NCAA Football News
USC Football: USC's Coaching Staff Is Set, but Is It SET?
The ink is dry and the USC football staff has finalized its staff roster. Here's a rundown of who's out, who's in and the final verdict on what head coach Lane Kiffin calls the "reconstruction of our staff."
Out: Monte Kiffin, defensive coordinator
In: Clancy Pendergast, defensive coordinator (via Cal)
Out: Scottie Hazleton, linebackers coach
In: Mike Ekeler, linebackers coach (via Indiana)
Out: Marvin Sanders, defensive backs coach
In: No hired replacement
Out: Kennedy Polamalu, offensive coordinator/running backs coach
In: Clay Helton, offensive coordinator, (USC quarterbacks coach)
In: Tommie Robinson, running backs coach/passing game coordinator, (via Arizona Cardinals)
In: Mike Summers, co-offensive line coach/run game coordinator (via Western Kentucky)
Added responsibilities: John Baxter, current special teams coordinator, will also coach tight ends.
Since Ed Orgeron is the defensive line coach and Ekeler is the linebackers coach, it seems strange that there is no secondary coach, especially considering how poorly the secondary performed in Monte Kiffin's defense last season.
Multiple reports indicate that USC will go from a 4-3 defensive scheme (four down linemen, three linebackers in the box) to a 5-2 (five down linemen, two linebackers in the box). Obviously, this defense is designed to stop the run and with the way the Pac-12 has evolved over the last few years, this might be a good move.
Oregon and Stanford both have very strong running games and both teams went BCS bowling last season so this change in scheme makes sense. Against a team like Washington State, obviously this scheme won't work very well and will have to be tweaked to a 3-4. But here is an interesting question: What if the change in scheme doesn't improve USC's defense from last year's unit that went 7-6 ?
Unfortunately, it may result in a complete staff overhaul, including head coach Lane Kiffin, since Monte is now longer around as the scapegoat.
And perhaps that's why Kiffin struggled to find an outside hire for his offensive coordinator—who wants to risk taking a job that may only last one year? Remember, when a head coach is let go, his staff is usually not retained by the incoming head coach.
There's also this: Could Kiffin's insistence in calling the plays be scaring away good offensive coordinator prospects?
Nobody knows if Kiffin is the play caller this year—there has been no announcement on whether or not the play-calling duties have been handed off to new offensive coordinator Clay Helton.
But unless Helton is involved with the play calls on game day, his title is a paper title only which doesn't bode well for his potential advancement/promotion at another school. Why would an up-and-coming offensive coordinator come to USC? Even if he did, as long as Kiffin is calling the plays, his résumé is not nearly impressive as the resumes of other coordinators who have been play callers.
This brings up another question: If the team improves but the play-calling and clock management are still suspect, would Kiffin still be on the hot seat?
It would be a stretch to think that Haden would not retain Kiffin after his fourth year because Kiffin has been mostly operating under scholarship restrictions—hard as it may be for Notre Dame and UCLA fans to swallow, both of their teams beat a USC team well into its 75-scholarship sanctions. While many fans are frustrated with his vanilla play calling and at times puzzling clock management, they can't be unhappy with the talent that Kiffin & Co. have brought in.
So is this current staff set? Frankly, I see room for change.
The secondary is too important of a unit to be without its own specific coach. While Baxter is experienced working with tight ends, I can't see tight ends getting coaching priority over defensive backs when there's an open spot for the secondary coach.
Either Kiffin feels that the secondary will improve by virtue of the elder Kiffin no longer in charge of the defense or he couldn't get the secondary coach he wanted so he didn't fill it. Why have two guys coaching the O-line (James Cregg and new hire Mike Summers) while not hiring an assistant coach for the defensive backs?
Was there a problem convincing a defensive back coach to come coach at a school still on probation, still serving out NCAA sanctions and still under investigation by the NCAA?
There's also a question of whether or not Kiffin should be calling the plays—it's not difficult to understand why a coach would be oblivious to a ticking clock when his head is buried in a play call sheet. That's a problem that won't go away—compounding that is an eerie sense of detachment that Kiffin exudes while involved in play-calling duties.
He's on Kiffin Island—alone, isolated and having little eye-to-eye contact with humans around him. Shouldn't the head coach be macro-managing instead of micro-managing?
Maybe this all gets fixed this year.
If it doesn't get fixed, one of two scenarios may happen.
One scenario looks like we can count on at least one more assistant coach for the defensive backs and Clay Helton—if he's qualified—calling the plays in 2014, perhaps even this year if things go badly early in the fall.
And of course, we don't have to explain what that other scenario is.
Read more College Football news on BleacherReport.com
Penn State Football: Complete NFL Combine Results for Former Nittany Lions
The NFL combine isn't a tell-all into how well a particular player will do at the next level, but a handful of former Penn State football players took part to prove themselves to scouts and coaches.
While some didn't partake fully due to injury (Michael Mauti), others (Matt Stankiewitch, Gerald Hodges and Jordan Hill) tried to make solid impressions on those in attendance.
With that being said, let's review how these former Nittany Lions performed at the combine.
All stats from NFL.com/combine
USC Football: Bold Predictions for Trojans' 2013 Recruiting Class
Although the majority of the attention directed towards the USC Trojans' 2013 recruiting class was negative, Lane Kiffin and his squad still put together a respectable class.
Sure, the school didn't land everybody it wanted and a few recruits decommitted, but this group of kids is still better than most of the classes out there.
With the lack of depth on the current roster and the overwhelming talent level of the young recruits, expectations are high for these players who are just months removed from high school.
So what are the expectations for the 2013 Trojans recruiting class?
Well, I see a diamond in the rough on the offensive side of the ball, a couple of defensive players who will shine immediately and a quarterback who is going to pan out just fine during his true-freshman year.
Let's take a look at some bold predictions for USC's newest recruiting class.
Auburn Football: Why LSU Will Be Tigers' Toughest Competition in 2013
The Auburn Tigers are walking into the 2013 season with a lot of questions surrounding them. Gus Malzahn is entering his first year as the head coach, and the Tigers are coming off of a 3-9 season that saw the squad go winless in the SEC.
There is a lot of work that has to be done for the Tigers to be ready to play the big boys in the SEC, but by Week 4, all bets are off when Auburn travels to Baton Rouge to face-off against LSU.
The toughest game of the season lands in the Tigers' lap by the end of the first month, and there really isn’t much time for this program to catch its breath once the year begins.
A season-opening contest against Washington State should be won, as should a Week 2 game against Arkansas State. Week 3 brings Mississippi State to the Plains, and then the first road game of the season follows the Bulldogs.
While there aren’t any games in the first three weeks that should rattle the Tigers, there is no time for this program to rest, catch its balance or work out the kinks before a major game hits it in the chest.
LSU returns starting quarterback Zach Mettenberger and leading rusher Jeremy Hill. The Tigers also bring back a host of talent at receiver and arguably one of the most talented offensive lines in the country for 2013.
The Tigers' offense is set to push around Auburn’s defense, as the front seven was the biggest weakness for Auburn last year.
Auburn did sign some JUCO talent at linebacker and along the defensive line which should help shore up the front this year, but LSU is not the team to test new players against.
The Bayou Bengals also bring back a host of talent on defense as they return the best secondary in the SEC this fall. There are some gaps in experience at linebacker and along the defensive line, but overall this LSU defense is as good as any in recent memory.
The LSU faithful will welcome in an unsure Auburn unit even if the Tigers start the year at 3-0 heading into Death Valley.
Gus Malzahn breeds confidence into his program, however, so they could play stronger than anyone expects.
No matter who wins the game or how well this Auburn program plays, this is the toughest contest on the 2013 schedule. A mid-October game against Texas A&M is also going to be a tough road trip, but Week 4 will be when the Tigers know if they can win big this fall.
Read more College Football news on BleacherReport.com
7 College Football Programs Poised for a Big 2014 Recruiting Year
Every program starts off a recruiting year with high hopes. It's a time of great excitement, anticipation, optimism and confidence.
And some schools have more reasons than others to believe that recruiting will go well for them.
For this 2014 cycle, I see seven programs who appear to be poised for a big recruiting year.
Whether it's due to a coaching staff that is restructured, available talent in their backyards or just stand to make a big recruiting comeback, these seven programs all have good signs pointing to a banner year on the trail.
Some schools on this list are already recruiting powerhouse programs but they figure to have an even better year on the trail by their standards.
Here are seven programs who look to be poised for a big recruiting year in 2014.
