Lenny Ignelzi, AP Photo.
It is now or never for John Chiles.
Colt McCoy is the franchise. No breaking news there. But the battle for McCoy's backup is one of the most intriguing storylines of the spring. John Chiles, one of the top recruits in the country two years ago, is fighting for his life as a Longhorn QB. Coaches went to him after the 2008 regular season and asked him what he wanted to do: switch positions or keep playing QB? Chiles said he wanted to be a full-time quarterback. He showed a great attitude in bowl practices. Now he has to start convincing coaches that he gives UT the best chance to win should something happen to McCoy.
Confidence. Brian Orakpo, when asked where he would like to line up in the NFL:
"Any position," Orakpo said when asked where he would like to line up in the NFL. "Right end, left end, Sam (strong side), Will (weak), Mike (middle), 3-4, 4-3 – anything; it doesn’t matter."
Middle linebacker?
"No, I just threw that out there," Orakpo said, flashing a huge smile at reporters surrounding him in the media room. "That’s the thing about being as athletic and versatile as I am. You can put (me) in anything."
SI's Andy Staples has the top 12 premier coaching gigs in the country. Oklahoma and Texas make it in the top tier.
What do Oklahomans do in the off-season to entertain themselves? Follow Sam Bradford's hair.
When Bradford accepted his Davey O'Brien Award last Monday in Fort Worth, it was his first public appearance in a month. And he hadn't yet touched what was once a BCS title game version of a playoff beard (superstitious players don't cut it until after the final game).
Dr. Saturday tries to narrow down the pool of quarterback prospects at Nebraska.
To be fair, Nebraska's quarterback in '09, like a lot of first-year starters, was doomed to start the year as "Just Some Guy" no matter what: Of the competitors for the job entering spring practice -- former junior college star Zac Lee, three-star Texans Patrick Witt and Kody Spano, a couple walk-ons and incoming hotshot Cody Green -- only Witt (eight passes in mop-up duty last year) and Lee (two passes) have ever lined up in a major college game under any circumstances.
Pete Carroll, Bobby Bowden, Urban Meyer and Mack Brown make at least four time as much money as the university president.
Brad Wolverton, an editor for the Chronicle of Higher Education, said coaches' compensation in "football-crazy" conferences often dwarfs college presidents' pay.
In 2007, the Chronicle of Higher Education extrapolated football coaches' salary information contained in a report by USA Today and found that most of the 10 highest-paid presidents at public universities with Division I football programs made half as much as the head football coach.
A social science professor at Stevens Institute of Technology believes college sports should be privatized.
Privatization does not have to be disruptive. Leagues can remain the same; so can names and game sites. Most personnel will remain the same, too, with checks on excessive compensation.
Athletes would participate on these teams for three years, during the ages of 18 to 20, as paid employees, not students. The best athletes would rise from these college teams to the professional system. And those who don't make the professional grade can start their college education to prepare for other careers.
Several major advantages would result. State U would make a profit from its contracts with the new company. It would no longer pour scarce resources into athletics instead of academics. And the problem of exploited or unqualified student athletes would disappear.
Texas continues to knock out great quarterbacks. In the last three recruiting classes, 73 Texas QBs were signed by Division I-A teams.