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NCAA Football News - Sports News | July 2, 2009
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Some rebuild, USC reloads
By Scott Haynes
July 2, 2009
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Within the world of college basketball,
there is a general consensus that the North Carolina Tar Heels have a huge
recruiting advantage that helps bring a never ending supply of blue-chippers
to Chapel Hill. Of course, a great reason for that advantage is the past
success of the program, as the conference titles, Final Four appearances and
national championships have piled up along the way.
The football equivalent is on the left coast, in the form of USC. The Trojans
possess a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of talent, and the result is
seven straight campaigns of 11 wins or more, seven Pac-10 crowns in a row,
seven consecutive BCS Bowl appearances and a couple of national titles
sprinkled in.
The 2008 campaign brought more of the same, as Pete Carroll's troops won 12 of their 13 games, with the one blemish being a 27-21 upset loss at Oregon Statein late September. The Trojans buckled down after that, winning 10 straight, including a 38-24 victory over a good Penn State team in the Rose Bowl.
The team was once again stellar on both sides of the football, averaging well
over 400 yards per game, while yielding just over 200 defensively.
The real question heading into 2009, is whether or not USC has the talent to
remain on the top of the heap in the Pac-10 and stay in the hunt for yet
another national title.
On the offensive side of things, the Trojans will go into the season with very little experience under center. Mark Sanchez has jumped ship to the NFL and from a financial perspective made the right move, considering the New York
Jets made him the fifth pick overall.
The quarterback crop this year consists of Aaron Corp, Matt Barkley and Mitch
Mustain. Following the spring, Carroll announced that it will be Corp leading
the troops, although competition will still be lively heading into the summer
and fall. The main problem with the selection is that Corp, just a sophomore
this season, completed only two passes last year as the third-string QB.
Still, Carroll has plenty of confidence in Corp, who was a Parade All-American in the prep ranks. Mustain has the most experience, starting eight games at rkansas before transferring to USC in 2007. Barkley is a true freshman and while he possesses a huge upside, he is still a year or two away from making a real impact under center.
The team's ground game, which averaged almost 200 yards per game last year,
returns intact and is a real strength heading into the season. A limitless
supply of quality backs will be difficult for defenses to contend with. Expect
Carroll to lean heavily on his stable of thoroughbreds, most notably Stafon
Johnson, C.J. Gable and Joe McKnight.
The receiving corps loses big target Patrick Turner (third-round draft pick),
but returns emerging star Damian Williams, who posted a team-high 58 receptions, for 869 yards and nine TDs in 2008.
The offensive line will also be a real strength, with five starters returning
led by Preseason All-American Kristofer O'Dowd at center. There is plenty of
depth behind the incumbents, and the result should be one of the nation's best offensive fronts.
The other side of the ball has its share of questions, with only five starters
returning. The main concerns are within the front seven, which has lost
standout linebackers Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews (both first round draft
picks) and Rey Maualuga (second-round pick), as well as Fili Moala (second-
round), Kyle Moore (fourth-round) and key reserve Kaluka Maiava (fourth-
round).
The new-look front could be built around junior end Everson Griffin, who has
star potential and served as an effective pass rush specialist last year.
The secondary loses a pair of steady performers as well in Kevin Ellison and
Cary Harris (both selected in the NFL draft), but the crown jewel of the
defense returns in the form of All-American safety Taylor Mays. The 6-3, 235-
pounder could have left for the NFL after his junior campaign, but the two-
time All-American returns to anchor the Trojan defense and is poised for
another huge campaign.
With all the holes on both sides of the football heading into the season, most
teams would chalk up 2009 as a time to recruit heavily and reload for 2010 and
beyond.
However, if we have learned anything since the turn of the century, it is that
USC does not qualify as "most teams."
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Michigan looking to fix disappointing defense
By Tom Dienhart
June 30, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – New Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson is oblivious to the loud noises coming from next to his office.
Construction workers are whirling about on a major renovation of Schembechler Hall, but Robinson is too busy staring at his TV screen.
He isn't watching game film from 2008. What's the point, Robinson figures? He wasn't in charge of last season's defense, which struggled mightily. Instead, Robinson wants to form his own opinion of the players, so he studies cut-ups of spring practice.
"Watch this," says Robinson, who pushes a button on his remote, showing a big defensive lineman getting run over. "We can't have that. It's my job to decipher if the players were informed, uninformed, misinformed last year. We are trying to figure out who can and can't play for us.
"We have a lot of work to do. But we'll get there."
"There" could be contending for a Big Ten championship, something Michigan hasn't won since 2004. The last time the Wolverines went four seasons in a row without at least a share of the crown was 1993-96, and the program responded in a huge way by winning a share of the 1997 national championship.
No one is thinking BCS title this fall with the program coming off a stunningly horrid 3-9 season that saw college football's winningest program miss the postseason for the first time since 1974.
"I don't think you ever anticipate 3-9 bad," says Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, who is entering his second season on the job. "I didn't even back in my first year at West Virginia."
But the ugliness stares Rodriguez in the face. Robinson's, too, as he continues to watch the TV screen and jot notes. If everything had gone hunky-dory during Rodriguez's debut, Robinson wouldn't be sitting here.
Every college football observer expected Michigan's offense to founder last season as Rodriguez's spread-option offense was installed; the personnel wasn't a good fit for Rodriguez's scheme. But the defense? The defense was supposed to be a typical tough Michigan defense. Most felt a veteran unit with eight starters back would help keep things afloat while the offense found its legs.
It didn't happen, and defensive coordinator Scott Shafer was asked to leave, eventually landing as defensive coordinator at Syracuse - where Robinson had been coach last season.
Now Robinson is in Ann Arbor, trying to rehab a defense that wasn't helped by an offense that was even worse than expected (109th in the nation, at 290.8 yards per game). Turnovers were a huge problem, as Michigan ranked tied for 104th in the nation in turnover margin. All those turnovers put extra pressure on the defense, which couldn't handle it. The Wolverines ranked 67th in the nation in total defense (366.9 ypg), and the scoring defense was the worst in school history (28.9 points per game, 84th in the country).
"I thought defensively we'd be better," Rodriguez says. "I don't know if it was because the offense was ineffective that it put pressure on the defense. We just didn't play as well defensively as I thought we would.
"But there never is just one reason why you lose. We had so many unforced turnovers. I mean, we just dropped the ball. The Notre Dame game, we didn't even give ourselves a chance. Some areas, we were going to struggle regardless of what we did."
One head coach who faced the Wolverines last season thought the talent was there.
"I still think they had the players," says the coach, who asked to remain anonymous. "I thought their front seven was very good, but the secondary wasn't what I expected.
"I don't know if they really knew what they wanted to do philosophically. Scott is a 4-3 guy and Rich is a 3-3 guy [WVU ran a 3-3-5 set under Rodriguez]. There was a time when Rich was letting Scott do his thing, and then had him do some others. They never seemed to be on the same page."
That shouldn't happen this season. Robinson brings impressive credentials to Ann Arbor. While he struggled in four seasons as coach at Syracuse (a 10-37 record), he has forged a stellar reputation as a defensive coach. He was a longtime coordinator in the NFL with the New York Jets (1994), Denver Broncos (1995-2000, including helping the franchise to Super Bowl titles in 1997 and '98) and Kansas City Chiefs (2001-03) before returning to the college game in 2004 to run Texas' defense.
"It wasn't so much scheming, even though there were some philosophical differences," Rodriguez says of last season's struggles. "A lot of it – I didn't feel the chemistry was there between the defensive staff and most of the players. I thought that was important. I said, 'Greg, this is what I want. I need someone who can help and develop the chemistry among the staff and defensive players.'
"For whatever reason, it was missing last year. I thought Greg had the personality to do that. That was as important as anything. He is a positive guy and has a lot of experience. We need someone to bring all of the defensive assistants' minds together, and I thought Greg was the guy to do it."
Robinson will alter Michigan's scheme. He personally will coach a new position the Wolverines call "spinner," which is a hybrid linebacker/safety. Some longtime Michigan watchers compare the "spinner" role with the "wolfman" position that Bo Schembechler used.
This season's "spinner" likely will be senior Steve Brown, who started 11 games last season at free safety and one at nickelback. He'll be responsible for covering slot receivers and tight ends, as well as running backs. On running downs, the "spinner" can become the eighth man in the box.
The changes haven't stopped there. Robinson also has opted for a flex look along the line and wants to be able to morph from a four- to a three-man look. There also is a new position up front called the "quick," a combination end/linebacker. Sophomore Brandon Herron and junior Marell Evans look like the "quick" guys – rangy speedsters who are adept at playing in space. The idea is to inject more athletic ability to better deal with the wide-open offenses that have confounded Michigan most of this decade.
The front seven looks like the strength of the unit, thanks to big-play end Brandon Graham and linebackers Obi Ezeh and Jonas Mouton. And cornerback Donovan Warren is a good building block in the secondary.
"There are a lot of tough kids who want to be good in the worst way," Robinson says. "And I think the players will do what's demanded of them. I say that to our coaches and players all of the time: If we demand it, they'll do it.
"We have been very specific in what we are looking for in the area of effort, and we have gotten a great response. I have been very impressed."
He and Rodriguez will be even more impressed if it carries over to the field this fall.
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