Dodd: NCAA tries transparency - 'Transparent' NCAA shows how enforcement sausage is made

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA called it the "Enforcement Experience" like it was an Epcot attraction.
First thought? It wouldn't be the first time the words "Mickey Mouse" were attached to the association's mysterious investigative process.
But give the monolithic organization credit. It tried to be a little less monolithic this week by inviting two dozen or so media members to Indy to share how its (punitive) sausage is made.

Boise State's violations would appear to be minor, but Chris Petersen's program was hit with major penalties. (Getty Images)

We already know -- just like in the slaughterhouse -- the process can be ugly and rank. If there is anything predictable about a real enforcement experience, it has yet to be revealed. Southern California gets hammered, but Jim Tressel continues to keep his job. Boise State gets slapped with lack of institutional control, but the Buckeye Five gets to play in the Sugar Bowl. Cam Newton doesn't miss a game, but Perry Jones misses the postseason. In each case, there are layers of rules, nuance and policies to be understood. We as a society largely don't have the attention span or interest to follow along. Even if we did, a lot of it still doesn't make practical, let alone moral, sense.
That's why we attended -- for a few answers. All the NCAA can do is try to be more transparent, a mandate from president Mark Emmert. Tuesday was a revealing look at that enforcement process, complete with enough potty breaks to guard against lack of constitutional control. At the end of the day, we sentenced a make-believe school to made-up penalties after a mock infractions hearing based largely, it seemed, on hearsay. That was the most realistic part of the process.
Our case had to do with "Coach Smith" at State U., who allegedly funneled test answers to four of his football players. Smith eventually was sanctioned by the infractions committee (us) after being fired by the school, but without a smoking gun to tie it all together. There was an answer key the players used to cheat that a former girlfriend of one of them told the NCAA she had seen. We never saw it. What was left was only circumstantial evidence. All four players achieved their highest semester grade in that Sociology of Sports class. The testimony was basically split among the four.
How would you feel if your livelihood was ruined without evidence you could hold in your hand? That's why our group of five mock enforcement officers (real-life media hacks) voted 3-2 against making a formal allegation. The majority of the other participants disagreed, meaning the "Experience" would proceed beyond one potty break.
Enforcement's real world is a strange enough place. Former USC running backs coach Todd McNair will never work again in college if an NCAA ruling isn't overturned by some court. Convicted felon Lloyd Lake told the NCAA, "He [McNair] knew" that the coach was aware Reggie Bush was taking money and benefits from Lake and a partner. Asked how he knew, Lake told the NCAA, "'Cause he was around a lot ..."
Read the record, and everything else -- similar to Coach Smith's case -- is circumstantial. It resulted in McNair, like Smith, being slapped with an unethical conduct charge by the NCAA. That's the association's scarlet letter. The charge makes a respected eight-year NFL veteran essentially unable to be hired at the college level. That's why McNair intends to sue the association after losing his appeal.
The NCAA seemingly didn't need Lake to nail McNair to make its case against USC. Lake has done jail time and reportedly is tied to numerous felonies. Based on such thin evidence as well as credibility issues with the witness, doesn't the NCAA need a higher standard if it is going to ruin someone's career?
"The reality is ... some of the issues that we're investigating involved people that don't have a pristine record, that are in a different world than most of us," said Julie Roe Lach, the association's vice president for enforcement. "For that reason we're going to deal with people who are doing illegal activity. That's just the nature of the recruiting business right now."
Unsavory characters (prisoners, felons, etc.) are also used in real-world court cases. The difference there is a presumption of innocence for the accused. There are cross-examinations, witnesses and either a judge or jury to decide guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The NCAA standard for conviction is much lower. Infractions hearings are more like civil cases -- administrative as opposed to criminal -- where only "clear and convincing evidence" is needed. That's according to former infractions committee chair Jo Potuto, a bulldog in the hearing room, judging by Tuesday, and a Nebraska law professor outside of it.
That lack of true due process paints the NCAA into a PR corner. We already know the public doesn't understand the process. It really doesn't understand when the NCAA doesn't have subpoena power to compel witnesses to testify.
The public relations battle can't be won with one seven-hour session. Maybe the simple takeaway is that the enforcement staff is made up of decent, honest -- maybe a bit geeky -- folks who do their extremely complicated jobs well.
"I usually get all tingly inside when I talk about the NCAA interview requirements," said Chris Strobel, a director of enforcement, "but I'll try to control myself."
Who knew these people had a sense of humor? There was campy humor in video presentations. One witness was coerced into talking because of obnoxious accordion music played by an investigator. One interview was conducted in a bathroom stall. They told us that in the real world, interviews really have gone down in a nursing home, a prison, even a Burger King. They call them "Captain Kirks," boldly going where no one has gone before.
Ameen Najjar, a 49-year-old director of enforcement, was convincing as an indignant Coach Smith in front of the committee. Ignore his baldness and it was easy to squint and imagine Tressel in the same position on Aug. 12, when Ohio State gets its day in front of the infractions committee.
Team Enforcement can't help it if they're caught up in one of the worst-perceived aspects of college sports. To change that perception, the NCAA is in the early stages of admitting there is a problem with how it is viewed. Early in the day we were reminded there is not selective enforcement. (The old line: The NCAA was so mad at Kentucky, it hammered Cleveland State.) Perhaps not, but there is a financial difference in the way schools are able to defend themselves. Ohio State, with a huge compliance department, probably has an advantage over, say, Boise State.
One school might eventually keep its coach despite a coverup that resulted in six players competing while ineligible. The other already has been charged with lack of institutional control, in part because incoming freshmen were allowed to sleep on teammates' floors.
"The more we can pull back the veil and let people see the inner workings, the better people feel about it," Emmert said. "When something is reported inaccurately because we haven't communicated it well, it's another mess we have to clean up."
The length of cases is getting shorter, about 10 months on average. In 2000, the average case lasted more than four years. There are more folks working on them, about 50 in the enforcement department. Entering his seventh month in office, Emmert reiterated his get-tough stance that was, to be fair, similar to those made by his predecessors when they came into office.
"We need to make sure that our penalty structure and our enforcement process impose a thoughtful level of concern, and even fear, that the cost of violating rules exceeds the benefit," he said.
It is the ultimate open-ended question: When is risk going to outweigh reward? The same organization that hammered USC last year continually reminds us that every infractions committee is different, that it's not fair to compare penalties. In theory, that means the next major violator could get off lightly.
Emmert had to be proud of our little group of faux committee members. We slammed Smith and State U.: three years' probation, the loss of 10 scholarships total over two years, two years of vacated wins and a two-year postseason ban. Smith got a three-year show-cause order, meaning it would be hard for anyone to hire him, which was kind of meaningless. Like McNair, the unethical conduct charge will follow him around for the rest of his career.
Then in a Q&A session, Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel reminded the room that two years ago the (real) committee asked the (real) NCAA board of directors to allow for stronger penalties. Potuto said the committee never got an official answer.
That would qualify as one hell of an incongruous ride at Epcot. Sometimes it's educational to watch the sausage being made. Sometimes it's as ugly as you imagine.
It was fitting that on the way out the door, we were all given a copy of the 434-page NCAA Manual. All that was missing was a pat on the back accompanied by a hearty: "Any other questions you have, it's all in there."

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Barnhart: Shape up, BCS bowls - Memo to Orange, Sugar Bowls: Note mistakes by Fiesta

It's time for our Friday Follies, five things that nobody asked me, but:
No. 1: A word of advice to our friends at the Orange and Sugar Bowls: If you haven't done so already, it's time to tighten up the ship. Now that the Fiesta Bowl has been dissected, fined, sent to time-out and pretty much skewered in the court of public opinion, the focus of the BCS bashers will now turn to the Orange and Sugar.

Fiesta Bowl board chairman Duane Woods talks to reporters during BCS meetings in late April. (AP)

Matthew Sanderson, the co-founder of PlayoffPAC.com, a group whose stated mission is "Beat the BCS. Save College Football," told me Thursday that the Orange and Sugar should undergo the same independent scrutiny that led to a scathing 276-page report on the Fiesta Bowl. The anti-BCS folks smell blood in the water, so the bowls had better have their houses in order. They are coming after you next.
By the way: The BCS never was going to throw the Fiesta Bowl out of the club. There are way too many interlocking contracts.
More by the way: Why did I not mention the Rose Bowl? Seriously? Even the most serious BCS critics are not going to take on the Rose Bowl. Besides, they are too busy putting on that parade to get involved in this kind of stuff.
No. 2: Here is yet another reason why, if the BCS goes away, it will not be replaced by a playoff run by the NCAA: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany recently told Steve Weiberg of USA Today: "There's no judge or jury in the world that can make you enter into a four-team, eight-team or 16-team playoff."
He's right, of course, especially if you take a little time to do the math. Delany's Big Ten put two teams into the BCS last season and earned $27.2 million from the BCS money pool. Not a bad payday. Now the courts could certainly rule that the BCS violates anti-trust law and break it up. Anything can happen in front of the right or wrong judge. But if that happens, the most likely scenario is that Delany and Pac-12 commish Larry Scott (who has shown he is willing to think outside the box) negotiate a blockbuster deal with ESPN to send their champs to the Rose Bowl for the next 10-15 years at more than $30 million per year. Ditto for the SEC (Sugar), the ACC (Orange) and the Big 12 (Cotton). If the BCS goes away, it is every man for himself and the TV boys have shown lately that they are willing to pay a premium for stability in college football (witness the Texas Network and the new Pac-12 TV contract).
No. 3: I'm glad that Mark Emmert wants to start coming down hard on rule breakers. I'll believe it when I see somebody of substance get taken out. I heard this analogy the other day: A county has an ordinance against Sunday liquor sales. The penalty of violating the ordinance is $50. A store owner makes $6,000 in Sunday sales and pays the $50 fine each week. That's called having the risk-reward equation way out of balance.
That is what college football is like right now. There is an element of risk to breaking the rules on a routine basis, but the rewards just totally overwhelm the risks involved. Until a coach believes he could lose everything, the NCAA doesn't stand a chance of getting a handle on this thing. You can give Julie Roe Lach, the head of enforcement, 1,000 agents and it won't matter. Until the NCAA takes down one of the big dogs and puts the fear of God in people, the beat will go on.
Just asking: In retrospect, do you think that Emmert and Roe regret letting Ohio State's Tat Five play in the Sugar Bowl?
No. 4: The ACC badly needs a big win in September. You have to give our friends in the ACC some credit. They are stepping out and playing some people early in the season. On Sept. 17, Clemson hosts defending national champ Auburn, Maryland hosts West Virginia, Miami hosts Ohio State, and Florida State hosts Oklahoma, which will be No. 1 in most preseason polls.

But the ACC needs to win one of these big games. A year ago these same four matchups yielded the Last season the ACC held its own against the Big East (4-3) but was 2-10 against the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and Pac-10. The wins were over Florida (by Florida State) and Vanderbilt (by Wake Forest).
No. 5: The hits are just going to keep on coming at Ohio State: There is an element of the Buckeye fan and alumni base that is embarrassed about what's going on in the football program. Other elements are equally convinced that this is all a conspiracy by an over-active media that just wants to bring their program down.
Reports earlier this week said that former player Thaddeus Gibson obtained a car from a local dealer that had a purchase price of $0. Columbus Dispatch had to correct that report when it found an older title to the car that showed a purchase price of $13,700. Some Buckeye fans saw it as an "Ah-ha" moment that proved this entire story about Jim Tressel and the Tat Five is a fraud.
Nope. Here is the problem. Because of everything that has come before, a lot of people had no problem believing the initial story about Gibson's car. And once that basic credibility is lost, one story begets another story, begets another story. The stories don't even have to be true to wear on the program. Now Ohio State's compliance people have to pull the titles and the purchase orders on the 40-plus cars that were sold to players and their family members and prove to the NCAA that there was no hanky-panky. And the story goes on and on and on.
The only question is whether Ohio State can stop the bleeding by the time the school goes before the infractions committee on Aug. 12.
By the way: When a straight shooter like Chris Spielman says Jim Tressel is in trouble, then he's in trouble.

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Dodd: Meyer out of place - Nothing wrong with Meyer on TV, but it isn't right

Urban Meyer doesn't look uncomfortable, just out of place.
Florida's former coach is telegenic enough in his new job as a college football analyst. You've probably seen Meyer interviewing some of the game's biggest names. But to him they are less "gets", and more like peers he was trying to beat the snot out of just a few months ago. The new gig seems to agree with him as far as it goes. The phrase "busy work" comes to mind. Meyer must feel like he's wearing a wool suit in the Gainesville heat. Not being on the field bothers him. You can tell. You don't even have to spend a few minutes on the phone with him like I did. All you have to do is read the body language bleeding through on basic cable.
"I won't tell you that you won't see him coaching again because I think someday he will," said one Meyer's closest friends. "He's too good a coach not to."

Urban Meyer is still spending time on the sidelines these days, but he is not coaching. (US Presswire)

That's Kyle Whittingham, the guy who replaced Meyer at Utah, also the subject of one of those sit-downs. There have been others -- Mack Brown, Brian Kelly. Meyer is easy enough on the eyes and ears but it's just not him up there on the flat screen. A lot of us knew that when Meyer resigned -- again -- in December. We'd been through it before. Already he longs to be back. Stress level: TBA.
That's the great mystery and, perhaps, danger. Meyer could be the same wreck he was in December 2009 when he quit the first time. A couple of tweets attributed to Gigi Meyer have indicated Urban's daughter wants her daddy back. Didn't the man resign to spent more time with his family?
Those are issues for his loved ones, doctors and medications to decide. All I know is that he's ready and headed your way, Ohio State -- perhaps soon. If not Columbus, then somewhere else -- soon. Pac-12 schools, with all that new TV money, suddenly have the ability to pay him. The operative word is soon. It might not be the best decision but it's the only decision for a man who misses the game.
"He is too good at what he does," Whittingham reiterated in the same conversation, "to be out of it for very long."
Got it? You should know by now Meyer can't stay silent or inactive for long. During his latest down time, he has become somewhat of an NCAA watchdog. During a February radio interview, he dropped this bomb:
"What I've seen the last five years is a complete turn in the integrity of the college coaching profession."
And he means it. If the NCAA hasn't already talked to him. Meyer is willing to cooperate.
"I think you just have to make the rules as clear as possible and severely punish the people who violate the rules," Meyer told me. "There's no such thing as a secondary violation, if there is an intentional violation. The first thing you've got to do is get rid of that term. That just tells everybody: Secondary means not important. Intentional violation of rules should be punished."
He's talking to you Jim Tressel, Bruce Pearl and anyone else willing to listen. A lot of you are already calling B.S. Sure, Meyer has those 30-odd legal dustups in his six years at Florida. Who is he to be pronouncing sentence on the profession? Truth is, there isn't a Mother Theresa in college football. Sorry. Anyone even close to the subject is going to have some warts. Tressel still has his job for the same reason Meyer could succeed him. They both win.
Meyer operated inside the SEC recruiting vortex. If his comments make him the ultimate double agent, tough. This is a guy who was criticized, by some, after Cam Newton "got away." Meyer can't say it for the record but we know there were issues that caused Newton to leave for Auburn. The alleged stolen laptop. The reported academic fraud that had Newton headed for the door when a Florida academic committee was about to come after him.
"The SEC is an interesting conference," Whittingham said. "It will grind you up and spit you out. Urban is brutally honest. He's going to say what he feels."
So how much unethical shenanigans -- or, if you prefer, cheating -- did Meyer run into while he was coaching?
"Things would come to light and the protocol was to turn them in to the compliance office," Meyer said. "I felt a responsibility to my staff. Violations would occur and our staff would not hear the result or a punishment. The school who committed the violation would be allowed to continue to recruit and sign the player. That did not make sense."
"What happens is there's 10 percent, 20 percent of things that are done the wrong way. The majority are still done the right way. I was outspoken about it. I was very concerned about it. I'm still concerned."
This is what it's like being a whistle-blower outside of the ropes. Frankly, Meyer doesn't care if those peers care. Part of his success is that brutal honesty. Before that first season at Utah, Meyer found out who wanted to play. Call it "running guys off". Whatever. It worked, and it had supporters. Some of the older players, figuring the message had been delivered, finally went to Meyer asking him to back off. According to Morgan Scalley, former Utah defensive back and the Utes' current safeties coach, he did.
"A lot of what he brought to the program, we still do," Scalley said.
"Except I don't remember backing off," Meyer said.
He'll be back coaching because they're addicts, coaches, all of them. Bobby Bowden kept chasing one more title before Florida State unceremoniously kicked him out. Chris Ault has been coach at Nevada three times. He reached his ultimate high in 2010, leading the Wolf Pack to 13 wins including an upset win over Boise State and the school's first Top-25 ranking since the 1940s.
We know the addiction can be debilitating. We can only hope that with his experiences, his family's support and the right medication he can get back on the field. There are a handful of places in the country where a coach is pretty much guaranteed to win. Florida and Texas are two of them. Last season those schools became the biggest disappointments in college football. Brown retooled his staff. Meyer is retooling his life. For that we should admire him but time is short.
Every day looking out of place means another day out of the game.

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Post-spring Top 25: Never too soon to anoint Sooners

It seems like Oklahoma is always No. 1 at something.

Speedy Roy Finch replaces DeMarco Murray at running back. (US Presswire)

It has won more Big 12 titles than any school by a large margin -- seven of the 15 in the conference's existence. No program has been No. 1 in the BCS more times (20). The Sooners led the country averaging 87 plays per game in 2010. The nation's best current quarterback factory arguably resides in Norman -- OU has pumped out two Heisman winners since 2003. Four times since 2000 Oklahoma quarterbacks have been Heisman finalists. No team has played in more BCS title games.
But only once in the BCS era (since 1998) has Oklahoma started the season No. 1. That was eight years ago in 2003. It just seems like there have been more preseason No. 1s for the Sooners. Usually offseason/preseason polls aren't worth the computer files they occupy. Auburn started 22nd in AP's preseason poll. Oklahoma was 19th to start 2000, the year of its last title. Going wire to wire just doesn't happen that often.
Not that OU linebacker Travis Lewis cares. Earlier this year he was picking up on the vibe that in some poll or another the Sooners are going to start the 2011 season on top.
"I think it's deserved," Lewis said.
Here in early May -- the dead calm of college football's offseason -- I can't disagree. Oklahoma is No. 1 in the CBSSports.com post-spring Top 25. There were some interesting stories during the spring. Ohio State continues to be surrounded by the NCAA posse. The BCS came under further attack. The tornadoes in Tuscaloosa were tragic. It was good news in Norman that almost nothing changed. Landry Jones still looks like OU's next Heisman finalist at quarterback. Ryan Broyles still is arguably the nation's best receiver. The loss of DeMarco Murray at tailback could give rise to the ultra-fast Roy Finch. Lewis has led the Sooners in tackles three times.
In short, things look so bright it's hard to pick against Oklahoma at this point. The Sooners are that loaded. Bob Stoops is coming off a calming BCS bowl win against Connecticut. Meanwhile, LSU still has quarterback issues. Oregon has to replace a lot on defense. Stanford lost its coach. Auburn doesn't look so Newtonian.
Yeah it's early. The NFL and its players can't figure out how to divide $9 billion in revenue. The NBA playoffs still have something like four months to run. Baseball is just getting started. What's hot in May can be vulnerable in August. The point is there is time if you don't agree with what you see below. Keep watching this space. The Top 25 will be updated during the offseason. Until then, Oklahoma continues to be No. 1 at something.
1. Oklahoma: Last August, Stoops told his freshman class it had the potential to be the best he ever had at OU. Kenny Stills then caught 61 passes as a freshman. Linebacker Tony Jefferson was the Big 12 Co-Defensive Newcomer of the Year. That 2010 recruit class is maturing before our eyes at the right time. 2011 MVP: Broyles. Previous rank: 2
2. Alabama: The defense is at the 2009 level. It really doesn't matter who plays quarterback. Trent Richardson will make enough plays and the offensive line will keep A.J. McCarron/Phillip Sims clean. 2011 MVP: Dont'a Hightower. Previous rank: 4
3. LSU: A still-shaky Jordan Jefferson and the season's biggest game being at Alabama are keeping the Tigers from staying at No. 1 at this point. 2011 MVP: Spencer Ware. Previous rank: 1

4. Oregon: The Ducks are getting ready to go on a USC-like run in dominating the Pac-10/Pac-12. Chip Kelly's biggest challenge will be replacing those key defenders and keeping the Willie Lyles thing from mushrooming. 2011 MVP: LaMichael James. Previous rank: 3
5. Stanford: The Cardinal are still tougher than you think on both sides of the ball. New coach David Shaw gets the luxury of starting what would have been a No. 1 NFL Draft choice at quarterback. 2011 MVP: Duh, Andrew Luck. Previous rank: 5
6. Oklahoma State: Below Oklahoma, Okie State and Texas A&M will battle it out in the reconfigured Big 12. The Cowboys have the slight advantage for now because Brandon Weeden came back to throw to Justin Blackmon. 2011 MVP: Weeden. Previous rank: 7
7. Texas A&M: Mike Sherman doubters are now being rounded up by Aggie cadets and forced to kiss their dates -- even if they don't have dates! Hilarity ensues as defenses try to stop one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. 2011 MVP: Jeff Fuller. Previous rank: 8
8. Florida State: Figure on a second consecutive 10-win season (at least) and an ACC title. After a long wait, the 'Noles emerge again on the national stage. 2011 MVP: Brandon Jenkins. Previous rank: 11

9. Ohio State: Since the Bucks' best players will play slightly more than half the season, it's up to the interim head coach to hold the program together. The amazing thing is there is still enough talent to win the Big Ten and contend for a national title. 2011 MVC(oach): Luke Fickell. Previous rank: 6
10. Nebraska: 2011 If quarterback Taylor Martinez stays consistent and upright, the Huskers could win their first conference title in 12 years and their first in the Big Ten. 2011 MVP: Lavonte David (school-record 152 tackles). Previous rank: 14
11. Michigan State: Eleven wins and a shared Big Ten title while enduring Mark Dantonio's heart attack showed the Spartans are mentally strong. They aren't bad physically either. Watch for a battle with Nebraska for the Legends Division title. 2011 MVP: Kirk Cousins. Previous rank: 9
12. Wisconsin: Why can't the Badgers find a difference-maker at quarterback? Scott Tolzien seems soooo 2010. Tailback James White should run for at least 1,500 yards behind the usual group of road-graders. 2011 MVP: White. Previous rank: 10
13. Arkansas: Lose Ryan Mallett and get better? Could happen to the Hogs, who have a legit running threat in Knile Davis (4.29 40 during the spring) and what looks like an improved defense. 2011 MVP: Davis. Previous rank: 12
14. Boise State: I'd like to formally welcome the Broncos to Division I-A after the program was accused of major violations by the NCAA. Boise will win in a new conference (Mountain West) and underappreciated Kellen Moore will make himself a steal in the 2012 draft. 2011 MVP: Moore. Previous rank: 13
15. Auburn: For now, the 2010 championship still counts. Forever, Cam Newton is gone. That's the biggest difference in the 2011 Tigers. There will be a lot of payback waiting in the SEC but Auburn will still be dangerous. 2011 MVP: Michael Dyer. Previous rank: 15
16. TCU: After a Rose Bowl win, Gary Patterson won't let the Frogs slip too much. Watch surprising Casey Pachall take the place of Andy Dalton at quarterback. 2011 MVP: Tank Carder. Previous rank: 16

17. Virginia Tech: The Hokies run the ball, play defense and usually have the best special teams in the nation. Add to the mix quarterback Logan Thomas, who is already being compared to a certain Heisman winner from Auburn. Yes, it's altogether possible to under rate the Hokies. Again. 2011 MVP: Thomas. Previous rank: 18
18. South Carolina: Doesn't everybody deserve a fifth chance? That's what Stephen Garcia is getting from Steve Spurrier. Hey, it's the SEC. They don't ask how many suspensions, they ask how many wins. 2011 MVP: Alshon Jeffrey. Previous rank: 17
19. Notre Dame: An impressive Sun Bowl win over Miami and the return of 19 starters (if you include Michael Floyd) make this the best Irish team since Charlie Weis took Notre Dame to the Sugar Bowl in 2006. Team speed remains an issue. 2011 MVP: Floyd. Previous rank: 19
20. Mississippi State: It's still hard to believe the Dawgs won nine in a division that includes Auburn, Alabama and Arkansas. It will be hard to duplicate that number next season. 2011 MVP: Vick Ballard. Previous rank: 20.
21. Arizona State: Twenty-four Sun Devils started at least five games in 2010. In a down Pac-12, Arizona State may make up one-half of the conference's first championship game. 2011 MVP: Vontaze Burfict. Previous rank: 22
22. Utah: Yes, there are too many holes on defense. No, there will not be a BCS bowl this season. But the Utes won't slip far. Kyle Whittingham's worst record is 7-5 in 2005, his first after replacing Urban Meyer. 2011 MVP: Jordan Wynn. Previous rank: NR
23. Georgia: Mark Richt continues to recruit good players who may or may not improve while at Georgia. There is a tinge of optimism in '11 with the return of an experienced quarterback (Aaron Murray). Watch out for disaster, though, if the Dawgs lose to Boise and South Carolina to open the season. 2011 MVP: Murray. Previous rank: 21
24. West Virginia: Can anyone say, "Awkward"? The offensive coordinator, Dana Holgorsen, will succeed the head coach, Bill Stewart, in 2012. That's already been decided. What hasn't been is how the Mountaineers rebound from the loss of tailback Noel Devine and receiver Jock Sanders. Holgorsen tends to make big stars of his skill players. 2011 MVP: Geno Smith. Previous rank: NR
25. Florida: In a transition year for Gator football, Will Muschamp will keep Florida on the right side of .500 but not much more than that. 2011 MVP: Ronald Powell. Previous rank: T-25

extracted from cbssports.com

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Fischer: Recruits offer help - After the storm, recruits shed some light on battered town

PRATT CITY, Ala. -- Football is often life throughout the South.
In no place is this phrase truer than in Alabama, which has BCS titles from each of the two most prominent in-state programs in each of the past two seasons.

These Pratt City residents were more than happy to talk football and forget about their troubles for a little while. (CBSSports.com Original)

Football this weekend, however, was more about the slightly worn pigskin on the corner of Dugan and Hibernian.
It used to get thrown around the lot across the street by local kids. Now it sat by itself, next to a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt on the porch of a small blue house.
The football was lucky -- it made it through one of the worst natural disasters in the South in recent memory. The neighborhood where it sat nestled up to a partially standing house was not so lucky. A working-class suburb of Birmingham, Pratt City was only one of the areas hit hardest by storms Wednesday that were part of the second deadliest day of tornados in U.S. history. Thousands of homes are gone, thousands of citizens were injured and some that made it through the storm still are without power.
Volunteers descended on the region to help, but it was an unlikely group that pitched in and made a Saturday just a bit brighter for the area residents: the region's favorite sons and the lifeblood of the offseason, football recruits.
"Just seeing all of this ... it's devastating," McKees Rocks (Pa.) linebacker Deaysean Rippy said. "This is a way for us to give back. I know if I was in this predicament, I would want people to help."
Rippy, a MaxPreps top 100 recruit for the class of 2012, was one of about 30 players who competed in the Badger Sports 7-on-7 tournament at nearby Samford University on Saturday afternoon before making the drive to the north side of Birmingham to assist the people in the area. They helped stack mattresses at a local school, pass out water and clothes to residents and pick up what they could amid the destruction. The residents, most of whom were sitting on their front porch with blank stares pondering what was next, welcomed the players' help with open arms. Many were glad to see anyone offering to help but it seemed to mean more with them being football players.
"Everywhere needed it. We wanted to go somewhere where our efforts would be felt," Barron Flenory said. "We were listening to the radio and everyone was talking about Pratt City, Pratt City. We were like, 'What's Pratt City?' We talked to a few people and they were like, it's a place that wasn't getting any attention. We said we were on our way."

This school is only a tiny part of the devastation in the Birmingham area. (CBSSports.com Original)

Flenory operates the Badger Sports 7-on-7 tournaments at college campuses around the country. Although the NCAA is looking into his ties to several recruits, he has maintained he has done nothing wrong. He didn't want the volunteer trip with the players and his staff to get a lot of attention, claiming he wasn't doing it as a PR move. There was a deeper and much more satisfying reason why he organized the mission.
"Just stopping and talking with people, that's the best part," Flenory said. "Helping pack out some beds and pass out some stuff, while that's needed, some of these people don't have any voice. No one's going to sit there and listen. There's not a lot of people that sat down and said, 'What happened?' We listened and that was the awesome part for me."
Most of the football players and staff almost stayed home this weekend. The 7-on-7 tournament was originally scheduled to be in Tuscaloosa at the home of the University of Alabama. That city took the brunt of the F-5 tornado that swept through the middle of the state all the way to North Carolina. Although Alabama's facilities were mostly unharmed, officials told organizers that it would be difficult to stage the event there this weekend.
There were thoughts of canceling but many of the teams had already committed money for hotel rooms and travel. A few were already en route. Luckily, Samford stepped in at the last minute and accommodated anything the tournament needed.
"In the hotel we stayed at last year, just a block away [from the fields in Tuscaloosa], it was just completely gone," said Kashann Simmons, who operates the camps with Flenory and drove through the city. "The CVS, the McDonald's, everything. It was just totally wiped out.
"The pictures just don't do it any justice. I was devastated for them. My heart goes out to them. I just can't put it into words."
One National Guard member, who wished not to be identified, has seen plenty of natural disasters over several years of service. What happened in places like Tuscaloosa and Pratt City were beyond his comprehension.
"All of them are bad. One like this, you don't really know how to describe it," he said. "It's worse than a lot of the stuff I've seen. When you get out here, only then can you get feel of how bad it is."
When those in charge of volunteers in the area said they had to wrap things up because it was getting dark outside, the players started the mile-long walk to their bus. They stopped at any house with people in it until it was almost pitch black, seeing if they needed anything or if they just wanted to talk. They prayed with some. They listened to what it was like as the tornado rolled through. They even ran into Jesse Jackson and chatted briefly with him about their experiences.
"If the camp is not a success, who cares? We were coming down here to help," Flenory said. "Whether it be in Pratt City, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, wherever, we were coming to help. We were coming to help."
On the way back to their bus, a woman in a bright orange Auburn shirt stopped the group.
"Y'all aren't going to Alabama, are you?" she said before eventually letting out a "War Eagle!"
Her chuckle at the end of the line said she was only half-joking. The look in her eyes said she was just glad they came.

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Barnhart: Handling success - Losing is tough, but handling success is tougher

It's a pretty simple question, but the kind coaches like Nick Saban love to sink their teeth into. To wit: Given the current competitive and social climate at the highest level of college football, which is more difficult to handle: Success or failure?
It's not even close, said Saban.
Saban's point: Everybody knows how to handle failure. You recruit better players, hire better coaches, work harder in practice. If you're losing, you either fix it or you don't. If you don't fix it you're gone.

Mack Brown's Longhorns went from the national title game to 5-7. (US Presswire)

Handling success, said Saban, is much more complex.
This time a year ago Saban's greatest concern was how his 2010 team would react after winning the 2009 national championship. Alabama was the preseason No. 1 in the Associated Press and the coaches polls. They had a bunch of future NFL players coming back in running back Mark Ingram, the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner, wide receiver Julio Jones and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. All three were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday. The Crimson Tide also had a veteran quarterback in Greg McElroy.
But that team went 10-3, which included a devastating 28-27 loss to Auburn at home in a game they led 24-0. Alabama got kicked pretty good at South Carolina (35-21) and lost a very tough one at LSU (24-21).
"From the beginning that team had a sense of entitlement," said Saban. "They wondered, 'Why do we have to do the offseason program? Why do we have to do this in spring practice?' We didn't master the fundamentals early and we didn't play with maturity."
"He's right," said senior offensive lineman Barrett Jones. "After we won the national championship in 2009 people just assumed it was going to happen again. But in 2009 we had a chip on our shoulder because we had lost to Florida in the SEC Championship Game the year before. In 2010 we lost sight of how we got there."
Saban believes that it is more difficult than ever for a college football team to remain hungry two years in a row. Success breeds complacency and, given the media climate, a letdown is almost unavoidable.
"There is so much information out there now that if a player does anything there is going to be an immediate impact," said Saban. "If you do something good then it's going to be on ESPN that night. As a result kids kind of grow up doing stuff for all the wrong reasons. Instead of being motivated by becoming the best you can be, the motivation is to gain the attention and recognition for it.
"And when that occurs sometimes the best thing that happens is that you get beat. It is the only way that you will learn."
This idea touched a nerve with several other coaches I met with this spring. Mack Brown's 2008 Texas team lost one game, that coming with one second left at Texas Tech. The 2009 team went undefeated until the Longhorns met Alabama in the BCS title game. But in 2010 Texas fell off the map, going 5-7. It was Brown's first losing season since 1989 at North Carolina (1-10). It was the first time Brown had won fewer than nine games since he arrived at Texas in 1998. Brown completely revamped his coaching staff to make it a lot younger.
"We needed new enthusiasm and new ideas," said Brown. "You have to create an edge each week and that's not an easy thing to do."
Brown said he has had to completely rethink how he builds a team in the age of Twitter and Facebook, where players arrive on campus more self-aware and self-absorbed than ever before.
"A team can be hungry two years in a row because we did it in 2008 and 2009," said Brown. "But the fact is that these are really dangerous times. We are bringing in highly recruited kids who are so publicized before they get here. They want instant credibility when they walk onto campus and the older players on your team don't necessarily feel that way. There can be conflicts."
Georgia Tech won the ACC championship in 2009 but then fell to 6-7 in 2010. Coach Paul Johnson said the much-publicized recruiting process plays a huge role in the mentality of the players who show up on campus.
"Kids are hyped now from the time they are in the 10th grade," said Johnson, who is not patient with such things after coaching at the Naval Academy for six seasons before coming to Georgia Tech. "Kids get all of this recognition before they have played a down in college and they really haven't done anything. I don't care how nice you are or how good a kid you are. If you've been told since you're 15 how great you are and that you should be the center of attention, it can't help but soak through a bit."
The only cure for complacency, said several players, is to have veterans who care about something other than their NFL draft stock.
"Teams only stay hungry if they have good leaders," said Georgia Tech senior running back Roddy Jones. "If guys aren't pulling their weight, somebody has to be willing to get in their faces. We didn't do that last year. This year we will."
Steve Spurrier is more than a little concerned about this as he enters his seventh season at South Carolina. The Gamecocks made history last season as they won the SEC East and played in their first conference championship game (losing to Auburn, the eventual national champ). If quarterback Stephen Garcia returns from suspension, South Carolina will likely be picked to repeat as division champion. Spurrier is not entirely comfortable with that notion.
"We don't handle success too well around here because we don't have a whole lot of practice at it," said Spurrier. "It's probably better when nobody is picking us to win very much. If they do pick us to win that will be a pretty interesting thing to watch."

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Dodd: Questionable call for OSU - By citing Paragraph 16, did NCAA lose sight on OSU suspensions?

The NCAA used a seven-year old policy for student-athlete reinstatement that had been applied only once previously in allowing six suspended Ohio State players to participate in January's Sugar Bowl.
The NCAA interpreted what is termed Paragraph 16 of the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Policies and Procedures to be an exception for the Buckeyes players who had been suspended for selling their memorabilia to a local tattoo parlor owner. The 116-word policy states, in part, that suspensions can be withheld "in very limited circumstances if the next contest is the NCAA championship." It makes no mention of a bowl game.
It also states an exception can be made if "no competitive advantage was gained." Ohio State's starting quarterback (Terrelle Pryor), leading rusher (Dan Herron) and No. 2 receiver (DeVier Posey), among others, played in the game. In fact, five of the six affected players made key plays in the Buckeyes' 31-26 win over Arkansas.

QB Terrelle Pryor was one of six players allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl after being suspended. (Getty Images)

The decision was made before the revelation that coach Jim Tressel had received information via email that some of his players were competing while ineligible. The players are now alleged to have competed while ineligible.
"The general practice is that student-athletes are withheld from the next contests [when suspended]," the policy states.
Instead, five of the players are suspended for the first five games of the 2011 season. (A sixth will miss one game.) The policies and procedures, dated Feb. 18, 2010, are available in an NCAA membership-only Internet link. CBSSports.com previously gained access to view Paragraph 16. The full text of it appears below.
The NCAA made reference to the policy in a December 29 press release. It states that reinstatement is allowed in "specific instances involving NCAA championships or bowl games. It recognizes the unique opportunity these events provide ..." As stated previously, the principle does not mention bowl games, nor does it make reference to any "unique opportunity." Several persons familiar with the legislative process said that NCAA championship wording is accepted, at times, to also include bowl games.
The policy was developed by the Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee in 2004, according to the NCAA, and approved by the Division I Academics/Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet. CBSSports.com spoke to several members of both groups. None could recall specifically how the policy was formed. To be fair, that was seven years ago. CBSSports.com has requested from the NCAA the original minutes of meetings in 2003 and 2004 when the policy was developed. NCAA librarians are still searching for the documents two months later.
"Anytime anything like this happens, the presidents in particular say, 'We've got to close this loophole,' said former Houston AD Dave Maggard who was on that AEC cabinet in 2003-04, "It's really, really complicated."
Since the Sugar Bowl, there has been a national outcry among some who have been questioning why the players were allowed to participate and their suspensions were delayed after being found to have accepted extra benefits. The NCAA noted that the Ohio State players were not aware they had violated extra-benefit rules. Ohio State said the players did not receive proper rules education. "Inadequate rules education is often cited in student-athlete reinstatement," the NCAA said in the December release.
"I assume the rationale is, do we really want them to miss [these] significant games in their lives?" said Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, a former NCAA investigator.
Ohio State AD Gene Smith and Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany advocated for the players' participation but said they were unaware of Paragraph 16 at the time. NCAA president Mark Emmert told CBSSports.com he was aware of the policy. When asked about some of the seeming incongruities of its wording, he said, "It was a judgment call."
If so, that judgment has been applied only once with this policy according to the NCAA. An unidentified Penn State player was allowed to play in the 2007 Alamo Bowl despite being previously suspended for allowing a friend to sell his complimentary tickets. The player then was suspended the first two games of the 2008 season.
"You can have a rule but you can have 15 interpretations of that rule," said a source familiar with the Ohio State case. "We just self-reported [the violations] and made the request [that the players participate] ... Our position was, that team at that time with those seniors deserved the right to have the best team on the field to win. Whatever hits we took in 2011, we took those hits."
Delany said he had second thoughts about advocating for the players' participation since the news broke about Tressel.
"If we had known [then] what we had known [now], I think that Gene, myself, the NCAA all would have handled it a little bit differently," said Delany, in New Orleans for the BCS meetings.
Per NCAA procedure, the decision to apply the policy was left largely up to Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs, and Utah State professor Dr. Kenneth White, chairman of the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee at the time. White is also the faculty athletic representative at Utah State as well as a professor in the school's Department of Animal, Dairy and Veterinary Sciences. The school website states that Utah State received "worldwide recognition" for cloning three mule foals. The website stated that White is "now recognized as a world leader in this area of research."
White declined to be interviewed. Lennon answered a series of questions via email.
Why did you think Paragraph 16 applied to this Ohio State situation?
"We understand there will be differences of opinion on our decisions and we make difficult decisions on these types of cases regularly. The staff and the committee chair reviewed the specific facts and the unique circumstances and believe the decision was appropriate." What about the perception from critics who believe Ohio State was given preferential treatment?
"Regardless of the situation, NCAA decisions will be scrutinized. There will be proponents and detractors for any case. How people feel about decisions usually depends on their personal alliances ..."
Is it reasonable to assume that student-athletes -- especially those at major universities with big compliance staffs -- should know it is improper to sell equipment?
"While it is a concept that we believe student-athletes should be knowledgeable of, from experience, we can say that is not a safe assumption."
Paragraph 16 from the Division I, II, III Student-Athlete Reinstatement Policies and Procedures:
The student-athlete reinstatement lead administrator in consultation with the division-specific chair has the ability to suspend a reinstatement condition in very limited circumstances if the next contest is the NCAA championship. The general practice is that student-athletes are withheld from the next contests even if the next contests are part of the NCAA championship and that policy remains in place. Suspension of a withholding condition is to be used in very limited circumstances where the student-athlete is innocently involved, no competitive advantage was gained and withholding from the championship does not seem appropriate. Further, the suspension can only be used if the student-athlete has eligibility remaining the following academic year.

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Dodd: Ohio State trouble - Ohio State's actions signal deeper trouble

After careful examination of his conscience over the last 216 hours, Jim Tressel has decided to do the right thing.
Feel better? That solemn news conference that Ohio State staged nine days ago was apparently some kind of pregame show. That was the right thing then. This is the right thing for now. Check back in 15 minutes. Conviction is a moving target. The ground in Columbus is shifting so quickly who knows where the game-worn apparel market is going to end up?

At the initial news conference, it was announced that Jim Tressel would only miss two games. That's been upgraded to five. (AP)

C-bus, you are burning and you know it. You are a national headline, bordering on national punch line. You ran one of your own out of town. The football program is being run into the ground. That firm and just decision the school made on March 8 to suspend Tressel? Just a warmup, it turns out. Ohio State is becoming Do-Overs R' Us. At the same time it lost an appeal of the Buckeye Five suspensions Thursday, the school turned around and added three more games to Tress' suspension. At Tressel's request.
And we thought the days of a coach running the university were over. No sense in waiting for president Gordon Gee to make a ruling. He'll be the first one to blurt out, "I was afraid he would suspend me."
If you think these actions, in any way, mitigate the NCAA spanking awaiting Ohio State and Tressel, you've been smoking Brutus Buckeye's socks. In this game of Who Wants To Believe A Millionaire, the Ol' Stall Coach (at disclosing his e-mails) is running out of lifelines.
This was not closure. The NCAA door on this investigation has barely opened. Think bigger, more damaging penalties. The NCAA might start at five games and scholarships, recruiting visits, maybe yank Tressel's PC. That eliminates any tough decisions on which e-mails to report. Thursday added to the layer of muck. Ohio State just admitted to the world they didn't go far enough when the coach was suspended for two games.
Will the NCAA agree?
In the two biggest developments of this scandal, Tressel has tried to work the system in his favor. First, trading "promises" from the draft-eligible Buckeye Five so that they would return in 2011, in exchange for Sugar Bowl playing time. Then, on Thursday, staging some kind of non-violent revolution with his players against injustices by The Man.
Read his statement. Tressel couched his new suspension-on-steroids as a solidarity movement, "so that the players and I can handle the adversity together." Nevermind that the "adversity" was caused by the same coach and players who are facing it. Ohio State is making a potential institutional control charge from the NCAA look like Tressel's non-conference schedule.
Manageable, bordering on easy.
By extending his suspension, Tressel must be starting to think bad thoughts. This could be the beginning of the end. Tennessee AD Mike Hamilton began to hint at the dead weight that Bruce Pearl has become for his basketball program and school. Hamilton said Wednesday "the jury is out" on Pearl's job security. The same, now, can be said of Tressel whether you Bucknuts want to believe it or not.
Urban Meyer might be wise to stay close to his cellie. The free-agent coach/TV analyst is currently unencumbered by employment in his chosen field. There are miles to drive on this road trip. The NCAA is around the next curve with radar.
Columbus, you are burning and you have to know it. In the past week it was revealed that ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit is moving to Nashville to get away from the Scarlet and Gray criticism of his work. This is a former Ohio State player, a good person and a fair commentator. Banishment came for a high-profile alum who apparently wasn't loyal enough. The only things missing were pitchforks and torches.
What about the outright critics -- without Ohio State degrees -- who dare tread on the negative side of this Buckeye saga in C-bus? The question must be asked: Is free speech dead in the city of Buckeyes?
David Teel of the Daily Press in Newport News, Va. had some interesting thoughts last week. He suggested that Ohio State AD Gene Smith had no business chairing the NCAA men's basketball committee. Not only was Teel right -- it showed, dramatically. Smith is one of my favorites, one of the top in his field. He has to be to manage the second-biggest athletic department (in revenue, next to Texas) in the country. But his explanation of the bracket over the last few days has been vacuous and sounded uninformed.
Three days into the tournament I still have no idea why VCU and UAB got in and Virginia Tech and Colorado were left out. Smith seems shaken. His current position is a sad commentary on the state of college athletics. The chairman of one of the NCAA's most powerful committees is also overseeing a burgeoning scandal at a Big Ten football factory.
"Until the NCAA has completed its investigation, we will not be publicly discussing the details of this case," Smith said in Thursday's statement.
That seems to be a good idea at the moment. The less people talking at Ohio State, the smarter everyone appears.
extracted from cbssports.com

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Dodd: Luck back at Stanford - No standout at Stanford, Luck happy to be back to see degree

STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford reeks of an accomplished anonymity. The person behind you in line for coffee might be a Nobel laureate. At noontime, you might see an Olympian wolfing down a quick tuna salad sandwich at Jimmy V's Sports Cafe. To me and you, she's former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice. At Stanford, she's comparatively on the down-low as a political science professor and senior fellow on public policy.
When everyone is some kind of best and brightest, it's easy to blend in. That's why Andrew Luck loves being nothing special here.
"He doesn't want people to be putting flower petals at his feet as he walks past," says Stanford's new coach, David Shaw. "Nothing upsets him more than being separated from his teammates. It's the one thing that pisses him off.

Andrew Luck was projected to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft if he would have come out. (US Presswire)

"There is a comfort level because not everyone is bowing to [him], because there is concert pianist who has already played Carnegie Hall and here's two guys. They've already started a company. They're only sophomores. I won't call it anonymity, but there are other people who are doing some really special things."
Special things have emanated from that gangly, child-like Heisman runner-up for a while now. If you had to pick a Disney character that Stanford's quarterback resembles, with all due respect, it would have to be Goofy. All arms and legs and jolly, he showed up to a recent interview with a Bruce Springsteen T-shirt and a to-go pasta dish. It couldn't have ever been like this for John Elway. As one of the nation's top players and -- if he had desired -- a top NFL draft choice, only now is Luck being noticed.
"Now it's at the point where he gets recognized," roommate and receiver Griff Whalen said. "I've been in airports and he has a hat on and people come up and pose for a picture. It's pretty regular now. I think it's kind of nice on campus. It's pretty calm. Some people recognize him but it's not like at other schools."
Still, all sorts of media platforms are in the process of wearing a path to Stanford this offseason to get an audience. We/they/everybody wants to know not only why Luck came back for a redshirt junior season, but why he is surprised that we/they/everybody is surprised that he did.
"I didn't think it would be a big deal," Luck said. "That's why you come here, to get a degree."
Take that, football factories. Realize that at Stanford, guys like Luck end up designing them. That realization hasn't struck a generation of Buffalo Wild Wings-patronizing, HD-staring, middle-management Fantasy dorks who portrayed him as "stupid" when Luck announced he was returning in early January. That's the word Luck's father, Oliver, used to describe the outcry by some when his son decided to delay the NFL migration. That sort of group-think might infect a chain of greasy, cheesy sports bars. It stops dead here at closely guarded drills during Stanford's spring practice.
"It's hard to sort of explain what kind of place it is," said Oliver, the AD at West Virginia. "The weather is great. There are smart people. Andrew told me the other day he was having dinner with some of the key people at Yahoo. There are opportunities there that certainly would exist for an NFL quarterback, but out there they exist because there are a lot of these smart people."
While Stanford has its share of Rose Bowls and All-Americans -- Elway anyone? -- no one would dare call it one of those football factories. Stanford regularly competes for the Sears Directors' Cup, a national award that measures broad-based athletic excellence. Last year's 12-1 Orange Bowl-winning season was the best in school history. But by Stanford standards, it was a significant spike in that history, the kind of natural NFL jumping off point for almost anyone else blessed with Luck's talents.
How much better could it get? Luck was a bit of the world's talent midget, finishing second to Cam Newton in a Heisman runaway. His coach and quarterback mentor, Jim Harbaugh, bolted for the 49ers. The Cardinal lost other key components on the field. Intertwined challenges intervened. Start with Luck's almost painful humility.
"I never forget what he told me his freshman year," Oliver Luck said. "He came from a home game at midnight or something. He had a duffel bag full of his football stuff and kind of threw it on the bed. His roommates were there ... looked up and said, 'Andrew what are you doing? Is it football season now?'
"He actually likes that without having to sign autographs, people pestering him. They're very respectful of him out there, as they were with Michelle Wie and Tiger Woods. There are people on his dorm floor who have Olympic gold medals."
Something special? There is a charming naiveté to Luck. Nothing forced or phony. Take his first concert, going with his father as a seventh grader to see ZZ Top.
"I've never seen so many leather pants."
Did the air smell ... strange?
"Yes, it did," Luck said. "That was my first realization of that."
Andrew and his sister, Mary Ellen, grew up for part of their childhood in Europe when dad worked as an executive for NFL Europe. The Lucks didn't allow their children to have cable television. Not that European cable TV was anything great back then.
"It was always 10 to 15 years behind the U.S.," Oliver said.
Instead the family would visit downtown Frankfurt while in Germany or tour around London while in the U.K. Andrew developed a love of soccer than endures today. He collects jerseys and scrimmages with the women's team every now and then. Mary Ellen is a freshman volleyball player at Stanford.
Andrew is surrounded by a close group of friends and teammates who won't let him get anywhere near feeling entitled. The core of that group is the 2008 Stanford recruiting class that bonded together as the ones who were going to lead the program to respectability. If the celebrity needle starts red-lining around the Cardinal quarterback, their default reply is, "Get over yourself."
That was a good thing, then, that the trip to New York was overshadowed by Newton's runaway win.
"It was fun talking to Kellen [Moore] and LaMichael [James]," Luck said. "We sort of knew what was going to happen. We're not stupid. We had sort of a relaxing trip. I felt a little bad for Cam. It was, 'Buzz, buzz, buzz. Him, him, him.'"
The question has to be asked, though: As 2011's prohibitive Heisman favorite, how would Stanford's modest mouse deal with the Big Apple media car wash if he were the man in December?
"He has to," Whalen said. "He will."
In evaluating Luck's Big Comeback, first consider the importance of getting that architectural design degree. It's from Stanford. Duh, winning. Second, if he blew out his knee tomorrow and never played again, the remaining discussion would be only what degree of millionaire Luck would become. He is protected by, at least, the multimillion-dollar insurance policy the NCAA makes available. With that Stanford degree, a lucrative future would be guaranteed regardless.
His father contends -- and a lot of folks agree -- that the days of the $50 million to $60 million bonuses are over. As labor strife looms, Luck looks absolutely prescient by staying in school.
"I think there is going to be a pretty antagonistic labor battle which could lead to who knows what?" Oliver said. "My point is this: It could be a lousy year for a rookie quarterback to come out because of lack of preparation time. It's hard to play quarterback in the NFL as a rookie. If you don't have minicamps and a chance to sit in front of a blackboard with your offensive coordinator, you're going to be at such a disadvantage."
It sounds crass but, no, Luck doesn't absolutely need the money at this point. His dad was an NFL quarterback in the mid-1980s. It was there he met Archie Manning, at the end of Manning's career with the Houston Oilers. Archie would actually fly in from New Orleans several times a week to practice and play with the Oilers. Oliver, a third-stringer, would be tossed the keys and be asked to take young Cooper and Peyton Manning for ice cream.
Andrew was able to attend the prestigious Manning Passing Academy as a high school player and later as a college counselor. When it came time to decide on the lures of the NFL, then, Manning was part of Luck's tight inner circle.
"I sort of made my mind up," Luck said, "but anytime you get to talk to Peyton Manning, you talk to Peyton Manning."
The Tennessee hero rubber-stamped the decision, reminding Luck of how worthwhile it had been for him coming back as a senior. The love from 1997 still lingers. They named a street after Peyton. Plus, the statistics show that extra year in school makes a difference in an NFL quarterback's career. Stanford also is good at naming things. Shaw isn't just the coach, he is the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football.
"He has all the same dreams as all these other kids have but he has no problem saying, 'I'll get there eventually,'" said Shaw, who was Luck's offensive coordinator before replacing Harbaugh.
"Andrew was the first person on Earth I'd expect to come back," Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov said. "It gets back to his character. It's who he is. It's what makes him unique. He is internally inspired."
What Harbaugh left behind was not only Luck but an iron will, something not usually associated with Stanford.
"We don't want to be known as a finesse team that gets by on trick plays," the quarterback said. "We take pride on trying to be a physical team."
There has been no problem with that lately. Toby Gerhart, the 2009 Heisman runner-up, was a punishing runner. Skov is a brutal hitter, but one who had to leave a recent practice early to take his mid-term in multivariable calculus. As a freshman, Luck was leery of Owen Marecic, who eventually turned into a 100-play-a-game two-way throwback as a running back/linebacker. Marecic is back on campus getting ready for the draft.
"He scared the heck out of me that first year, he never talked," Luck said.
Shaw, a former Stanford receiver, looks like he could line up today at age 38. Aside from that, he is the antithesis of Harbaugh. His office is as spartan as his former boss' was quirky. The only ostentatious item is a football signed by Jerry Rice and Tim Brown when Shaw coached with the Raiders.
Harbaugh could launch a marketing campaign by routing USC. The school actually had a "What's Your Deal" ticket plan. Harbaugh would tell his players that everything was too nice during offseason training saying, "We've got to find a way to make it suck more."
"I wouldn't say I miss him," Luck said flatly. "That would be sort of living in the past."
Shaw is a former sociology major who centered his studies on the organizational behavior of groups, teams and organizations. It has served the coach well getting into the heads of his players and their motives.
"It wasn't overly negative," Shaw said of the Buffalo Wild Wings crowd's reaction to Luck's return, "[the reaction] was incredulous. People couldn't believe you could pass up that much money. If you're in this business long enough, it's about where you are and who you work with and your quality of life. ... All the money in the world isn't going to change that."
As a way of keeping his players focused, the quiet Shaw did come up with what sounds like one Harbaughism: "Oranges rot and die," is a reference to letting go of the bowl game and moving on.
"It's imagery but I wanted them to understand, that stuff is gone," he said. "That team is never coming back."
Ah, but No. 12 is. Anonymity may never be possible again.

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Dodd: Better fit for Weis - Family man Weis is picture of contentment at Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Charlie Weis' welcome-to-the-SEC moment came during a recent romantic dinner with his wife. This being Florida -- even if he weren't a former NFL and Notre Dame coach of some renown -- once you're a Gator, that comes with certain obligations. Or else.
"Two really sleazy girls come over and say, 'Coach, will you take a picture with us?' Florida's new offensive coordinator said. "I would have said no anyway, that's beside the point. I politely say, 'Hey, I'm sorry, I'm having a dinner with my wife.' I read about it the next day, how much of an a--hole I was, how I wouldn't take a picture with somebody."

'Why does there have to be some different agenda when everything falls just right ... ?' Weis says. (US Presswire)

Before losing his first game at Florida, Weis was in his first no-win situation in Gainesville. Pick your viral poison: Take the picture and Weis, with a girl on each arm, would have been a trending topic from here to Tuscaloosa. Refuse the picture and Florida's own trash you from here to Knoxville. Lord knows the man has had worse things said about him, but when family is involved, it gets personal. No matter what you've heard or read, that's why Weis is here, at age 54, making what looks like a lateral move, at best, after leaving the Kansas City Chiefs.
Get it out of your head that coming here was about money, prestige or a power struggle. The man who once ran the football program at the most well-known university in the world essentially came to this high-powered, high-profile world to scale back -- be a dad and a husband without being the man. Here, he is part of the staff, not the lightning rod with multiple Super Bowl rings or that "decided schematic advantage" at Notre Dame.
"Everyone wants to look for some different agenda," Weis said from the Florida football office on Monday. "Why does there have to be some different agenda when everything falls just right for your family later on in your career?"
Weis knows that back in Kansas City, there is still speculation that he and head coach Todd Haley -- two admittedly brash, bombastic personalities -- couldn't get along. He laughs at the stories that hint at him coming to Florida for the bounce-back job that will make him a head coach again, perhaps even here. In truth, Charlie Weis is out of the NFL, into the SEC -- and deliberately out of the limelight -- because everything fell right.
You can blame the bus company in Parkville, Mo. The small, pastoral town near the Missouri River was the Weises' home during their year with the Chiefs. Hannah, their 15-year-old daughter with special needs, has always been at the center of their lives. Last summer, Maura and Charlie Weis were convinced to let Hannah ride the bus home from camp. There was a bit of concern, but the parents were assured their daughter would be dropped off at 12:27 p.m.
By 3 o'clock that day, she hadn't shown up.
"We're out riding around town looking for her," Weis said. "We're about ready to call the cops. So I'm pissed. I go in[to the school] the next day."
There were apologies and assurances all around. Then it happened again later in the summer as the Chiefs were breaking camp moving from St. Joseph, Mo., back to Kansas City. School for Hannah had started. She was supposed to be home at 2:45 p.m. At 5 p.m., there was still no Hannah.
"So we did call the cops," Weis said. "There was no explanation. I called the school and said, 'I want everyone there tomorrow morning, 9 o'clock. This is two instances.' My wife wanted to move back right then. It was already over for her. Forget about anything that happened after that."
Both times, the bus driver had failed to alert Hannah of her stop, Weis said. Both times, she basically rode to the end of the route while her parents were freaking out back home. At that point, Kansas City was dead to Maura. Charlie felt the same way, even as his contributions helped the Chiefs win the AFC West and helped quarterback Matt Cassel go to the Pro Bowl.
It was decided that the family wasn't going to be apart like this, with son Charlie Jr. headed off to college and Hannah headed back to the family's other home near Notre Dame. The Weises have land there that is the center of "Hannah and Friends," a nonprofit organization they founded to help special-needs children.
No matter how much his dad argued against it, Charlie Jr. wanted to be a coach. He had met Texas coach Mack Brown and saw a future, eager to work his way up the staff ladder. Only when Muschamp left the Longhorns for Florida did it all fall together. As Weis was talking to Muschamp about becoming the Gators' offensive coordinator, he inquired about an opportunity for his son.
It was a package deal that made total sense. This was a way for the family to stay together. One career transitioning, the other just starting. It was decided that Maura and Hannah would spend part of the year here in the horse country of nearby Ocala. Maura loves horses. In his mid-50s, Weis gave up the coaching climb for an opportunity to be with his son. Charlie Jr. will start as a Florida manager, his dad says. For at least the next four years, it seems they will all be together.
"A lot of times as you're going up the ladder and you're making more and more, you realize, at a point, is the money really worth it?" Weis said. "As you're watching your wife and your son take every body blow that you take, you taking them is one thing. Them taking them is another."
Charlie long ago had a chunk taken out of his ego. Florida and the SEC is a different place, but he comes well armed. Weis has always been able to call plays, recruit players and develop quarterbacks. When asked about last year's assertion in Kansas City that he was hired to "fix the quarterback," he downplays it. Essentially, he succeeded wildly. Cassel, in a make-or-break year for his career, became incredibly efficient under Weis, registering 27 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
Weis soaks up the credit only up to a point, saying Cassel and "Tommy" (Brady) made their own careers. John Brantley is the next fix. For three years, Brantley sat behind Tim Tebow, expected to slide into the position seamlessly. When Brantley got the chance in 2010, the world found out this drop-back passer couldn't function in Urban Meyer's spread option. At least this drop-back passer.
"Without saying anything incriminating about the last staff, he really didn't fit what they were doing," Weis said.
Muschamp's decision to run a pro-style offense and Weis' arrival to run it might have kept Brantley from transferring. It doesn't matter to Weis. He didn't hesitate when it came to meeting with the quarterback and his parents.
"Where are you going to go?" he said to the rising fifth-year senior.
Nowhere, for now, together. For the second successive year -- and perhaps for the rest of his career -- Weis is not running the show. That's OK, as long as everyone understands what he does. The coach who is reportedly Florida's highest paid assistant ever ($2.5 million over three years) took a monstrous pay cut from the NFL. That should be one indicator.
"I didn't come here with the agenda of, 'Let's be Gus Mahlzan. Let's go get hot,' Weis said of Auburn's offensive coordinator. "If I just wanted to get into the mix [for a new job], I'd probably stay in Kansas City. I had the opportunity to take care of my family in a different way than most people."
Maura is at least as tough as her husband. She can put up with the fat jokes. Guess what? You might have heard that Charlie is overweight. A gastric bypass surgery went wrong in 2002. The guy can't catch a medical break. Weis had to have emergency surgery during the Chiefs season to remove an infected gall bladder. Soon after Memorial Day, he will have a left knee replacement, making it a matched pair that were slammed into 2½ years ago on the sideline against Michigan.
She understands why Charlie won't drink in public. He went to a Yankees spring training game the other day. It was hot. The beer guy kept coming by. Weis wanted one. Bad. Who could have blamed him? The guy next to him, into about his eighth cold one, finally asked why Charlie didn't have a beer. It's the cell phones. Charlie knows enough that he might be a trending topic, but he won't be one with a drink in his hand.
What Maura can't put up with is the idea that the guy who gave up the NFL to keep his family happy is some jerk. Sleazy girls be warned. There will be no flash photography around her man in this Gators-crazed town.
"That's one thing she has a serious problem with," Weis said. "Don't be like, 'Well, somebody told me he's an a--hole ... ' "

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Fischer: Rutgers gets on track - With LeGrand in good hands, Rutgers focuses on X's and O's

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- You can see the excitement on Greg Schiano's face when he talks about football.
The passion, the focus -- that has always been there. This spring, though, things are different.
"I think it's different because of the way things ended last year, I know it is for me personally," Schiano said. "I can't wait to get back and get coaching again. Last year was really a blur for me from everything that happened from Eric's injury on. I tried to do everything that I normally did as a head coach and also get to see Eric every day.

Members of the Scarlet Knights kneel and pray while DT Eric LeGrand lay on the field injured on Oct. 16. (US Presswire)

"Literally, the second part of the season is kind of a blur."
Schiano was talking about Eric LeGrand, a Rutgers defensive tackle who suffered a spinal cord injury while making a tackle on a kickoff against Army last year. Paralyzed from the shoulders down, LeGrand has gone through the arduous process of physical therapy since the accident and has regained full sensation throughout his body.
After beating Army in overtime following the injury, however, the wheels started to come off for the Scarlet Knights. They dropped their final six games of the season after starting 4-2, losing four games by more than 20 points. When looking back at the season and trying to figure out what went wrong, Schiano simply has to throw his hands up.
"It's hard to do it this year because I don't know what to attribute to schematic issues as compared to when Eric got hurt. Our defensive football team battled for awhile and they kind of went [splat]," he said. "I don't know the answer. I know there was definitely a mental issue that we had. You watch the tape and we're not playing as physical and those kind of things. But I think we'll be OK -- sometimes you get a little out of whack sometimes."
For months following LeGrand's injury, Schiano drove to the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation every day to see him and check on his progress. The hour drive to and from the rehab center took its toll on the 10th-year head coach, but the experience leading the program through a difficult ordeal is something Schiano thinks has made him a better coach in the long run.
"I hope so. I guess that remains to be seen, but I feel like it puts things in perspective sometimes," Schiano said. "Every day I'd walk into my office and there would be another box there from another school with a helmet or storyboard where everybody signed it. Just an incredible outpouring of support. It really gave me even more belief in this game. I think it's one of those things that everybody realizes how vulnerable you are. When it does happen, their hearts go out to you.
"I think of all the issues we have, and then my last thought is it isn't even close to the issue that Eric has, so suck it up and get going. That's what I've tried to do."
LeGrand has returned to Rutgers twice in the past several months, once for a comedy show benefit and another to surprise his teammates at their first team meeting of the year. While he occasionally makes it out of rehab, LeGrand will be at the facility going through his normal routine for the foreseeable future.
For the Rutgers staff, and Schiano in particular, knowing that LeGrand is receiving the best care possible has allowed them to turn their attention to spring football, which starts March 29. In order to help turn things around after last year's disastrous 4-8 campaign, three new staff members were brought on board to infuse new ideas and provide a bit of an outside perspective.
"Frank [Cignetti] is leading the offense and I think with him and Brian Angelico, it's great to have two guys who ran this offense together for two years," Schiano said. "We're doing what we do and tweaking things but it's great to get another voice in there. Just another opinion, 'Hey this is how we did it.' I think it's working out well. The proof will be in the pudding, of course, but I'm excited anytime you have some change or new ideas."
Rutgers finished 114th in total offense last season but showed some signs of life under true freshman quarterback Chas Dodd. Lackluster numbers in the middle of Big East play are something Schiano hopes to rectify before his team takes the field in the fall.
"Certainly the offensive line is always a big issue," he said. "I think when you're installing a new offense and a whole new terminology, just getting comfortable with it and being able to play hard as we learn the system, play with discipline."
There are several reinforcements arriving in the fall that should be able to help out. Running back Savon Huggins headlines a trio of New Jersey products who could see early playing time, having already arrived on campus. Defensive tackle Marquise Wright is a big body in the middle and wide receiver Miles Shuler is one of the fastest players in the country. The 6-foot, 190 pound Huggins, though, is labeled as one of Rutgers' most important recruits in several years.
"We were certainly excited about him. I recruited him for a long time," Schiano said. "I've watched Savon grow up. I've watched his best performances throughout his high school career. I don't think there's any mystery as to what kind of talent he is. A guy like Miles Schuler, you don't have to be a genius, he's the third-fastest kid in the nation. Hopefully we can find a place for him to play. We have a lot of really talented kids but you never know how they're going to adjust going to school.
"Every year we have some freshmen that help and it's been different each year. I'm sure there will be some in this crop that end up playing very early."
While the Rutgers fan base might be excited after months of looking for something, anything to get excited about, the prospect of some of the talented incoming freshmen making an impact is something Schiano is a little bit hesitant about.
"Our deal around here is competition," he said. "I don't care if you're a senior or a freshman. Heck, this last year at quarterback is evidence of it -- Chas comes in and replaces Tom [Savage], who is injured, and plays better than Tom was playing and he never lost the job. We're all about competition every day -- you've got to earn your job each and every day.
"Sometimes, as a young kid, it has to be clear because I do believe guys build equity in your program. If a guy's performed at a high level, you know he's going to do it. Just because a kid can do it in practice doesn't mean he can do it in a game. But if a guy is clearly outperforming an established guy, it doesn't matter to me. We're going to play the guys that give us the best chance to win, period."
The workman-like attitude the Scarlet Knights hope to return to is due in part to what they went through last season. While LeGrand remains in everybody's hearts, their thoughts are starting to turn to X's and O's as springtime arrives in Piscataway.
"The second half of last season, I've kind of, in my mind, said I'm not going to go crazy trying to find the holy grail there because I'm not sure I'm going to find it," Schiano said. "There's some things where, as the saying goes, it is what it is. Sometimes that's where you are. I'm not downplaying it, but I'm excited to get going again."
With less than a month to go until spring practices begin, football is finally looking ahead again at Rutgers.

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