ESPN College Football

It takes a quarterback to know when a quarterback will be missed. So it's no surprise that when looking at the teams with the biggest voids to fill, ESPN's Brock Huard started with schools losing elite quarterbacks. Stanford is among the top five schools that Huard examined as having the biggest offseason holes .

Huard on Stanford:

Stanford might be losing the most prolific quarterback in the program's history in Andrew Luck -- which is saying something, given that John Elway and Jim Plunkett once grazed on The Farm -- but the Cardinal clearly are not losing their ground-and-pound identity. Signing three of the top offensive line prospects in the country will pay dividends in the long term, but filling the enormous shoes of Luck and three other probable first-round picks in this year's draft (OG David DeCastro, OT Jonathan Martin and TE Coby Fleener) will be a mighty task for coach David Shaw.

As a fan, player and now analyst who has been immersed in the Pac-10, now Pac-12, for more than three decades, watching what Jim Harbaugh did to reverse the fortunes of the Stanford program was remarkable. He changed the culture, provided an edge and energy desperately needed on the gridiron, and did so with the help of a once-in-a-generation quarterback who was both brainiac and maniac.

Huard is right on by identifying more than just Luck who is gone. And I'll go a step further and say that losing Delano Howell and Michael Thomas at the safety positions could be just as difficult to overcome. The Cardinal have a lot of good athletes who could step in at the safety spots -- Jordan Richards and Devon Carrington both saw extended action this season. But both are still very raw and lack the experience the outgoing duo possessed.

Having that outstanding front seven should give the secondary a little cover -- at least in the first couple of games -- for the new starters to get acclimated.

I'm also curious -- and sort of excited -- to see who plays the Fleener role in the three-tight-end formations. Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo both bring different skill sets to the position, but neither has the burst of speed that Fleener brought going over the middle on those deep routes. Following the Notre Dame victory, Shaw said that he and his staff have been searching the country for a tight end who can do what Fleener can do. Not surprising, he said they haven't found anyone. I'm expecting Ertz and Toilolo to have very productive seasons -- particularly since they are the veterans of the receiving corps.

Perhaps with the ongoing development of Ty Montgomery and some of the incoming talent at wide receiver, the Cardinal won't have to rely as much on a tight end for a deep-threat option. But knowing Shaw's penchant for tight ends, you have to figure they'll continue to play a major role in the receiving game.

ESPN.com Insider Ryan Magee looks at five promising rebuilding jobs for 2012 , and he rates Washington State as a team "finally turning the proverbial corner."

Here's what he writes as he predicts the Cougars will be heading to their first bowl game since 2003 -- you might recall the Cougs' upset victory over Texas and Vince Young in the Holiday Bowl:

Now, let's not go crazy here. After 14 wins in five years, Wazzu isn't going to suddenly win 11 games and go to the Rose Bowl for the first time in nearly a decade. But as poor as ousted head coach Paul Wulff's four-year record was, last year's team showed remarkable improvement, the kind of improvement that new boss Mike Leach should be able to capitalize on.

They started three different quarterbacks in 2011, but still ranked ninth in the nation and second in the Pac-12 in passing, thanks in no small part to All-Pac-12 second team receiver Marquess Wilson. The Cougars improved their points per game output from 20 to 30, and increased total offense by nearly 90 yards per game. The defense allowed 57 fewer total yards, 63 fewer rushing yards, and four fewer points per game than the season before.

I also see Washington State taking a strong step forward in 2012. Even with a new head coach in Mike Leach and an entirely new staff, the Cougars set up well for becoming bowl eligible. My one quibble with Magee's take is he list quarterback as a question mark. Leach has two strong options in Jeff Tuel, the 2010 starter who was hurt most of last year, and Connor Halliday, a freshman who performed extremely well late last season before getting hurt himself.

While Tuel is the favorite to win the job, it certainly will be a competition worth watching this spring and during fall camp. Whoever prevails will have a strong crew of receivers to spread the field, as Leach loves to do.

We're looking at the top individual performances in the Pac-12 in 2011.

Up next: Polk finds paydirt five times.

Who & against whom? Washington running back Chris Polk carries the Huskies with a record-setting performance in a 42-31 victory over Arizona.

The numbers: Polk carried the ball 34 times for 144 yards and touchdown runs of 1, 1, 5 and 2 yards. He also caught four balls for 100 yards and a score.

A closer look: Coming off a 65-21 thrashing at Stanford the week before, the Huskies righted the ship against the Wildcats. And along the way, Polk became the first player in school history to have 100 or more yards rushing and receiving in the same game. Arizona jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter; Polk picked up his first score midway through the second quarter to give Washington its first lead of the game. They would relinquish it in the fourth before Polk scored a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter to close out the game.

Yes, Tosh Lupoi is well aware that his departure from California to Washington was awkward. Yes, he knows his hiring, which created what he termed "immediate competition" was jarring for everyone -- for him, for the folks at Cal and the recruits he'd once sold on the Bears who were now hearing him suddenly tout the Huskies.

"Obviously, I hadn't spoken a word about it to recruits [before accepting the Washington job], representing a different place, now going into the homes, wearing a different Polo," Lupoi said. "It was a little bit shocking of 'wait, hold on, we were just talking about Cal a week ago or something.'"

Lupoi spoke to Seattle reporters for the first time since he was lured away from Cal, his alma mater, in mid-January, just two weeks before national signing day. He was not made available to out of town reporters. His quotes here are from video and a transcription on Bob Condotta's blog for the Seattle Times.

It's sometimes hard to follow Lupoi's stream of consciousness remarks, somewhat reflective of the awkwardness of the topic, the hard feelings he knows exist on Cal's end of things and what he called "one of the toughest decisions I've ever gone through."

On the negative reaction from Cal fans: "That's my blood, sweat and that had a major impact as far as seeing what alumni or what stories were told. But it's something that you move on. You find out real quickly who your real friends are."

On Bears coach Jeff Tedford's reaction when he told him he was leaving: "It was kind of a quick conversation ... I think he was understanding of the opportunity that was offered here and the reasons to want to start something new.''

Lupoi was not asked about the recruitment of Shaq Thompson, a former California commit who flipped to Washington after Lupoi joined the Huskies staff. As we wrote here, there was a disconnect between Tedford and Lupoi over a home visit with Thompson, when Lupoi wasn't forthcoming with Tedford over where he stood with Washington. Tedford asked the Pac-12 to void Lupoi's visit as an official home visit for Cal, but the conference rejected that request.

As for that boat the Cal fans insist was a part of the lucrative package that convinced Lupoi to bolt Berkeley, Lupoi said it doesn't exist.

"Yeah, I haven't been on that boat," he said. "Maybe it's a canoe or something.''

Ted Miller takes a look at Arizona's top priority heading into spring practices.

Our countdown of the Pac-12's top 25 players in 2011 begins, but now with the benefit of hindsight!

You can see Ted Miller's preseason top 25 here.

No. 24: Stepfan Taylor, RB, Stanford

2011 numbers: Taylor rushed for 1,330 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 102.3 yards per game. He also added 25 catches and a pair of receiving scores.

Preseason ranking: Unranked.

Making the case for Taylor: The fact that he rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a four -- sometimes five-back system -- is impressive enough. But Taylor was also the most complete back in David Shaw's stable. He was the headlining runner in the second most productive rushing attack in the conference. Taylor showed good hands out of the backfield, rarely took negative plays and was the strongest blocker of all of the Stanford backs. He netted 1,363, which means he only had 33 negative yards all year. Taylor now has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons under his belt and has to be considered one of the top backs returning to the conference. With a good season in 2012 he'll be a strong NFL prospect.

Arizona State announced the hiring of six football support positions on Wednesday, including an intern position for former Sun Devils standout Rudy Burgess.

Here's the press release:

Burgess will join the staff as the Management Intern for Football and returns to ASU after a short professional stint where he saw time in the Arena Football League, CFL and the NFL. Burgess was one of the most versatile athletes in ASU history, having played wide receiver, tailback, cornerback, kickoff and punt returner and also throwing a touchdown pass during his Sun Devil career.

Burgess became one of only 14 players in FBS history to record over 1,000 yards in the rushing, receiving and return categories. He accumulated 4,379 all-purpose yards as a Sun Devil with 19 total touchdowns and was the ultimate team player and would do anything the coaches asked of him, including changing his position three times.

(Read full post)

Writing is hard — it's a form of punishment in schools, and rightly so — and so I stood paralyzed before all the different ways this simple message might be put.

• Hey, whatever happened to former Arizona coaches Mike Stoops and Tim Kish?
• What are the priorities at California?
• An early look at what Colorado has heading into spring practices.
• A look at Oregon's 2010 recruiting classes, its successes and its pratfalls.
• Some Oregon State football notes.
• Stanford will play its spring game in San Francisco's Kezar Stadium.
• New UCLA coach Jim Mora received high marks for his first recruiting effort -- and so do Arizona State's Todd Graham and Washington State's Mike Leach.
• Is Victor Blackwell going to be USC's No. 3 receiver?
• A position review for Washington: tight ends and receivers.
• It probably shouldn't be much of a surprise that Mike Leach gave LB C.J. Mizell the boot.

Erik McKinney : Former USC standouts Chris Claiborne and Lonnie Ford have formed their own company in Southern California's Inland Empire in the quest to prepare high school players for college.

Erik McKinney : A quick take of the pulse of the program after the loss of WR coach Ted Gilmore and LB coach Joe Barry to the NFL.

Erik McKinney : Seven former USC players will get a chance to audition for NFL scouts and GMs starting two weeks from today in Indianapolis.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham put a lot of faith in his former quarterback-turned-quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson by naming the 24-year-old Utah's next offensive coordinator last week. One conversation with Johnson and it's clear he's energized and excited about the opportunity that many assistants wait decades for.

You're now the youngest coordinator in major college football. Is there some pressure that goes with that?

Brian Johnson: I think with any job there is pressure with how competitive everything is. But I think we're just more excited to put together an offense that can help win a conference championship.

Being so close in age to many of the players, is it tough sometimes to make the distinction between buddy and coach?

BJ: Absolutely not. There are about four or five guys on the team I played with who are still here. I think, for the most part, this is my third year and I haven't had to deal with it my first two years. That distinction is there. We have a great group of kids so that hasn't been an issue.

On the flip side, you're going to be overseeing coaches 10, 15, 20 years your senior who have been at it a lot longer than you. Is that going to be awkward?

BJ: Not at all. In this building, we have consummate professionals. Guys understand the task at hand and we understand what it takes to be successful offensively. We will work together and get this thing going in the right direction.

Any wholesale changes to the offensive philosophy or approach?

BJ: Not wholesale. I think the baseline of what we've done here the last seven years, that's remained intact. We'll continue to tweak stuff here and there. Dan Finn is on board to coach the offensive line along with Tim Davis. Those guys have coached a lot of ball. I'm excited to be getting their ideas on paper and getting their input on the scheme.

What are the immediate holes, fixes that need to be addressed on the offensive side of the ball?

BJ: I think the biggest concern is losing two all-conference tackles in Tony Bergstrom and John Cullen. Those guys have played a lot of football and were really good leaders for us. But that's the nature of the business in college football. There is a lot of turnover and you have to be able to replace those guys. Finding two tackles who can come in and provide immediate help for us will be important.

If Jordan Wynn is healthy, is he your quarterback? Or is there an open competition?

BJ: I think the experience that Jordan provides will help us tremendously in our offensive production. Everything we do here, it's always competition. That will never change as long as Coach Whittingham is the coach here.

So ... is Jordan your quarterback?

BJ: I think he goes in taking the reps with the ones and he's started a lot of football games and won a lot of football games. So yeah, he is.

How is his health?

BJ: He's back to throwing. He'll be full-go for spring ball. He's had some bad luck with injuries, but hopefully we won't ever have to go through that again.

A nice breakout season for John White IV. What are you expecting from him next season?

BJ: We expect him to continue what he started this season. He's obviously very explosive and dynamic with the ball in his hands. I think we have to build the offense around him. He's extremely talented. We have to find ways to get him the ball in space and get the ball in his hands as much as possible.

So you're approach is run first?

BJ: I think in football you have to be. You have to establish the run in order to be balanced. From there, you build it all. We have to establish that physical presence at the line of scrimmage and you have to be creative and find ways to get our playmakers the ball and let them give us the best chance to win.

At this pace, you'll probably be up for an NFL head-coaching job in the next two years. Any aspirations of being a coach in the pro game?

BJ: I think that's why you get in this profession. I've learned from some great coaches. I've been fortunate to be in this program for eight years and I've seen some great coaches come through here. Coach Whittingham has been almost a father-like figure to me for the last eight years and I strive to be like him as a coach. That's my ultimate goal. If I can do that, that would be OK with me.

Finish this sentence. If I can accomplish -- blank -- I will be happy with Utah's offense.

BJ: A conference championship. That's why we play this game, to win the Pac-12 South and get a chance to play in the championship game and play for the Rose Bowl. That's the starting point. That's why we're all in this profession. That's why we're all in this business is to be the best at it. That's what we're working towards.

It appears that Arizona State is going West to find a co-defensive coordinator, according to a report.

Former Illinois assistant Ron West, who was named New Mexico's defensive coordinator just last month by new Lobos coach Bob Davie, is headed to Tempe, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

"Over the weekend, Ron received an offer from Arizona State and accepted it," Davie said in a statement to the newspaper. "I'm disappointed but I certainly understand the business aspect of this profession. Coach West made a decision he felt was best for his family, and we wish him the best of luck in the future."

West worked for ASU coach Todd Graham previously at Tulsa. New Mexico was his first job in the west.

While the Sun Devils haven't announced specific responsibilities for their assistant coaches, Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic reports that "West likely will share defensive coordinating duties with Paul Randolph, who was co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach last season at Pittsburgh."

House of Sparky points out that "West's hiring would have completed Graham's staff, but last week running backs coach Chris Thomsen left Tempe to take over the offensive line coaching duties at Texas Tech."

We've seen David Shaw the offensive coordinator; David Shaw the head coach, recruiter and motivator. We've seen the David Shaw who gets perturbed when his strategies are questioned and the David Shaw who is humbled by praise and deflects kudos onto his assistants and players.

But there's one David Shaw we're yet to see: David Shaw the disciplinarian.

While so much of the attention heading into next season's opener against San Jose State was going to focus on who would start at quarterback, now we must also turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball and wonder who will be starting at inside linebacker. And for all the wrong reasons.

If memory serves, there were no players suspended or forced to miss time for violating team rules in the 2011 season. If there were, it wasn't made public and they weren't starters. But Shayne Skov is one of the best linebackers in the country, a poster boy for hard work and probably the most visible player on the 2012 roster. Whatever course of action Shaw takes in dealing with Skov's reported DUI will serve as a precedent for how all other disciplinary actions are taken.

I think it's safe to assume he's not going to dismiss Skov from the team -- as Mike Leach did yesterday with Washington State linebacker C.J. Mizell. Skov has neither the history nor the offense to warrant that severe of a punishment. He's a good teammate, a good student -- and if you work in the media -- a pretty good quote. All in all, he's a good guy who made a beyond-idiotic mistake.

But Shaw can't let this slide with a couple extra laps after practice and a stern talking-to, either. Skov put his life and the lives of others in jeopardy when he decided to knock back x-amount of cocktails and then turn the key.

Shaw hasn't made any comments about the incident other than an official statement issued through the school. But if David Shaw the disciplinarian is anything like the head coach, he'll approach it in the same, cool and even-tempered demeanor in which he approaches most things. But if anyone saw how distressed Shaw was when talking about Skov's injury back in Tucson, or the way he exploded in Pullman following an illegal hit on Chris Owusu, it's clear he loves his players and he's going to have their back. That makes whatever decision to come that much harder.

A suspension is certainly in order. How many games is the question. Clouding the issue is Skov's health. He's still recovering from a knee injury and we won't know if he'll be 100 percent to start the season. If he is fully healthy -- and he's suspended for the San Jose State and Duke games -- that seems fair.

But if he's still a couple of weeks away from being healthy when the season starts -- and he's suspended for both of those games -- is it really a just punishment? Suspending him for games he might have not played in -- or only played a minor role -- seems like doling out discipline with a dust pan rather than an iron fist.

Which brings us to the third game of the season: USC. This is one of the marquee games on Stanford's 2012 schedule and a true measuring stick for the Cardinal in the post-Andrew Luck era. Stanford doesn't need Skov to beat USC. Stanford doesn't need Skov at all -- for that matter. But they are a better team with him.

Whatever punishment Skov is to serve should begin when he's ready to play football. If that's the third game of the season, so be it. Using Skov's injury as a subterfuge for suspension would be letting him off the hook and a disservice to the position Shaw holds.

Shaw is, above all, a Stanford man. Now it's up to him -- David Shaw the disciplinarian -- to back up the ideals he so frequently preaches.

Coaches are in, coaches are out. That's the way things go.

Stanford is the only Pac-12 team still looking for a coordinator. Co-defensive coordinator Jason Tarver is off to the NFL to run the Oakland Raiders defense. He'll be joined in Oakland by USC receivers coach Ted Gilmore, who did a great job with Robert Woods and Marqise Lee this past season.

USC coach Lane Kiffin needs to replace three assistant coaches: LBs coach Joe Barry was hired by the San Diego Chargers, and Kiffin still hasn't hired a full-time secondary coach since Willie Mack Garza resigned just before the 2011 season began.

Meanwhile, Oregon State may be on the cusp of filling a vacancy in the secondary after Keith Heyward bolted for Washington. The Corvallis Gazette and Footballscoop.com reported that the deal is nearly done with former Indianapolis Colts assistant coach Rod Perry.

And, of course, there are four new coaching staffs at Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA and Washington State, while Washington, Utah and California made significant changes.

Colorado and Oregon, in fact, are the only two programs that haven't made any staff changes.

We're looking at the top individual performances in the Pac-12 in 2011.

Up next: Barkley rings UCLA's bell in Trojans victory.

Who & against whom? Matt Barkley turned in perhaps the best performance by a quarterback in 2011 while leading USC to a 50-0 victory over rival UCLA.

The numbers: Barkley completed 35 of 42 passes -- 83.3 percent -- for 423 yards and six touchdowns and no interceptions.

A closer look: Barkley led the charge in the battle for the Victory Bell, providing the largest margin of victory in the series since the Trojans won 52-0 in 1930. Trojans fans chanted "One more year!" at Barkley throughout his epic performance, and you can see why no one thought Barkley would return for his senior season -- even coach Lane Kiffin. "Unless he wants to do it, just to be a special Trojan, he ain't coming back," Kiffin said after the game. "He's every bit ready to go to the NFL. It's just going to be a decision, does he want to do something really unique? He might be the guy to do that." With those six touchdown passes, Barkley eclipsed former USC quarterback Matt Leinart's single-season conference record for touchdown passes, finishing 2011 with 39. Just imagine if he could have played in a bowl game?

Before handing off the Pac-12 conference championship trophy to either USC or Oregon, Football Outsiders' Brian Fremeau suggests taking a look at Stanford and UCLA first.

Fremeau examined five programs that are closing the talent gap versus the top teams in their conference — and two of the five programs are right here in the Pac-12.

Stanford, fresh off a second-straight BCS bowl game, tops the list.

Fremeau on the Cardinal:

Stanford made the most of the Andrew Luck era, appearing in back-to-back BCS bowl games and winning 31 games over the past three seasons with Luck at the helm. For a program that was at the bottom of the Pac-12 only a short time ago, it has been a dramatic climb. The question is whether that momentum can be sustained going forward.

Head coach David Shaw delivered the best class in recent Stanford history, headlined by a signing day haul of top offensive line recruits that will be expected to anchor the balanced Cardinal offense going forward. Running back Barry Sanders (son of the former NFL superstar) may be an impact player right out of the gate as well.

The hole left behind by Luck will be tough to fill, and a step back in 2012 is to be expected. But the Cardinal have been winning with unheralded classes for the past few years. What may they do with a talent advantage going forward?

Rounding out the list at No. 5 is UCLA. Here's Fremeau's take on the Bruins:

A tumultuous coaching transition usually dooms a recruiting class, but new head coach Jim Mora finished strong and delivered a top-20 group to get the Bruins in position to contend immediately. UCLA has a long way to go to match crosstown rival USC, but the Bruins' overall talent level suggests UCLA can win now against most of the rest of the Pac-12.

The PFEI numbers tell another tale altogether, one that suggests the Bruins need time to patiently improve. UCLA made our list of five biggest recruiting underachievers, but as we mentioned in that article, it starts with keeping losses from getting out of hand. Eliminate the blowout losses first and close the gap over time.

That said, UCLA has more talent accumulated right now according to our weighted recruiting measure than at any point in the Rick Neuheisel or Karl Dorrell eras. UCLA has been recruiting like one of the top programs in the country, so no one should be too surprised if Mora delivers early returns.