Day 1 of ACC media days

Recapping the best of the first day of ACC media days From ESPN.com - College Football - Day 1 of ACC media days

ACC's Swofford says autonomy vote will pass

ACC's Swofford says autonomy vote will pass From College Football News : CBSSports.com - ACC's Swofford says autonomy vote will pass

ACC media day: Jameis Winston says he needs to be more accountable to his team

Jameis Winston has no ill feelings toward the media or even toward football fans — he knows he’s provided more than enough material to make himself a target.

But he said the past year has provided a learning experience about how scrutinized he is off the field and how he needs to repair that image to be a better leader on it.

“I've got to hold myself to a certain standard that the media may view me in, that the regular people may view me in, but I know I can do that because I've learned the true definition of being a leader and being a leader on and off the field,” Winston said during ACC media day on Sunday.

While Winston drew praise for leading Florida State to an undefeated record, a national championship and Heisman Trophy, he was also involved in multiple off-field incidents, including an alleged sexual assault and the shoplifting of crab legs from a local grocery store.

Winston’s off-field issues have dominated the headlines in the past year and he knows it’s distracted from the positive things he’s doing on the field. He also knows his teammates have had to deal with the unwanted publicity of his off-field behavior. He’s hoping to do away with that and turn the focus to football this coming season.

“As a leader for the Florida State Seminoles, I not only have to respect the name on the back of my jersey, but I have a great university that is looking for me to be a great student athlete, and more importantly I have teammates that are counting on me,” Winston said. “Accountability is something that's very important to me, and so, yes, I have learned, and I've learned that leadership is more important playing the quarterback position than anything else.”

Virginia Tech receivers looking for more consistency in 2014

Virginia Tech’s offensive woes were well-documented last season, especially in the passing game.

The receiving corps managed 236.2 yards per game, but there were a lot of drops, a lot of miscues and that yardage still ranked No. 9 in a pass-heavy ACC.

But things could change this season if Texas Tech transfer Michael Brewer brings his aptitude in a passing offenses to Blacksburg and perhaps, for the first time in Virginia Tech’s illustrious history, the Hokies could be looking at a 1,000-yard receiver.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Brewer hasn’t won the starting job; he hasn’t even competed for it. Sophomore Brenden Motley and fifth-year senior Mark Leal competed for the starting role in the spring and neither came out ahead, leaving the door open for Brewer in fall camp.

Whoever becomes the starting quarterback will have a stable of receivers that should be better this season. Included in that group are three players — Joshua Stanford, Demitri Knowles and Willie Byrn — who all caught for more than 600 yards last season.

Byrn said it will be important for the receivers to play well to get the new quarterback acclimated.

“Last year, I made some good plays, but I want to make every single play, all the really tough catches,” Byrn said. “I can't think of them as like, ‘Oh, man, I really wish I made that. That would have been a really nice catch.’ It's got to be I have to make that really nice catch, because whoever the quarterback is, it turns out to be, it's going to be their first year starting at Virginia Tech, so they're going to have some hiccups like everyone does their first year, and we have to — I have to bail them out of some mistakes that they make, and the same with the offensive line and the running backs and everything like that.”

Duke Johnson wants younger players to be ready

Miami running back Duke Johnson said he’s 100 percent after suffering a season-ending ankle injury in November, which caused him to miss spring football.

He said the injury gave him a new perspective on how to approach the game.

“I believe you should go full out regardless if you got hurt or not,” Johnson said. “Every game you should go out because you never know when that play might come where you can't play anymore.”

Johnson said the injury also gave him a greater affinity for younger players who might need to step in when a starter goes down. When he was injured against Florida State, the running game suffered. It went from averaging 214.7 yards per game to just 96.83 yards per game, including a paltry 14 rushing yards in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

“One of my main things that I'm focusing on is making sure the young guys are caught up, making sure they're focused and they're ready because at any given time someone could go down and the next guy in has to take over,” Johnson said. “We don't need to miss a beat with the next guy in.”

DeVante Parker ready for a new league, offense

Louisville star receiver DeVante Parker had a chance to leave school early for the NFL, but decided to stay and experience a new offense and a new league.

The Cardinals will open their first season as a member of the ACC with new coach Bobby Petrino, who Parker said is a lot different than former coach Charlie Strong.

“The biggest difference in Coach Petrino, he's more a vertical type of coach, and he's offense based,” Parker said. “Coach Strong is more defense based. That's the difference between them two.”

Parker said while he’s looking forward to playing in his third league in the past three seasons — the Cardinals were in the Big East then the AAC and now the ACC — he said he's most looking forward to his first trip to one of college football’s most iconic stadiums.

“I'm looking forward to going to Death Valley because I heard that's a pretty tough environment," he said. "I just would like the chance to go there and play and see how it feels."

Cole Stoudt ready for his chance

Cole Stoudt started the spring in a three-man race to replace star quarterback Tajh Boyd, but when it was all over, Stoudt was the clear choice to lead Clemson forward.

Stoudt, a senior, said he never thought about transferring despite waiting three seasons behind Boyd. Instead, he made the most of his opportunities and completed 79.7 percent of his passes for five touchdowns and no interceptions last season.

He told media Sunday that he prepared every game like he would eventually get his chance and now that he is getting his turn to start, he plans to make the most of it.

"I’m very comfortable with the situation I'm in,” Stoudt said. “I've always been a relaxed kind of guy that goes out there and operates the system and plays the best I possibly can. The past couple years, every time I went in, I always maximized my opportunities. Last year I think I did that the best. I set a couple records for accuracy and passing efficiency, and I'm very proud of that, but I also have to continue to keep getting better, myself better and the team.”

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday

From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - ACC media day: Jameis Winston says he needs to be more accountable to his team

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FSU's Winston: Have to 'live up to the hype'

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston said Sunday at the ACC's preseason kickoff that he'd learned some valuable lessons about the glare of the spotlight he's endured -- and in some cases, created -- during the past year. From ESPN.com - College Football - FSU's Winston: Have to 'live up to the hype'

Florida State gives players 'state championship' rings for win against Florida and Miami

Florida State won the national championship and the ACC title, and celebrated each of those victories by providing each player a ring to commemorate the occasion.

But players also got one other ring to add to their repertoire — a state championship ring.

The State Champion and ACC Champion rings have arrived at #FSU! #MoreBling http://ift.tt/1tnBfev

— FSU Gameday (@FlaStateGameday) July 19, 2014

That’s right, Florida State passed out rings to its player for beating injury-riddled Miami and Florida last season.

Not sure that’s something worth celebrating especially since the Seminoles have defeated Miami each of the last four seasons and Florida in three of the past four years, but hey, why not keep the spoils coming.

What do you think? Should Florida State have issued state championship rings?

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday

From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Florida State gives players 'state championship' rings for win against Florida and Miami

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Jameis Winston thinks his scholarship is enough, doesn't want to be paid while in school

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is not in favor of being paid to play college football.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner and national champion said he thinks what the university is currently offering him is enough.

Jameis Winston asked abt college athletes being paid: "We're blessed to get a free education.. And that's enough for me." #fsu

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) July 20, 2014

OK, go ahead an make your jokes about stealing crab legs, everyone else on the Internet already has.

Though it is interesting that a player who helped make his university millions and millions of dollars last season based on his likeness, his jersey sales and his play has no qualms about not seeing a dime kicked back to him.

Lucky for other marketable NCAA players, the power conference commissioners see differently and have plans to provide cost-of-attendance scholarships and discuss other benefits for elite athletes should the power conferences gain the autonomy to do so.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday

From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Jameis Winston thinks his scholarship is enough, doesn't want to be paid while in school

ACC asks the NCAA to allow in-helmet communication in 2015

The ACC will not be allowed to use helmet cams and coach-quarterback communications systems this season, but ACC commissioner John Swofford said the NCAA rules committee would discuss it in February 2015.

In June, the ACC asked the NCAA if it could experiment with communication devices, but the NCAA rules committee turned down the request because there wasn’t enough time to evaluate it before the season kicked off in August.

One of the other issues for the NCAA is how coach-quarterback communication systems would be used and whether it is something that would be attainable for every team.

"This has been something we've talked about at a national coordinator discussion," said Steve Shaw, the SEC coordinator of officials, told CBSSports.com. "We think it could help clean up sidelines because coaches don't have to come out and signal plays. What's the cost of it? Could every team purchase it?

"But it's become a topic."

The ACC will, however, experiment with biometric systems this year, which can measure the overall health of each player. The most common system used is called Catapult, which says it can measure and track performances in real time as well as performance over time. It can track hydration, sleep status and overall wellness, as well. In short, a training staff can learn everything it needs to know about the health and wellness of every athlete on the team.

Florida State wore Catapult vests last season and coach Jimbo Fisher said they contributed to the Seminoles’ national championship.

“It's allowed [in games by the NCAA] anyway,” Doug Rhodes, ACC coordinator of officials, told CBSSports.com. “It's never been formalized. You can use it in practice all along. It's always been fuzzy about the game.”

The NCAA allows the use of biometric vests as long as they provide only one-way data and the data is only used for health tracking purposes.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday

From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - ACC asks the NCAA to allow in-helmet communication in 2015

Swofford: Power 5 autonomy vote will pass

ACC commissioner John Swofford is confident a proposal granting the power-five conferences more autonomy will pass when it comes up for a vote next month. From ESPN.com - College Football - Swofford: Power 5 autonomy vote will pass

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June Jones wants smaller FBS conferences to break off and start their own spring league

June Jones sees the writing on the wall.

With the four-team playoff and college football’s top five conference pushing toward greater autonomy, SMU’s head coach knows that opportunities for schools in the outlying conferences — American Athletic, Conference USA, MAC Mountain West, and Sun Belt — aren’t going to have much impact on the national scale.

So, on Friday, Jones went on a Tampa Bay radio station and proposed a (harebrained) solution — move the non-power conference to the spring.

"I'll go ahead and say it right now," Jones told Tampa's WDEA-AM. "I think the have-nots should go ahead and move to the spring just like the USFL did. I think that there's an opportunity to do a complete other side of that division, and I think that if we don't think that way as a group of have-nots, we're going to get left behind. I can see in 5-to-7 years, possibly, the public would demand to have the two leagues play, just like I think the USFL had in mind, originally, of the winner of the USFL playing the winner of the National Football League."

You can listen to all Jones' ramblings here:

Jones has a history with the United State Football League (USFL). He was a wide receivers coach for the Houston Gamblers in 1984 and then the Denver Gold in 1985, so his crazy has a backstory. But just because he's using his history to put this idea out for national consumption doesn't mean it's a good idea.

No matter how much people would love to see college football played year round, there’s a multitude of reasons why this won’t work. Setting aside the fact that college football is made for the fall, this would conflict with the NFL draft. Would the NFL have to hold a separate draft for players in the league? That’s not likely to happen. What about recruiting? Would these teams be working on a different recruiting calendar? What if a player wanted to transfer from Michigan State to Western Michigan, would he just play back-to-back seasons?

Also, this would change the way schedules are composed. Several of these non-power conference teams play power conference teams and get paid a lot of money to do so, which helps fund their athletic departments. On the flip side, are the power conferences really ready to play 12 games against other power conference teams? FCS teams — and Kentucky and Colorado — only have so much room on their schedules.

And then, of course, there’s attractiveness. Fans aren’t filling stadiums to watch Toledo and Bowling Green or Troy and Western Kentucky as it is, so what makes Jones think that would suddenly happen? These matchups aren’t marketable now and won’t be marketable during a spring season. Millions of people aren’t tuning in to watch Colorado State play Tulsa in a national championship no matter how badly they need a college football fix.

Quite honestly, the non-power conference teams are in a better monetary spot today than they were even a year ago. Those conferences will make $75 million, which is more the five times what they made in 2013. Think they’re going to make that much going out on their own?

I applaud Jones for thinking out of the box, but his logic is flawed. Telling the non-power conference teams to go out on their own without any tangible plan is reckless and would lead to a lot of schools crawling back to the system that's already in place.

Oh, and one thing Jones forgot to mention, the USFL only lasted three years before it succumbed to its superior product, the NFL.

Thanks to Football Scoop

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!Follow @YahooDrSaturday

From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - June Jones wants smaller FBS conferences to break off and start their own spring league

Non-Power 5 leaders: 'No chance' of spring play

Commissioners from the non-Power Five conferences vehemently disagreed with June Jones' suggestion that those leagues should play in the spring to avoid going head-to-head with the bigger conferences. From ESPN.com - College Football - Non-Power 5 leaders: 'No chance' of spring play

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