Thursday, May 27, 2010

Milton Knox to Transfer


UCLA's back up running back has decided that he will not be attending UCLA next year and will be transfer elsewhere. The decision was hard for Knox, considering two of his family members suffer from diabetes and they both live in the Los Angeles area, but Knox is in a search for playing time and he isn't likely to find it at UCLA. Knox was unable to get consistent playing time as a freshmen behind John Franklin and Derrick Coleman.. With Gatorade player of the year Malcolm Jones joining the Bruins as a running back, there is really no room for Knox to get any playing time on this team, leading him to decide to transfer.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Not a Lot of Pac 10 in NFL Draft


Only one player from the Pac 10 conference was drafted in this years 1st round of the 2010 NFL draft and that was Tyson Alualu. Alualu was drafted with the 10th overall pick and he played his college football at California. Alualu is from Hawaii. He plays on the defensive line and he is 6'3 and weighs nearly 300 pounds. The Jaguars selecting him 10th was regarded as the most surprising move of the draft considering most teams thought he would be drafted later in the 1st round or even the early 2nd round.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Oregon Ducks Team Preview


The Oregon Ducks are loaded with talent and expect them to be very good next season. They're returning 10 starters on offense and nine on defense. The Ducks lost quarterback Jerimiah Masoli to suspension after he stole laptops on campus. The Ducks return all five players on their offensive line and have a strong defense. The Ducks have simply too many weapons on offense for it to falter without Masoli. Whether it is Nate Costa or Darron Thomas, the quarterback they have will have plenty of weapons to work with. Lamichael James is an elite back. Expect them to be a top the Pac 10 all year and don't be surprised if they compete for a national title.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Arizona Wildcats Team Preview


The Wildcats have a lot of question marks heading into next season. They have two new offensive coordinators who have never called a play in their lives. The Wildcats should be most worried about their defense, which will have seven new starters playing for it. This team is going to be extremely dependent on quarterback Nick Foles and his ability to get the ball in the end zone and keep the defense off the field. Foles had a great season last year, so to say he doesn't have the ability to do so would be stupid. Still, I'm not sure Nick Foles has the makings of a star. With that being said, this is still a very talented team that could finish the season in the top 25.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

USC Team Preview


The Trojans have a lot of question marks heading into this upcoming season, but one aspect of the Trojans that no one is questioning is their talent. The Trojans annually haul in a top 5 recruiting class. Even though they're only returning 12 starters (6 on offense, 6 on defense), there's no doubt that they have young studs just itching to step into starting roles that have been groomed by some of the best coaches. USC also has a new coaching staff since Lane Kiffin bolted from Knoxville to take over at USC. We've seen Kiffin work wonders at USC with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, but we don't know how long it will take sophomore Matt Barkley to learn the offense and most importantly be comfortable in the offense. The Trojans are loaded with talent but it is still reasonable to expect them to lose a couple of games due to inexperience. That being said, I don't think anyone would be shocked if this team ended up playing in a BCS Bowl Game.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Who Will be the New Signal Caller in Oregon? Nate Costa Has Got a Chance


It has been a long time since Oregon has gone into a season with a clear-cut senior starting quarterback, and it appeared that Jeremiah Masoli would end that streak. Then Masoli decided to steal laptops on campus on January 25th, 2010 which led Head Coach Chip Kelly to suspend Masoli for the upcoming season. Even with the loss of their potential Heisman Candidate, the Ducks seem to still be in pretty good shape. They have recruited extremely well at the position and posess a 5th year senior in Nate Costa who will be pushed by redshirt sophomore Darron Thomas, who gave Duck fans a ton of hope when he played spectaculary in his debut as a freshman against Boise State. Thomas was able to red shirt last season in order to get stronger, learn the offense, and sharpen his throwing mechanics. Remember Duck fans, Costa was the heir apparent to Dennis Dixon in 2008, but suffered a knee injury that ended his season. Costa has all of the tools to be a great quarterback and the Ducks have the explosive weapons necessary to run up the score on a lot of teams. If Costa can produce like the Ducks thought he would in 2008, their National Title aspirations are not a long shot.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

UA has a new AD

The last five-months have been great for the University of Arizona Wildcats Athletic Director Rocky LaRose. She was able to raise the amount of private donations by half a million from last year and was able to restore tranquility to the athletic department after Jim Livengood left. Greg Byrne begins his role on Monday as the new AD and LaRose will be stepping back into her role as senior associate athletics director. Byrne comes into the UA position after acting as AD at Mississippi State for the past two years. LaRose was thankful, after 30 years of service at UA, to be given the AD responsibilities but, after seeing the 24/7 commitment, is just as thrilled to get back into her original position.