Ye Olde Green Wave Forum

As spring football begins to hit its stride (most teams will open this month), it’s important to look at some of the key contributors that were sitting on the bench last year. I’m talking about the transfers, the guys who left schools from automatic qualifying conferences to help a non-AQ find success.

There are a lot of major transfers on non-AQ teams that are eligible to play this season, but none are more important than the quarterbacks. Several teams are looking to replace starters or just get some new blood under center.

Here’s a look at my top five quarterback transfers :

Taylor Cook, Rice: The Owls will actually have two transfers vying for the starting quarterback position this year. Cook came over from Miami last year and sat out, and Nick Fanuzzi, who started eight games last season, transferred from Alabama after the 2007 season. Fanuzzi put up nice numbers last year, but didn’t have a lot of help. Cook enters the spring with a nice pedigree but doesn’t have any collegiate experience. Cook actually entered Miami’s 2009 spring practices as the No. 2 quarterback before opting to transfer.


Willy Korn, Marshall: Korn was a surprise pick up for new head coach Doc Holliday. Korn is graduating in May and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Since he won’t be around until the fall, it will be hard for him to wrestle the starting role away from Brian Anderson. Anderson threw for more than 2,600 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he also had 13 interceptions. In three seasons at Clemson, Korn completed 46-of-66 passes for 406 yards and three touchdowns. He also battled a shoulder injury.

Cannon Smith, Memphis: Smith was a big pickup for Memphis, especially since the Tigers graduated three senior quarterbacks. Cannon played in one game as a true freshman at Miami in 2008, but was injured and ultimately took a medical redshirt. Smith will challenge sophomore Tyler Bass, who played in four games and had three starts last year, and sophomore Will Gilchrist. The starting role will probably come down to Smith and Bass.

All week I’ve been looking at some of the top transfers from AQ to non-AQ schools. I already looked at the top quarterback and the top running back transfers and now it’s time to conclude the series with the top wide receivers to watch in non-AQ camps this spring a fall.

Here are my top wide receiver transfers from AQ programs:

Jermaine McKenzie, Memphis: McKenzie transferred from Miami last season and tried to get a waiver form the NCAA to play immediately. That venture failed, but McKenzie enters this season with an opportunity especially since the Tigers lost their top two receivers and are learning a new coach. McKenzie played in three games as a redshirt freshman at Miami, but didn’t record a catch. He'll have a big opportunity to impress with a new coaching staff.

Here are my top five running back transfers from AQ schools:

Sam McGuffie, Rice: As a true freshman at Michigan in 2008, McGuffie led the Wolverines in rushing with 486 yards and three touchdowns. He also missed three games with an injury. McGuffie, combined with Miami quarterback transfer Taylor Cook, could make Rice a feared offensive team in Conference USA. McGuffie can run, catch and return kicks. He might be the best weapon the Owls have this spring.

Recently, several of my co-workers have been examining the strongest and weakest positions for each team this spring. I thought I would jump in on the action.

During the next few weeks, I’m going to look at the strengths and weaknesses of every team I cover. They’ll be posted alphabetically by conference. So let’s start with Conference USA and the spring superlatives for East Carolina.

Strongest position: Wide receiver

Key returners: Senior Dwayne Harris (83 catches, 978 yards, seven touchdowns), junior Darryl Freeney (48 catches, 718 yards, three touchdowns), junior Joe Womack (12 catches, 141 yards), sophomore Andrew Bodenheimer (six catches, 87 yards)

Key departures: Alex Taylor (35 catches, 367 yards), Jamar Bryant (22 catches, 205 yards, two touchdowns), Reyn Willis (six catches, 107 yards, one touchdown).

The skinny: The receiver position is the deepest of all positions for the Pirates this spring, and that depth will be critical as they switch to a Texas Tech spread style of offense. Harris is one of the most dynamic players in the country both as a receiver and as a kick returner, and he will be East Carolina’s premier receiver yet again.

Weakest position: Quarterback

Key returners: Sophomore Josh Jordan (three career games, 5 of 7 passing, 61 yards), redshirt freshman Rio Johnson.

Key departures: Patrick Pinkney (32 career starts, 6,980 career passing yards, 39 career passing touchdowns, 23 career interceptions)

The skinny: East Carolina has just two scholarship quarterbacks heading into the spring and neither has significant experience. Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley is looking for a quarterback who can spread the ball around and he might not find that guy this spring. On the bright side, the Pirates did get a commitment from former Boston College quarterback Dominique Davis in December, but he didn’t enroll in January, which voided his letter of intent. However, hopes are high that Davis does end up in Greenville in August, joining true freshman Shane Carden.

Jacob Bower will not return to Tulsa for his senior season, the Tulsa World is reporting.

Bower served as the backup quarterback last year after going through an intense competition with G.J. Kinne and Shavodrick Beaver last spring and through fall camp.

Bower’s announcement comes just days after Tulsa coach Todd Graham said that Kinne, who was last year’s starter, would remain the No. 1 quarterback.

Bower played in seven games last season and completed 15 of 36 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 45 yards and a score. In 2008, Bower played in all 14 games as a backup behind starter David Johnson.

Bower transferred from Bakersfield College in the spring of 2008.

Bower said he’s on pace to graduate at the end of the semester and will look to finish his playing career at another school. Under NCAA rules, Bower can receive a waiver to play at an FBS intuition if he’s enrolled in graduate school.

Kinne and Beaver are the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster this spring.

Spring superlatives: Marshall

Marshall is my next profile for the strongest and weakest positions heading into this spring. The Thundering Herd have a new coaching staff this year, but return 16 starters from last year’s Little Caesar’s Bowl championship team.

Strongest position: Wide receiver

Key returners: Sophomore Antavious Wilson (60 catches for 724 yards and three touchdowns), senior Chuck Walker (33 catches, 350 yards and three touchdowns), sophomore Aaron Dobson (15 catches, 362 yards, four touchdowns), senior Lee Smith (23 catches, 335 yards), sophomore Jamal Wilson (17 catches, 128 yards)

Key departures: Cody Slate (50 catches, 607 yards, four touchdowns)

The skinny: Slate was a big part of the Marshall offense, but when he suffered a season-ending injury, the Thundering Herd discovered a lot of new weapons. Antavious Wilson has established himself as the top receiver and Walker and Dobson complete what could be a really nice starting receiving corps. There is a lot of young talent on this team and that could make the coaching transition a little easier.

Weakest position: Kicker

Key returners: Junior Tyler Warner (hit 3 of 5 field goal attempts in 2008 and was selected to the 2008 Conference USA All-Freshman team)

Key departures: Craig Ratanamorn (made 22 of 28 field goal attempts during his career)

The skinny: When Doc Holliday took over at Marshall in December, he said his immediate recruiting concern was securing a kicker. Warner didn’t see the field last year because he was inconsistent when battling Ratanamorn for the starting role. Warner will have a chance to secure the starting role this spring, but he’ll have to fend off true freshman Justin Haig in the fall.

Spring superlatives: Memphis
March, 10, 2010
By Graham Watson

The Memphis Tigers are one of three teams in Conference USA with a new coaching staff. The Tigers return seven starters on both sides of the ball, but they lost almost all of their scoring with running back Curtis Steele, and receivers Duke Calhoun and Carlos Singleton graduating.

The depth chart is open this spring and here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions on the depth chart.

Strongest position: Offensive line

Key returners: Junior Tommy Walker, junior Michael Antonescu, Senior Brad Paul, junior Joel McCleod, junior Ronald Leary.

Key departures: None.

The skinny: The offensive line is the deepest position on the field with all eight of the Tigers' top offensive linemen returning. They were young a year ago and still opened enough holes for top running back Curtis Steele. The offensive line will be relied upon to help break in a new quarterback and running back starter.

Weakest position: Running back

Key returners: Senior Lance Smith (46 carries, 170 yards, one touchdown), sophomore Marcus Hightower (five carries, 44 yards, one touchdown)

Key departures: Curtis Steele (198 carries, 1,286 yards, 15 touchdowns), T.J. Pitts (83 carries, 366 yards)

The skinny: I could have easily said wide receiver here as well. Both positions are going to need some help, but the fact that the Tigers lost their top two running backs, including Steele, who at times carried the team, is a big hit for new head coach Larry Porter. Lance Smith, a transfer from Wisconsin, came into last season with a lot of promise but never lived up to his potential. He’ll get the opportunity this spring as the top returning back.

It had been a long time since bowl season had proceeded without a Todd Graham-coached team, but last year, the Tulsa head coach watched six other Conference USA teams play for a bowl championship while he got back to the drawing board.

Tulsa finished 2009 with a 5-7 record, its first losing record since 2004. During the two years that Graham was head coach, the Golden Hurricane posted a 21-7 record, appeared in the Top 25 and had played for two Conference USA championships. In 2009, Tulsa was more or less out of title contention by the beginning of November.

“No one was more surprised than I was that we didn’t go to a bowl game because that was far from what our expectations were,” Graham said. “I think one of the hard things sometimes is when you win 21 games in two years, the expectation is you’ve got to win 12. That was our expectation.”

After starting the season 4-1, Tulsa lost six consecutive games. The Golden Hurricane fell short on an opportunity to tie Boise State in the final minutes. They allow UTEP running back Donald Buckram to score with 29 second left. Houston kicked a 51-yard field goal at time expired. Southern Miss scored three unanswered touchdowns to pull away in the second half.

It’s not that Tulsa wasn’t competitive. It was just a play here or there that swayed the momentum and Tulsa couldn’t bring it back.

“We’re not far off, it’s just that every close game in ’07 and ’08 we won, and every close game last year we lost.” Graham said. “You have to look no further than leadership and coaching. We’re going back to work and that ‘we’ve got something to prove’ mentality.”

When the season ended at the end of November, Graham went right to work on preparing his team for 2010. He posted team goals on his door:

Conference USA champions, bowl champions, 14-0 BCS champions, 100 percent graduation rate.

And then he posted them on every locker and told each player to write the goals on his mirror at home.

There was no time to feel bad about what happened in 2009, there was only time to get better for 2010. The first step in that process was rectifying the offense. Tulsa had been dominant when Gus Malzahn and Herb Hand shared offensive coordinator duties. But when Malzahn left for Auburn prior to the 2009 season, Hand wasn’t able to steer the ship alone. So, Graham hired former Lake Travis (Texas) High coach Chad Morris to help. Morris takes Malzahn’s role and will call the plays. Hand will coordinate the running game and work the offensive line, and Mike Norvell will be in charge of the passing game.

Graham said the hiring of Morris was not a knock on Hand, but a chance to get Hand back to his comfort zone.

“The key is the partnership there,” Graham said. “Your offensive line coach has to be involved in a big way and naturally, Herb is one of the best in the country. It just allows him to go back to doing what he does best.”

Graham said that while there was disappointment about the way 2009 turned out there was never any quit. The players never stopped believing in the system and the coaches never stopped believing they had the makings of a winning team.

As spring football gets underway this week, the goal is getting back to the type of team that had enough fortitude to pull out those close wins and had the leadership to get through tough stretches in the schedule. Graham said he believes that while missing a bowl game was hard, the experience of doing so might make his team better in the long run.

“I think in a way it’s very, very tough to sustain that and you can take winning for granted,” Graham said. “That’s the one thing that we’ve talked about. We need to get back to that blue-collar mentality. That chip on our shoulder, got something to prove-type mentality. That’s the team we need to be.”

For the second consecutive year, Southern Miss will hit the road and play a spring scrimmage off-campus.

The Golden Eagles will hold their first scrimmage at Ocean Springs High School in Ocean Springs, Miss., on Friday, the second consecutive season that they’ll played in that venue.

“It’s a big opportunity for our players,” Fedora said. “It’s another chance for them to show what they can do in front of these coaches. We get to go down to Ocean Springs and for all our Golden Eagle fans that are down there on the coast, they get to come watch the team. It’s also good for our kids because it’s like an away game. You get to go somewhere else with people in the stands and they get to show what they can do in front of everyone.”

The trip is also good for recruiting.

Southern Miss’ best offensive player, wide receiver DeAndre Brown, hails from Ocean Springs and the Golden Eagles picked up Ocean Springs running back Allen Howze in the 2010 class.

This year, Ocean Springs wide receiver Joe Morrow is one of the top recruits in the state and is on the ESPNU 150 Watch List. Mississippi State, Ole Miss and the Golden Eagles are all recruiting him.

And it’s not just Ocean Springs players who come out to watch. Playing a scrimmage off campus attracts several recruits from different schools around the Gulf Coast.

Playing a scrimmage on a high school campus is a good way to circumvent the NCAA’s recruiting quiet period. The quiet period, which lasts until April 14, prohibits any coach from contacting a prospective recruit or his parents. A player and/or his parents can visit a college campus and can write and phone the coach, but the coach cannot initiate the contact.

However, on April 15, the evaluation period begins and coaches can start visiting high school campuses. So even though Fedora and his staff won’t be able to speak with recruits during Friday’s scrimmage, they’re laying the groundwork to chat with them in about a month.

It’s scrimmages like these that have made Fedora so successful in recruiting against the SEC schools both in his state and his region. Every year he’s been with the Golden Eagles, he’s managed to snare a few of the top targets while bolstering goodwill toward the Southern Miss program.

Southern Miss has been practicing for more than a week and is due to have its first public scrimmage on Friday.

Last season, the Golden Eagles were one game away from winning Conference USA East and playing for the conference title. This spring is dedicated to making sure that the mistakes that led to the loss against East Carolina don’t happen again.

Here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions for the Golden Eagles this spring:

Strongest position: Wide receiver

Key returners: Junior DeAndre Brown (47 catches, 785 yards, nine touchdowns), sophomore Quentin Pierce (25 catches, 242 yards, two touchdowns), senior Johdrick Morris (eight catches, 131 yards, one touchdown), senior Jonathan Massey (seven catch, 62 yards, two touchdowns)

Key departures: Gerald Baptiste (38 catches, 558 yards, five touchdowns), Freddie Parham (26 catches, 328 yards, two touchdowns), Leroy Banks (29 catches, 375 yards, three touchdowns)

The skinny: Despite losing four of the team’s top five leading receivers (running back Damion Fletcher included), coach Larry Fedora said this might be the deepest wide receiving corps during his tenure. Brown returns and should be healthier than he was in 2009, when he was recovering from a broken leg, and Pierce could emerge as a top receiver this year. The Golden Eagles also add junior college transfer Kelvin Bolden to add to the depth.

Weakest position: Offensive line

Key returners: Center Cameron Zipp

Key departures: Left tackle Kyle Burkhart, left guard Micah Brown, right guard Ryan Hebert, right tackle Brennan Houston.

The skinny: I could have easily said the kicking game here, but I went with the offensive line since there is so much to replace and little experience heading into this spring. Zipp is the only starter returning from the offensive line, which prompted Fedora to bring in two junior college offensive linemen this spring in Lamar Holmes and Jason Weaver. All of the backup players return, though most are young. This spring is going to be critical in developing the line, especially with a new corps of running backs taking the reins in the spring.

UAB hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2004 and though they were close last year, they didn’t have enough weapons to sustain any consistency.

Departed quarterback Joe Webb was everything offensively for the Blazers. He led the team in passing, rushing and total offense. He accounted for 32 of the team’s 39 touchdowns. Picking up his slack will not be easy.

Here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions for the Blazers heading into spring football:

Strongest position: Wide receiver

Key returners: Senior Frantrell Forrest (34 catches, 558 yards, nine touchdowns), senior Jeffery Anderson (26 catches, 398 yards, five touchdowns), junior Nick Adams (15 catches, 277 yards, one touchdown), senior Roddell Carter (14 catches, 225, one touchdown)

Key departures: Mark Ferrell (23 catches, 320 yards, one touchdown)

The skinny: The Blazers return four of their top five receivers this season. And while the passing game ranked 83rd in the country with just 196 yards per game, it wasn’t because the receivers couldn’t catch. The offense was geared around the playmaking ability of quarterback Joe Webb and most of the playmaking was done with his feet. With Webb gone and David Isabelle, a more proficient passer, in, the wide receiving corps should be a lot more effective.

Weakest position(s): Secondary and linebackers

Key returners: Junior cornerback Marquis Coleman (26 tackles, three interceptions), senior strong safety Hiram Atwater (89 tackles, two tackles for loss), junior cornerback Terrell Springs (68 tackles, 10 passes defended), junior corner back Andre Hicks (34 tackles, one interception), sophomore middle linebacker Marvin Burdette (43 tackles, one sack), junior weakside linebacker Lamanski Ware (71 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss), sophomore strongside Greg Irvin (16 tackles)

Key departures: Free safety Brandon Carlisle (57 tackles, nine passes defended)

The skinny: The UAB secondary was the worst in the country allowing 311.50 yards per game, but it didn’t get a whole lot from a young linebacking corps. Hiram Atwater and Terrell Springs led the team in tackles, which means there were a lot of missed assignments all over the field. This group loses just one player, so it has a chance to grow and bond, but it’s going to take some work to catch the Blazers up with the rest of the conference.

After a subpar 2008 and rumors that coach George O’Leary might be out the door, Central Florida responded with a great 2009 campaign that included a bowl berth.

The defense is what kept the team afloat most of the season, so this spring is where the offense needs to come together, especially with a new starting quarterback.

Here’s a look at UCF’s strongest and weakest positions heading into this spring:

Strongest position: Running back

Key returners: Junior Brynn Harvey (261 carries, 1,109, 14 touchdowns), sophomore Jonathan Davis (64 carries, 310 yards, four touchdowns), sophomore Ronnie Weaver (19 carries, 86 yards, one touchdown).

Key departures: None

The skinny: Top running back Brynn Harvey eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark last season, but the overall running game was inconsistent averaging just 130.54 yards per game. However, that wasn’t all on the running backs (see below). All three of the team’s top backs return and the group has the opportunity to be one of the top running games in Conference USA if it can get the offensive line to mature quickly.

Weakest position: Offensive line

Key returners: Junior left tackle Nick Pieschel, sophomore right guard Theo Goins, senior right tackle Jah Reid, senior left tackle Abré Leggins, senior right tackle Mike Buxton

Key departures: Left guard Cliff McCray, center Ian Bustillo

The skinny: The offensive line struggled mightily last season, which was part of the reason why coach George O’Leary signed six offensive linemen in his 2010 class (only five remain after Jose Jose had his scholarship yanked). The offensive line allowed 2.54 sacks, which hampered the production of quarterback Brett Hodges. The offense was better last year than it was in 2008, but it wasn’t where the Knights expected it to be. The offensive line, which is breaking in two new starters, including a center, will the focus this spring as O’Leary tries to find the right combination.

Houston was one of the great surprises last season with its 10-4 finish, but the way it ended the season -- with bad losses to East Carolina and Air Force -- will be fuel heading into 2010.

The Cougars have a lot of talent back from last year, especially on offense, but the defense will be the focus this spring as it will be the key to whether the Cougars put themselves back in the national spotlight.

Here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions for Houston this spring:

Strongest position: Quarterback

Key returners: Senior Case Keenum (completed 70 percent, 5,671 yards, 44 touchdowns, 15 interceptions), junior Cotton Turner (completed 75 percent, 373 yards, three touchdowns)

Key departures: None.

The skinny: Keenum flirted with entering the NFL Draft, but decided to come back for his senior season and is expected to once again lead the country in total offense. Keenum had a stellar junior year and was even a Heisman finalist candidate during the season, but he got sloppy and maybe even a little tired toward the end of the year. He threw a bowl-record tying six interceptions against Air Force in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. It was as many interceptions as he had thrown during the entire regular season. Still, Keenum is one of the best quarterbacks returning this year and should make a case for more postseason accolades.

Weakest position: Defense

Key returners: Junior middle linebacker Marcus McGraw (156 tackles, four sacks, nine tackles for loss), junior free safety Nick Saenz (114 tackles, one tackle for loss), junior defensive tackle David Hunter (57 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks), senior cornerback Jamal Robinson (five interceptions, 58 tackles)

Key departures: Rush end Tyrell Graham (69 tackles, seven sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss), weakside linebacker C.J. Cavness (143 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss), cornerback Brandon Brinkley (75 tackles, four interceptions, three tackles for loss)

The skinny: It’s unfair to single out one section of the defense since it was all pretty bad, but some of that was attributed to youth and inexperience. The Cougars started five freshmen and sophomores on defense in 2009 and the stats reflected it. The Cougars often tried to outscore opponents rather than stop them, which came back to bite them against opponents with good defenses or potent offenses. Houston brought in a new defensive coordinator and the Cougars are learning his style and catching up with the offense at the same time.

The Sept. 4 season opener between SMU and Texas Tech has been moved to Sunday, Sept. 5 to accommodate national television.

The game will be aired on ESPN and ESPN360.com at 2:30 p.m. CT from Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. It will be the first Texas Tech game under new head coach Tommy Tuberville.

SMU is coming off an 8-5 season, its first winning season since 1984. The Mustangs ended the year with a 45-10 win over Nevada in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, which also was broadcast on ESPN.

This is the second consecutive time an SMU-Texas Tech game has been moved to accommodate television. The 2007 opener at SMU was moved from Saturday to Labor Day for an ESPN broadcast.

Currently, SMU has two nonconference games on ESPN in 2010. The Mustangs rivalry game against TCU will air on Friday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

The rest of the Conference USA schedule will be released later this week.

Rice felt the effects of losing some key seniors last year and struggled to a 2-10 record. This year, the offense should get back on track with a couple of transfers and more experience. It’s the defense that seems to be slowing the Owls down, so that will be a major focus this spring.

Here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions for Rice this spring:

Strongest position: Running back

Key returners: Sophomore Charles Ross (97 carries, 491 yards, 11 touchdowns), senior Tyler Smith (101 carries, 428 yards, one touchdown)

Key departures: None.

The skinny: It’s a little crazy to say the Rice rushing offense, which ranked 104th in the country with just 109.25 yards per game, is the strongest position on the field, but the addition of Michigan transfer Sam McGuffie gives the Owls perhaps the best rusher in the conference. Already, McGuffie has shown what he can do in scrimmages by rattling off touchdown runs of 50 and 20 yards, and he’ll only get better as he shakes off the rust from sitting out the past year. He’s going to be one of the top offensive producers in the conference and he’ll help the team be better than its 2-10 record a year ago.

Weakest position: Defense

Key returners: Senior defensive end Scott Solomon (63 tackles, 105 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks), senior defensive end Cheta Ozougwu (61 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks), junior defensive back Travis Bradshaw (121 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss), senior free safety Chris Jones (41 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss)

Key departures: Defensive back Andrew Sendejo (64 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception), linebacker Terrance Garmon (55 tackles, two tackles for loss, two sacks)

The skinny: The defense was pretty awful last season, ranking in the 100s in nearly every defensive category. But the defense also was young. Ten starters return and should be a better unit with more experience. However, Rice has not really excelled defensively under head coach David Bailiff, and a drastic change shouldn’t be expected. But in a Conference USA, where offense rules the roost, the Owls just have to be OK to get into the win column. There is some talent returning, especially at the defensive end position, but the linebackers and secondary have to get better this spring if the Owls want to move up in the defensive rankings.