February 2008 - Posts
Less than 24 hours after Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton shared the spotlight, lashing out at each other in their latest Democratic debate, Will Muschamp and Major Applewhite took over the spotlight, and there was nothing but love as Austin turned its attention back to Longhorn football.
Yep, college football is back already. On Friday afternoon, a day after giving Obama a tour of his Texas-sized football facilities, Mack Brown was the first coach in the nation to get started with his allotment of 15 spring practice sessions.
That’s when Brown and junior quarterback Colt McCoy, the usual focal points, took a backseat to Muschamp and Applewhite, who are the rock stars of the spring.
Muschamp, the Longhorns’ new defensive coordinator, is already getting rave reviews after working with the Texas players for the first time.
That’s when Brown and junior quarterback Colt McCoy, the usual focal points, took a backseat to Muschamp and Applewhite, who are the rock stars of the spring.
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After meeting for three days this week, the NCAA “Football Rules Committee” emerged with several proposed changes for the upcoming 2008 season. One can assume that there were plenty of NFL rulebooks tucked into briefcases in that room.
Unlike last year, when the primary goal of the committee was to fix the timing errors they made in 2006, the committee’s focus was to “enhance the safety of our student-athletes.” The NFL-esque results included: stricter guidelines and penalties for dangerous helmet-related contact, a simplified interpretation of chop blocks and prohibiting the “horse-collar” tackle. We’re not sure why those rules weren’t in place to begin with, but it’s good to have them now in the hands of the “Playing Rules Oversight Panel” (we aren’t making that up).
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Tommy Bowden set himself up. For what exactly remains to be seen. But he’s set up now.
Recruiting classes that deserve a standing ovation, like the one he wrapped up on Wednesday, have a way of doing that to you. It all has to do with the level of expectations.
And at Clemson, you also have to factor in “the wait.”
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A couple decades ago, longtime college basketball coach and voracious reader George Raveling said: “After reviewing more than 60 sports sections from across the nation, I have yet to find one college football coach who didn’t have a great recruiting year. Where did all the average players go?”
While the jab may have been fueled by the playful rivalry between college football and basketball coaches, it was indeed true. Back then, before the Internet gave birth to a multitude of recruiting pontificators and prognosticators, a coach’s class sometimes could be as good as he wanted it to be … until the players actually started playing, of course.
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