ChantRant.com

Opponent Update: BYU beat writer answers our questions about the 2009 Cougars

Like FSU, BYU also has a huge opener (Oklahoma) followed by a game they should win (Tulane). Then, in game three, the Noles and Cougars face off in Provo. As part of our early bird preview series, we check in with Jay Drew, who covers BYU for the Salt Lake Tribune and writes the Cougar Blog.

Jay, after spring practice, what's the biggest offensive question mark for BYU?
By far, the biggest offensive question is at offensive line. BYU loses four of five starters, with left tackle Matt Reynolds the only returner. A few guys saw some reps last year, but for the most part BYU will have four inexperienced offensive linemen on the field next fall.

Last season BYU finished in the middle of the pack in D-1 total defense. Will they improve on that this year?
BYU went to the junior college ranks, which it rarely does, to get some instant help on defense. They are especially thin at cornerback and outside linebacker. Both safeties graduated, but they are pretty high on the two guys who will fill in there, Scott Johnson and Andrew Rich.

The strength of the defense will be at defensive line, where all three starters are back (BYU runs a 3-4 defense).

Why did Cougars cancel their spring game?
The playing surface (natural grass) at LaVell Edwards Stadium is 20 years old, and it has a rather noticeable crown in the middle. So, they tore up the grass, leveled the field a bit, and put down new sod. Because of the long and harsh winter we've had here, it wasn't ready in time for the spring game. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said it would not have been appropriate to hold the traditional game in another school's stadium.

Do opponents from outside the Mountain West struggle in Provo's thin air (about 4,500 feet above sea level)?
Most teams that have visited the past 10 years (Syracuse, Boston College, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Tulsa) have gone away saying they didn't think it was that big of a deal. Most have chosen to ignore it, in terms of preparation. It seems like basketball teams have been more affected; last winter Wake Forest played in Provo and several of its players mentioned they found breathing a bit more difficult and they tired a bit earlier than normal.

By keeping FSU players waiting by the phone, the NFL sends a message

Congrats to Everette Brown. Though he didn't go in the first round, he'll go home to play for the Carolina Panthers.

But what happened to the five or six other Noles who had a reasonable shot of getting a call during seven rounds of the NFL draft?

Our theory starts four or five years earlier, back when they were high school kids stepping up to the college level. Whether you're talking stars or position rankings, every one of them made the grade. (If you poo-poo the star system of rating high school players, read this intelligent argument.)

Here's how Rivals rated the following blue chippers back then and how the NFL ranked them going into the draft:

Antone Smith - #1 running back of 2005 and #25 overall prospect. Ranked 31st RB in the draft.

Derek Nicholson - #2 LB and #30 overall prospect in '05. Ranked #18 LB in the draft.

Greg Carr - #21 WR of 2004. 40th rated WR in the draft.

Tony Carter - #2 CB in '04. Ranked 39th DB in the draft.

Michael Ray Garvin - #14 CB of 2005 (NFL draft rank not available).

Graham Gano - #3 Kicking prospect in '05 and top college kicker of 2008. Ranked #2 kicker in the draft.

How do you explain the drop off from high school hot shot to being shunned by the NFL? They had the talent. They were on constant display for NFL scouts, thanks to Florida State's strong TV coverage. They had a chance to showcase their stuff in FSU's well-attended Pro Day.

The answer seems obvious.

Good news all-around on Debrale Smiley and his possible return to FSU

Debrale Smiley from Thomasville was a heralded RB commit for the Noles in 2008. But academics caused a detour to Itawamba Community College in Mississippi. For an update on the big guy who could add zip to FSU's 2010 offense as a multi-tasking H-Back, we talked to Jeff Carter, ICC's offensive coordinator.

"He's doing well in the classroom. He's shown discipline and done well getting all his grades. He's already taken all the toughest class work. We're making out his schedule right now, and hopefully he'll be done here next December.

"He did well on the field, too. He played running back, tight end and H-back for us. He had a couple of games that he was really the big difference in. But we had other running backs last year, and we tried to give 'em all the ball. So he wasn't the primary running back every game, being a freshman and since we had a couple of sophomores we were trying to feature. "

Will he be your feature back this fall?
"Yeah, he sure will. We're looking for big things out of him. And he's versatile and able to play a lot of special teams, too. He's a pretty good athlete to be so big."

Does he like to run around people or run over them?
"He can do both. He can make them miss -- I've seen him hurdle some kids -- and I've seen him run slap over them, as well. He's going to be hard to defend."

How about catching the ball. Does have good hands?
"He does, especially for a big guy. We used him at tight end some and as our H-back, which is kind of a versatile fullback. He did anything we asked of him. He's very unselfish."

You just wrapped up spring practice. How did he progress?
"He showed signs of getting better -- on and off the field. He's real mature for his age. He's got a family and he tries to take care of them, work, and go to school."

Finally, do you believe Debrale plans on coming back to FSU?
"I do, I sure do. He's definitely a fine running back and he'll do well back at Florida State."

Opponent Update: Sunshine state QB steals the limelight in Clemson spring game

Willy Korn is the blue chip QB who was destined to lead Clemson back to the top of the ACC. He was the heir apparent going into his third spring practice. And he was thoroughly outplayed in the Tigers spring game by a true freshman from Jacksonville.

Meet Kyle Parker, a kid who could make C.U. faithful forget Korn by September. Parker looked almost Tebow-like last Saturday, flipping passes, sprinting away from trouble, and energizing his team. He played with confidence and added a spark. Threw for a TD and ran for another, showing good speed on a misdirection bootleg from the three. Meanwhile Korn threw two picks and played uptight.

We asked Greg Wallace of the Anderson Independent-Mail (read his excellent C.U. coverage here) about the QB battle, and how the Clemson defense is coming along:

"Having seen Kyle Parker and Willy Korn up close this spring for all 3 scrimmages, I'd say that Parker's performance Saturday gave him a slight edge, but very, very slight. I still think Clemson's coaches will look at the whole body of work over 15 practices as opposed to a vanilla, televised scrimmage.

"It should be a very tight battle in preseason practice.

"I think Parker has good mobility and a stronger arm, but struggles sometimes with accuracy. Korn has better mobility and more accuracy, but is recovering from 2 shoulder injuries in the past 2 years. I think both know the offense pretty well, although Korn might have a slight edge there. Right now I think it's too close to call.

"As for the defense, I think they'll be pretty good. DeAndre McDaniel was a force at safety this spring, and although there are  questions about the linebackers, the defensive line was great even without Ricky Sapp, who's recovering from ACL surgery. Da'Quan Bowers was pretty much unblockable all spring. So I think as long as they progress well in Kevin Steele's system during preseason camp, they'll be OK."

Today's opponent update is 100% Bull

Nole fans were bummed about losing big OL Daron Rose due to academics. Rose was hoping to suit up next for USF, but...oops, that grades thing again. Reports are that Rose needs to pass 18 credit-hours during the summer to qualify for this fall. So don't expect to see him Sept. 26th when the Bulls rumble into Doak.

There's an outside chance you might see Robert Marve in USF colors. The former Miami QB is shopping for a new gig and seems intrigued by his hometown school. The St. Pete Times says the Bulls have an edge with Marve: a potential NCAA hardship waiver, which could allow him to play this fall without sitting out a year. USF has a history of winning waivers for players with family medical issues, and Marve's father has prostate cancer.

However, Bulls fans must now be asking who needs Marve? Two freshman quarterbacks, B.J. Daniels and Evan Landi, wowed USF faithful in Saturday's spring game. Daniels threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third score to lead the Green team to a 21 - 20 win. Landi drove the White team 88 yards to score in the final 2:13 with his second TD pass. But his luck ran out on the two-point conversion attempt, when he overthrew the receiver. Where was senior QB Matt Grothe? Watching from the bench as an injury precaution.

"Florida State got them a steal": Chad Abrams' high school coach talks about the Noles surprise commitment

Chad Abrams? Until a few weeks ago, few football fans outside of West Central Florida had heard of the hard-hitting Safety from Lakeland's Kathleen High. What did the Noles see in Chad (no. 24 in the photo above)? We asked his coach, Irving Strickland.

"First of all, he's a great kid. And very smart. I knew he could be good, but didn't know just what to expect. His Sophomore year he started at Corner for us. But he got a high ankle sprain in the second game of the season, and he never really recovered from that. So after the season was over, he really dedicated himself to the weight room -- got stronger and bigger. Then he had a pretty good spring game (in 2008). And going into the Summer workouts, he didn't miss a day, and it showed. So going into the season, he knew the defense, he knew all the calls in the secondary, and everything there is to know back there. I said, let's put him in a position to make some plays. He played Free Safety the whole year, and he he just did a heck of a job for us, including being on every special team."

What does he do best?
"His best attribute is, he loves to come up and hit you. He isn't one of those guys who'll trash talk. He just loves to play the game."

What does he need to work on to get better?
"Just getting faster."

He only ran a 4.71 at the Nike camp? Can he run faster than that?
"I think it (his time at the Nike Camp time) was just nerves. He hadn't been running in the off season, because he was spending his time in the weight room getting bigger. He's benching over 275 now. Last year he couldn't power-clean 225. He's been stretching with the track team, but he dedicated himself to weights and he's on the weight lifting team. So he's put on 24 pounds of muscle (since last season)."

Is he a good student?
"I think he is. He knew every defensive call. And his job was to make sure everyone in the secondary was where they needed to be. So he's a very smart kid. He'll catch on (to playing the position at FSU)."

Talk about his recruiting by FSU.
"I didn't know 'til recently that Florida State was one of the schools he wanted to go to. I told Coach (Odell Haggins), he's very quiet. He's got a good family backing him. And he just loves football. You get some kids that are pure athletes. And then you get some that just love football. They don't care about their name in the paper.  They just love to play the game. And that's what kind of kid Chad is. So Florida State got them a steal."

Compare him to Ahmad Black (Strickland coached Black, UF's starting Safety, as a high school sophomore, then coached against him when Black transferred to cross-town rival Lakeland High).
"Ahmad and Chad are very similar. And Ahmad Black was a tremendous player. He knew how to put himself in situations where he wouldn't get burnt. The difference is, at this point in high school, Chad is bigger than Ahmad is right now -- and a bigger hitter than Ahmad was in high school."

FSU's offense has a lot of work to do before Sept. 7, but what about Miami's D?

There are more wrinkles to be ironed out by Jimbo's skill players than a contortionist's tuxedo. But the defense they'll face on Labor Day is still under construction, as well. Which leads us to our final post-spring game Q & A for Kartik at Canes Rising.

Q:  UM's offense and its new coordinator, Mark Whipple, has gotten most of the media attention so far in '09. Coming off the spring game, talk about the Canes new D-coordinator and how good you think his unit will be by Labor Day.

A:  John Lovett is an experienced defensive coordinator, having spent much of his coaching career in the SEC and ACC. A former defensive coordinator under Tommy Bowden at Clemson, Lovett knows the league well. But Miami’s defense as FSU fans discovered last year is quite possibly the worst from a personnel standpoint in the league.

Honestly, I don’t think this unit is going to be very good. They are learning a new defensive playbook with the fourth defensive coordinator in four years. Lovett doesn’t have a specific scheme but adjusts it to his personnel which last year blitzed often under Bill Young.

But many of Miami’s upperclassman recall the days of the Cover 2 under Randy Shannon and Tim Walton. The bottom line is the defense is in flux, and is likely to take some knocks early in the season. Even under one of the best defensive coordinators in the nation last year, the Hurricanes were suspect most of the season. Simply put, the majority of players on the defensive side of the ball aren’t of the established caliber of Miami Football.

The flip side of the equation is Miami’s offense. With an experienced NFL coach coming back to the college ranks, the Hurricanes could be in the position to simply outscore teams, unlike last year.

For certain it will be exciting to watch the Canes, who may resemble a PAC 10 or WAC team more than an ACC team this upcoming season.

It's not even football season yet and FSU has already lost one

If early commitments mean anything, the Noles have lost out on one of the top DL in the Southeast. The AJC reports that Denzel McCoy (Rivals 4-Star) pledged his services Saturday to Georgia Tech after watching a Yellowjackets spring scrimmage.

Florida State was his second choice, McCoy said. Not bad considering the 6 ft. 5, 273 pound tackle was up to 34 offers from all over the college football map. But, of course, second doesn't count in the recruiting game.

Tech's academics played a big part, said the big guy from the Atlanta burbs. Maybe FSU didn't do enough to sell that part of the college experience when McCoy visited during Junior Day. Let's hope Odell Haggins, his key recruiter, can work some magic to change McCoy's mind in the next ten months.

Keep telling yourself, it was only a spring game, it was only a spring game, it was only...

You're bummed out by an offense that made the Sopchoppy JV's look like world beaters. You're heartened by a defense that went from Mickey's doghouse to a Dynasty days highlight reel. You're confused by all the dysfunctional turnovers, sloppy play and Christian Ponder's incoherent post game commentary: "“I mean it looked like it, you know a couple I guess mixed the exchanges a couple times, guys in the backfield, guys getting exchanges..." (sadly, an actual quote).

Get over it. It was a freakin' Spring Game.

Wait. It wasn't even a game. It was a Spring scrimmage. Call it a Sprimmage.

So what did we actually find out?

That opponents will learn not to throw Jamie Robinson's way next season.

That Jarmon Fortson will be the new go-to guy.

That C. Ponder, despite making so much progress the last few weeks, can still have a bad night.

That the No-name linebacking corps may very well make a name for themselves, starting with that Bradham guy.

That D'Vontrey Richardson should've been there learning to play Safety. He sure wasn't helping the FSU baseball team against Miami by failing to field a single that rolled to the wall, allowing the tying and winning runs for the Canes.

But most of all we learned that the Spring Game -- any team's Spring Game -- bears about as much resemblance to an actual game as ginger ale to Cristal.

A closer look at UM's spring game, or how worried should "U" be on Sept. 7

We blinked and FSU's spring practice is almost over. Time flies. So even before Saturday's G&G game we're getting antsy about the titanic struggle looming a scant five months away. Which is why we're doing Q and A's with Kartik at Canes Rising. His front row seat at UM's spring game -- in which the offense spanked the D by 52 - 3 -- and in-depth knowledge of football at Da U, gives us a preview of what to expect on September 7th.

Q: In a high-scoring spring game like Miami's, you wonder: is the offense that good or the defense that bad?

A: A combination of both. Miami's defense is bad. It was one of the worst red zone defenses in the nation last year. The Canes defense also was among the worst in the nation in takeaways. For example, Florida State had almost as many takeaways in two games against Maryland and Clemson as Miami did entire season.  Despite some additions to the defense like Vaughn Telemaque, the Hurricane defense is unlikely to be very good this coming season.

Despite all the flack Pat Nix got from Canes fans, it was defense that cost Miami in all four ACC loses.

On the offensive side of the ball, Jacory Harris is throwing the football with confidence, while the WRs so promising a year ago appear to be turning into genuine playmakers. Taylor Cook the backup QB, 6'7'' freshman from Houston also had a very good spring, and the running game featuring two backup running backs also looked strong. Mark Whipple is an NFL caliber offensive coach and Miami schemes are likely to be sophisticated and tough to stop for the average college defense.