A Look Around College Football

Great Hire By Pittsburgh:  With Pitt now being on their fourth Head Coach in the last thirteen months, Athletic Director Steve Pederson had to get the right man, and they did with the hiring of Wisconsin Offensive Coordinator Paul Chryst, who has been the Badgers' Offensive Coordinator the last 7 seasons, while spending 2003-04 as the Oregon State Offensive Coordinator under Mike Riley.  Chryst is generally regarded as one of the bright young offensive minds in CFB, helping mold the 2011 Badgers' Offense around the skills of transfer QB Russell Wilson, as the Badgers averaged 44.6 points and 447 yards per game this fall.  

Chryst and the Badgers' Staff were also successful during his tenure of going into Ohio, Florida, New York, Missouri (Montee Ball) and New Jersey to recruit offensive weapons, and now with the scandal at Penn State, Chryst should be able to once again get a leg up in Pennsylvania recruiting.

PAC-12 will be stung by early defectors:  While everyone knows that it will be hard for Stanford to recover from the loss of Junior QB Andrew Luck to the NFL Draft, the Cardinal will also likely lose LT Jonathan Martin and All-American Guard, David DeCastro, as early entrants into the 2012 Draft.  Martin is a projected Top-10 selection, and DeCastro may ultimately end of up being the best offensive linemen from the upcoming Draft.  In fact, DeCastro could be the highest Guard selected since Chris Noeole went 10th to the Saints in 1997, especially if some teams project DeCastro as a potential Right Tackle.  

USC will also lose DE Nick Perry and LT Matt Kalil early to the Draft, and Oregon is going to lose RB LaMichael James.  In fact, if USC QB Matt Barkley enters the Draft, the PAC 12 could have as many as 5 of the Top 10 selections -- Luck, Kalil, Barkley, Martin and DeCastro -- with all of them being early entrants.  It would not even be a stretch to see the PAC-12 have the top 3 selections in the Draft in Luck, Kalil and Barkley.

Speaking of QB's and the 2012 Draft:  If Matt Barkley does declare for the Draft, we may see a run on QB's in April like we haven't seen since 6 of them -- John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Tony Eason, Todd Blackledge and Ken O'Brien -- were selected in the famous 1983 draft.  In addition to Barkley and Luck, Heisman winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor and Oklahoma Junior Landry Jones are also projected as potential Top-15 picks.  Former Wide Receiver and now QB Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M has the size, toughness, arm strength and leadership qualities that scouts crave, and considering that he's only been a starting QB for less than 2 full seasons, he has the upside that coaches and GM's fall in love with prior to the Draft -- which could also make Tannehill a first rounder.  

Throw in Arizona's Nick Foles, a player with great size, experience and productivity who's never benefitted from being surrounded by a superior Offensive Line or Running Backs, and you may have this year's Christian Ponder after Foles spends a week at the Senior Bowl, where Ponder rose from a second rounder last January.

Urban's Impact:  While Ohio State and Athletic Director Gene Smith handcuffed new Coach Urban Meyer with a 2012 bowl ban by inexplicably failing to self impose a 2011 bowl ban after the University was hit with a Failure to Monitor Charge this fall on top of their potential repeat offender status from prior sanctions, Meyer has gone defensive in his first month on the job, landing commitments from 3 of the top 15 Defensive Linemen in the country in a recruiting class that arguably now has 2 of the Top 3 Defensive Ends in the nation in Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington, along with top-10 DE Se'von Pittman and former PSU commitment, DT Tommy Schutt.  Ohio State should have one of the Top-2 defensive line classes in the country in 2012, after having a Top-3 DL class last February.  

Meyer knows that the key to SEC football, which is now guaranteed the National Champion for the last 6 seasons, is fast, athletic future NFL Defensive Lineman, and he has made that his number one priority at Ohio State.  You have to look no further than the LSU vs Alabama National Title Game to see the importance that D-Linemen have had on those squads, as LSU boast 9-10 future NFL Defensive Linemen, including four potential future first rounders, and Alabama has at least 6-8 who will one day be drafted or in NFL camps.  

Furthermore, Meyer now has a Defensive Staff full of NFL pedigrees to coach these future stars to the next level, as new Co-Defensive Coordinator Everett Withers and CB Coach Taver Johnson have NFL coaching experience, and LB's Coach Mike Vrabel is former a 14-year vet.  Even Co-Defensive Coordinator Luke Fickell spent a year on the IR with the Saints.

Basketball Buckeyes Are Off to an Impressive Start, But Still Have Glaring Concerns

No. 2 ranked Ohio State's 85-63 victory Tuesday night over third-ranked Duke was a very impressive win in a game that was never really close.  However, despite Ohio State's 7-0 start, the talented basketball Buckeyes have four glaring deficiencies that will need to be addressed over the course of the season if they are to cut down the nets in New Orleans in April:  outside shooting, scorers who can create off the dribble, size and depth -- or at least Head Coach Thad Matta beginning to play more than seven players during a competitive game.

That said, Ohio State boasts the potential National Player of the Year in powerful Sophomore Jared Sullinger, Senior scorer William Buford, SF DeShaun Thomas and the scrappy glue who holds it all together, Sophomore PG Aaron Craft, giving the Buckeyes the horses to again run through the Big Ten.  However, if the team wants to accomplish its ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, then it must address the above issues to be able to match up against long, talented teams like North Carolina and Kentucky.

North Carolina starts two 7-footers in Tyler Zeller and John Henson, along with dynamic SF Harrison Barnes, an explosive scorer who is adept at creating his own shot.  The Tar Heels also have additional length and athleticism from impact Freshman F James Michael McAdoo.  Kentucky also has incredible athleticism and length up front from three future NBA Lottery picks, Sophomore F Terrence Jones, Freshman F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the potential number one pick of the 2012 Draft, 6-10 Anthony Davis.  Kentucky was a difficult matchup for Ohio State in last year's tournament because of their length and athleticism, and both the WIldcats and the Tar Heels would pose similar challenges to this year's Buckeyes.

However, there is hope for Matta and Buckeye fans, and that rests in trusting and developing some of their young bench players, notably Freshmen PG Shannon Scott, C Amir Williams and soon to be eligible Forward, LaQuinton Ross.  

Scott has a great handle and can penetrate.  He's also a polished, intelligent player with NBA bloodlines who could add depth and create scoring opportunities off the dribble.

The 6'11 Williams' development is crucial, as the Buckeyes will need his size and shot blocking skills if they are to have a deep run in the tournament and face a squad like North Carolina, Kentucky or even UCONN.  Currently, the Buckeyes seven-man rotation only has two players over 6'8",  F Evan Ravenel, who is generally listed at 6'8", and Sullinger.

When Ross becomes eligible on December 9th, he will be the best athlete on the squad, as he has great length to defend and the ability to create and score from the outside, as the team misses the outside shooting of David Lighty and Jon Diebler from last year's squad and needs additional options other than Buford and Thomas, as both players have proven to have streaky moments from the perimeter.  If Matta is willing to work him into his rotation, Ross, like Scott and WIlliams, has the ability to overcome some of the deficiencies of a very solid Buckeyes team.

Matta is an excellent coach, but if he wants his young Buckeyes to cut them down in New Orleans, then he needs to trust and develop his young bench and focus not on how to match up against Big Ten teams, but on how to beat teams like Kentucky and North Carolina.