ESPN College Football

Happy Friday.

• As noted yesterday, Arizona's Jake Fischer was named to the Lott IMPACT watch list. Here's some more on the linebacker.
• A spring exit interview with ASU defensive line coach Jackie Shipp.
• In honor of the passing of Chuck Muncie, the San Jose Mercury News asks who is Cal's greatest running back?
• Details of the Webb-Lewis case continue to emerge.
• Chip Kelly bringing a "spark" to the Eagles.
• Oregon State loses a defensive tackle to a medical retirement.
• Incoming Stanford recruits are preparing for strength and conditioning coach Shannon Turley.
• Datone Jones could immediately impact the Green Bay defense.
• Utah coach Kyle Whittingham says USC is still the benchmark in the South.
• What game on Utah's schedule are fans most excited about?
• Some more on Washington's tight end commit.
• WSU's Teondray Caldwell could face assault and burglary charges.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list for 2013 has been announced and the Pac-12 is well-represented. Of the 42 players on the watch list, 11 hail from the Pac-12 with a wide range of players from all levels of defense.

The award, named in honor of USC and San Francisco 49ers great Ronnie Lott, goes to the country's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year (IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity) and, per its website "is unique because it represents the first trophy to give equal weight to personal character as well as athletic performance from a defensive college player and is the first national college football award based on the West Coast."

Here are the Pac-12 players on the watch list:

• Henry Anderson, DL, Stanford
• Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
• Scott Crichton, DL, Oregon State
• Alden Darby, DB, Arizona State
• Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
• Jake Fischer, LB, Arizona
• Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
• Devon Kennard, DL, USC
• Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
• Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
• John Timu, LB, Washington

The lone winner of the award from the conference was Cal's Dante Hughes, who won in 2006.

I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.

• BYU's offensive coordinator gets a strong endorsement from Rich Rodriguez.
• Arizona State is still fighting to get the Notre Dame game in Tempe. Brady Hoke rumored to arbitrate.
• Cal hired a new strength and conditioning coach.
• Colorado's defensive linemen are trimming up.
• Five of the most influential Oregon plays of the past 10 seasons.
• The Oregon State spring tour continues with USC.
• Tracking Stanford's third-down efficiency.
• Johnathan Franklin brings good competition to the position in Green Bay.
• USC appears twice on Athlon's ranking for the 25 greatest dynasties of the AP era.
• A look at the running back hopefuls to replace John White.
• Can Jonathan Amosa make it with the Packers?
• Washington State news and notes.

 

On this week's ESPNU College Football podcast, Ivan Maisel chats about the latest College Football Hall of Fame class, among other topics.

He's joined by former Arizona great Tedy Bruschi -- one of the 12 newest members of the Hall. Bruschi talks about his time with the Wildcats and his thoughts on the current state of Arizona football.

I went to the University of Arizona and I knew there were better facilities at UCLA and USC and all those other places. You can go out there and find athletes that want to play hard. I think that's the job of recruiting coordinators. That's the job of head coaches.

Also from Maisel is a nice piece on how elite academic schools have found success on the football field. Here's a snippet:

STANFORD, Calif. -- At a meeting of college administrators a few years ago, Howard Wolf found NCAA president Myles Brand eating breakfast by himself.

Wolf, the president of the Stanford Alumni Association, would chat up the guard at Buckingham Palace. Of course, he asked Brand if he could join him.

They talked about the NCAA and they chitchatted. Breakfast done, Wolf expressed his gratitude and got up to leave. Brand stopped him and said he had something to say. The NCAA membership needed Stanford to win. "Excuse me?" Wolf said.

"It is vital that Stanford succeed athletically," Brand said, "not only in the Olympic sports but in the marquee sports. If Stanford succeeds across the board, it shows the world of intercollegiate athletics that it can be done and done the right way. If, however, Stanford does not succeed in these arenas, it gives everyone else an excuse for how it isn't possible to be great in both academics and athletics.

"Don't let that happen," Brand said. "Don't give others that excuse."

You can read all of Maisel's story here.

The name's Dangerously. Johnny Dangerously.
Did you know your last name is an adverb?

• Can Rich Rodriguez lead Arizona to a major bowl game in five years? One writer says yes. (But no to Washington and California).
• A post-spring exit interview with ASU linebackers coach Paul Randolph.
• Sad news for the Cal family with the passing of Chuck Muncie.
• Mike MacIntyre is waiting for all the facts before passing judgment on Jordan Webb.
• An analysis of Oregon's special teams.
• Are the Beavers lucky to be missing UCLA this year?
• Another vote for Shayne Skov as Stanford's Most Important Player (at least on defense).
• Tough break for the Bruins, who likely lose defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa for the 2013 season.
• The Trojans are looking to ramp up the power running game in 2013.
• Utah's new football facility is to be ready by July.
• What are the expectations for Desmond Trufant in 2013?
• A WSU defensive lineman was given a liar-liar-pants-on-fire citation.
• Eager to stir the pot in mid-May, Jon Wilner predicts the first-and-second team all-league teams. Very ambitious. Very brave.

It's a Pac back attack!

Continuing with his look at the best NFL prospects by position in 2014, ESPN's Mel Kiper projects that four of the top 10 running backs hail from the Pac-12.

Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas is No. 1, which is understandable, but also a little bit surprising simply because he doesn't fit into any one category. I could see traditionalists arguing this point. But Kiper strongly supports his claim.

Kiper on Thomas: Is he a running back? He's a little bit of everything, but he's a running back on my board because handing him the ball is the quickest way to get it to him, and getting him the ball is the most important thing. Last year, Thomas turned 92 carries into 701 yards, good for 7.6 yards per carry. This after a freshman year where he averaged an absurd 10.6 yards per carry on his 55 touches. So over his first two years, Thomas averaged 8.8 yards per carry, and the sample size is no longer miniscule.

Yes, he can also catch it, as he has 91 receptions over his first two seasons. And he's terrifying in the return game. Thomas will never be a bulk-carry runner, and he doesn't have the route-running skills of a guy like Tavon Austin, who he might be compared to based on the burst. But he's a 180-pound game-breaker, a sprinter with the shiftiness to make people miss and he has added more muscle to his frame since he broke USC's heart and headed to Eugene.

The next two Pac-12 running backs are Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey at No. 3 and USC's Silas Redd at No. 4. They fit the more traditional role.

Kiper on Carey: Extraordinarily productive in 2012, Carey piled up a whopping 1,929 yards rushing. He does it by exploding upfield when he gets a seam, and running through arm tackles with good pad level and strong leg drive and determination. Carey looks like an early-impact NFL running back because of the way he reads plays, and puts his foot in the ground to get vertical and maximize yards when they're available.

On Redd: He was a little bit forgotten about in what was a disappointing season, but you turn on the tape and see a guy who often made the most of what was just average blocking last season. Redd isn't what I'd call an explosive runner, but he does a very good job of running through contact and grinding out extra yards.

Kiper also offers an "up next" segment of five more players to watch. Included in that mix is Washington's Bishop Sankey.

Stanford fans looking for validation that they have the best safety duo in the country just got a bump from Kiper, who also released his top safety prospects for 2014 . He ranks the Stanford duo of Ed Reynolds and Jordan Richards as the Nos. 2 and 3 best safety prospects, respectively.

Kiper on Reynolds: Stanford often had Reynolds playing, essentially, a deep center field, but even from there he was able to make a big impact. He doesn't have elite speed, but he anticipates really well, does a good job of not getting pushed out of position by quarterbacks who can use their eyes well, and gets himself in position to jump passes.

Kiper on Richards: Safe to say the Cardinal will be well-covered at safety in 2013. Richards is themore physical of the Stanford safeties, an in-the-box presence who is capable of making more plays against the run. He has a great sense of angles on the field, perhaps in part due to the fact he excelled in high school as a running back, wide receiver and as a cornerback.

Worth noting that also on the list is former UCLA safety Tevin McDonald, who was dismissed from the team and is now at Eastern Washington. He's No. 4 behind the Stanford tandem.

Finally, ESPN's KC Joyner offered up five prospects who could have breakout seasons in 2013 . Thomas is one of them. The other is Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly.

Writes Joyner: Arizona State coach Todd Graham has a long history of dominant offensive performances -- his Tulsa teams produced three top-five national finishes in yards per game -- so it should come as no surprise that he was able to get this type of showing out of a redshirt sophomore in his first season as a starter. Now that Kelly has a year under his belt to go along with a great 1-2 punch in the backfield and an influx of highly talented pass-catchers, he should be a front-runner for all-conference status this year.

Here's a look at where each Pac-12 teams stands in the recruiting game post-spring.

Arizona

2014 verbal commitments: 3
Spotlight: Running back Nick Wilson (Fresno, Calif.) has good size, so he's capable of running over defenders. But he's also shifty with good breakaway speed. His highlight film offers examples of both.
ESPN 150 members: 1 (Cameron Denson, ATH, Tucson, Ariz.)

Arizona State

2014 verbal commitments: 3
Spotlight: A commit since January, athlete Jaleel Wadood (Bellflower, Calif.) has good closing speed as a defensive back and projects as a corner or safety at the next level. Per his scouting report, there is room to grow on his 5-11, 165-pound frame.
ESPN 150 members: 0

California

2014 verbal commitments: 2
Spotlight: Tagged as an athlete, Koa Farmer (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) could end up as a big-bodied receiver or possibly a safety. His highlight film offers snippets of both.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Colorado

2014 verbal commitments:0
Spotlight:
ESPN 150 members: 0

Oregon

2014 verbal commitments: 3
Spotlight: Four-star linebacker Jordan Hoiem (Wailuku, Hawaii) has good size at 6-5 and should fill out his frame when he gets into a college lifting program. Could develop into a dangerous speed rusher off the edge -- as his highlight film indicates.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Oregon State

2014 verbal commitments: 1
Spotlight: OSU's lone commit, quarterback Nick Mitchell (Snoqualmie, Wash.), looks to be another prototypical Mike Riley pro-style quarterback. Tall and lean with room to grow, he excels at accuracy and timing patterns, per his scouting report.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Stanford

2014 verbal commitments: 3
Spotlight: Stanford's most recent commit, athlete Christian McCaffrey (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), has more than 20 offers -- including the bulk of the Pac-12. He's the top-ranked player in Colorado (you might recognize the name) and, as you can see from his film, has a very diverse offensive skill set.
ESPN 150 members: 0

UCLA

2014 verbal commitments: 1
Spotlight: Wide receiver Barry Ware (Corona, Calif.) has a good frame at 6-2, 195. Per his scouting report, he's got big, soft hands with a large catch radius.
ESPN 150 members: 0

USC

2014 verbal commitments: 5
Spotlight: Offensive tackle Jordan Poland (La Jolla, Calif.) already has the size at 6-7, 333. Having already had one de-commit on the offensive line, the Trojans are hoping for early enrollments from Poland and offensive guard Toa Lobendahn.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Utah

2014 verbal commitments: 4
Spotlight: Offensive tackle Jackson Barton (Salt Lake City) is a hometown prospect whose father played minor league baseball and his mother was an All-American honorable mention basketball player for the Utes. Plenty of room to grow in his 6-6, 275-pound frame.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Washington

2014 verbal commitments: 3
Spotlight: Athlete Rahshead Johnson (Long Beach, Calif.) could, per his scouting report, "literally be a legit threat on both sides of the ball." He's been a Washington commit for almost 11 months so it will be interesting to see where he fits into the scheme.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Washington State

2014 verbal commitments: 3
Spotlight: If he keeps his commitment, quarterback Peyton Bender (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) will be the fourth quarterback Mike Leach has recruited. Like the rest, Bender is at least 6-1 and while he's not a threat to run, per his scouting report, he does a good job extending plays.
ESPN 150 members: 0

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned for Sega.

• Catching up on some Arizona news and notes.
• Todd Graham and Jaxon Hood give a shout out to the moms.
• What are Cal's expectations in 2013?
• More details are emerging about the Webb-Lewis assault case.
• Who is Oregon's next in line after Marcus Mariota?
• The spring tour of Oregon State's 2013 schedule continues with Cal.
• David Shaw: Football coach, motivational speaker.
• Datone Jones weighs in on Colin Kaepernick.
• The Trojans are hoping to avoid drama in 2013.
• Missed this one last week. My bad. Utah's John White is headed to the CFL.
• Justin Glenn signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.
• Washington State picked up a linebacker commit.

What's a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?

• The Arizona football family rallies to help one of its own.
• A post-spring exit interview with ASU safeties coach Chris Ball.
• Keenan Allen and Steve Williams are happy to be Chargers together.
• Some more on the arrests of Jordan Webb and Alex Lewis.
• A post-spring review of Oregon's special teams.
• Look for Markus Wheaton to crack Pittsburgh's starting lineup.
• Chase Thomas has motivation to impress the Saints.
• Packers draftees Johnathan Franklin and Eddie Lacy will push each other.
• Nine offseason position battles to watch at USC.
• A breakdown of Utah's post-spring depth chart.
• Don't sleep on Washington linebacker Travis Feeney.
• Marquess Wilson is eager to jump into the Bears' wide receiver competition.

Happy Friday.

• Arizona and UNLV are getting closer to moving their game to Glendale.
• A post-spring review of Arizona State's linebackers.
• Todd Steussie headlines list of eight selected to Cal's Hall of Fame.
• Former Colorado quarterback Nick Hirschman will transfer to Akron.
• A post-spring review of Oregon's defensive backs.
• Cliff Kirkpatrick's spring tour of Oregon State's opponents continues with Utah.
• Zach Ertz and Jordan Poyer have agreed to deals with the Eagles.
• Matt Hayes from Sporting News has a nice feature on Brett Hundley.
• A preseason breakdown of USC wide receiver Marqise Lee.
• Utah will get back to defying the odds in 2013.
• Keith Price is No. 7 on a list of 15 pivotal quarterbacks in 2013.
• Same list, and Connor Halliday is No. 11.
• Jon Wilner has some updates on the Pac-12 Network.

With the NFL draft still fresh in our minds and numerous publications releasing 2014 mock drafts, ESPN’s Mel Kiper has jumped on board (that's a pun) and released his first Big Board of the top 25 players for next year’s draft.

The board features four players from the Pac-12, including two in the top five. Here's how they rank.

USC wide receiver Marqise Lee is the highest rated Pac-12 player, checking in at No. 3 behind No. 1 Jadeveon Clowney and Teddy Bridgewater.

Kiper on Lee: That USC had several good weapons in the passing game last season didn't stop defenses from paying extra attention to Lee, but it didn't matter. He has the ability to separate with speed and as an effective route-runner. He's dropped a few easy ones, but makes most routine catches and can play bigger than his size. Dangerous after the catch. He's also physical and could've been a top safety if he'd chosen that direction.

UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr -- previously No. 10 on the 2013 Big Board before deciding to return to UCLA for another season -- checks in at No. 5

Kiper on Barr: For perspective on Barr, consider that he easily outperformed Dion Jordan last season, and not only did Jordan go No. 3 overall, but Barr was playing defense for the first time in college football. A former fullback, he has a powerful lower half, but has a long frame and reach. I was surprised to see him return to UCLA coming off his 2012 season, but another year of seasoning at the position is only going to make him a more attractive talent.

Also ranked are Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (No. 14) and Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins (No. 24).

In a second Kiper link, he looked at "the next 25" players who received consideration for the Big Board. And there's plenty of Pac-12 talent.

• No. 28 Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas
• No. 29 Stanford's David Yankey
• No. 31 Oregon State's Scott Crichton
• No. 33 Oregon's Marcus Mariota
• No. 37 Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey
• No. 40 Stanford's Ed Reynolds
• No. 42 USC's Morgan Breslin
• No. 46 California's Deandre Coleman

Finally from Kiper, a fun little story about how the draft might have gone had Clowney, Bridgewater, Lee, Barr and a few other offensive linemen been eligible in 2013.

On Lee: I could have seen Lee go as high as No. 3 overall to Oakland. The Raiders were smart to deal down, but WR is a pretty big need for them, and Lee is ready to play. Another spot he could have landed in is No. 5 with the Lions. Joke all you want about Detroit's history of drafting wideouts, but with the injury to Ryan Broyles and the dismissal of Titus Young, the Lions are actually thin at the position beyond Megatron. I'm a big fan of Tavon Austin, but he's not the prospect Lee is.

On Barr: All you need to know about Barr is that he was far more productive than Dion Jordan last year, and while Jordan is probably a better player in space right now, he was drafted to rush the passer, and Barr -- with only one year of experience -- is arguably already better. I think he and Jordan would have been neck and neck, and that obviously means that he could have gone in the top five. There's certainly the possibility he beats out Barkevious Mingo as the No. 6 pick to Cleveland.

Circus life, under the big-top world. We all need the clowns to make us smile.

• Some more on Tedy Bruschi headed to the Hall.
• A post-spring interview with ASU offensive coordinator Mike Norvell.
• Jon Wilner assess each team's quarterback situation -- which is still up in the air for Cal.
• A tough season on the field has left the Colorado athletic program with a deficit.
• A post-spring review of Oregon's linebackers.
• Jordan Poyer might prove to be a steal for the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Did you miss any Stanford articles from The Bootleg this spring? Here's all of them neatly organized.
• A trio of UCLA draftees will miss mini-camp because of finals.
• Nice feature from Stewart Mandel on former USC center Khaled Holmes, a finalist for SI's college athlete of the year.
• Utah continues its focus on in-state recruiting.
• A reaction to the Pac-12 blog's power rankings from a Washington perspective.
• Things are looking up at WSU under Bill Moos' watch.

BJ 19. Second base. The beard.

• Arizona alumnus Tedy Bruschi is headed to the College Football Hall of Fame.
• Pretty cool video of ASU quarterback Taylor Kelly and his passion for drag racing.
• A closer look at Sonny Dykes' contract.
• Former Colorado coach Bill McCartney selected for the College Football Hall of Fame.
• A look at Oregon's defensive line post-spring.
• Mike Riley touches on a few of the national issues surrounding college football.
• David Shaw, among others, is a fan of the new College Football Playoff.
• Brett Hundley has to do a better job staying on his feet in 2013.
• A New Jersey writer dug up this pot-stirring quote from Chip Kelly about Matt Barkley and Andrew Luck. Discuss.
• Checking in on Utah's new facilities.
• Steve Sarkisian weighs in on spring games.
• Some Washington State news and notes.

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

• Arizona unveils its new uniforms.
• ASU checks in at No. 23 in Athlon's preseason top 25, plus the 10 greatest Sun Devils since 1967.
• A Q&A with Cal cornerback Kameron Jackson.
• Injured Colorado quarterback Jordan Webb could be back by October.
• Potential early draft entrees could impact Oregon's recruiting.
• Oregon State is No. 25 in Athlon's top 25, plus the 10 greatest OSU players since 1967.
• Former Cardinal Zach Ertz should fit in right away with the Eagles.
• There are high expectations in the NFL for Datone Jones.
• Lane Kiffin wasn't surprised that Chip Kelly drafted Matt Barkley.
• Utah looking for some consistency in 2013.
• Steve Sarkisian hits on a number of topics -- including the spring game and Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
• The 2013 season might be tough, but the Cougars will rise in Year 3 under Mike Leach.

Here on the Pac-12 blog, we bring more than just game coverage, team analysis, statistical trends and rarely-accurate bowl projections.

We also bring the stuff that matters. Like Twitter stats.

Inspired by Kelly Hines of Tulsa World, who went through every FBS coach's Twitter account and ranked them by followers, we thought we'd do the same for just the Pac-12. You can see Hines' article here and note where the Pac-12 coaches rank against their peers. Twitter, of course, is quite fluid with followers coming and going often.

At the time of Hines' publication, UCLA coach Jim Mora was the leader of the league's coaches in number of followers. But he's since dropped about 6,000 followers (rough weekend), meaning Washington's Steve Sarkisian is the leader.

LSU's Les Miles headlines the group as the only coach with more than 100,000 followers, followed by Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, Tennessee's Butch Jones, Georgia's Mark Richt and Arkansas' Bret Bielema rounding out the top five.

Here's where the Pac-12 coaches currently ranks, along with links to their Twitter accounts.

1. Steve Sarkisian 46,510
2. Jim Mora 43,166
3. Mike Leach 42,226
4. Lane Kiffin 29,853
5. Mike Riley 14,939
6. Rich Rodriguez 8,320
7. David Shaw 6,443
8. Sonny Dykes 3,564
9. Mark Helfrich 3,382
10. Todd Graham 2,063

If Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has a Twitter account, it's super secret. You can follow the Utes at @Utah_Football.

Same for new Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre, who probably has a little more on his mind than getting his new Twitter account set up. You can follow the Buffs official football feed @RunRalphieRun.

While you're updating your twitter, why not swing by and follow the Pac-12 blog (48,527). That's right, Bieber. Don't get too comfy.

#hashtagjokesaregettingold