LSU football taking weekend off from hosting possible players; prospects have bowl game
BATON ROUGE - LSU is not hosting any prospects this weekend, but several players who have either committed to LSU or are being recruited by LSU will be playing in the Sportsman Paradise Bowl at 1 p.m. Saturday in Lafayette.
Among the LSU commitments scheduled to play in the game are Mansfield's Chris Davenport, the No. 5 defensive tackle in the nation according to Rivals.com, Leesville's Michael Ford, the No. 9 tailback, and Rayville's Kenny Bell, the No. 37 wide receiver.
Among the players LSU is recruiting who are expected to play in the game are Alex Singleton, the No. 12 fullback out of East St. John High near New Orleans who has committed to Tulsa, Darrington Sentimore, the No. 21 defensive tackle out of Destrehan High near New Orleans who has committed to Alabama, Tahj Jones, the No. 36 outside linebacker out of Sulphur High in Sulphur who is also being recruited by Minnesota, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech, and defensive end Benny Logan of Red River High in Coushatta who is also being recruited by Nebraska and Texas Tech.
Singleton and Jones are scheduled to visit LSU on the weekend of Jan. 16-18.
On the weekend of Jan. 23-25, LSU will host commitment Janzen Jackson, the No. 2 cornerback in the nation out of Barbe High in Lake Charles, and Alabama commitment Trent Richardson, the No. 2 tailback in the nation out Escambia High in Pensacola, Fla. Jackson is visiting Tennessee this weekend, and his father - McNeese State assistant coach Lance Guidry - may be at Tennessee next week to interview for a coaching job on new coach Lane Kiffin's staff.
On the final weekend of Jan. 30 through Feb. 1, LSU is scheduled to host Jarvis Jones, the No. 3 outside linebacker out of Carver High in Columbus, Ga., and Logan.
Signing day is Wednesday, Feb. 4.
RANDLE VISITING AUBURN:New Auburn coach Gene Chizik has landed a visit from the Rivals.com No. 1 overall prospect in the nation. Bastrop wide receiver Rueben Randle, who has been mainly deciding between LSU and Alabama, is at Auburn this weekend.
ROOM FOR ONE MORE: LSU will have at least one more scholarship available than expected for signing day on Feb. 4 and maybe more. LSU coach Les Miles has confirmed that academically troubled junior defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois will declare a year early for the NFL draft. Jean-Francois has been plagued by academic struggles throughout his career and was suspended for most of the 2007 season for academic-related matters.
ESPN.com reported last week that Jean-Francois would leave LSU a year early.
"I think Ricky Jean may well be gone," Miles said this week. "I think it's likely that would be the one that would leave, and I think there's certainly a couple guys that are still considering it."
Those are tailback Charles Scott, offensive tackle Ciron Black and wide receiver Brandon LaFell - all juniors. Scott said after the Chick-fil-A Bowl that he was staying, but he has more time to reconsider. The deadline to declare for the NFL draft is Jan. 15.
ENROLLING MONDAY: An LSU record six players will enroll early on Monday after graduating in December from high school or junior college and be able to participate in spring drills. Those include No. 1 dual-action quarterback prospect Russell Shephard of Cypress Ridge High in Houston and No. 16 pro-style quarterback prospect Chris Garrett of Tupelo, Miss.
The other four are Kevin Minter, the No. 17 inside linebacker in the nation out of Peachtree Ridge High in Suwanee, Ga., Drayton Calhoun, the No. 10 athlete out of Tucker High in Tucker, Ga., Dexter Pratt, the No. 9 athlete out of Navasota High in Navasota, Texas, and kicker Derek Helton of Fort Scott Community College in Kansas.
Copyright (c)2009 The Daily World
Johnson, Harvill show off skills
SAN ANTONIO - A couple of Arkansas athletes performed well Friday at the U.S. Army All-American combine and helped their status on the national recruiting scene.
Pine Bluff quarterback Claude Johnson, 6-1, 200 pounds, made up for a slower running times than he expected by showing off his passing touch Friday afternoon during passing drills, comparing favorably with many of the other top quarterbacks in the combine.
"I made some good, accurate and strong throws," Johnson said. "The receivers helped me out a lot because there's a lot of good players out here. I do believe I was one of the best out here.
"Some of them do have more height, and that's an advantage in college football right now, but I have heart and I play hard. I feel like I can play with anyone."
Johnson ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash and a 4.35-second proshuttle time in the early morning testing.
"I didn't do as good as usual because I'm in baseball right now, "Johnson said. "But I'll get better."
The early buzz at the combine involved Shiloh Christian sophomore defensive lineman Samuel Harvill, who shattered the combine's bench press record by lifting 185 pounds 55 times. The previous record was 41 repetitions.
Harvill followed that up with an impressive performance in the afternoon during 1-on-1 drills when he went up against highly recruited Robert Crisp, an offensive lineman from Chapel Hill, N.C., who reportedly has more than 30 scholarships offers.
Harvill, 6-1, 250, 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash, held his own against the 6-7, 310-pound Crisp in multiple matchups. Harvill's effort Friday will no doubt help his national reputation and keep his name out front with many national recruiting analysts.
Little Rock Christian running back Michael Dyer chose not to participate in the combine because of a lingering ankle injury he sustained in the middle of the season. Dyer was frustrated that he couldn't compete, but he said he enjoyed the experience nonetheless.
"There's lots of good competition and lots of good energy around here," said Dyer, who is rated by many as one of the top junior running backs in the nation. "It's just a privilege just being around all these guys."
Copyright (c) 2001-2009 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc
Williams key for Penn St
ANAHEIM - Derrick Williams actually stood still Friday, but for only a few minutes as he talked about his impact on the Penn State football program in an appropriate setting just a few yards from Disneyland's rocket ships.
Armed with his own turbo booster, Williams not only electrified the home crowd at Beaver Stadium this season for the 11-1 Nittany Lions, he gave Penn State the zip it needed to land in Thursday's Rose Bowl against USC.
The senior is listed at 6-foot, 199 pounds, both of which seem to be on the generous side. But there is no mistaking his speed and elusiveness as the team MVP racked up 40 catches for 451 yards, 226 more yards rushing, two kickoff returns for scores and one punt return for a touchdown. He ended the season with 14 combined TDs.
Penn State is counting on Williams' speed as being the great neutralizer for the 9 -point underdogs.
"Speed makes a huge difference," Williams said from the Rose Bowl's annual Disneyland media day. "You see coverages kicked over to you. You see guys playing off a few more yards. There is just a lot more they do to try to eliminate you because they know if you get just a step, you can go all the way."
If USC wants to know what kind of damage Williams can do, all it needs to do is to grab a videotape of Penn State's victory over Illinois.
Williams' three-touchdown day was so amazing, it ended up being a first in the storied history of Penn State coach Joe Paterno.
Never before had a Penn State player under Paterno scored a touchdown in a single game via pass, the run and kickoff return. His 241 all-purpose yards that day were the most since Larry Johnson in 2002.
It was the 94-yard kickoff return early in the fourth quarter that signified special things were ahead this season for the Nittany Lions. Illinois had cut Penn State's lead to seven points early in the fourth quarter, when Williams snuffed all of the Illini's momentum.
"That game felt great to me but it was more of an accomplishment for the whole team," Williams said. "That was a big kick return that we had, the second one of the year. Everybody completed their assignments, the offense and everybody completed things to get things done, and I was luckily in the spots where I could make plays."
Now a senior, Williams looks back to his freshman season in order to deal with all the fuss that is going on this week with Rose Bowl preparations.
"I don't think it's going to be that difficult (to stay focused)," Williams said. "We have the best college football coach in history (Joe Paterno). He's been through a lot of different games and different weather; everything you could throw up there coach Paterno has been through it."
Copyright (c)2008 Los Angeles Newspaper group
Roundup: Southern Miss. boots Troy with overtime FG
NEW ORLEANS Michael McGee blocked a potential tying field-goal attempt in overtime, giving Southern Mississippi a 30-27 comeback victory against Troy on Sunday night.
Troy held the Golden Eagles to Britt Barefoot's 39-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime, but that wound up being enough to win their third New Orleans Bowl in as many appearances.
The Trojans, winners of the Sun Belt Conference, led 27-17 after Jerrel Jernigan's 6-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
Southern Mississippi responded with Austin Davis' 35-yard touchdown to Jonathan Massey on fourth-and-2 with 7minutes, 20seconds left in regulation. Barefoot tied it with his 46-yard field goal with 2:50 to go.
Minutes after his 67th catch of the season set a school record, Golden Eagles freshman receiver DeAndre Brown fractured his left leg and was taken to the hospital during the first quarter.
Las Vegas Bowl
ARIZONA 31, No.17 BRIGHAM YOUNG 21: Willie Tuitama threw for 325 yards and two scores late Saturday for the Wildcats, who won their first bowl since beating Nebraska in the 1998 Holiday Bowl.
Arizona stifled quarterback Max Hall, forcing him to lose two fumbles and throw an interception.
The Wildcats (8-5) kept the ball in the air most of the game. Tuitama finished 24-for-35 and threw a 37-yard touchdown to Delashaun Dean that gave the Wildcats the lead for good, and a 24-yard strike to Chris Gronkowski that sent Cougars fans toward the exits.
Notes
EASTERN MICHIGAN: Ron English, Louisville's defensive coordinator in 2008 after serving on Lloyd Carr's staff at Michigan for five seasons, will be the Eagles' new coach, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. He would be the fifth black head coach in major college football.
SOUTH FLORIDA: All-America defensive end George Selvie said he will wait to hear from the NFL's advisory board to see where he might be drafted, but he wants to come back for a senior year.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Redshirt sophomore running back C.J. Gable said he is considering leaving the Trojans for the NFL.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN: The No.11 Horned Frogs might play without starting senior linebacker Robert Henson in Tuesday's Poinsettia Bowl.
charlotteobserver.com
Southeast Missourian football Player of the Year: Jackson's Mr. Versatility
Blake Peiffer played every position on the offensive line this season - something he offered to do early this season.
"I told coach that if he needed me anywhere on the line, I could play all [the] positions," Peiffer said.
The coaching staff took advantage of Peiffer's versatility.
The Jackson senior started the Indians' Sept. 12 contest with Gateway Tech at offensive tackle with his regular No. 59 jersey. But during halftime, the coaching staff decided to move him to tight end. So Peiffer was given a new jersey with a new number that made him eligible to catch passes.
Peiffer already had proved he was a top defensive player while starting at linebacker both his sophomore and junior seasons, even leading the Indians in tackles (112) as a junior.
He continued to play terrific defense again this season, leading Southeast Missouri with 162 tackles. He did it while also starting on the offensive line in more than half of Jackson's games and playing all the positions - center, guard, tackle and tight end. Because of his versatility and ability to create havoc on defense, Peiffer is the Southeast Missourian football Player of the Year.
Peiffer has received a scholarship offer to play football at Southeast Missouri State next fall and has entertained interest from Iowa.
Peiffer, who helped lead the Indians to their second straight Class 5 state semifinal berth, also plans to send out film to other schools.
But Jackson lost its semifinal to Hazelwood East 33-6, falling one win shy of playing in the Class 5 championship game for the second consecutive year.
"With his intensity and his love of the game and actual understanding of the game, he's been an impact player for us," Jackson coach Van Hitt said.
Peiffer understood the importance of helping out on the offensive line because the line had graduated all of its starters from the 2007 team.
With a young and inexperienced group, Peiffer started the year playing center. He moved to tight end the second game and played tackle in the first half of the third game before moving to tight end. By the final game, Peiffer was starting at left guard.
Peiffer had done his homework on all the positions before the season.
"It wasn't really too tough because from sophomore to junior year I learned all the positions really and knew what they all entailed," Peiffer said.
Peiffer's real passion, however, remained playing defense.
"I just like running around, hitting people," Peiffer said. "That's the main thing."
Peiffer, whose father is a retired NFL center for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins, had four sacks, 17 tackles for loss and one interception, which he returned for his first touchdown at any level of football.
"He kind of sets the standard for [the linebackers]," Hitt said. "They all kind of follow in his footsteps to a degree. ... He loves the contact aspect of football. That's the part that really attracts Blake."
Peiffer said he just felt like a better player this season. He let his instincts take him to the ball more than thinking and reacting.
Peiffer said he could not have asked for a better group of teammates at linebacker that included Ryan Marble and all-Southeast Missourian team selections Drew Bucher and Cole Rodgers.
"All four of us knew what the other ones were capable of and what we were going to do and what are jobs were," Peiffer said. "So it made it easier ... because then you could fly around and do what you had to do out there."
Peiffer had 15 tackles in each of his first two games, 16 tackles in a win over Central and 16 tackles in the regular-season lost to Eureka.
"This year we were kind of competing with each other," Rodgers said. "He got the better of me. He's got a nose for the ball. He knows where the ball is at all the time and he can get to it. That's what you really want to do and he's good at doing it.
"He likes to challenge us before games. On kickoff ... he was lined up right across from me and he was always challenging me, telling me he was going to beat me down the field and stuff. We're always trying to compete and stuff."
Peiffer also is a member of the Jackson wrestling program and track and field program, competing as a thrower. He said he plans to focus on wrestling during the winter. He plans to start to run and lift weights more to prepare for college football when the spring arrives.
"Like I've told everybody, football is basically my life," Peiffer said. "I've loved it since I was a little kid. Right now I just want to get somewhere I can play in the future. Like I said, I'm not really sure where yet. But I just want to find somewhere that fits me right now and just get my chance to play there. I don't really know what kind of expectations people have for me, but I always set high goals for myself."
Peiffer added that he always would reflect back on his career at Jackson positively.
"I told coach Hitt at the end of the year that he was what made me the player that I was," Peiffer said. "And that is what will help me throughout my college career. So like I said, I couldn't have asked to play at a better school, better coaches, better teammates and the atmosphere, too. You couldn't get that anywhere else."
(c) 2008 Southeast Missourian
Will the Devils go bowling?
It's the final week of the regular season in the Pac-10, and there's three games on the docket. The Ty Willingham era comes to an end at Washington, if you're a fan of white jerseys and timeouts, you'll hate the USC-UCLA game, and can Arizona State pump some life into their sputtering offense in Tucson?
Here's a closer look at the Pac-10 action in Week 15…(by the way, it's ridiculous that there are 15 weeks of regular season college football. Yet, we can't lenghten the season for a playoff. Makes perfect sense. How about adding a fourth bye week next year?)
Washington (0-11, 0-8) at California (7-4, 5-3) - 1:00 PM - Memorial Stadium, Berkeley, California. Washington hasn't gone winless since 1889. They went 0-1 that year, losing to Eastern College Alumni 20-0. One hundred nineteen years later, that same Eastern College Alumni team would be favored by 7.5 over Ty Willingham's Huskies. This season has been an endless nightmare for the UW, starting all the way back in September, when the Huskies were bent over by the officials on a controversial call in a loss to BYU - and that was the high point of the season. The Huskies have lost 13 straight, dating back to last season. It'll be 14 on Saturday. And whether it's Steve Sarkisian or Mike Leach who takes over Washington's coaching reigns, even one victory will be a marked improvement over 2008.
>>CALIFORNIA 48, WASHINGTON 9<<
USC (10-1, 7-1) at UCLA (4-7, 3-5) - 2:30 PM - Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California. USC's Pete Carroll made headlines earlier this week when he announced that he'll be willing to forfeit two timeouts (one per half) on Saturday if his Trojans can wear their red home jerseys on the road against UCLA. Bruins' head coach Rick Neuheisel, recognizing the tradition of this rivalry, favors the idea, and will burn two timeouts to even the playing field.
The fact that there will be two teams wearing their home jerseys might be the only intrigue in this game. The Trojans are favored by 33 points, and should cover that with no problem. Remember after Neuheisel took the UCLA job, and the university took out full page ads in L.A. area papers announcing that "the football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over." USC remembers. And the Bruins will too.
>>USC 54, UCLA 6<<
Arizona State (5-6, 4-4) at Arizona (6-5, 4-4) - 6:00 PM - Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ. It's hard to believe that a team that lost 6 straight games at one point of the season is still eligible for a bowl game. And yes, that is also a sign that THERE'S WAY TOO MANY FRIGGING BOWL GAMES! The Sun Devils have won three straight in this rivalry, but find themselves 10 point dogs to the Wildcats, who have lost their last two games. The Sun Devils offense has been atrocious, and gained only 121 yards in last week's 34-9 win over UCLA. Their defense has been opportunistic as of late, scoring touchdowns in 4 straight games, including 4 against UCLA. In fact, the Devils were one yard away from scoring in a 5th straight game. Against Oregon, linebacker Morris Wooten returned an interception to the one-yard line setting up a Sun Devil touchdown. The key to Arizona's success has been their surprising running game. The Wildcats, who put people on notice a year ago with their powerful spread offense passing attack have actually run the ball 56% of the time this season. Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin have combined for 21 rushing touchdowns on the season. There's a lot of hatred in this rivalry, and recently the games have been close, and have hinged on one or two plays. That won't be the case on Saturday.
>>ARIZONA 27, ARIZONA STATE 17<<
Copyright (c) 2008 Fanster.com - All Sports. All Phoenix
Carousel spins for MAC head coaches
The grim reaper has made a home in the Mid-American Conference as four head football coaches already have seen their employment end via resignations or firings.
Not returning are Jeff Genyk at Eastern Michigan, Tom Amstutz at Toledo, Shane Montgomery at Miami and Gregg Brandon at Bowling Green. If, as expected, Ball State's Brady Hoke and Buffalo's Turner Gill become hot candidates for numerous other vacant jobs around the country, the MAC coaching ranks could be thinned even more.
Of those four, Brandon was a career winner (44-30) in six seasons with Bowling Green, but his popularity waned drastically this season as a team that began with an opening day upset at Pitt, proceeded to run hot and cold. The signature game was likely the MAC East first-place showdown at home against Buffalo.
BG led, 27-7, early in the fourth quarter, but lost in overtime, 40-34. The Falcons finished the season 6-6, 4-4, good for bowl eligibility and second in the MAC East, but not enough to keep Brandon at the helm.
Let's talk:
Gill, in particular, is almost assured of being on most search lists as he is one of the few minority head football coaches left. There were six to begin the season, but with the loss of Ron Prince (Kansas State), Ty Willingham (Washington) and Sylvester Croom (Mississippi State), only three remain. Gill, who led Buffalo to a 7-5 season and the MAC East Division title, is the only winner in the bunch. Combining that with Gill's pedigree as a former quarterback and coach at Nebraska as well as his NFL experience, it might be hard for the Bulls to keep him.
Names and numbers:
Akron senior tailback Dennis Kennedy finished a strong season with 153 yards rushing against Temple in the Zips' 27-6 loss. That gave Kennedy 1,321 yards rushing on the season with 17 TDs. . . . Kent tailback Eugene Jarvis, who missed three games mid-season because of injury, still finished with 801 yards rushing after posting 150 yards and two TDs in Kent's season-ending upset over Buffalo. Kent's QB, Julian Edelman, finished a dual threat season with 1,820 yards passing with 13 TDs plus 1,370 yards rushing with another 13 TDs.
The Big Man on Campus, however, is Eastern Michigan junior QB Andy Schmitt, who backed up a 50-of-76 passing performance for 484 yards in a 55-52 loss to Temple with a season-ending 58-of-80 passing effort for 516 yards and 5 TDs in a 56-52 upset over Central Michigan. In those two games, he threw 151 passes before throwing an interception. Schmitt's 76 attempts in a game (vs. Temple) without a pick is an NCAA record, ditto the 58 completions vs. Eastern Michigan. His 80 attempts vs. CMU are three shy of Drew Brees (Purdue) record of 83 set in 1998.
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