Official 2009-2010 NCAA Football Thread

[knightni]

If they join a conference in every sport, ND should just stay with the Big East.

 

Their football program already plays Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Connecticut.

[MattZakrowski]

And Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State.

[knightni]

...and Washington, Washington St., Stanford and USC.

[Kyyle23]

...and Washington, Washington St., Stanford and USC.

 

Yeah but the Pac10 makes no sense for them to join(despite the rivalries in place), where you could argue Big 10 and Big East due to rivalry and location. The question would be is the Big East looking to add another team, whereas the Big 10 is(we think)

[HuskyCaucasian]

NDs TV deal is too good to join another conference. Now, if they ever LOST that deal... they'd go to a conference in a heartbeat.

 

Side Note: Can a school have one sport in one conference (Basketball - Big East) and another in a different conference (Football - Big 10... um 12?)?

[whitesoxfan99]

Illinois hires Paul Petrino as their OC. This actually sounds like a damn good hire, they must be shelling out the money.

[dasox24]

Illinois hires Paul Petrino as their OC. This actually sounds like a damn good hire, they must be shelling out the money.

Did he actually call the plays at Arkansas or did Bobby? Either way it's a good hire, but if Paul was running the offense like a true OC, then this is a great hire for Illinois. However, offense wasn't nearly as much of a problem as defense this year, so it'll be really important for Zook to fill that DC spot with someone legit.

Edited December 13, 2009 by dasox24

[nitetrain8601]

Did he actually call the plays at Arkansas or did Bobby? Either way it's a good hire, but if Paul was running the offense like a true OC, then this is a great hire for Illinois. However, offense wasn't nearly as much of a problem as defense this year, so it'll be really important for Zook to fill that DC spot with someone legit.

 

Yeah it was.

[SoxFan1]

GVSU lost the National Championship this Saturday to NW Missouri State. Heartbreaking loss. After falling down 21-0 at half, they came back to within 23-20 but fell short and lost 30-23. Amazing game and an incredible 2nd half. I was privileged to have been able to attend the game this weekend down in Florence, Alabama. An amazing experience and one I'll never forget despite the loss.

 

The big new around here now is that our head coach Chuck Martin might be recruited to go to Notre Dame to be BK's Defensive Coordinator. He was asked by BK to be his DC at CMU and at Cincy but Chuck turned it down both times. He said he wouldn't turn it down this time though, and apparently he and Kelly had a talk Saturday night. We'll find out soon what happens.

[kev211]

GVSU lost the National Championship this Saturday to NW Missouri State. Heartbreaking loss. After falling down 21-0 at half, they came back to within 23-20 but fell short and lost 30-23. Amazing game and an incredible 2nd half. I was privileged to have been able to attend the game this weekend down in Florence, Alabama. An amazing experience and one I'll never forget despite the loss.

 

The big new around here now is that our head coach Chuck Martin might be recruited to go to Notre Dame to be BK's Defensive Coordinator. He was asked by BK to be his DC at CMU and at Cincy but Chuck turned it down both times. He said he wouldn't turn it down this time though, and apparently he and Kelly had a talk Saturday night. We'll find out soon what happens.

Hiring the GVSU coach to be the defensive coordinator would infuriate a lot of people, since everyone is looking at who Kelly hires for that. I don't think i'd mind though. What are your views on him, is he a good defensive minded coach?

Edited December 14, 2009 by kev211

[knightni]

Yeah but the Pac10 makes no sense for them to join(despite the rivalries in place), where you could argue Big 10 and Big East due to rivalry and location. The question would be is the Big East looking to add another team, whereas the Big 10 is(we think)

The Big East would probably add Memphis and Notre Dame and dump DePaul.

[Jenksismyhero]

Did he actually call the plays at Arkansas or did Bobby? Either way it's a good hire, but if Paul was running the offense like a true OC, then this is a great hire for Illinois. However, offense wasn't nearly as much of a problem as defense this year, so it'll be really important for Zook to fill that DC spot with someone legit.

 

The offense probably had the most talent of any team in the Big Ten, but still managed to be one of the worst. Honestly we have nowhere to go but up at this point. There's enough talent there to make a bowl game. But of course talent on paper means nothing (as Zook has repeatedly shown us). Perhaps Petrino is thinking that if he does really well as an OC he can replace Zook next year. I'd love for Zook to stick around as a recruiting coordinator.

 

I'm happy the Juice Williams era is finally over. He was great for the programs initial rebuild, and of course the 2004 game against OSU won't be forgotten, but he was so awful in so many games. He was an athlete, not a quarterback. I hope whoever takes the reigns next is a QB first, athlete second.

[bigruss]

The offense probably had the most talent of any team in the Big Ten, but still managed to be one of the worst. Honestly we have nowhere to go but up at this point. There's enough talent there to make a bowl game. But of course talent on paper means nothing (as Zook has repeatedly shown us). Perhaps Petrino is thinking that if he does really well as an OC he can replace Zook next year. I'd love for Zook to stick around as a recruiting coordinator.

 

I'm happy the Juice Williams era is finally over. He was great for the programs initial rebuild, and of course the 2004 game against OSU won't be forgotten, but he was so awful in so many games. He was an athlete, not a quarterback. I hope whoever takes the reigns next is a QB first, athlete second.

I have high hopes for Charest working with a real OC.

[Jenksismyhero]

I have high hopes for Charest working with a real OC.

 

If he can work on that funky delivery (has some sort of weird double clutch thing going on), I think he can be a really solid college QB. From what I saw in some of the games this year, against Minnesota for example, he's reading the defenses and making the right reads.

 

Anyone want to wager on Benn's chances to come back? Unless he's somehow not a 1st round guarantee, I'd say he's gone.

[SoxFan1]

Hiring the GVSU coach to be the defensive coordinator would infuriate a lot of people, since everyone is looking at who Kelly hires for that. I don't think i'd mind though. What are your views on him, is he a good defensive minded coach?

Coach Chuck was a Defensive Backs coach, then Defensive Coordinator before taking over as head coach at GVSU and yes, he's a great defensive minded coach. He currently serves as the OC too, but that's primarily play-calling. The one thing you'll never see from Martin his him getting out-coached. His teams are ALWAYS prepared as he watches countless hours of video. If you look at the Carson-Newman game from last Saturday, they run a split-veer and led the country with something like 359 rushing yards per game and we were able to shut them down. The week before that we held the defending D2 champions to 3 points. And a couple weeks before that, we held the eventual Harlon Hill winner (D2 version of the Heisman) to 23 rushing yards before the 2nd team defense came in to handle our blowout victory and still held him to 74 total yards.

 

He's a phenomenal coach and I think he'd become a fan favorite just as he did at GVSU.

[knightni]

Cincinnati fans prove that they are above Brian Kelly in being classy.

 

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog...rn=ncaaf,208345

[IlliniKrush]

Anyone want to wager on Benn's chances to come back? Unless he's somehow not a 1st round guarantee, I'd say he's gone.

Would you stick around and play in this s***? I wouldn't.

 

He is a first rounder. Only 2 things going Illinois' way: 1) Mom wants him to stay 2) He could play a year with his brother

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Jake Locker's coming back for his senior season. Probably not too many other juniors in a position like he is in are gonna be making that decision this year.

[Jenksismyhero]

Would you stick around and play in this s***? I wouldn't.

 

He is a first rounder. Only 2 things going Illinois' way: 1) Mom wants him to stay 2) He could play a year with his brother

 

At this point he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He's a borderline 1st rounder (completley unproven, so it's all based on potential, which I'm sure everyone sees), and even if he has the same type of season next year he'll be the same. Assuming what Petrino says is true, he's going to bring a pro-style offense and he wants Benn to lead the conference in receptions. So i'm sure his stock will go up.

 

The brother thing kind of annoys me. The ONLY reason he's even getting a sniff from Illinois is his brother. He's a convicted felon. I'm all for 2nd chances and all, but I think a kid that works his/her ass off and gets a perfect 4.0 or is really good in band or something deserves a full scholarship more than he does.

Edited December 15, 2009 by Jenksismybitch

[Soxbadger]

Benn is already being projected as a mid first round pick.

 

At this point he has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

Nothing to worry about besides for a career threatening injury.

 

I think the more appropriate statement is that Benn has very little to gain by staying in the NCAA. Could he work his way to the top 10? Sure, but he will lose an entire year of salary and will also hit FA one year later.

 

If he was projected 2nd round or later, Id agree that staying in school is probably for the best.

[RockRaines]

No way Benn stays. Without Mendenhall, Illinois has proven to be a pretty bad team and its not getting any better, time to skip and make his dollars. I would draft him in the 1st round and so would alot of teams.

[whitesoxfan99]

Sounds like Vic Koenning will be Illinois's DC. Sounds like another really good hire, Georgia was actually targeting him as their DC. So basically, it looks like Zook is being made into a recruiting figurehead with some really good assistants around him to do the actual coaching. I hate getting even remotely optimistic about Illinois football but this may actually work.

[Jenksismyhero]

Benn is already being projected as a mid first round pick.

 

 

 

Nothing to worry about besides for a career threatening injury.

 

I think the more appropriate statement is that Benn has very little to gain by staying in the NCAA. Could he work his way to the top 10? Sure, but he will lose an entire year of salary and will also hit FA one year later.

 

If he was projected 2nd round or later, Id agree that staying in school is probably for the best.

 

I haven't seen a mock draft with him in the first round, let alone a mid-first round. Which site(s) are you looking at? And injury is a risk, but so is leaving early, not getting drafted, and then not getting a contract (unlikely in his case, but still. he could be playing next year for michael crabtree money)

[Jenksismyhero]

Sounds like Vic Koenning will be Illinois's DC. Sounds like another really good hire, Georgia was actually targeting him as their DC. So basically, it looks like Zook is being made into a recruiting figurehead with some really good assistants around him to do the actual coaching. I hate getting even remotely optimistic about Illinois football but this may actually work.

 

Absolutely the best situation possible. As I said before, let Zook be the recruiting coordinator with the title of head coach. Give these coordinators a ton of money (Petrino is 2 years at 495k, is that a lot for an OC in college?) and let them run the team.

[Soxbadger]

The mock site that I like is done by Scott Wright (he used to post on a board called nfl-fans that id sometimes frequent), he currently has Benn at 16 as of November 9th.

 

http://www.draftcountdown.com/sub/Mock-Draft-B.php

 

When it comes to producing homegrown talent there aren’t many teams that can compete with the Chargers. However, one exception has been the wide receiver position and outside of Vincent Jackson they’ve had a hard time finding reliable, starting-caliber pass catchers. A prized recruit who Ron Zook somewhat surprisingly lured to the Illini, Arrelious Benn is a great athlete with an ideal blend of size (6-2, 220) and speed (4.40) who has the ability to be a vertical threat and create in space. Benn isn’t having the big junior season that everyone expected but for the most part that can be attributed to lackluster quarterback play and it certainly isn’t an indictment of his talent. The Chargers most pressing need is actually right tackle so if there was a quality blocker available that might be the direction they would lean. Another possibility for the Chargers is a nose tackle like Alabama’s Terrence Cody. For years San Diego played fast and loose with that key position, failing to bring in a quality backup, and now that 33-year-old Jamal Williams is hurt they are paying dearly for it. Finally, don’t rule out a running back because LaDainian Tomlinson is clearly wearing down and Darren Sproles hasn’t been signed to a long-term contract extension.

 

Most of the other mock drafts I trust arent out yet, but Benn will most likely appear in the 15-20 range. After the combine you may see him projected as the top WR. It is a really weak year for WR, and it wouldnt surprise me if Benn surpasses Dez White as the #1 projected wr (especially because Benn should have better measurables).

 

Im not sure what sites you are looking at that dont have Benn being drafted at all, they may be ones that dont have underclassmen in the mocks (some sites dont put the underclassmen in until they are 100% gone).