Offseason Transfers, Dismissals That Will Have Biggest Impact on 2015 Season
This is the time of year college football coaches tend to dread. Spring practice is over. Their recruits are largely all on campus and preparing for the upcoming season through “voluntary” workouts, but they have little control over their teams. They aren’t allowed to have contact with their players, operating via proxy through strength coaches.
This is the time of year that the 3 a.m. phone call is feared the most. An arrest, a situation or something worse that alters their team’s composition negatively. There’s nothing they can do to control it except to offer sage words of advice for their players. However, an offseason dismissal or transfer can really change a season for the worse before it even begins. Here’s a look at the offseason events that will shape the 2015 season.
Oregon QB Vernon Adams
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As Oregon prepares for the 2015 season, the biggest question surrounding the Ducks’ program is easy to identify: Who will replace Marcus Mariota? The Heisman Trophy winner and NFL No. 2 overall pick was the heart of Oregon’s run to the national title game in 2014, and he won’t be easy to replace.
Vernon Adams hopes he can be the guy. Adams, a dual-threat talent at FCS Eastern Washington, is transferring up for his final season of collegiate eligibility, and he brings some impressive stats with him.
Adams, a two-time Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, threw for 10,438 yards with 110 touchdowns in three seasons at Eastern Washington, completing 64.8 percent of his passes. He’s also mobile, rushing for 1,232 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career.
Mariota’s 2014 backup, Jeff Lockie, finished spring as Oregon’s No. 1 quarterback, but Adams will give him a battle. If he wins the job, Oregon will have an intriguing mobile option to go with an offense that already has a strong backfield fronted by sophomore Royce Freeman.
Indiana S Antonio Allen
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2015 is a crucial season for Indiana coach Kevin Wilson, who is 14-34 in four years at the Hoosiers’ helm. IU was 5-6 in 2014, but with some improvement from its defense (which allowed 433.8 yards per game last fall), a bowl bid was within the program’s grasp. That won’t be nearly as easy without Antonio Allen patrolling the secondary.
The junior safety was Indiana’s leading tackler a year ago, but he forced Wilson’s hand following last week’s stunning arrest. Allen was arrested while leaving Memorial Stadium and charged with dealing cocaine and heroin with a firearm, as well as dealing methamphetamine, per David Woods of the Indianapolis Star. Wilson dismissed him a day later.
There’s no way that Wilson could keep Allen on Indiana’s roster, but a struggling defense lost one of its best players. That could be a huge difference-maker in the Hoosiers’ quest for postseason play.
Auburn CB Blake Countess
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New Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has an excellent reputation, but turning around a defense that struggled at times in 2014 won’t be easy, especially with a secondary with depth issues. The Tigers lost five defensive backs to graduation and other reasons following the end of last season.
That’s why the arrival of Blake Countess is so important.
Countess, a senior cornerback, is transferring from Michigan as a graduate transfer for his final season of college football. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore after making six interceptions, and he made 30 starts in three seasons with the Wolverines.
He’ll immediately join the battle for a starting job and brings great experience and athleticism to Auburn’s secondary. If the Tigers defense improves dramatically this fall, Countess will likely play a large role.
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Florida Offensive Linemen
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New Florida coach Jim McElwain has some concerns as he begins his first season in Gainesville, but one of the biggest is on the offensive line. The Gators lost four offensive line starters from 2014, led by NFL first-round pick D.J. Humphries, and return precious little depth.
Expected starting left tackle Roderick Johnson was forced to give up the game in spring due to spinal stenosis, and senior center Trip Thurman (who is battling a chronic shoulder injury) is the only returning lineman with starting experience.
Florida ended spring with just six healthy offensive linemen, and while talented players (like freshman left tackle Martez Ivey) are on the way, reinforcements were needed. The Gators got a pair of key additions in NC State freshman center T.J. McCoy and Fordham senior left tackle Mason Halter. McCoy, a Florida native, was an early enrollee who received a hardship waiver to transfer closer to his father, who has leukemia, per Luis Torres of the Palm Beach Post.
Halter, who stands 6’8”, 297 pounds, was a three-year starter and two-time FCS All-American at Fordham. If the new guys, along with Ivey, can contribute, it’ll give Florida’s offense a gigantic boost in 2015.
Florida State QB Everett Golson
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Everett Golson’s 2014 was up and down, and that’s putting it mildly. Following a year away from Notre Dame while serving a suspension for academic misconduct, Golson reclaimed his job as the Fighting Irish’s starting quarterback and led a 6-0 start.
But that hot start didn’t last. Notre Dame lost five of its final six games to close the regular season, and Golson, plagued by turnovers, lost his starting role to backup Malik Zaire.
Both quarterbacks played in the Music City Bowl win over LSU, and the competition carried over into spring practice. While Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly didn’t name a starter, Golson exercised his option to leave as a graduate transfer, landing at Florida State. He told FoxSports.com's Bruce Feldman that landing in Tallahassee put himself "in the best position possible."
FSU seeks a replacement for Heisman Trophy-winning and No. 1 overall draft pick Jameis Winston, who left for the NFL after a 27-1 record in two seasons as a starter.
Junior Sean Maguire ended spring as the leader of the quarterback derby, but Golson will challenge him in preseason practice. If Golson wins the job, a talented but green Seminoles offense could receive a major jolt of experience.
Oregon C Matt Hegarty
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While the biggest question in Eugene, Oregon involves Marcus Mariota’s replacement as the starting quarterback, perhaps the second-biggest involves who’ll snap the ball to the new starter.
Four-year starter Hroniss Grasu is gone, although the line returns three starters as well as left tackle Tyler Johnstone, an experienced player who missed last season with a torn ACL.
But an experienced center like Matt Hegarty is an important commodity. He started 11 of 13 games last fall for Notre Dame at either center or guard, and he has great mobility and athleticism with a 6’4”, 295-pound frame. His addition could be crucial in Oregon’s push for another College Football Playoff berth.
Georgia QB Greyson Lambert
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There are plenty of reasons to be excited around Athens, Georgia this summer. Georgia returns 12 starters from a 10-win team in 2014, led by sophomore tailback and Heisman Trophy candidate Nick Chubb and four returning offensive line starters. But following Hutson Mason’s graduation, the Bulldogs need a quarterback.
This is where Greyson Lambert comes in. The Georgia native started nine games at Virginia last fall, throwing 10 touchdowns against 11 interceptions and throwing for 1,632 yards. But he was passed on the depth chart by Matt Johns, and he elected to leave UVA as a graduate transfer. He told Seth Emerson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it was a chance to further his career.
"It was completely a career decision. Obviously other people love the game. But in my eyes I can’t see anybody loving it more than me, even though everybody says that, probably. But it’s something that I cherish. It’s something that I just love deeply, and I want to be able to play as long as possible. Since I was a young kid, my dream has been to play at the next level.
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Georgia is an appealing landing spot. Lambert will compete with Faton Bauta and Brice Ramsey, but he could give UGA and coach Mark Richt a steady hand under center, provided he can pick up new offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s system quickly.
Michigan QB Jake Rudock
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The most popular man on a college campus on any given fall weekend is the backup quarterback. Jake Rudock found that out the hard way last fall. Despite starting 10 games last fall with generally solid play, Iowa fans seemed to favor backup quarterback C.J. Beathard over Rudock.
Rudock wasn’t spectacular, but he did throw for 2,436 yards with 16 touchdowns against five interceptions. Iowa underachieved in a 7-6 season that ended with an ugly Taxslayer Bowl loss to Tennessee, and coach Kirk Ferentz released a rare postseason depth chart that featured Beathard as Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback.
That was all the writing on the wall Rudock needed, and he left Iowa as a graduate transfer, winding up at Big Ten rival Michigan. New coach Jim Harbaugh needs a quarterback, and he doesn’t have a returning passer with a collegiate touchdown under his belt.
Junior Shane Morris and freshmen Alex Malzone, Zach Gentry and Wilton Speight will battle for the job come fall, but Rudock, a steady, experienced passer, could be just what Harbaugh needs in his first season back home in Ann Arbor.
Alabama DT Jonathan Taylor
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Nick Saban took a chance on Jonathan Taylor. The former Georgia player came to Tuscaloosa following a year in the junior college ranks with a major stain on his record after being dismissed from Georgia’s roster following domestic violence charges, but his talent made his addition to the Crimson Tide’s roster worth the risk.
The big defensive tackle is plenty talented, but as he proved in late March, he wasn’t worth the risk. Taylor was arrested for a second time for domestic violence against his girlfriend, and while she later recanted the charges, he was dismissed from the program and expelled from Alabama. Alabama’s defensive line remains talented, but it won’t be as deep without Taylor in the trenches.
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