Texas Tech gained its 11th commit for the 2017 class this afternoon.

I’ve talked to my family and I’m blessed and proud to say that I’m committing to Texas Tech University #WreckEm

— Adrian Frye (@frye_adrian) June 17, 2016

Adrian Frye committed to the Red Raiders after picking up an offer earlier in the day. Texas Tech was his 8th offer and first Power 5 offer. Frye is a defensive back from Houston and attended the Red Raiders camp held there this week. He must have showed out since the coaching staff extended an offer following the camp. See guys, satellite camps are great! Below is a link to Frye’s Hudl (embed code isn’t working) and I’ll get a full breakdown on him in this coming week’s Recruiting Roundup.

Check out Adrian Frye’s Hudl here.

2.  Texas Tech @ TCU 10/29

I am super pumped for this game because of what has happened the past two years. In 2014 we were all turning off our TVs by the end of the 3rd quarter. In 2015 we saw one of the most miraculous endings in program history and left the Jones with our hearts broken.

Tech and TCU have only met 58 times with Tech having a 30-25-3 advantage. The rivalry has been renewed since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012. Since then, the series is even at 2-2. Three of those four games were decided by ten points or less.

Last year the Horned Frogs went 10-2 in the regular season and finished with a victory in the Alamo Bowl against Oregon 47-41. In that game TCU overcame a 31-0 deficit at halftime to win. The comeback tied the largest one in bowl game history first done by, guess who…Texas Tech in the 2006 Insight Bowl.

TCU’s offense last season was ranked 6th in the nation. Two spots below Tech. The Horned Frogs were 9th in passing and 24th in rushing. Their defense was not great last year as they were 65th in total defense.

TCU has a lot of talent to replace on offense. The unstoppable Big 12 duo of QB Trevone Boykin and receiver Josh Doctson is gone along with Kolby Listenbee and RB Aaron Green. They also lost FS Derrick Kindred as well as offensive linemen Halapoulivaati Vaitai and Joey Hunt. On top of all that, the man who led the comeback in the bowl game, QB Bram Kohlhausen, is gone too.

Who will fill these shoes? At QB the choice seems to be Texas A&M transfer Kenny Hill. Kyle Hicks, the third-leading rusher on the team last year, returns at RB. Hicks only had 262 yards rushing and scored 3 touchdowns. Hicks may be the starter, but it remains to be seen. The biggest offensive weapon TCU has coming back is KaVontae Turpin, who was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2015. Turpin finished with 649 yards and 8 touchdowns for the season.

I love Tech’s chances in this game because TCU looks like they have taken a step back. Tech is returning more talent on offense than TCU, especially at receiver and running back. TCU’s defense should still be respectable since they only lost one player to the NFL. I think TCU’s defense will be better than Tech’s in this game but I believe Tech’s offense will be better than TCU’s. Hill will put up solid numbers against Tech’s lowly defense but, as I have mentioned before, I got to give Patrick Mahomes the edge. Mahomes has played in the same system for two years while Hill has not. Mahomes has also put up better stats than Hill. In his college career Hill has only passed for 2,832 yards with 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Mahomes threw for more than 5,000 in 2015.

It will be hard for Tech going on the road to the same place they gave up 82 points in 2014, but this a different team. Tech is fueled by the last two years and will come out with revenge on their minds. If their defense comes to play and their offense can start hot, I believe Tech can pull away from the Horned Frogs by the fourth quarter.

Ryan Bartow of 247Sports is reporting the first commitment for the Nebraska Cornhuskers this weekend.

Blessed to be able to say I’m committed to play football for the university of NEBRASKA! :red_circle::white_circle: #GBR #huskerpower pic.twitter.com/9P6NelpoOh

— Broc Bando (@broc_bando) June 17, 2016

Broc Bando, who is currently at the IMG Academy in Florida but hails from Lincoln Southeast, is the first commitment to the Huskers this weekend.

Bando is a lower end 3 star recruit, who is the 53rd best Offensive Guard in the 2017 recruiting class. He is also the 167tg best player in the state of Florida.

Bando had offers from Georgia, Kansas State, Louisville and Mississippi State before settling with the favorite Huskers.

I would say that Bando is solid to be a Husker, but it will be interesting to see what he brings to the table. He is a local fellow, so that is a feather in the cap to Mike Riley and Mike Cavanaugh for sure.

Who is next? We will figure that out soon!!

“For his part, though, Elliott has been both humble and hard-working as he is focused on helping Dallas get back to winning,”

– Patrik Walker (cowboyswire)

Already in the infancy of mini-camp, Ezekiel Elliott is shining brought in Dallas. Video surfaced of the former ‘hero in a half shirt’ tearing through the defense and scoring a TD.

More impressive: the person Elliott darted past was Byron Jones, the unofficial world record holder at the broad jump.

Granted, this is just the prelude to the pre-season, but it’s always refreshing to see Buckeyes tearing it up on the next level.

Elliott has big shoes to fill as a Cowboy. The No.4 pick of the draft follows the mold made by Tony Dorsett and Emmitt Smith – legendary running backs to dawn the blue and white.

“Here’s the real reason 100,000 people show up for a very basic practice: Ohio State has created a caste system for its football fans,”

– Jeff Long (Columbus Monthly)

It’s no secret that Ohio State people like their football. In the June edition of Columbus Monthly, Jeff Long delves into the reason why 100,000+ plus people would jam into a stadium to watch a glorified practice.

According to Long, a ticket caste system has been created for home games in the Shoe. If you want to watch the Buckeyes take on the likes of Tulsa, that’ll cost you about $75.

Want to see an Ohio State-Michigan game? *laughs incredulously * That will run you about $195 per ticket. As Long notes, that seat will probably be somewhere in the stratosphere (a.k.a. C-Deck).

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports Yes, 100,000 people showed up (and paid) to see a practice back in April. Welcome to Ohio State football fandom.

The “premier” ticket created for bigger games in the Shoe is basic economics at work. Ohio State is riding high during the Urban Meyer era, and are virtually on either national television or primetime every week. Buckeye football is the hottest ticket in town, and Ohio State wants to make money on their product.

Now, is roughly two Ben Franklin’s worth a Michigan football ticket in the Shoe? That’s debatable. However, if the stadium can be packed for the spring game, then certainly someone will buy that ticket at $195.

As the National Football Foundations’ Hall of Fame Ballot deadline approaches, two Buckeyes wait for the call

Monday is the deadline for the National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame ballot. On the ballot are two former Ohio State greats

Former running back Keith Byars (1982-1985) and fullback Jim Otis (1967-1969) represent the scarlet and gray on the list of potential members for enshrinement.

For Byars, the Heisman runner-up in 1984 (behind Doug Flutie) led the nation in rushing on his way to claiming the Big Ten conference MVP. On top of that, Byars finished his Buckeye playing days with 3,200 rushing yards, good for fifth all-time.

Before the Byars days, there was Otis. Otis was part of the 1968 National Championship team. In 1969, Otis picked up consensus All-American honors (of the first team variety) and was All-Big Ten.

In the name of politics, it isn’t too late to have your voice be heard for who you want in the hall. While you can’t go to a polling place to cast your vote, you can take to social media and push your football writers to make the pick on who is the most deserving to get that call for enshrinement.

I say this because I’ve looked at the ballot daily since it came out, and I can’t reach a final verdict on who to pick.

Here’s the full list of potential hall of fame members:

Geoff Hammersley Mirror mirror on the wall, who do I pick to make the call? (please help)

STICK TO SPORTS!!!!!!

• You’re never too old for Twitter. Just look at K-State’s Bill Snyder

• Satellite camps may be partnering with the NFL

• But sir… Gotham is a real place

• An insight on law degrees by the New York Times

• If you need to take your mind off the fact that college football is still two months away, may I suggest you play the new Resident Evil VII demo. The Internet is having an an aneurysm trying to solve the hidden ending.

The Razorbacks might have just gotten a much-needed boost on the offensive line with the transfer of Jake Raulerson from Texas.

Raulerson will have two years of eligibility remaining and could compete for a starting position at center immediately. Arkansas’ previous center, Mitch Smothers, graduated and the Hogs had been practicing with Frank Ragnow at center in the spring. Ragnow had been playing at guard, and if Raulerson is able to take the starting spot at center, Ragnow could stay at guard. Raulerson can also play guard as well.

It’s no secret that offensive line has been a major concern for the Hogs this offseason since the team is replacing three starters and recruiting along the line has been inconsistent. Raulerson’s arrival should at least help alleviate some of those concerns. If nothing else, it adds to quality depth along the line.

Raulerson was also considering North Carolina and SMU as finalists. He was initially hoping to go to UCLA but wasn’t accepted into their MBA program.

From Burnt Orange Nation:

The 6’4, 295-pound Raulerson was a US Army All-American and the No. 2 center nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, prior to his early enrollment at Texas in early 2013. However, he arrived as an undersized lineman and was never able to consistently crack the starting rotation for the Longhorns.

In 2015, Raulerson was out of the rotation, but with Taylor Doyle’s graduation, he was expected to once again step into that starting role in 2016. His departure left the ‘Horns thin at the position.

John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald writes the notion of bringing Briles back is wrong:

But if Baylor ever planned to reinstate Briles after the scathing Pepper Hamilton findings, the national outcry would be deafening. It would provide critics with even more fuel that football trumps all at Baylor.

Briles oversaw a football program that the Pepper Hamilton report described as operating an “internal system of discipline separate from the university process.”

Whatever stock you place in Chip Brown news, Chip Brown mentioned yesterday that his sources expect Baylor will eventually release players from their LOI:

Six incoming freshmen football players have requested a release from their letters of intent with Baylor to enroll elsewhere. Baylor has 30 days to respond to those requests (on or about June 24), sources said. Grobe has been meeting with the players and their families to try to convince them to stay. But if those players still want their release when the 30 days expire, sources said those players will be granted their release, sources said.

Taurean Prince mentioned to Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star his love of Baylor and getting his degree:

With the Bears, Prince played power forward and small forward. He became a starter during his junior season and shot 39.5 percent on 3-pointers. But instead of declaring for the draft, Prince returned to Baylor for his senior season to finish his Bachelor’s degree in communications.

“I graduated on May 15,” he said. “That’s really a big stepping stone in my family. It was great and I knew I was going to be there all four years.”

Baylor closer Troy Montemayor was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association all-regional team, per the Waco Tribune-Herlad:

Baylor relief pitcher Troy Montemayor has been honored on the American Baseball Coaches Association all-region team.

We had an evening edition last night, you can read here.

Ezekiel Elliott may be gone. There’s no clear starter at running back between Bri’onte Dunn and Mike Weber. The offensive line has to replace four starters, including both tackles. Only 15% of Ohio State’s offensive experience will return for 2016.

In short, there’s a lot of uncertainty for the 2016 Buckeye run game — but there are also reasons to be optimistic. Below I’ll look at four factors that should influence our benchmarks for a successful 2016 run game: precedent, J.T. Barrett, the offensive line, and recruiting talent.

From Zeke to Weber, but with Barrett as the constant

The Buckeyes are familiar with uncertainty in the run game. Ohio State had new names at both running back and quarterback in 2014. Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett were hardly known outside of the Buckeye community entering the season, but combined for 2,972 rushing yards en route to a national championship.

We’re in a similar place for 2016. While Bri’onte Dunn could definitely win the running back race (or he and Weber could split carries), Mike Weber is the odds-on favorite. So what can Zeke and J.T.’s first year as starters tell us about next year?

In Zeke’s sophomore year, he averaged 6.88 yards per carry and 6.64 highlight yards per opportunity, while maintaining a 46.5% opportunity rate. Opportunity rate is the percentage of carries that gain five yards or more — which is theoretically the percentage of yards that the offensive line is responsible for (though, as a side note, Geoff Schwartz noted on the Solid Verbal that some running backs make their lines look much better).

Essentially, that means that Zeke was both dependable — nearly half of his rushes gained at least five yards — and explosive — with nearly 6.64 average highlight yards (average yards after the initial five — a measure of how big a player’s big runs are). So even with a mostly-new line in 2014, Zeke was able to be both efficient and explosive, fueling the stretch run of the Buckeye’s playoff push. He nearly repeated those numbers in 2015 despite a less-efficient passing game and quarterback uncertainty for much of the season.

So, assuming Mike Weber wins the job and doesn’t share carries, it’s fair to expect roughly a 6-6.25 yards per carry, 5.5-6 highlight yards per opportunity, and a 42-45% opportunity rate out of Weber.

Stability at quarterback with J.T. Barrett certainly will help. Not only will a healthy passing game benefit the run game, but so will a reliable second ground threat from the quarterback. J.T.’s rushing numbers declined by over a highlight yard per opportunity, though his opportunity rate only dropped by 2%. This indicates that J.T. was nearly as efficient with fewer touches last season, but he didn’t generate as many explosive runs as he did in 2014.

But stability should benefit J.T. greatly for 2016, so it’s fair to expect similar numbers at J.T.’s 2014 campaign: over 6.5 yards per carry, 6 highlight yards per opportunity, and a mid-50s opportunity rate.

Replacing The Slobs

The other half of the equation is the offensive line. Despite replacing four starters, there’s reason to expect good things from this year’s group. For one, the first stringers will all be incredibly talented, no matter who ends up in that first group. Second, the team replaced four starters for the 2014 season — what’s to say they can’t repeat that successful transition for 2016?

The 2014 line, which only returned Taylor Decker, managed to lead the country in opportunity rate, meaning that they created the most efficient overall rushing attack, and were second in opponent-adjusted line yards. Their one deficiency was in power success rate, which measures short-yardage situations.

The 2015 line, which was much more experienced, was still top-ten in the first two categories, but improved in short-yardage situations and fell in allowing negative rushing plays. It remains to be seen whether the 2016 version will achieve the same level of excellence, but I wouldn’t bet against Ed Warinner’s group.

Looking at talent

Finally, I looked at the recruiting rankings for Zeke and Mike Weber according to the 247 Composite. As you can see, they’re neck and neck, with Zeke holding a slight edge. So all in all, it’s fair to have high expectations for the 2016 run game, despite the near-total turnover on offense.

For months now, we’ve been previewing the Syracuse Orange football season like it’s just around the corner. Well… now it sort of is. As we’ve done in years’ past, we’ll preview a different SU position group each week. Today, we lead off with people that aren’t a position group at all:

Coaching Staff Preview

Obviously this group is starting fresh in its first year on the job. Expectations are measured, per Dino Babers’s own direction. But there are already some pieces in place to see how his vision for the program could come into fruition in two or three years’ time. Despite the athletic director turnover, it’s clear the school’s giving them enough ramp to turn this thing around. Clearly, that’s a good thing.

Dino Babers, Head Coach

Babers has been an assistant coach at a lot of different stops, but the one everyone focuses in on is his time at Baylor from 2008-2011. It’s there he really adopted the spread as his own system, and it’s what got him up to Eastern Illinois to take over a middling program there. In two years at EIU, he won two conference titles, finished fourth in the FCS polls in 2013, and got Jimmy Garoppolo drafted. At Bowling Green, his Falcons played for two MAC championships (winning last year). His offenses have been prolific all four seasons as a head coach. We know that side of the ball will work at Syracuse too. SU’s bounce back will really just depend on how long it takes that offense to come around.

Kim McCloud, Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers

A long-time defensive coach, McCloud transitioned to the offensive side of the ball last year at Bowling Green, where he’ll stay too at Syracuse. The “assistant head coach” title is one that seems to put him on a level slightly above the rest of the staff under Babers (same, if you look at the way Cuse.com lists out the coaches). So while he’s certainly Babers’s right-hand man on staff, we’ll see what his impact is on gameday. Honestly, there may not be one. But if he’s recruiting well and helping Babers manage the program day-to-day, that’s completely fine.

Brian Ward, Defensive Coordinator

Ward comes in facing a host of challenges in year one. He’ll be installing a new system, the Tampa-2. He needs to completely change the defense’s emphasis on blitzing into an emphasis on sound tackling and coverage. And he needs to figure out how to get past the program’s serious depth issues on the defensive line and in the secondary. Like the offense, it’s a a process that may take a year or two in order to become fully operational. Taking over a defense that ranked 99th in yards allowed, however, means results can’t really get much worse. Teams will be able to move the ball against SU solely based on the number of possessions they’ll be allotted. So it’s up to Ward and the Orange D to prevent every game from becoming a 50-point shootout.

Sean Lewis, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

In year one, Lewis will likely be judged by how well Eric Dungey looks acclimated to the offense. Dungey improved over time last season making quick reads, and now he’ll need to do even more of it in an up-tempo offense. He’ll still be afforded the opportunity to run, I’m sure. But chances are we see more of a mobile pocket passer than a runner this year. Lewis and the staff are likely working with Dungey to make sure he quickly goes through progressions to find a receiving target, not a running lane, first and foremost. We’ll see how much that pays off early. In the meantime, Drake gifs.

Mike Lynch, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line

Lynch probably picked a good year to be starting from scratch at SU, as the team returns one of the least-experienced offensive lines in the country. That would sound like he’s in for a rough year one, but it could actually be to his benefit. While Syracuse doesn’t have experience, they do have a lot of depth on the line, bringing in two stronger classes in 2015 and 2016. We wondered during the spring if the heralded 2015 kids would get their time. They still might. But Lynch having this many options can only be seen as a plus while the team continues to work on conditioning (especially for these linemen).

Tom Kaufman, Special Teams Coordinator/Linebackers

Finally, a dedicated special teams coach! A position largely absent under Scott Shafer gets addressed by a full-time staffer in 2016. And Kaufman has some pieces to play with. While he’ll be hard-pressed to immediately replace Riley Dixon at punter, Brisly Estime’s a very good return man, and Cole Murphy’s an experienced kicker with some distance. His biggest challenge will be improving upon punt/kick coverage, which has been a problem for years. At the linebacker spots, he has it easier than nearly any incoming coach. SU has experience and depth there; they just need to be re-taught the position to play in coverage. If we see improvement there right away, Kaufman will quickly be in everyone’s good graces.

Reno Ferri, Tight Ends Coach

Babers’s offense doesn’t use tight ends a ton in a receiving capacity, so it’s likely Ferri’s staff position is more based on his familiarity with the Maryland-D.C.-Virginia recruiting corridor than anything else. Still, at least based on this year’s personnel, it will be interesting to see how he’s able to help the team’s experienced returning group get involved. Kendall Moore’s clearly the best blocker, and if he can stay healthy, that could be a valuable commodity. The question is if Ferri can get similar blocking production from the other tight ends.

Mike Hart, Running Backs Coach

The Syracuse-area native and former Michigan great is equal parts recruiting tool and positional expert. In his time at Western Michigan, he was able to get a lot out of a varied group of running backs, and coincidentally, he’ll get the same chance with the Orange now. Jordan Fredericks, Dontae Strickland, George Morris and Moe Neal all represent very different skillsets, but ones that Hart should be able to utilize well within this offense. Babers’s system is a passing one, but it’s predicated on a solid run game (last year’s Bowling Green team scored 34 rushing TDs). Hart’s group will be a fun one to watch develop this fall.

Nick Monroe, Secondary Coach

Monroe’s first order of business will be to make sure this never happens again. Syracuse’s pass defense was ranked 101st in the country last year, and that’s largely because of a secondary that was too focused on “big plays” to make basic stops. The Orange return a lot of those players, which means a whole lot of reconditioning now in the Tampa-2. If there’s one unit you can nearly guarantee is a year away from improvement in the new system, it’s this one. In the meantime, Monroe will continue doing great work in Florida on the recruiting trail.

Vinson Reynolds, Defensive Line Coach

Reynolds has been a major part of the program’s shift into Michigan recruiting (he comes to us from WMU), and from a positional standpoint, he’ll have his hands full this fall with the team’s thinnest group. By way of a couple positional switches, the Orange should have a two-deep depth chart’s worth of players on the line, but that’s sort of where the help ends. His biggest task this year, other than hoping for a bit of injury luck, is to refocus the line on run-stopping and staying at home over a constant blitz scheme.

***

Since we hadn’t really done an extensive coaching staff overview since everyone got hired, consider this your formal introduction to them as a group. Babers has assembled a nice mix of coaches here, many of whom have worked together as a staff before, which at least helps them jump in right away with set processes. Eyes won’t be on wins and losses in 2016, but rather where the team shows clear improvement in comparison to last year. Barring a disaster, you should get used to seeing these names for the next two years at least.

Class of 2017 three-star wide receiver Mike Harley announced his Top 10 on June 15th, which included the Michigan Wolverines.

My Steps is already ordained by the Lord
(My Top 10) Thanks To Everyone Who Been There From The Start! #Blessed pic.twitter.com/TDbXcKrfrB

— Mike Harley Jr. Ⓜ️ (@harleyxvi) June 16, 2016

Along with Michigan, Harley had West Virginia, Miami (FL), Wisconsin, Kentucky, Maryland, Louisville, Missouri, Utah and Washington State in his Top 10.

The 5-foot-9, 155-pound receiver from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is ranked 495th overall in the class of 2017 by 247Sports, 67th across all wide receivers and 69th in the state of Florida.

Harley had offers from Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi State, N.C. State, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Purdue, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, and Toledo, but left those teams off his Top 10.

While Harley has a lot of great options, he will also have a lot of time to think about his next move as National Signing Day is in the distant future.

Rashan Gary is officially a Michigan Wolverine after arriving in Ann Arbor, Michigan on June 15th to start his career on and off the field at the college level, according to Steve Lorenz of 247Sports.

From Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, the 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive lineman was the No. 1 overall player in both the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports rankings. Gary signed with Michigan on National Signing Day over Clemson, USC, Auburn, Ole Miss, Alabama, Army, Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Miami (FL), Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin. Gary was recruited to wear the Maize and Blue by Chris Partridge and Greg Mattison.

“That’s hard placing expectations on a young man like that, but that’s one guy from all indications, from watching him play in all-star games, from his visits to campus, let’s just say I’m pretty encouraged we’re going to see that young man very early in his career,” Don Brown said regarding Gary and his abilities.

The 2016 five-star will get immediate action on the field and will make a difference on what could be the best defensive line in college football this season. The front four will most likely include Gary, Chris Wormley, Taco Charlton and Bryan Mone.

——————–

Here are Rashan Gary’s senior highlights with Paramus Catholic High School: