ESPN College Football

We analyzed and graded bye weeks for the South Division just two hours ago!

So here we go with the North Division.

California: Sept. 21 (before visit to Oregon) and Nov. 30 (last weekend of season)

Skinny: We previously wrote that the "worst weekend for a bye is the opening weekend" in regard to Arizona State's draw. The second worst is the season's final weekend, unless your team is playing in the Pac-12 title game. We don't think that will happen this fall for Cal, so the second bye is pretty worthless. The first is good in terms of timing -- fourth week, before the Pac-12 schedule starts, after a tough game with Ohio State. But the Bears are going to be a big longshot at Oregon, and the Ducks are off the same week, neutralizing any Cal advantage. It would be better for the bye to precede a game that feels more winnable. Further, after that bye, the Bears play nine weeks in a row.

Grade? D+. Just one more challenge for what might be the nation's toughest schedule.

Oregon: Sept. 21 (before visit from California) and Nov. 2 (before visit to Stanford)

Skinny: This is a solid set-up in terms of breaking up the season into manageable bits (three games, five games, four games). It's also nice to have an off week before beginning Pac-12 play. And, obviously, it would seem to benefit the Ducks to have a bye before facing Stanford. But that advantage is written off by the Cardinal also having the same off weekend before the critical Thursday night clash.

Grade? B. The best part of the bye arrangement is the placement of the off-weeks. This would be an "A" if Stanford didn't share the same second bye week before the meeting on the Farm.

Oregon State: Oct. 5 (before visit to Washington State) and Nov. 9 (before visit to Arizona State)

Skinny: This is a pretty fantastic setup. The Beavers play five games (bye), four games (bye) and then three games. That's close to ideal, mostly because there are no brutal runs of, say, nine games in a row. A bye before the Cougars isn't as good as a bye before Stanford, USC or Oregon, but it comes after an initial stretch that suggests a 5-0 start, which likely would come with a high national ranking. Not a bad time to take a breath. Then, after tough consecutive home games against Stanford and USC, the Beavers get a weekend to rest before a visit to the Sun Devils sets up a tough troika down the home stretch (ASU, Washington at Oregon).

Grade: A-. The schedule is backloaded, but the bye-week arrangements work well for the season's big picture.

Stanford: August 31 (opening weekend before visit from San Jose State) and Nov. 2 (before Oregon).

Skinny: As previously noted, the worst weekend for a bye is the opening weekend. Then the Cardinal plays eight games in a row. And, as previously noted, the bye before the potentially epic Oregon matchup is zeroed-out by the Ducks also being off. In other words, Stanford's bye arrangement provides no advantage. The only positive is getting a week to heal before the tough finish: Oregon, at USC, Cal and Notre Dame.

Grade? C-. It could be worse, but Stanford is done no favors by the arrangement of off weeks.

Washington: Sept. 7 (before visit to Illinois) and Nov. 2 (before visit from Colorado)

Skinny: If the first weekend is the worst for a bye, the second shouldn't be much better. On the other hand, the matchup with Boise State in a remodeled Husky Stadium should be loaded with pre-game hype, so a break after that emotional showdown -- win or lose -- might be a good thing. The second off weekend comes after seven consecutive games, so a break will feel good. But there's not much advantage in having the next foe be Colorado.

Grade? C. Not terrible, just not ideal.

Washington State: Oct 26 (before a visit from Arizona State) and Nov. 9 (before a visit to Arizona)

Skinny: This one is pretty strange. The Cougars play eight games before getting a weekend off. Then they get another bye a week later. They are the last team in the Pac-12 to get a bye. Arizona is the only other team to have both byes come in a three-week span, with the Wildcats going early season and the Cougs going late. Further, any advantage gained from extra prep for Arizona State is offset by the Sun Devils also having an Oct. 26 bye. The off week before the Wildcats, however, might set up nicely for an upset special.

Grade? D+. Washington State, in Year 2 under Mike Leach, could use some scheduling help. The off weeks don't offer much.

Let's take for granted that bye weeks are good things for college football teams.

Rest is good, for one. It allows players with minor injuries to heal. And, one would think, extra prep time helps. It provides the potential for added wrinkles to the game plan as well as more time to fine tune.

Yet not all off weekends are created equal.

Here's an evaluation of the Pac-12's 2013 bye weeks, starting with the South Division.

Arizona: Sept. 21 (before visit to Washington) and Oct. 5 (before visit to USC)

Skinny: It's good to have off weeks before tough road games, particularly winnable games that could get the Wildcats off to a 5-0 start. The first bye comes after a notably weak nonconference slate (Northern Arizona, UNLV, UT San Antonio), so the Wildcats could hold a lot back in advance of the visit to Washington. Further, they could address any issues revealed during what amounts to a preseason. On the downside, it's nice to spread byes throughout the season. These off dates come during a three-week stretch early in the season, preceding eight consecutive games.

Grade? B. The good news is the off weeks bolster the chances for a strong start. The bad news is no relief over the late grind of the season.

Arizona State: Aug. 31 (opening weekend before Sacramento State) and Oct. 26 (before visit to Washington State)

Skinny: The worst weekend for a bye is the opening weekend. All it does is extend preseason practices a week, which is only a negative. The second bye is pretty good. It comes after a tough seven-week run and gives the Sun Devils a breather before the five-game home stretch. While it's nice to have some extra time in advance of a November trip to potentially chilly Pullman, Arizona State might have preferred the off week coming in advance of a critical visit to UCLA.

Grade? C-. A late October off weekend is nice, but sitting out the opening week is of no value.

Colorado: Sept. 21 (before visit to Oregon State) and Oct. 19 (before visit from Arizona)

Skinny: The first off week comes after the nonconference schedule, at which point the Buffaloes will be hoping for at least a 2-1 start heading into the Pac-12 slate -- a brutal three-game stretch of a visit to Oregon State, Oregon and a trip to Arizona State. This feels like good timing, but the odds seem long that an extra week of practice will produce a performance that can win in Corvallis. The second bye comes after that aforementioned stretch and precedes six consecutive weekends of play. An extra week before a visit from Arizona passes the smell test as an upset opportunity.

Grade: A-. The perfect scenario would be for the Buffs to get byes before playing games against second-tier conference teams, whom they have the best chance to defeat. That extra time and rest could help produce an upset. They get only one of those here, but this is about as good a bye setup as a coach should hope for.

UCLA: Sept. 7 (before visit to Nebraska) and Sept. 28 (before visit to Utah)

Skinny: An early-season bye isn't typically good, but it's not bad when it's before a key trip to Nebraska that could firmly establish the Bruins as a top-25 team. A bye before playing at South Division foe Utah isn't terrible either. But the Bruins have two byes in the season's first five weeks and then play nine in a row. That's not ideal, particularly if injuries start to pile up.

Grade? C+. The slots provide useful extra prep time, but playing nine consecutive weekends isn't a good thing.

USC: Oct. 5 (before a visit from Arizona)

Skinny: USC is playing Hawaii this fall, which allowed the Trojans to schedule 13 games, so it only gets one off week. That bye falls on Week 6 before a home game with division foe Arizona. It's not good to have just one week off, but the upside is the rest comes close to midseason and it comes before what might be a key divisional game.

Grade? C. It's a decent weekend for a bye but 13 games in 14 weekends is tough.

Utah: Sept. 28 (before visit from UCLA) and Nov. 2 (before visit from Arizona State)

Skinny: Utah, notably, didn't play Oregon or Stanford during its first two years in the Pac-12. It won't get that good fortune this fall, but it does have a great scheduling setup here. For one, these byes precede games with the two South Division front-runners. If the Utes hope to get into the South mix, they need at least one win in this two games. So extra rest and prep time should help. Second, these off weeks fall after tough road trips. The Holy War against BYU, set for Sept. 21, is always an emotional game, but this meeting comes before a controversial two-year hiatus, making it even more taxing. The Utes will be at USC on Oct. 26. Win or lose that game, it might be beneficial to shake off a trip to the Coliseum before focusing on the Sun Devils.

Grade? A. This is an ideal setup for off weeks. Now can the Utes take advantage?

The Rimington Trophy committee has released its 44-man 2013 spring watch list, and five Pac-12 centers made the cut.

The SEC leads the way with nine players, while the Mountain West Conference also has five on the list.

You can review the entire list here.

And here are the Pac-12 players on the list.

• Jake Brendel, UCLA
• Hroniss Grasu, Oregon
• Gus Handler, Colorado
• Kody Koebensky, Arizona State
• Isaac Seumalo, Oregon State.

Obviously, it will be an interesting competition for first-team All-Pac-12 this fall, with Grasu and Seumalo -- a Duck and a Beaver -- seeming like the two front-runners.

Put your eyes on Bobby Jones. Look at his practice swing, almost like he's searchin' for something. Then he finds it. Watch how he settle himself right into the middle of it, feel that focus. He got a lot of shots he could choose from. Duffs and tops and skulls, there's only one shot that's in perfect harmony with the field. One shot that's his, authentic shot, and that shot is gonna choose him.

• Some more on Arizona's Daniel Jenkins leaving/not leaving the team.
• Five offseason goals for Arizona State.
• One of Cal's incoming running backs is all sorts of crazy fast.
• Colorado has added a "very athletic" junior college quarterback.
• Oregon or Stanford to win the North? Writers at Athlon Sports are leaning toward Oregon.
• The Steelers' success in the passing game may hinge on Markus Wheaton.
• The Cardinal are No. 7 on the Athlon preseason Top 25.
• It's "conceivable" that Owamagbe Odighizuwa could be back by the season opener.
• Is Eddie Vanderdoes back in the mix for USC (or UCLA, or Washington for that matter)?
• Polynesian players continue to shine at Utah.
• Austin Seferian-Jenkins' trial has been moved to July 1. (Sorry for the paid link, but it's a rather important bit of news).
• More details about the Logan Mayes bump-and-go (considered relatively minor).
• For anyone interested in helping the victims of the Oklahoma tornado, here are a couple of good places to start. The Salvation Army. The American Red Cross.

All Pac-12 fans and observers should be focused on two items when it comes to the new four-team playoff that will begin in 2014: 1. The makeup of the selection committee; 2. The announced importance that selection committee will put on strength of schedule.

Why is this important for the Pac-12? Because it plays a tougher schedule than other conferences.

No other conference plays a nine-game conference schedule and plays as challenging a nonconference schedule, one that includes for just about every team at least one or two opponents with a legitimate pulse.

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News knows this. So he decided to evaluate the upcoming season's slate of nonconference games by conference.

Here's his methodology:

I focused on the number of games played between five conferences: the Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC … the five leagues that will have automatic slots in the new playoff system.

In addition, I included in the totals below the games played by those league against Notre Dame, Boise State and Louisville.

What he found was the Pac-12 plays 13 games in 2013 against the other power conferences and the "three exceptions." The 14-team SEC plays 15, the Big Ten 12 and the 10-team Big 12 six.

Yes, all Big 12 fans should immediately hang their heads in shame.

Of course, the Big 12 also plays nine conferences games, as does the Pac-12, and this informs the second part of Wilner's analysis: The percentage of quality foes the top conferences play.

The Pac-12 and Big 12 play nine conference games plus three nonconference games. The Big Ten and SEC go with the eight and four model, which increases the availability of gimme wins.

Here's where the Pac-12 separates itself this fall, per Wilner:

Of the Pac-122s 37 non-conference games (3 x 12 + USC’s exempt game at Hawaii), 35.1% qualify as A-listers.

Of the SEC’s 56 non-conference games, 26.7% are A-listers. (I’m not even going to address the number of FCS-level opponents. That’s for another discussion.)

Of the Big Ten’s 48 non-conference games, 25% are A-listers.

Of the Big 122s 30 non-conference games -- it plays a true round-robin league schedule — a whopping 20% are A-listers.

Don't think for a moment this hasn't played a role in finagling the BCS system. The way the Pac-12 schedules has hurt it in the BCS system. It has been punished for ambition, though, of course, a large part of this is Pac-12 athletic directors not believing they can fill their stadiums for games against FCS foes or directional schools.

With the advent of the new playoff, the powers that be putting this thing together need to systematize scheduling as best they can. With 124 teams, it will never be perfect. But it's not too much to ask that every conference play the same number of conference games and at least attempt to play a solid nonconference schedule.

USC's new defensive scheme for the 2013 season should maximize the talent the Trojans have in the front seven.

We're 100 days away from the start of the college football season, so what better time to check in with our conference bloggers on the state of their teams heading into the summer?

Join us at 1 p.m. ET as we go conference-by-conference taking your questions until 3 p.m. See you there.

While it feels like Connor Wood is going to be Colorado's starting quarterback in 2013, due to a good spring as well as attrition at the position, the Buffaloes haven't quit looking for help behind center.

The Buffs announced Monday the signing of Jordan Gehrke, a second-team all-region performer at Scottsdale Community College as a freshman last fall. He becomes the 21st recruit in the first class signed by coach Mike MacIntyre.

Gehrke, who won’t turn 19 until late July, will have four years to play three.

Last fall, Gehrke helped Scottsdale CC lead the nation in passing yards (355.2 per game), completing 174 of 366 passes for 2,388 yards and 22 touchdowns. He completed 51.8 percent of his passes and threw 14 interceptions. His top game came in the season finale, a 71-29 win over Phoenix College, when he was 29-of-43 for 384 yards and seven touchdowns with three interceptions.

“He’s very athletic, extremely accurate, can make all the throws and is a bright young man in regards to football and in the classroom,” MacIntyre said in a statement released by the school.

At Scottsdale’s Notre Dame Prep, Gehrke was a second-team all-state and a first-team All-II Section III performer as a senior, when he completed 134 of 250 passes for 2,012 yards and 23 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 133 yards and scored twice.

The Buffs were looking to add depth at QB after Nick Hirschman opted to transfer to Akron, despite being in a dead heat with Wood after spring practices, according to MacIntyre, and a knee injury to Jordan Webb. Webb's situation is further complicated by an off-field fight in tandem with offensive lineman Alex Lewis, who is transferring to Nebraska.

Also in the mix at QB are redshirt freshman Shane Dillon and touted incoming freshman Sefo Liufau.

Here are five things the Pac-12, its players and its teams need to focus on with 100 days until the 2013 season begins.

1. Oregon needs to put the NCAA in its rearview mirror: Oregon and former coach Chip Kelly appeared before the NCAA's committee on infractions (COI) on April 20 (it was incorrectly reported that the meeting happened a day earlier). That means the odds are good the Ducks will know their fate before the beginning of the season. Moreover, the odds are favorable that the Ducks won't lose their 2013 postseason. That's nice for the program, considering Oregon is again a top national title contender, and the pressure is on new coach Mark Helfrich to make sure it stays that way. Getting the Willie Lyles matter resolved will make for one fewer distraction for the Ducks to claim they haven't even noticed.

2. New QBs are sometimes crowned in the offseason: Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon State and USC still have wide-open QB competitions. While coaches can't watch offseason workouts, players are gathering on a near-daily basis for conditioning and 7-on-7 work. That means aspirants for starting jobs are working with their teammates, the guys they need to win over to the notion of their stepping into cockpit of the offense. How a QB carries himself matters. How he leads these "voluntary" sessions matters. And a QB sure as heck can substantially improve between May and August. Just look at Arizona State's Taylor Kelly, who went from worst to first in the Sun Devils' 2012 QB race after spring practices.

3. Larry Scott & Co. need to send an SOS: Off-field issues are big-time this offseason. The college football powers are setting up a new four-team playoff to begin in 2014, and the Pac-12's interests are simple: Strength of schedule. The selection committee must create an unforgiving system that demands tough scheduling or functionally disqualifies teams that willfully play weak schedules. First off, there needs to be an agreement on conference scheduling. Every conference participating in the new playoff needs to play the same number of conference games, either eight or nine. If that proves unworkable, which it shouldn't, then the conferences that choose to play eight conference games should be required to play two nonconference games against AQ conference foes. This would fall under the title of "Standing up to the SEC."

4. Get bigger, stronger, faster, and do so without getting hurt: Injuries are the biggest drag in college football. Summer injuries are even worse because they: (1) Happen without full-go contact; (2) Are more likely to take a big or entire bite out of the season, depending on how late in the offseason they occur. Still, players need to work. The offseason can be physically transformative, particularly for younger players. A guy can put on 10 to 15 pounds. Or lose them. Quickness can be boosted and a power-clean total can rise. The best-conditioned team may not always win, but at least it knows it did all it could when the final whistle blows. So: Lots of sweat but no knee injuries.

5. Stay out of trouble: All work and no play makes Pac-12 players dull boys. These guys need to have fun. They deserve it. And the Pac-12 blog is no prude. But, golly, fellas, stay on the right side of the law. If you drink, you cannot drive. Period. No matter how annoying that guy is being at the bar/beach/party, you cannot punch him. Be wary of social entanglements that seem just a bit too eager. If something is not yours, don't take it. While it's entertaining to watch the Hulk smash things, it's not the same with you. Yes, have fun. Just don't be stupid and hurt yourself and your team with your poor decision-making.

If we all go out to dinner with Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott this weekend, he's buying.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Scott is the highest paid college conference commissioner, earning more than $3 million last year.

The WSJ reported:

Scott took home a $1,376,000 bonus in addition to a base salary of $1,575,000 and other compensation of $71,462. His total compensation surpassed that of Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, who made $2.8 million in salary, bonuses and benefits that year. It also is nearly double the $1.6 million listed for commissioner Mike Slive of the Southeastern Conference, which has won the past seven major-college football national titles and recently announced it will launch a network with ESPN in 2014.

Why is Scott so well paid? Well, a lot of that is his "quadrupling [the Pac-12's] annual television-rights revenue." From the report:

In the span of 2011-12, Scott added the Universities of Colorado and Utah as members after initially exploring the possibility of a 16-team conference. He brokered a broadcast-rights deal with ESPN and Fox worth $3 billion over 12 years, elevating the Pac-12 from a distant fifth place nationally with $58 million in primary media-rights revenue to the leader, with the new deal worth an average of $250 million annually. He led the launch of the Pac-12 Networks, the only such venture to be wholly owned by a conference.

The Pac-12 generated only $176 million in revenue in 2011-12, well behind the Big Ten at $315 million and the SEC at $273 million, but those numbers were based on the old TV deals. This past year, the Pac-12 expects to pocket more than $300 million, though financial details won't be available until next year.

The Pac-12 Network is also expected to turn a small profit in its first year of operation.

It doesn't seem like too many Pac-12 administrators are unhappy with Scott (easy there, Arizona basketball fans). From the article:

"Larry is the go-to guy that pulled all this together," said Ed Ray, the Oregon State University president and head of the committee that approved Scott's compensation package. "I would say he had a hell of a year."

Now if Scott could just get DirectTV to join his fan club.

 

I'm sure many of you have seen my story (and video!) "Wrongs of Spring," which touches on a subject that is close to all of your hearts: The Pac-12 blog being wrong, wrong, wrong!

WRONG!

Now, most of the wrong things that I write in the blog can be traced to some sort of subversive mind control that Kevin Gemmell practices in his underground lab that he thinks I don't know about. The wrong things Kevin writes can be traced to his anti-USC bias. Or is that anti-UCLA bias? Did you know he breaks out in hives every time he writes nice things about Stanford? Really.

Anyway, our guess is you guys would enjoy reliving some of our 2012 preseason wrongness. And occasional rightness.

You can start with our preseason All-Pac-12 team. And here's our postseason take.

Just three players are the same on offense: Oregon RB Kenjon Barner, USC C Khaled Holmes and Stanford OT David Yankey. Defense is much better, with five players the same and there being nothing embarrassing about the misses.

Then, of course, there is the preseason top-25 players. And the postseason version. We know Washington fans would like another opportunity to voice their objections.

Here our our 2012 preseason power rankings. Yes, there's good old USC, gleaming at the top:

1.USC: The Trojans begin the season ranked No. 1 here and in the AP poll. If the national title game were held Saturday, or you could guarantee the Trojans' starting 24 today would be the same at season's end, just about everyone would hand USC the title. But a season is long. Things happen. The Trojans' defense is already down two players, DE Devon Kennard and CB Isiah Wiley. A couple more of those, and the perception of this team could change.

At least that's not completely over the top.

And the worst projection was Arizona State at No. 11:

11. Arizona State: Taylor Kelly was the surprise winner of the QB competition, and new coach Todd Graham has pressed many of the right buttons this offseason. But the Pac-12 blog always sees it as a bad sign when an angry fan base attempts to counter our skepticism by touting players who have played [none] or very little college football.

Turns out those rookies did OK, most notably Kelly and LB Carl Bradford, and we really didn't see the dominating 2012 version of DT Will Sutton coming.

Then there are the "Fearless Predictions."

Four were wrong: USC and Oregon will play twice; A Pac-12 player will be a Heisman Trophy finalist; No Pac-12 coach will get fired after the season; Four Pac-12 teams will be ranked in the final AP poll.

Four were correct (or mostly so): California, UCLA or Washington will win eight -- or nine -- games: But only one of the three. The other two will win fewer than eight games; The Pac-12 will produce two BCS bowl teams and still fill its contracted bowls; At least three Pac-12 defenses will rank in the nation's top 25 in total defense (this actually proved true for scoring defense, but we're giving ourselves a break); and, The Pac-12 blog will, at some point, be wrong about something.

One was pretty darn close: The Pac-12 will go 28-8 in nonconference games (it went 28-15; we didn't include bowl games in the original calculation).

One is pending -- The NCAA will not hammer Oregon -- and the Pac-12 blog continues to believe that to be true.

What about the bowl projections?

BCS National Championship Game, Jan. 7: USC vs. BCS 1 or 2
Rose Bowl Game, Jan. 1: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Valero Alamo, Dec. 29: Stanford vs. Big 12
Bridgepoint Education Holiday, Dec. 27: Utah vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun, Dec. 31: Washington vs. ACC
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, Dec. 22: California vs. MWC
Kraft Fight Hunger, Dec. 29: UCLA vs. Navy
Gildan New Mexico, Dec. 15: Washington State vs. MWC

We batted .000 there, with three of those teams -- Utah, California and Washington State -- not ending up bowl eligible.

Finally, there were our "Best case-worst case" flights of fancy. There is a strong possibility this series will be retired. It feels as if it might have jumped the proverbial shark.

I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.

• Arizona's backup RB Daniel Jenkins won't transfer to Washington State, as was previously announced.
• Arizona State coach Todd Graham wants to channel Tom Coughlin.
• Memorial Stadium financing at California ... well ... why not be optimistic!
• Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre is looking for Aaron Rodgers but he'd settle for a Whit Taylor.
• This former Oregon great dominated in two sports.
• Some Chip Kelly wit and wisdom, but he's got a couple of Oregon State Beavers competing at cornerback.
• Is Stanford the Pac-12's rising national power?
• You should expect UCLA LB Eric Kendricks to be less underrated this fall.
• Former USC QB Carson Palmer looks for a satisfying career finish in Arizona.
• A former Utah player and coach was the touchstone for the offseason's most ridiculous story: Nick Saban as the devil. Yeah, let's take this seriously.
• Some observations about Washington.
• Logan Mayes adds his name to a list of Washington State players who are having offseason off-field issues.
• And this is the best news you will get today.

It's 8 p.m. in the Louisiana Bayou, and Utah's co-offensive coordinator is just leaving a high school spring game. Notes in tow, the grind never ends.

Brian Johnson didn't always have the "co" before his title. It's new. Happened a couple of months ago when Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham decided the offense needed a new identity and some fresh blood, so he hired Dennis Erickson to be co-offensive coordinator.

Johnson barely had the position to himself for a year. But in that one year, the Utes offense continued a downward trend that began even before he was running the show. Missing a bowl game for the first time in nine years didn't sit well either. Hence, the Erickson hire.

For the youngest coordinator in the nation, this could have been a devastating blow to his confidence. Whittingham had shown great faith in Johnson by elevating the once-Utah-star-turned-quarterbacks-coach so quickly. And yet almost as rapidly as he ascended to the title of offensive coordinator, many of those responsibilities were revoked in favor of Erickson -- a seasoned coach with a national championship to boot.

Johnson was candidly introspective when talking about what he learned about himself in 2012.

"I could write a book about the amount of stuff I learned," he said. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to do what I do and be around these guys. Aside from the football stuff, there is so much more to the managerial aspect and being involved with every single aspect of the game that I didn't have as a position coach. Just understanding that was a big learning curve.

"And there is a ton of stuff that goes into scheming and game-planning week-to-week and picking up little nuances here and there about what you're doing as an offense and how you respond to what the defense does. It's a balancing act. Some valuable lessons were learned when things didn't go the way I would have liked them to go."

He won't make excuses, though it wouldn't be totally unjustified if he did. In his first year calling the shots, the Utes had to replace two all-conference offensive tackles, he lost his starting quarterback in the second game of the season and his 1,000-yard rusher battled injuries all year.

To say the dice were loaded would be an understatement.

"Things aren't always going to go by design," Johnson said. "You have to be able to adjust and roll with it. That's something we all had to learn."

Just four years earlier, Johnson was quarterbacking the Utes to a 13-0 record and a BCS-busting 31-17 win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. He threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, earning the game's most outstanding player and capping a career as Utah's winningest quarterback (26-7).

Two years later he was a position coach at his alma mater, one of the nation's most successful non-BCS programs. And two years after that he was offensive coordinator for a Pac-12 school.

This isn't a guy who drops his head when things get tough.

"I believe in what we're doing offensively," he said. "It works. You see people around the country doing it and it works. Confidence isn't an issue for me. It's a matter of getting some consistency with what we're trying to do. Getting some consistency at quarterback. That's what we need to do and it looks like we're moving in the right direction.

"It's a pleasure working with coach 'E' everyday. I love his personality and his demeanor. It's been great having him around our program and our guys. Anytime you can have someone like that and draw from their experiences and talk about certain things, it's a huge positive."

So Johnson keeps grinding. Keeps learning from his mistakes. Keeps handling whatever adversity gets thrown his way. There isn't time for sulking. Not that he would. It's not who he is or what he's about. For guys like Johnson, confidence isn't something that's lost and found like pennies on the street. It's just always there.

"There were definitely some frustrating times last year," he said. "But, like in life, you learn from those experiences and you find ways to get through it. There definitely were some things that were extremely frustrating . But you push through and you try to get better. And we will."

Wrapping up his position-by-position look at the top prospects for the 2014 NFL draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. broke down the top offensive linemen and defensive tackles.

While none of the Pac-12's offensive linemen rank in the top five overall , when Kiper breaks them down by position, some of the conference's usual suspects appear.

Tackles

• Cameron Fleming, Stanford
• Aundrey Walker, USC

Guards

• David Yankey, Stanford
• Xavier Su'a-Filo, UCLA

Centers

• Hroniss Grasu, Oregon

Yankey, Su'a-Filo and Grasu were first-team All-Pac-12 picks last season and Fleming was honorable mention.

Moving over to the defensive tackles , a pair of Pac-12 players are on the board. Cal's Deandre Coleman cracks Kiper's top five, coming in at No. 5. Will Sutton is in the "next up" category of five more players to watch.

Kiper on Coleman: Quick off the ball for a 6-5, 320-pound player, Coleman can really chop his feet, and he has a little shake in him to get a blocker off balance to shove aside. He's best-suited to be either a 3-4 defensive end or a penetrating 3-tech defensive tackle in a 4-3.

Last season he had 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. A fellow Pac-12 D-tackle (see below) was more productive, but I like Coleman's versatility.

Kiper on Sutton: A nightmare to block, Sutton piled up 13.0 sacks and 23 1/2 tackles for loss. He could have factored into first-round talk in the 2013 draft.

You can see our posts on the other position groups here.

• Tight ends and outside linebackers
• Quarterbacks and cornerbacks
• Running backs and safeties
• Wide receivers and defensive ends

Here's the quick recap of all Pac-12 players in the rankings. The league has a total of 27 players listed with 14 on offense and 13 on defense. Four players are ranked No. 1 overall within their position group. Stanford leads the way with seven, followed by Oregon and USC with five each, then UCLA with three, Washington and ASU with two and Arizona, Oregon State and Cal with one each.

Quarterback

• Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• *Kiper updated this post to include other quarterbacks he likes, including Taylor Kelly, Keith Price, and he notes that Brett Hundley and Kevin Hogan could be in the mix if they are leaning toward declaring.

Running back

• De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon (ranked No. 1)
• Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona
• Silas Redd, USC
• Bishop Sankey, Washington

Wide receiver

• Marqise Lee, USC (ranked No. 1)

Tight end

• Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington (ranked No. 1)
• Colt Lyerla, Oregon
• Xavier Grimble, USC

Defensive end

• Scott Crichton, Oregon State

Safety

• Ed Reynolds, Stanford
• Jordan Richards, Stanford

Cornerback

• Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Oregon

Outside linebacker

• Anthony Barr, UCLA (ranked No. 1)
• Carl Bradford, ASU
• Trent Murphy, Stanford
• Hayes Pullard, USC

Inside linebacker

• Eric Kendricks, UCLA
• A.J. Tarpley, Stanford
• Shayne Skov, Stanford

The Utah Utes spent this spring trying to define their offensive identity.