UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell said that he wanted to pick a starting quarterback for the Sons of Westwood by the end of Spring Practice.
Although both Pat Cowan--who defeated rival USC for the first time since the first Clinton Administration--and Ben Olson, who started the 2006 season, struggled with the new offense installed by incoming offensive coordinator Jay Norvell, Dorrell had to choose.
And Dorrell has chosen to put Ben in, telling the Los Angeles Times, "We found out all the information we needed. We're ready to move forward. We knew we wanted to make the decision earlier than we have in the past. We wanted to have an idea who we wanted to start the season with and we've done it."
Personally, we still need information on why Dorrell insists on moving forward with the Royal "We."
First, UCLA basketball star Aaron Afflalo decided to leave school early to enter the NBA draft--now he's turning his back on Bruin fans at Friday's Spring Football game.
Buried in the school's press release about how soe "weight events" have forced the football team to move its annual Spring Game this Friday from Drake Stadium to Spaulding Field, the Bruins' sports information team acknowledges, "Arron Afflalo had hoped to be available to sign autographs as his way of thanking Bruin fans for their support over the last three years. Unfortunately, Arron's agent has committed him to participate in an athlete performance facility over the next few weeks and he is unavailable."
Without Afflalo--or hope for the football team--we wonder if the move to the practice facility was more of an effort to prevent any fallout from a lower-than-expected crowd.
If there were an over-under on the question, does anyone think UCLA will be able to give away the 100 t-shirts promised?
Fans Are: Loving Bobby Johnson, despite the fact that he has taken the Commodores to as many bowl games as his last five predecessors, which is none.
Expectations: The words "bowl game" aren't thrown around lightly on a campus where the home team hasn't played in the postseason in more than 20 years and has a 1-1-1 record all-time in bowls. But the folks on West End are hoping for a bowl this year, and the schedule just might favor that.
Questions:
1. Was that Georgia win a fluke, or a sign of things to come?
A little bit of both, perhaps. The 'Dores 24-22 upset in Athens was one of the biggest shocks of the 2006 SEC season. Vandy definitely caught the 'Dawgs at the right time, in the middle of a slump and struggling to find answers at quarterback, among other things. But the win in Athens shows some measure of improvement in the Vandy program. Over the past two years the 'Dores have beaten both Tennessee and Georgia, with both wins coming on the road. Vanderbilt has gone from a program that can't beat anybody to a program that can beat traditional SEC powers, though admittedly when those powers are having down years.
USC quarterback John David Booty may be looking to the future and a possible Heisman Trophy campaign in 2007, but he is returning to his football roots during spring practice for the USC Trojans.
The USC Trojans were two tipped passes away from a perfect season in 2006. Although Booty had played from the shotgun for his entire high school career and his mechanics put the ball on a low trajectory, former offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin was loathe to make any adjustments to his game plan.
In case you've missed any of the Spring Practice Questions for the Big East, here they are in one convenient location for greater ease.
Come on, you know you are dying for some, any sort of football fix at this point. I mean, this is spring practice and you find yourself looking for some, any tidbit to keep you going until August.
In case you've missed the FanHouse's awesomely awesome and fantastic Spring Practice Questions, I've cobbled together the "Complete Series" for Big 12 teams.
Seriously, read these, folks. They're about football. And right now the sporting world isn't about football. And you're dying for more football. That's why you're here. To endure this choppy writing of mine. And read these Big 12 Spring Practice Questions. The complete series. Below.
Fans Are: Mellow. The Red Raiders under coach Mike Leach continue to field competitive teams, score the occasional upset and otherwise light up the scoreboard. Last year was a bit rocky with quiet offensive efforts in losses to TCU (12-3 final) and Colorado (30-6 final) but the Red Raiders also took Texas to the brink before losing, crushed a handful of foes and hung tough against Oklahoma. The bowl comeback against Minnesota was nice, too.
Expectations: Just keep on making bowl games. A Big 12 championship appearance would be nice, but the stars would have to align with veteran personnel and favorable schedule.
Eh. The run game has always been nothing more than a sometimes compliment to the passing game under Mike Leach. Bicknell's hiring is interesting in that he's outside of Leach's "circle", but I doubt coach Leach is changing the formula to how he does things.
2. Why is there reason for hope this year?
Stability. Last year was crazy, even by Mike Leach standards. He scolded his team early in the season for not working hard. Another strange collapse against Colorado followed. Star receiver Jarrett Hicks' season was stalled by the NCAA as they dragged their feet in reviewing his academic situation. He later missed the team's bowl game to further hit the books. Guard Ofa Mohetau, a talented junior college recruit, was suspended from the team. And a month ago three players were accused of stealing things, two of whom are no longer on the team.
It appears the dust has settled and what's left of the roster can get around to just playing football without distraction. That is a good thing.
3. Give us something to look forward to?
Junior quarterback Graham Harrell is a rare Texas Tech quarterback who isn't a fifth-year player/first time starter. He now has a year under his belt and is one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the Mike Leach era. He should challenge Hawaii's Colt Brennan for leadership marks in many seasonal passing categories (yards, attempts, completions, touchdowns) in 2007. The gunslinger isn't dead in college football, and we have Mike Leach and those coaches with similar brands of offenses for it!
Fans Are: Losing patience, if that's possible after a solid 8-5 season. Not much was expected of Missouri last year, but then the Tigers went out and won their first six games and very nearly a seventh behind a productive offense and stingy defense. Things fell apart soon thereafter as the Tigers went just 2-5 their last seven games including a last-second bowl loss to Oregon State. Coach Gary Pinkel's name has cooled a bit, but for several years he was a flight risk to more prime destinations.
Expectations: Don't repeat last year's heartbreak. Things were going good on both sides of the ball but both the offense and defense were never quite the same after a very winnable midseason 25-19 loss to Texas A&M. Junior quarterback Chase Daniel is one of the nation's best, so a quality offense is expected. The defense must rebuild but the hope is fresh faces can be more consistent than last year's sometimes dominant, sometimes porous unit.
Questions:
1. Can the offense carry this team?
Sure looks like it. A very good quarterback returns. He'll have both of his productive tight ends back. Tony Temple returns to help the running game. The starting line is loaded with juniors and seniors. This is about as good as it gets for an offensive coach and the Tigers back up their experience with a productive offensive scheme.
The goal for this spring should be to get everyone back on the same page and then start to look for next year's starters as these veterans have already proven themselves over the course of the last two seasons.
2. Can this season be a runaway success?
Absolutely. The schedule is difficult, but not daunting. The only elite opponents this year are Oklahoma and Nebraska and maybe Texas A&M. Every other game is categorically "winnable". Those games tend to come down to coaching and veteran poise. Last year Missouri won its winnable games in the first half of the season then lost them in the second half. If last year's players learned anything from those losses this season could be fairly special, in the range of 9-10 wins and a shot at the Big 12 Championship game if division rivals are taken care of.
3. Any closing thoughts?
Chase Daniel is awesome. He's a system quarterback, but he also has moxie and the ability to make plays with his feet. To date he's a better player than the more ballyhooed Brad Smith and should go down as one of the all time Missouri quarterbacks. Coach Pinkel is a quality coach but this season is fairly critical for him in that he must stay loose and avoid collapses like the one that happened last year. He is now the dean of Big 12 coaches and the last man to be named "dean" was soon pushed out the door (Iowa State's Dan McCarney).
Fans Are: Tepidly ferocious. Gamecock fans have always been hopeful, even at the darkest of hours. With Steve Spurrier at the helm, Carolina faithful have a real reason to be optimistic, and they are, with the words "SEC championship" being spoken in earnest around Columbia. What you don't hear much of is a timetable for such success. So while fans are expecting great things, just when they expect them isn't clear.
Expectations: Is this the year? Probably not, but the Gamecocks could compete for the SEC East title with a few breaks. To do so, they need to beat Georgia and either Tennessee or Florida, while not slipping against rising Kentucky. If that's not enough, Carolina is saddled with the fans' expectations of beating archrival Clemson. A solid divisional finish along with a win over the Tigers and a move to the upper-tier of SEC bowls might be the best goal for the 'Cocks.
Questions:
1. So, that whole Stephen Garcia thing ... ?
Has been beaten to death. Quite simply, the kid screwed up, barely got punished, screwed up again, got severely punished, and is currently serving said punishment, meanwhile hopefully getting his head right and figuring out what is going to be expected of him as an SEC football player. Best case scenario is that he becomes a star at Carolina, worst case scenario is he goes back home to Tampa and becomes a bouncer at Mon's Venus. Reality will probably fall somewhere in between, but we won't know for a while, and we certainly won't know this spring.
Fans Are: Sanguine, like every other spring, but anxious to see if the Huskers can take the next step in 2007.
Expectations: Win the Big 12 North. Beat USC or Texas. Contend for a BCS Bowl.
Questions:
1. What's going on at the running back position?
No one really knows right now, and what in the world happened to all of the depth? Brandon Jackson parlayed a strong second half in 2006 into an early exit for the NFL. Marlon Lucky was hospitalized for a curious medical emergency in February and both Cody Glenn and Kenny Wilson continue to recover from injuries. Lucky and Glenn should be available for the spring, but it might be August before things really clear up.
Whoever wins the job (and stays healthy) should get a lot of work. Nebraska RBs have combined to account for an average of 403 carries over the past two seasons. If Lucky and Glenn are both available, the Huskers will have a nice 1-2 punch. Without Lucky or Glenn, the picture is less clear. Sophomore Major Culbert, a safety in 2006 will start the spring at RB and early enrollee Marcus Mendoza will also get a look.
UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell said that he wanted to pick a starting quarterback for the Sons of Westwood by the end of Spring Practice.
First, UCLA basketball star Aaron Afflalo decided to leave school early to enter the NBA draft--now he's turning his back on Bruin fans at Friday's Spring Football game.
Last Year: 4-8
USC quarterback John David Booty may be looking to the future and a possible Heisman Trophy campaign in 2007, but he is returning to his football roots during spring practice for the USC Trojans.
Last Year: (8-5, 4-4) Unranked.
Last Year: 8-5, unranked
