If you’re a regular at recruiting websites, a few trends have become apparent in recent years.

There’s been a sudden surplus of 6’5'', 250-pound 17-year-olds capable of running a 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. The athleticism—especially near the pinnacle of these rankings—is consistently astounding but almost assumed at this point. Physical freaks are no longer a rarity, but we still marvel at their presence.

And while size and speed are at a premium with both defensive and offensive linemen now consuming most of the elite prospect levels, the blue-chip quarterback has seemingly disappeared. They exist, although not like they once did.

In the recruiting world, the most important position isn’t grabbing the 5-star, “can’t miss” headliners. In fact, despite being the position fans flock toward and schools market around, the same one which has come home with the Heisman in 11 of the past 12 years, scouting of the quarterback still remains an inexact science.

Read More »28

Jimbo Fisher has been put in an impossible predicament, one that will spark criticism and controversy regardless of the eventual outcome. Yet, even though Florida State has done absolutely nothing wrong in this instance, it needs to reconsider its position and release 5-star linebacker recruit Matthew Thomas from his letter of intent.

Its firm stance against doing so, while understandable given the circumstances, accomplishes little. The concern over setting a recruiting precedent might actually pale in comparison to the national perception—unfair or not—brought on by the school simply standing its ground.

The situation is well known by now. 

Thomas, the No. 14 player in the class of 2013, according to 247Sports, committed to Florida State on national signing day by submitting his signed letter of intent. As it turns out, this decision was greatly influenced by his mother—something he discussed in a recent interview with The Miami Herald.

Read More »156

When Bob Stoops spoke about the SEC "mystique" to Tulsa World on Tuesday, it started quite the ripple around the college football world. Barrett Sallee at the SEC Blog hit on not only Stoops' off-base comments but on Nick Saban's rebuttal to Big Game Bob.

Stoops' comments kicked off quite the conversation about whether the SEC was overrated, or if he, like others living the non-SEC life, was just jealous of the monster.

The real issue, what we should be talking about, is not how overrated a league is, but rather, how we evaluate conferences in general. Should the Stoops-ology of measuring the bottom of the conference determine a league's worth? Should the top levels of success be where we focus our efforts when it comes to league rankings? Is quality depth the metric?

If we're looking at the bottom of leagues to determine who is the best, then just not being terrible is what matters. Or, rather, dispersing wins equally throughout the conference is the goal. That is exactly what the Big Ten is looking at in its bottom four, as the 10-team league has three bowl teams in the bottom four of the conference.

Read More »37

Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron is a good quarterback, and quite honestly, that is all the rising senior needs to be. Actually, at the collegiate level, that is all he will likely be, and that is perfectly all right.

Entering the summer season, the Heisman hype machines start rolling around the college football landscape. With the close of the NFL draft, the 2014 cycle comes into full view for the NFL draft analysts and fans alike. Folks are talking about the best players for the 2013 season and which teams have the best shot at taking home the crystal football.

Oregon's Marcus Mariota, Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel, Ohio State's Braxton Miller and Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater are all being mentioned as the cream of the quarterback crop. Georgia's Aaron Murray and Clemson's Tajh Boyd are also in the mix, especially where draft conversation is concerned.

Yet, Alabama's McCarron, who seems poised to win his third national championship, is lagging behind when the NFL draft and top quarterback talk come up. His Heisman odds are among the best, but the quarterback cannot seem to elbow his way into the elite quarterback discussion.

Read More »143

A player who has yet to walk out of the tunnel for the first time, let alone participate in his first college practice, is already proving to be a monumental commitment to a program in desperate need. And although quarterback Christian Hackenberg has yet to suit up for Penn State—and his seemingly unlimited potential remains, well, potential—his impact on the program has been nothing short of remarkable.

Despite being hit with the most severe NCAA sanctions since SMU was handed the "Death Penalty" in the late 1980s, Penn State is doing more than simply staying afloat. The Nittany Lions are out-recruiting every team in their conference not named Ohio State and Michigan, and there’s life in a program still on the wrong side of a four-year bowl ban.

The headliner pickup for head coach Bill O'Brien, of course, has been Hackenberg. Picking up a blue-chip quarterback in an era when few exist is a luxury in itself. For Penn State, however, Hackenburg provides more than incredible potential at the most important position for the next three to four years. 

He's the light at the end of the tunnel.

Read More »56

Nebraska’s Tommie Frazier, a human highlight reel from another era and one of the greatest college football quarterbacks to ever walk this earth, has been elected into the College Football Hall of Fame.

A reminder: It is the year 2013, and Tommie Frazier is just now getting into the Hall of Fame.

The National Football Foundation made it official on Tuesday, revealing that Frazier would be enshrined along with 11 others. An entire nation of eager college football fans over the age of 30 rejoices, all the while wondering the following.

What took so long? Seriously, was this that hard?

Read More »9

As angry fans and bitter media members spend time opining about the out-of-control nature of high school recruits, another story comes up that reminds us these big-time athletes are still just kids. Matthew Thomas, a 2013 Florida State signee, is now trying to get out of his letter of intent and released from his scholarship, so he can go elsewhere. As Thomas told the Miami Herald:

Thomas' story has not changed; he was iffy about signing with the Seminoles and, after trying to come around on the idea, his heart still is not in Tallahassee. If there is a finger to be pointed, it should not be aimed at the attention-starved athletes, as so many fans and media claim. No, the issue is the same one we've seen play out with other athletes: the parents.

In the two most recent signing periods, four of the sport's most high-profile recruits have had their decisions impacted in a big way by their parental figures. Josh Harvey-Clemons and Alex Collins both ended up at their schools of choice, Georgia and Arkansas, respectively, but not without having to fight for that right.

Meanwhile, Gunner Kiel and Matthew Thomas did not get to sign where they truly wanted. Kiel, who is now at Cincinnati, spent a season close to home at Notre Dame, where his mom wanted him. Now, after a year spent in a situation not to his liking, Kiel is on to another school hoping things get better after sitting out another season.

Read More »60

As April comes to a close and May starts the walk into the summer season for college football, both Texas A&M and Notre Dame released news regarding their stadiums.

The Aggies, as Yahoo! pointed out, are looking to be the latest school to break the 100,000-seat barrier. According to USA Today, Notre Dame is exploring the possibility of growing its stadium as well.

The expansion creep is a very real thing, as schools all over the country are looking into revamping their stadiums, adding seats and trying to better their facilities. Everyone is running the race to have the best, and in some cases, the biggest.

However, it must be noted that not all expansions are created equal. In the cases of Notre Dame and Texas A&M, that is clearly true.

Read More »98