Sumlin's Time Slipping in Texas

When Johnny Manziel broke on to the College Football landscape and sport mainstream during his Heisman winning season in 2012, it was not just Manziel who was shouting loudest from College Station. Manziel had at the helm a much admired coach who was at the start of his career also in charge of a fledgling program hoping to make noise in a big state and stepping into a new conference power, the SEC.

2012 which included the Texas A&M Aggies famously defeating Alabama in Tuscaloosa 29-24, a game that led to Manziel's Heisman procession and an eventual Cotton Bowl victory over Oklahoma finishing with a 11-2 record.

Since then, the Aggies have not matched the much vaunted expectations that the inaugural season did, although 2013 was a 9-4 record and another classic versus Alabama. The team could not cope with the clamour for Johnny Football who although he had a greater season in terms of throwing statistics he had more interceptions yet less rushing touchdowns.  They won a Bowl game, but Manziel left for the NFL as did star wide receiver Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and from there Sumlin has struggled.

Following a 20-6 record for the first two seasons, the Aggies school invested $500m to develop Kyle Field and $10m for the coaching staff including a huge extension for Sumlin himself.  The Aggies currently sit 5-4 in the SEC West and were thoroughly dismantled 41-27 by Auburn at the weekend, leaving them scratching for a Bowl game with games remaining at home to New Mexico and two road trips to Ole Miss and LSU.

The SEC year on year appears to be a race of who will finish second to dominant Alabama, yet Georgia have showed the potential in good recruiting and good coaching, coupled with consistent offence.


The Aggies have not built upon the brand of Johnny Football in terms of quality although Myles Garrett was the Overall first round pick, there should be a stream of talent to rival that of Alabama or Miami in recent years to have a revolving door of potential coming through College Station.

Sumlin must take the fall for an under par season which started poorly in the first game on the road at UCLA where they gave up a 34 point lead to lose 45-44 to Josh Rosen; they then won four straight wins the best being a 24-17 home victory over a now 4-3 South Carolina Gamecocks; before an inevitable home loss to Alabama although they kept it respectable in a 27-19 loss.  However the losses to Auburn and Mississippi State have put more questions with less answers forthcoming from Sumlin.

With those three games remaining and a .500 record looking a distinct possibility, fans where hopeful of more but instead got more shortcomings and the type of play not expected from the Aggies, who unfortunately where in the headlines for two glorious years but have flattered to deceive since then.

The Re-Identification of Alabama QBs

When you think of Alabama quarterbacks under Nick Saban's tenure you think of pocket passer's men who are leaders on and off the field, those 6' 4" tall athletes who stand tall in the pocket and are pin-point with their accuracy and poise under pressure.

Yet there has been a gradual change in identity of the man under center in Birmingham. Whilst there has been dual threat QBs surrounding the Tide from Cam Newton to Jameis Winston to Johnny Manziel; Nick Saban has been reluctant to make that leap to the dual threat due to the wealth of talent at running back over the years from Trent Richardson to Eddie Lacy.

Starting with Greg McElroy who eventually played for the New York Jets, he led the Crimson Tide to the National Championship in 2009 whilst not setting the numbers alight. In the Championship year he threw for 2508 yards and 17 touchdowns, that was followed the year later by 2987 yards and 20 TDs prompting his inclusion in the draft.

AJ McCarron the archetype for QB

AJ McCarron inherited the role after McElroy left for the professional ranks, and in his three starting years he saw an increase of total throwing yards over those three years - 2011, 2634 yards; 2012, 2933 yards and 2013, 3063 yards breaking McElroy's passing record. His passing percentage was 66.8% which is par for a solid career and he had 15 total interceptions over his career. McCarron sits behind Andy Dalton as No.2 QB for Cincinnati Bengals awaiting his opportunity with immense patience.

Blake Sims had a veritable explosion in his lone starting season as quarterback, 3487 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions coupled with 350 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns.  Sims was probably the marker of change for Saban.

Jalen Hurts is a frontrunner for the Heisman

Via Jake Coker, we land at current QB Jalen Hurts who is the starting quarterback for Alabama this year following his freshman year, the first true freshman to start for Alabama in 32 years, throwing for 2780 yards and 23 touchdowns with a below average 62.8 percent; however, he also rushed for 954 yards and 13 touchdowns giving him 36 total touchdowns. Hurts became the first quarterback coached by Saban to pass for 300 yards and rush 100 yards in the same game.

Come to this season and following a cagey affair versus Florida State (10-18, 96 yards, 55.6% completion and 55 yards rushing) where a win was more important than the performance, Hurts returned for the home opener versus Fresno State and threw for 14-18, 128 yards, 77.8%, 1 TD with 154 rushing yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns in the 41-10 victory.

The surprising factor of the victory was that Alabama out rushed their passing offense, running for 305 yards from six different carriers - Najee Harris (13 carries, 70 yards), Bo Scarbrough (6 carries, 36 yards) and only 192 passing yards with the most for one receiver being Calvin Ridley with 45 yards off only five receptions.

Nick Saban is changing his view on QB play

For sceptics, this is Saban falling in line with the rest of the league and not being original, however, perhaps this is Saban utilising the talent correctly.  In Hurts, he has a passer of accuracy who can execute passes to where it needs to go, this allows Saban the chance to dictate play from the off and by having Hurts keep hold of the ball when rushing you negate the threat of turnovers which are key and can effectively keep a stellar defense (better than Fresno State obviously) out of the game.

From worries over his pocket passing to utilising the speed and composure under pressure, Hurts will have bigger tests but its a step in the right direction for this Alabama QB.

Read more of my work at Forty Yards Scouting.
Follow me on Twitter @JamieGarwood and @NextToTheAisle

2013 FCB Week 1 review

And we are off.  The race for the final BCS National Championship before the inaugural four team play-off next year has began in earnest.

Week One in College Football is a rare monster, not as traditional as Opening Day in Baseball, not as glamorous as week 1 of the NFL season yet due to the ESPN monster it is just as hyped an event.  These are the stars of the NFL future, although amateur by definition they are as feted as former college now NFL stars Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

Last year was Year One of Johnny Football and the huge rotation of Jadeveon Clowney's monster hit in January led to him being earmarked as the next Lawrence Taylor or Ray Lewis.  Fittingly, it was Clowney and his side, South Carolina Gamecocks who opened up the College Football season at home to North Carolina Tar Heels.  The Gamecocks scored on their opening drive, a huge 65 yard TD pass from Conor Shaw to Shaq Roland gave the #7 ranked Gamecocks a lead they never relinquished, winning 27-10.  The Tar Heels offered little on offence, a blessing considering Clowney's sub-par performance where he had no sacks and only three first half tackles.  An upset stomach was apparently too blame, although the humidity at the 6pmEST kick-off could be as much at fault.

National Champions, Alabama Crimson Tide opened on neutral territory at the Georgia Dome versus the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Although the scoreline looks lopsided 35-10, the Tide were helped by Christian Jones scoring a kickoff return TD, a punt return TD and a reception TD for 256 total yards.  The Hokies exposed a new offensive line for Alabama who lost three four-year starters to the draft this year; they packed the box with eight defenders prompting confusion and panic for QB AJ McCarron who finished with 10-23, 110 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.  The same packed box allowed RB TJ Yeldon 75 yards of the 96 total rushing yards.

They may be National Champions but even champions have some weaknesses that were exposed and need rectifying before next week's huge match-up versus Texas A&M Aggies and Johnny Manziel.

Following on from his NCAA squabble about signing for paid autographs, Manziel was punished with having to sit out the first half of their home opener versus Rice.  At half time the Aggies needed him as they held a slender 28-21 lead over the unfancied Rice Owls.  Manziel answered the call with three TD passes to help them come out 52-31 victors.  Manziel seems to have this aura about him off the field which cannot be put into question in spite of his off-the-field behaviour.

Oregon may have lost Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles, but for new Head Coach Mark Helfrich it is the same old story as they decimated Nicholls State College 66-3 with three players having 100+ yard games rushing including QB Marcus Mariota had 113 yards in addition to his 234 passing yards.  The Ducks had 772 total offensive yards and remain favourites for the Pac 12 title this season with Mariota an under the radar Heisman selection.

Fresh for bowl eligibility this season, Urban Meyer hopes to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to the National Championship after going undefeated last season.  They opened on Saturday with a 40-20 home victory over Buffalo Bulls.  Braxton Miller went 15-22, 178 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT but the impressive performance was RB Jordan Hall who had 2 TDs for 159 yards off 21 carries. However, there were moments of worry for the Buckeyes that many better teams would have taken advantage of.

However, that is why many ranked sides open up against easy opposition to give them the opportunity to iron out any creases on both sides of the ball in a real game time situation.  Some choose to open with a tougher opponent such as LSU Tigers who played Big 12 TCU at Cowboys Stadium and proved victorious 37-27 for a big non-conference win before the conference slate begins.  QB Zach Mettenberger went 16-32 for 251 yards, 1 TD and crucially no turnovers for the senior man, as his side had 448 total yards.  TCU led by Gary Patterson have been touted as a side who can step up and mix with the big boys of the SEC, whilst they did themselves justice they only had 259 total yards so to lose by only 10 points was some marker of their intentions and the grit in the side.  This close encounter was the game of the weekend.

And just behind was Georgia 35 Clemson 38 with two good QBs Aaron Murray and Taj Boyd trading blows but with Boyd coming out on top.  Clemson reside in the ACC but are now in the Championship talk after defeating an SEC side.  Boyd - who along with Teddy Bridgewater (see below) is NFL bound - had 270 yards passing and 3 TDs and also ran for two close to goal TDs for five in total.  Murray had 323 yards passing but one crucial INT with no TDs; and again he came up short in the big game versus a ranked opponent being sacked four times in the process. The Tigers of Clemson made sure their roar was heard on Saturday, expect them to replace Georgia as the #5 ranked side in country come Monday with the new rankings.

Sunday night, another Heisman favourite Teddy Bridgewater the No.1 ranked QB prospect for the NFL draft in 2014 started his campaign with his Louisville Cardinals as they attempt to seek perfection to get to the National Championship.  They made short work of the Ohio Bobcats winning 49-7 at home with Bridgewater going 355 passing yards and 5 TDs.  Louisville play in the ACC, a weak conference in comparison to the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 12, they also have a weak schedule so need to run the table and hope teams lose games to their advantage.

College Football Kicks Off

The 2013 College Football Season begins in earnest with the Battle of the Carolinas kicking off the wall-to-wall ESPN coverage as the first weekend begins with a five day weekend long in America.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are ranked No.6 in the pre-season rankings led by defensive end and key focal point playmaker Jadeveon Clowney.  Clowney who was sixth in the Heisman trophy voting last year, made headlines with his hit of running back Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl.

The hit – where Smith’s helmet went flying after impact – made Clowney a global talking point due to the ferocity of the hit.  Steve Spurrier has handled his star player with better care than Kevin Sumlin of Texas A&M has with Johnny Manziel; whose off-field antics have provoked much discussion about his ability to handle the limelight.  Manziel will sit out the first half of the Aggies’ opening game versus Rice University.

Clowney has got better in the close season, working on his skill set and making himself a better player, according to other defensive end Chaz Sutton:

“Any game we go into we just want to prove we can get to the quarterback quick and fast in a game,” Sutton said. “We just want to set the tone with our front four and be that way all night.”

South Carolina though still have options on offence although a slight injury concern over highly rated receiver Bruce Ellington will be one of concern.  The offense has to be the sort as marshalled by Trent Dilfer for the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 during their famous Super Bowl run when Ray Lewis’ defence rode shotgun over NFL offences.  Junior Dylan Thompson will be expected to make mistake free, efficient passing and get good field position to allow Clowney, Sutton et al to work their magic on the defensive side.

Expectations are for the Gamecocks to win, and get some momentum before a huge clash at No.5 Georgia next week (who themselves play rated Clemson of the ACC on Saturday). The Gamecocks are touted to win the SEC East thanks to a favourable schedule where they only face Arkansas and Mississippi State of the SEC West avoiding Alabama, Auburn and Johnny Football.

Although they should beware of North Carolina QB Bryn Renner who has thrown for 54 touchdowns in the last two seasons and is in charge of a high tempo offense, new head coach Larry Fedora employed at Southern Miss.

In the other curtain-raising game for the West Coast, #24 ranked USC Trojans travel to Hawaii hoping to have a better season than last year when they did not meet expectations and not helped by an injury suffered to Matt Barkley.

Barkley, receiver Robert Woods and safety T.J. McDonald have all left for the professional ranks. Yet they still have the No 1 receiver in the country in Marqise Lee and running back Silas Reed, with the option of two young sophomore quarterbacks in Max Wittek and Cody Kessler.

Kiffin will hope he has a better season, the Trojans lost five of their last six games and lost the Sun Bowl to Georgia Tech to finish 7-6 after starting the season ranked #1. In the Pac-12 where Oregon and Stanford are expected to duke it out, expect the Trojans to spring a few surprises again with a favourable schedule with Stanford having to come to the Coliseum in November.

It’s felt a long time since Alabama won the National Championship in January, now the five month bull rush can begin. And its the end of an era, this will be the last season of the BCS rankings before the four team play-off begins in 2014.

Jeremy Hill/LSU news

The charging of Jeremy Hill, leaves the LSU Tigers with a mountain to climb in the SEC this season.

Jeremy Hill, the RB for the Louisiana State University has been charged with misdemeanor simple battery in connection with a late-night scuffle outside a night club in April.  Head coach, Les Miles, has said the player is suspended pending the investigation coming to a conclusion.  Hill is not helped by already being on probation following a January 2012 incident. 

The loss of Jeremy Hill for legal issues, will be a big blow to the running back core although Kenny Hilliard (82-464-6 TDs) and Alfred Blue (40-270-2 TDs) showed flashes of talent, especially Blue who is now in his last season before graduation, and will want to end his college career in style following a season ending knee injury suffered in the third game of last season.


Les Miles will again have a tough defence to succeed in the ultra-competitive SEC yet he will require a bit more of his starting quarterback, Zach Mettenberger who threw for only 2609 yards and 12 touchdowns.  

They do still have Odell Beckham at wide receiver who was nominated for the Paul Hornung award, for college football's most versatile player, along with Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M and South Carolina receiver, Bruce Ellington. Last season, Beckham had 713 receiving yards for 2 touchdowns and was the leading receiver for the Tigers last year, although junior Jarvis Landry had the most receiving touchdowns, with 5 for 573 yards, and senior Kadron Boone, 348 yards for 4 TDs.

The Tigers are traditionally stingy team to score against, they are also a tough team to predict how many points they will score.  LSU finished with an average of 29.8 ppg placing them 59th in the national statistics, yet they conceded only 17.5 ppg for a position of 12th in the nation.  The defence this year may have lost some personnel to the draft, including Barkevious Mingo who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns. 

However, this team is used to reloading along the defensive line. Tackle Anthony Johnson has the meat and ability to be one of the best at his position, and excels as both a run-stopper and pass-rusher. He'll be helped by junior Ego Ferguson, who has all the talent to be successful but is still looking to reach his full potential. The staff is expecting big things from end Jermauria Rasco, who might be a better pure pass-rusher than Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery before him. Danielle Hunter and Jordan Allen should do more at end, while incoming freshman Tashawn Bower could see immediate playing time. 

Off the field conduct has been a thorn in the Tigers side for recent seasons, following on from the Tyrann Mathieu incident and another legal issue will not help LSU attempt to come out of the shadows of the Alabama Crimson Tide who are ruling the SEC West currently.  Last season, the Tigers finished 10-3 overall, 6-2 in Conference play, yet their overall record was 1 game behind the improving Texas A&M Aggies who have Johnny Manziel leading the charge.

Their 2013 schedule does not look favourable, with road games against Georgia (Sept 28th), Miss State (Oct 5th) and Alabama (Nov 9th), at best you can see LSU finishing with a 9-4 record. This will be dependent upon the improvements required by senior players like Mettenberger and the returning Blue to make plays, and the ever reliant defence to nullify the exceptional quarterbacks in the SEC - Aaron Murray, Manziel and AJ McCarron.