NCAA Football
Johnny Manziel Training in Pacific Ocean with QB Guru George Whitfield Jr.
When you win the Heisman as a freshman, there isn’t much more to achieve at the collegiate level. Johnny Manziel isn’t satisfied, however, and he is in California training with quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr.
Recent photos of the workout were pointed out by Graham Watson with Yahoo! Sports. Just when you thought the beach was only good for vacations, Whitfield Jr. and Manziel show that the waves are also good for training elite quarterbacks.
The resistance of the waves is tough to stand up against and this must be a drill designed to keep Manziel on his feet while pressure is closing in.
You can see from the intensity that Whitfield Jr. is expressing that this is a high-energy drill.
Later in the day, the coach posted a photo on his Twitter account showing ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit stopping by for a visit.
Incredible beach workout this AM with @jmanziel2 with a visit from 'The Voice of College Football' @kirkherbstreit twitter.com/georgewhitfiel…
— George Whitfield Jr. (@georgewhitfield) May 16, 2013Expect an early-season feature on the Heisman winner’s training program this fall.
Whitfield has worked with a number of top quarterbacks in the past, with Manziel becoming the latest to gain insight from his training academy in San Diego, Ca.
Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck are among the notable alumni.
Manziel first worked with Whitfield before the 2012 season, leading to his Heisman Trophy run. Returning to the coast to study at the Whitfield Athletix complex simply makes sense.
For all the offseason distractions that seemed to follow Manziel this summer, he appears to be taking his game seriously after a strong spring game and workouts in the waves.
A second run at the Heisman looks to be in the cards for Manziel this fall.
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Pac-12 Needs to Follow UCLA's Lead and Schedule More High Profile Teams
Pac-12 teams should start paying more attention to UCLA's scheduling philosophy. It may improve the league's image.
UCLA has played Tennessee, Kansas State and Texas twice in the past five years. This year the Bruins will play at Nebraska as part of its non-conference schedule.
That's a tough stretch for a football program trying to reverse a decade of underachievement. But scheduling high-profile teams in well-respected conferences has helped UCLA build a pipeline to high schools in states with fertile recruiting grounds.
The Bruins class of 2013 includes three Texas products: 4-star receiver Eldridge Massington (Mesquite), 4-star linebacker Deon Hollins (Missouri City) and 4-star guard Caleb Benenoch (Katy).
UCLA has signed Texas prospects before but 2013's class elevated its pull in the state. 2012's class had two 3-star prospects; 2011's had one 3-star. The Bruins class of 2010 had none.
Super-recruiters Adrian Klemm and Demetrice Martin have undoubtedly made a huge impact on UCLA's imprint in Texas and Florida. But it is not just the recruiting factor that has given rise to UCLA's resurgence in college football.
It is the respect factor.
The Bruins' non-conference scheduling practices are a loud, in-your-face statement. They're not afraid to play anyone. And they don't cherry-pick an elite conference's teams.
Tennessee football has recently fallen on hard times. But when the Bruins first played the Volunteers in 2008 as part of a home-and-home series, Tennessee was the defending 2007 SEC East champion. It is a well-respected program with excellent credentials.
USC had also scheduled SEC teams but that has stopped. USC played Auburn in 2002 and 2003 and Arkansas in 2005 and 2006. The Trojans went 4-0 against the SEC and both Arkansas contests resulted in routs.
Why has USC stopped scheduling SEC teams? Maybe the SEC wants no part of USC and is content to schedule Washington and Washington State.
But USC has instead resorted to scheduling Virginia, Boston College, Syracuse and Minnesota. The Trojans' home-and-home series with Ohio State was the lone exception to an otherwise boring five-year, non-conference slate of BCS teams.
Pollsters aren't impressed with a 17-14 win over Virginia. Neither are the fans.
USC does have its annual game with Notre Dame and that does bode well for both teams. But if USC and its conference brethren continue to schedule non-compelling games just for the sake of claiming they are scheduling BCS teams, they won't have much of an audience.
Transparency is key.
We recognize that teams schedule FCS teams to have a very winnable game on their schedule. We also recognize that teams scheduling elite BCS teams are making a statement: Bring it.
If the Pac-12 wants more respect, it needs to schedule more SEC and Big 12 opponents associated with winning traditions. Scheduling teams that are trending up, like Baylor, Mississippi State, Texas A&M or TCU would be excellent alternatives.
The league's teams also need to schedule FCS opponents because the College Football Playoff is coming.
Nine Pac-12 teams played FCS teams last season. USC, UCLA and Stanford did not. If Stanford had scheduled an FCS team instead of Notre Dame, the Cardinal most likely would have had a 11-1 regular-season record instead of 10-2.
Would Stanford have jumped Alabama in the BCS poll and gone on to play Notre Dame in the title game? Probably not. But if the College Football Playoff had been in the picture last year, Stanford's loss to Notre Dame would probably have made it difficult for it to get into the semi-finals.
Likewise, how much an impact did Oregon's non-conference schedule have on its strength of schedule rating? Oregon played Arkansas State, Fresno State and Tennessee Tech in the first three weeks of the 2012 season. Oregon's final SOS was ranked No. 38 by Sagarin. Oregon's SOS was the lowest of the Top 10 teams—Georgia's No. 27 ranking was the next lowest.
The ACC, SEC and Big Ten still play four non-conference games a year—last year the Big East played five. The Pac-12 either needs to follow suit and reduce its current nine conference-game schedule to eight, or every team needs to add an FCS school to even things out.
There are some outstanding non-conference games in the Pac-12: Oregon vs Tennessee, UCLA vs Nebraska, Cal vs Ohio State, Stanford vs Notre Dame, Washington State vs Auburn, Arizona State vs Wisconsin, Arizona State vs Notre Dame and USC vs Notre Dame.
But Arizona plays Northern Arizona, UNLV and UTSA. Washington plays Boise State, Illinois and Idaho State. Colorado plays Colorado State, Central Arkansas and Fresno State. Oregon State plays Eastern Washington, Hawai'i and San Diego State. Utah plays Utah State, Weber State and BYU.
Excited for those slates?
If a team's non-conference schedule doesn't have the potential to bolster its standing or credibility among its peers, it can not cry about its entire strength of schedule. At least 25 percent of its schedule comes from its athletic department's own doing.
UCLA is doing it right. And it is paying off handsomely.
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Pac-12 Needs to Follow UCLA's Lead and Schedule More High Profile Teams
Florida State Football: Florida State Brilliant to Schedule USF
Though their paths have only crossed twice, Florida State and South Florida have created drama on the football field. And that drama might help make FSU eligible for the upcoming four-team College Football Playoff.
The first time the teams met in 2009, the Bulls upset the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium 17-7. It would help start a tailspin of a season that ended with Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden pushed out of FSU.
While the last encounter in 2012 didn’t result in a dramatic upset, current FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher and a Seminole football team with national title aspirations got exposure to high school recruits in the Tampa Bay area.
Sure, Tampa isn’t Miami when it comes to getting exposure to recruits, but FSU can use all the help it can get on the recruiting trail with SEC dynamos Alabama, Florida and Georgia in Tallahassee’s backyard.
Therefore, it’s no surprise the schools decided to give it another whirl.
According to Andrea Adelson of ESPN, FSU and USF will play each other again in 2015 and 2016. FSU will host the Bulls in 2015, while visiting Tampa again in 2016. Despite the possible pratfalls of losing to a team that won’t be in a top-five conference, scheduling the Bulls shows that Florida State is taking the rules of the upcoming College Football Playoff seriously. Simply put, the mantra is play tougher teams.
Florida State’s needed the schedule upgrade: Playing out-of-conference cupcakes Charleston Southern, Samford and Idaho won’t help when Jimbo Fisher’s team plays in a watered-down ACC. By
the time Louisville, the only successful football team, comes to the ACC, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater might be playing in the NFL.
Miami is still in controversy over sanctions that could continue to hamper its program, while conference power Virginia Tech barely made a bowl game last year. And everyone knows the Carolina schools focus more on basketball, anyway.
Playing the Bulls provides a perfect competitive balance for the Seminoles, who don’t have many competitive out-of-conference games from 2014 until 2019, when they will start a home-and-home series against the Boise State Broncos. They shouldn’t pose too much of a problem in Tallahassee, and the Seminoles have a marquee road game for 2016. Playing USF can open the Tampa pipeline to Jimbo Fisher and Co.
And even if USF’s football struggles continue, the Seminoles can at least say to the playoff committee that they didn’t schedule Doughnuts University.
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College Football Players Who Are NFL-Ready Right Now
With the 2013 NFL draft behind us, it’s natural to take a forward look to what the 2014 draft class should have to offer. There are 11 players that could jump to the league now, but luckily college football fans have them for one more year.
Jadeveon Clowney is easily the headliner, but others like Sammy Watkins and Taylor Lewan make the cut.
Here is a look at the best in college heading into the 2013 season.
Is Alabama the Favorite to Land Elite 5-Star QB David Cornwell?
David Cornwell, 5-star quarterback recruit, projects to be an elite signal-caller at the college level, so naturally, Alabama is high on his interest list.
In fact, the case could be made that the Crimson Tide should be considered the favorite to land the 6'5'', 230-pound quarterback from Norman, Okla.
Bob Przybylo of ESPN.com reports that Cornwell is ready to make his commitment sooner rather than later, looking to make a decision sometime in early June. He also reports that while Cornwell hasn't named an official leaderboard, it would seem as if Alabama is in good standing with the big quarterback:
It has felt like the Crimson Tide are the favorite for Cornwell. He wouldn’t list his top schools, but has made multiple trips to Tuscaloosa in the last few months.
Cornwell does have an offer from Alabama, but he has to attend a team camp in June and have that offer approved by Nick Saban before it becomes a committable offer, according to Przybylo's report. That's not something that bothers Cornwell though, and he is planning on attending said camp, per Pryzbylo:
“They can do that,” Cornwell said. “They have that right. They’ve won three out of the last four national championships. They have elite guys. Coach Saban and Coach [Doug] Nussmeier are the best around.
“You have the option. You don’t have to play by their rules. You can look around or commit to another school. I don’t mind the challenge. I’m going to be there.”
As far as attitude is concerned, Cornwell's mindset seems to be right for the Crimson Tide. The same could be said for his talent too.
He has the size that will make him hard to take down even at the SEC level, and it allows him to stand tall in the pocket, observe the field and make huge throws. He has an extremely strong arm, a fundamental throwing motion and he can fit the ball into tight windows on a line.
Cornwell throws a pretty deep ball as well, and he knows when to take something off of his pass and throw for touch.
While he's not a dual-threat by any means, he still possesses enough athleticism to evade rushers in the pocket and get upfield quickly as a runner. He can also move laterally and throw off-balance and on the run.
He can do all of this at 6'5'', 235 pounds mind you, and one can only imagine what he'd be capable of in Alabama's offense—with powerful runners behind him, a huge offensive line in front of him and playmakers on the edges.
That said, Alabama, Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and UCLA are all behind Alabama on Cornwell's 247Sports interest list, and he does have a good connection with Frank Beamer and VT, per Przybylo:
But a school that was among the first to offer was Virginia Tech. Cornwell said he has developed a strong bond with Frank Beamer’s staff, but he has yet to see the campus.
“I need to get out there and see the campus,” Cornwell said. “I’ve heard a lot of good things. I’m confident they’re going to turn things around this season and go to another major bowl game.”
Still, all 15 experts on Cornwell's 247Sports Crystal Ball have predicted Alabama, and it's hard not to see the potential Cornwell would have as a quarterback for the Crimson Tide.
Perhaps Cornwell won't admit it, but it sure seems like Alabama is the favorite for his commitment. At the very least, it would be safe to call him a Crimson Tide lean.
Whatever you want to consider, just know that 'Bama is in the running for yet another elite commitment.
Note: All scouting and analysis of Cornwell done via tape study of the videos provided on his 247Sports profile page.
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Pac-12 Football: 10 Best Pac-12 Quarterbacks of All Time
The Pac-12 may have recently picked up a reputation for explosive offenses and tons of touchdowns, but this conference has always had successful quarterbacks. Whether you want to look at the Pac-12, Pac-10 or Pac-8 days, you will be able to find guys who could throw the football with the best of them.
Records have been broken numerous times, and this conference has produced many Heisman winners. Some of these guys have also been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. There are plenty of quarterbacks in this conference who paved the way for players today, and most of them will never be forgotten.
Here are the top 10 Pac-12 quarterbacks of all time.
Pac-12 Football: 10 Best Pac-12 Quarterbacks of All Time
10 Teams That Need to Step It Up on 2014 College Football Recruiting Trail
The recruiting trail becomes more challenging and important each cycle. Washington must take the next step and increase its current class or fall back to square one under Steve Sarkisian.
Steve Spurrier has to be somewhat concerned with his low totals so far. If he wants to continue competing for SEC East titles for years to come, the Ol' Ball Coach and his staff need to get going on the trail.
The Virginia schools also must step up, as Mike London and Frank Beamer may not see this much exceptional in-state talent again during their tenures. There are several other teams on this list who also must step up on the 2014 recruiting trail; come inside and see who they are!
Most Anticipated Matchups of 2014 Big Ten Football Schedule
The Big Ten college football conference schedule has been announced for the 2014 season (Click here to see the schedule).
We may still have an entire 2013 schedule to play before we can even think about what happens a year from now, but the new schedule is interesting. There are two new teams (Rutgers and Maryland), new divisions and new matchups that make it completely different from your ordinary schedule release.
Without knowing about any coaching changes, new players or what will happen from now until then, let's take a shot in the dark.
Here are the very early most anticipated 2014 Big Ten football matchups.
Penn State Football: 2014 Big Ten Schedule Means Slim Pickings to Fill Vacancy
Penn State still has one schedule hole to plug in 2014 and the new Big Ten schedule for next year may not allow for much to work with.
Penn State will open the 2014 season at Rutgers, a new division and conference rival. This will be the debut game in the conference for Rutgers and will be under the spotlight as the only Big Ten game scheduled that week.
It will also be the first time Penn State has played on the Rutgers campus since 1955. Since then, Penn State has been the road team in six games but all were played in the old Giants Stadium. The road game at Rutgers will be Penn State's third of the season, with the first two games of the year being played at home in Beaver Stadium against Temple and Akron.
After the road conference tilt, Penn State returns home for the next two weeks against Massachusetts and then another Big Ten game, against Northwestern.
After five straight games to open the season, Penn State will get their first open date before traveling to Ann Arbor, Michigan to face the Michigan Wolverines. As the schedule currently is lined up, Penn State has an open week before and after their game at Michigan.
It is likely Penn State will attempt to fill one of those two weeks with an opponent to round out a 12-game schedule. After the second open week on the schedule, Penn State hosts Ohio State. The third and final open date on Penn State's schedule comes in the middle of November before ending the year with two games, at Illinois and home against Michigan State.
So what are Penn State's scheduling options for finding a 12th opponent, and what schools will be available at those points in the season to play a 12th game? This is where things begin to get sticky, as this is typically the time of year when conference schedules are in full bloom and non-conference match-ups are generally reserved for those rivalry games.
Penn State does not have any such rivalry game to count on here so what Penn State can do might be limiting in appeal to most fans.
Fortunately, there is time to sort through this situation. Other conferences still have not set their 2014 conference schedules in stone yet, so Penn State has time to negotiate a game (or a home-and-home) with some attractive options from conferences such as the ACC, Pac 12, Big 12 or SEC.
Getting a Pac 12 program to fly east in the middle of the season may be far-fetched, which leaves a game against an ACC opponent the most likely scenario if considering only options from the top conferences. Syracuse? Boston College? Virginia?
Penn State and Virginia had a game scheduled originally for the 2013 season but agreed to postpone that meeting to another date, if not cancel it altogether. The problem here is that Virginia already has a full 2014 non-conference slate lined up.
Another solution could be to revisit the idea of playing Central Florida in Ireland in 2014. While the most conventional thought had the two schools playing across the Atlantic Ocean to start an upcoming season, there could be a way to tack it on to the end of the regular season schedule, if approved by the Big Ten, American and NCAA.
Penn State will be ineligible for postseason play, and thus will not be eligible to play in the Big Ten championship game. Central Florida will not have a conference championship game scenario as the American will not have a championship game in 2014.
This would hypothetically allow each team to schedule a game for what is typically championship weekend in college football. But how many fans will pack their bags to head to Ireland in late November or early December?
Penn State will eventually figure out who their 12th opponent in 2014 will be. The school already has seven home games lined up so the flexibility is out there for a potential neutral site or road game if it really comes down to crunch time, but expect Penn State to bring in a team for an eighth home game if possible. The options may not be the most appealing under those situations, but it makes the most sense.
And cents.
Kevin McGuire is the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast and managing editor of Nittany Lions Den. Follow McGuire on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.
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Texas Football: 2013 Recruits Who Will Prove the Experts Wrong
Recruiting busts always snag the headlines and infuriate the fanbase. Though it is the unexpected booms that should get the attention, and the Texas Longhorns will have their fair share of them from their 2013 class.
As much as we all love recruiting, it is quite frankly, a terrible indicator of future success. According to Saturday Down South, Dee Milliner was the only top-10 NFL Draft pick who was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. Or just look at Texas' fifth-ranked 2009 class, from which only four players have been consistent contributors.
The point is that a low recruiting ranking is not a death sentence. If a player has the right combination of motivation, physical tools and proper coaching, he can make a 5-star recruit look pretty silly on the field of play.
That is exactly what these 2013 recruits are going to do when they get their chance for the Texas Longhorns.
SEC Football Q and A: Who Are the Contenders, Pretenders and Doormats?
Every Thursday on The SEC Blog, we will feature questions from the Bleacher Report inbox, Twitter and email at bsallee@bleacherreport.com. Q and A was pushed back to Friday this week due to NFL draft and BCS meetings coverage.
You have SEC questions, and I have SEC answers. Thank you, everybody for your questions this week. If I didn't get to them, they will be saved and used in the future.
And we're off:
@barrettsallee Could you put the current SEC teams into tiers? Contenders...competitive...doormats.
— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) May 16, 2013If you ask Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, he'd probably say it's Alabama and everybody else. That's not true though. Here's how I'd rank them right now.
Contenders: Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, Georgia, South Carolina
I mentioned these five teams in my column from earlier this week on championship-worthy SEC teams not named Alabama.
All five of those teams either answered their most-pressing needs this spring, or don't have many holes to fill to begin with. The SEC has cannibalized itself over the last two years, only to find the luck around the country to get Alabama to the BCS National Championship Game.
These five teams all are elite, and would be in my preseason top 15 if we were forced to vote today.
Competitive: Florida, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Auburn, Arkansas, Tennessee
In the column linked above on championship-worthy teams, Florida brought up the rear. That was on purpose. Florida has elite talent and can certainly contend for the division, conference and national titles, but didn't solve its biggest issue this spring.
I want to buy the Gators, but until they develop some sort of downfield passing game, I'm hesitant to put them back in the BCS National Championship picture right now. Once they hit the field though, it won't take long to change that.
Ole Miss and Vanderbilt will be in every ball game, and if they catch a break or two, could jump up a category and seriously contend. But a talent gap exists between those two programs and the top-tier teams. Because of that, I expect some inconsistency.
Mississippi State is destined for, at best, a lower-tier bowl but will be a tough out. Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas are all going to be improved (because, let's be honest, getting worse would be quite a feat); with Auburn being the most likely of the three to find immediate success under a first year head coach due to the talent on the roster and the fact that Tennessee and Arkansas both have brutal schedules.
Doormats: Kentucky, Missouri
I like where Kentucky is headed with Mark Stoops, but the talent just isn't there...yet. Kentucky was bad last season, but injuries played a big part in the inconsistency. Stoops was wise to bring in Neal Brown to run his air-raid offense and the return of Avery Williamson at linebacker and a stout defensive line will help the defense, but it's more than just a one-year rebuilding process.
Missouri had a hard time adjusting to life in the SEC, and that trend will continue in 2013. Head coach Gary Pinkel says that James Franklin is his leader at quarterback (via: CollegeFootballTalk.com), but new offensive coordinator Josh Henson says that he wants his quarterback to take fewer hits (via: Terez Paylor).
So a dual-threat quarterback is not going to use one of his threats? It could be a long year in Columbia for Pinkel.
@barrettsallee Georgia's defense is young and inexperienced. Won't that be their downfall this year?
— Brody (@BrodyFLA15) May 9, 2013No. In fact, I think it's going to be one of Georgia's primary strengths in 2013 and will be a big reason why Georgia will contend for the BCS National Championship.
Don't be fooled by Georgia's lack of star power on the defensive side of the ball. Outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins played very well (31 tackles, eight tackles for loss and five sacks) as a part-time starter last season. Can he be Jarvis Jones? Of course not, but he plays downhill and can certainly fix Georgia's issue of stopping the run.
At the back end of the secondary, Damian Swann played well at cornerback—especially late last season. Plus, safeties Josh Harvey-Clemons and Tray Matthews could be All-SEC players this season. They're that good.
Georgia's defense is going to be legit. If the Bulldogs have a downfall, it's that those new pieces are going to be tested early. Games at Clemson, vs. South Carolina and vs. LSU before Oct. 1 is a far more serious issue than the defense.
@barrettsallee What are some of the true freshman in the SEC you see making a huge impact on their respective teams?
— Look at Steele (@thisisdecaf490) May 7, 2013As evidenced by the above response, I really like Matthews. He enrolled early and participated in spring practice in Athens, which will be a major benefit for him and the team. I'd be shocked if he wasn't the starter in Week 1.
Alabama running back Derrick Henry also enrolled early, but missed the back end of spring practice with a broken leg. The 6'3" and 238-pounder is going to be a superstar down the road once T.J. Yeldon leaves. But for the time being, he'll have to settle for being the best goal-line and short-yardage back in the SEC.
Then, of course, there's Robert Nkemdiche. The No. 1 overall prospect will immediately be part of a defensive end rotation with C.J. Johnson and Channing Ward, Carlos Thompson and Cameron Whigham. In passing situations, Ward may even drop down and play tackle which would create matchup nightmares for opposing offensive lines.
Other true freshmen that could make a huge impact are: Alabama WR Robert Foster, Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves III, Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson, Auburn DE Carl Lawson, Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi State DE Chris Jones and Texas A&M WR Ricky Seals-Jones
Do you have a question for next week's Q&A? Send it to SEC lead writer Barrett Sallee via the B/R inbox, on Twitter @BarrettSallee or at bsallee@bleacherreport.com.
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Ohio State Football: Big Ten Releases Full 2014 Football Schedule
Although the 2013 college football season is still more than three months away, schedule makers are still keeping themselves busy by mapping out the conference slates for 2014.
On Monday afternoon, the Big Ten announced the league schedules for the 2014 football season.
After opening up the season with a non-conference slate of Navy, Kent State, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, the Ohio State Buckeyes will open their eight-game conference schedule on the road against Big Ten newcomers Maryland. Ohio State's next game will be played in Ohio Stadium against the league's other new member, Rutgers, following a midseason bye week.
Here's Ohio State's full 2014 football schedule:
Non-Conference Schedule
8/30 – vs. Navy (at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.)
9/6 – Bye week
9/13 – vs. Kent State
9/20 – vs. Virginia Tech
9/27 – vs. Cincinnati
Conference Schedule
10/4 – at Maryland
10/11 – Bye week
10/18 – vs. Rutgers
10/25 – at Penn State
11/1 – vs. Illinois
11/8 – at Michigan State
11/15 – at Minnesota
11/22 – vs. Indiana
11/29 – vs Michigan
12/6 – Big Ten Championship Game
Ohio State will make two trips to the Baltimore area—once to open the season against Navy and five weeks later to open the conference slate against Maryland.
Ohio State's marquee non-conference matchup against Virginia Tech will be hosted inside the perilous confines of the 'Shoe, with a return trip to Blacksburg scheduled for 2015.
The Buckeyes will host seven games in all during the 2014 season, with the conference home games including Rutgers, Illinois, Indiana and the season finale against Michigan.
Ohio State was spared having to play any of the elite teams from the soon-to-be "West Division." The Buckeyes will not play Wisconsin, Nebraska or Northwestern during the 2014 regular season, but the possibility of meeting those teams in the Big Ten title game does exist.
Purdue, a team that has made a habit of giving Ohio State all it can handle in recent years, is also not on the schedule.
At first glance, the Buckeyes' 2014 non-conference lineup looks much more challenging than this year's lineup of Buffalo, San Diego State, Cal and Florida A&M, but the conference schedule looks much more navigable.
The Buckeyes will be entering the 2014 season replacing at least six senior starters on offense (not to mention any early-draft entrees), but the defense should be loaded for head coach Urban Meyer's third year in Columbus.
View every Big Ten team's conference schedule here.
David Regimbal is the lead Ohio State football writer for Bleacher Report.
Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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LSU Football: Tigers Host 1st Graders in Coolest Field Trip Ever
Pulling out old photos of my second grade field trip to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans brings back awesome memories. If only the teacher would have taken us a few miles to the north and let us tour Death Valley.
Now that would’ve been a memory.
Jerry Hinnen with CBSSports.com filled us in on a recent trip that a group of first-graders took to LSU’s Tiger Stadium.
No offense to my former teachers, but this class of first graders has just finished the best field trip a young football fan could ask for.
LSU associate athletics director Herb Vincent posted pictures of the trip on his Twitter page May 15.
The group was able to tour the locker room and the inside of the stadium. This photo shows the group standing in front of a row of NFL helmets assumed to represent the Tigers that have played in the league, or players that were drafted.
This is a shot of the kids on tour through the halls of the stadium:
Talk about a memory that will last a lifetime. More importantly, it will last at least 12 more years for those future football stars that may be in the ranks.
While this was not a dedicated recruiting effort for peewee leaguers, it will certainly solidify these kids as Tigers fans. Every little edge counts.
More athletic departments should pull off these types of events for the surrounding community. If you live in SEC country there is nothing cooler than the local favorite football team.
Touring their facilities and running on the field would be priceless.
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No. 2 Overall DT Elisha Shaw Names Alabama, Georgia His Leaders
The two programs that squared off in last year's SEC title game may have to gear up for another epic showdown, but this time it's for the commitment of one of the best defensive tackle recruits in the nation: Elisha Shaw.
Shaw is the No. 2-ranked defensive tackle in the 2014 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and he's recently stated that he has two leaders for his eventual commitment, per Michael Carvell of ajc.com:
UGA has caught up with Alabama and is now a co-leader for Elisha Shaw, the state’s No. 1 prospect at defensive tackle.
“Alabama and Georgia are like the same,” the Tucker High School star told the AJC on Wednesday. “That’s why they are my top two. Both of them are equal for me right now. I’m just going to keep riding it out until I find the difference in them.”
This is good news for Georgia, specifically because Shaw had named Alabama his leader just about a month ago after he visited the Crimson Tide for their spring game (Matt Scalici/AL.com, h/t Carvell).
Carvell also reports that Shaw will take an unofficial visit to Georgia this weekend, and that he's expected to get some quality time in with Georgia head coach Mark Richt—so the good news keeps on rolling for UGA fans.
Shaw would be a major recruit for Richt and the Bulldogs to land, especially when considering how important in-state recruiting is and will be for Georgia. Some of the best recruits in the nation hail from the great state of Georgia on a yearly basis, and Richt has had somewhat of a hard time landing those elite recruits as of late.
That said, Georgia already has the commitment of the No. 5 player from the state (247Sports), 4-star defensive tackle Dontavius Russell, and it looks like the Bulldogs can make some major strides with Shaw this weekend.
Out-recruiting Nick Saban and Alabama is no easy task, but Georgia is arguably one of the hotter programs in the 2014 cycle right now. The Bulldogs' two biggest commitments, 5-star running back Sony Michel and 4-star tight end Jeb Blazevich, are both marquee recruits, and UGA is at or near the top of several other highly ranked recruit's 247Sports interest lists, including 5-star defensive end Kentavius Street (leader) and 4-star defensive tackle Lamont Gaillard (leader).
It's tough to give many programs a chance when it comes to beating Saban and his staff for an elite defender, but Georgia is riding a wave of momentum right now, and the Bulldogs appear to be poised to do great things this recruiting cycle.
A Top Five recruiting class is not out of the question, and perhaps Shaw will be a part of that class. That's still up in the air, but at the very least Georgia now knows that it's back on top of Shaw's interest list—albeit tied with Alabama.
Who has the advantage in this recruiting race? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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Big Ten Football Announces 2014 Conference Schedule
While you are probably still trying to take in the upcoming football schedule and marking off which games you see as a victory, the Big Ten has decided to give you even more information.
The conference schedules for the 2014 season have officially been released, according to the Big Ten website.
So, who is your team going to play more than a year from now?
Well, you can click here to check out the entire schedule for all 14 teams.
What makes this schedule so interesting is that it includes the new divisions and teams. Starting in 2014, the conference will have expanded to 14 teams with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers. It will also get rid of the awful Legends and Leaders division names and go with the more traditional names in East and West.
The East division will include Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers. The West division involves the remaining teams with Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin.
As for how the scheduling will work out, each school will play all six teams in its own division and will play two teams from the other division beginning next year and in 2015. Starting in 2016, schools will then play three schools from the other division—once the conference officially begins its nine-game conference schedule.
Glancing over it quickly, Minnesota wasn't given many favors, and Northwestern will have a tough road in the beginning of the season. Also, Ohio State was given a favorable home schedule that should help the Buckeyes remain the favorites in the conference.
Although we have no idea who will be on the rosters a year from now, let the debating begin on who will win the Big Ten in 2014.
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USC Football Recruiting: Profiling the 2014 Defensive Line Offers (Part 1)
After last year's mass defection of defensive line prospects when it came time to sign their letters of intent for USC, the coaching staff has made that unit a primary focus for this year's effort in recruiting.
To that end, recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron and his department have extended scholarship offers to 13 prospects according to Scout.com, including 10 defensive ends that fit into defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast's 5-2 scheme as hybrid linebackers.
This slide show will look at some of these high-profile recruits as USC attempts to re-stock a unit in desperate need of replenishing.
It is also worth noting that Orgeron also coaches this unit and his hand in the offers extended should serve as an illustration of exactly who he would like to coach in the years ahead.
USC Football Recruiting: Profiling the 2014 Defensive Line Offers (Part 1)
ACC's Push for Coaches' Poll to Be Part of Football Playoff Selection Is Crazy
The next big administrative battle on the college football front is the composition of the playoff selection committee, which will decide the participants of the four-team playoff starting after the 2014 season.
My colleague Michael Felder over at Your Best 11 speculated on some potential candidates earlier this month, and Tony Barnhart over at CBSSports.com did the same this week.
The ACC's head football coaches want a say as well, in the form of one vote per coach in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, according to ESPN.com.
Duke head coach David Cutcliffe is the coaches' chair, and spoke on the matter on Wednesday:
The biggest item for us is the criteria of selecting those four teams. We want our coaches' poll to matter. In another sense, all the coaches have a vote on the committee, and we think that's good for the game for the coaches to be good stewards of who's in that national championship picture.
Okay, that makes sense. If we're going to use the coaches' poll as a factor, as the Bowl Championship Series does now, it only makes sense to give every coach a vote. Homerism will exist, of course, but the hope is that homerism will cancel itself out as much as possible, despite uneven conference membership.
Here's where Cutcliffe loses me, and should lose you and the rest of college football:
All of us having a vote, the vote becoming transparent and the vote being conscientiously done. We think we're qualified. We're not watching every game on the East Coast, on the West Coast, but no one else is, either. We see a lot of film of a lot of people. We know who's good, and who's best—maybe moreso than anybody else is looking at the game.
Say what?
I'm all for the transparency part, and have been advocating that members of the selection committee—whether they're former administrators, former media members or (GASP!) former coaches—should be contractually required to be as transparent as possible through mandatory blog posts, and radio and television appearances.
Even when they know votes will be made public at the end of the season, the coaches' poll is good for a surprise or 11.
Cutcliffe specifically stated what's wrong with not only the coaches' poll, but with all polls.
Ignorance.
Sure, current college coaches know the game of college football better than anybody. But it's more important for the selection committee to know about the current landscape of college football than it is the game itself, although a balance between the two would be ideal.
Voters don't watch all of the games now, and that's exactly what needs to change.
Including the coaches' poll (which should be known as the "SID poll" if we want to be truly transparent) would politicize a committee which, at its very foundation, should be as neutral as possible. It would be a front. Coaches don't have the time—nor is it part of their job description—to decide on national championship participants.
The job is to get their team in that discussion.
The coaches' poll shouldn't be a part of the mix to begin with. Since it's part of the BCS standings now, coaches have personal, professional and financial interests in its results.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban will make $200,000 for making the four-team playoff, $300,000 for making the championship game and $400,000 for winning the national title under the new format, although he's only eligible for one of those bonuses.
Should he have a say on whether those bonuses are available to him? Of course not. His job is to produce a resume for the playoff, not decide on its participants.
We have already churned up the foundation of college football as it is with the four-team playoff. If we're going to reform the system, let's actually reform the system.
If Cutcliffe is talking about having copies of the coaches' poll in the room while members of the selection committee make their decisions, that's fine. It's a nice resource and certainly provides insight into the game. But it sounds more like he and the ACC's head coaches are advocating it to be part of the screening process itself, which simply can't happen.
The coaches' poll will exist whether it's part of the BCS equation, playoff selection committee process or as a stand-alone poll—as is the case with the AP poll.
But if it's used as anything more than a minor point of reference chosen by the individuals comprising the committee, we will be doing this wrong.
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