Gary Jennings And Ka’Raun White Add Physicality To West Virginia’s Receiver Corps

Having some bigger receivers working certain areas of the field, coupled with the fleet pass catchers the Mountaineers have on the flanks, can put more pressure on the defense and that’s exactly what West Virginia needs this season.

Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown: WVU’s best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions.

News Of Note
Football:

Dana Holgorsen is mostly known for the “system” wide receivers he’s been involved with through the years, smaller guys such as Danny Amendola, Patrick Edwards and Wes Welker at other places, as well as the current guys Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey and Mario Alford that he’s had at West Virginia. But if you more closely examine Holgorsen’s history, you will notice that he’s also had lots of success with bigger, more physical pass-catching targets as well.

Strong safety Jarrod Harper had an in-house view of West Virginia’s brutally poor 2012 and 2013 defenses that ranked 108th and 101st nationally. He doesn’t buy the comparisons to this year’s unit.

The touch pass the Mountaineers used to wreck the Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl may never return to West Virginia’s playbook, but that’s not a bad thing.

Former West Virginia offensive lineman Rick Phillips, a second-team AP All-American in 1988 when the Mountaineers played for the national championship, died Wednesday after a two-year fight with pancreatis and liver disease.

West Virginia Athletics:

Olympic gold medalist and Mountaineer shooter Ginny Thrasher came up one shot short of making the finals in her second Olympic event Thursday morning. The Mountaineer rifle team will still be well represented in the finals later today as former WVU shooter and All American Petra Zublasing, shooting for Italy, finished first in the qualifier with a score of 589. The finals started at 11 a.m.

The No. 6-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team is the unanimous No. 1 pick in the 2016 Big 12 Conference Soccer Preseason Poll, released Wednesday by the league office.

Around The League
Around The Big XII:

With no shortage of high-flying passing attacks in the Big 12, OK State’s James Washington has lots of company in the receiving-talent department. West Virginia’s Shelton Gibson comes in at No. 4, by ESPN’s estimation.

Around The NCAA:

Tennessee has methodically improved in Butch Jones’ first three seasons, and now the Vols are experienced, deep, and facing significant expectations. Are they ready to close out games?

Video Of Interest

Video Of (Dis)Interest

Miss Throwdown

Today’s Miss Throwdown is a Swedish bikini model. CLICK HERE for Anna Nystrom’s Instagram.

A photo posted by Anna Nyström (@annanystrom) on

Written on August 11, 2016 at 11:18 am


Aggie Football Fall Camp: Running Game Interviews 8.10.16

Kwame Etwi (RB)

Clarence McKinney

Written on August 11, 2016 at 11:15 am


Former Mississippi State Offensive Lineman Rufus Warren is Now a High School Assistant Coach

John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Like former Mississippi State running back Nick Griffin, it seems that former Mississippi State offensive lineman Rufus Warren is now an assistant coach for high school football. Warren is now an assistant coach at New Hope High School in Columbus, Mississippi.

Warren played was at Mississippi State from 2011 to 2015, redshirting during the 2011 season. He initially came to Starkville at 6’7” and 250 pounds set to be a tight end for the Bulldogs. However, as time wore on, he and the coaching staff decided that it was best that he bulk up and move to offensive line, where he wound up becoming a starter and that’s where he played his entire senior season.

Hat tip to Robby Donoho who revealed this wonderful nugget of information while he was preparing for the high school football season in a couple of weeks. Good luck with your endeavors, Rufus!

Written on August 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm


Get to know your Orange man – No. 21, RB Moe Neal

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

The versatile, freshman running back is SU’s top-rated recruit in the Class of 2016.

Name: Moe Neal

Position: Running Back

Year: Freshman

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 169

Hometown: Gastonia, N.C.

High School: Forestview

2015 Stats: As a senior at Forestview High School, Neal rushed for 1,381 yards and 20 touchdowns on 252 carries, and caught 27 passes for 525 yards and nine touchdowns.

2016 Projections: Neal was listed third on the Syracuse Orange’s post-spring depth chart at running back behind Dontae Strickland and Jordan Fredericks. The faster-tempo offense under Dino Babers will lead to more offensive snaps per game, which should translate to some significant playing time for Neal, even if he remains as the third-string running back.

How’d He Get Here: Neal chose SU over Wake Forest in his final decision, and had offers from a long list of other ACC schools (Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, NC State), West Virginia, Temple, Akron and a number of others.

He originally committed to the Orange under former coach Scott Shafer, and re-committed once Babers was hired. Neal enrolled at SU in January to get a head start participating in spring practice.

What’d Recruiting Sites Say?: Neal was rated three stars by ESPN, Rivals.com, Scout.com and 247Sports.com. He was Syracuse’s top-rated recruit in the Class of 2016.

Money Quote: Here’s what fellow running back (and number one on the depth chart) Dontae Strickland had to say about Neal during preseason camp a few days ago:

“He grasped everything pretty quick. The guy’s got cuttability, speed, vision, everything. He’s just a versatile back. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do this season.”

Links of Wonder: Neal’s home-county paper, the Gaston Gazette, wrote a nice piece during preseason ACC Media Days back in July about how he is poised for success after enrolling early at SU in January. The article features some great quotes on Neal from coach Babers and team captain Jason Emerich.

Twitterfeed: @Captainmoe21_

Tweets of Wonder: Pretty cool:

What Does the Coaching Staff Think of Him?: Well, here’s what Dino Babers had to say about Neal and a couple of his fellow freshman at the preseason ACC Media Days:

“What I will do is I’ll talk about Kenneth Ruff, Rex Culpepper and Moe Neal. Those were our three early midyear admits. All three of those freshman have done a fabulous job of learning the right things to do as far as getting to class and getting on time and representing the university in a proper manner…We’re excited about all three of those freshmen. We think they’re all going to help the family.”

Interesting Nugget O’Interest: Neal is the first player in Forestview High School history to earn a scholarship to a Power Five school.

Let’s Get a Good Look Atcha:

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:51 am


Kaaya shines, defense creates nine sacks, pick six in Canes first scrimmage

I’ll return with quotes and details from today’s closed scrimmage, but here are the stats provided by coach Mark Richt from Wednesday’s first scrimmage of the fall:

SOME DETAILS

> Richt said he had the first team offense face the second team defense and the first team defense go up against the second team offense.

> The defense created nine sacks, one interception return for a touchdown and two forced fumbles.

But as far as the pressure was concerned Richt said: “Again it’s hard to call it a sack when we’re actually not sacking the quarterback. When we think we have him dead to rights we let the official call it a sack.”

> Redshirt sophomore Ryan Mayes picked off quarterback Brad Kaaya and returned it for a touchdown. Richt, though, took the blame saying he asks Kaaya to make throws anyway.

> Kaaya threw his touchdown pass to Braxton Berrios on what Richt described as a deep go route.

> Sophomore safety Jaquan Johnson forced two fumbles with big hits.

SCRIMMAGE STATS

Passing
Brad Kaaya 16 of 19, 258 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Vinny Testaverde 3-3, 62 yards
Evan Shirreffs 3-5, 16
Malik Rosier 2-5, 1

Rushing
Mark Walton 7-29, 1 TD
Gus Edwards 7-13
Crispian Atkins 4-20
Joe Yearby 4-25
Travis Homer 7-22
Trayone Gray 2-6

Receiving
Braxton Berrios 3-75, 1 TD
Stacy Coley 3-35
Dayall Harris 2-80
Chris Herndon 2-24
Marquez Williams 2-16
Wyatt Chickillo 2-10
Sam Bruce 2-7
Malcolm Lewis 1-12

Defense
Trent Harris 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and two sacks for minus 15 yards
Romeo Finley 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and one sack
Jaquan Johnson 4 tackles, 2 forced fumbles
Robert Knowles 4 tackles
Jermaine Grace 3 tackles
Jamie Gordinier 3 tackles
Zach McCloud 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and a fumble recovery
R.J. McIntosh 3 tackles
Mike Smith 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
Michael Pinckney 3 tackles
Teddy Stavetski 3 tackles
Charles Perry 3 tackles
Al-Quadin Muhammad 2 sacks for minus 16 yards
Chad Thomas 3 tackles, 2 sacks for minus 7 yards
Rayshawn Jenkins 2 tackles, 1 pass breakup
Charles Perry 2 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
Corn Elder 2 tackles
Kendrick Norton 2 tackles
Gerald Willis 2 tackles
Malek Young 2 tackles
Terry McCray 2 tackles
Demetrius Jackson 1 tackle, 1 pass breakup and a fumble recovery
Ryan Mayes 1 tackle, 1 PBU and 1 interception for a TD
Shaquille Quarterman 1 tackle
Jared Hardie 1 tackle
Jamal Carter 1 tackle
Terrance Henley 1 tackle
Eddie Dunn 1 tackle

RICHT TRANSCRIPTION

On who stood out in the first scrimmage of #CanesCamp…

“We went ones [first string] versus twos [second string]. Our one offense, when it was all said and done, had a pretty good day. But we had a pick-6, and we had a fumble that could have got us beat. You take the turnovers out, it’s a pretty good day. But you can’t take the turnovers out, unfortunately. Had a couple of dropped balls. [Brad] Kaaya was 16 of 19 – we threw and caught the ball well. I think at least one was a drop, maybe two. The other one was a pick-6. That’s on me, really more than. him, to be honest with you. He was throwing a route on rhythm, and I told those guys to throw it no matter what. In practice, we’re not going to lose a game on it. So really, he did exactly what I asked him to do. It turned into a pick-6, so that was on me. Brad was very sharp. The other quarterbacks, I’ve kind of got to watch it. Obviously there were some statistics…but that doesn’t always tell the story, because we grade accuracy over the completion percentage and the decisions that these guys make.

“A few runs spit, not a lot. I thought defensively we played the run pretty darn good. The number one defense would have had as many sacks as we recorded – I think they would have had every one of those. They were really coming off the edge and creating issues for that number two [offensive] line.”

“One of the blessings is that nobody got banged up. Somebody might have got banged up, but nobody got hurt to the point where they had to come off the field for any reason, which was a huge blessing. That’s kind of what I’ll say as far as my observation. The farther away we were, we didn’t really drive the ball well…it’s kind of what tends to happen in the game. On the drives that started on the 50 or 40 [-yard line], the offense did extremely well. On the drives that started on the other side of the 50, we couldn’t execute well enough to go down the field – whether it was a turnover, or missed assignment, or whatever it may be. We did do some situations – third-and-medium and third-and-long. The ones on each side of the ball won the drill, in my opinion – one offense did well, the one defense did well. We let the threes [third string] rep. We let the threes get reps, and there’s just too many guys have no earthly idea what to do on just Day 1 plays. That’s what happens. It’s the first scrimmage of your life in college, you get a little nervous, you just forget everything. You can’t even get lined up. We had some of that going on with the young guys. It was kind of a cluster offensively with the threes, but they have to go through it.”

On if he saw any issues with penalties in the first scrimmage…

“We had a few penalties, but I didn’t think it was a massive amount. We had ACC officials. I told them to call it like they call it in a game. We had a holding on a screen play that you should never have. I’m trying to think of any defensive penalties – we didn’t really keep track of that. I don’t really remember any defensive penalties. We didn’t have any alignment issues, or any of that pre-snap stuff. We might have had another holding or something along the way…not a lot of penalties.”


On if he was encouraged overall with the performance of the team…

“Yeah. The other thing too, is you set up a scrimmage kind of the same you would have done it for years and it took ‘X’ amount of time. This scrimmage ended fast. It wasn’t because we went less plays, it was because we went less time between plays, and with tempo. Back in the old days, you’d call a play and get in the huddle, call a play and get in the huddle, call a play…that whole thing, I don’t know if it doubled it in time, but it must have been close. When you go no-huddle, even the scrimmages go faster.”


On if there were any players that took ownership of the moment…

“I’ve just been really pleased with Brad [Kaaya]. Brad has been very, very solid. Today, he was just locked in, taking care of business. [David] Njoku – we had a third-and-nine or third-and-ten – caught the ball short of the sticks by two or three yards, and guys were ‘bb’ing’ him, and he kept his balance and kept his feet and made a nice run. Same thing with Yearby – Yearby had a play where he probably got hit two yards short of the sticks but he just battled and fought to get that first down on those third-down situations. The edge pressure all day was more than what we could really handle – on that number two [offensive] line, for sure.”


On if any quarterbacks separated themselves as the No. 2 option…

“It sure was [even] going into this thing. I think the pack of twos were locked in pretty good. It’s been frustrating to figure out who that guy is. I talked to them last night about it, that there’s a possibility after this scrimmage that we might start repping one guy with the twos and one guy with the threes, and getting that guy ready. I don’t know if we’ll do that or not. After I look at the tape I’ll decide, and I know you all will be asking me that. Right now I don’t know for sure. But I also said, if someone gets named the number two tomorrow, if you’re three or four, don’t cry. You’ll still get reps, and it could change. It really, truly, could change. I don’t see anybody coming out of the crowd. I see a cluster of people – good thing, bad things, and there are some redeeming qualities in every one of them. They’re all doing some very nice things. But they are also doing some things that give me pause as to naming them the No. 2 quarterback.”

On the status of freshman linebacker Michael Pinckney…

“Pinckney got reps. He practiced. He’s been hobbling around with some kind of soft tissue issue. He went today. I’ll see how well he moved. We did every test you could to maybe give him peace that he’s okay, and he went. That was good. It’s hard. I think he’s a guy that has never been hurt. You don’t really know what a pulled muscle is. Is it truly a pull? Or is it just a cramp? What happens sometimes, when you get a cramp and it tightens up your hamstring, you say, ‘Oh, I pulled it.’ Sometimes it’s just constricted, it’s a cramp, and you don’t really understand the difference. From what [head athletic trainer] Vinny [Scavo] is saying and the doctors are saying, he has tremendous strength in that area, and they don’t see any weakness at all. We think he’s okay.”

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:50 am


Texas RBs D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren can’t get respect from ESPN, either

Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Despite being overlooked by the national media, by one metric the Smash Brothers are the best in the Big 12.

Two Oklahoma Sooners running backs. Two Baylor Bears running backs. An Iowa State Cyclones running back.

Despite finishing second in the Big 12 in yards per carry, Texas Longhorns running back D’Onta Foreman couldn’t manage to break into the top five players at his position in the conference this season, according to ESPN this week.

None of the inclusions above Foreman are particularly egregious.

Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine is a record-setting back who led the conference rushing touchdowns last season and amassed over 1,300 yards.

Baylor’s Johnny Jefferson led the conference in yards per carry and Shock Linwood was right behind Foreman.

Iowa State’s Mike Warren had trouble finding the end zone (five rushing touchdowns), but nearly matched the yardage of Perine.

And this isn’t even anything new — throughout the summer, members of the national media have overlooked Foreman, who burst onto the scene with his game-clinching 81-yard run against the Sooners in the Cotton Bowl and then scored on a 93-yard run against the Jayhawks, one of the longest runs in program history.

But that’s what makes this all so confusing. No other player in Texas history has had two runs of 80 or more yards in the same season. No player in the conference made more out of every run than Foreman except for Jefferson.

Of course, the fact that the Longhorns couldn’t stay on the field enough or even use Foreman as a focal point of the offense didn’t help. Nor did the fact that he missed the last two games of the season and Texas failed to qualify for a bowl game.

However, the fact remains that Foreman, and sophomore Chris Warren, are arguably the two most explosive runners in the conference, at least by one metric:

Both players need to stay healthy and continue to produce at the same level with more carries this season, but at least someone is willing to put some respeck on the names of the Smash Brothers.

As for the rest of the media, Foreman and Warren will just have to continue to earn it the hard way.

Sad thing is, it’s like the media didn’t learn anything from Foreman proving everyone wrong out of high school.

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:47 am


Michigan Football: Five Breakout Players on Offense for 2016

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Taking a look at the under the radar Wolverines who could make an impact on offense in 2016.

Training camp is underway for the Michigan Wolverines in preparation for the 2016 football season. Expectations for this season are high, but they are being embraced inside Schembechler Hall and the team is ready to cash in and make a statement to the rest of the college football world.

The Wolverines return one of the best defenses in the nation and bring back many of their key contributors on offense. Everyone knows Jake Butt, De’Veon Smith, Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh, among others.

But who are the players that will make their presence known this season that are under the radar heading into the fall?

Here are five candidates in no particular order:

Grant Newsome, Sophomore, Left Tackle

Jim Harbaugh has zero issues with burning redshirts if he feels that someone can contribute right away and help the team. That was the case last season for Newsome, who emerged as a key reserve lineman as a true freshman who came in and played in certain packages.

Fast forward to a year later, and now he is all but penciled in as the Wolverines’ blind side protector with Mason Cole moving inside to center. With a year under his belt and a full camp of first-team reps, Newsome could be a very steady player on an extremely experienced offensive line.

Ian Bunting, Junior, Tight End

The buzz coming out of Ann Arbor is that Bunting could be in for a big year, even with All-American Jake Butt ahead of him on the depth chart. Harbaugh likes to spread the ball around, especially to the tight ends.

Bunting is another tall target that will help whoever the starting quarterback ends up being as a safety valve across the middle of the field. Butt won’t be at Michigan forever, so Bunting very well could be the heir to the No. 1 tight end spot and his audition begins this season.

TJ Wheatley, Sophomore, Tight End

Speaking of tight ends, and this was already alluded to above, but Michigan is pretty deep at the position and another player that could be a contributor in key situations is Wheatley. At 6-6, 276, he is still extremely athletic and moves well for his size in the open field.

It remains to be seen the type of role he’ll play, but he could definitely be a factor.

Grant Perry, Sophomore, Wide Receiver

Perry was able to find his way onto the field early for Michigan as a true freshman in 2015. He had his fair share of ups and downs and finished the season with 14 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown.

With another year in the system, Perry has the look of a complimentary slot receiver that is a good fit with Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh on the outside. He should be another reliable target for the Michigan quarterbacks.

Ty Isaac, Senior, Running Back

Isaac has the most to gain or lose than any other player on this list. Other guys are breakout candidates, but he needs a breakout.

He finally hit the field as a Wolverine last season after sitting out a year after transferring from USC. He played in seven games, rushing for 205 yards and a touchdown but had problems with ball security, which saw him fall out of favor a bit.

Isaac had a good spring and appears ready to be a more regular contributor for Michigan. He may not usurp Smith as the team’s No. 1 running back, but he could definitely give them an added shot in the arm if he stays healthy and protects the football.

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:31 am


TAKE MY MONEY: Preseason Odds For Iowa Football

Bovada released their gambling odds for college football futures last week and for the first time since the 2010 season, the Hawkeyes find themselves favorites to win… well, anything.

Baby Steps

Iowa has the best odds to win the Big Ten West at +140, which should not come as a surprise seeing as how Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State are in the East.

Nebraska has the second-best odds at +200 (more on this later), followed by Wisconsin at +400. Northwestern is an intriguing pick at +900, but after that… well, the payouts are that high for Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue for a reason.

 

The trio of contenders make the East a little more top-heavy, with Ohio State getting even money to win that side of the division. Michigan has Iowa-like odds to win the East at +160, while Sparty could be a sexy dark horse to return to Indianapolis for a fourth time at +500.

The rest of the East? Brent Musburger’s Friends In The Desert don’t have much faith in them playing the role of spoiler this year. Good news for Rutgers fans, though. If they place a bet on their team to take the East and win, they will have enough money to move out of New Jersey!

 

Let’s look at the real prize here. Iowa hasn’t won the Big Ten outright since 1985, back before I was even an idea.

Vegas gives Iowa +750 odds to make a nice addition to its trophy case, giving better chances only to those guys in the other side of the division. Seeing as how Iowa was one stupid, legendary drive away from winning the conference a year ago, that doesn’t seem too bad!

 

Something else that’s fun to look at are the over/under win totals put on teams before the season starts. While Bovada puts the o/u for Iowa at 8.5 games, it curiously placed Nebraska at 9.5, despite giving Iowa better odds to win the West. Obviously Iowa can win fewer games than Nebraska overall and take the conference, but still. Maybe they thought Tommy Armstrong graduated?

Other o/u’s of note include Michigan at 10.5, OSU at 9 and MSU and Penn State at 8. Only Clemson, Boise State and Florida State have a higher o/u than Michigan at 11. Meanwhile, Iowa State’s rests at a whopping 3.5.

Leap of Faith

Next up we have National Championship futures—and they actually aren’t that bad! Iowa is +6600 to take the whole thing home, getting the same odds as Texas, Houston, Louisville and Texas A&M.

As one would imagine, Alabama has the best odds of winning it all, followed by LSU and Clemson. Michigan and Ohio State are tied for having the fourth-best odds of winning the National Championship at +900. Earlier in the year that number was closer to +1500 for Michigan, but at some sports books the Wolverines were bet so heavily that oddsmakers were forced to level the payout.

(Iowa State is +50,000 to win it all, which seems generous since Bovada didn’t even assign a number to Minnesota or Purdue or Illinois.)

The Doorstop

For Heisman winners, Leonard Fournette, Deshaun Watson and Christian McCaffery are your frontrunners. I haven’t seen anywhere to post Heisman numbers for C.J. Beathard or Desmond King HOWEVAH if Brad Kaaya, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Dobbs are getting odds, one would imagine CJB should be getting some numbers crunched as well.

SOON

As of a now, a dubious site on a dark corner of the internet that I’m not going to link to has Iowa listed as 28.5 point favorites over Miami (Ohio) in the opener. I’ll dissect that spread once we get closer to kickoff, but for now just daydream about the fact that some guy in a basement believes Iowa should win by 29 on Sept. 3. (I know that’s not exactly how point spreads function, just work with me here.)

Any other interesting (hypothetical) plays you guys (hypothetically) see in regards to CFB futures?

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:02 am


ASU Football: Sun Devils eligible for the NFL Draft to watch this year

We take a look at which ASU players scouts are looking at as they observe practice.

The new college football season is nearly here.

With that said, along with the scrutiny of fans and critics, players are now under the watch of NFL organizations almost daily.

During the second week of fall training camp alone, the Sun Devils have had scouts from the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Washington visit practice.

But who are they looking at exactly?

While the senior talent doesn’t boast the same type of recognizable name power as last year’s class did, there are still some intriguing prospects to keep a watch on throughout the 2016 campaign.

Redshirt seniors in their final year of eligibility

Tim White, WR/RET – 12 (5’11”, 185 lbs)

Edmond Boateng, DE – 97 (6’4”, 265 lbs)

Tramel Topps, DL – 92 (6’2”, 280 lbs)

Frederick Gammage, WR – 89 (5’11”, 185 lbs)

Kody Kohl, TE – 83 (6’3”, 235 lbs)

Stephon McCray, OL – 77 (6’3”, 314 lbs)

Salamo Fiso, LB – 58 (6’0”, 230 lbs)

Evan Goodman, OT – 57 (6’4”, 310 lbs)

Brandon Matthews, LB – 51 (6’0”, 216 lbs

Carlos Mendoza, LB – 43 (6’1”, 231 lbs)

Laiu Moeakiola, LB/S – 28 (6’1”, 215 lbs)

De’Chavon “Gump” Hayes, DB/RET/RB – 16 (5’11”, 190 lbs)

Eric Lauderdale, WR/CB – 14 (6’2”, 194 lbs)

Most Intriguing Names:

Tim White — White pushes Oregon’s Devon Allen and USC’s Adoree’ Jackson for most-athletic player in the Pac-12, if not the entire country. He quickly became ASU’s most dynamic playmaker last season, and if he improves fundamentally as a receiver in 2016 (most notably his hands), he’ll be almost a surefire selection on draft day.

Salamo Fiso — The inside linebacker was highly disruptive in 2015, racking up 20 tackles for loss. He’ll need to replicate that sort of production to prove his numbers aren’t solely a byproduct of scheme as opposed to skill set.

Evan Goodman — Sure, fans will find it near impossible to forget how he was torched against Myles Garrett in his first career start (for what it’s worth, most of the country struggled against him, too). But with experience, Goodman has seemingly grown more and more comfortable, and if he continues to develop, could become one of the better tackles in the conference.

True seniors entering their final year of eligibility

Daniel Groebner, WR – 88 (5’9”, 182 lbs)

Matthew Thompson, LB – 47 (5’11”, 200 lbs)

Ami Latu, NT – 41 (6’2”, 290 lbs)

Frederick Gammage, WR – 89 (5’11”, 185 lbs)

Matt Haack, P – 26 (6’1”, 199 lbs)

Zane Gonzalez, K – 5 (6’1”, 190 lbs)

Most Intriguing Names:

Ami Latu — JoJo Wicker and Tashon Smallwood will soak up the attention, but Latu’s role as the nose tackle is very important to the defense’s success. Latu can move very well for his size, and should his statistical production improve, he’ll be someone to keep a true eye on.

What about the other guys?

Yes, juniors and redshirt juniors are omitted from this list because there’s not many (if any) who would logically forgo their final year of eligibility. Running backs Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage are better suited by staying for their senior years so teams can have more tape of them.

The season could possibly bring some true excitement, but if it doesn’t, don’t expect many juniors to consider moving on to the NFL. However, this senior group has potential, so don’t be surprised if they contribute in a big way for ASU and parlay that into an NFL gig.

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:01 am


Why did Josh Robinson assume Dan Mullen called the Police on him?

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Josh Robinson made a foolish error in assuming it was Dan Mullen who called the police on him for trespassing.

So when news broke that Josh Robinson was issued a trespassing citation, he made a quick assumption it was Dan Mullen who made the call to MSU Police. But we know now, that couldn’t be any further from the truth.

So the real question is why did Robinson assume it was Dan Mullen? For whatever reason, Josh Robinson has made it clear he believes there has been some friction between him and Dan Mullen.

For whatever reason, Josh Robinson doesn’t seem to have warm, fuzzy feelings about Dan Mullen. Could there be friction between the two? Sure, it’s entirely possible. There are 85 players on scholarship every season at Mississippi State, so it is very reasonable that Dan Mullen and some of his players won’t see eye to eye.

But for Robinson to just make an assumption it was Mullen who called the police was foolish. The last thing Mullen would want is for people to believe he would call the police on his former athletes for something as simple as trespassing. Furthermore, even if Mullen had just seen a car pulled up to the track in the middle of the night, he wouldn’t have known who the car belonged to, so it wouldn’t have been something where Mullen was out to get Robinson as the former Bulldog portrays in his tweets.

It’s sad to see this coming from Robinson. He was as beloved a Bulldog as there was on the 2014 team. But ever since he left the team to pursue a career in the NFL, things haven’t gone as well as he would like them to. He is trying to find his way on to a roster, but so far there haven’t been any takers. I’m hoping this is just the result of a frustrated player looking for someone or something to take those frustrations out on.

Now that we know it wasn’t Dan Mullen, Josh Robinson should issue an apology to those who follow him. He was a lightly recruited prospect the school took a chance on and gave him the opportunity in the NFL he had during the 2015 season. Hopefully he’ll see beyond his frustrations and do so.

Written on August 10, 2016 at 11:00 am


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