ESPN College Football

Eleven Pac-10 players have been awarded by the National Football Foundation 2010 Hampshire Honor Society Membership.

The academic honor is for college football players from all divisions who maintained a 3.2 GPA or better. A total of 620 players from 246 schools qualified for membership in the society's fourth year, an 80 percent increase from the inaugural class in 2007.

You can read the complete list of players here.

The Pac-10 players who earned academic honors are:

Mike Nixon, Arizona State
Taylor Kavanaugh, Oregon State
Gregg Peat, Oregon State
Chris Gronkowski, Arizona
Mark Boskovich, California
Logan Paulsen, UCLA
Trevor Theriot, UCLA
Jeff Byers, USC
Jordan Congdon, USC
Kenny Alfred, Washington State
Joe Eppele, Washington State

Part II of a chat with Arizona's co-offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, who will call the offensive plays this season.

Read Part I here.

We know the established guys: Give me some names of youngsters or former reserves who impressed you.

Seth Littrell: A guy who not a lot people have heard about who had a pretty solid spring was two guys at receiver. Gino Crump, who transferred here last year from West Virginia, has really done some good things and is developing his skills. His deal when he got here was he was inconsistent catching the football, but he did a better job hanging onto the football this spring. He didn't drop as many balls. Also a guy in the same category is Travis Cobb, who is always impressive because he's extremely fast. He can really stretch the field. The biggest thing with him was getting comfortable in the offense. He did a lot better this spring than he did last fall when I don't know how comfortable he was. He was pretty impressive in practices just going to get the football. Nick would drop back and throw a fade route and it would look like it was going to be overthrown by 10 yards and Cobb just runs and gets it. Pure speed, he's probably the fastest guy on our team. Then there's Taimi Tutogi. He played a few games last year and didn't redshirt and played as Chris Gronkowski's backup. But this spring he's really come along. We've done a lot of things with him, from the fullback position to putting him on the line as a tight end, or lining him up at tailback, which we've done in a few practices. He's a guy who, if he develops and gets that confidence as a running back, or fullback, H-back, the more we can expand his role even to tailback also. There's a lot of guys who stepped up and had good springs. Some young O-linemen. It's hard to say one guy. There's a lot of young guys who did some good things this spring.

What will be different about the offense next fall compared to what we saw in 2009?

SL: Hopefully, we'll be better. Without giving away too much, we're going to do some different things, things we were even talking about before Coach Dykes got the head job at Louisiana Tech. We're always looking to expand and looking to get better. I feel like this spring we've done some evaluations of what we feel like we need to do to be a top offense in the country. Even with Coach Scelfo coming in, bringing a new set of eyes and being able to evaluate some of the things we were doing. Sometimes it's good to have something from the outside looking in to give you a different perspective. We've been looking at some of the stuff he did at La-Tech. They were very successful there.

Tell me about how Coach Stoops decided that you would call plays?

SL: The biggest thing with this offense is we are all part of this offense. Obviously, one guy has to be designated to call the plays. In the course of the game, we're all having input. Even though I may be calling the offense, we've called it all week, we have a script, we pretty much know what we're going to do situationally throughout a game. When you're calling it, obviously you've got to get some type of game-time rhythm, know the situations and how to set stuff up. But also at the same time, Frank is going to be in the box with me. Coach Bedenbaugh will be on the field with [receivers coaches Garret Chachere and Dave Nichol]. Really, honestly, it's a matter that coach Bedenbaugh has to be on the field with the O-linemen. That's a huge role for him, being around the linemen the whole game, making adjustments. It would be pretty difficult for him to call plays from down there. Not to say he couldn't because he could but it's really just a matter of me being in the box.

Football coaches, by nature, are fiery guys, as you know from working with the Stoops brothers. Sometimes the collaborative process can get pretty animated: Think everybody will be able to get along?

SL: I don't think there's any doubt. We're all pretty passionate. I've been around coach Stoops for a long time. I played offense [at Oklahoma], but I played under Bob Stoops at OU and Mike Stoops was the D-coordinator. And I've been under [Mark] Mangino and Mike Leach and a lot of different guys. Everybody has their own fire and passion. Obviously, I've only coached with them [at Arizona] for one season but we've been around each other. One thing about Mike is he's passionate about the game but nothing is ever personal. It's about business and winning football games. He knows I'm the same way. We've always gotten along and always had a great relationship. It's going to be no different.

In 2000, Seth Littrell was a fullback and captain of Oklahoma's national championship team.

In 2004, he was a graduate assistant at Kansas.

In 2010, he became the Arizona Wildcats' co-offensive coordinator. And, at 31, will be the youngest play-caller in the Pac-10 and one of the youngest in the nation.

It's been a quick climb through the coaching ranks for Littrell. And there's pressure, sure. Wildcats coach Mike Stoops tapped him to fill the job capably manned last fall by Sonny Dykes, who's now Louisiana Tech's head coach, over two more veteran assistants, line coach and co-coordinator Bill Bedenbaugh and quarterbacks coach Frank Scelfo.

While Littrell goes to great lengths to play down the distinction of calling plays, it's clear that Stoops believes he's got a talented young coach who's up to the job.

The good news is Littrell has a lot to work with. Seven starters return from an offense that averaged nearly 32 points per game in Pac-10 play, including quarterback Nick Foles.

With the Wildcats concluding spring practices last weekend, it seemed like a good time to check in with Littrell.

So give me the rundown of the offense this spring: What are you happy with? What didn't go as well as you wanted it to?

Seth Littrell: Overall, we were pleased. The biggest thing was the effort. We did some different things offensively that we haven't done in the past, trying some new things out to maybe fit us a little bit better personnel-wise with some guys. I think our players really enjoyed it. So overall they were pretty focused and intense. There was good competition. We had a lot of guys with a lot of returning experience so the hardest thing with that a lot of times is they get bored. We tried to find different ways to keep it exciting and keep it enthusiastic. They were willing to come out and work to become the No. 1 offense in the Pac-10, which is always what our goal is. Probably the most disappointing thing was we came out flat in the spring game. I thought we had good work for the most part leading up to that. We were pretty basic and vanilla in the game, but I was a little disappointed in how flat we were. We didn't make plays we'd made all spring. We dropped too many balls, which hadn't been a problem. Way too many turnovers. Things we didn't have issues with during the spring just kind of popped up in a game-type atmosphere. But that's really the only disappointment I had.

Nick Foles, I wouldn't say faded a bit late in the season, but he didn't have a good Holiday Bowl: Where did he get better this spring?

SL: Overall grasp of the offense. In Nick's defense, he played pretty well early in the season but each and every game we put more on him. I don't know if he faded out but looking back on it maybe we had a little too much offense. Maybe he wasn't ready for all that. That's not an excuse for him. He'd only played a few games -- he redshirted and played a few games at Michigan State [from where he transferred] -- so he's still pretty young. We probably could have kept it a little safer for him, not put so much on him. I think the thing he's really improved in is understanding the offense. Understanding that not every play has to be a touchdown. It's about moving the chains and being productive and getting the ball into other guys' hands. He doesn't have to be the superstar. There's 11 guys on the field and everybody has a role to play. He's just one part of that 11.

Where does backup quarterback Matt Scott stand?

SL: I thought Matt Scott had an unbelievable spring. He's probably been one of the guys I've been most impressed with -- he's probably had the biggest jump of anybody. Coach Scelfo does an unbelievable job with those quarterbacks. [No. 3 QB] Bryson Beirne even had a good spring. Things [Scott] needed to work on, he worked on them and bought into it and worked each and every day. He's way more accurate than he was because of the things he's worked on with Coach Scelfo. Another thing is he really took it upon himself to study the offense. He wants to get involved and learn and it showed on the field.

You oversee the running backs: Are there concerns that Nic Grigsby might not be able to stay healthy?

SL: It may appear that way, huh? It wasn't only him, though. I was down to my fifth running back last year. We played five different guys. We had to get [fullback Taimi Tutogi] ready to take some snaps at tailback. It's always a concern for running backs. I've been around offenses that have been two or three years without one injury and they've been some of the smallest guys on the field. It's always a concern, as a running backs coach, keeping your guys healthy. But as long as we're doing what we need to do in the offseason with [strength and conditioning coach Corey Edmond] and the weight room. As long as we are taking care of our bodies, I don't think that should be too big of an issue. I don't know how well we did that last year. Hopefully we learned a big lesson and are trying to protect ourselves better by taking care of our bodies and doing what is necessary in the offseason to prevent some of that.

Seems like you guys are fairly strong on the offensive line: How did they do this spring?

SL: They are a very solid group. Coach Bedenbaugh does an unbelievable job with O-linemen. Just how physical and tough those guys are. They are obviously the leaders on our offense. Everybody kind of looks to those guys and they set the tone. One thing we still have to develop is depth across the board. But when you talk about our first five -- and really up to seven or eight, we've got pretty solid guys -- we're pretty comfortable. As always, and it's the same across the country, everybody is looking for depth across the offensive line.

In Part II on Thursday, Littrell talks about youngsters who stood out this spring, changes in the offensive scheme and why he was tapped the play-caller.

Happy Friday.

To the notes.

Donald from Eugene writes: If the PAC10 actually does expand to 12 teams, the conventional wisdom is they would create North and South divisions. However, that would leave NW schools with the distinct possibility of not traveling to Southern California for two straight seasons thus killing recruiting (see Big12 North.) Wouldn't it make more sense to try the "AFC/NFC" split and put for instance UW, UO, Stan, UCLA, UA and CU in one division and the other six in the other? The teams would still play their traditional rival, it just would be out of division. That way every team will be assured of traveling to the Bay Area and SoCal on a regular basis.

Ted Miller: Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.

I've been a bit surprised by how so many people have pooh-poohed the idea of Pac-10 expansion -- read: Colorado and Utah -- simply because of the supposedly calamitous results of a North-South split.

How will the Northwest schools survive without an annual visit to recruiting hotbeds in California [insert sob]!

As Donald notes: Fine, then forget the whole North-South thing and let's go with much more felicitously named "Ted" and "Donald" divisions.

My division is USC, Stanford, Washington State, Arizona State, Utah and Oregon State.

Donald's division is UCLA, California, Washington, Arizona, Colorado and Oregon.

(Please, that was random. Don't read anything into which teams I selected).

Each Pac-12 team plays five divisional games as well as its traditional rival in the other division annually (we announce the first annual hate-fest between Utah vs. Colorado!). Each team then rotates two games among the other five teams in the other division.

Note how the Oregon-Washington rivalry gets preserved! And how we kept Jim Harbaugh and Lane Kiffin in the same division, which I am certain will be great fun.

That's eight conference games, which means teams then can load up on patsies for their four-game nonconference schedule -- if they wish -- which would mean more bowl-eligible teams and more seasons with two BCS bowl teams.

Sure, some conference hits and misses will provide an advantage. But that's how it is in every conference that doesn't play a round-robin schedule.

In a few years, media pundits would go, "Sheesh! The Pac-12 has 10 bowl-eligible teams! What a conference!"

What about losing the convenience -- and cost-effectiveness -- of regional travel provided by North-South divisions? Well, travel would remain mostly like it is now. So big deal.

By the way, though Donald and I are clearly brilliant, this has been done before. There's an obscure constellation in the college football universe know as the "Atlantic Coast Conference," which is broken up into the the "Heather" and "Dinich" divisions. Or they might be the "Atlantic" and "Coastal" divisions, I forget.

And, by the way, as a son of the South, I can tell you that there ain't no coast near Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Duke or Virginia.

Kevin from Phoenix writes: I have to take issue with the Spring Rankings. Arizona replaces 12 starters? I'd be curious to know what math you used to get 12 out of nine.

Ted Miller: OK.

Arizona's departing 2009 starters, per its depth chart.

Offense (5): WR Terrell Turner, OT Mike Diaz, OG Herman Hall, OT Adam Grant, HB Chris Gronkowski.

Defense (7): DT Earl Mitchell, NT Donald Horton, LB Sterling Lewis, LB Vuna Tuihalamaka, LB Xavier Kelly, FS Cam Nelson, CB Devin Ross.

The list doesn't including TE Rob Gronkowski because he sat out the entire season.

Kenny from Florence, Ariz., writes: I don't understand your logic in your spring power rankings. Putting USC, Oregon State, Cal, UW, & Stanford all above Arizona. Is it because of the Holiday Bowl performance? Ok well let's remember what happened during the Pac-10 conference season: Arizona beat USC in LA, Oregon St. in Corvallis, Stanford in Tucson.

Ted Miller: The Holiday Bowl performance was fairly yucky. But that's not why I rated Arizona seventh.

As you will note from above, the Wildcats lose three starting offensive linemen, three linebackers, both defensive tackles and two very good defensive backs.

And most of those guys weren't just starters -- they were mainstays (five second-team All-Pac-10 guys, including four on defense).

That's a lot to replace, particularly with two new coordinators. And keep in mind that the Wildcats will be using two pair of co-coordinators in 2010 after using just one guy in each role last year.

There may be a period of adjustment there.

It's perfectly reasonable to believe the Wildcats will plug-and-play and away they will go. But I will put them at No. 7 -- in a very deep Pac-10 -- until I see what those plugs might look like.

And I will be in Tucson during spring practices, so perhaps I will be impressed. I typically am when I watch a Mike Stoops team practice.

Kai from Castro Valley, Calif., writes: If someone were to go back in time and tell the 2000 Ted Miller how much teams have changed (i.e. number of bowl appearances in 2000-2009 compared to 1990-1999), which team do you think you wouldn't believe changed this much? In other words which team had the most phenomenal change good or bad from the start to the end of the decade? (Personally it's WSU for me).

Ted Miller: If the 2000 me met the 2010 me he tell me to get to the gym and lay off the beef and bourbon.

There are so many surprises in the decade.

The biggest surprise would be Washington, the 11-1, 2000 Pac-10 champion, winning 12 games from 2004-2008.

The second biggest surprise would have the rise of USC under Pete Carroll -- "USC hired Pete Carroll?" the 2000 me would ask. "That surely was a colossal failure!"

The third biggest surprise would have been the rise of Washington State: 30 wins, three consecutive top-10 rankings from 2001-2003. And Mike Price leaving the Cougars for Alabama. And how that turned out.

The fourth biggest surprise would be Oregon State's sustained success. I mostly thought that 2000 was a brilliant flash of football serendipity. It wasn't.

Gordie from Pasadena, Calif., writes: Let's say the Pac-10 picks up Utah and Colorado, and the Big Ten picks up Missouri. So does that mean the Big 12 becomes the Big 10 and the Big Ten becomes the Big Twelve (since it already has eleven teams)?

Ted Miller: Ha! Nice.

Gary from Portland writes: Recruiting revealed, the layers peeled back like an onion.

Ted Miller: Hit that link: You will be amused.

Ethan from San Francisco writes: You win... I have no idea where your Thursday quote [above the "Pac-10 lunch links"] came from.

Ted Miller: Glad you asked because it comes from one of my all-time favorite novels: Don DeLillo's "Underworld."

It's a dense, 800-plus-page read, so it won't be everyone's favorite brew, but the first 60 pages are set around Bobby Thomson's home run -- "The shot heard round the world" -- to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers and win the New York Giants the 1951 National League Pennant.

Go to a bookstore and read those 60 pages. It's some of the best writing you will ever read.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now controls the past
Who controls the past now controls the future
Who controls the present now?
Now testify.

• He doesn't have impressive stats but Chris Gronkowski has made key plays for Arizona.
• Arizona State wasn't focused at Stanford.
• California is going to the desert to find itself. Far out.
• No, Kirk Herbstreit never compared Oregon to Paris Hilton. College GameDay will broadcast from Casanova Center parking lot.
• This freshman is a rising star for Oregon State. Beavers offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf is now the brains behind the play-calling.
• Stanford safety Delano Howell is inspiring lofty comparisons.
• Injuries are piling up for UCLA's defense.
• A Q&A with USC QB Matt Barkley. Hey, somebody in Washington D.C. said something stupid and ill-informed. Imagine. An injury update -- not looking good for tight end Anthony McCoy and fullback Stanley Havili.
• And on the bye week, Washington quarterback Jake Locker rested.
• Breaking down some numbers for Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel.
• The Rose Bowl has a dream scenario.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes has transformed the Arizona offense since coach Mike Stoops hired him away from Texas Tech in 2007.

But the Wildcats began 2009 with questions on offense due to the departure of quarterback Willie Tuitama -- a three-plus year starter -- receiver Mike Thomas and offensive tackle Eben Britton.

Matt Scott won the quarterback competition over fellow sophomore Nick Foles, but it was close and Foles is still in the picture.

	Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE
	Arizona hasn't asked quarterback Matt Scott to pass downfield much so far this season.

The Wildcats opened with two efficient victories, but the offense played conservatively, leaning on a running attack that is averaging a stout 306 yards per contest and a stout defense.

But a visit to Iowa will pose a far tougher test on Saturday. It's unlikely the Wildcats can just line up and run right at the Hawkeyes.

Seemed like a good time to check in with Dykes and see where things stand.

Tell me how things are going at quarterback, starting with Matt Scott?

Sonny Dykes: He's made good progress so far. It's kind of been weird because we had a lead early in both games and have been pretty content to try to hold onto the ball and run it and try not to put too much on those guys right now. So he's done a good job doing that. We're completing a pretty high percentage of our throws. We haven't gotten the ball down the field a ton yet but we really haven't had to. So he's done a good job of executing what we've done. We've got to continue to improve our downfield passing game. But part of that has been we've had some guys injured and been a little bit slower than I would like to all get on the same page. Not having [tight end Rob] Gronkowski hurts us a bunch as far as getting it down the field. And Chris Gronkowski has been banged up. It's just been kind of slow to all come together.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

One of the reasons Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes is about to become a hot head-coaching candidate is that he's not a system guy. He's a personnel guy.

He figures out what he has. Then he figures out how to use them.

When Mike Stoops hired him away from Texas Tech, most immediately assumed he'd start throwing the ball 60 times a game, just like the Red Raiders do.

Nope. The Wildcats ran the ball 504 times last year and passed it 412.

It's about doing what works. So Dykes' spread offense has evolved.

Has it worked? Well, in 2006, the year before he moved to Tucson, Arizona averaged 16.6 points and 252.8 yards per game. In 2007, Dykes' offense averaged 28 points and 385 yards per game. In 2008, that offense averaged 36.6 points and 402 yards per game.

In 2007, the Wildcats averaged just 77 yards rushing. In 2008, 158.4.

To Dykes, the spread doesn't mean one thing. Other than moving the football.

Is there a fundamental difference in the way you guys line up versus Oregon and the spreads that are more of a spread-option running attack?

Sonny Dykes: Definitely. If you look at Oregon and West Virginia, with what Rich Rodriguez was doing there, they were spreading to run. They wanted to spread the field to take some of the onus off the offensive line and run the football. Oregon is doing the same thing. Spread teams like Texas Tech were kind of the run-and-shoot guys and are really trying to spread the field to throw it. What we're doing here is kind of a combination of both. We double call a lot of stuff, so depending on how many people are in the box, we're going to throw it when we've got good numbers and run it when we've got good numbers to run it. That's really what Tech is doing but they are more inclined to throw it.

What is your base formation?

SD: For us, it always depends on personnel. Who are our best players? We have a tight end -- obviously we've got [Rob] Gronkowski, so our base formation involves a tight end. When we had [receiver] Mike Thomas, our base formation was a one-back set with Mike Thomas being the inside of three receivers. Now, we'll be a little bit more of a two-back team because of [H-back] Chris Gronkowski. We'll be a mixture really. So our base formation will be with a tight end and a fullback, which is a little bit more old style football.

So that's the big difference between you guys and Texas Tech -- the fullback and tight end are just role players for the Red Raiders, right?

SD: But if Tech had Rob Gronkowski they'd be playing with a tight end a lot. It just depends on your personnel. Any coach is going to try to get his best guys on the field. Our offense has evolved and a lot of it is because of Robbie. We started running some power and a little bit more of a downhill run game just because he can block a defensive end at a point of attack. There just aren't many tight ends you can count on to do that. We're evolving. We're probably a little bit more like Oregon now than Texas Tech, just because of our ability and need to run the football. But if we had Mike Crabtree and Graham Harrell, we'd be throwing it 60 times a game. Instead, we've got Rob Gronkowski and Nic Grigsby, so we're more inclined to run it.

How about with receivers? Does the spread require different things out of them than if you were lining up in a pro-style set?

SD: Yeah, definitely. The quarterback and receivers have to spend a lot of time getting on the same page. If you run the ball, guys are going to try to sneak more guys in the box. When they do that, you need to find a way to get the ball on the perimeter, whether it's throwing the [bubble screens] or whatever, to try to get the ball away from the guys packing the box. When you're doing that, it looks like an easy throw, but it's something that requires quite a bit of timing and work between quarterbacks and wide receivers. If you're going to spread it out and do that, your quarterback and receivers have to spend a lot of time developing a feel for each other.

If you're going to run 35 times a game, you need receivers to block well. But, in general, does a spread receiver need to be a better blocker than a pro-style receiver?

SD: I think so because of the screens. A lot of that stuff maybe forces them to be more effective blockers. It's different. Our receivers don't cut much. You look at the old Nebraska film, when they were running the option and getting the ball on the perimeter, they were cutting guys down. Our guys are really just trying to get in the way more. So it's a different kind of blocking, but it's probably more important in the spread because of the screens and how many times the ball is actually out on the edge.

One way guys recruit against spread teams is they tell recruits that if they play in a spread offense they are not going to get the respect from the NFL in the draft. What do you say to that?

SD: It's weird. Remember [the University of] Miami was one of the first teams running the one-back and running a spread offense with three receivers on the field? They were doing it with guys like Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde and all of those guys were getting drafted. Back then, Miami was using it as a real advantage -- hey, we're spreading the field and throwing the ball. That's how you get into the NFL. What's happened is the spread has changed and there are a lot of different kinds of spreads. You've got what Penn State was doing last year which is more traditional type stuff. And then you've got the stuff that is way out there, the run-and-shoot stuff, what Tech's done. I think anytime a quarterback can drop back and throw the football, that's important. All that does is make him better, whether he does it under center or out of the shotgun. I don't see how a quarterback can be faulted when he takes a snap, avoids a rush, shuffles in the pocket, goes through reads, finds a receiver, throws an accurate ball and does all the things you have to do to drop back and throw. I don't see how he becomes a better quarterback by being under center and handing it to a running back. There's been a little bit of a knock, but I think that's just because of the personnel. If you're Texas Tech, you don't have to recruit 6-foot-6 quarterbacks who can stand in the pocket and throw the ball. And those are the guys the NFL is always going to like. Now, some of those guys don't work out and guys like Tom Brady do, who's not very big and doesn't have a particularly strong arm. They're just good players. Whether it's college or pro, the important thing for a quarterback is just finding a good fit.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

That Gronkowski guy for Arizona is such a beast! Have you seen the guy's numbers?

Got a 3.3 GPA in accounting. Nearly aced the math portion of the SAT, earning a 790 on the old 800 scale.

	Chris Morrison/US Presswire
	Chris Gronkowski had 8 receptions for 198 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Oh, you were thinking football. Sorry.

Well, Chris Gronkowski -- older brother to Arizona's All-American tight end Rob "The Beast" Gronkowski -- is no slouch on the athletic end, either.

He's Arizona's H-back and averaged a team-high 24.8 yards per reception in 2008. Sure, he only caught eight passes, but three went for touchdowns, including one in the Las Vegas Bowl victory over BYU.

And don't be surprised if the 6-foot-2, 246-pound senior has a bigger role this year. His versatility allows him to be a fullback, slot receiver or second tight end, and that ability to man multiple positions might help him get an opportunity to play in the NFL.

The elder Gronkowski may not be the natural his brother is, but his strong weight room numbers suggest he's put in the work: 405-pound bench press, 600-pound squat and 345-pound power clean. He runs the 40 in "the low 4.7s."

Hard work and an obsessiveness about fitness run in the Gronkowski family. Besides Rob and Chris, brother Dan played football at Maryland and Gordie Jr., played baseball in college. Father Gordon played guard at Syracuse and now owns a chain of 17 fitness retail stores.

And Dad still hits the weights pretty hard, too.

"He's still pretty big. He likes to show off his arms to us," Chris Gronkowski said. "He's still pretty competitive with that. He's turning 50 [this] week and still looks pretty good for his age."

Chris Gronkowski, who calls Buffalo home, originally signed with Maryland but didn't mesh well with the Terrapins coaches and opted to transfer to Arizona to play baseball. He joined the football team in 2007 and at first played linebacker.

Last year, he and his brother were often on the field at the same time.

"It's real cool," he said. "It's awesome to be running down the field and your brother is next to you. We get to block together sometimes and it's fun to put a guy on his back together."

Of course, Rob Gronkowski, a junior, could be selected in the first round of the 2010 draft. Chris doesn't seem jealous or bothered that his brother overshadows him.

"We've got the same last name, so it kind of helps me out, too," he said. "It puts my name out there too with the press. So it's cool for me. I can't complain about it. I've just got to do what I can to get my name in the paper, too."

And, of course, older brother is always there to help keep Rob humble.

"I get on him every once in a while," Chris said. "He's pretty good about it, though. He doesn't say much. Sometimes he gets out of control and does his touchdown dances and stuff. I can't really argue with him because some of those plays are really nice."

The elder Gronkowski figures to get his share of nice plays next fall, and not just in his accounting classes.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

	AP Photo/Elaine Thompson
	Tight end Rob Gronkowski has five touchdowns in two games this season.

Arizona's tight end Rob "Big Freak" Gronkowski got his butt kicked by a sneaky foe who is much smaller than him.

To hear him talk about it, mononucleosis laid waste to his finely tuned 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame, and was a far worse experience than an injury you can point at, actively rehabilitate and work around.

"It weakens your body," he said. "If you have a sprained ankle you can still lift weights and all that. But when you're sick, you've just got to sit there and not do anything until it goes away. It was definitely worse than a sprained ankle. I'd rather have a sprained ankle any day."

Mono forced Gronkowski to miss the first three games, which wasn't a disaster until the Wildcats completely fell apart in a 36-28 loss at New Mexico, a result that likely would have been different if quarterback Willie Tuitama's favorite touchdown-maker had been playing.

With Gronkowski back in the lineup, the Wildcats opened their Pac-10 schedule by whipping UCLA and Washington by a combined count of 79-24, with the sophomore converting five of his eight receptions into touchdowns.

"Five TDs in two games is extraordinary for a tight end," said Arizona coach Mike Stoops, whose 4-1 squad is trying to reach the program's first bowl game since 1998.

And Gronkowski isn't a safety-outlet tight end, or a guy who merely gets dumps in front of a linebacker or in the flat. He's averaging 17.6 yards per reception after averaging 18.8 yards (on 28 receptions for 525 yards) as a true freshman in 2007.

When healthy, Gronkowski is one of the conference's most dangerous offensive weapons and a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

"I don't know if he's an impossible matchup, but he's about as close to that as you can get," said Stanford defensive coordinator Ron Lynn, who's preparing the Cardinal for a visit from Arizona on Saturday.

By the way, the term "impossible" was where Lynn's thought process started, not his inquisitor's.

Gronkowski hails from perhaps the most athletic family in the history of Amherst, N.Y. 

His dad, Gordie, a highly successful entrepreneur, played offensive line at Syracuse. His brother Chris plays with him at Arizona. Another brother, Dan, is the starting tight end at Maryland. Eldest brother Gordie Jr. played baseball in the Anaheim Angels organization. Youngest brother Glenn is a high school sophomore and two-sports star who may be the best athlete of the lot.

Believing one could eclipse Rob Gronkowski is hard to imagine. At his present pace of development, he looks like a future first-round NFL draft pick, likely after the 2009 season.

Stoops said he could see rust when Gronkowski returned against UCLA, but that was all gone when he suited up against Washington two weeks later and hauled in three touchdown passes. He's also quickly regained the 12 or so pounds he lost while he was sick.

It's clear that Gronkowski and receiver Mike Thomas give Tuitama two All-American-type options.

And the chemistry between quarterback and tight end is far better than a year ago.

"That's one thing we didn't have last year, but now we definitely have it," Gronkowski said. "It's great. The whole offseason, that's what we worked on."

So while a microscopic virus might have flattened this freakish athlete, it remains to be seen if any secondary can even slow him down.