Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Next Gen: Weekly Video of a Recent Pac-12 Recruit - Arizona State's Michael Eubank

Michael Eubank was huge pick up for Arizona State on National Signing Day. Eubank's size and mobility is the first thing that really stand out when looking at his high school highlight reel.  Although he has a fairly strong arm, his release has been called 'Tebow-esque" which could create problems for him in the future.   

Position: QB
Rated: Four Stars by Scout.com
Ht.: 6-5
Wt.: 220 LBS
From: Corona, CA




Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Next Gen: Weekly Video of a Recent Pac-12 Recruit - Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey

The Next Gen will be a multi-weekly video addition to this blog.  Each Pac-12 school recruited a bevy of players over the past few months and this weekly spot will get us a little closer to the new faces of the conference.  This edition the spotlight shines on Arizona's Ka'Deem Carey.  Here is his bio

Position: RB
Rated: Four Stars by Rivals
Ht.: 5-7
Wt.: 180 LBS
From: Oro Valley, Arizona

One Outrageous Prediction for Each Pac-12 Football Team

In the off season, it is always fun to take a far look ahead and try to make predictions.  Even though the makeup of some teams might completely change from now until the spring, let’s make one outlandish predictions about every team in the Pac-12.

Arizona: Nick Foles and Juron Criner will combine for more touchdown passes than any other quarterback/wide receiver.

Arizona State: The Sun Devils manage to survive South Division play with only one loss, take the first division title.

California: Because of the competition nipping at his heels, Brock Mansion finally transforms into the talented quarterback that scouts saw in him five years ago.
 
Colorado:  Running back Rodney Stewart makes a name for himself and the Buffaloes, rushes for 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Oregon: The Ducks lose three or more games in 2011 because their defense struggles to hold the leads provided by LaMichael James and Darron Thomas.

Oregon State: The Beavers will post back-to-back losing season for the first time since 1997-1998.

Stanford: Corner Back Delano Howell will lead the conference in interceptions and linebacker Shayne Skov will win Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

UCLA:  Mere minutes after losing to USC in the final game of the 2011 season, Rick Neuheisel will get fired walking to his car in the parking lot.

USC:  The Trojans’ defense finally “gets” what they are supposed to do when they are on the field, helps USC to a 10-win season.

Utah: The Utes will win five or less Pac-12 conference games in 2011.

Washington: Running back Chris Polk blazes the trail for the Huskies the entire year, finishes the season as the Pac-12’s leading rusher.

Washington State:  The Cougars win two Conference games this season…hey, it could happen!  

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Half Dozen Facial: This Week's Egging Hits Chow, Threet, and Haden





Alright, not much time on my hands this week as law school has a firm grasp around my neck (and it's only my first week!).

Since I'm in a cranky mood, let's throw our half dozen of eggs for this week.

One Egg: Norm Chow took a serious pay cut to coaching assistant with Utah. What were you thinking, Norm? Here is an egg to the face for leaving beautiful California.

Two Eggs: Steven Threet has yet to be cleared to play in the Spring for Arizona State. Many people (like myself) will rely on Threet to fulfill any ludicrous prediction made for the Sun Devils in 2011. These eggs are for you and me until he is cleared.

Three Eggs: USC hosted an "Agent Awareness" summit this past week. While this is great since agent interaction seems to be a problem in Southern California, this reeks of irony and of the three eggs that I just threw at Pat Haden for trying to seem like the good guy in all of this.

Spring Practice and Game Dates

Get excited!! I know I am.

Arizona
Start: March 21
End: April 16 (spring game)

Arizona State
Start: March 22
End: April 23 (spring game)

California
Start: March 29
End: April 30

Colorado
Start: March 11
End: April 9 (spring game)

Oregon
Start: March 28 (or 29)
End: April 30 (spring game)

Oregon State
Start: March 28
April 30 (spring game)

Stanford
2 sessions
Feb. 21-March 5
March 28-April 9 (spring game)

UCLA
Start: March 31
End: April-23 (spring game)

USC
Start: March 22
End" April 23 (spring game)

Utah
Start: March 8
End: April 16 (spring game)

Washington
Start: March 29
End: April 30 (spring game)

Washington State
Start: March 7
End: April 16 (spring game)

Monday, February 7, 2011

California Bears Hire New Quarterback Coach, Increases Hope For A Quick Turn Around



It’s not every day that you know someone that gets a coaching job in the college football ranks.  And although I do not personally know newly appointed California quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo, one of my good friends is friends with the coach, stemming back to their Colfax High School days.  His happiness towards this recent hire has certainly trickled down to the rest of his network of friend.

Arroyo is one of many recent hires by California Head Coach Jeff Tedford in the hopes to bring back the spark in an offense that should meager abilities the past season.

The Golden Bears suffered their first losing season under Tedford and this is definitely not a trend that Cal fans would like to see continue.

The addition of Arroyo as the quarterback coach brings a sense of stability to a rather rickety position for Cal the past several seasons.

Arroyo was a quarterback at San Jose State during his collegiate days and has coached college ball over the past eight seasons.

He began his coaching career working with the Spartans quarterbacks, eventually turning Adam Tafralis into one of the league’s elite passers.  He later moved onto Wyoming, where in 2009 he was crucial in developing Austyn Carta-Samuels into the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year.

With the somewhat inexperienced Brock Mansion looking to take over the quarterback job full time and the recent addition of three star recruit Kyle Boehm and other potential slingers waiting in the wings, seeing how these new quarterbacks develop under Arroyo should be rather interesting.

The success of an offense often leans on the productivity of quarterback, and Cal’s fate over the next few seasons could depend on whether or not Arroyo can continue his success as a coach.   

Thursday, February 3, 2011

The Half Dozen Facial: Egging the PAC-12 after National Signing Day



As the dust from the most chaotic day in the college offseason settles, it is time to throw a few smelly eggs at the "losers" of National Signing Day.

Here at The Pacific Dozen, I'm awarding six rotten eggs a week to the teams/coaches/players that realize the "yokes" on them.

Let's get it started with this National Signing Day edition
 
One Egg:  Rick Neuheisel got hit by an egg courtesy of cross town Rival USC on National Signing Day, seemingly losing three star recruit OT Torian White to the Trojans late in the day.  However, the egg was only filled with confetti as White changed his mind again before the day was through, reverting back to his original choice to play for the Bruins. 

Two Eggs:  Chip Kelly launched an egg from Eugene towards Los Angeles early in the day with the intentions of finding the face of Lane Kiffin.  Although Five-star recruit CB DeAnthony Thomas originally committed to USC, the Oregon camp let some info leak out that he was changing his mind.

Thomas would not confirm which school that he intended to attend until a 7pm Press Conference. Just as Kelly’s egg entered the vicinity of Kiffin’s face, Thomas launched an egg of his own in the direction of the Kiffin’s nether regions, hitting the head coach simultaneously.

Despite the loss of Anthony, the Trojans still had an enormous recruiting class. While the loss should not greatly affect USC, it certainly still stings a little bit.

Three Eggs:  Washington State landed only one recruit rated four stars or higher in 2011, which is actually a down turn since the minimal waves they made in previous seasons.  The Cougars would only sign one athlete when National Signing Day was all said and done.  They certainly deserve these last three eggs tossed at their coach, players, and entire program.    

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

National Signing Day 2011: UCLA adds DT Kevin McReynolds; Thomas May Decommit from USC, Heads to Oregon



UCLA just snagged a four star recruit from our Nation’s capital.

Defensive Tackle Kevin McReynolds is a four star recruit who has excellent power and his extremely quick off of the ball.  He should make an immediate impact for the Bruins on short downs and on goal line defense.

Also, making news in the last hour is USC commit De’Anthony Thomas.  It appears that the five star recruit may change his mind and decide to play for the Oregon Ducks.  Thomas has a news conference set for 7pm PST this evening to tell the world which campus he will be on next season.  This turn of events does not bode well for the Trojans.

National Signing Day 2011: USC Picks Up Another Four Star Recruit in Christian Heyward


Suspensions don’t seem to be holding the Trojans back on National Signing day, landing another big recruit in defensive end Christian Heyward.

Heyward was also considering Oregon and San Diego State, but USC flexes its muscle once again, pulling in its 12th four star recruit this season.
   
Heyward led all tacklers at Point Loma High School in San Diego last season with 86 total tackles and eight sacks.  

National Signing Day 2011: Oregon State, Oregon, USC Start the Day Early


With it still fairly early in the morning for the teams of the Pac-12, fans are rubbing their eyes and seeing that their teams are making some noise on National Signing Day before lunch. 

Jacob Fisher started off the day early for Oregon.  The four-star offensive linemen visited Eugene last weekend and Chip Kelly apparently made a lasting impressions.  Fisher was a tight end at Traverse City West Senior High but is quickly turning into a decent tackle. He has been touted for his size and flexibility and once he truly learns the position, should make a huge impact on the Ducks O-Line.

USC landed several recruits before the sun touched the west coast.  The Trojans orchestrated a mini-surprise, pulling linebacker Lamar Dawson (video above) from the grasps of Tennessee and Kentucky.  Dawson has excellent size and plays with a great deal of aggressiveness.  Although he has had troubles in pass protection, his good lateral range and ability to change direction should get him out of most holes.

Also signing with the Trojans this morning were four-star offensive guard Aundrey Walker and four-star athlete Javorius Allen.
 
Oregon State got into the mix, as well, this morning, receiving a commit from junior college defensive end, Rudolf Fifita.   

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Pac-12 Football: An Early Bird Prediction for the 2011 Final Standings

Welcome to the first ever entry of The Pacific Dozen: THE Pac-12 College Football Blog!

Although the 2011 college season might seem like eons away, it is never too early to look ahead at what the future might bring.

With National Signing Day just around the corner, the seeds of excitement created by these prospects plant enchanted whispers of uncharted future possibilities in the minds of fans for each and every team.

Since the future will be on the tip of the tongues of college football fans across the nation on February 2nd, let’s take a guess at how the final standings of the first season in the Pac-12 conference will look.

North:
1. Stanford
Andrew Luck has enough weapons on offense to make a decent run at the first ever North title. The Cardinal defense is also still legit, returning six starters, which includes stalwarts Shayne Skov and Chase Thomas. Playing Oregon at the Farm should work in Stanford’s favor this time around.


2. Oregon
The Ducks return a massive part of their churning offense, which really allows them to contend in any game, during any situation. However, three extremely tough games against matured teams to end the season should make it hard for Oregon to come out of this season unscathed.


3. Washington
Washington brings back 16 total starters from last season. RB Chris Polk and WR Jermaine Kearse were selected All Conference in 2010, which give the Huskies offense an undeniable punch. Washington is also making some noise with their 2011 recruits, currently landing 12th on Scout.com’s recruiting rankings.


4. California
California has two Thursday night tilts against Oregon and USC on their schedule in 2011, which could mean epic failures in primetime. Having to play at Stanford, in Autzen, and against Utah should mean another season filled with in-conference woes for the Bears.


5. Oregon State
Although Oregon States losses a chunk of their offense with the departure of Jaquizz Rodgers, they do return a nice group of starters on offense, which should help them win a few games within its division. It will be a tough road though, especially playing the Arizonas and Utah from the South Division.


6. Washington State
Placing the Cougars at the bottom the divisions is hardly a surprise. Washington State has struggle immensely the past few seasons and it should still be another season or two until they are completely out of these shameful woods.

South:
1. USC
Some might want to believe that USC is experiencing a down period, but just looking at its 2011 recruiting class, the story seems to saying something different. The Trojans out-of-division game will hardly be a cake walk. They should find a way to take a game or two from the North and should not have a problem handling all of their in division games this season.


2. Utah
Utah’s first season playing a full schedule against BCS caliber teams should be very interesting. They will either completely collapse or be able to hold their own. The Utes seem to stack up well against the rest of the competition in the South, but will quickly learn that they are not in the Mountain West any more.



3. Arizona State
Unlike the Wildcats, Arizona State found its groove towards the end of last year. The Sun Devils’ offense finally should signs of life, scoring 30 or more points in four of their last five games. With 11 players returning from that offense, things could be getting brighter in Tempe.


4. Arizona
Although Arizona seemingly fell apart toward the end of the season, they still have enough weapons on offense and defense to remain dangerous in 2011. Nic Foles should lead this team to several conference wins, but Arizona will once again struggle when it matter most.


5. UCLA
UCLA’s offense ranked 104th last season in scoring and even though they return seven players, they still have a ton of work ahead of them. Although their defense will keep them in most games, the Bruins should struggle against this scoring happy conference.


6. Colorado
Bottom dwelling in the Big 12 for several seasons has cast doubt on just how Colorado will make the transition into the Pac-12. The Buffaloes won’t exactly turn heads in 2011 and they could have troubles keeping out of the South’s cellar for at least the first season.