The Pac-10 coaches will be in NYC tomorrow for a media event and it looks like we will have a volunteer correspondent on hand to cover it.
There’s a chance we might have some live streaming video from the event–an experimental first here at HP–so check back here for that.
We’ll also have some coverage from the WAC media day.
I produced my list of overrated coaches not too long ago. Now for the 10 most underrated coaches in college football.
1. June Jones, SMU–He’s the ultimate turnaround artist. When he arrived at Hawaii, the Warriors were 0-12. When he left, they were in the Sugar Bowl. Now he’s turning around once-left-for-dead SMU. What would he do at a place with a lot more talent?
2. Gary Patterson, TCU–He’s turned TCU into a real powerhouse. His teams have won 11 games or more in five of the last seven years. But for some reason you don’t really hear his name that much when coaching jobs come up, or at least not as much as it should be considering his success. He should be a household coaching name.
3. Ken Niumatalolo, Navy–In just his second year, Niumatalolo got Navy to a school record-tying 10 wins and that included a 35-13 ripping of Missouri in the Texas Bowl. And is anyone surprised anymore if the Middies beat the Irish? The transition from Paul Johnson was seamless and you have to wonder if anyone is noticing.
4. Kevin Sumlin, Houston–It could be that Sumlin’s success is merely tied in with the rise of Case Keenum, but I think he’s a fine young coach who is on his way to building a C-USA powerhouse. Houston’s fate will depend on whether they can keep him around much longer.
5. David Cutcliffe, Duke–Anyone who can get Duke to be competitive deserves accolades. His staff has been agressive on the recruiting trail and it looks like the Blue Devils have a chance to get to their first bowl since 1994. Cutcliffe has shown he can get it done anywhere. That’s the sign of a very good coach.
6. Randy Edsall, Connecticut–Edsall has built this program to the point where it keeps getting to bowls and is surprisingly competitive. What’s more, it’s been producing pretty good NFL talent, too–no easy feat when the Northeast is our recruiting base. This could be another big year for the Huskies and you have to wonder how much longer Edsall will stay in Storrs.
7. Butch Jones, Cincinnati–There’s a reason people keep hiring Jones to take over for Brian Kelly. He did so at Central Michigan and now he’s doing it at Cincinnati. He gets a lot out of his players and runs a fun-to-watch offense. I don’t think there will be a whole lot of dropoff with him coaching the Bearcats.
8. Al Golden, Temple–In his first year with Temple, he went 1-11. By year four, he was 9-4 and giving UCLA all it could handle in a bowl game. At this rate, he won’t be on this list for very long.
9. Bo Pelini, Nebraska–Some saw him as an afterthought hire. Certainly not the blockbuster coach that people thought could bring the Cornhuskers back. But if you watch Nebraska under Pelini, you see how hard his teams play, especially compared to the Husker squads of the last decade. There are different recruiting realities at play in Nebraska compared to the old days, but Pelini is adjusting well.
10. Mack Brown, Texas–This seems an odd pick for a coach who has won a national title and been on the verge of others. But I don’t think Brown gets enough credit for the incredible level at which the Longhorns have played for the past few years. He’s not an esteemed game coach, but his managerial skills have produced the most reliable machine in college football. You always know the Longhorns are going to be in the top five talent-wise and even the down years only dip to 10 wins. With a couple twists and turns, he’d have two more titles under his belt. And there’s no signs of things slowing down.
Just missed the cut: Bobby Petrino, Arkanas; Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh; Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern; Robb Akey, Idaho; Skip Holtz, USF
—Christian Ponder is having fun with his Heisman campaign. And he (jokingly) lamented that he didn’t get invited to the now infamous South Beach agent party.
—Here’s a look at the Big East’s Heisman candidates from AOL Fanhouse’s Brian Grummell.
—Could Houston behind Case Keenum be this year’s BCS-busting squad?
—New era in the Pac-10 and a new web site debuting tomorrow. And a new video and logo. Egh, I think the vid is a big overwrought. Lewis and Clark?
—Big 12 media days are underway! 5 BIG questions for the conference.
—A four-step plan to make Terrelle Pryor the Heisman winner (with quotes from yours truly). Step 1: Ohio State SID following up on HP’s email request for Pryor interview!
—Is South Beach now the center of the sports universe?
—One of the myriad of draft experts claims that Mark Ingram is the only sure bet in the 2011 class.
—SEC media days rewind.
—Don’t forget to follow HP on twitter.
–Also, the HP Fantasy Challenge is 50% off until August 1. Want to win 2 BCS title game tickets? Click here to sign up.
—Heisman pic of the day: 1971 Heisman winner Pat Sullivan taking a break from the action with his favorite target, All-American wide out Terry Beasley.
Continuing our unit-by-unit look at the top players in the land, here are my top 10 defensive ends for 2010:
1. Robert Quinn, Jr., North Carolina–More of a fantastic athlete than a fantastic football player right now, but he’s improving rapidly in the latter department. Well-built with long arms, he carries his 270 pounds well on this 6-5 frame. Has great change of direction and burst coming off the edge, but could maybe stand to get a little stronger at the point of attack. Still, that’s nitpicking. Had 52 tackles, 11 sacks and an amazing six forced fumbles last season! He’ll be a top 10 pick in the next draft.
2. Sam Acho, Sr., Texas–A great playmaker and disruptive force. He’s one of those guys that always seems to be around the ball. Has the quicks to rush the passer and the leverage to stop the run. Relentless competitor and outstanding student (both on and off the field). Had 63 tackles, 10 sacks and recovered four fumbles last season.
3. Adrian Clayborn, Sr., Iowa–Powerful, thickly-built player who had 70 tackles and 11.5 sacks for the Hawkeyes last year. Turned down the NFL for the chance to terrorize the Big Ten for another season. Moves amazing well at 6-4, 290, and will likely be a 3-4 end in the pros. Incredibly strong with a non-stop motor. Active player who also forced four fumbles and blocked a punt which he returned for a score.
4. Allen Bailey, Sr., Miami–Big-bodied end at 6-4, 290, but displays surprising versatility as Miami uses him with both his hand on the ground and standing up, on both the strong and weak sides, and also inside on occasion. A punishing tackler with good ball recognition, who also might end up being a 3-4 end in the pros. Last year had 34 tackles and seven sacks.
5. Jeremy Beal, Sr., Oklahoma–Tough, consistent player who led Oklahoma with 11 sacks in 2009, to go with 70 tackles and an interception. He recorded three sacks in two different games last year, the first Sooner to do so in a season. First started as a sophomore so he’s as experienced as they come, but may not be as productive in 2010 with the loss of Gerald McCoy on the inside. (sorry, the only highlights I could find were from HS)
Read the rest after the jump…
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But not too many blogs give you a chance to prove it. HP does. So here’s your opportunity.
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Then take a shot at the 5th annual Heismanpundit Fantasy Challenge. It costs only $19.99 to play–small potatoes compared to what you can win!
This game is the only one of its kind on the internet. Its simple, easy-to-manage and fun! Anyone and their mother can play and have a chance to win, regardless of how serious or knowledgeable you are about college football.
There are no drafts and no trades. In other words: none of the usual fantasy mess. So it won’t take up too much of your busy day. All you have to do is select one player off your team each week and send in that selection via email. Not only is the game challenging and entertaining, but it also provides a rare chance to win hard-to-get BCS tickets, plus other cool prizes.
Hey readers, HP is going to be mentioned on ESPN’s Sports Nation today as a ‘site we like’ at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on ESPN2 and at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on ESPN.
For all you new readers who happen to drop by thanks to Sports Nation, welcome!
A couple months ago I polled my Heisman panel to get their opinion on the status of Reggie Bush’s 2005 Heisman. I asked if he should be stripped of the award if he was indeed found to be retroactively ineligible.
The overwhelming majority of my panel did not want to strip Bush of the Heisman in that scenario.
Yesterday, I posed the following question again to the panel:
1. Since Reggie Bush has been found guilty by the NCAA of having taken money from an agent, and has thus been deemed to have been ineligible for the 2005 season, should his Heisman Trophy be vacated or handed to someone else, yes or no?
But I also added this:
2. If Bush’s trophy is taken away, should this change how we look at Heisman winners past and future? Should old allegations (like Charles Woodson taking money in 1997) be looked at again and should future candidates be completely scoped for cleanliness before being allowed to proceed? In other words, how does the act of taking a past Heisman away change the Heisman as we know it?
I thought I’d share some of the responses with you.
The consensus so far is that, whatever Bush did off the field, he won the Heisman on the field and therefore the trophy should not be vacated:
“The return of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy replica was a good PR move by incoming USC president, Max Nikias, but it would be overkill if the Heisman Trust remands the real thing. While accepting benefits is clearly wrong, it had little, if anything, to do with Bush’s on-field performance. I vote on what players do between the sidelines, not how they may or may not profit from it elsewhere.
* * *
“The Heisman Trophy explicitly honors a player who pursues “excellence with integrity.” The Heisman Trophy Trust explicitly “ensures the … integrity of this award. So after 75 years, the Downtown Athletic Club morality police should put out the APB on Reggie Bush’s mantel decor? Please. The idea that every Heisman winner but Bush has demonstrated unimpeachable integrity is hopelessly naïve. College athletics was dirty before Reggie Bush and will be after Reggie Bush. Asking him to ship a statue back is a grandiose, reactionary, pointless exercise. It won’t change anything, least of all how we view the Heisman Trophy. It goes to college football’s best player, always has, and usually without much concern about how he got there.”
* * *
“No. It’s not as if the cash he took was performance-enhancing.”
* * *
“Vacating the Heisman doesn’t change the fact that Bush did win it that year. I don’t think vacating it changes history any more than when teams on probation “vacate” wins. And I don’t think the trophy should then be given to runner-up Vince Young. He probably wouldn’t even want it now. I don’t condone what Bush did, but I doubt he’s the only Heisman recipient that received illegal benefits. That said, if the Heisman Trust did vacate the ’05 trophy and ask that it be returned I can understand their position.”
* * *
“Much like vacated wins and championships, rescinding Bush’s Heisman would be pointlessly symbolic. It doesn’t cause anyone to forget that run against Fresno State, hurdling the UCLA defender or anything else that happened on the field that season.”
Not everyone agreed with this sentiment, however:
“It should be vacated.. Something feels bizarre about the the thought of then handing it over to Vince Young, though. It’s not like he was named the runner-up in a beauty pageant… or maybe he was I guess. Still, he got what matters most, the national title ring.”
As to the second question:
“I think going forward, you handle it the best you can as the NCAA has outlined it.”
* * *
“I can see it now, Peyton Manning hiring investigators to dig into Charles Woodson’s college receipts. Darren McFadden snooping around Columbus, Ohio, looking for that booster who paid Troy Smith to sign autographs at a nursing home.”
* * *
“If the Heisman Trophy is vacated then I do agree that you then have to look into at every winner to find if they also received anything that would have rendered them ineligible. Should O.J. Simpson’s name removed from the list of winners? I don’t know if candidates can be completely scoped to ensure they’re eliglble during the season. No one knew about Bush until after his USC career ended.”
* * *
“Not in favor of taking away Heismans.”
* * *
“It’s not going to happen. The NCAA never investigated Woodson, so I can’t imagine the Heisman Trust will launch its own 13 years later.”
* * *
“This is really the first time the idea of vacating the Heisman has come up. The incoming USC president kind of put the Trust in a corner when he returned the replica of Bush’s award to New York. From now on, if the NCAA finds any player has taken cash or extra benefits, all of their post season awards should be vacated.”
A lot of this talk has me thinking about the concept of awards and cheating in college football. Certainly, it’s clear that Bush was not in compliance with NCAA bylaws at the time of this Heisman win. However, it’s not clear to me how judging someone retroactively ineligible and then stripping them of an award can completely satisfy everything. Does it feel like he cheated in the traditional sense that we all think of cheating? Despite his retroactive status, the memory we had of watching that player excel still exists. Furthermore, as the voters above attest, taking money doesn’t explicitly give someone an advantage on the field in the way, for instance, that a performance enhancing drug does. Voters and the NCAA at the time deemed Bush to be eligible. Is that enough? Is it too messy to revisit it all?
Which brings up another subject. In the 1980s and 1990s, we all remember the various players who were dinged for steroids. Many of them won all kinds of awards and several got Heisman votes. In these cases, these players were truly cheating to gain an advantage on the field. Should we go back and vacate all those Outland, Lombardi and Butkus Awards that went to such cheaters? What about the votes these guys got in the Heisman? Should we vacate them and then re-tally the past Heisman votes? Maybe the results would be vastly different! Should Heisman winners be specifically screened for performance-enhancing drugs before being given the award? Why not?
I think the various agent scandals we are seeing percolating testify to the widespread shenanigans that go on in major college football. Odds are that past Heisman winners also took money. Should one player be singled out and punished just because he was the one who got caught?
Food for thought.
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