Bronco Mendenhall unveils new Virginia football uniforms on eve of 2016 season

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

We’ve gotten glimpses, but now Coach Mendenhall walks us through the reasons for each change

It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for Virginia football diehards. First, on Thursday night, a video of the new uniforms leaked briefly before being pulled back. An official promo video followed on Friday night. Earlier today, Coach Mendenhall explained changes to Scott Stadium and how UVA will take the field for each game.

But now it’s time—the official intro video for the 2016 uniform combinations, with Mendenhall explaining each.

We’ll have more reaction in the days to come. What’s yours? Let us know!

FSU football strength coach Vic Viloria arrested for DUI

Vic Viloria was charged with DUI late Friday night in Tallahassee.

Florida State football head strength and conditioning coach Vic Viloria was arrested Friday night and charged with driving under the influence and property damage. The coach has been in Tallahassee for the past six seasons and is regarded as one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the nation. He is currently under contract until 2019 following an extension he signed in July of this year.

Statement from Florida State Athletics: We are aware of the reported incident and are in the process of gathering more information. The issue falls under the human resources policies for university employees, which restricts further comment at this time.

Ever since he was hired six years ago, Viloria has noticeably made an impact on the physicality of Florida State athletes while injuries have been reduced over the years, according to the school. The SMU graduate has used technology to help better the team and implemented the first GPS tracking software in College Football. Prior to his arrival in Tallahassee, Viloria worked at his alma matter SMU and LSU under Tom Moffitt. The Seminoles begin its 2016 football season on September 5th when the ‘Noles travel to Orlando and face Ole Miss.

Arizona football depth chart: Will Wildcats use two quarterbacks in 2016?

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Every year under Rich Rodriguez, it’s the same preseason headline….a quarterback competition.

Even with a quarterback set to begin his third year as the Arizona Wildcats starter, it happened again, and will likely continue through at least the first part of the regular season.

Key losses: Jerrard Randall

Key returners: Anu Solomon, Brandon Dawkins, Zach Werlinger

Key newcomer: Khalil Tate

While it’s true that both Solomon and Dawkins have been splitting first-team reps evenly throughout fall camp, it would be shocking to see someone besides Solomon getting the start in the season-opener barring some sort of injury.

“I know we have two good ones, probably both ready to play,” quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said after the team’s final practice of fall camp. Rich Rodriguez has echoed those sentiments throughout the last month as well.

In the spring, Dawkins received a bit of a boost after Solomon missed several practices with a hamstring injury. This allowed the redshirt sophomore to take consistent reps with the first team, and to get more comfortable in the system.

“It’s given Brandon Dawkins a chance to run with the ones for three-quarters of the spring, and not just because Anu’s hurt,” Smith said way back in March. “I’d put Brandon in with the ones to create some competition. He’s better than he was in the fall.”

The ability for Dawkins to be more comfortable with the first team may prove to be invaluable at some point in the season. Solomon has dealt with injuries in each of his first two years as the starter, which resulted in decreased production at the end of the 2014 campaign, and two missed starts in 2015.

One of those missed starts was the final regular season game against ASU. Jerrard Randall started that game, but Dawkins came in and threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns while trying to lead an Arizona comeback.

That comeback fell short after a couple of late interceptions, but it at least made people wonder if Dawkins was a legit starting threat.

And thus the competition was born.

“The competition is more than what people perceive,” Dawkins said about his relationship with Solomon. “People hear ‘Oh we’re best friends and this and that’, and we are, but at the end of the day we’re both out there on the field competing to win this job and do a lot better than we did last season.”

But it’ll take a lot for Dawkins to beat Solomon out.

“Obviously the one thing Anu has is he’s battle-tested,” Smith added after a spring practice in March. “He’s got a lot of experience, and he’s had a lot of success, plus he understands what we’re doing offensively. It’s going to take someone coming in who’s as smart as Anu, make as smart or better decisions than Anu, and be able to function with what we’re doing on offense and score points.”

“Brandon proved to me he could do that against Arizona State,” continued Smith. “Some people don’t think he had the greatest game, but for such a tough situation, I thought he came in and played very well, particularly in certain spots. He kept us in the game, and to me he proved he’s worthy to get in the competition.”

“Can he overtake it? We’ll see.”

For what it’s worth, Solomon was the first quarterback on the field during Arizona’s Beanie Bowl this past Thursday.

Behind the two is highly-regarded true freshman Khalil Tate. Although Tate was on campus during the spring, that’s still not quite enough time to allow himself to get in on the quarterback competition heading into the opener. Several times throughout fall camp, Rodriguez has said that his freshman QB’s head is still spinning trying to piece together the offense.

Tate is so athletic that there’s a slight chance we actually see him at wide receiver at some point this year, but I get the feeling the coaching staff would rather redshirt him instead of burning a year of eligibility for that.

Behind them will be a couple of walk-ons. Redshirt sophomore Zach Werlinger scored a touchdown against NAU last year, and true freshman Gunther Johnson will get serious work with the scout team this year.

But it appears the Arizona coaches feel confident in two guys right now and their ability to win games. Solomon will probably start, but should anything happen, there’s a competent backup waiting in the wings.

Sean White Named Auburn’s Starting Quarterback Against Clemson

Our long Family nightmare is over.

Tonight in his press conference, Gus Malzahn ended the speculation that has been running rampant for the last few weeks since Fall Camp began. He named Sean White the starting QB for the opener against Clemson.

It’s been a protracted battle, as with each passing week the speculation that John Franklin III was creeping up in the race. There have been times that Jeremy Johnson was said to be performing well, too. Still, most of the tea leaves were reading White for the majority of Spring and Fall Camp.

We’ll have more on this before long and what the offense will look like with White as the starter.

Oh, and Kevin Phillips was named the starting punter. That happened, too. More on that tomorrow!

USC Trojans football recruiting: DT Commit James Lynch Scouting Report

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On Saturday, USC earned its fifteenth commitment of the 2017 recruiting class. Defensive tackle James Lynch out of Round Rock, TX, pledged to the Trojans, lifting SC’s class to 12th in 247 Sports’ national recruiting rankings. Although the news was widely overshadowed by the naming of Max Browne as starting quarterback for the 2016 season, Lynch is a nice pickup for the Trojans. Previously committed to TCU, Lynch is a three star recruit with a 247 sports composite rating of 86.1 that puts him as the 547th best player in the nation and 42nd best defensive tackle.

Listed at 6’4.5″ and 282 pounds, Lynch has prototypical size for a defensive tackle. The area that the USC coaching staff likely found most intriguing is the athleticism Lynch possesses in his frame. According to Lynch’s Hudl profile, he ran a 4.97 40 yard dash—an excellent time for a 280 lb. defensive tackle that is still in high school. Lynch puts this athletic ability to use with a quick first step. He is able to quickly get out of his stance and get the first punch on his opposing offensive lineman, allowing him to drive his blocker backwards. In addition, Lynch’s impressive straight line speed sees him operate on kickoff coverage as a 280 lb. wrecking ball similar to how the Trojans used former fullback/linebacker Soma Vainuku. Lynch’s athleticism will give the coaching staff the flexibility to play him at multiple spots on the defensive line as well as on special teams.

Operating as a 3 technique in Round Rock High School’s 3-4 base defense, Lynch has a basic familiarity with many of the concepts he will be implementing for Clancy Pendergast. The Trojan defensive coordinator runs a slightly different 5-2 scheme, but the assignments for the down lineman in Pendergast’s defense are similar. As previously mentioned, Lynch has an impressive array of natural abilities that should see him contribute at multiple spots on the defensive line. The defensive end position is usually reserved for slightly smaller players than Lynch will likely become a couple years down the road, but his quickness should allow him to fill both the defensive end and tackle spots.

One downside to Lynch is his slightly thinner frame that could prevent him from becoming big enough to occupy the nose tackle position. The Trojans’ three nose tackles are all about 320-330 pounds, and it is questionable whether or not Lynch has the frame to handle that weight. As a result, Lynch could be placed in a role similar to that of Rasheem Green who primarily plays defensive tackle but can also contribute as a defensive end if needed.

Lynch is not a highly touted recruit as a mid-three star prospect who has not been offered by many Big 12 powerhouses such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Baylor. His lack of an elite rating can largely be attributed to the overall rawness in his game. Lynch’s main form of attack is to simply bull rush his opponents. His quick first step allows him to quickly get leverage and then use his size to easily manhandle offensive lineman. Unfortunately, Lynch will need to do a lot more in college where he will be facing players of equal size that are just as quick off the line. This will require Lynch to develop much better usage of his hands and body to generate leverage. His quickness is a trait that cannot be taught, but the more technical aspects of being a defensive lineman do not appear to be in Lynch’s toolbox just yet. Lynch will require time before he fills out his frame and works on the technique of being a defensive lineman, but with good coaching and a college weight program, these requirements are realistic goals.

Many Trojan fans may be tired of seeing USC receive commitments from multiple three star recruits rather than USC’s usual four and five star commits. However, most of these players appear to be under the radar gems that have the potential to be high quality players. Lynch certainly qualifies as a player of this type where he will need to spend a redshirt year and perhaps another year or two after that before becoming a significant contributor. With the Trojans no longer under sanctions and now up over 80 scholarship players, depth and immediate contributions are no longer a huge concern for the coaching staff. This will allow players such as Lynch to spend time in the program learning how to become an excellent football player before they are required to play important snaps in college. This strategy will likely result in some players that cause you to scratch your head as to why they were offered, but many of them could pay huge dividends down the road if Clay Helton’s staff can do what they are paid to do: coach.

If Lynch can get the coaching he needs, his upside as a defensive lineman with excellent natural ability and technique combined with versatility is an intriguing outcome.

BREAKING: Gary Patterson names Kenny Hill as TCU’s starting Quarterback

The former Texas A&M dual-threat supernova will start week one against South Dakota State on Sep. 3 in Fort Worth.

Gary Patterson has named Kenny Hill the week one starting quarterback against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, per Carlos Mendez (Fort Worth Star Telegram) and Jeremy Clark (HornedFrogBlitz.com). Hill, now a redshirt junior, transferred to TCU from Texas A&M prior to the 2015 season and sat out a year per NCAA transfer rules, but played a key part on the practice squad. He had been locked in a quarterback battle with redshirt sophomore Foster Sawyer through spring and most of fall practices, which was “50-50” as described by co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sonny Cumbie.

The Southlake Carroll product Hill started his career backing up Heisman winner Johnny Manziel as a true freshman in fall 2013, seeing limited time in four games and compiling a 72% completion rate along with a touchdown and no interceptions.

2014 was the year of the Trill- at least for the first five or so games of the season. Kenny “Trill”© had a coming out party in one of the first games of the season against preaseason #9 South Carolina, amassing 511 yards through the air on 44(!) completions and a ridiculous 73.3% completion percentage. He threw for three touchdowns on the day with zero interceptions and continued the success through games two and three against FCS team Lamar and Rice, combining for a 65% completion rate and an 8-0 touchdown-to-pick ratio over that span. The nickname was trademarked and the Heisman hype was real.

But then, after a series of three mid-season losses in which Hill’s play suffered (at least in comparison to his first five games) and an embarrassing off-the-field incident involving an arrest for public intoxication, the embattled QB dropped A&M and left College Station. At the suggestion of Gary Patterson, who had recruited Hill out of high school, Hill dropped football altogether and enrolled at Tarrant County College during the spring of 2015.

“I just told him he needed to get out of the limelight, and to just get back to being Kenny Hill — the kid I knew when I recruited out of high school,” Patterson told WFAA8’s Joe Trahan.

After spending all of 2015 as the practice squad quarterback, Hill was tabbed as the 2016 preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the year by the conference media at the start of media days, seemingly solidifying a foregone conclusion that he would be the Horned Frogs’ starter well before a team decision had been made. While this was going on, the hometown kid Foster Sawyer was continuing to quietly state his case to be the primary signal-caller for the Frogs in 2016. Presumably, Sawyer will again be relegated to a backup role, but if history is any indication there is an outside chance he may still start at least one game this year, and almost certainly, see playing time along the way.

The fact that he was tabbed for a preseason award at all speaks volumes about Kenny Hill’s talent and fit within the Meacham-Cumbie scheme. In a sense, Hill will have his work cut out for him in trying to spread the ball around to all of the weapons the Frogs have on the outside this year. Despite the loss of record-breaking TCU receiver Josh Doctson, the wide receiver corps is as talented as it’s ever been across the board with the return of Ty Slanina and Deante Gray, as well as the incoming and breakout talent such as freshman Isaiah Graham and sophomore Jaelan Austin.

With the use of his redshirt coming in his transfer/sit-out year, Hill still has two years of eligibility left to play with the Horned Frogs. TCU opens its season on Sept. 3rd against FCS foe South Dakota State at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Three-star DE Olalere Oladipo commits to Illinois Football over Penn State, Indiana

The 6-foot-3 lineman was one of Illinois’ top remaining targets.

A great recruiting day just got even better for Fighting Illini football! During a ceremony at his high school, three-star defensive end and top target Olalere Oladipo (IL) announced a verbal commitment to Illinois over Penn State, Indiana, Michigan State, Duke, and California. According to 247Sports, Oladipo is the nation’s No. 778 overall player, and No. 13 in-state prospect.

Oladipo is a fantastic addition for several reasons, but primarily because Illinois’ defensive line is a huge area of need for this recruiting cycle. The Illini are expected to lose a lot of talent to graduation, meaning there’s a very real chance that Oladipo could step in and play as a true-freshman. Moreover, it’s refreshing to see that Illinois is once again managing to land some of the state’s top talent. The program is mere months removed from signing a putrid three in-state prospects to their 2016 class (zero players in the Top 30), though that number has already increased to six under Lovie Smith.

If you’re able to spare a few minutes, I’d definitely recommend watching Oladipo’s HUDL tape (embedded below). The Huntley product fits exactly what Lovie Smith wants out of his linemen.

[Oladipo] is a very aggressive and nasty player on the gridiron; he’s a big hitter that seems to relish contact, and he goes 100% until the whistle is blown. Oladipo has so far shown equal ability against the pass and run, although he’ll need to work on his hand placement and technique to shed blockers more efficiently.

Overall, the 6-foot-3 lineman has excellent speed, quickness, burst, strength, and power. Oladipo seems to play with a joy and energy that should be contagious with teammates on the field. He has a high ceiling, making him an ideal candidate to kick off what needs to be a strong DL group.

The Orange and Blue also landed a commitment from four-star wideout Carmoni Green (FL) on Thursday afternoon. Combined, the two players have vaulted Illinois’ 2017 recruiting class up to No. 56 in the nation (+15) over the span of a few short hours. The current 11-man group is a great foundation, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it improve even more with a strong season.

Olalere Oladipo Highlights

Jerod Evans Named As Starter Against Liberty

Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

No surprises here, but expect more than one QB to see action.

There are too many whispers in training camp.  Joshua Jackson made headlines last week when he was getting reps with the ones.  Today, Justin Fuente made his decision official.   Jerod Evans will take the first snap in Virginia Tech’s first game against Liberty.  Andy Bitter, of the Roanoke Times, broke the news today.  The Hokies square off against Liberty in the home opener.  Hopefully, the Hokies will be able to field test all the quarterbacks in this matchup.  Getting the starting nod is huge for Evans, and gives him more than a full week to work with the ones.

No word yet on the backup, so that battle is still ongoing. The Hokies should be able to give all the QBs looks against a suspect Liberty defense. Congratulations to Jerod Evans, and LET’S GO HOKIES!!!

Arizona football depth chart: Linebackers look to rebound from injury-riddled 2015

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Last season will, for a while, live in infamy for most Arizona Wildcats fans. It mostly has to do with the woeful injury luck, and no position group was hit harder than the linebackers. In 2014, the three starters who saw most of the action were Scooby Wright, Derrick Turituri and Cody Ippolito. In my opinion, the most encouraging part of their collective performance was that they were all returning for an encore in 2015.

Unfortunately, we all know how that played out. However, the silver lining was those injuries forced a couple of inexperienced backups (DeAndre’ Miller and Jake Matthews) into substantial playing time and a position change (Paul Magloire) that now has the whole nation watching.

Key Losses: Scooby Wright, Derrick Turituri

Key Returners: Paul Magloire, DeAndre’ Miller, Cody Ippolito, Jake Matthews

Key Additions: Michael Barton, Kahi Neves, Jacob Colacion, Jalen Cochran

The losses of Scooby and Turituri should have marginal impacts after their absence from most of 2015. Don’t misunderstand me, though. I would love it if they were back for this season, but there is plenty of talent within the group to get the job done.

Magloire and Miller are poised for big performances this season. DeAndre’ seems especially poised to breakout under the new defensive staff and scheme.

“It’s been fun to learn our new scheme and be coached by our new staff.” Miller said about the key to a successful transition to the new scheme. “We need to buy in, be savages and have a hard edge.”

DeAndre’ also emphasized his offseason focus on improving his pass rushing skills. This summer, he took advantage of his free time by studying film of NFL pass rushers and constantly working on his technique at the UA facilities. This is an essential skill set that will be heavily utilized in Yates’ scheme, as he will likely fill the role of the hybrid defensive end/linebacker position A.K.A. the “Stud.”

On the injury front, Ippolito has fully recovered from his ACL injury and Matthews is also back from a Lisfranc injury to his left foot. This is tremendous news as these two will play important roles not only from a production standpoint, but also as senior leaders.

As for the newcomers, Michael Barton is a graduate transfer from Cal who has plenty of experience at this level and in the Pac-12. He was able to immediately add value during Fall Camp.

“Being older and wiser has helped me helped these younger guys,” he acknowledged. “If they were having trouble with the playbook, I was able to help them get through it.”

Barton chose UA for his final year because it was a “perfect fit for a fresh start” and he has a good relationship with Marcel Yates. Also, Freddie Tagaloa (former Cal roommate) and Kylan Butler (former high school teammate and current UA graduate assistant) were strong influences on the decision.

The other newcomers (Kahi Neves, Jacob Colacion and Jalen Cochran) are three freshmen who are surrounded by high hopes from the coaching staff.

Neves had originally committed to Utah as a quarterback, which was the position he played during his senior season in high school. During his junior season, he wound up being a key player on the other side of the ball as a linebacker. Despite being a standout at the quarterback position, he told me, “I always had defense in the back of my mind.”

As a Wildcat, he is on the defensive side of the ball. Former defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel was a major reason Neves committed to UA. After Casteel’s departure, Neves still felt comfortable with his decision because he trusts Rich Rodriguez and the new defensive staff. His goal is to play defense at the next level and after seeing the success Scooby had, he’s confident this program can get him there.

Colacion suffered an ACL injury last season. He may not see much action this year for a couple reasons, the first being the coaching staff wants to make sure he has fully recovered. He has plenty of potential to be a star at the collegiate level and it would be a shame if he were sidelined with another injury. Secondly, the Cats have decent depth at the position right now.

Cochran signed with UA despite an offer from Michigan State in the 11th hour. This was an eye-opening moment for many Wildcat fans as he chose Arizona over MSU, a top national program in his home state. He was a top priority of the new defensive regime and clearly bought into their vision. It will be interesting to see what his role will be this season.

Healthy redshirt candidates can be difficult to predict and typically seem to be pure speculation. At this point, there is really no telling how many of these freshmen, if any, will redshirt. It appears Magloire, Miller and Ippolito will likely be the starters of the unit. However, expect Matthews, Barton and Neves to see a considerable amount of playing time as well.

CBS Sports: Michigan Wolverines No. 4 in NFL Talent

Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

“Michigan has a chance to join their archrivals with double-digit draft-eligible players on the roster.”

There’s more than one kind of top 25.

CBS sports is breaking down the best college football teams in the country not by their playoff chances, but by the number of players they’re likely to place in the 2017 NFL Draft.

The Michigan Wolverines rank an impressive No. 4 on the list as the team could be poised for a breakout draft class.

Michigan is one of the most iconic programs in college football, but the Wolverines have struggled through some lean years with their last Big Ten title coming in 2004. Those struggles translated to the NFL Draft as Michigan produced only one first-round pick over the last six years and their 14 draft selections over the last five years ranks 28th in college football.

However, Michigan is poised for a bounce-back draft class in 2017 with an extremely talented senior group. Since the seven-round format started in 1994, Ohio State is the only program to produce 12+ selections in a single draft, doing so in 2004 and 2016. But Michigan has a chance to join their archrivals with double-digit draft-eligible players on the roster, making for a potentially memorable 2017 draft class for the Wolverines.

The site lists the top draft-eligible prospects on the Wolverines roster, which are Jabrill Peppers, Jake Butt, Jehu Chesson, Chris Wormley, Taco Charlton, Jourdan Lewis, Maurice Hurst, Erik Magnuson and De’Veon Smith.

The NFL could be a lot more Maize and Blue a few years from now.