NCAA Football 2015

[grumbler]

Time to get this thread started.  First up is a story Berkut will love:  Rich Rodriguez allows fans to call some of the plays in the Arizona spring game.

Coaches are always getting second-guessed. Arizona's Rich Rodriguez decided to give the fans an actual chance to make their calls as the Wildcats went through their spring game on Friday.
Rodriguez headed into the stands, mic in hand, and sought out some of the Wildcat faithful.
He made certain the first "play-caller" hadn't been tailgaiting before giving him the opportunity to try and get Arizona into the end zone.
Spring games provide a time for fun. Coach Rodriguez took it to a great new level.

Pictures and a vid at the link.
http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/arizona-wildcats-rich-rodriguez-gives-fans-chance-to-call-plays-041115

[Berkut]

RichRod really is just awesome. He always shows up at the basketball games, his family is totally into the community, he really buys into being a part of the Arizona family, not just some aloof "God of Football" who isn't willing to mix with the masses.

Maybe it is all part of his scheme, but who cares? It works, and he finally has Arizona football moving in the right direction.

Now, if he could just start landing some blue chip recruits...

[grumbler]

RichRod really is just awesome. He always shows up at the basketball games, his family is totally into the community, he really buys into being a part of the Arizona family, not just some aloof "God of Football" who isn't willing to mix with the masses.

Maybe it is all part of his scheme, but who cares? It works, and he finally has Arizona football moving in the right direction.

Now, if he could just start landing some blue chip recruits...

Yeah, that's something I've enjoyed about Michigan football since he arrived at Michigan and started the tradition of the coaches all going to each others' games, when possible, and encouraging their players to attend the games in other sports (Denard Robinson was very visible attending basketball, hockey, and softball games).  Lloyd Carr was active in the community, and Bo was big into getting the team involved in charity work, but both were much more the aloof football god than RichRod.  I'm glad he's finding success at AZ, and I'm sure the blue chippers will start to sign.  Pro football is getting more and more friendly with the game he coaches.

[Valmy]

It just feels so much better now that the SEC has been stopped two years in a row. Looking for three.

Feeling really confident Charlie Strong is the man. This season will reflect that I am sure but beyond that I am not sure what to expect.

[PDH]

God I so want Craig Bohl to be the man.

[MadImmortalMan]

Nevada gets Arizona at home on Sept. 12. That could be fun. For Arizona. I might go anyway though. Maybe RichRod will let me call some plays.

[grumbler]

So, what do people think about Aussie-style punting in the NCAA?  Michigan just picked up an Australian punter, and so have OSU, PSU, and Indiana [? - one of those western division non-powers].  Hawaii, of course, had a great one last year, and Utah had the best punting in the country with theirs.

Is this the wave of the future?  Or is it a gimmick that only works because so few people use it?

[Valmy]

Oh is that Aussie style? I was wondering what that is. I don't know if it the wave of the future but I don't think it is a gimmick either, it has its strengths I think. Get the punter moving and it helps boxing in the returner.

[jimmy olsen]

I'm starting to think the Rams made a mistake in drafting him.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/13/lawrence-phillips-accused-of-murdering-his-prison-cellmate/related/

Lawrence Phillips accused of murdering his prison cellmate

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 13, 2015, 7:18 PM EDT

Lawrence Phillips, the troubled running back who is remembered as one of the great busts in the history of the NFL draft, is accused of murdering his prison cellmate.

Phillips, who is currently serving a 31-year sentence in a California state prison for convictions on charges including auto theft and spousal abuse, has now been named as the suspect in the death of his cellmate, a convicted murderer named Damion Soward.

NBC San Diego reports that prison officials confirmed today that they believe Phillips killed Soward, who was found unresponsive in his cell early Saturday morning and died on Sunday. Soward was one of two inmates murdered in the Kern Valley State Prison over the weekend. The other victim, a 41-year-old man, is also believed to have been killed by his cellmate.

Phillips was a superstar running back at Nebraska who was controversially allowed to keep playing for the Cornhuskers even after multiple run-ins with the law. His NFL career was a disaster: The Rams drafted Phillips with the sixth overall pick in 1996, but he was a constant troublemaker off the field and a bad player on the field, and the team cut him after two disappointing seasons. He briefly played for the Dolphins and 49ers after that; his most notable play was a missed block that led to Hall of Famer Steve Young taking a blindside hit and suffering a career-ending concussion.

Phillips has been incarcerated at Kern Valley State Prison since 2008.

[grumbler]

I'm starting to think the Rams made a mistake in drafting him.

I'm starting to think that you don't know what NCAA football means.  Take your post to one of your many megathreads, please.

[alfred russel]

So far, Miami has had 2 first round draft picks, 1 second round draft pick, 2 third round draft picks, and 1 fourth round draft pick.

The team was 6-7 last year in a shitty conference.

My question is this: if you are 6-7 with talent like that, in a conference like the ACC, and you have a coach that has only compiled mediocre records, why should the fans or anyone else have hope for next year? "Maybe if we can get 5 1st round draft picks on the team we can go 8-5?" Is that the hope?

FWIW, Notre Dame was 8-5 and beat LSU in a bowl game, but has yet to have anyone drafted.

[MadImmortalMan]

Well, it's a question of timing. It's actually a good thing for next year if your team hasn't got many players in the draft. Not so much if there are lots of them but they just don't get drafted. 

[alfred russel]

Well, it's a question of timing. It's actually a good thing for next year if your team hasn't got many players in the draft. Not so much if there are lots of them but they just don't get drafted. 

You definitely agree though that it's a bad sign if your team sucks, recruiting has fallen off, fans have lost interest to the extent that attendance will probably dip under 20k, and all your best players just got drafted?

[alfred russel]

So Miami had one of the best NFL drafts of any college. And yet, 6-7.

Last place in the ACC Coastal.

For those not up on ACC division alignments, the ACC Coastal is the division without FSU, Clemson, or Louisville.

How do you finish in last place in the ACC Coastal with 2 first round draft picks, 6 guys picked in the first 4 rounds, and 7 guys overall? It almost feels like that should violate some fundamental law of the universe.

In fairness, they did tie for last place with 2 other teams. I guess that makes it okay, and justifies bringing Golden back for another year.

[Ed Anger]

Relax.