011 /

      Dave Miller of the National Football Post is reporting that a host of a Huntsville, Alabama sports talk radio show says he has heard audio tapes that implicate Cam Newton and his father in a pay-for-play scheme.

      Heisman trophy winner and Auburn Tigers quarterback reacts with fans before the BCS Championship game at the University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 10, 2011. Auburn beat the Oregon Ducks 22-19. UPI/Gary C. Caskey

      Scott Moore, an Alabama fan and a college football speaker, said Friday during a radio interview with WNSP in Mobile, Ala., that he heard tapes of Cecil Newton selling his son’s services to Mississippi State while Cam was in the room. Moore also claimed that Cecil Newton said he had received an offer from Tennessee for $200,000, but that he’d give Mississippi State a $20,000 discount.

      If it’s proven that Cam Newton knew about being shopped around, he would be retroactively ruled ineligible for the 2010 season and all hell would break loose. And you’d have millions of college football fans saying, “I told you so.” But why would either Bond or Bell sit on the tape(s) without turning the evidence over to the NCAA? The evidence can’t really exist, right? Or, perhaps the audio does exist but it was deemed inconclusive, whether by the NCAA, Bond or Bell.

      Whether there’s an audio tape or not, this story hasn’t given its last breath. The smoking gun has yet to come out and while Newton jets off to the NFL to make millions, Auburn has to hold onto its seat and hope that incriminating evidence isn’t released to the NCAA.

      Of course, if the program is clean then nothing will come out and the situation will eventually die out. That’s the nice thing about being innocent.

      College Football, External Sports

      NFL Scouting Combine Thoughts: Quarterbacks

      February 27, 2011 /

      The quarterbacks performed throwing drills at the NFL scouting combine on Sunday and below are some quick-hit thoughts on how each of them fared. (Thank you NFL Network for broadcasting the scouting combine for those of us who are unable to go to Indianapolis, or have a restraining order that mandates we stay 500 yards away from Rich Eisen, whom all I wanted to do was party with.)

      – For those that were concerned with the way the ball comes out of Cam Newton’s hand, there’s no need. Unlike Tim Tebow last year, Newton doesn’t have a flaw that needs to be fixed when it comes to his delivery, which is important seeing as how he played in the spread option under Gus Malzahn at Auburn.

      – That said, Newton was awfully inconsistent on Sunday. His passes on the out route sailed on him and he also overthrew his receiver on one of his post-corner throws. His footwork is still a work in progress but hey, he’s learning. He has to transition from being a spread quarterback to a conventional drop back passer in the NFL, so it’s going to take time. At least at this point he has better mechanics than Tebow and Vince Young when they were preparing for the draft.

      – Ryan Mallett was really impressive. He has a cannon attached to his right shoulder and the ball comes out of his hand rather effortlessly. He has the best physical tools of any quarterback in the draft and at 6’6” and 238 pounds, he has the size that scouts drool over. Of course, his physical tools have never been in question. His attitude and character are what some are concerned about. Personally, I think he has Oakland Raiders written all over him. He could thrive in a vertical offense and Al Davis can’t even spell character.

      – Christian Ponder had himself a great day as well. He outshined Newton and all other quarterbacks in the second group, displaying very good accuracy and decent arm strength. I can’t see him going any higher than the third round, but he looked healthy and confident on Sunday. Depending on what team he winds up with, he could be a player to watch in a couple of years.

      – For those who followed him at Washington, it’s not surprising that Jake Locker ran one of the fastest 40 times (4.52 seconds) of any quarterback in combine history. The guy was blessed with a ton of athleticism and he looked good throwing the ball, which had been a concern heading into the combine. He was a little inconsistent with his accuracy when throwing the dig route, but it’s hard to complain about his performance. Of course, most quarterbacks perform well when there are no defenders in their face. When teams watch film of him from last year, there will be plenty to pick apart.

      – Ricky Stanzi, Jerrod Johnson and Andy Dalton all struggled with their accuracy. I don’t think anyone is surprised with Johnson, but I thought Dalton would put on a better performance. Of course, where he wins teams over is with his leadership, his football IQ and his instincts. You can’t measure those things in throwing drills. I will say this about Stanzi though: the kid throws a nice deep ball (at least when he’s not facing any DBs).

      College Football, External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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