Your Best 11

  1. College Football Coaches Can't Impose Their Will When Recruits Hold the Power

    On Thursday, Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on his talks with Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson about recruiting...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 14,775 reads 17 comments

  2. The Dealbreaking Weaknesses of a College Football Quarterback

    Most college football quarterbacks are not elite. Attempting to pinpoint why is a maddening exercise that takes you down many a rabbit hole. Ultimately, the weaknesses that stop guys from being top-notch talents are plentiful...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 9,633 reads 1 comments

  3. Your Best 11 Mailbag: On Football Weather, Recruiting Decisions and Jim Delany

    What up, folks?! It is Thursday, spring ball is rocking and rolling and we are here with the Your Best 11 Mailbag. I've got quite a big weekend planned as I'm heading to a wedding and of course things will get awesome...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 1,384 reads 4 comments

  4. Insider's Guide to the Zone-Read Play

    The zone read is, much like the spread that spawned it, is quickly becoming one of the vogue terms folks throw around when talking about football...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 2,524 reads 2 comments

  5. Behind the Scenes as Organizers Put Football Back into Scouting/Skills Camp

    "It's about competition!" That's what echoes over the sound of the music pumping through the speakers as the clock hits 11:30 in the morning at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, North Carolina...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 844 reads 0 comments

  6. The Program: With a New Offense and New Pieces, LSU Starts Path Back to the BCS

    LSU is coming off a disappointing loss, by its standards, as the team not only missed out on a BCS Bowl game, but lost to an ACC opponent in the Chick-fil-A Bowl...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 4,808 reads 11 comments

  7. What a College Football Coach Deals with in the Offseason

    When spring ball wraps up, coaches will be thrown into the offseason. Or, "offseason" that is. As the almost clich é adage goes, "there is no offseason" where college football is concerned...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 5,912 reads 5 comments

  8. Is There Any Reality to Jim Delany's Threat to De-Emphasize Big Ten Athletics?

    As it stands now? No. Once you've seen the money, engineered your existence to make the money and have positioned yourself to continue to make money, going back to nothing is not a very realistic option...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 5,858 reads 27 comments

  9. What Are College Football Players Eating at BCS Training Tables?

    Food. That's the easy answer. However, in the grand scheme of things the correct response is not nearly that simple. While the NCAA governs how often you can feed your players, they do not have much say in what you feed them...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 10,176 reads 7 comments

  10. Why Is the Big Ten Going to Subsidize Maryland's Travel?

    Because they want the Terps that bad. That's right: While Big Ten fans piss and moan about the inclusion of the less-than-stellar Terrapins coming to their league, the conference could not be happier to welcome the team from College Park, Maryland...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 4,754 reads 28 comments

  11. Full Ride: Odds on Who Lands 5-Star CB Marlon Humphrey

    Elite high school defensive backs don’t come around all that often. Sure, there are talented corner and safety prospects in each and every class, but the elite players with shutdown potential are still rare...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 29,590 reads 42 comments

  12. What Would a 64-Team College Football Tournament Bracket Look Like?

    In the year 2020, when college football’s four-team playoff has proved inadequate, a 64-team playoff will be adopted, much to the chagrin of traditional fans...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 43,917 reads 263 comments

  13. SEC Network Finally Coming and It's Going to Be Huge

    On Thursday, Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports made the rumored SEC Network almost officially official by reporting that commissioner Mike Slive did indeed plan to release the league's television network plans in mid-April...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 5,912 reads 23 comments

  14. Breaking Down a Full Day of Spring Football Practice

    It is mid-March and we are knee deep in spring ball. Here at Your Best 11 , we've hit on what spring ball is all about , touched on some of my personal favorites and talked about running a practice ...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 10,325 reads 3 comments

  15. Your Best 11 Mailbag: How to Improve Helmet Safety, Coach Quotes, Spring Starts

    It is Thursday and not only are we another day closer to everyone's St. Patrick's Day celebrations, we are also at the day of the week when the Your Best 11 Mailbag opens up...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 2,334 reads 3 comments

  16. If the Heisman Trust Is Cracking Down, Let's Take It a Few Steps Further

    Forget about removing disinterested voters or eliminating those who cast their Heisman ballot well before the regular season actually concludes...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 8,225 reads 32 comments

  17. Does Texas A&M Need Any Scheme Changes to Keep Johnny Manziel Magic Alive?

    Johnny Manziel is going to be the chief offseason project for guys like Nick Saban , John Chavis and other defensive minds in the SEC...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 6,372 reads 24 comments

  18. The Program: Previewing the Florida Gators as Spring Kicks off

    The Florida Gators kick off spring ball today and the boys down in Gainesville have got an SEC East title on their minds. They came just short of getting to Atlanta in 2012, and this spring they start the push to get to the ATL ...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 2,079 reads 2 comments

  19. Full Ride: Odds on Who Lands 5-Star DT Andrew Brown

    One of the nation’s best defensive tackles in the 2014 recruiting class will do much, much more than just take up space. He causes havoc on the line and in the backfield...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 21,419 reads 20 comments

  20. The Incredible (and Perhaps Impossible) Expectations Facing Johnny Manziel

    The most remarkable statistic from Johnny Manziel ’s preposterous 2012 season wasn ’t the gaudy touchdown numbers...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 6,299 reads 53 comments

  21. How Much Scheme Do Coaches Really Show in Spring Games?

    None. Or, more importantly, not enough for it to matter. You'll see some philosophy, you'll see some tone, but scheme, in the world of college football, is not something you should expect to see at a spring game...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 4,703 reads 7 comments

  22. A Former Player's Take on the Best and Worst Parts of Spring Football

    Spring ball, in and of itself, was a blessing. It meant an end to winter conditioning. It also meant we got a chance to put on pads and hit people. For a guy like me, that was a treat from the Football Gods...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 2 months ago 15,444 reads 16 comments

  23. The Program: Over/Unders on T.J. Yeldon's Numbers for the 2013 Season

    After dazzling in Alabama's spring game last year, T.J. Yeldon seemed poised for stardom. Sure, we overact to these scrimmage performances far too often, although we didn ’t in this instance...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 10,136 reads 49 comments

  24. Ejecting Players for Targeting Will Likely Create More Problems Than It Solves

    The NCAA’s intentions to improve player safety are, of course, 100 percent correct. The implementation of the latest legislation, however, feels both flawed and slightly misguided...

    Adam Kramer Written by Adam Kramer about 2 months ago 4,282 reads 20 comments

  25. How to Run the Most Effective College Football Spring Practice

    Effectiveness, as far as practice methods goes, is largely based upon the desired goal to be achieved. For some coaches it is about speed and high reps...

    Michael Felder Written by Michael Felder about 3 months ago 5,502 reads 9 comments