What'd I Miss?

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Posted by DCS

Guilty as charged. I've been AWOL for a few days, but I gotta tell you; it's tough holdin' down a full time job and sneaking in time to feed my passion.

Apparently I've missed out on all the latest Big East coaching staff movement. Jim Leavitt at USF is out another coordinator now that long time assistant Wally Burnham is moving on to Iowa State. Star Bull d-lineman George Selvie is beside himself following Burnham's decision to bolt for Aimes. To make matters worse, it looks like yet another defensive assistant in Troy Douglas, will be moving on to coach defensive backs at UNC with Butch Davis.

In regards to above, I can't say that I'm all that surprised that this is occurring. Part of the draw for Burnham to join Paul Rhoads at Iowa State, is to have the opportunity to coach alongside his son, who currently coaches at Elon, but will now coach the Cyclones' D-line. That being said, if Douglas announced his departure first, it might have opened a spot for Burnham's son to join Leavitt's staff in Tampa, thus keeping Burnham around for a while longer. That didn't happen though, so Leavitt is left to fill vacancies for his two coordinators and a defensive backs coaching positions. The good news? USF's schedule is complete with a second D-1AA team on the docket for 2009.

What else?:

• The folks at Bleed Scarlet are not fans of the idea of Rutgers playing two D-1AA opponents in 2009
• Chas at Pitt Blather opines on the O-Coordinator opening at Pitt
• Chuck Bednar thinks LeSean McCoy may be helping Brian Westbrook out in the Eagles' backfield next year
• Rutgers O-Coordinator John McNulty is apparently being looked at to join the Arizona Cardinals' staff (Tom Luicci / Newark Star-Ledger)
• Brian Bennett of ESPN's Big East Blog discusses the conference's under-the-radar successes
• Doug Marrone rounds out his staff with long-time NFL assistant Bob Casullo ...
• ...meanwhile, he hasn't heard from hot prospect David Oku yet

One In, One Out

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Posted by DCS

We learned of two very significant news items having to do with Big East teams today:

1. As surmised, Pittsburgh's LeSean McCoy is on his way out and headed to the NFL
2. Surprisingly, former USC wide receiver Vidal Hazelton will be transferring to Cincinnati

Number one is a surprise to nobody, given the significant amount of chatter from all ends of the media spectrum, that "Shady" McCoy would pack it in and accept his fate at the NFL draft. It was only a matter of time before an official announcement was made, and today was the day for that.

Hazelton's case is a little more surprising. It's widely known that the former high school all-American wanted to return to the East coast (he's a native of Long Island), and mentioned a few Big East schools as potential landing spots. Rutgers, Pitt, and Syracuse all came up as possibilities for Hazelton. I suppose Hazelton evaluated the situation at Cincinnati and felt as though it represented the best opportunity to maximize his abilities with one year of eligibility remaining in his college career.

Best of luck to both LeSean and Vidal in their future endeavors!

Shady Business

Posted by DCS

When will LeSean "Shady" McCoy make a final decision on whether or not to enter the NFL draft? We thought we might have heard a firm answer by now, but that is apparently not the case. The Pitt community is on pins and needles waiting for this all-impactful choice. It's understandable considering the fact that the running game really buoyed the offense. Any alteration to the status of running backs on the team could have huge ramifications on how the offense performs next season. Then again, the Panthers do have an incredible stable of running backs to rely on that go well beyond McCoy; not to mention a top-flight running backs coach in David Walker. Should be interesting to see what develops today or in the next couple of days. Here are Pitt Blather's thoughts on the situation.

Also:

• Rutgers is ahead of the game: they offer a 2010 recruit...
• ...they're also looking for a new athletic director. Tom Luicci updates us on that

Honk if You're a USF Bull

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Posted by DCS

This could just be an indication that Greg Auman and the fellas at a USF Sports Bulletin have way too much time on their hands, but I found it interesting to learn that USF speciality license plates are sky-rocketing in number in the state of Florida. As Auman points out, you'll note that USF experienced a 50% increase in licence plates over a two year period (more than any other Florida school). Interestingly enough, USF is the third largest school in terms of enrollment, behind UF and UCF, with 46,174 enrolled students. That's a lot of license plates for the Florida DMV to be churning out, whether it's for USF or other schools.

USF fans have more to be excited about than car adornments though, as they've managed to get two more high profile recruits in the door:

• Everything you've ever wanted to know about Lindsey Lamar: USF Sports Bulletin / Scout.com / Rivals.com / Bulls Report, and Julius Forte: Bulls Report / Rivals.com

Other news around the Big East:

• Jim Hanauer gives his take on the Louisville Cardinal football program on the Bleacher Report
• Brian Bennett's mailbag on the ESPN Big East Blog
• News out of Syracuse regarding Nick Chestnut, Vidal Hazelton, and Raheem Cardwell
• Mississippi QB recruit Clayton Moore is looking for takers....is Syracuse it?
• DL Chris Palmer has enrolled at West Virginia (scout.com)
• Boogie" is interested in the 'Ville (scout.com)

For those of you interested in the LeSean McCoy situation, all I will say is that there is a ton of speculation on the web and elsewhere, that he is leaving for the NFL. The official decision has not been made yet, and there are certainly a ton of articles and blog posts at your disposal to see what's going on, so I won't bore you with re-posts of the same sources.

LeSean McCoy is Hearing Jeopardy Music In His Head

Monday, January 12, 2009

Posted by DCS

As basketball season picks up in the in Big East, the football news cycle gets slower and slower. Here's some info to tie you over for now:

• Former Penn State star Justin King weighs in on how Pitt's LeSean McCoy should view entering the NFL draft and leaving school early
• A look at some Cincinnati products making an impact in the NFL playoffs (Scout.com)
• Pitt nabs a Rivals 2-star DB from New Jersey
• UCONN may have itself a fine QB in Cody Embres (Washington Observer Reporter (PA))

As the BCS Rages on, Big East Teams Learn What They'll Look Like Next Year

Friday, January 9, 2009

Posted by DCS

The recruiting scene is at a boiling point, transfers are coming and going, and many factors are taking shape that will indicate how Big East teams will look player personnel-wise next year. Here are some links (mostly courtesy of scout.com -- subscription required, but the headlines should give you most of the info you need to know) to give you a rundown:

• It's down to Pitt and UNC for TE Malcolm Bush (Pitt is the favorite at this point) -- Scout / Rivals
• Southern signal caller Clayton Moore (former Ole Miss commit) likes what he sees at Syracuse -- Scout / Rivals
• Brett McMurphy of the Bulls Report says that USF is now an official option for former Miami QB Robert Marve
• Shady's going pro....Chas at Pitt Blather comes to terms with the decision
• Another day, another player transferring from the 'Ville
• Mitch Vingle of the Charleston Gazette examines WVU's recruiting
• The Louisville Courier-Journal's Tom Heiser says "good riddance" to Matt Simms transferring from Louisville

Also, in case anyone didn't notice: Brian Kelly is not interested in the BC job opening, as some speculated he might be due to his Boston roots and his Irish Catholic background. Sorry BC. Priceless quote from Kelly on the situation:

“I grew up there and watched BC...We’ve got a great deal of respect for their
program, but that’s not a job I would be interested in. At the end of the
day, I’ve got a better situation here at the University of Cincinnati.”

After the Pause, I'm Back With Links

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Posted by DCS

Hi All,

Sorry about the day and a half delay in postings. I needed to recharge my batteries and take care of some stuff, but I'm back now and I have links to share (many of which you may or may not be already aware of). I'm also planning on updating everyone on senior bowl rosters once those are finalized so that we can take a look at the presence of Big East players. First, here are the final bowl conference standings prior to tonight's BCS Bowl Championship game:

Pac 10 5-0
SEC 5-2
Big East 4-2
CUSA 4-2
Big 12 4-2
MWC 3-2
Sun Belt 1-1
ACC 4-6
WAC 1-4
Big 10 1-6
Indies 0-2
MAC 0-5

Now for the links:

• Brian Bennett of ESPN's Big East Blog educates us on the connections between this evening's title game and the Big East Conference
• Doug Marrone and Syracuse nab OL Zach Chibane from USF...
• ...but they lose Derrell Person to Mike Locksley and New Mexico
• Andrew Weaver on the Bleacher Report gives Kenny Britt his props
• USF DE George Selvie is coming back (Big East QBs are on notice)
• Brian Bennett says that Matt Simms transferring from Louisville is just one of many changes to come for the Cardinals
• B-Squared's interview with Big East Commish Mike Tranghese part 1 and part 2
• USF ditches UCF for home and home with FSU
• Star Syracuse wideout is back and ready to contribute to the 'Cuse
• Chas at Pitt Blather is saying that McCoy is being shady...but probably staying
• WVU can thank Steve Slaton and Pat White for the boost in recruiting...
• ...Four star Rivals RB Tavon Austin is one of those recruits

Laugh at Boston College and Get Your Links

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Posted by DCS

Upon further examination of the coaching situation at Boston College, it does appear that Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo wasn't bluffing, and fully intends to fire head coach Jeff Jagodzinski after taking an interview with the New York Jets. I realize this has very little to do with the Big East, but it's worth commenting on for the fodder it provides about a program that seemingly jilted the Big East (at the time).

My thinking is, this is a horrendous public relations disaster for the entire Boston College athletics department. Who's going to want to coach at a school that 1.) isn't a sports powerhouse in the first place, and 2.) treats their coaches with such vigorous disrespect in a public forum? I have no doubt that this issue could have been handled behind closed doors, but I'm not sure it was even warranted at all. I could understand this happening if Jago wanted to bolt BC for another ACC school, ala Tom O'Brien, but this was not the case. The Jets job represents a step up for the bright young coach, and regardless of how likely it would be that he got hired in New York, the BC athletics department should have been fully supportive of the opportunity.

Alright, that's enough of that. Now back to teams we actually care about:

• Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Dave Wannstedt is feeling bullish about LeSean McCoy coming back (good) as well as Matt Cavanaugh returning (not so good)
• Doug Marrone lands his first official recruit at Syracuse, in Staten Island DB Torian Phillips
• The Big East is repping hard in the Lambert Trophy rankings

I leave you with a vid of Florida head coach Urban Meyer discussing the success of his alma mater, Cincinnati (courtesy of palestra.net):