College football offseason thread

[dew1679666265]

I figure this is a good thread to have so that we don't have to keep the rather long bowl discussion thread open.

 

The USC news continues. Mike Riley shuns the Trojans.

 

Mike Riley has agreed to a three-year contract extension with Oregon State, which would seemingly end his rumored candidacy to replace Pete Carroll at USC.

The extension runs through the 2019 season. Terms, a school spokesman said, will be disclosed later.

 

Tommy Tuberville has also been introduced as the new head coach of Texas Tech.

[Guest]

Carroll knew about coach's drug addiction before car crash

 

And the NCAA probe into USC is over:

 

Yahoo[/url]"]After almost four years of investigation, the NCAA’s probe into the USC athletic program has reached a conclusion. Sources familiar with the investigation have told Yahoo! Sports that the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions will meet from Feb. 19-21 to address what investigators uncovered at USC. According to typical NCAA procedures, if sanctions are necessary, they will be determined and then made public via a news conference within six-to-eight weeks of the February hearing.

[Magnetic Curses]

kyle prater decommitted after carroll left and is now considering tennessee and illinois among some others.

[The Voice of Reason]

kyle prater decommitted after carroll left and is now considering tennessee and illinois among some others.

 

No great loss. He's over-rated. Might actually get some playing time at one of those schools.

[Andy]

kyle prater decommitted after carroll left and is now considering tennessee and illinois among some others.

 

No great loss. He's over-rated. Might actually get some playing time at one of those schools.

Considering the scholarships USC's probably going to lose fairly soon, I imagine Prater would get plenty of playing time at USC.

[Butterscup1679666578]

my favorite thing about every single college fan base is how a player is "overrated" and "wouldnt play anyways" once they decommit.

[Andy]

my favorite thing about every single college fan base is how a player is "overrated" and "wouldnt play anyways" once they decommit.

Personally, I'd love Prater. I saw a YouTube highlight film of him and he looks like a solid player. But he wants to enroll early and he doesn't have a sufficient course load to do it at ND. I'm guessing he ends up at Illinois.

[The Voice of Reason]

my favorite thing about every single college fan base is how a player is "overrated" and "wouldnt play anyways" once they decommit.

 

I said it when he signed with USC. How many great skill players have ever come out of Proviso West?

[dew1679666265]

I keep thinking he was pretty close to having UT at the top of his list (though behind USC, obviously) when he committed. Not saying he'll come to UT, but I keep thinking we might have a really good chance.

 

That said, having Markeith Ambles, Matt Milton and Ted Meline already committed with Marsalis Teague currently on campus, he might have less competition elsewhere. I have no idea of ND or Illinois' WR depth charts, however.

[RedFlash]

I keep thinking he was pretty close to having UT at the top of his list (though behind USC, obviously) when he committed. Not saying he'll come to UT, but I keep thinking we might have a really good chance.

 

That said, having Markeith Ambles, Matt Milton and Ted Meline already committed with Marsalis Teague currently on campus, he might have less competition elsewhere. I have no idea of ND or Illinois' WR depth charts, however.

 

Which means Blake Sims (who is visiting Bama this weekend) could recommit to Bama if and/or when Tennessee lands Prater. I think Bama could land Sims either way, but if Tenn lands Prater, it would clear up a couple of different commitment situations.

[dew1679666265]

I keep thinking he was pretty close to having UT at the top of his list (though behind USC, obviously) when he committed. Not saying he'll come to UT, but I keep thinking we might have a really good chance.

 

That said, having Markeith Ambles, Matt Milton and Ted Meline already committed with Marsalis Teague currently on campus, he might have less competition elsewhere. I have no idea of ND or Illinois' WR depth charts, however.

 

Which means Blake Sims (who is visiting Bama this weekend) could recommit to Bama if and/or when Tennessee lands Prater. I think Bama could land Sims either way, but if Tenn lands Prater, it would clear up a couple of different commitment situations.

 

I don't know as much about Blake Sims as I do Prater. Lane has been going much harder after Prater than Sims, so I'm assuming he prefers Prater.

[RedFlash]

I don't know as much about Blake Sims as I do Prater. Lane has been going much harder after Prater than Sims, so I'm assuming he prefers Prater.

 

Apparently a couple of days agao Lane and company went to visit Sims at his house and apparently whatever he said had Sims thinking, and subsequently decommited from Bama. But if Prater goes to Tennessee, I think Sims will recommit to Alabama, cause I would hate to lose an athlete of Smis caliber.

[dew1679666265]

I don't know as much about Blake Sims as I do Prater. Lane has been going much harder after Prater than Sims, so I'm assuming he prefers Prater.

 

Apparently a couple of days agao Lane and company went to visit Sims at his house and apparently whatever he said had Sims thinking, and subsequently decommited from Bama. But if Prater goes to Tennessee, I think Sims will recommit to Alabama, cause I would hate to lose an athlete of Smis caliber.

 

Yeah, there's likely only so much competition a kid will deal with at a school I would think (of course, I thought that as USC's stable of 5-star RBs went from 2 to 500). If we can add Prater (big if), that's a lot of star power with Ambles, Prater, Milton and Meline.

[RedFlash]

SI's Peter King reports that Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio is making calls to potential staff members in anticipation of leaving Jacksonville for USC.

 

Meanwhile, the Florida Times Union reports Del Rio is safe if he wants to stay with the Jags. He's meeting with owner Wayne Weaver on Tuesday. In light of this latest development, however, it's possible Del Rio might intentionally tank the "interview" with Weaver to coach his alma mater. Oregon State's Mike Riley, Washington's Steve Sarkisian, and Titans coach Jeff Fisher have already turned down the Trojans, who are running out of high-profile options. Jan. 11 - 8:27 pm et

 

Hmmm....

[imb]

my favorite thing about every single college fan base is how a player is "overrated" and "wouldnt play anyways" once they decommit.

 

OU fans are the worst at this.

 

about 30 years ago, barry switzer told some recruit "come to OU or don't, we'll win championships with you or without you."

 

now every [expletive] redneck says this about every [expletive] recruit. i've even heard it this year about at least 12 different players. unless these idiots mean the sun bowl championship, i wish they would shut up

[SpongeWorthy]

USC is only running out of high profile targets only if they work off the ex-USC or guys with Carroll connections list.

 

But it sounds like it'll be Del Rio. Meh. I think he'll be able to bring in some good staff (Coach O plz) but I would prefer someone like Petersen.

[dew1679666265]

USC is only running out of high profile targets only if they work off the ex-USC or guys with Carroll connections list.

 

But it sounds like it'll be Del Rio. Meh. I think he'll be able to bring in some good staff (Coach O plz) but I would prefer someone like Petersen.

 

I'd like very much for Tennessee to keep him.

[SpongeWorthy]

Is Orgeron going to be DC when Monte hangs it up?

[dew1679666265]

Is Orgeron going to be DC when Monte hangs it up?

 

He'll probably take a head coaching job before that, I think. Monte's still going strong and I wouldn't be surprised if he gave it another 2-3 years at least. Somebody will probably hire Orgeron before that.

[SouthSideRyan]

I think USC should hire Oregeron as head coach.

[Andy]

I keep thinking he was pretty close to having UT at the top of his list (though behind USC, obviously) when he committed. Not saying he'll come to UT, but I keep thinking we might have a really good chance.

 

That said, having Markeith Ambles, Matt Milton and Ted Meline already committed with Marsalis Teague currently on campus, he might have less competition elsewhere. I have no idea of ND or Illinois' WR depth charts, however.

ND is Michael Floyd and then up for grabs. A couple of solid possibilities among the young group, but no one that's really grabbed me.

[dew1679666265]

I keep thinking he was pretty close to having UT at the top of his list (though behind USC, obviously) when he committed. Not saying he'll come to UT, but I keep thinking we might have a really good chance.

 

That said, having Markeith Ambles, Matt Milton and Ted Meline already committed with Marsalis Teague currently on campus, he might have less competition elsewhere. I have no idea of ND or Illinois' WR depth charts, however.

ND is Michael Floyd and then up for grabs. A couple of solid possibilities among the young group, but no one that's really grabbed me.

 

I knew Golden Tate went pro and Floyd was still there, but had no clue about the rest of the wideouts there.

[TheVolCub08]

Alright, just checking in with a few things I have heard today...

 

Smart was all but locked up to UGA, but in the 11th hour, Bama came back with an offer that Smart could not refuse. UGA was sure they had him locked up, and Smart may have seriously damaged any shot he had at becoming the next head coach at UGA. I'm hearing that a bridge was severely burned today. This is from a high school coach very close to the Athletic Dept at UGA, so tifwiw.

 

Kyle Prater is expected to visit UT this weekend, and the belief off the record is that if he visits, he's a UT lock. Since he wants to be an EE, a decision this weekend is a necessity if he's going to land at TN. Oddly enough, UT was not in Praters Top 3 when he committed to USC, as OU and ND were there. This is a move of necessity for Prater, and UT is in the picture for 3 reasons: Kiffin and his style that is pretty similar to Carroll's, Kippy Brown, and the fact that Zach Fulton and Matt Milton (both families are close to the Praters) are Vols. This decision will have little to no impact on whether the Vols continue to pursue Sims, as they are looking at him as a slot receiver. And don't fool yourself into thinking that TN does not want Sims if they sign Prater. Kiffin and crew spent 7 hours at the Sims house the day before he decommitted. You don't spend that kind of time with a kid you don't desperately want. I've also got interesting info on Sims from a very reliable source that you're welcome to if interested. This info comes from someone who says that Sims would decommit almost 2 months ago.

 

Look for Jessie Scroggins and possibly George Uko to decommit and take a hard look at TN (there are TONS of connections between USC kids and the UT program). I doubt either lands at UT, but their names will both be mentioned there in the coming weeks.

 

You can believe all of this or none of this. Either way, won't bother me. I know it sounds like a UT fan saying "everyone wants to play for us", but this is not at all true. Some of this info is a little hard for me to believe as well, but it comes from the same folks who told me 3 days before that Ahmad Dixon would be a Vol, and that Willis was also switching back to TN several days before that was made public.

 

Per Rivals, TN ends with a Top 3 class. Might still make them 3rd in the SEC, though. Of course, those rankings don't mean anything more than a little positive PR in February, and we all know that nobody wins games on paper in February.

[RedFlash]

Smart was all but locked up to UGA, but in the 11th hour, Bama came back with an offer that Smart could not refuse. UGA was sure they had him locked up, and Smart may have seriously damaged any shot he had at becoming the next head coach at UGA. I'm hearing that a bridge was severely burned today. This is from a high school coach very close to the Athletic Dept at UGA, so tifwiw.

 

There is two sides to the story. And GA is not necessarily telling the full truth. They are trying to pull the wool over the eyes, by making Smart out to be the "bad guy" for not coming home "when mama calls", when the reality is, GA got turned down by yet another defensive coordinator. This is getting more embarrassing then Bama's HC search of 2007. If you want to believe GA's side of the story, then you're not the full story. Because they are an admittled to be a venegeful lock when one of "their own" turn them down. So again, don't look at the story from one side, just the whole side.

 

Kyle Prater is expected to visit UT this weekend, and the belief off the record is that if he visits, he's a UT lock. Since he wants to be an EE, a decision this weekend is a necessity if he's going to land at TN. Oddly enough, UT was not in Praters Top 3 when he committed to USC, as OU and ND were there. This is a move of necessity for Prater, and UT is in the picture for 3 reasons: Kiffin and his style that is pretty similar to Carroll's, Kippy Brown, and the fact that Zach Fulton and Matt Milton (both families are close to the Praters) are Vols. This decision will have little to no impact on whether the Vols continue to pursue Sims, as they are looking at him as a slot receiver. And don't fool yourself into thinking that TN does not want Sims if they sign Prater. Kiffin and crew spent 7 hours at the Sims house the day before he decommitted. You don't spend that kind of time with a kid you don't desperately want. I've also got interesting info on Sims from a very reliable source that you're welcome to if interested. This info comes from someone who says that Sims would decommit almost 2 months ago.

 

Personally, I think Prater is going to end up with Notre Dame, to be honest. The fact that he only took 3 official visits (Notre Dame, Illinois, and USC) speaks volume, to me, as to he was down to those three teams. And while he might schedule an official (tick, tick, time is running out) I still if Kyle Prater decommits, ND will be the favorites only because I think has a better QB prospect in Dayne Crist then either Taylor Bray or maybe even better then Jesse Scroggins. With that said, I could see Prater staying with USC.

 

As for Blake Sims I agree. Lane Kiffen and his crew something something to get Sims thinking. From what I am told is that Blake and CNS had a get together and they mutally agree to let him reopen his commitment. Apparently Tennseess gave Sims this silly notion he could be a QB in college. I really doubt it. This is Tennessee desparate for bodies at QB position. This young man is electrfying athlete. Let him make an impact either slot (ala Percy Harvin, DeSean Jackson) or at DB where they are few coaches that can coaches up DB prospect to reach their potential more then Saban. My understanding is Blake Sims will be taking a visit to Capstone this week, and Saban has encourage Sims to take a visit up to Knoxville. The day he finished his meeting Saban, he told coach that while he was decommited, he still had Bama as his lead for his recommitment. My guess is, if Sims questions gets answered to his and his family likings, he's Bama and he won't take any more officials. So Tennessee, imo, still has quite a ways to get this kid. But if you guys pull this kid, he is extremely electrifying young man.

[dew1679666265]

And while he might schedule an official (tick, tick, time is running out) I still if Kyle Prater decommits, ND will be the favorites only because I think has a better QB prospect in Dayne Crist then either Taylor Bray or maybe even better then Jesse Scroggins. With that said, I could see Prater staying with USC.

 

Prater has already decommitted, to my knowledge. Doesn't mean he won't recommit to USC at some point, but he has already decommitted.

 

This is Tennessee desparate for bodies at QB position.

 

UT has plenty of warm bodies, if nothing else. Between Nick Stephens, Nick Lemaison, Tyler Bray, Matthew Simms and perhaps Nash Nance, we'll have plenty of warm body QBs. And guys like Bray and Simms could end up being pretty good. Nance as well.