Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

I reached out to my person in the know concerning the dismissal of Florida State linebacker Marcus Ball.

From the sound of it, Ball had just become a headache and wasn't fulfilling his end of the bargain with academics and attitude.

The coaches must have become fed up, because he's a huge loss for that defense. Ball and Geno Hayes were both eligible to play for that linebacking corps in 2008, but neither will be playing on Doak Campbell this fall. And Dekoda Watson is MIA for the first four games of the season.

Ball is the younger brother of Georgia Tech quarterback Reggie Ball and was one of the country's top players coming out of high school. He had just finished his sophomore season and had a promising future, despite injuries in his first two years.

We'll see where he ends up.

By Adam Abramson

It's obvious Ryan Perrilloux's ship was sinking in February. I addressed it. It's really a shame. Hopefully he goes to a smaller pond, refocuses and resurfaces again some day.

I love the move on Les Miles' part, and everyone at LSU should as well.

Had Perrilloux stayed, he would have officially become larger than the team, which is cancerous for a group that won the national title and lost a group of players including offensive leaders Matt Flynn, Jacob Hester and Early Doucet as well as Ali Highsmith, Glenn Dorsey, Chevis Jackson and Craig Steltz on defense.

With a new group of leaders comes a search for identity and the focus shouldn't be on a guy who was allowed to bend the rules.

But Miles knows this and that's why he made the right move.

What's the future hold for the quarterback position? Tough to say.

At first glance it's redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee and junior Andrew Hatch. Incoming freshman Jordan Jefferson could also make a push for playing time.

But if there's a dropoff from Perrilloux, the world isn't going to stop. Keiland Williams has more talent than he knows what to do with and he would gladly take more carries.

Brandon LaFell is one of the best young receivers in the country and can make plays no matter who's throwing to him.

The Tigers offense will be fine, but the program is much better off.

By Adam Abramson

I couldn't make it to the Waldorf Astoria yesterday, but it was where the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame class was announced, and it's a pretty good list.

Included on it is Don McPherson, former Syracuse quarterback and Heisman runner up. McPherson, a Long Island resident, was a fixture on the XM show this past fall and is one of the more superior football minds I've ever talked the game with.

Also, Lou Holtz is on this list. While I have been very critical of him on here, there's no denying the facts: He's undoubtedly a Hall of Famer. My disdain is purely ESPN-analyst driven.

Here is the full list:

Players
TROY AIKMAN- QB, UCLA (1987- 88)
BILLY CANNON - HB, LSU (1957- 59)
JIM DOMBROWSKI- OT, Virginia (1982- 85)
PAT FITZGERALD- LB, Northwestern (1994- 96)
WILBER MARSHALL- LB, Florida (1980- 83
RUEBEN MAYES- RB, Washington State (1982-85)
RANDALL McDANIEL- OG, Arizona State (1984-87)
DON McPHERSON- QB, Syracuse (1984- 87)
JAY NOVACEK - TE, Wyoming (1982- 84)
DAVE PARKS- SE, Texas Tech (1961- 63)
RON SIMMONS- NG, Florida State (1977- 80)
THURMAN THOMAS- RB, Oklahoma State (1984- 87)
ARNOLD TUCKER- QB, Army (1944- 46)

Coaches
JOHN COOPER- 192-84-6 (.691) -- Tulsa (1977-84), Arizona State (1985-87), Ohio State (1988- 2000)
LOU HOLTZ- 249-132-7 (.651) -- William & Mary (1969-71), North Carolina State (1972-75), Arkansas (1977-83), Minnesota (1984-85), Notre Dame (1986-96), South Carolina (1999-2004)

Congrats to Don and the rest of the class.

By Adam Abramson

I'll say it again: Buzz Bissinger is lame.

I’m eight years younger than the mind behind deadspin.com, Will Leitch, and apparently eight years older than Buzz Bissinger’s son. I think that puts me near the beginning of this whole Internet boom and shouldn’t surprise anyone that I indeed blog.

I say he’s lame because it’s clear he’s stuck in the past. What was his point about the late W.C. Heinz? That Heinz is a better writer than Leitch, myself and every other blogger in the history of the world? OK, cool. And?

Bissinger came off as pretentious, which is found all-too-often in the words of major columnists today. I don’t need someone to imply they’re more intelligent than I am, when they’re not.

The best part of the 20-minute train wreck on Bob Costas’ show was Bissinger’s lack of a solid argument and Leitch taking the high road on several soft jabs flailed in his direction. While Bissinger may be eloquent with the pen, he came off looking like a buffoon in front of the camera.

What Bissinger sees as indecent is what I, a 24-year-old college educated sports nut, think makes Deadspin and its blogosphere peers work. The new media generation doesn’t want someone rehashing what we watched. We’re looking for the conversation we’ll have in the bar or at the water cooler.

While Heinz, Bissinger and their colleagues were, and are, great at capturing the moment with words, the camera operator on TV sufficed just fine. LeBron James’ stat line and critical jumper in the final minute mean little – I've already witnessed it and I know what it means. I’ve moved on to the Jay-Z diss and DeShawn Stevenson wearing a Michael Vick jersey. This is probably where Bissinger would look at the picture of me in the left rail and say “You’re dumbing down like the rest of your generation, you *(#&$*(&#$!!”

Sour grapes. Bissinger’s theme song is embedded.

And I won’t bother to dwell on the hypocrisy of his profanity-laden tirade on Deadspin’s indecencies.

Face it, Bissinger, the dream is over. Respected Newsday columnists Bob Glauber and Neil Best wake up every day and take to their computers to blog. And guess what? They’ve been trying to “perfect the craft” like you, for decades.

Shoot me a link when you decide to catch up and show us what blogging is all about.

By Adam Abramson

New Nebraska coach Bo Pelini may be a little too sensitive.

As the former LSU coordinator goes through his first spring as main man in Lincoln, the school's newspaper printed an opinion piece stating its displeasure with Pelini's handling of player transgressions.

"Pelini began his trend of downplaying altercations involving football players early on in his tenure when quarterback Patrick Witt was arrested after showing up in a dormitory intoxicated and belligerent, shoving an RA and then fleeing from police."

This came after one of Pelini's recruits was arrested for assault and robbery, charges Pelini has not commented on.

Pelini, none too pleased with the piece, called the office of the Daily Nebraskan and tried to eat someone's lunch, as the expression goes. Members of the staff followed up with an account:

"After seeing the staff editorial, Pelini called our office and berated one of our board members so loudly that he was heard clearly from across the newsroom. There's no real point in printing the choice phrases he used during that first phone call."

Pelini and the athletic department then did not let the student reporters and photographers in at practice (eventually they were given access).

This is all very bad for Pelini. Like the beginning of every school year, new coaches start out with an "A." He's already doing everything he can to knock that letter grade down in the eyes of Nebraska faithful.

I had my share of battles with the athletic department and teams back when I ran the sports section of the Collegiate Times down at Virginia Tech. But coaches always handled themselves in a professional matter with student-run media. Frank Beamer was one of the nicest people I have interviewed, to this day. Men's basketball coach Seth Greenberg and I didn't always see eye-to-eye, but I was one of the first calls he made when he was hired.

He wanted to introduce himself and begin building a relationship with the media, something I'll never forget -- and something that's missing all throughout the industry.

The same can be said for several of the coaches I covered while in Blacksburg. No matter how critical I, or my staff, was of VT athletics.

Pelini better get used to the student media criticism. He also better get used to pieces with a little less polish. I was once told that a student newspaper "is the perfect place to take risks." But as long as the Daily Nebraskan isn't breaking any laws, opinion is opinion and Pelini better deal with it or he won't last very long as a head coach.

By Adam Abramson

As much as it will pain some people on here, and part of me, I have to take Rich Rodriguez's side.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, whom I guess is worried about the arrival of Rodriguez to the league, took park in the following exchange:

Reporter: Is there a gentlemen's agreement in the Big 10?

Tressel: I guess only between gentlemen.

All of this came after Purdue coach Joe Tiller called Rodriguez "a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil."

And all of that came after two Michigan freshmen to-be, Michael Shaw and Roy Roundtree, switched their verbal commitments from Purdue and Penn State just before Signing Day, after Rodriguez arrived into town.

What did Rodriguez have to say about all of it?

On Jim Tressel's "gentleman's agreement" comments:

If not being a gentleman is recruiting the guy until the end, until the signing date particularly after he visits, guilty as charged, we're going to recruit him until the end. I know as soon as I took the job there was a guy that was committed To Michigan and he changed his recruitment and went to a Big Ten school, right? I didn't say that guy's not a gentleman, I just thought well, heck they must have been recruiting him all the way along and he jumped at the opportunity. You know, we're not going to break any NCAA rules. We're going to play by what the NCAA rules are but the first time I heard about any so-called agreement was after signing day.

I didn't get any memo from the Big Ten and a handbook that says "This is how you're a gentleman." I feel pretty proud about how we recruit, I tell our coaches you know, don't be a negative recruiter, state the facts and all that so you know if you're asking me if I'm going to change how we recruit in the future because of what somebody said? No.

On whether other schools have similar recruiting philosophies:

I could care less what anybody else says, all I can tell you is how we're going to recruit, I'm not going to audition for the job or try to fit a certain style or certain image I've been doing this long enough and I feel pretty proud of our track record and how we do things.

He's right. As much as he burned WVU, he's coaching big time football. There's a lot of rumors about shady acts as he was leaving Morgantown and heading to Ann Arbor, but the guy is trying to win. If anyone should be taking jabs, it should be WVU -- not the coaches of the Big 10.

This happens all the time. I can remember a similar squabble between Frank Beamer and Steve Spurrier a few years ago.

The days of gentlemen are gone. The days of big TV contracts, no-huddle, spread offenses and 75,000 people at spring games aren't going anywhere -- and everyone needs a piece of that pie.

It's time that the Big 10 lay down some of its "old guard" attitude towards the sport or it will become The Big Dinosaur.

Frankly, I think guys like Rodriguez and Ron Zook will jumpstart the conference into the direction it needs to go. And don't be surprised if the same can be said for Joe Paterno's successor, whoever that may be.

By Adam Abramson

This is Kenneth Page's MySpace page.

This is Kenneth Page:

Who is Kenneth Page? He's a stud Clemson offensive line recruit who possibly found a large sack of money somewhere along the streets of Columbia.

Seriously, how much money is in that picture? I've read some witty things online about the picture. Blogs are wondering if he's afraid of banks, has a rich grandmother, etc.

No matter how he got the money, how much it is or what he wants to do with it, he should be smarter. In a day where sports and colleges are doing anything to keep their noses clean, it's photos like Page's that likely has Clemson cringing.

Page doesn't mind, though. The "display name" on his MySpace page reads: "3500 Hits In One Day! I'm On A Roll!!!!!!!!!!!"

You can't blame Page, though. Turn on the TV and it's one show after the next about the biggest houses, tricked out cars and lavish parties and lifestyles.

As a side note, his MySpace page also informs us: "Hey People, the picture was on facebook. You people have no lives. hahahahaha"

Crap.

By Adam Abramson

Terrelle Pryor is announcing any minute and I am hearing the quarterback will be heading to Ohio State.

Strange, considering he said he wants to play next year and Todd Boeckman is coming off a great season. Two quarterback system?

Stay tuned. If this story has proved anything, it's that it's not over yet.

By Adam Abramson

LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been suspended again.

Another violation of team rules. No specifics, yet.

With Matt Flynn graduated, the kid is finally going to have the position all to himself, but now his status for spring ball is in the air because there's been no length assigned to the suspension. It's indefinite for now.

The first time it was the riverboat thing. Then it was the fight he was connected to. Who knows what it is this time. But Les Miles needs to be careful that Ryan Perrilloux's shortcomings off the field don't ruin any of the momentum he has after a national championship season.

Perrilloux better fix whatever he did this time, assuming it's fixable. He has two years to make his mark on a very successful program.

Being the No. 1 QB prospect coming out of high school only buys you so many straws before the camel's back breaks. While the options behind Perrilloux don't provide as much excitement, there are options.

And judging by Miles' decision-making track record, he's not afraid of taking a risk and parting ways Perrilloux.

By Adam Abramson

Last year's signing day was filled with videos from the various Tribune affiliates. This year...not so much. But then again, Signing Day has been a little more subdued than last year.

The Orlando Sentinel had several videos of prospects signing their letters of intent, but nothing worth posting on here. So the result is no videos.

Some highlights from the day:

-- Terrelle Pryor is going to hold off on signing. Rumors came out this week he was a "lock" to Ohio State, but Mike Farrell of Rivals says his father really likes Penn State, a campus he's yet to officially visit. When Rich Rodriguez went to Michigan, I said it wouldn't shock me to see him end up there, a stance I'll keep. I know, I'm flip flopping like Hillary Clinton on immigration.

-- Julio Jones is headed to Alabama, with the rest of every other good prospect south of the Mason-Dixon line. That's no real surprise. Bama ended up with seven of Rivals' top 100 players. Today was a huge day for Nick Saban and his staff, locking up Jones, Jerrell Harris (LB) and Marcel Dareus (DT) and holding on to Tyler Love (one of the nation's top OL prospects).

-- All of that action by Alabama crushed Auburn's Signing Day spirit. The Tigers still have a pretty impressive boat, but they scored only one four-star prospect from a very talented senior Alabama prep class. Call me crazy, but the Iron Bowl just became revitalized today (not htat it needed a revitalization).

-- The big action of the day was Colorado scoring Darrell Scott, the nation's top running back. Scott had wavered between Texas and the Buffs like crazy. But on Wednesday he chose his path: "Dan Hawkins has a vision and I want to be a part of the vision he has. Hopefully, we can pull in a national championship." This is a huge score for Hawkins, who already coaches Scott's uncle, Josh Smith, a freshman wide receiver. As for Texas, they scored a solid class, but it's the first time they're out of the top 10 in a few years. I wouldn't expect much of a dropoff, however.

-- Clemson was a big winner on Signing Day, landing Dwayne Allen. The tight end, a South Carolina native, had originally locked on with Georgia early in the process, but kept his options open. Some thought Allen would end up a Dawg when it was all said and done, but he's a Tiger. Couple him with DaQuan Bowers, Andre Ellington, Brandon Thompson or any other of the 10-or-so four-stars they ended up with, and you have one impressive class.

-- Rutgers had another solid recruiting effort with a class led by Long Island product Scott Vallone (DT). Art Frost, coupled with Anthony Davis from last year's class, will give the Scarlet Knights a lot of talent up front for years to come. And Keith Stroud will be a home run hitter for Greg Schiano, averaging over 20 yards per catch while prepping at Fork Union this year.

-- Sam McGuffie, a YouTube legend, had long been a verbal commit to Michigan. The Texas running back did not sign an LOI today and is considering Cal. Watch this kid's video. He has some moves, but I don't know if those moves would work on James Laurinaitis or Sean Lee.

-- Lastly, did you hear about this? If someone duped this kid, what a shame (although it's kind of funny). If he wanted to pull a stunt, then it's pretty funny, but I'd imagine some repercussions.

By Adam Abramson

In the many hours of my life I've wasted playing Dynasty Mode on the various years of NCAA Football by EA Sports (dynasty mode in 2005 is by far the best, by the way) with my roommate, we have thought of ways we would recruit athletes, given the chance.

And we've had some great ideas.

But most of them entail tactics to show them how much we want them to rule at our University. You know, like hire a guy to come in and rip phone books in half and say "When you leave UTEP, you'll be able to do that."

Just tactics that are so over the top that kids can't help but commit to my school.

And I've recently thought of a new way. And that way is 'Rambo.'

I went to see it last Friday. I spent an egregious $11 to see the 12:20 a.m. show after work, but it was worth it.

Long gone are the movies that feature people who flat-out rule. There was a time when films like "Predator", anything pre-Texas Ranger Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee masterpieces and actually anything featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger pre "Junior".

But Sly Stallone said "Forget that, it's time to bring back movies that once were a fixture in pop culture."

Put the children to bed and go see "Rambo" and get in touch with your testosterone. Don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid of insane amounts of blood, limbs disintegrating, heavy explosions, heads disappearing, etc.

Remember what it was like to pay money to see a flick that had basically no plot but tons of action. Don't be afraid.

My cohort, Mark LaMonica, inspired me to come up with my new recruiting tool. He basically trashed "Rambo" for every reason why it's worth seeing.

What's going to happen when you show up at a Blue Chip's house with a copy of "Rambo" and sit down to watch it with him? He's going to be so fired up afterwards that he decides to bring his skills to your University. That's how much "Rambo" ruled.

I'm going to take as step out on a little twig and say that Stallone had more on screen kills than lines in the movie. And, you know what? I'm OK with that.

And don't think I'm some junkie for action, blood, combat, etc. The atrocities in Burma the film brings to light are disgusting and did make me cringe, but it's the truth. Stallone brings to the forefront what war lords spend millions of dollars trying to hide.

In a time of lame movie after lame movie, a time of action plots fused with some idiotic romance plot, I'm just not afraid to embrace a film that gets it.

Drive by post to say I'm at the mercy of the Giants until the Super Bowl.

We'll still talk as much as possible, especially considering Signing Day is around the corner.

And kudos to the former Troy product, Lawrence Tynes, for making my next two weeks infinitely more busy.

By Adam Abramson

I'm cutting off the quarterback controversies because I don't want to dive into Michigan until we know where Terrelle Pryor will be heading. Obviously, if he ends up in Ann Arbor, that drastically changes the landscape.

Instead, I will link all of you to two items.

The first is a photo gallery I put together of 20 prospects you should keep an eye on this spring. With the NFL draft coming shortly, we'll get into this much deeper. But why not start now? Again, I stress this is a preliminary ranking and I'm fully aware of the guys not on this list. But I know you're trying to get through your Friday, so spend 10 minutes flipping through the photos and reading my snarky comments.

Click the picture...you can't miss it

The second is related to the transfer of Ryan Mallett. The former blue chip who played this season as a true freshman at Michigan is now in Fayetteville playing for the Razorbacks. He'll have to sit out a year, using his redshirt, and will be ready to roll in 2009. I wrote about this recently, thinking he would end up at Tennessee. Right conference, wrong school.

The link I want to share is focused on his new coach, however. Gene Wojciechowski wrote an interesting piece, very critical of Bobby Petrino. Read it here.

And if you missed any of the other quarterback controversies:

Other 2008 Quarterback Controversies
Monday - Southern California
Tuesday - Virginia Tech
Wednesday - Penn State
Thursday - Alabama

I'm off to rest. I'm building my Ikea dresser tomorrow, so wish me luck.

By Adam Abramson

I'm working on the next installment of quarterback battles as we speak. To hold us over, check out this article:

I hope, for Rich Rodriguez's personal safety, he didn't do this.

BNG and to all of my other WVU fans: If RR really did this, I feel for you. That's insanely classless.

Adam Abramson

Kudos to you if this name rings a bell: Broderick Green.

He was one of the top running backs for the high school class of 2007. He went to USC. You don't get those kudos if you're a USC fan.

You know who else went to USC in 2007? Joe McKnight and Marc Tyler. Guess what McKnight and Tyler have in common? They were both five-star running backs. McKnight being the No. 1 RB prospect in the country and Tyler being No. 3.

I'll admit, I was an English major in college, but I was never bad at math. In my years of watching college football I've noticed this trend when the offense is on the field: Coaches usually feature one running back. Sometimes there's two, but that's rare.

Green, McKnight and Tyler all went to USC in the same class one year after blue chip running backs C.J. Gable, Stafon Johnson, Emmanuel Moody and Stanley Havili arrived on campus. If you're keeping score, that's seven blue chips in two seasons... for one position (Havili plays fullback, but gets his fair share of carries). All of this does not take into the account the guys who were on campus before 2006, such as Chauncey Washington (195 carries this year). This is a good problem for a football coach to have, not an uber-talented, young running back looking for carries.

Confidence is one thing, but going to USC with that kind of depth chart really isn't smart. It may have been smart for McKnight, assuming Pete Carroll told him something along the lines of "If you verbal, I will play you as a true freshman and you will be the next Reggie Bush." But I can assure you he didn't tell that to every RB who decided on USC. Carroll has been around the block and knows how to recruit.

I understand Green was the first of the lot to commit, but there's no rule that says you can't look around if the boat you're on starts to sink from all the other talent climbing aboard.

Rumors are that Green is looking to transfer, and I can't blame him. Coming out of Little Rock, he had all the talent and his choice of colleges. The promise I assume McKnight received from Carroll probably could have been demanded by Green from almost any other school in the country. At 6'1", 230 lbs., he has that rare combination of size and speed for a running back. Watch the film for yourself. Any college would love to have him.

Word is that he's looking at Texas A&M, Arkansas and Penn State -- some of the schools he considered while he was a senior at Pulaski Academy. But Penn State appears to be out of the question. I was told today he put a call into Joe Paterno who replied with a simple, "No." JoePa is old school and believes transfers come with baggage, and you can't blame him.

So new coaches Bobby Petrino and Mike Sherman are left to battle for Green's services (assuming he's down to just those two).

Green will have plenty of time to arrive on campus, learn the offense and have three years of eligibility to make a name for himself.

But wouldn't have been so much easier with five years in the same location?

By Adam Abramson

Now that the season is over, it's time for the postseason games to begin.

And who better to discuss than Terrelle Pryor.

I've long thought that the nation's top football prospect would end up at Ohio State, but there's been some developments over the last month that make this a wide open race.

Let's start with Michigan, who I feel is the new team to beat.

Ryan Mallett, the most heralded recruit at quarterback in Michigan history (along with Drew Henson), is transferring. And you can't blame him. He can sit out next season and use his redshirt and be ready to play with three years of eligibility in 2009. He's 6'7" and boasts a big arm, not exactly ideal for Rich Rodriguez's system. He's looking at UCLA, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Arkansas. Three of those bring new coaches to the table and all three guys could use a Ryan Mallett to jumpstart things on their respective campuses. And with Tennessee, head coach Phillip Fulmer could announce the hiring of former Michigan assistants Frank DeBord and Scott Loeffler. Mallett studied under both DeBord and Loeffler, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, respectively. I think this will come down to Tennessee and UCLA.

All of that leaves the depth chart in Ann Arbor wide open. Steve Threet appears to be the incumbent, and he's a good one. At 6'6", 225, he has some experience running a spread offense. But I can't imagine he can make an engine like that run the same way a Terrelle Pryor could (Pryor is also 6'6", but is all speed). Michigan offers the chance for Pryor to come in and play right now. And I have a feeling Pryor and Rodriguez are pretty close (I'd guess that Rodriguez first call bearing Michigan news went to Pryor).

Ohio State's depth chart can't offer that. Todd Boeckman is back next year and is hoping to lead the Buckeyes to the national title game. At best, Pryor could play a Tim Tebow role. But this-coming season is Boeckman's last and Pryor would have several years to lead a storied program.

Penn State's depth chart features two complete studs that will beat each other up for the starting job. Pat Devlin is the drop back gunslinger who can easily man a pro-style offense in State College. Daryll Clark is the dual-threat weapon who showed flashes of brilliance in PSU's bowl game and had people thinking Michael Robinson all over again. I'm sure Pryor would give both of these guys a good run for the starting job, but it won't be easy. However, it is the only home-state school on his list at this point.

Florida has a Heisman winner atop the depth chart and a guy who had fans chanting his name at the last spring game in Cameron Newton. And behind Newton is John Brantley -- one of the top QB prospects just a year ago. However, if anyone can make this happen, it's Urban Meyer -- the guy who didn't find many jokes funny on the Fox pregame show for the BCS title game.

And then there's basketball. Pryor is pretty darn good at that sport as well and wants to play it in college. He's a blue chip prospect described as "A do everything forward." Not bad.

Let's take Penn State out of the equation because their hoops program is in neutral. Michigan is still rebuilding, while Florida and Ohio State are reloading. But you have to put your chips on Florida to emerge as the program with the brightest future. Coming off back-to-back titles, Billy Donovan has added some serious talent to his squad and I'm sure it's pretty enticing to Pryor.

So, with all of that said, is there an edge here? It's tough to say, but he's the No. 1 football prospect in the country, so I'll assume that's most important to him. His best chance of success and making an immediate impact appears to be at Michigan.

So I'm going with Maize and Blue, for now. But we'll keep a close eye on this.

By Adam Abramson

I just wanted to drive-by post before my Super Bowl kicks off tonight.

I've made it back from my vacation and was dropped into the real world of New Hampshire primaries, Roger Clemens press conferences and cars driving into rivers.

But, it's the night of the MNC, so I can get through anything, right?

The Orange Bowl was a mess. A couple of thoughts from the game and other headlines:

1. Mark Mangino is a great coach. When I was down in South Beach, I stopped in a cigar shop the day after the game and got to talking with the guy who works there. He said the team had stopped by and purchased victory cigars BEFORE THE GAME. Master motivator, in addition to being a great offensive mind.

2. Speaking of great offensive minds, Virginia Tech could use some. What's the best way to combat a heavy blitz? Screens, shovel passes, quick slants, drags, etc. Stuff to keep the middle of a defense honest. I think offensive coordinator Bryan Steinspring forgot all of that when Tyrod Taylor was in the game. I think he forgot how well Branden Ore was running the ball. But, he gets paid the big bucks for a reason. If you figure out that reason, let me know.

3. June Jones had to leave Hawaii. He's already reached the pinnacle of what that school can accomplish.

4. I'm sad to see Jamaal Charles declare for the NFL draft. I think he could have been one of the best running backs in college football next season. With he and Kevin Smith from UCF bolting, and assuming Darren McFadden will do the same, it's time to see who will be left around next year. I'd put my chips on names such as Jonathan Stewart, Felix Jones, Chris Wells, Joe McKnight and Knowshon Moreno as no-brainers.

5. Kudos to West Virginia. They played such inspired football and Noel Devine, another running back sure to be a fixture on the scene next season, was fantastic. It pretty much goes without saying that this is one of the most critical junctures WVU has faced. They have to keep the recruiting rolling and make a good hire, because they know what it means to win in Morgantown -- you don't want that attitude and mindset to go away. (See comments below)

And lastly, my apologies for being MIA. But I'm still taking LSU tonight, 32-20. Awkward score and all.

By Adam Abramson

Baltimore has Jeffrey Maier.

Chicago has Steve Bartman.

Texas has "Chris." Mack Brown's step son.

In case you missed it, Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter was faced with a horde of Texas defenders on a jailbreak, with little time to react. Carpenter, down 21-0 but on the Texas 15-yard line, saw something nobody else did and attempted to throw the football towards the sideline. But as he went to release the football, he was blasted and the ball actually went backwards, making it live and free for the taking.

As the ball rolled to the sideline, Texas football assistant Chris Jessie, looking sharp in his burnt orange windbreaker and khakis so everyone in TV land could see, reacted to the mistakenly thrown flag for intentional grounding (he actually made the motion for the penalty with his hands) and stepped onto the field to retrieve the ball. But has he reached down, someone must have said something to make him jump away like the ball was a rolling hand grenade. But he couldn't get away fast enough, the ball touched his thumb.

Texas ended up with the ball in Arizona State territory, but the play was reviewed, overturned and Arizona State was awarded seven yards and the ball on the Texas 7, as the result of an unsportsmanlike penalty. The next play was a touchdown.

Let's hope, for Chris' sake, that:

A. Texas wins
B. Texas covers (although A is considerably more important).

But if neither happens, Chris will always be welcome on Campus Confidential, which picked Arizona State, fully knowing this would happen.

Adam Abramson

So Rich Rodriguez went up to Ann Arbor and fired everyone, including my boy Ron English.

UCLA should be looking at this guy.

I will say that Rodriguez retained running backs coach Fred Jackson, he must have seen some potential. Who knows.

Situations couldn't be any more opposite than they are in Morgantown and Ann Arbor. Over in 'Eerville, everyone is still in disarray, while everyone couldn't be more excited up in Michigan.

And check out this article from ESPN.com.

By Adam Abramson

Let me start by saying that college students cheat.

It happens at every college in America. You always heard about it when you were at school. You may have even dabbled while you were in college.

Somehow I always missed the boat. I had taken a few online classes during a very relaxed senior class schedule, and I didn't find out til long after graduation that I could have easily gotten my hand on koofers (a Virginia Tech word for old tests). Ah well.

Apparently a lot of Florida State football players didn't miss the boat, they are the people that have the poolside chairs and the umbrellas in the drinks made out of coconuts.

And guess what? The guys at Florida State aren't the only student-athletes cheating. I'll go out on the short limb and say it happens at every school. So what's the big deal? Well, academic advisors were apparently helping.

While I guess it goes on everywhere, I do not assume that most schools aid in the process.

I called my FSU guy this evening and asked who was involved and he said "Everyone. It will be bad."

Stay tuned.

By Adam Abramson

Not much to report today. Then again, it's 8:40 a.m. and I'm never up at this time.

I'm up early to work on the bowl preview, which is about halfway done at this point. I'm proud of myself. You should be proud of me, too.

But I figured I would follow you up on something from earlier this season. Remember Campus Confidential's interview with Xavier Omon? He's the running back at D-II NW Missouri State.

Well, he ended up with another monster season and the Bearcats reached the national title game for the third consecutive season. And for the third consecutive season the Bearcats lost. This time it was a Valdosta State touchdown with 22 seconds left that was the difference.

What did the Blazers do to stymie the Bearcats? Well, they slammed the box full of defenders and stopped Omon. He had just 63 yards on 27 carries. This came after a 292-yard performance in a revenge win over Grand Valley State in the semis.

Omon finished the season as the D-II leading rusher with 2,274 yards and 36 TDs through 13 games.

You might be hearing his name come draft day.

By Adam Abramson

I'll be working on the bowl preview the early part of this week to get it out in time for Game 1 on Thursday.

But I'll share some WVU stuff:

Here's a fake MySpace page for Rich Rodriguez. Pretty funny and clever. The comments have some vulgar language, so beware.

Noel Devine, the fantastic freshman running back, has been in contact with powerhouse schools from his home state of Florida. He could transfer this offseason, redshirt next, and play as a sophomore in 2009. Not a bad deal, should he choose to leave.

WVU's backfield could be in trouble should Devine leave. Steve Slaton, the All-American who has one more year of eligibility, has been flirting with the NFL Draft. Since Rodriguez has left, he's been quoted on ESPN.com as saying "Learning another system and having another coach would be hard. But I'm not sure yet."

Terrelle Pryor, the nation's #1 recruit for 2008, has already removed West Virginia from his list of possible destinations. He's added Michigan to that short list of Ohio State, Penn State, Florida and Pittsburgh. My chips are on Ohio State, but you never really know. The chance to run that spread, read-option under Rodriguez at a school with the prestige of Michigan could be too tempting.

Rodriguez was heckled at the airport while catching a flight North. WVU diehards are as passionate as any (watch the video...although a little extreme, hoss), and their worst fears came true in a very poor fashion. Rodriguez has not handled this situation with class, he hasn't even talked to his entire staff. This is very Petrino/Saban-esque.

Here's a front runner for the vacancy: John "Doc" Holliday. In addition to having an awesome name, he has quite a resume and is a WV native.

By Adam Abramson

Rich Rodriguez is no longer the head football coach at West Virginia.

Next year he'll slip on blue and maize instead of blue and gold, according to a report from WTRF in Wheeling, WV.

I've also read that Rodriguez has informed No. 1 recruit Terrelle Pryor he's headed up to Ann Arbor, the second West Virginia coach to do as much in as many years (hoops coach John Beilein bolted last season). Will Pryor consider the Wolverines? He's the piece that would jump start the spread era at U-M.

“I just spoke to Coach Rodriguez about 10 minutes ago and he told me he is going to Michigan,” Pryor told Superprep.com. “He said they made him an offer he can't refuse.”

Hmmm...Did Rodriguez wake up next to his favorite horse?

The move is going to come with a $4M buyout from Rodriguez, money that obviously is worth paying, in Rich Rod's eyes.

And who are the fans clamoring for already? Try Terry Bowden…we'll see what happens.

Oh, and will he coach the WVU bowl game? Is Lloyd Carr going to coach the UM bowl game? I'm looking into it.

**Update: It appears Rich Rodriguez will not coach in the bowl game, a fact that the players are none too happy with.

By Adam Abramson

West Virginia practiced this morning, but the second workout of the day has been cancelled.

Hmmm...

Rich Rodriguez refuses to answer questions from the media about the Michigan job. I'm reading he's not talkking to his staff right now.

We saw this last year with Alabama. In fact, media outlets down south reported he was a goner, ala jumping the gun on Tommy Tuberville this year.

But will he turn down this gig? Michigan will probably, and should, throw everything but the kitchen sink at Rodriguez. If they're not going to take my advice about giving Ron English a shot, then they need to get a big name like Rodriguez.

He was a half-breath away from a BCS Championship game berth at West Virginia, so you know the guy can coach. How will the spread work in Michigan? Will he go after a Pat White mold in a QB to run that read option? Or will he run it in Morgantown with Jarrett Brown after White leaves?

But if he does go, the Big 10 is a changin.

I'm getting on an airplane and flying around til midnight (ET), assuming the ice doesn't delay me. We'll see if anything develops, but it sounds very fishy.

By Adam Abramson

I have about five minutes before I'm off to the base, but I sat on a plane watching the same thing for eight hours on Wednesday.

The four-letter network is blasting Bobby Petrino. I've seen numerous talking heads personally address recruits, saying they should not trust him and anything he feeds them is lies.

I actually agree with that, I've covered a Petrino team and been with him in the media room post game. I have tons of respect for what he can do with an offense, but I didn't find him to be a very warm person (I've met plenty of coaches who made a good impression on me after losses, he wasn't one).

What's everyone's thoughts on guys like Sean Salisbury calling out Petrino to his recruits, saying he will "feed them lies." I think columnists do it every day, but it's a little shocking when it's on TV.

And, for the record, Skip Bayless is ridiculous. He defended the move by saying his players in Atlanta had quit on him. Give me a break, it's your job as coach to maintain the course even when the ship is sinking. He couldn't hack it in the NFL, he doesn't have the personality for it, so he literally mailed it in. He sent his players a note and called the man who invested millions of dollars in him. Coward. Worse than Saban.

Oh, and I heard it's snowing in the Northeast, so be safe on the roads. Yes, I care about my readers.

By Adam Abramson

The four-letter network is reporting that Bobby Petrino has left Atlanta to take over the Arkansas job.

So this is the second year in a row that an big-name coach leaves the pro ranks after an all-too-short stint to go over to the SEC.

If Petrino was able to build Louisville into one of the country's best offenses, there's no reason he won't get it done in Fayetteville. So after all the hubbub about Butch Davis, Tommy Tuberville, Jim Grobe and Tommy Bowden, Petrino is the man.

What a tough 36 hours for the Falcons…

And on the Michigan front, word broke that all is not quiet on the Les Miles front. Was Miles basically forced to reup with the Tigers?

If he leaves, he's Nick Saban Jr. and LSU looks like the kid picked last in the kickball game (funny how that could happen after a national title run).

Either way, LSU better have some contingency plans just in case Miles pays that buyout and heads North.

By Adam Abramson

I know this space is reserved for college football, but this one irked me beyond belief.

In case you haven't heard, two young adults thought it would be a good idea to dress up as Virginia Tech shooting victims for Halloween. According to one of the involved, the two attended a very small party on a college campus and had the intention of "shocking" their friends.

Well, I suppose they forgot how small the world is with devices such camera phones, BlackBerries, PDAs, iPods, Facebook, MySpace, Google, text messaging, email and the 24-hour television news cycle. All it took was for someone to snap a picture, post it on one of these social networks and let the rest take care of itself.

The two have become subject to countless threats, news reports (Lindsey Henley, a close friend, did a fantastic job with this story) and a hodgepodge of emotion. Big shocker.

I have to say, being a 2006 grad of VT, I was pretty angered when I saw it. The blatant lack of sensitivity is disturbing, but I let it go. We're all twisted in our own ways, and there are bad apples in every bunch. I will refrain from showing the pictures or give out any names, there's really no need.

But then I heard one of the two attempt to defend his actions. And the stuff he said was utterly ridiculous. You can listen to a 20-minute phone call between Henley and one of the two at the link above. But his quotes include:

"This is a group of college students who now think it's trendy to be upset about their friends being killed. I don't know what they teach people in Virginia Tech, but at ++++++++++ we don't learn to threaten people with murder to teach them that murdering is wrong."

"That's the problem with college students. They all live in an ivory tower of privilege. They don't understand, when it all boils down to it, it's someone wearing a costume."

His words speak for themselves. But I was left enraged. It's a shame, because his ignorance shouldn't be acknowledged, but I couldn't help myself. So I found out his name and sent him a piece of my mind. The following is word for word:

From: Adam
Date: Dec 7, 2007 6:51 PM

++++++++++,

I'm writing you in hopes you are indeed the same person who dressed up as murdered college students for Halloween.

I think you're out of touch. There's just a fundamental way to behave. If the "screw what the rest of the world thinks" attitude makes you sleep easier at night, that's about all it accomplishes.

And if you are indeed the same person whose quotes I read online, just remember something: Before you decide climb aboard your soapbox to give us your insight and theories about the world, be cautious to not paint with broad brushes. Your take on the violent nature of Virginia Tech students because of "what they teach people" or the ivory tower of privilege that "all" college students reside in (an eerily similar pattern of thought to that of Cho's rant on camera before his massacre), make you look as ignorant as your "shocking" stunt.

Your callous attitude during the interview is more disheartening than your attempt at acceptance among friends, or however you want to justify it.

You should have realized the world is a small place and you're fool to think this wouldn't get out.

Adam

From: ++++++++++
Date: Dec 7, 2007

I'm not the ++++++++++ kid. Chill out and go have a beer at the house.

From: Adam
Date: Dec 7, 2007

at least be original...

From: +++++++++
Date: Dec 7, 2007 9:09 PM

My costume was original.

Some battles cannot be won…

And to the people that are forced to share a learning institution with said character and his cohort, my sympathies.