When it was announced last week that Ole Miss running back Jordan Wilkins was ruled academically ineligible for the 2016 regular season, many perhaps picked up the old cudgel about student-athletes and bad grades. In Wilkins’ case, his ineligibility is far more complex than that.

“An appeal was filed with the NCAA for Jordan’s reinstatement based on an administrative error but was denied this week,” the university said in a release. Wilkins isn’t being held out because his GPA is too low. Instead, Wilkins unwittingly ran afoul of an NCAA policy that requires a student athlete to make specified progress toward earning their degree.

The Division 1 NCAA manual has very specific credit hours targets for athletes in their second, third and fourth years of school. Since degree programs differ wildly from program to program and among universities, the NCAA has set up percentage milestones for student-athletes’ degree completion standing to maintain consistency across the country. First year student-athletes need only be enrolled in a baseline number of credit hours, since they’ve completed effectively zero percent of their degree. The so-called “progress toward degree” (PTD) targets indicate what percentage of degree credit hours athletes must have completed at the start of each academic year.

In Wilkins’ case, since he’s starting his fifth semester of school, by NCAA rule he must have 60 percent of his degree completed.

screenshot via ncaa.org

As you might imagine, every athletics department in the country runs an army of academic advisors who can navigate each student-athlete’s degree progress. With Wilkins, someone in the administration apparently failed him by not ensuring that he was on pace to hit the required 60 percent threshold.

“The athletics department takes full responsibility and holds itself accountable when situations like this occur with our student-athletes,” the statement read. “We will support Jordan to the fullest during this time and look forward to seeing him return to the field.”

The good news is that Wilkins could still gain eligibility in time to play in a bowl game (that they won’t play in because CHEATIN’ BEARS BOWL BAN). Any bowl game would be played well after the conclusion of the fall semester, and one assumes that Wilkins is currently registered for the necessary number of credit hours toward his degree. There’s nothing stopping him from practicing with the team in the interim.

Wilkins, for his part, took the news in stride and asked that no blame come crashing down on anyone but him.

With 10 days left before Wake Forest takes the field against Tulane on September 1st, head coach Dave Clawson has named John Wolford the starting quarterback. Clearly Coach Clawson was not persuaded by Rob’s article outline why Kendall Hinton should start (LOL).

According to Les Johns at Demon Deacon Digest (Scout), who has done a phenomenal job covering Wake Forest this season, Wolford will get the start, but Kendall Hinton will play as well.

BREAKING: Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson tells us John Wolford will start at QB against Tulane, but Kendall Hinton will play as well.

— Les Johns (@Les_Johns) August 22, 2016

Wolford and Kendall Hinton split first team reps throughout fall camp, but after nearly 20 practices and 2 scrimmages, Dave Clawson decided that Wolford was going to be his quarterback. Wolford completed 142 of 234 passing attempts (60.7%) last season for 1,791 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Wolford also ran for 3 touchdowns.

This decision should allow Wolford to earn more reps in practice, and develop even better timing with the wide receivers and tight ends. With just 10 days prior to the season opener, I believe this is an appropriate time to name the starter. Given that Hinton will also play against Tulane, however, it’s quite possible that Clawson continues to play both quarterbacks and evaluates them as the season progresses.

What are your thoughts on Coach Clawson’s decision?

The Michigan State Spartans have named their starting QB.

As expected, Tyler O’Connor will draw the start in Week 1 vs Furman. Head coach Mark Dantonio made the announcement Monday.

“I can say right now he’ll start week one,” Dantonio said.

However, Dantonio didn’t rule out the possibility of another QB playing this year. O’Connor was competing with senior Damion Terry and sophomore Brian Lewerke for the job, and those latter two are now competing for the No. 2 spot.

“I think Tyler O’Connor is our quarterback right now.,” Dantonio said. “He’s the No. 1 guy. He’s had a good enough camp to say that right now. But will the other guys play? Possibly.”

Dantonio added that the backup job is still up for grabs, though admitted Terry is the leading candidate.

“That remains to be seen as we move forward,” Dantonio said. “I think Damion right now, but we want to try to figure that out as we go.”

Connor, a fifth-year senior, competed with Connor Cook back in 2013 and eventually lost out to the man who would go on to record 34 wins and two Big Ten titles.

But O’Connor filled in for an injured Cook last season while leading the Spartans to an upset win over the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium to help his team eventually secure a Big Ten Championship Game berth.

The 6-foot-3, 222-pound O’Connor was 7-of-12 passing for 89 yards and a touchdown with eight rushes for 25 yards. The defense won the game, but O’Connor did come up big in several key moments of that game to help the Spartans pull off the massive win.

Terry also played in that win completing 1-of-4 passes for two yards while rushing for 25 yards on eight carries, though it was mainly O’Connor who led all three scoring drives.

O’Connor has kept the momentum going with a solid spring and into fall camp, enough that seeing him win the job was no surprise. Let’s hope Dantonio made the right call.

Texas Longhorns wide receivers coach Charlie Williams gives the above “Longhorn Lessons” speech on responsibility.

“There’s a reason why you came here,” Williams tells the team. “You knew this was the place where you could reach your dreams. But we can’t take a shortcut. There are no shortcuts. When you want to win a championship bad enough there are no shortcuts.”

Williams tells the players to look at each other when they feel like they can’t go any further.

“The price of greatness is responsibility,” says Williams. “Winston Churchill said that. We all have to be responsible for our actions, for everything we do. We have this jersey right here. The ‘Texas’ on this jersey represents our university, this great university that each and every one of you guys chose to come to.

“Your name will be on the back of this jersey, and nobody in this room, nobody in this room wants to let their mom and dad down. So we are going to wear our jerseys proud. Think about your responsibility to your family, to the guys sitting next to you, and to this university.”

This morning, the Associated Press released its preseason poll.

UCLA is ranked #16 is the AP Preseason Poll which is substantially better than the team’s #24 ranking in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll. With 496 points, the Bruins are ranked behind Houston with 644 points and ahead of Iowa which received 486 points.

Four other Pac-12 teams appear in the AP Top 25. Stanford leads the way at #8, Washington is #14, USC is at #20, and Oregon is #24.

Two more Pac-12 schools also received votes. Utah received 74 votes and Washington State received 68 votes.

But, much like the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll, this one is also meaningless because no games have been played.

The good news is that the college football season kicks off Friday night when UC Berkeley plays Hawaii at 7pm PT on ESPN. That also means that the season will kick off with the #Pac12AfterDark, even if it will be 3pm locally in Australia.

Go Bruins!!!

As has been discussed ad infinitum on this site, Cal has a bit of an athletic debt they’d like to get rid of as quickly as possible. So they have done whatever they can to reduce it year-by-year.

The latest endeavor has been neutral site games, which sound more and more like they will become an inevitability every year until debts are paid. Cal is set to earn a million dollars from their trip to Australia.

Jon Wilner has more on the financial details, which are encouragingly friendly to the Bears.

A home football game against a Sacramento State, Portland State or UC Davis generates a negligible profit. Ticket revenue is usually in the high six figures, but it’s largely offset by game-day operating expenses and the whopping guarantee required by the opponent — often more than $400,000.

…

The paycheck Cal secured for playing in Sydney is well in excess of $1 million. The Bears are guaranteed a seven-figure profit from the experience, even when all expenses are factored into the calculation.

Those expenses, by the way, include travel and the cost of cancelling the home game that had been scheduled before the Hawaii game materialized.

Considering how the Bears break even on FCS contests, does that mean more of these neutral games are now just an inevitability? The opportunity is there for Cal to cash in and keep moving faster to recoup costs.

Neutral site games have proven to make a lot of money for major college football programs thanks to TV money, so it seems inevitable that Cal will start signing up for more major games in NFL stadiums if they can do it. Whether it be in Australia, or Santa Clara, or maybe the new NFL stadium in Los Angeles, or elsewhere throughout the nation, Cal is likely to sign up for these one-and-dones if they can recoup costs.

While the experience will be financially beneficial for Cal Athletics, it probably will not encourage fan growth. And let’s face it, neutral games will more often than not be strictly neutral. Cal fans are not likely to travel in huge numbers to sites outside the state of California. We saw how difficult it was for Golden Bears to even fill up games close to Berkeley in Santa Clara and San Francisco (in AT&T Park and Candlestick).

Cal fans, your thoughts on the potential for more neutral site games?

It’s been like clockwork: familiar names have been the topic discussion since the spring game and few others have been perceived worthy of the headlines. When asked during Saturday’s media availability about who’s not being talked about, but should be, Charlie Strong didn’t hesitate to mention a handful of talents often without praise. Wide receivers Jacorey Warrick and Jake Oliver, along with defensive tackles Poona Ford and Chris Nelson are the guys Strong noted players standing out throughout the summer and training camp.

“Jake Oliver and Petey Warrick are the two guys on offense I would say we’re not asking enough about,” Strong said. “On defense, it’s Poona and Chris Nelson, the two guys inside for us right now. They are doing an unbelievable job and they’re doing an unbelievable job from their leadership ability.”

In regards to Ford and Nelson, Strong said the two have stepped up at times like in meetings, where each of the two will have two of the younger lineman huddled around them while Ford and Nelson help explain the defense. As Strong often discusses, Texas’ ability to get pressure on the quarterback will be critical for its success in 2016. Texas exchanged havoc-wreaker Hassan Ridgeway for seven fresh faces on the defensive line so not only will Ford, Nelson and Paul Boyette Jr.’s assistance in getting the young talent up to speed be pivotal, but their on-field productivity will need to take a significant step. Ford recorded 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a sophomore, while Nelson played in eight games as a redshirt freshman, adding seven tackles and one sack.

The receivers Strong noted seem less likely, though, to have much of a noticeable impact on the game one the season actually kicks off. Oliver, who Strong said, “is a guy who’s had a really good camp,” has yet to haul in a single in-game reception after not playing as a freshman and playing in eight games last season; mostly on special teams. Texas is in no shortage of receiver options and that depth could limit Oliver to special teams and not much more in 2016.

Warrick on the other hand, could see his share of reps in the slot in an offense that will have multiple receivers on essentially every down excluding short yardage situations. The senior receiver, who caught passes in three games last season, including four receptions for 42 yards against Kansas, is the one Strong raved about most favorably.

“The guy you’re not asking about who’s probably having a really good camp right now, if you look at it on offense is Jacorey Warrick,” Strong said. I think he’s having an unbelievable camp right now. He’s making all the catches and is just practicing so hard. You feel him.”

Additionally, Strong mentioned junior receiver Dorian Leonard, saying he “has came a million miles.” There’s evidence to that end in the form of this amazing touchdown reception, in which Leonard rose up over Kris Boyd and plucked the ball out of the air.

Whether or not these guy’s presences will still be felt when the season actually begins, but on a team with so much high-profile youth, it’s good to heard Strong point praise towards some of the less often mentioned vets.

Ahead of Fan Appreciation Day at High Point Solutions Stadium this afternoon, Rutgers Football held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new strength and conditioning center. The football team begin using the renovated facility at the start of training camp, but today was the official unveiling. The renovations were made possible by longtime boosters Ron and Joanna Garutti, who donated 1.25 million dollars for the project back in February.

Upgrading the entire strength and conditioning program has been a major point of emphasis by head coach Chris Ash since his arrival on the banks. Bringing Kenny Parker with him from Ohio State to Rutgers was an instrumental hire that has reshaped the way this program trains and prepares for the football season. Parker has earned rave reviews from both the coaches and players in getting them in peak physical shape at the start of fall training camp. Howard Griffith of BTN recently remarked how much bigger the team looks at the start of this season compared to last year.

The renovated weight room was scheduled to open at the beginning of June, but was delayed due to some construction issues. The players worked out under the south end zone of the stadium during renovations. The temporary conditions may have played perfectly into the type of mental and physical challenges that Ash and Parker like to utilize in offseason workouts.

It was a major development for Ash to secure this type of donation so early in his tenure. This shows how much he is instilling confidence into important supporters of the program, like the Garutti’s. With Rutgers firmly entrenched in the facilities game, a necessary reality in order to succeed in the Big Ten, the RFund continues to raise money for R B1G Build project. This donation by the Garutti’s was separate from that project, which is why the renovations were able to get done so quickly.

As we all know, all the positive changes that have occurred in the past year started with the hiring of Pat Hobbs as Rutgers athletic director. His precise leadership and strong hires so early on have reshaped the future of Rutgers athletics. Let’s also take a minute to appreciate how fortunate we are to have such loyal supporters as the Garutti’s, who made the weight room goals of Ash a reality in just six months time. It certainly is a new day at Rutgers, and for that we should all be thankful!

I go back an forth about how I feel about this season, from excitement for the challenge ahead to sheer terror for the challenge ahead. It ain’t about to be an easy year, but I also feel like this team has a better chance to surprise than any of Dave Doeren’s prior Wolfpack teams. (After the completely dull 2015 season, I’ve talked myself into this idea.)

They’ll have plenty of opportunities to do that, with five opponents in the AP top 25 to begin the season, and three of them in the top 10. Miami just missed the cut, finishing 26th in the voting. I guess the good news is that these six games are split evenly between home and road. We have enough of a hill to climb with a lopsided number of these upset bids having to come on the road.

My plea this offseason is the same as it was two years ago: please, please let our starting quarterback be good. Give me that and I should be able to mostly be at peace with what happens this year.