From Gossip, Fast Fashion, Female Lifestyle, Sex & Love: CollegeCandy » College Candy - “Ignore No More” App Forces You to Call Your Parents Louisville’s season hasn’t even started yet and he’s already drawing criticism — from inside his program.
According to Sports Illustrated, which cites sources with ties to the program, Petrino has had feuds with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and several players, who wanted to leave Petrino’s program before it even got started.
Sports Illustrated said there has been quite a bit of “friction” between Petrino and Grantham and that Petrino would have gotten rid of Grantham were it not for the guaranteed five-year contract that pays Grantham $1 million annually.
It’s important to note that Grantham was hand-picked by Petrino. Grantham had spent the previous four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Georgia and had some notable confrontations there. He got into some hot water with Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity in 2011 after Grantham got into a confrontation with Vanderbilt coach James Franklin.
In 2010, Grantham gave the choke signal to Florida’s kicker in overtime.
But Grantham isn’t the only one Petrino is rubbing the wrong way.
Sports Illustrated noted that several players thought of leaving the team and entering the NFL’s supplemental draft in June.
“He’s a mean guy,” Jamaine Brooks, a former Louisville defensive tackle who left this past spring told Sports Illustrated. “He cusses you out. You’re never doing enough. He’s still Bobby Mother------- Petrino.”
No other players from Petrino’s former teams have publicly — publicly —mentioned verbal abuse from Petrino or noted that he’s difficult with which to deal. However, there was a small mention of it in an 2012 column in the Arkansas News.
Brooks told Sports Illustrated he originally supported Petrino’s hiring, but changed his tune after practicing under him.
“The way he came in doing business I didn’t like it,” Brooks said. “The way he treated people. He just wasn’t a good coach.”
For more Louisville news, visit CardinalSports.com.
- - - - - - -
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
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio was forced to do some shuffling to his offensive line after starting right guard Connor Kruse suffered an undisclosed injury in Friday’s scrimmage.
Dantonio said that the injury is “not season ending” and Kruse, a 6-foot-5, 325-pound senior, is expected back at some point this season.
With Kruse out, per Mlive.com, Dantonio moved junior Donavon Clark from right tackle inside to right guard. Additionally, redshirt sophomore Kodi Kieler will make the move to right tackle and junior Brandon Clemons will switch from defensive tackle to guard to provide depth.
Kieler primarily saw action on special teams for the Spartans last year and will likely join Clark (right guard), junior Jack Allen (center), senior Travis Jackson (left guard) and redshirt sophomore Jack Conklin (left tackle) on the team’s first-team offensive line.
“We’re very comfortable, Kodi Kieler is one of the guys I looked at in the spring,” Dantonio said. “He had an outstanding spring. He’s a very athletic big guy, he’s tough, and he knows what to do.”
The injury is a tough blow for Kruse, who played his first two years as a walk-on before earning a scholarship prior to the 2012 season. He saw time at all five line positions as a rotational player in 2013, but was entering his first season as a full-time starter. For his career, he’s played in 28 total games.
Coming off a Big Ten title and a win in the Rose Bowl, the Spartans’ season will open up at home against Jacksonville State on August 29. In week two, the Spartans, who were ranked No. 8 in the recent preseason AP poll, will travel across the country to face No. 3 Oregon.
For more Michigan State news, visit SpartanMag.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
Oklahoma freshman running back Joe Mixon pleaded not guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of assault.
Mixon is accused of punching a female Oklahoma student in the face at a restaurant on July 25. The victim, 20-year-old Amelia Rae Molitor, told The Oklahoman that Mixon broke her “face in four places.”
According to the police affidavit, Molitor was knocked unconscious and suffered "a fractured jaw, fractured cheek bone, fractured sinus, and fractured orbit which caused a hematoma on the left eye."
The entire incident, which was allegedly brought on by Mixon using a homosexual slur toward the victim’s friend, was caught on surveillance cameras in the restaurant.
Mixon’s attorney, Kevin Finlay, has claimed Mixon acted in self-defense.
Mixon posted bond and will return to court on Sept. 23. He has not been allowed to report to Oklahoma’s fall camp.
For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.
- - - - - - -
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
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
On Monday, Arizona State became the latest program to unveil a new alternate uniform for the upcoming season. Per a release from the program, the new look is supposed to symbolize the state of Arizona’s “long history as a top copper-producing state.”
The uniforms are “copper and anthracite” and were created to “expand the school’s image and honor the state’s heritage.” The final product makes for a pretty sharp look.
According to the release, the new helmet is the 10th new design in the last three seasons. This one features a copper chrome facemask and a copper stripe down the middle. With the addition of the jersey, the Sun Devils have four different jersey options and five different pants to choose from.
“We wanted to pay homage to this great state while keeping the team’s look consistent,” said head coach Todd Graham. “We are one of the top few teams in the nation with as many looks and combinations as we have, and this plays an important role in building a national fanbase and molding Arizona State University into a household name.”
The school said that it has yet to choose a game in which the copper uniforms will make their debut.
“As players, we love to look like one of a kind on the field,” said redshirt senior quarterback Taylor Kelly. “Uniforms are important because they have a huge impact on recruiting and our fan base, and this new looks is awesome and very unique in a number of ways, especially the gray and copper chrome facemask.”
ASU’s rival, Arizona, also honored the state’s copper history with an alternate helmet back in 2012. With the new look, Arizona State says it is the “first college football program in the state to incorporate copper into all aspects of the uniform.”
Coming off a 10-4 season, the Sun Devils’ 2014 campaign opens up against Weber State at home on August 28 – a Thursday night game.
For more Arizona State news, visit ASUDevils.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
Louisiana Tech had a balanced receiving corp where six different players caught at least 26 passes last season. The eligibility of four of those players expired following the 2013 season, but the program learned on Monday that another would return for his sixth year.
Sterling Griffin, who led the Bulldogs with 357 receiving yards last season, has been granted a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. Griffin, a South Florida transfer, has battled injuries his entire collegiate career.
“Sterling is what the sixth year rule is made for,” head coach Skip Holtz said in a release. “This wasn’t something we were worried about as long as the NCAA looked at it with the doctor’s notes and the surgery notes, and it was well documented what was there. Any time you are dealing with it, it is always nice to have that final word. So, it was great when we got the call that Sterling has been approved for his sixth year and we are going to need him because right now it is going to be one of the staples on our offense on the perimeter.”
Griffin played under Holtz at South Florida and sat out the entire 2010 season with an ankle injury and missed the majority of the 2012 season for the Bulls due to a torn ACL. After he graduated from USF, Griffin then transferred to Louisiana Tech to finish his playing career under Holtz.
In his first season with the Bulldogs, the 6-foot-1, 189-pound Griffin started 10 games, was second on the team with 33 receptions and was tied for the team lead with two others with two touchdown catches. In parts of three seasons at South Florida, Griffin, a former three-star recruit in the class of 2009, caught 59 passes for 838 yards and six scores.
“I think the NCAA is very fair with this and I think it is a great rule,” Holtz said. “It is in place for a purpose for a young man with two season-ending injuries and is only allowed to play three years of college football, this grants him his fourth year to actually get on the field and play. I think it is a great rule. We had talked and were not even going to worry about it, not going to stress about it. This was done the day we sent it in but it is nice to have that final confirmation.”
Griffin and sophomore Trent Taylor (28 catches, 260 yards and two TDs) figure to be the top two receivers for the Bulldogs going into the season.
Holtz has not yet determined who will be the team’s starting quarterback when the season opens with a tough road matchup against Oklahoma, but the competition is down to senior Iowa transfer Cody Sokol and sophomore Ryan Higgins. Higgins threw for 1,715 yards, six touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season.
The Bulldogs went 4-8 in 2013.
For more Louisiana Tech news, visit BleedTechBlue.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
UMass will start the season without what was supposed to be one of its top offensive weapons.
Coach Mark Whipple announced Monday that running back Drew Harris, a transfer from ASA College in New York, has left the program basically because the two entities couldn’t get along.
"He's gone. He left. It just wasn't a good fit," Whipple said. "Personally, he was a good kid, but it just wasn't a good fit for the program.
"We've got too many other issues to worry about things I can't control.”
Whipple didn’t offer much more than that and didn’t know where Harris was headed next.
Harris was a prized four-star recruit out of Downington East High in Exton, Pa., and had originally committed to Virginia Tech. He also had offers from schools such as Georgia, Miami, Michigan State, Penn State and South Carolina. But academic issues arose when Harris didn't get proper credits from a course at Downington East and he was advised to make up the credit at Fork Union Military Academy. However, the NCAA Clearinghouse flagged Harris’ transcript and said the credits wouldn’t transfer and declared him academically ineligible.
Harris was added to the UMass roster in July and was declared the most highly-touted recruit to ever come to UMass. He rushed for 4,977 career yards at Downingtown before tearing his left ACL four games into his senior season.
With Harris gone, Whipple said a group of four running backs, led by Jamal Wilson, would compete for playing time.
- - - - - - -
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
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
A few days after the school announced it was investigating itself for academic dishonesty involving four football players, Notre Dame welcomed an ex-college football star who was the center of an academic scandal during his playing days.
Former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett spoke to the Notre Dame football team Sunday after being invited by head coach Brian Kelly in a visit had been set up before the news of Notre Dame’s investigation broke. Clarett, who now works as a motivational speaker, shared his story and offered advice to the team.
“I love speaking to the young ball players and sharing my story and what it is I 'wish I knew' then. I love being connected to the game,” Clarett wrote on his Instagram account.
After speaking to the team, Clarett thanked the Fighting Irish coaching staff and wrote that he has “lots of love” for the team.
“I could see that they wanted to listen to what I had to say. My experiences are helping other,” Clarett wrote.
Clarett was a star for the Buckeyes as a true freshman and helped the team win the 2002 national championship, but he never played another down for OSU after the national title game. He was suspended in 2003 for filing a false police report and receiving impermissible benefits. Clarett was also accused of academic misconduct during his time with the school.
He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 2005 NFL Draft, but was released before the season began. He ran into off-the-field troubles in 2006 and was arrested and convicted for robbery.
After his release from prison, Clarett turned his life around and has worked as a motivational speaker, using his experiences to help others.
Shoutout to @ReeseClarett13 for coming to Notre Dame and speaking to the team today. #Youngstownboys @30for30 http://ift.tt/1pA8fAm
— J.B. (@JustinBrent__) August 17, 2014 Clarett has spoken to other programs in the past and the timing of his appearance at Notre Dame definitely had to comfort the players whose teammates are going through a similar ordeal.
For more Notre Dame news, visit IrishIllustrated.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
As part of Baylor’s $260 million McLane Stadium project, the university announced Monday that it was introducing an in-game app that would allow fans in the stadium to see instant replays from multiple angles on their phones and other wireless devices.
The in-game app also will provide real-time stats and other team information.
"The Baylor In-Game app will be Baylor fans' one-stop shop in McLane Stadium for anything and everything they need to know about Baylor football,” said John Garrison, assistant athletic director for marketing at Baylor. “Fans will have access to video on their iPhones, iPads or Android devices, and they can watch the same program feed that is on the stadium video board, or they can choose from other cameras that will be streaming live all the time. It is like having your DVR remote on your phone where you can watch replays and highlights from your seat in the stadium."
The stadium also will have a “robust Wi-Fi-network” that will allow fans to post to social media, check their email or do whatever their want to do on their phones while in McLane. Hopefully, fans will still want to watch the game live and not just on their wireless devices.
For more Baylor news, visit SicEmSports.com.
- - - - - - -
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
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
Nebraska defensive tackle Aaron Curry is transferring to Oklahoma, according to various reports, including Rivals’ Sooner Scoop.
Curry is currently working toward a release, which could come as early as Monday. His father played basketball at Oklahoma.
As a sophomore, Curry started eight games in 2013 and appeared in 13. However, he hasn’t been able to crack the first team during fall camp and has primarily been working with the second string while sophomores Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine have become the starters.
Curry had 26 tackles, including three for loss and two sacks last season.
Nebraska doesn’t seem to be hurting for depth in the interior part of the defensive line. According to Husker Extra, junior Kevin Williams, who has returned from injury, has made a strong impression, as has sophomore Kevin Maurice.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Curry will have to sit out a season, but will have two years of eligibility remaining starting in 2015.
For more Oklahoma news, visit SoonerScoop.com.
For more Nebraska news, visit HuskerOnline.com.
- - - - - - -
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
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
Videos like this never get old.
During a Mississippi State team meeting Sunday night, walk-on sophomore linebacker DeAndre Ward was brought to the front of the room. He was given an envelope by head coach Dan Mullen and asked to open it in front of the team.
Inside was a piece of paper that simply read, “You are now on scholarship.” Once Ward realized what was happening, the same message appeared on the video board and the whole room went nuts.
That moment you get put on scholarship... #Special #ChangingLives #Grind http://ift.tt/1pznAAW
— MSU Football (@HailStateFB) August 18, 2014
Congrats to DeAndre Ward who is now on scholarship #hardworkpaysoff http://t.co/Ru5d4WCbPX
— Dan Mullen™ (@CoachDanMullen) August 18, 2014 The 6-foot, 210-pound Ward was the team’s training camp walk-on MVP. He saw action in two games as a true freshman against Alabama and in the Liberty Bowl against Rice last season.
He’ll look to have an increased role for the Bulldogs in 2014 when the team’s season opens up against Southern Miss at home on August 30.
For more Mississippi State news, visit BulldogBlitz.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
Kentucky head coach announced on Twitter Monday morning that sophomore Patrick Towles will be the Wildcats’ starting quarterback when the season opens up against UT Martin on August 30.
After thorough evaluation and a hard fought competition, we are naming Patrick Towles as our starting quarterback.
— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) August 18, 2014
This competition has brought out the best in our quarterbacks and I'm confident in Patrick moving our team forward.
— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) August 18, 2014 Towles battled redshirt freshman Reese Phillips and four-star true freshman Drew Barker for the starting role. All three split reps throughout fall camp, but Towles, a 6-foot-5, 238-pound redshirt sophomore, came out on top.
Towles, a four-star recruit in the 2012 class, redshirted last season, but did see action in five games as a true freshman. In those five appearances, he completed 19-of-40 passes for 233 yards and one touchdown. A native of Fort Thomas, Ky., Towles was Kentucky’s Mr. Football and the Gatorade Player of the Year in his home state as a high school senior.
Maxwell Smith, Kentucky’s 2013 starter, underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder in the offseason and Stoops said earlier this month that the junior is not yet at 100 percent.
Towles faces a tough challenge in the SEC East. The Wildcats are coming off a 2-10 season and after non-conference games against UT Martin and Ohio, the Wildcats will face Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina in their first three conference matchups.
For more Kentucky news, CatsIllustrated.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
A lot of college football coaches have embraced ALS awareness and taken the now-infamous “Ice Bucket Challenge.” But in doing so, it seems like each coach is trying to put his unique spin on it.
This past weekend, we saw Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury give a shout out to Beyonce before being doused with water, and on Sunday, LSU coach Les Miles decided to make his “Ice Bucket Challenge” uniquely Les by having one of his favorite things dumped on him prior to the ice bath.
Ah, Miles love affair with grass continues.
We already saw Miles mix grass into a smoothie for a commercial this season, so why not use clipping in the ALS challenge?
Well played, Les Miles. Well played.
For more LSU news, visit TigerBait.com.
- - - - - - -
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
And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook
Last year, HackCollege organized its first ever Freshman Week. While students were preparing to head to college for the time or just getting settled in, we decided it was fitting to dedicate an entire week to articles that focused on helping freshmen transition smoothly into college life. This year, we’ll work on tackling even more [...]
The post Welcome to Freshman Week 2014 appeared first on HackCollege.
Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall won’t start the season opener, but the man who will – backup Jeremy Johnson – says he knows where Marshall will be once December rolls around.
Johnson said he thinks Marshall, who not start but is expected to play in the season opener against Arkansas due to a marijuana citation from July, will win the Heisman Trophy.
“He led us to the national championship, and we were 13 seconds away,” Johnson told Al.com’s Brandon Marcello. “And this year he got better at passing, better at running, better at making reads. He’s become a leader on this team and I’ve never seen him so amped at practice every day the way he is, the way he comes out. So, I know for a fact he’ll win the Heisman.”
That’s quite the declaration from Johnson, who lost the starting quarterback battle to Marshall last offseason. Despite the competition at their position, Marcello writes that the two have a very close relationship and “talk as if they’re brothers.”
Johnson obviously has a little bit of a bias here, but Marshall, a senior, was recently listed at 16/1 to win the Heisman by Bovada, so he’s certainly in the conversation.
A classic dual-threat quarterback, Marshall put up 1,976 passing yards and 1,068 rushing yards to go along with 26 total touchdowns while leading the Tigers to the SEC championship last season. Though those numbers are impressive, he completed just 59.4 percent of his passes and has made a concerted effort to improve his passing skills in the offseason.
If Marshall’s passing has improved like Johnson says and he leads Auburn to another great season while putting up big numbers, he could find himself in New York City for the Heisman ceremony.
For more Auburn news, visit AuburnSports.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!