NCAA Football News

Brady Hoke has done a masterful job in the rebuilding of Michigan’s football program, and he took another huge step this season in recruiting the third best class in the nation.

National signing day is just a week away, and while Michigan has a chance of adding a few more highly regarded prospects, the Wolverines already have a terrific class in place. Many of the players who have committed to Michigan could have a sizeable impact early in their careers.

With rival Ohio State also bringing in an outstanding recruiting class as well, Hoke has done enough to stay ahead of the curve in creating sustainability for the program. And, as has always been the case in the Big Ten, it all starts with defense.

Eight of Michigan’s 17 4-star recruits play predominantly on the defensive side of the ball. Several of them stand to be building blocks for a terrific defense in the years to come. We’ll take a look at some of Michigan’s top defensive recruits that will shape the face of the Wolverines defense.

*All rankings courtesy of 247Sports

Dymonte Thomas: 4-star safety

Thomas’ greatest strength is his versatility, and the 6’1”, 190-pound safety has the ability to line up all over the field. He has good speed and strength, and with some experience lining up in the box as a linebacker, Thomas projects well as a strong safety for the Wolverines.

Given how difficult it is for a true freshman to earn much time on the field, Thomas’ athleticism and versatility may earn him some extra attention early in his career. It may take some time for him to adjust to a specific position, but Thomas should have no trouble developing into a terrific defensive player.

Thomas joins 4-star safety Delano Hill and 4-star cornerbacks Ross Douglas and Jourdan Lewis as members of what could be one of the strongest defensive secondaries in the conference in just a couple short years.

Taco Charlton: 4-star defensive end

At 6’’6” and 255 pounds, Charlton already has a solid frame for the weakside defensive end position. With a little added bulk from a college weight training program, he can be an extremely versatile defensive lineman.

Charlton needs to work on shedding defenders in run defense, but his biggest strength is in the pass rush. He’s shifty for his size and uses his hands well in keeping opposing blockers from getting into his pads.

While Charlton has the physicality and athleticism to make an immediate impact at the next level, he’s still a bit raw. Michigan won’t be forced to utilize him much early in his career, but Charlton has tremendous upside. With the addition of two 4-star defensive tackles in this class, Michigan has added a new dynamic with which to develop its defense.

Ben Gedeon: 4-star inside linebacker

Gedeon is the perfect fit for a Big Ten defense. He’s tough, physical and intelligent, and gives Michigan a player with tremendous potential.

Gedeon played multiple positions in high school, but his best position at the college level will be at inside linebacker. He isn’t all that agile, but his ability to shoot gaps and plug running lanes makes him a terrific fit to stop the run in Michigan’s defense.

The Wolverines have landed top recruits at nearly every position, but linebacker is not a strength of this year’s class. Still, Gedeon will probably see limited action early in his college career, but he has a chance to be one of the top linebackers in the Big Ten in the next couple years.

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It is nearly impossible to jump from high school to the ranks of major college football and make an instant impact, but every year there are true freshman that do just that. This year will be no different. 

There will be some freshman that wildly exceed expectations and make an instant impact. Then there are the guys with such transcendent talent you can see their instant impact coming from a mile away. Here are three guys that fall into that category. 

Robert Nkemdiche, DE

Robert Nkemdiche is not going to sneak up on anyone. He is widely regarded as the nation's top overall recruit, as he is with 247Sports.

He has yet to decide on a school, but 247Sports lists Ole Miss as the favorite. And it is not going to matter where he winds up in terms of his potential impact, there isn't anyone that will keep this monster off the field. 

He is listed at 6'4" and 285 pounds, and get this, 247Sports lists his 40 time at 4.65. 

That right there is enough to make him the nation's top recruit, but this youngster has the technique to go with it. 

Nkemdiche is going to be one of the nation's elite pass-rushers from his first game. 

Derrick Green, RB

Green is one of the most highly-touted running backs in this class.

Rivals has him ranked as the nation's top running back and their 14th ranked overall recruit. In 247Sports Composite Rankings, Green is the fourth-best running back and the 26th-best overall recruit. 

While this punishing 6'0", 220-pound back is an outstanding talent, what really makes him standout for this list is his destination. As 247Sports notes, Green is committed to Michigan.

The Wolverines are losing their leading rusher, Denard Robinson, and while his backup Fitzgerald Toussaint will be back, he is coming off a broken leg and doesn't have the talent to keep Green off the field.

Green will be given plenty of opportunity next year and he will produce. 

Laquon Treadwell, WR

Laquon Treadwell is the prototypical receiver. As 247Sports notes, he is 6'3", 195 pounds and he runs the 40 in 4.4 seconds.

Given these measurables, it is no surprise that Treadwell is No. 1 in 247's Composite Rankings at wide receiver and 14th overall. 

Treadwell is committed to Ole Miss, where stud receiver Donte Moncrief will be back for his junior year. So while Treadwell isn't likely to be his team's best receiver, he will most definitely make an impact. 

With secondaries having to always keep an eye on Moncrief, Treadwell is going to be able to get deep where his natural abilities will be too much to stop in one-on-one situations.

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At this point last year, players such as Matt Barkley, Denard Robinson, Landry Jones, Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins were some of the most talked-about figures in college football. 

They all found their names on numerous preseason Heisman lists, and all of them received plenty of national publicity. Ultimately, however, none of them were able to live up to their preseason hype. 

There's no shame in failing to meet high preseason expectations, because there are plenty of players who fall into that category every season. 

Here's a look at a few notable players that may not be able to live up to their preseason hype in 2013. 

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The Big 10 is coming off one of the worst seasons in conference history. Off the field was almost as bad as on the field. Ohio State and Penn State, two of the premier programs in the conference, were on probation entering the year, so there was already a black cloud surrounding the conference.

Once the games began, things did not get much better. The season opened with Michigan being manhandled by Alabama and ended with a 7-5 Wisconsin team winning the conference, but losing the Rose Bowl to Stanford.

The lone bright spot was Ohio State’s performance. Although the Buckeyes were competing against subpar opponents, they managed to go 12-0 and, if they were not on probation, could have gone to the national championship.

Will 2013 be better? Well, it would be hard for it to be worse.

Here are four reasons why 2013 will be a better football season for the Big Ten.

Braxton Miller

The Buckeyes will be near the top of many polls entering the year and will be the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten. Braxton Miller’s phenomenal sophomore campaign has a lot to do with those high expectations in Columbus entering 2013.

Last year, the dual-threat quarterback tallied 3,310 total yards and accounted for 28 touchdowns. And even more is expected from him in his junior season.

Miller also has the benefit of playing under Urban Meyer. Meyer has had great success mentoring dual-threat quarterbacks in the past (Alex Smith and Tim Tebow) and, if last season is any indication, Miller is on his way to being another one of Meyer’s prized pupils.

With a very manageable schedule, Ohio State is one of the early favorites to contest next year’s national championship.

If they are going to pull it off, however, they are going to have to be impressive throughout because many critics still believe in the Big Ten's inferiority, and who could blame them? The conference has only won one national championship in the BCS era, so it has a lot to prove in 2013.

Devin Gardner and Michigan’s Improved Passing Game

In 2011, Denard Robinson had one of the best seasons in Michigan football history. He put up staggering numbers on the ground and led the Wolverines to a dramatic Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech, but things went downhill in 2012. Robinson’s inept passing was finally exposed, and coach Brady Hoke made the switch to Gardner in the middle of the year.

In his third year at the helm in Ann Arbor, Hoke will finally be able to implement the offense he wants to run. He accommodated Robinson’s athletic ability and used a spread offense during his first two years, but plans on changing that strategy in 2013.

This year, look for Hoke to implement a more pro-style offense and look for the Wolverines to have more success through the air, which will lead to more success in the win column.

Taylor Martinez

Another prominent dual-threat quarterback, Martinez has had an up-and-down career at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers finished the year with two emphatic losses to Wisconsin and Georgia, but those losses did not fall on the shoulders of Martinez.

The Cornhuskers defense was brutal at the end of the season. They gave up 115 points in those two final losses.

Martinez is primed to have a great senior year. His passing was greatly improved last year (he had 10 more touchdowns passing 2012 than he did in 2011) and his progress as a quarterback should continue this year.

Until their collapse at the end of the season, Nebraska was the class of the Big Ten and, if Martinez can continue his maturation as a passer and they can shore up their defense, the Cornhuskers will be contenders for a BCS bowl berth.

Michigan State’s Resurgence

Since Mark Dantonio arrived in East Lansing, the Spartans have been in the thick of the Big Ten title chase in most years. Last year, however, was one of the exceptions.

Dantonio has built a program based off of physicality and toughness on both sides of the ball as well as a flair for the dramatic (i.e. against Notre Dame in 2010 and against Wisconsin in 2011).

Although their final record was 7-6 and they finished fourth in the Legends Division, the Spartans' play on the field was much better than their record indicated. Four of Michigan State’s five losses came by fewer than four points.

State struggled in close games, which is an indication of youth at the quarterback position. Last year was Andrew Maxwell’s first season as the starter and he steadily improved as the season wore on.

If Maxwell can continue to progress in 2013 and if the Spartans’ stingy defense lives up to expectations, State could find itself contending for a Rose Bowl appearance come season’s end.

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Corey Smith decommitted from Mississippi State and gave his commitment to Urban Meyer and The Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday afternoon. 

Smith is a junior college prospect who is ranked a 4-Star by Scout.com.  As you remember, Smith attended high school in Ohio and has to be considered a huge get for Ohio State.  

With the Buckeyes lacking elite receivers on the roster, Corey Smith is being brought in to compete for playing time right away.  Playing at East Mississippi Community College in 2012, the 6’1" wideout was named to the first team NJCAA Region 23 team this past November. 

As it looks right now, when the Buckeyes take the field next season, you’ll see Corey Smith and Devin Smith on the outside, with Philly Brown moving into the slot position, which could be more natural for him.

Devin Smith will still be considered the deep threat but Corey will be counted on to move the chains.  Corey Smith has a lot more in the arsenal than just being a possession receiver, though.  He has the speed to take it to the house, and the elusiveness to evade defenders, something Buckeye’s receivers lacked last season. 

According to Cleveland.com’s Doug Lesmerises, Smith’s high school coach said, “I love the Big Ten, and I played in the Big Ten, and Corey is fast. You've never seen someone run routes like this. He's deceptively fast, and he can catch. If Ohio State got him, God bless them, they'll win a lot of games with him.”

With numbers starting to tighten for Ohio State, the Buckeyes have room for just a few more prospects.  Coach Meyer is still going after Vonn Bell, Dontre Wilson, Ryan Timmons, and James Clark.  It should be a fun week for Buckeye Nation as the final touches are put on the 2013 recruiting class. 

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Chris Petersen has done some remarkable things since taking over the head coaching job at Boise State in 2006. In his seven seasons in Boise he has led the Broncos to an 84-8 record, five conference championships and five bowl victories with two of those being Fiesta Bowls.

Add to all of that the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award once and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award twice, and you have an incredible list of accomplishments and accolades.

However, one of the most impressive and sometimes overlooked achievements that Petersen has brought to the table is his ability not only to build up excellent football players, but to pick, plant and promote hand-selected assistant coaches who seem to excel under Petersen's leadership.

Many of those same assistants have moved on after some success in Boise, but they have proved that what they learned under Petersen has equipped them for much more. 

Let's look at a list of some of those coaches and what they are up to now.

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Colin Kaepernick's rise to elite NFL status has been well documented. Overlooked for most of his career at Nevada, Kaepernick's talent is astonishing and very rare.

Or is it? Is it possible there is another tremendous dual-threat QB quietly racking up offense at Nevada? It certainly appears so. Sophomore Cody Fajardo is producing at a level that rivals Kaepernick's.

Consider these stats. In two seasons, Fajardo has rushed for 2,056 yards and 23 TDs while passing for 4,493 yards and 26 TDs. 

If he stays healthy and his production continues at this rate, he will finish with some 9,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing. That will put him among the most productive dual threats in NCAA history, just behind Kaepernick. 

The 6' 2" 205-pound QB was one of only three sophomores invited to the Manning passing camp.

In 2011, he earned Freshman of the Year honors from the Western Athletic Conference and was twice named WAC Offensive Player of the Week. This is especially impressive considering that Nevada now has a tougher schedule in the Mountain West Conference. 

Fajardo is a very exciting player who had a tooth knocked out during his first campaign. I watched as he picked it up, brought it to the sideline and returned to play. This is one tough kid! 

As unlikely as it may seem, it appears that the University of Nevada Wolf Pack may produce two of the best dual threats in NCAA history, one right after the other. Keep your eyes on Fajardo. He may be the next Kaepernick.

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The fight for the 2013-14 national championship won't start in the Rose Bowl. In fact, the preparations have already begun.

Great coaches don't wait to begin preparing their teams for victory until the regular season or even spring camp. They know that getting the minds and bodies of their player on the right track begins right after the last season ends.

So, what coaches would I want motoring my practices? Read on.

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Which Pac-12 team will hoist the conference's championship trophy in 2013? The answer to that question might depend on which team is able to sign its most important recruits in the 2013 class.

With only one week to go before national signing day (Feb. 6), all of the Pac-12 teams are scrambling to hold onto their prized recruit commitments, and continuing to chase top prospects.

According to Rivals.com, the Pac-12 currently holds seven of the top 30 classes and 10 of the top 50—only Stanford at No. 57 and Colorado at No. 77 rank outside the top 50 classes in the nation.

There is, however, a one-week sprint remaining in this recruiting marathon, and this daily-changing, fluid process is not for the timid. Cross your fingers that your favorite team can hold on to its biggest recruit.

In reverse order of their current Rivals.com standing, let's look at each Pac-12 team's most important recruit.

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Huge turnarounds are what college football is all about. While national championships are wonderful, but there's no feeling like watching your team win one after a long drought.

There's something about the sweetness of the victories during that season that is infinitely more intense than almost any other game during a period of sustained success.

Prior to the 2009 National Championship, Alabama hadn't won that title since the 1992 season.

Prior to the 2010 National Championship, the Auburn Tigers only had one national title, back in 1957.

When your team is down, the "we'll be back" mentality almost immediately sets in. Sometimes it's years later, and other times it's decades later when your team returns to prominence. Eventually, it happens.

There is nothing like the feeling of a national (or conference) championship after more than a decade of hoping you can back into the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. No offense to the Potato Bowl, but it's not exactly a destination bowl for teams like Texas or Notre Dame.

From coaching changes to injury issues, the 2012 season was terrible for many nationally recognizable schools. Luckily, those very coaching changes could be the keys to success next year.

Here are 10 schools that are poised for major turnarounds in the 2013 season.

*Ranking was determined first by expected improvement over 2012's season, measured in number of wins. After the teams were arranged, the individual groups (two wins better, three wins better, etc.) were sorted by predicted total number of wins in 2013.

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Wide receiver Marquez North has decided to take his immense talents to Tennessee.

As Fox Sports’ Bob Redman said regarding North’s announcement via Twitter, this was a big-time get for the Vols:

The elite recruit was courted by several coaching staffs before deciding Tennessee was his best option.

North features a rare combination of size and speed that should make him a star at the collegiate level. Once he gains the necessary experience and learns the system, there aren't many cornerbacks capable of shutting a player with his natural ability down for 60 minutes.

247Sports' composite rankings have North as the 11th-best wide receiver and the No. 90 overall recruit in the 2013 class. He's a 4-star athlete and is deemed the second-best prospect coming out of North Carolina this year.

Some concerns were raised in November when he underwent shoulder surgery, according to Langston Wertz Jr. of the Charlotte Observer. Mike Palmieri, his coach at Mallard Creek High School, didn't sound worried about any long-term issues, though:

"This is something he’s had issues with," Palmieri said. "He didn’t miss any games. It’s a lingering thing. We’ll be alright. Of course, this hurts a little bit. But we’re confident in what we’ve got."

Given his upside, a shoulder injury wasn't going to be enough for programs around the country to stop pursuing him. At least 21 top programs showed interest, according to 247Sports, including some from the SEC, and all but one (Alabama) made him an official offer.

Clearly, this young man has wide-ranging appeal.

He checks in at 6'4'' and 212 pounds, boasting an exceptional 40-time of 4.41. Normally a player with that type of size at such a young age is viewed as a possession receiver who can move the chains, but North's speed brings another dimension to the table.

Not only does he have the ability to run those middle routes to pick up first downs, but he's also capable of getting behind the secondary for long touchdowns. It's a combination that surely had a lot of offensive coaches hoping he would land on their rosters.

As long as he's back to full strength before practice gets underway, he should be able to make a pretty quick impact at the next level. And it probably won't be long before he's tearing apart secondaries on a regular basis.

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College football recruiting is difficult enough these days. The last thing a head coach needs to contend with is his program's lack of impressive facilities able to entice top-ranked recruits during campus visits.

But there are still programs around the nation—even some major programs—that are woefully behind the competition when it comes to practice facilities, weight rooms and even stadiums.

With so much emphasis on putting together top recruiting classes year in and year out, these programs could do themselves and their coaching staffs a huge favor by making some desperately needed improvements to their football facilities.

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Heading into signing day and the start of spring practice, every FBS team is 0-0, with ambitions and dreams of having a winning season.

For those "big-time" teams that have tons of history, pull in top recruits and compete at a high level, the expectations are even higher, the final round of BCS games.

The 10 teams on this list can all be considered big time, and each of them has a fairly easy road to a BCS game.

It's certainly not easy to finish undefeated and go to the BCS title game, or even to win a conference, but the way schedules and returning players are setting up for these 10 units, they already have a leg up on the competition.

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Arguably one of the more intriguing prospects that the Texas Longhorns have recruited in the past decade, quarterback Tyrone Swoopes is now on campus. But how soon will he be able to make an impact?

Hailed a year ago as the second coming of Vince Young, a rough 2012 saw Swoopes fall from the nation's top-rated dual-threat quarterback to falling completely out of the ESPN 300 as well as the Rivals 250. Now, as an early enrollee, he comes to the Forty Acres with something to prove and the time to do it.

The good news is that while his status on the recruiting landscape has changed tremendously, not much else has. He is still supremely athletic for his size, still has a howitzer for a right arm and still has as good a shot as anyone to be Texas' future at quarterback. It all depends how much he can absorb about the position.

But given his athleticism, Swoopes has a chance to immediately contribute for this Longhorn team even if he is redshirted. Following are the four scenarios in which he could do just that, ordered from most likely to almost impossible.

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In a world saturated with makeover-focused reality television, what potential redo project could be more critical than renovating a college football team?

We’ve seen home makeovers, fashion makeovers and even relationship makeovers, so why not apply this same methodology to something far more vital?

The following slideshow takes this approach, selecting 10 college football programs that, each to a different degree, need a renovation crew to come in this offseason and update the operation to get it back on the right track.

Some teams just need a new hairdo or an updated wardrobe, while others must have their wallpaper, flooring, countertops and in some cases interior walls ripped out and replaced to renew a sense of viability.

Whether the goal is simple as turning heads again or as lofty as winning the whole enchilada, each of these squads needs a generous measure of T.L.C.

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Last Monday, we took a look at 11 future great duos in college football on offense. The duos were all prospects from this 2013 recruiting class. It's a great read, and if you have not had the chance to check out, I suggest you do so.

Continuing that trend, today let's flip sides and look at the defense. However, we'll kick it up notch and give you 12 future great defensive duos stemming from this 2013 recruiting class. These defensive duos are going to team up with one another at their positions and help their schools shut down some serious offenses.

Batman and Robbin. Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, Eric B and Rakim...If you have a dynamic duo, then clearly you can accomplish some big things.

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As the University of Illinois continues to distance itself from what has been at times a racially insensitive depiction of Native Americans, it has to decide what to do about the fact that its official symbol has been just straight up a Native American guy. The mascot name may never go away—more on that later, in fact—but at the very least the visuals are going to be more tolerable.

To that end, the school discontinued the use of the dancing "Chief Illiniwek" mascot, and now the school is considering a new logo to boot. To that end, a University of Illinois student organization is taking charge of a movement to present the University with some options for a new logo, and it solicited student suggestions. Here's more from the Daily Illini:

Of the 46 symbols that students can vote for, the top 5 will be presented to University administration by Campus Spirit Revival, a registered student organization.

Based on the results of this vote, the University will decide whether to continue on with the process of choosing a new symbol.

Only Illinois students can vote (here), but fortunately the University of Illinois student organization put all 46 candidates on Facebook for perusal.

Some of the suggestions are good and some are ridiculous, and some make it clear that the artist didn't understand the point that this was for a symbol and not a new mascot or school nickname. So while a giant mechanical block "I" on tank treads is certainly a creative idea, it's not really what they were going for. Same goes for the, um, "Fighting Abes," which must have been based off a of scene from Lincoln that never made it past editing.

Before we get into the decent choices, there's one in particular that we'd like to single out.

Why would we point out this bit of silliness? Well, for this:

It's easier said than done to give Illinois a mascot, however, because basically any interpretation of "Fighting Illini" in a mascot is going to be racially offensive (hint, hint, Illinois). Thus, [...] an anthropomorphized state of Illinois, with arms and legs and a face right around where Rockford is. Does that sound stupid and insulting to everyone's intelligence? Then it's a good mascot.

That's not from the entry's description of the "artwork," if that's what you want to call it; it's from our suggestion of a new mascot for Illinois from five weeks ago. Now we're not saying this is plagiarism—in fact, we wish we'd thought of the Lincoln hat on top of the state—but we are thus throwing our editorial support behind it, even though it's not at all in the spirit of the competition.

There are some decent ideas therein that you should check out—this one of a WWI soldier, for example, is more than a little terrifying, but at least it's grounded in history. If the term "Fighting Illini" was originally used to describe soldiers from the university who had been sent off to war, then that's at least more historically appropriate than the term "Chief Illiniwek," which is about as accurate as referring to Charles de Gaulle as "King Frenchy" (short version of that: the "Illiniwek" were not a tribe with a chief, but a confederation that actually called themselves the "Inoka." The more you know!)

Moreover, the school already has a proud tradition of honoring its war casualties, naming Memorial Stadium after them and honoring them there with engravings bearing the names of the 181 such soldiers from the school who lost their lives in WWI. So if a logo went that direction, it'd at least have some historical backing.

Do we have time for one more silly idea though? Yes, of course we do. Behold:

Rabid the Squirrel...who is holding a basketball...which means either the basketball is teeny-tiny or our friend Rabid here is the most enormous squirrel ever by orders of magnitude. But where's the mouth foam? You have to sell us on the rabies, folks. Right now it just looks like Surly the Squirrel.

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National signing day (February 6) is fast approaching, and there are still some big-name recruits who have yet to make their commitments to schools.  

Some Big 12 prospects will be making their decisions before signing day, but if each Big 12 team could land its top prospect (realistically speaking of course) today with a solid verbal commitment, who would that prospect be?

We've gone ahead and checked out each team's prospect list—soft verbals are included—and identified who we think would be the one that puts an exclamation mark on the Big 12's teams' class of 2013. That one prospect who is the big red bow on a gift. 

Who are those guys?

*Teams' prospect rosters and star rankings compiled by Scout.

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